Chapter 43: Cruel and Deceitful Nobles!
Alister Faust's additional punishment caused Nikolai's slight goodwill towards him to shatter.
The moment he realised what he had said, Nikolai decided he would kill the enemy this time and would never let him live.
'Disgusting and deceitful leeches! I will crush your plot with the claws my father granted me!' Bloodlust, anger and his natural desire to fight exploded from within Nikolai as he watched the blood lancer creating three lances that twirled and spun around his body.
[Nikolai...]
'I will win, Eliza.'
The two participants stood opposite each other as the room began to transform. Metal pistons and machines lifted walls across the room to protect the crows. Then, a strange green orb formed above the walls. Like a barrier, it fizzled and buzzed.
***
"Princess, what should we do?" Wilhelmina asked Selene, who sat beside Nikita while watching the arena.
Selene's eyes were filled with anger and disgust, though she didn't have deep feelings towards Nikolai yet. He was her squire, and nobody else could devalue or insult him.
"Make sure to record the duel and make a complaint towards the Faust family. If anything happens to him, I will kill their heir myself."
In the room earlier, it seemed like her blood aura was powerful when facing Nikita. However, at this moment, the bloody aura was so intense and fierce that it caused the air to vibrate and crackle while becoming visible to human eyes!
Beside her, Nikita's was no different, her body crackling with pink and purple lightning as her pupils shrank to a tiny dot with golden light shining in her huge iris. Her power was so volatile the surrounding monsters began to change seats.
'I will kill anyone who hurts Nikolai!'
'I will kill that man who insulted Nikolai!'
'Nikolai will never lose to that man!'
'Nikolai~ Nikolai~~'
Meanwhile, Ryan Seong sat beside several other people who worked with him. It seemed the seats were private and could only be used by those invited or who were deemed able to view this match. He looked towards his old friend, feeling a pain in his chest.
'Nikolai... don't die, please!'
"Forgive me if I didn't ask to meet with the company supporting the Faust group... It would never have happened."
***
Inside the barrier, the blood lancer seemed to be filled with confidence. His eyes filled with disdain, looking at Nikolai who didn't even summon his werewolf powers yet.
'Did I gain anything from achieving 10% in my vampire awakening, Eliza?'
Nikolai didn't feel scared or any sort of intimidation even when faced with a true vampire who likely had power over ten times his. Instead, he felt a desire to fight them, to bite them and devour them and never relent.
[You gained a blood art and the ability to transform both arms into your vampire form.]
'So I have a vampire form, a werewolf form, and I guess that weird dark bloodline form that mixes everything, huh?'
[That's right, each form depends on your awakening level for its total power. Though it seems your evil god's blood can perfectly imitate any other bloodline.]
"I see..."
"Huh? What can you see, mutt?" The blood lancer gave a twisted grin in response while grasping one of the three lances in his hand with a pale glow in his eyes.
'For some reason, his aura feels weak. Compared to the male I fought when first becoming a werewolf his feels like cordial that has been mixed with too much water.'
[You can tell?! That's the power of your mother's blood art! She could tell the strength of her enemies through their aura and its power. As you said, this male is far weaker than even those weak thralls you fought and the man you killed when first awakening.]
'Is he weak because his blood is thin and causes this weak aura?'
[It's his limit, even if a pureblood or progenitor awakened him. He would gain a tremendous boost from the bloodline, but he would never grow past that level because of his inability and poor adaptability.]
'I see, so even the monsters have low-class and high-class individuals... No wonder Anya's aura felt so strong despite being weak. I thought I was mistaken, but I'm not right?'
[Yes, Anya's strength will match her sisters, and if Selene doesn't receive any significant improvements, Anya will overwhelm her in a decade.]
"Talent, huh, do I have it... I wonder?"
Nikolai spoke to himself as the muscles in both arms began to writhe and tremble. His right arm was covered in beautiful silver fur, and he had a large hand with sharp claws.
However, his left arm looked beautiful, with soft, silky skin like a sheet of silk. It shimmered under the lights with an ethereal glow.
[His left arm is using his vampiric bloodline (10% awakened), and his right arm is using the werewolf bloodline (5% awakened + 5% Evil god's blood) to balance them both out to the same level of power...]
[Do you have it?!]
[Do you think that being able to split two bloodlines to either arm without effort isn't a sign of your talent?]
Eliza's words were spoken; however, right now, Nikolai had already shut off the world, his entire surroundings, only the enemy and himself.
He used his blood art to create an imaginary blood barrier that filled the combat area. This took a huge amount of his energy to make. However, it allowed his art to scan and analyse all movements inside this area constantly.
"Shall we fight, leech lancer?" Nikolai's words looked grey with a red hue, a drawback of him lacking the level of power to maintain the blood barrier, and so his other senses were affected with slight disadvantages.
"Heh, filthy mut. Die!"
Nikolai didn't reply as he became serious, his body leaping forwards like a silver flash, a few strands of hair flickering in the wind.
The blood lancer didn't hold back and threw one of his lances at the speed of a bullet. A booming sound echoed from the attack while the bloody spear rocketed towards Nikolai, who dashed towards it.
'A weak, pathetic attack...'
Nikolai's mind was filled with disappointment, watching the attack close in on him. His eyes watched it with no signs of fear or worry, and he turned away.
The next moment, his left hand shone slightly red before he pointed to the ground just beside him, causing the blood lance to alter its target and position only slightly.
The lance slammed into the floor and exploded, and while the arena shook and dust exploded in all directions, the enemy's attack didn't hit his intended target.
"You bastard, what trickery is this? My Blood Lances are HOMING!"
However, before he could speak, he was forced to block the incoming sweeping kick. His right arm moved to grab the enemy's leg and swing him into the ground. However, his eyes widened when Nikolai's foot seemed to wrap around his arm and smashed into his cheek.
"What the fuck--- Guha!"
Nikolai didn't let him rest as his right claws tore through the air, creating a silver trail following them, which slammed into the enemy's blood lance with a metallic clang.
"You bastard, DIE!"
Blood mist exploded from his destroyed lance, a flurry of attacks flying out and covering the entire arena.
Each time Louis tried to shoot Nikolai with a spear, Nikolai would use his left hand to point in a different direction as if able to direct the lances away from himself!
Countless silver and red flashes sounded, exploded and caused shockwaves.
As the pair clashed without care, a sudden scream echoed before Louis stood close to where Alister sat and lifted both hands.
Out of nowhere, his limit of three seemed to vanish before over 100 spears formed in the sky, longer, thicker and filled with denser blood than before.
'That's not the aura of Louis... it's Alister's!'
[These cheating bastards want to kill you at any cost! Be careful, Nikolai!]
"Hahaha, you filthy bastard, face the might of the Faust family!" Louis called out in a deranged voice.
"Don't look so terrified, Louis. I will slay you and your master."
Nikolai, who landed, saw the storm of blood spears flying towards him.
However, he didn't bother to change his expression, though those watching felt terrified by the massive and twisted smile on his face covered in the enemy's blood. They also believed he would soon die from the huge volley of blood lances.