Blood Awakening: The Strongest Hybrid and His Vampire Bride

Nikolai sat on the edge of Selene's bed after Vladimir left, his body still sore from the injuries that reminded him of his lack of power. Although he wanted to be stronger, he believed that rushing wouldn't be beneficial to him. 'That's right, slowly, my strength increases whenever I am with those girls, but if I rush, those dark feelings become too strong.'

The feelings he meant were the instincts and feelings that were restricted after the ceremony when he was a child. Nikolai wanted to be strong but didn't like the idea of those dark feelings controlling and affecting his judgment anymore.

Brrrr!

"Hmm, my phone?" Nikolai took out the smartphone that he had in the pocket of the pants he was wearing under his robe.

The phone vibrated twice in his hand before he could look at it, and a new notification popped up on his screen. He unlocked the screen and saw a notification, one from a strange network broadcast and the other from Ryan Seong, his friend.

'Let's see the broadcast first.'

[SSS-Mercenary Network]

A mission has been allocated to you!

Mercenary Codenamed - Lycan (White Wolf)

Contact your mission operative, Ryan Seong, for more details.

Reward: $30,000

"Oh?"

Nikolai wondered why he needed to register for certain apps when he accepted Ryan's invitation, but his friend took care of most of the annoying things for him. He looked at the clock and noticed it was just past nine in the evening.

[You should be careful tonight, though I think it will be fine with your current strength. Only noble, true and royal monsters would be out of your ability right now.]

'Hmmm... what would you estimate my current strength at?'

[A squall who has served their master for five years, or a thrall that has ten years' experience.]

"I see..." Nikolai's voice became quest as his hands clenched, making the Celestial Aura and Vermillion Essence in his veins dance through his body while forming small balls in either hand.

This was the new way he used to learn how to judge people by their aura and the energy that was visible using his enhanced vision, which Nikolai gave the name Obsidian Eye.

'Would you say my current physical average is 170 and my mental force is roughly 135?'

[Oh my? You stopped using my helpful system to develop your own... I feel a little jealous.]

Nikolai felt his mother was only half serious, but now he began to make all his powers his own, so he avoided using his mother's helpful display but still tried to convert the strength of each aura into a numerical value so he could make sure not walk to into a deathtrap.

'That vampire, Maximilian Faust, had at least 400 mental force... but his physical was barely over 200.'

[I am really impressed that you could detect that. Is that why you kept counting during your fight?]

His mother's voice became filled with delight and a strange tone, but it made Nikolai feel a little embarrassed because thanks to her help at the start, he had something to base his development on. Without that, would he already be dead after challenging someone far beyond him like a fool?

"Well, let's check the message from Ryan."

[From Ryan (Best friend/Co-worker)]

Hey, did you get the bulletin from the SSS HQ? Tonight, my team will be hunting a group of Wraiths that have already tasted human blood.

Meet me at xxx- north-west district at midnight!

Don't worry if you don't feel like it yet. I've spoken to my commander, and you can join when you feel ready.

"It's the same old Ryan..."

[Are you going to join them? Or head to the Nexus and complete what Vladimir asked?]

Nikolai looked out the window. He could still hear Selene's voice speaking to her two mothers. 'She sounds so lovely when speaking to them...' He thought while stepping close to the window and replying to Ryan.

"Let's head out. I will leave a note for her."

***

Meanwhile, in the other room, Selene's face was still red after being teased for a while by her mothers, Claudia and Selina. The two older women would be staying over and seemed to be overly excited by the current situation.

Especially Claudia, who also called Anya over—they both had obviously been dearly worried about Selene and how she closed herself off until recently.

"Ah~ my Selene is going to be taken away by Ivan's boy—Mother feels happy but also sad~ come here, my cute Selene."

"Mama... stop... so embarrassing."

Selene blushed and looked down at the table while Anya's mother, Claudia, who was now sitting opposite her, spoke with a rather spicey tone and grin on her lips while sipping on a high-grade blood wine.

"Mother..."

"Hoho~ did you see his chest muscles, my little Selene? That boy is a treasure, so don't lose him! Not all men can have a body like that, even if they go to the gym all week!"

"Ehh?!"

Anya was also a little red but still tried to chime in. "Yes, he has a pretty good body. I was so lucky to see him naked. I wonder what it is like to kiss him?"

"Sister?! You can't!" Selene's atmosphere while with these women became softer and more affectionate as she turned bright red listening to them all joking with her.

However, suddenly, she looked at the other room and let out a soft sigh. "Ah... he's gone..."

The two women and Anya were confused, but when they noticed the affectionate gaze of their drunk daughter and sister, it caused the three women to smirk.

"Oh~ my lovely Selene actually likes the boy. She even noticed when his presence vanished before me~ Kya, so cute!"

"Ivan's boy is so lucky... Ah, that bastard and Elizabeth were so sneaky and never told us about their plan, it makes me feel lonely.

I wish she were still with us." Claudia was one of the few women who became friends with Elizabeth, who was a bit of a recluse despite her popularity—of course, Selina was her best friend, but Claudia was brought up in a strict house and admired the princess of Báthory thus, it was hard for her to become friends.

"To think, if it wasn't for your fluffy mother and her ditsy aura, would we have become friends?" Claudia's cheeks were slightly red, and she seemed to be slightly drunk from their celebrations.

"Mmm~ well, after Ivan's sister vanished, he became so cold and fierce... Thanks to her, he managed to calm down; that's why I thought she might be easy to get along with! Hehe." Selina's words caused Claudia to hiccup before she leaned against her dearest friend and fellow wife.

"Mmm, I am glad you did. Otherwise, we might have kept fighting each other and never managed to marry Vladimir together."

Anya shuffled next to Selene and whispered, "sister, don't you think our moms are strange... Normal women would hate their husband's other wife!"

However, Selene didn't agree with this. "Hmm... not really... they are like two sides of the coin, one light and the other dark... I think it is because father is such an idiot that they have to stay together..."

"Hoho... who is an idiot? Your father is so smart and charming! He's just a little shy, hehehe~ I want to see darling." Selina was fluffy like a cloud, while Claudia was firm and calming like the wind. Selene and Anya did not know how their father could have caught the eyes of two powerful women with such unique personalities.

"Mama, you are drunk, and I can see your panties. So please cover them up..." Selene blushed after her mothers became overly affectionate with her, and their night together continued in a warm and bubbly atmosphere.

Two hours later, just before midnight, Selene held her forehead that was sore from the wine and her two mothers, nagging, staggered into her room and almost fell over the bedpost, slamming her hand onto the bedside table; a piece of paper slipped onto the floor.

"Hmm? What is this, a note?" Selene's voice sounded weary, and she struggled to sit on the edge of her bed.

Taking a few deep breaths, she opened the folded sheet and looked at it with blurry vision. After a moment, she was shocked awake. Her face turned red as the letter slipped from her grasp and drifted to the ground. "Idiot..."

— To my midnight queen,

The night called, and I answered, though leaving your side felt like tearing myself from the stars.

When the dawn comes, I will be beside you once more—until then, keep my shadow with you in the dark.

Yours, eternally,

Nikolai

"Stupid... what is this bastard... why did it make my heart beat faster?! Damn it!"

Selene grabbed her pillow, raised it above her head before punching it several times, and threw it across the room,

'Tsk, that idiot.'

Her blush spread across her pale features as her teeth gently dug into her lower lip. Selene jumped on the bed and landed on her knees and elbows, pulling the covers close as she twisted her body repeatedly.

"That bastard, he needs to take responsibility and treat me well, making me feel like this every time... I never intended to fall for someone... so why does he make me feel like this."

Her lovely crimson eyes glowed as if staring at someone who wasn't there while her heart fluttered like the wings of a butterfly. She suddenly gripped her left wrist tightly while turning over again, remembering when she bit into his arm, and her eyes became misty and wet.

'Master!'

Selene shook her head. She then turned over and buried her face in the pillow while kicking her bed, squealing and shouting into the soft bedding.

"Bastard.... who is your midnight queen.... embarrassing..."

However, despite her cold words, the note written in a rush was carefully placed inside her diary and locked in Selene's secret safe above her bed; while trying to calm herself, the deep red blush spread to her pointy ears as she kept reading, opening the safe to read the note and place it back several times.

"Can I really last a year and not fall completely...?"

Her white fingers dabbed her lips. However, when Selene looked towards the window where the moon's bright light shone brightly through, a tear slipped down her pale cheek and landed on the covers below her. She didn't believe that all men could be like her father and worried that she couldn't accept the other woman either.

"Nikolai... will you choose me or her?"

'But what should I do... I don't think I can let her have him, after all. I want him to be mine.'

A struggle began within her mind, causing Selene's eyes to become dark and drained of life, an eerie atmosphere slowly forming around her body. Her heart hurt and began to stir violently, just imagining him in another girl's arms.

Selene began to feel dark thoughts as if nothing mattered. Everything became hollow and meaningless, and she wanted to chain him in the Tepes castle so he couldn't escape her.

"Ah! That hurts!"

Selene snapped out of her dreary feelings and came back to reality when blood oozed from a deep wound caused by her long nails stabbing into her skin.

"What's wrong with me? For a moment, I..."

She even considered killing all women who looked at him with affectionate eyes.