Blood Awakening: The Strongest Hybrid and His Vampire Bride

Chapter 652: Rain of Fire

After reviewing the plan, Nikolai observed the girls, who immediately understood how dangerous the situation had become. Their faces became gloomy, looking at him as if seeking salvation or a magical solution.

”Can we escape?”

”What, are you scared, Brunhilde?”

”A-Ah... Master?!” Her reactions when he spoke to her directly outside of combat brought a smile to his lips. ”Is there something wrong?”

”Nothing, just seeing you in combat and how you are now is a little different.”

Not that he couldn’t understand. He also changed significantly in combat or moments of intense pressure.

Yun’fa held a small book with tattered pages, something she whipped out several times in the back of the transport earlier.

”Don’t worry, if we follow the map, there should be an underground passage leading to the central district.” She skimmed the pages before glancing at Nikolai with expectant eyes.

”I’ve found a passage in the old blueprints.”

”Oh?”

He leaned closer, the scent of lavender and saffron filled his nose as he examined the weathered map, which matched the military district. ”This is quite old and worn. How accurate will it be?”

Yun’fa curled her lips before turning away in a huff, ”Tsk! If you don’t trust me, then we will just wait here for their encirclement to strangle us!”

”...don’t be like that.” He couldn’t help but soften, knowing she and Zara would likely become close friends in the future as Verda planned to pass on her guardianship to this talented but harsh girl.

”Let’s head to that hatch listed on the map. I’ll have my clones launch an attack the moment we enter the tunnels to keep them at bay.”

Nikolai closed his eyes, and a sudden surge of nausea overwhelmed him, his body stumbling before pressing his palms against something soft, swollen and warm.

”M-Master?!” Brunhilde’s twisted voice leaked from beside him, but Nikolai’s brain already synchronised with the two clones.

Through his right eye, the sight of his werewolf clone, which overlooked the snipers, while his left eye saw the blood-red sight close to infrared of his vampire clone, which knelt beside the door, laying a trap.

’Ugh, this is so damn strange.’

In his mind, moving them was clear, but actually making the movements felt like dragging his limbs through a murky swamp.

He set the werewolf close to the huge floor-to-ceiling windows, while the vampire would shoot from his left, out of the sniper’s initial view.

”Nn~”

’Hm?’

A soft moan leaked from beside his face, the warmth brushing his cheek as the scent of cinnamon and coffee drifted into his nose.

’That’s strange, there’s nothing here...’

Nikolai glanced around with both his clones, confused at the situation, before his mind caught up and realised this was from his real body, not from the clones.

’Ah.’

The only reason he noticed so fast was that both his clones lacked the sense of taste or smell, and even their touch lacked the same detail as his true body. ’It’s like grabbing something through cotton gloves.’

With a sudden jerk, his head shook, interrupting the connection.

”Hmmm?”

Brunhilde’s golden ears perked up, fluttering in the air as she glared at him with big, watery eyes and a bright red face.

”M-Master, can you let go now?” Her soft voice lacked the fierce and roughness she normally spoke with, causing him to hesitate.

”Are you really Brunhilde?”

”...of course.” She turned away quickly, avoiding his explorative stare.

”My bad, I was connected to my clones upstairs and didn’t realise...” His fingers squeezed once more, the softness quite surprising for the small size. ”Ahem!” He cleared his throat and stepped aside, approaching Yun’fa.

The half-djinn immediately used her spare arms to cover her breasts, and her sharp eyes watched him like a wary kitten.

”Alright enough, I’m not some helpless beast. It was an honest mistake.”

However, Yun’fa remained a metre’s distance away, no matter how much he tried to explain, her eyes lowered before she quickly stomped on the dusty floor.

Clang!

”What’re you doing?”

Clang!

She continued stomping the ground until the metal hatch started bending inward. ”Hurry, we don’t have time.” Her breathing became hurried as she pointed at the floor, frowning at Nikolai. ”You do it!”

”Sure.”

Nikolai lifted his foot while clenching his abdomen, flooding the muscles in his thigh with his obsidian tide.

Then smashed down.

Bang!

With a loud noise, the air from inside burst from the inside as if opening a pressurised container using a knife.

WOOOSH!

The metal sheet shot up with a violent howl of wind.

A dense, murky stench with a hint of sourness and musk spread from the opening. Nikolai swiftly covered his mouth and nose, the pungent air irritating his skin and eyes. ”Wear your masks, this place is foul!” He grumbled, affixing the oxygen mask with small filters built in.

Thankfully, Brunhilde soon recovered from him grabbing her chest, and the maids behind her all adjusted their gear.

”Master, is this passage safe?” She asked, watching Nikolai pour water, then eyedrops into his swollen, red eyes.

”The passage shouldn’t have been used recently; the air is putrid and filled with a sour, mouldy stench. We can likely use this to escape, just as Yun’fa said, but is there a way to reseal it behind us...”

He glanced around searching for a large enough object to cover the hole, and that’s when he noticed the bookshelves and massive chest of drawers filled with discarded metal and spare car parts. ”I’ll use my clone to block the entrance once we escape. Let me drop in first, you girls follow me.”

Without waiting for them to respond, he flicked his high-powered flashlight and dropped into the hole, his hand reaching for the rusted ladder.

Deng!

His fall stopped, but the bar squeaked as it bent due to his weight.

When he looked up, he saw three heads peeking down at him, their eyes all filled with slight hesitation and disgust.

”M-Master, is it safe?”

”Oi, did you die?”

The loud noise obviously gained their attention, but he remained silent.

He could see them through the murky dust and debris, while their eyes seemed less used to these situations.

”Yeah, I just slipped. Give me a moment, and I’ll reach the bottom.”

He held both sides of the ladder and prepared to drop, using his feet to control his speed, sliding down to the bottom with a rapid descent.

Wooooosh!

Ten seconds later, he landed at the bottom, with a murky squish, the ground sticky and wet despite the dry air.

”Okay, if you want to use the ladders, you can, drop, and I’ll catch you.” He shouted up to them while holding one of his eyes closed. Nikolai guided the vampire clone down the stairs to the room they used.

Then watched with a smile as the women discussed amongst themselves, who would go first.

Yun’fa shook her head at the maid’s lack of tension and hurriedly dropped into the hole without grabbing the ladder or calling out.

Luckily, he saw her through the vampire clone’s eyes and spread his arms.

She dropped in silence without checking her direction. Yun’fa dropped for several seconds before a firm softness slammed against his chest, butt first. The intense force almost knocked him off his feet, yet her ass felt divine.

”W-What?!” She flailed, suddenly kicking and punching the air as he held her by the waist, her buttocks against his chest, shocked by the man suddenly holding her from behind. ”Let go! Let go of me!”

”Calm down, it’s me, it’s ok!”

He placed her down, letting her adjust as she panted, her breathing extremely heavy despite only falling.

’I didn’t expect her to be so scared...’

”Alright, girls, you can come now!”

One by one, he caught the maids who dropped and helped the maids who took the ladder instead. The last one to fall was Brunhilde; she dropped into the hole, but her body leaned back, almost dropping onto her spine.

”Ahhhh! I’m gonna die!” She screamed.

Thud!

Nikolai squatted as he caught her body in both arms at the last moment, her erratic movements mid-air knocking her off course. ”Phew.” Her body shook in his arms, as the light leaking from above gradually faded with the scraping of metal on the floor.

”Haa....Ha....Haa....damn, I almost pissed myself.” Brunhilde clung to Nikolai’s arms while wheezing, her pretty face hidden in the darkness.

He didn’t put her down straight away, waiting for her to calm down as he guided the vampire clone to make the room look as natural as possible, covering the floor with the massive chest full of spare metal parts and bookshelves around it naturally.

”This should buy us a few minutes...”

Yun’fa and the others adjusted to the darkness, before flicking their lights on, the air so thick and polluted with dust and other mess they could see two metres ahead at most. Even the night vision of Nikolai and the maids didn’t help much.

”We should head out now.”

He placed Brunhilde down, gently patting her behind as she groaned. ”Come on, you’re ok.”

Once they entered the tunnel, Yun’fa took the lead, holding the map. She guided them away from the entrance step by step.

BOOOM!

Almost five minutes after leaving, the entire ground shook, and dust and debris fell over them from the quaking earth.

”Did they bomb us?!”

”Ah... that felt like a mortar or something more powerful.” Nikolai glanced up with a frown. The vampire’s right arm lay on the floor, and half the building collapsed.

Nikolai’s heart began racing upon seeing the hellscape that appeared in a matter of seconds through his clones’ shared vision.

The barret?

That was just a prop compared to what they used.

Flames burned half the entire military district, all just to kill him and his maids.

Under that rain of fire, his werewolf and vampire clone shot into the smoke, without care for their lives.

It was a kind of battle Nikolai had never experienced before.