Blood Awakening: The Strongest Hybrid and His Vampire Bride

Chapter 288 The Forgotten Tower - II

Nikolai roamed the tower for what seemed like hours, each floor filled with a similar story, villages, cities, and towns filled with monsters—all dead. The eerie silence and howling winds created a solemn atmosphere, making the tower feel more like a tomb.

He stood on the ninth floor, the ground beneath him cracking as the pile of bones leading to the exit started to crumble.

”This is… horrible.” Nikolai narrowed his eyes, gazing back at the desolate opening before he stepped through the portal to the tenth floor, a heavy ache growing in his chest each time he ascended further.

A silent plain, the distant sound of waters washing ashore.

This floor became like a scene from a painting, no sounds of life beyond the waves.

”Welcome to my garden. Is it not beautiful?” The hollow voice called out to Nikolai from behind, forcing him to spin around and enlarge his claws, as if ready to fight at any moment.

However, a familiar face greeted him.

”Itʼs been a while, handsome.” The ghostly image was the mermaid queen he defeated in the tower.

A strange tension filled his body, nerves on their edge as he remembered her blue skin, and the luscious pink hair that shone in various colours when underwater. ”How are you here?” He asked, a defensive growl leaving his lips.

She sighed as she floated towards him with little effort. An alternative form replaced by what remained of her corpse. A long white dress hung loosely against her waist, flowing gently behind her as if swimming in water. ”This is my home, the place where I lived before my first death.”

”First death?”

Then he remembered that monsters in the tower would be endlessly reborn, their soul damaged with each revival, and once it shattered, the tower would use a new monster instead. It meant that these monsters suffered endlessly until the end of their existence or someone freed them from its grasp.

”In the past, we were just searching for a home, a place to be safe from the relentless hunting of our kind. Yes. I was a traveller just like yourself, before becoming the queen, I watched my mother try to support the people. Forced to become a traitor and sell the future of our race to the tower; otherwise we couldnʼt survive.”

The memories of the queen appeared in small mirages, the water around her showing countless memories, and scenes that the young mermaid endured.

”The tower chose me after it broke us, but it spared our people for generations. I believed in its power for so long and trusted it over my own instincts. But it betrayed me too.

A jolt travelled through his mind before he remembered her name. ”Amphitrite.” Nikolai called out. Her eyes narrowed into a curved slit, while her lips also formed a faint smile.

”So you didnʼt forget me?” She spoke, approaching Nikolai at a casual pace.

The werewolf held his ground, but he couldnʼt sense the tingling that normally pricked his back when others came near with the desire to attack.

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He felt nothing from her, but an overpowering presence that reminded him of an oceanic storm. As if her aura were more powerful than the tower itself.

”No… I remember your kindness towards the end.” Her eyes widened for a moment, before she covered her thick purple lips, chuckling softly beneath her elegant hand.

”I bet you enjoyed that thoroughly, no?”

The mermaid queen mocked him, as Nikolai frowned and the act he needed to perform to escape replayed in his mind before he asked a question. ”That wasnʼt actually needed to reach the next floor, was it?”

”Hohoho~ youʼre right.” Her light expression changed into a far sharper tone.

A darker smirk spread along her cheeks and showed her dangerous side. Sharp fangs protruded past her lips as they opened, ready to devour anyone who opposed her. ”I just wanted to see what it would be like.”

Amphitrite closed the distance between them, pressing herself against Nikolaiʼs chest. Despite how small most mermaids seemed, she was actually far larger than Nikolai. Her massive body a size larger, only when he transformed into a werewolf could he surpass her.

”What do you want appearing here?” He asked, no longer in a calm or playful tone. Instead, an authoritative force spilled into his voice. ”Why are you even still alive?”

The mermaid frowned and took a step back. ”Am I really alive, the only reason I can manifest in this tower is that you took my pearl.” A mermaidʼs pearl couldnʼt be replaced, only one grew in their lifetime. What most humans and other races didnʼt know was that the mermaidsʼ pearl was, in fact, their mana core.

”By taking away such a critical organ from this tower, it damaged the link to me, allowing this ghostly reflection of myself to remain outside the cycle. With each death, my soul gets weaker—but not any more, the tenth floor boss isnʼt me because the tower detected a flaw in my soul and discarded me.”

With her appearance being only temporary, her body started to grow thin and translucent, her form vanishing before them as time ticked onwards.

”How much longer until youʼre completely gone?”

”In here, I can remain for almost an eternity. Outside, well, much like your lovely mother, I can survive inside an item.”

”I see.”

Nikolai noticed her goal. It was quite obvious from how transparent the mermaid queen acted and spoke, but that didnʼt mean he would accept her request. There must be a benefit for him, or he would just ignore it.

”If I help you, what do I get?”

Amphitrite paused and pondered the question. After all, Nikolai had shown how crafty he could be.

”I donʼt have much. My kingdom is gone, all my sisters have perished. Though I can help expand your knowledge about the soul, and I have knowledge about two, untouched bodies.”

”Untouched bodies?” Nikolai asked curiously.

”Yes, because they destroyed this tower during the great war, most of the functions became dysfunctional, however, the place where future monsters are created remains, and two fresh bodies have been waiting for souls. All we need to do is reach them.”

With a solemn tone, her voice turned quieter. ”One will go to your mother, and the second goes to me. If you have any other way of reviving them, then donʼt bother with me. However, you cannot bring your motherʼs consciousness back into a poor body… as her true form will only come back through a suitable vessel.”

”Whatʼs special about these bodies then?” Nikolai scoffed, his mood souring.

ʼI canʼt let her take control of the pace…ʼ

”Those bodies were masterpieces, designed for the royal bloodline of Mermaids. A body able to transform between human and mermaid at will, to hide their monster features, something created to escape prosecution.”

As she explained her words, images, and memories displayed in water magic, mirages of lifelike experiences. A beautiful female stepped out of the water. Her scales and gills slowly disappeared. Then she stepped into a coffin like tube, filled with a strange green liquid.

It showed how perfect the transformation was. In fact, a similar event repeated with each person.

”Then, what do I do if you betray me?” Nikolaiʼs eyes narrowed before he felt a strong current pushing down on him.

An intense pressure made his feet sink into the ground beneath him; however, it failed to crush his bones.

”Iʼm not a fool that believes everyone can trust each other. Let us make a contract, one that binds our souls and should either of us betray the other. Then we will become that personsʼ servant for all eternity.”

The dark grin Amphitrite sent towards Nikolai told him everything he needed to know.

She was deadly serious.

There would be no lies when they made this contract.

A seal of mutual trust between two monsters.

After a brief pause, Nikolai nodded.

He trusted his gut instincts, which told him to make a move on this opportunity.

Not only that, but he also needed to find a way to escape this strange tower. He knew Risa and the girls must have been worried about him being absent.

Without asking questions, they began.

The mermaid placed her hands on Nikolaiʼs face, kissing his forehead slightly.

ʼThis feels weird…ʼ

She whispered verses in a strange language, with lots of mouth sounds and almost like a folk song. And although he couldnʼt understand it at first, the meaning became clear the second after she said each word.

His mind instinctively started to translate them.

ʼA promise from those that desire another chance at life.ʼ

ʼTo form a bond that cannot be broken.ʼ

ʼOnly death can separate it, and only loyalty can keep it alive.ʼ

ʼCome, I ask for a soul binding pact, one that ties us together.ʼ

ʼSpeak your name.ʼ Amphitriteʼs voice echoed in Nikolaiʼs mind as he spoke his real name.

”Nikolai Volkov.”

ʼThe contract is complete.ʼ

And before either could react, the power surrounding them exploded outward, waves crashing down around them and tearing a storm of light across the floor. Forcing water into an endless cyclone that pushed deep into the clouds above.

A pattered formed across Nikolaiʼs waist.

Meanwhile, the mermaid queenʼs abdomen also started to change, a tattoo forming across her pelvis descending further down, until the tip of her feminine slit.

”Wait…”

”Aha~ I forgot to mention, this ritual and promise is only possible between a husband and wife.” She grinned mischievously and stuck out her forked tongue. ”You fell for it!” But before she could step back or say another word, Nikolai gripped her throat within seconds and squeezed down gently.

”Do not mess with me, fish woman.” Thatʼs when his eyes widened. He could ʼtouchʼ a ghost?

”My throat hurts, husband~ please, let me go.” His grip faltered as he stared at her in shock.

”Is there anything else you wish to tell me… WIFE?!” His low growl filled with hostility, as his dark eyes shone brightly while his clenched fished visibly shook.

”No~”

Nikolaiʼs mood plummeted after being tricked, but he noticed that the actual soul pact didnʼt hinder him, at least for now. So, as she swam through the air, guiding him. He thought about how to explain this to the women back home.

ʼIʼm so fucked…ʼ