Blood Awakening: The Strongest Hybrid and His Vampire Bride

However, that brought an additional problem, or maybe it could become a benefit.

'The monsters are alive. This should help Lisa adapt to her new abilities better than fighting corpses with nothing but undeath energy in their bodies.'

"Are you ready?" Nikolai asked in a low voice while flicking his gaze away from her seductive figure.

His black eyes watched the distant goblins patrolling as if they were some kind of castle guard. In reality, he wondered why there were no monsters like this in the real world.

He imagined that, like himself, orcs and goblins were monsters. Yet when he tried looking, it turned out they weren't included. They were listed as something of fantasy and didn't exist in the world naturally.

'However, these monsters remained inside the towers alone. Neither the Nexus nor the SSS archives list these as monsters but instead classify them as demons.'

"W-Will you really make me fight them alone?! How lazy are you!"

"Come on now, isn't this part of the deal we made? Prove yourself and I'll become your partner and let you partake in my essence while you are at it."

Nikolai noticed Lisa's face changed for a moment. Like a flash of light, her face became red, and her eyes looked up at him, softer than usual, before she huffed and turned away.

"Whatever..."

"Don't rush yourself. Can you see through the fog?"

He didn't want to make an enemy out of her after she became so useful. His red pupils watched as Lisa's body lowered, her movements unlike a warrior and truly like her race.

A cat.

With her body close to the ground, almost on all fours, her hands in the shape of paws extended long yet thin claws with a sharp hook.

'Unlike a werewolf, her claws feel like a deadly weapon, like an assassin's dagger.'

[The cat-type monsters usually have special enzymes or poison that are secreted from their claws. These then slow healing and increase the chance of infection.]

"I won't rush, you want them dead, right?" Lisa's eyes were darker than usual, her behind swaying slightly like a cat hunting a mouse. Something he saw many times in the slums, her black and green tail swaying slowly.

'Like a predator ready to pounce... no... not quite. A killer, is this her instinct as a nekomata?'

Her expression showed anticipation as her body moved across the cold ground with slow and deliberate motions. Pristine movements, fluffy black ears that flicked in the air at each movement the goblins made. Lisa's nose slightly sniffed the air before her body rushed towards the first goblin with its back turned.

The little green creature turned around quickly, but by then, it was too late.

'Like a shadow of death...' Nikolai smiled in wonderment as he witnessed her kill. She darted from the darkness within the shadows created by the fallen rocks, like some kind of phantom or demon, only appearing once it was too late.

Without using her daggers, her claws sliced the goblin's throat, a low growl before it collapsed to the ground. She used her agile body, hopping back and vanishing before the other drew its rusty iron sword and turned to examine the dead goblin. At this time, Nikolai noticed Lisa move and take cover within a group of large fallen stones that surrounded them.

'It's smart, better not get seen, hide in there for now.'

Within moments, a raspy cry from a goblin alerted the others as they searched high and low for her. Nikolai was curious how she would kill the now agitated goblins. There were four of them in the group all with a small shield and rusted iron sword. He considered stepping in to help, but he noticed her green eyes gazing at him from the darkness.

'I can't go easy on you. You are a real monster now—these things shouldn't be hard.'

There were too many places to hide; even the heavy mist could aid Lisa in stalking the patrolling guards. Eventually, Nikolai could see the clever goblins come up with a strategy. They moved closer to one another with their backs facing each other so Lisa couldn't strike. Their actions showed intelligence.

[Strange, the monsters shouldn't be able to learn or act this way... In my time, they were never this crafty or clever!]

'This is interesting—the monsters in the tower can learn and adapt. What kind of existence are they?'

Yet Nikolai did not interrupt despite this; he watched Lisa, who was truly an adept assassin, tossing a stone to distract the second group. Then, using that instant, she rushed from the shadows, like a dancing swan and ripped out the throats of the two goblins who moved slower. Nikolai kept his lips tightly sealed as he watched her make her next move.

'She is quite talented.'

[That is an understatement. Thanks to your help, she has become dangerous.]

The goblins didn't stand a chance, as the last one died in silence. Nikolai walked over, and with a dagger, he took their mana stone and the blood crystals from their chests. What made him curious was the ichor on this floor wasn't jet black but a lightly lighter, dull grey.

"Haa....haa.. so, how did I do?"

Lisa's aura was different after returning. She carried a sense of confidence as the thin vapours of purple aura flowed around her body, creating a sweet and alluring scent.

[She needs to stop letting her pheromones leak. Tsk! Openly trying to seduce you when she owes you so much.]

Nikolai noted how different she looked, even more like a feline than previously.

'That look suits you better...' Nikolai shook his head slightly with a light chuckle as he patted her on the head as if praising her.

"What shall we do with these? Do you want to take them yourself? I've never tried the light grey, so be away. It might be disgusting."

"Eww, no... I don't wanna eat them." Lisa had a disgusted expression as she pushed the ichor away before twirling around and wrapping herself in his arm when he showed it to her. "How about you feed it to me like before? Mouth-to-Mouth~ and I'll be good, kukuku."

[This damn untrained cat!]

Eliza called out with an angry tone, the sound of her huffing and puffing causing Nikolai's lips to curl into a smile.

"No."

"Huh?! Come on!"

He pushed her aside before stepping forward, placing the ichor in his pockets. Nikolai shrugged his shoulders before following the trail of dead goblins. He began taking their crystals, stealing the ichor and coins while listening to Lisa complain and whine about how stingy he was.

"Enough. We have much more to do. If you want to make a big deal out of it, then I'll wait until we're about to leave."

"Eh~ no... that's so unfair. I did my best. You promised a reward!"

After going through the open gates, they noticed the floor had changed; a wall of blue water, like a veil, was the only sign of the floor changing. "Oh look, it's your favourite Lisa, goblins!"

"I won't fight! Hmph~ kill them yourself. This feline is tired."

Lisa sat down, which forced Nikolai to flick her on the forehead. She overreacted with a sudden cry as she clutched her head in pain and curled up while rolling across the floor. In his eyes, though felt pathetic as it didn't hit hard.

'She is kinda cute, though.'

"Now, now. Stop acting. These guys will be good practice for you."

"Ehh..."

Lisa crawled back up as she looked at Nikolai. His cold demeanour made her turn towards the goblins with a sour expression. The next moment, she felt his hand touch one of her tails—the feeling caused her to arch her back as she cried out.

"Nyao~ what are you doing?!"

It was pleasurable. No other man had ever touched her tail, and those rough hands that glided along with her soft fur felt incredible. Her face flushed red, her eyes sparkling against her will as she felt him grinning at her.

"My bad, your tail was just too tempting to touch."

'I will definitely yank this bastard's tail when he transforms!' Lisa thought in a huff. She still followed his request and moved to fight the goblins.

Nikolai's voice sounded beside her ear, the low and husky voice causing the sensitive ear to flicker and twitch as she stumbled away.

A fierce gaze was visible on her face, even as her cheeks turned rosy red. Lisa pointed her finger at him before poking him harshly.

"B-Bastard!"

It didn't hurt, but it forced him backwards. He couldn't help but feel amused remembering a cute cat that used to follow him home.

Yet she would run away when he tried to pet her.

So he would leave traps and small plates of food on his way home and then stroke her while she ate. He later learned that this method wasn't the best idea from a book. However, it was all a young child could do to get closer to the ginger cat.

'But after I started playing with Nikita... she stopped following me and cowered in fear. I wonder why she never felt scared of me, considering my father was a wolf, too.'