Blood Awakening: The Strongest Hybrid and His Vampire Bride

Nikolai's eyes narrowed the moment he felt her move—like a blur. Mari's body sped up quickly. He tightened his muscles and twisted away from the edge of the blade, a flash of silver and red cutting across the air just before his throat.

'No matter how much she's changed, those movements aren't human...'

Mari's movements felt eerie. Despite their extreme speed, her ability to turn and change her angles felt jarring and stiff.

'I can hear her bones grinding together as if two different parts were forced together.'

The truth was that the woman he might have held affection for in the past now looked nothing like her former self. Mari's face was the only part without various stitches and scars—the length of her arms was uneven, and her legs seemed to be from a different person.

'The Faust Clan's masterpiece... It makes sense right now.' Nikolai thought as he stepped forward, pushing Mari's left arm away and leaping up, his left foot lashing out like a whip.

'She's not a human any more... She's a monster. I don't need to feel any remorse!'

Mari's neck snapped back from the impact, her eyes blinking rapidly and her mouth opening with a hiss of surprise while blood dripped from her nose, and a dark bruise appeared on her pale cheek. "You actually hit me. How amusing."

"You're quite durable," Nikolai replied while hopping back and opening and closing his hands. His heart felt excited because she was strong, stronger than the dog or the mutant he fought. The excitement of the Volkov and Lupus bloodlines began to surge, an explosive desire to crush his enemy.

[Take it slow, don't force yourself, Nikolai.]

'I understand, don't worry.'

"Your attacks are heavy but not strong—they're fast but not sharp." Mari's lips spread, her mouth opening wider than what a human should as a hiss escaped her lips. "But they're fun. They feel good!"

'...'

The hiss sounded strange and felt uncomfortable, so much so that Nikolai's ears began to ring. The hairs on his skin stood up, and he couldn't help but feel a sense of nausea—images appeared from his past with Mari, then became distorted by this corpse with her face twisted and filled with the stench of death. A sour odour that made his nose tingle.

Nikolai didn't respond. Instead, he stepped forward, using the outside of his forearm when Mari swung down with a violent slash and held her blade a few inches from his eye before throwing a masterful left hook at her face, his knuckles slamming against her jaw.

Bang!

'Her bones are solid like iron!'

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The moment he thought, Nikolai turned and brought his right knee up, smashing against the bottom of Mari's ribcage and sending her flying back a few meters. Yet, despite leaving the floor, the face showed no signs of pain, and Nikolai felt a dull ache in his knee where he struck her body.

Despite the crowd around them going crazy, even the queen began to speak with a more neutral commentary, as if she knew more about the creature calling itself Mari Yamamoto.

"That was a pretty wonderful combination, Nikolai. However, I can tell you're starting to struggle." Her bones, muscles, and skin were far superior to the average human—no, they were superior to the thralls and low-rank squires he met!

Her eyes were dull, yet the more they fought, Nikolai felt he could see a twinkle of light or life inside them. He didn't hold thoughts of saving her, but if killing Mari now would set her free, he would do so.

'It doesn't seem like she'll be tired anytime soon. Honestly, I should not hold back... That dark blood, to destroy her, I'll have to use it.'

A feeling of twisted emotions began to well up inside Nikolai the moment he made his choice. His hair grew longer, glossier like raven feathers before his arms distorted, snapped and became deformed, longer and twisted at the elbows. Now able to move in any direction and finally, both his hands suddenly became twice as big, his fingers longer like curved blades as he became a part monster.

"Aha, a beast, huh? Do you want to mess me up that bad, Nikolai?" The cold, empty voice of Mari reached Nikolai's ears.

Mari licked her lips and charged, her steps silent, her body appearing a blur while Nikolai's eyes narrowed. With a glint of silver, her blade slashed at his arms with a sweeping strike—before she could connect, Nikolai stepped back and deflected the blade with his black claws.

The impact allowed Mari to ride the momentum; like a fairy of death, she twirled around, slicing through the air and aiming at his opposite flank.

Nikolai moved with equal speed, his arm bending like a snake and blocking her attack, the sound of metal scratching against the hard, obsidian-like surface of his arm.

"You?!" Her cold snarl echoed before her eyes widened as Nikolai smashed her face with a brutal headbutt, the colour of his eyes now black with a silver ring around his iris and red pupils.

"This is what you get!" Nikolai snapped and slashed out with his other hand, his claws cutting the air and slicing through her shoulder. Blood gushed out, spraying across his face and shirt, but his mouth opened, his tongue sticking out and licking the dark fluid. It wasn't quite black, but neither was it vibrant red.

"Peh..." He spat the blood out and looked at Mari with a disgusted look, "Sour... and expired! Truly the blood of a corpse."

"!!!"

His words seemed to insult what little self existed in her soul as the two began to clash rapidly, a series of sharp blows with black and silver lights colliding from her blade and his claws.

Bang! Crack!

The floor beneath their feet began to fracture and splinter slightly, the speed and power of their exchange increasing steadily until, finally, a burst of strength came from Nikolai's chest the moment his heart pounded.

He felt it—the black blood that used to make him insane, full of bloodlust, instead, was under his control. Exhaustion quickly started to overwhelm him, yet his claws were slowly tearing apart the doll before him as he exerted more and more power, as if trying to carve both her body and any memories he still kept hidden in the depths of his heart.

"Urk!"

Nikolai's fist slammed against the side of Mari's head, a sickening crunch as the bone was crushed, and the already torn flesh was destroyed, her nose broken, and her lower jaw cracked.

Yet, despite the brutal and deadly attacks, Mari's face didn't show pain—instead, her blade penetrated Nikolai's right abdomen. Her wrist twisted the blade while his maw opened and bit a chunk from her neck, tearing her flesh before a powerful kick to her chest sent her tumbling backwards, her blade still embedded in his body.

Blood gushed out, yet the wound began to heal rapidly and closed just as fast. Nikolai's eyes remained locked on Mari's body as she got up, trembling. Her right arm snapped while she fell twice, finally on her knees. She looked up with a fierce gaze and spat out a mouthful of blood, her flesh slowly regenerating apart from her neck wound just like his.

'Hmmm? The wounds from my claws and bite don't heal?'

[You're right... is it related to those black blood crystals? They seem to be related to necromancy, and they carry the stench of death...]

'We need to find out—we might need to use that black blood.'

Nikolai's tone was serious, and the Spirit didn't respond, sensing his decision.

"Ha, haha... hahaha..." Mari's shrill laughter made those near her unconsciously step back as she slowly raised her hand and pointed at him, "I'll kill you, I'll kill you! You have to die!" Her eyes became eerie, with tiny pupils, her face twisted with a horrifying smile. "I'll kill you!"

Nikolai frowned as strange energy came from the creature that looked human but was a monster. It became darker—her blood was no longer a dark red but began turning black as if the more damage he dealt, the closer to death she came.

"Hehe, this is... you're a monster, huh? Nikolai Volkov." A rasping, dry and almost insect-like voice echoed from her throat, a sound different from the previous. It wasn't Mari's voice but... something else. "But you don't understand what we are, the powers we wield!"

"Do you think I give a shit? Die!" Nikolai took a deep breath, the feeling of stress vanished, and he rushed forward, his black claw covered in a strange light, a silver mixed with darkness; Nikolai felt like his hand was on fire, but it felt warm and comforting.

'Burn, burn, and destroy this damned thing!'

"You can't stop me, and you will die!" The monster that looked like Mari laughed maniacally before she became a blur, a shadow that shot towards Nikolai. "I'll tear off your face and skin. Wear it like a mask! I'll make you suffer before I kill you."

The creature's movements were faster and more refined than ever, its attacks sharper and filled with a desire for his death.

However, the moment she hit him, the creature's left hand exploded into flesh and broken bones on impact. She had already lost her arm and was now severed on the ground, the stump bleeding black, almost tar-like blood.

"Wha-What?!" Mari's eyes widened, and she screamed, "Die, you have to die! Die! Die!"

The creature's face distorted even more, its eyes becoming huge and round, with a thick, purple-red line, a mouth that was too big, filled with crooked, sharp teeth, and a long, fat tongue.

Nikolai didn't hesitate any longer, his arm lashing out swiftly and elegantly like a panther attacking its prey.

The obsidian-like claw slashed at the creature's throat with a speed that left no opening for her to dodge. The moment Mari's body stepped back, he lunged forward, taking her body to the ground before his fists began raining down on her.

From a distance, the sound of bones being broken, flesh being torn, and muscle pulverised echoed, the floor cracking and splintering from the brutal attacks, a pool of dark blood spreading as the crowd became excited about the climax.

'It hurts.... my fists are breaking.... but I will end this now!'

A familiar scene of his past came to his mind, a time when he was weak, unable to protect anyone... Her face as she looked at the edge of tears before they broke up. However, now, Nikolai felt strong, the feeling of vengeance welling up inside him as he poured all the strength he could muster into his fist.

'End this, end this now! Please... Let her die! Let me be free!'

Bang!

Crack!

The creature's face was smashed, her skull broken, and brain matter splattered on the floor.

"Is she dead? Can we confirm the kill?"

"She's done for! We have our winner!"

In the boxes above, Alistair stood in shock, his hands trembling at the sight of his best work, now a lump of crushed meat and bone in the middle of the arena.

"Not only did he win, but he really destroyed her... How brutal."

"We have our winner, my lovely pigs! The lowly hero from nowhere, an unknown rookie by the name of Nikolai! All rise for the birth of a new challenger! Congratulations on your win!"

Queen Tsukino's act seemed to change completely, no longer a mocking tone or her fandom routine. Instead, she directed all attention to Nikolai, his body covered in slowly healing wounds and the blade still inside his abdomen.

The young man knelt, his hands trembling from punching concrete with so much power, likely to have damaged his nerves and broken or fractured the bones in his hand.

'I won... Is it over?' Nikolai's eyes looked dull as he felt the black crystals from her heart flowing into his hand. Honestly, he didn't want them, but it was too late when he came to his senses...

[Nikolai...]

He felt his mother's voice, and the tension started to vanish—his black arms began to return to normal, along with his eyes, the werewolf fur evaporating before his eyes looked up and saw a strange light... and a faint figure in the pink light.

However, because he stopped using the black blood, his eyes returned to normal, and the figure vanished from sight.

'Mari?!'