Blood Awakening: The Strongest Hybrid and His Vampire Bride

Chapter 402: Into the Tunnels!

Nikolai’s extreme senses jolted his spine as he dove towards the wall, kicking a piece of metal behind him, with a loud bang. The low crackle of gunfire followed. He kicked another piece of metal, and another shot pierced it, but there was no time for him to react as the third bullet smashed through the wall beside his face.

”Fuck it!”

Without a care, he lifted his pistol and shot into the dusty doorway, both women safely behind the wall.

A groan echoed as one of them was hit by a silver bullet, causing them to drop their weapon with a clatter, bullets covered half the room, before a moment of silence followed.

”Where is she...?” Nikolai muttered, looking around the room. Dust blocked his vision, and he noticed the future of Lunaria and another woman with black hair. ’Is that her?’ He couldn’t be sure, but he assumed that she was Marianna.

”We have to move!” Amphitrite’s voice came from the wall, grabbing Nikolai’s attention as he changed his magazine and hopped over the half-wall. ”Luna!”

”Ah, Kai, I’m here!” Luna called out like a puppy, the faint traces of injuries long gone. Her hand trembled, holding onto the wall as she looked around with tears in her eyes.

”I... I thought you’d forgotten...”

”It’s fine... where’s Alexei?”

”Alexei?” The woman with black hair spoke, looking at Nikolai with a curious glance. ”Who is this man?”

Luna looked between them, ”Oh, he is the man who’s helping us escape, my darling! Oh, Kai, this is... oh, wait, I forgot your name, sorry.”

”Marianne, Marianne Balton.”

”Ah, yes! That was it, Marianne!”

”Nice to meet you...” Nikolai’s words seemed cold, but he didn’t want to waste more time. His pistol flashed at the doorway, as the werewolves seemed to have blocked it with their SSS-Grade Riot shields. ”Is there a way out?”

”Ah, there should be a passage to the right,” Sasha said.

”Then we go right...”

***

On the other side of the door, a man stood behind two rows of hunters with shields and loaded weapons, ”Take them down, but keep the male alive at all costs, don’t kill the blonde or pink-haired woman either.” His face was square and rugged with a thick scar.

This man was Olvar Everen, the current heir, and would take over once his father died.

He spent the past fifty years increasing their dark businesses, from the blood trade to working as a dog for the Nosferatu family.

Now that he had an S-grade target in his sights, he didn’t plan to let him go without a fight. It was difficult enough to get away from this place because of their low bloodline and how other nobles viewed them.

’To think the heir of Volkov would invade our little territory like a fool.’

”This is a blessing! Tonight we dine well, boys!”

Although vampires and werewolves usually fought like cats and dogs, thanks to the thousands of years in this family, the bond between them was something abnormal. The blood was like that of brothers, connected by fate, and the werewolves of House Everen were unique.

They were from House Zeronos, which was created by mixing the two different species until it became an entirely new race.

A sort of werewolf that didn’t quite have the powerful transformation of the Royal households, but they retained a portion of their strength, senses and abilities in a human form.

’Well, all the hybrid attempts had to succeed sometime...’

”Aim!”

The sound of dozens of men aiming their guns made his skin tingle excitedly.

Olvar could feel the blood boiling, the adrenaline rushing through his body, his senses enhancing as the battle approached.

”It’s time to hunt! Let’s go.”

”Ooooraaah!”

As he gave the command, they began to charge, a barrage of bullets flying through the doorway.

He followed the men, wearing a shield on his back and holding a pistol and knife in his hands.

”The cowards have fled, tsk.” Olvar crouched beside a small bubble of black blood, his nose sniffed the air, before he suddenly licked it, veins bursting inside his eyes as they turned bloodshot. ”JACKPOT!” he cried in excitement.

The blood tasted like the best wine and food in the world, making his muscles swell up, his senses increase, and he knew what kind of bloodline this belonged to.

’So this is why they want him... he’s nothing like the cheap knock-off!’

”Hurry! Spread out and bring them to me, use the sedative rounds!”

***

Gunfire echoed behind them as Lunaria and Amphitrite blocked off the doors and passages whenever something appeared along the way.

Nikolai carried the weakened Sasha in his arms while jogging in her direction.

The strange maze was a little eerie as some passages twisted or reversed their shape and patterns as if to trick the mind.

”Is that the right path?” Luna asked, her gun aimed at the door.

Nikolai was in deep thought, wondering about this new predicament.

He understood that escape was essential, but the truth was that he didn’t know how this would end: ’Will I have to face Alaric... is my grandfather not here... have I been foolishly betrayed again?’ The thoughts about protecting his women and keeping himself alive took the back seat because of this.

”Right!” Sasha’s voice became less hoarse, and the longer she sat on Nikolai’s arm, the more perky and animated she became.

’Is she sucking my lifeforce away or something?’

”Luna, Amphitrite, how are you?” He called back, leaping over an overturned shelf, almost falling as his knee smashed into the metal flooring with a thunderous bang. ”Tsk..!”

”Kai!”

”I am fine. How much further?” Nikolai ignored her and looked at Sasha. ”Don’t tell me you’re taking a free ride with nothing to show.”

”Two more rooms~ that’s when we’ll reach the end of these tunnels!”

Marianne wasn’t loud, but extremely fit, able to keep pace with Luna and Nikolai without showing any fatigue despite being captured for a long time.

’Strange...’

Alexei told him she’d been here for a long time, and now he couldn’t help but think about why they kept her captive. ’It can’t just be because of her blood, can it?’

”...Sasha.” He spoke quietly, his chest heaving with each long, measured stride.

”W-What?”

”Be quiet... tell me, have you operated on that woman behind us?”

”Hmm?” Sasha’s eyes looked down at Marianne with cold indifference.

However, he could feel the tremble in her spine, the sudden swallow of saliva before she turned to him, and averted her eyes with a nod.

”Often...” Sasha’s voice trembled, ”She is our perfect subject for a Hybrid, so we took out most of her organs and replaced them with artificial ones. The process was excruciating, but thanks to her vampire tear, she could recover from most life-threatening operations... and those artificial organs became real after she took medicine and blood from me and the other test subject.”

The woman’s expression turned into an ugly, twisted grimace, her face showing a sense of regret and sadness.

”I see... will she have any issues in the future?”

Nikolai didn’t know the truth; he wasn’t a scientist but wanted the best possible outcome for Alexei. How could he explain to his friend if he did not learn the truth?

”...I cannot guarantee anything...

The words felt like lead in Nikolai’s stomach.

He looked back as they took the final turn and found that the atmosphere and surroundings had changed completely.

The door in front of them was black metal, with the word emergency written in white lettering on its surface. It also had a strange wheel, a lock requiring a specific turn to unlock.

”Great...”

Nikolai thought that everything was pointless, but he remembered Sasha. ’Now what can we do?’

Lunaria and Amphitrite soon turned the corner, panting as the sound of gunfire faded, but the loud thump of their footsteps continued to grow closer. Marianne walked closer to Nikolai, observed him closely, and asked. ”What’s wrong? Is the door locked?”

”Can you open this?” Nikolai asked the woman who climbed onto his arm, staggering slightly with each step.

”Yes...” The woman didn’t seem to be lying as she pressed her hand against a flat part of the wall.

”This door is simple, but I can hear something on the other side.” Sasha closed her eyes while biting her lower lip. ”Gunshots and fighting...”

Nikola closed his eyes, trusting the woman as he leaned against the door and listened.

”Hurry!”

The deep, familiar voice that he couldn’t mistake. It was Alexei... ”Open it, we need to go inside.” Lunaria and Amphitrite caught up to them, and he motioned for them to remain silent. He didn’t know if it was a trap, so he had to be wary.

However, Alexei could be trusted; that man fought and almost died for him several times.

”Sasha, can you open it?” Nikolai snapped.

”A-Ah!” The woman jumped and quickly turned the wheel, her face pale as she mumbled complaints, but the slow clicks and green lights forming around the door were enough to trust her.

”We rush inside and help Alexei!”

”Alexei!” Marianne’s eyes brightened, and her atmosphere changed, as if a fire had ignited within her soul. ”Yes!” She stood by the door, ready to go as soon as it opened.

”We’re almost there.”

With a low rumble and hydraulic hiss, the handle locked into place, and the door started to open.