Blood Awakening: The Strongest Hybrid and His Vampire Bride

Chapter 530: Council of Six – The Imposter’s Attack!

“So, you’re saying you wish to form an elite group that directly follows you. Separate from the council, you’ll have logistics, economics and clan politics dealt with by the current twelve clans and this council of six will be your direct subordinates?”

Ivan’s eyes scanned his son. He felt how much he had changed over the past six months, more now than ever before.

“Yes father, I will create a council who are highly trained, loyal and able to aid us in the fight against our enemies.”

“Do you have candidates in mind?”

Nikolai’s lips curled into a smile as he nodded before pointing to several names. “I want to invite non-werewolves. Can you accept this?” Although the alliance didn’t specify just werewolves, his son’s words caused Ivan to freeze on the spot.

“You…!”

‘This is the first time I’ve managed to stun my dad.’

At first, he expected his father to become enraged, but Ivan swallowed his words and breathed deeper, his sharp silver eyes focused on his son.

“Do you trust them enough to put your life in their hands?”

The question he asked didn’t deny Nikolai’s goals. Instead, he realised his father was offering a chance and trying to meet him halfway. He asked, knowing that there were countless liars and thieves in this world.

“I do.”

‘Though I still don’t know about Vernan.’

“Haa… then tell me son, who do you want to appoint as your elite followers?”

Ivan observed Nikolai while appearing to hold himself back to remain neutral.

There was a moment of silence.

In the background, Elizabeth watched the two men with a smile on her lips while brewing some tea. To her, Nikolai’s growth and choices were more important than anything else because their goal was to guide, not control, him.

Nikolai stepped back and sat on the seat opposite his father. He closed his eyes and felt his heart racing with excitement. When his father treated him as an adult and equal, it brought unprecedented joy to his heart.

“Mikael Zorya.”

“Irina Zharkov.”

“Seraphina Volkova.”

“Lyra Orlov.”

“Alexei Baldon.”

“Ryan Seong.”

With each name, Ivan’s eyes fluctuated slightly, his lips remained stiff despite a few twitches, until it reached the last two names. “Alexei and Ryan…” Ivan closed his eyes for a moment, tapping the desk as time passed.

He didn’t speak.

Nor did he complain.

‘I’ve never seen Dad like this before!’

“I don’t wish to judge your choices, son.” Ivan finally spoke after several minutes had passed, the candle flickering at the centre of his desk. “But hasn’t Ryan betrayed you before?”

A fact that Nikolai couldn’t deny.

“Yes, he has betrayed me. But father. If I had been a better friend and known to look and care more for the people around me beyond a surface level. Then it wouldn’t have happened.”

Nikolai didn’t feel that all of Ryan’s actions were malicious after learning more about his family and situation, along with Clara’s stories. ‘He was just trying to protect her…’ That’s why Nikolai tried to look at all his relationships after Londis. To find the places he could have done more, tried harder.

“Can you trust him with your life, with the lives of your children and wives?”

Ivan wasn’t Nikolai’s friend right now. He was a voice of reason. It went to show that if someone could betray you once, then a second time wasn’t impossible. But to his father’s surprise, Nikolai didn’t avoid his gaze or show any sense of doubt.

“I believe in Ryan, the Ryan of now.”

“I see, then… I will support you in that choice. As for Alexei, he is an obedient child. I wish to train him further.”

“Do you like him that much?”

Nikolai’s eyes twitched.

Though he enjoyed his father getting along with Alexei, it also made him feel lonely because Ivan didn’t train with him.

“I like him because he is loyal to my son.” Ivan’s lips finally curled into a grin. “Nikolai, were you upset because I mentioned training him?” The lighter tone caught Nikolai off guard; his father always used to tease him in their small, trashy apartment.

However, since they left and stopped spending time together, those moments slowly vanished and became a source of Nikolai’s melancholy.

“Eh?”

“Son, if you wanted to train with me.” His father reached out and ruffled Nikolai’s hair. “Then you only need to task me, and I would have rushed to your side.”

“D-Dad!”

Nikolai turned away, but only found his mother holding an old-fashioned camera that shone with a flash. Her eyes were almost oozing with affection as she cooed and whispered their names and how ‘cute’ they were.

“Hmph!” Ivan pulled back and chuckled to himself. “You’ve still got a ways to grow, son.”

“…”

He didn’t want to admit his father’s words, but it was a fact. Nikolai still needed his father’s guidance and the guidance of countless other people, but he took the first step. The moment he requested help was the start.

“I will meet with the council as your proxy. Nikolai.” Ivan took the documents while scanning the notes and writing, and Nikolai left after choosing how he would proceed. “Although it might be difficult to convince them completely. You should focus on the recruits and convince them to join your cause.”

“Yes, Father.”

That’s when Nikolai stopped. The topic he wanted to deal with ended, but there was another major issue that tugged at his mind. He took a deep breath, holding it for several seconds before exhaling.

“Father, about Grandfather… do you believe he is… real?”

“What do you mean?”

“Nikolai?”

Even his mother came closer, putting the fruit-scented teas on the desk, the warm, calming aroma bringing a sense of clarity to Nikolai’s mind as he adjusted his posture. He could see the strange expressions on his father and mother; both of them looked bewildered.

“From the moment I rescued grandfather… There was a strange scent of death.”

“Nikolai, he’d suffered torment and torture at the hands of those Nosferatu bastards.”

Elizabeth didn’t speak and just watched Nikolai quietly, as if curious about what he might say next.

“No Father, that might be the case if it vanished upon returning.” Nikolai struggled to get out his words, because if his thoughts were right, then it might mean that his grandfather was still suffering somewhere in the world. “But when I met him yesterday, the scent increased at least tenfold.”

“W-What!?” Ivan’s face became harsh, his eyes sharpened, his lip pressed tight, and his nostrils flared while watching Nikolai. His silver aura flickered from around his body, but the eyes of his son remained clear and honest. “Nikolai! By chance, can you smell the odor of the Nosferatu’s special blood art?”

The shock on his father’s face was quite a picture.

And yet Nikolai didn’t feel good or proud, because he should have spoken sooner; he’d left it assuming that everything would be fine. However, if his first hunch was correct, then it meant Nikolai’s self-doubt might have caused a terrible series of events.

“You can’t smell them?” He asked curiously. The mysterious scent was something he could smell from the moment he first met them. Nikolai closed his eyes, thinking back to fighting the strange corpses in the club with Ryan and then meeting them when with Selene before his duel with Alistair Faust.

Ivan and Elizabeth’s faces changed, their eyes widened. They quickly stood and rushed to the door. “Nikolai, if you can smell them… then we must check right now!” Elizabeth’s body glowed dull purple as she snapped her fingers. Her body teleported several steps at a time until vanishing in the doorway.

Ivan dashed behind her while looking back at Nikolai. “Come, we must check. If you can sense them, then it’s something only you can do, son!”

‘Damn… I was too naive again.’

Nikolai didn’t think it was something that serious.

His first conclusion was that it meant something like death… the suspicion about him being fake was just a small pipedream of his.

Boom!

He darted through the corridor, running to the laboratory where his grandfather was healing, a place not that far from Nikita and his children.

***

The maids and combat units of the Volkov family immediately reacted, rushing to the hospital ward, while Nikolai slipped out of the window, diving towards the next building. His movements resembled those of parkour, but with a werewolf’s agility and strength, he soon reached the medical wards’ special doors beside his father.

Nikolai and his father rushed to the ward where Nikita and his children slept without wasting a second.

“Where are all the nurses?” Ivan grumbled with a low growl.

“Why is it so dark? What’s going on!?” Nikolai couldn’t help but feel the same tense emotions because the lingering scent of his children and Nikita was all that remained.

Ba-Dump!

Ba-Dump!

Ba-Dump!

Nikolai’s three hearts raced, fast enough to cause a dull ache each time they pounded against his ribs. “Where….”

He closed his eyes and with a deep breath. Focused. ‘Find them, where are my children!’ His aura, black and heavy, spread like the shadow of death. Covering the entire ward, seeping into the gaps and devouring the moonlight.

“Nikolai?” Ivan’s eyes widened at the sight of his son, his entire figure enshrouded in pure darkness, like he had doused himself in ink.

‘Where are you!’

‘Nikita, speak to me… give me a sign!’

Boooom!

The entire building shook, and Nikolai’s black aura instantly traced the location and rushed to the area.

“DAD, THE ROOFTOP! HURRY!”