Blood Awakening: The Strongest Hybrid and His Vampire Bride

Chapter 588: Grandfather You weren’t dead!?

Not long after the massive gate practically spat out Nikolai, it crumbled once again. But this time, all the gates vanished along with the remaining demons. Not even a corpse was left for the SSS or Alliance to take back to examine.

Vladimir took control after helping Nikolai’s intense heat calm down; his face flushed, and the burns on his arms remained.

‘It seems these will last at least a dozen years.’

He smiled bitterly while watching the car take Nikolai back to the Volkov estate. Although he wanted to join his son-in-law and meet his daughter, it would be impossible right now because of how much he needed to deal with.

“We will head back to our Mistress now.”

The leader of the SSS looked more seasoned after the long battle, his right eye sealed shut with a wound across his cheek. Vladimir didn’t interact with them much, but they’d helped his son-in-law endure.

“Very well, I will contact Nikolai and let him know.”

The blood knights stood behind Vladimir, as if warning the SSS to step back, even though they joined forces temporarily, both knew that if something happened. The two sides would rip and tear each other apart without remorse.

“Hmph.”

However, Captain Levin knew that his commander and their current patron, Madoka, would never allow them to clash with Nikolai or his loved ones. This was just his theory, but after learning some hidden truths. He could only shake his head.

“Well, I hope our cooperation leads to prosperity.”

He looked back at his unit, which lacked a few members after the battle, and sighed.

“Anti-Monster Unit! Disperse!”

Vladimir’s eyes narrowed, watching the human; his values differed from Nikolai’s, so when he saw the young one trying to bind all the races together, it was difficult to hold back his ancient prejudice towards humans and others.

‘That kid, I hope his hard work pays off.’

The achievements couldn’t be scoffed at, especially by the King of vampires, who once held the same belief; his closest friends were both werewolves, and he also saw the potential in humans during his youthful days.

Alas, spending so long trapped in darkness after he almost lost Lunaria and Selene truly affected his mind, leaving him in the most foul mindset.

“Pierre.”

He called his knight, glancing at the strange expression on his face. ‘It’s been fifty years, and yet you’ve never shown that look before.’ A smile crept across Vladimir’s face as he watched his knight helping the wounded Cleopatra onto a medical trolley.

They trained the blood knights in the most brutal and horrible conditions. Their first decade as squires wasn’t the same as that of other masters. Vladimir ordered all Tepes lords to send their squires to him, and after ten years of fighting in the most horrible wastelands and battlefronts, he sent them to multiple worlds.

Not the safe type of worlds in the nexus, but one’s closer to Hell, where the corruption of the tower had destroyed most of the world.

Sebastian, who was a squire of the Tepes clan, failed this training; he was the squire of Vladimir’s sleeping father.

Out of honour, Vladimir granted him the title of Tepe’s Squire, but usually, when their master enters a long sleep, the squire would be free from duty and leave the clan, or be allowed to marry into a lesser branch of the Tepes clan.

But Sebastian rejected this.

This was the reason why he still lingered near Vladimir as a squire.

“M-Master, forgive me!” Pierre stuttered as she stepped into formation, his eyes still lingering on the vanishing body of Cleopatra.

Vladimir closed his eyes, a little confused as he didn’t feel any discomfort about the two. In fact, his eyes opened, and he watched his trusted knight with a faint smile.

“Do you want me to send Volkov a marriage offer?”

His words caused a stir in the vampires around him, not just the blood knights but even the lesser helpers and clan members who appeared shortly after the danger ended.

Ignoring their gazes, Vlad looked directly into Pierre’s dull red eyes. He continued to smile and asked again. “Well, should I?”

Pierre immediately knelt and planted his sword before his face, his posture stiff and eyes focused forward at Vladimir. “My lord, if you would grant me such an honour, I will ask no more of you for the rest of my life!”

Vampire Knights were pseudo-nobility in the Tepes clan; each clan and race handled this system differently. But a knight’s value was worlds apart from a squire. Without wasting time, Vladimir extended his index finger and, using his sharp nail, he sliced across the tip.

Each knight and person watching gasped.

Vladimir’s low voice suddenly echoed throughout the area, but for Pierre, he only felt a heavy weight as if two hands pushed his shoulders down.

“Do you wish to remain beside me as a knight? Or would you rather marry into the Volkov clan and be with the woman you’ve set your eyes on?”

He didn’t wish to stop his brother from enjoying life.

Pierre was a human who once fought Vladimir, and despite being outmatched, he never gave up. In his earlier years as a squire, no matter who challenged or how beat up he was. He protected and supported Vladimir.

“My Lord?” Pierre’s voice cracked, his eyes a little wet.

“You have been with me from the start, supported me and guided me when in the darkness. Now, brother, it is the first time since we met all those years ago that I’ve seen that look in your eyes. Tell me. Is serving the house of my son-in-law any less prestigious?”

Vladimir’s sentiment was too straightforward.

Pierre, who knew his lord was shocked, was shocked that this master of his would truly offer him such freedom. This kind of freedom meant the knight would keep his powers, keep his bloodline and become a member of the Tepes family through blood.

“Don’t fret so much, Pierre.”

He let blood drip from his fingertips; if Pierre drank this blood, he would become a member of the Tepes clan officially.

The only reason he hesitated was due to confusion and worry.

‘Boss, you won’t be dying on me, right?’

Pierre’s old-fashioned heart raced, worried that his best friend, master and brother might have something wrong with his health.

“Fool.” Vladimir’s smile widened. “To think you wouldn’t jump at this gift… after all, my eyes back then weren’t wrong.”

The two men exchanged a look, their eyes sharp and yet neither of them seemed offended or upset. Time passed as people became nervous. Then, finally, Vladimir whispered something in Pierre’s ear.

“Ah!?”

Pierre’s voice echoed as his eyes sparkled. He immediately knelt forward and took Vladimir’s hand. “Please, bestow your grace upon me, brother.”

Finally, Vladimir nodded. “From this moment on, Knight Pierre will be relieved of his duties and be granted the title Baron. Welcome to the Tepes family, brother.”

“Brother!”

The taste of Vladimir’s blood was a little bitter with a tinge of sourness.

Pierre swallowed a large portion of the offered blood, feeling a sudden burst of heat spreading through his body. What he felt first was the sensation of being compelled to follow Vladimir, which faded, and yet his trust and loyalty remained the same.

His bones cracked, slowly reforming along with the muscles and organs inside him. He let out a low grunt as his wrinkles faded, revealing a handsome, smooth face.

Although his strength increased, it wasn’t to an explosive amount, but just enough to put him at the Great Elder stage.

“Phew.”

The entire transformation took less than ten minutes, but for Pierre it felt like hours.

“M-Master…”

“You don’t need to call me that anymore, brother is enough.” Vlad tapped Pierre’s shoulders, now taller with a broader shape.

“Yes, Brother Vladimir.”

“Hmph, don’t say I never gave you anything. Hurry, why not head to the Volkov estate? Your mission is important.”

“Understood!”

Pierre quickly stood up and rushed to his modified car, sliding into the driver’s seat. He looked back at Vladimir with a nod, then pressed the accelerator.

Vrooom!

After the car sped into the distance, Vladimir’s calm and relaxed face became cold once again. He’d arranged a proper guardian to keep his daughters and grandchildren safe. The mission he gave to Pierre was simple but meaningful.

“Please protect my future grandchild and daughters.”

Looking back at the devastated southern district, Vladimir tapped his chin before turning to the members of the Volkov and Fenrir clans, who were surveying and making plans on what to do with the suddenly empty territory.

‘These sneaky wolves, they don’t give you a moment to recover!’

With a bitter smile, he stepped forward, about to fight for his cut of the pie.

.

.

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Meanwhile, back at the Volkov estate, a weak old man lay on an operating table, surrounded by a blonde mermaid, a vampire and the silver-haired Anastasia.

“Dad, you look horrible!” Anastasia complained while filling an IV drip with a mixture of Nikolai and Marianne’s blood.

“His organs are still in a dangerous state. Please administer more of the NM-compound blood mixture!”

Sasha didn’t take the life of a Volkov lightly. After Nikolai saved her, she became close to his mother, Anastasia, and the other maids who would give her snacks and help with her research. Even the pink tendrils of Princess Zara helped with various tools that kept Viktor from regenerating.

“Father-in-law…”

Once she learned of Viktor’s arrival, Elizabeth remained at home, letting Ivan head to the south to deal with the aftermath. She held a little damp cloth, gently wiping the old werewolf’s forehead.

Despite the scars, wounds, sores and pus coming from his damaged eye, she never once complained or winced.

‘If not for that girl, would we have lost him forever?’

The girl in question was Nikolai’s Squire, Sarah, a hybrid who lacked combat abilities. She remained with Viktor, applying pressure and tending to his festering wounds until the maid units and others came to collect him.

This action gained her a lot of respect and prestige with the clan.

At first, she was torn between leaving and remaining, but after seeing Nikolai fight on the digital screen while sitting beside Leona, she couldn’t help but swallow her saliva.

All she could think was that he looked more handsome than the superheroes and idols she chased in her teens.

‘I never thought his world was so dangerous…’

Thus, a question lingered in her mind:

Just how much had Nikolai protected her from?