Blood Awakening: The Strongest Hybrid and His Vampire Bride

Chapter 734: Silver Veil

The Moment Alucard’s words rang inside his ears, Ivan’s chest tightened, his muscles clenched as a searing fury overflowed from every inch of his body.

Ivan stopped as the heat seeped into his muscles, flesh, and bones, even as Alucard’s foot remained pressed against his throat while the revived ghouls crawled closer. He sank his claws deeper into the ground.

‘You piece of shit…!’

A pale light flickered beneath the fur covering his chest.

Alucard glanced down.

“What is this?”

Ivan’s grin revealed his sharp fangs as he mocked the vampire, the silver light growing stronger and stronger each second.

“You talk too much.”

The silver light spread.

It emerged from Ivan’s chest in thin streams, wrapping around his shoulders and arms until a silver veil covered his fur and muscles.

The air around him tightened, pushing Alucard’s body back and forcing him to step away unsteadily.

Ivan’s hand tore free from the broken concrete and caught his ankle.

The Nosferatu lord twisted, trying to pull back, but Ivan’s grip closed before he could escape.

“Got you.”

Ivan jumped upright and twisted, swinging Alucard into the ground.

Bang!

The stone collapsed beneath the old vampire, but Ivan didn’t release him. His grip remained tight as he swung Alucard into the blood wall, making the barrier fold around his body and shake from the impact.

Alucard pushed free, desperately trying to avoid Ivan’s sudden change.

Yet Ivan was already standing in front of him, with his silver claws primed in the air.

His silver-covered claws slashed down.

Shhhk!

Alucard raised the broken cane, but the hardened wood split beneath the attack. Four silver lines cut across his chest, tearing through flesh and forcing him backwards.

Ivan followed with a punch.

Thud!

The strike hit Alucard’s stomach and lifted him from the ground.

The old vampire crossed both arms before Ivan’s next blow reached his face, yet the impact still launched him across the enclosed battlefield.

Ivan lowered his claws.

The silver veil clung to his body, tightening around his joints and gathering over his claws until each finger resembled a curved silver blade.

Alucard landed on his feet.

Blood ran from the corner of his mouth.

His wounds tried to close, but the silver marks remained across his chest, burning against his regeneration.

“So this is what you were hiding.”

Ivan shrugged his shoulders, rolling them back with a crack as he yanked a broken fang from his mouth.

“I wasn’t hiding it. You just weren’t worth using it on.”

Alucard wiped the blood from his lips and studied it across his fingers, then with a low grunt the revived corpses rushed Ivan from both sides. He turned to face them with a dull expression, before unleashing a silver arc from his claws.

Shhhing!

Every ghoul within reach split apart, their blood cores bursting as the bodies crumbled into ash, and the wall behind them trembled.

Alucard watched the remains scatter across the battlefield, his narrowed eyes following the silver veil surrounding Ivan’s body.

The wounds across his chest continued to burn, preventing his blood from closing them properly. Although the cuts weren’t deep, the silver aura had polluted the surrounding flesh, forcing him to tear the damaged tissue away before regenerating it.

“Tempered aura…” Alucard murmured. “So the Volkov bloodline still possesses a few interesting secrets.”

Ivan dragged his claws together, creating beautiful sparks. The silver veil gathered around each curved blade, sharpening their edges until they could even split the rain apart before touching them.

“You haven’t seen anything yet.”

“Oh, I sincerely hope not.”

Alucard lifted his hand.

The blood scattered across the concrete began to move.

It crawled away from the dead ghouls and broken Nosferatu, forming several thick puddles around the old vampire’s feet. Each pool expanded before rising into the shape of a man, building bones, muscles and clothing from layers of condensed blood.

Ivan’s ears twitched.

One Alucard became two.

Then four.

Eight identical vampires surrounded him, each wearing the same damaged coat and carrying the same broken cane. Their expressions remained calm, and even the sounds of their breathing matched perfectly.

‘Clones?’

Ivan focused his senses.

Every body possessed a heartbeat.

Blood flowed through each set of veins, carrying the same rotten scent and dense pressure. Even their eyes followed him with the same amusement, giving him no clue which one was real.

The eight Alucards stepped forward together.

“Let us see whether those senses of yours are worth anything.”

Ivan lowered his body.

The first clone appeared at his left side.

Its cane struck towards his temple.

Ivan blocked with his forearm, and the silver veil shattered the weapon upon contact.

Crack!

He slashed through its chest.

The clone burst apart into a wave of blood.

A second attacked from behind while two more rushed from the front.

Ivan twisted, cutting the second clone in half before jumping backwards. Two broken canes passed beneath his feet, followed by a blood spear that formed above Alucard’s shoulder.

The spear shot past Ivan’s ribs and sank into the wall.

Another six appeared around the remaining clones.

Ivan landed and crossed his claws.

The spears fired.

Shhhing!

Silver arcs exploded from his claws, smashing through the first four weapons. He shifted his head to avoid the fifth, then caught the final spear between two fingers.

The weapon trembled violently.

Ivan crushed it.

“Is that all?”

One of the clones smiled.

“No.”

The blood spear embedded in the wall behind Ivan collapsed into liquid.

A cold pressure gathered at his back.

Ivan turned as the blood reformed into a curved blade, but Alucard had already stepped from the weapon’s surface. The old vampire swung the shortened cane towards his throat while three clones attacked from different directions.

Ivan blocked Alucard’s strike.

Clack!

The other canes struck his ribs and spine. Although his silver veil absorbed most of the damage, the combined force pushed him forward. Alucard raised his knee and struck Ivan beneath the jaw.

Thud!

Ivan’s head snapped back.

He caught Alucard’s leg before the old vampire could retreat.

“Found you.”

Ivan pulled him closer and drove his silver claws through his stomach with a sickening tear. Blood splashed across Ivan’s face and chest as Alucard’s body split apart.

‘Another clone!’

The real Alucard appeared above him.

His coat spread behind his body as dozens of blood spears formed across the air. Some were thin enough to pierce joints, while others resembled thick lances designed to tear through Ivan’s transformed body.

Alucard lowered one finger.

The weapons rained down.

Ivan roared and swept his claws overhead.

Silver light spread above him, smashing through the first wave. Broken pieces of blood scattered in every direction, but each fragment twisted in the air and formed into smaller blades.

“Persistent bastard!”

Ivan covered his head and charged forward.

The blood weapons struck his shoulders and back, shattering against the silver veil or cutting shallow wounds through his fur. He ignored them, closing the distance as Alucard landed upon the concrete.

Ivan thrust both claws towards his chest.

Alucard stepped between them.

The silver blades passed along either side of his body, tearing through his coat without touching his flesh. He placed one palm against Ivan’s sternum.

A circle of blood spread beneath his hand.

“W-What!?”

Ivan immediately sensed danger and jumped back.

Boom!

A crimson pillar burst from his chest, launching him across the enclosed battlefield.

His body twisted in the air.

Ivan landed on all fours, claws carving trenches into the concrete while the silver veil flickered around his shoulders.

Alucard remained where he stood, with several blood clones formed behind him, each surrounded by floating spears and blades. The weapons moved with the clones, creating a formation around the real vampire without revealing his position.

Ivan slowly stood upright.

He had fought powerful Nosferatu before.

Great Elders possessed monstrous regeneration and enough blood arts to overwhelm ordinary transformed Fenrir. Ascended Elders were stronger, faster and capable of shaping their blood into weapons or strengthening their bodies.

Alucard stood beyond them.

The old vampire didn’t simply control his own blood. He commanded every drop surrounding him, using the battlefield itself to create soldiers, weapons and traps without affecting his movements.

‘No wonder the bastard remained so calm.’

Alucard raised his broken cane.

The clones spread apart.

“Your tempered aura has greatly increased your speed, power and resistance. It even damages my regeneration.” He glanced at the silver wounds across his chest. “However, it consumes your strength with every passing second.”

Ivan bared his fangs.

“Then I’ll tear you apart before it runs out.”

“Stop your daydreaming!”

The nearest clone raised its cane, but Ivan’s claws passed through its neck.

The head flew into the air before the body burst apart. Ivan stepped through the falling blood and tore apart a second clone, then ducked beneath several spears fired from above.

He didn’t stop.

A third clone attacked from the right.

Ivan caught its face and drove it into the ground.

Bang!

Blood spread beneath his palm.

The real Alucard appeared within that same puddle, rising directly beneath Ivan’s arm. His shortened cane stabbed towards Ivan’s heart.

Ivan twisted.

The weapon pierced his shoulder instead.

Alucard tried to pull away, but Ivan locked his arm around the old vampire’s wrist and slammed his forehead into his face, forcing the vampire to stagger backwards the moment Ivan’s silver claws slashed across his stomach.

This time he finally found the true body, his lips curving into a sinister grin.

This time, Alucard didn’t burst apart.

“Found the right one.”

Ivan drove his shoulder into Alucard’s chest and carried him across the battlefield. They struck the blood wall together, causing the entire barrier to bulge towards the other side.

Ivan pinned him against it.

His claws rose.

Alucard’s red eyes narrowed.

The blood wall wrapped around Ivan’s wrist.

He tore free, but the brief restraint gave Alucard enough time to form a spear in his hand.

The weapon thrust towards Ivan’s eye.

Ivan tilted his head.

Its point sliced across his cheek.

Alucard used the spear shaft to redirect Ivan’s arm, ducked beneath his claws and struck him repeatedly across the ribs.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Each blow carried enough force to ripple the silver veil.

Ivan swung his elbow, only for Alucard to step aside as he followed up, tearing the vampire’s shoulder with his silver claws.

Blood sprayed from the wound, and yet the old vampire didn’t retreat. He allowed Ivan’s claws to remain inside his flesh, trapping the arm as three blood clones emerged from the wall behind him.

Their spears stabbed forward ferociously, while Ivan released a burst of silver aura.

Bang!

The clones shattered.

Alucard was forced away, his damaged shoulder tearing free from Ivan’s claws. He slid several metres across the concrete before stopping himself with one hand.

Ivan looked down at the blood coating his fingers.

“You’re running out of clothes, old man.”

Alucard rose and adjusted himself. Most of his coat hung in torn strips, exposing the wounds across his chest, shoulder and stomach. His regeneration closed the deeper cuts, but the silver aura left pale marks across his skin.

His expression remained calm.

However, the amusement in his eyes had disappeared.

“It appears I underestimated the degree to which you refined that aura.”

“And I thought you were supposed to be intelligent.”

Alucard’s blood arts expanded.

The pressure filling the enclosed battlefield doubled.

Every pool of blood rose into the air, circling the old vampire in wide streams. More clones formed along the walls, while hundreds of narrow spears appeared above the battlefield.

Ivan’s silver eyes shifted between them.

‘There are too many.’

He could use his veil to protect his body from fatal damage or destroy the weapons, but if the clones remained, any action would be pointless.

‘This damned vampire…’