Nikolai wasn’t concerned about what Amphitrite claimed.

Once they discovered a body suitable for his mother, he would kill her. His eyes flicked across the destroyed tunnel as they moved through the fifteenth floor, searching for the passage which led into the hidden parts of the tower.

“Come on~ why are you so stiff?”

“Because I hate you, get away from me.” He pushed the mermaid away with a low grunt before walking ahead.

“It’s not that way~ dear—”

Shling!

The mermaid’s voice cracked as she froze on the spot, black claws tainted by the evil god’s blood pressing against her soft throat.

“Make yourself useful, I am not your toy to manipulate.”

He refused to be taken into her pace.

After being tricked by Alucard, he learned to protect himself and read people better. Even if the mermaid claimed to have become his husband. Nikolai had no desire to follow such a thing.

He wasn’t in need of any new women, and the only reason he didn’t end her was because of the bodies which could help his mother.

‘I will choose whether I have a woman or not.’

However, he didn’t think Amphitrite was being serious either. The playful actions and moments she clung to him. Nikolai could smell the fear and insecurity, a bitter, fishy scent, as her eyes constantly seemed to try gauging his reactions.

“I—I understand.” Her voice became a soft, powerless hum. “This way…”

Because he rejected her so violently, she stopped her childish acting, her eyes narrowing and most of the pitch of her voice lowered.

“Couldn’t you treat a maiden a little more gently? Mother lied to me…”

The mermaid huffed to herself, walking ahead of Nikolai, with her eyes shimmering in the darkness.

The two travelled in silence for several minutes before they came across the destroyed remains of a tunnel leading downward.

“Here, this leads to the hidden storage, monster laboratory and incinerator.”

Amphitrite stood at beside a normal rock wall.

Nikolai’s eyes scanned the surface but couldn’t find any hidden temperature changes, sounds, or indications this was the place. His lips pressed together as he bit down, while narrowing his eyes at the needlessly captivating fish woman.

‘I swear to god…’

“Here, this is a place that only those who have been bound to the tower can access. Though, I would put away those thoughts of killing me to use another. The user needs to be the apex of their floor.” Her voice took a deeper, commanding tone.

Nikolai raised his brow, his claws retracting in a mixture of shock and amusement at the change.

‘I see.’

“Then open the way, or I’ll be eating sashimi for dinner.”

“Fufu~ you could eat me anytime, handsome.”

“I’ll pickle you, squid. Get moving.”

“Hmmmph.”

With a last huff, she turned away, a smile growing on her lips.

‘Why is she smiling?’

Then her ghostly palm touched a strangely smooth rock, where the rest of the wall looked jagged and sharp. Her eyes closed as a warm blue light emitted from her hand, spreading to the surrounding rock.

The wall suddenly shimmered like a calm lake surface. A loud click echoed through the hallway, like countless cogs turning to create a rather calming melody. Nikolai watched the light, then the mermaid’s face.

She was wearing a rather content expression, while her body became increasingly more ethereal.

‘Her form is fading?’

Before long, a large door appeared.

The icon, engraved in the middle of its stone frame, identical to the ruined doorway at the base of the tower.

With each step Nikolai took, a small light glowed revealing another tunnel and revealed more of the room which led to what looked like a study, or library filled with the dense musk of old books, cigars, and fresh ink.

The room was large, though it seemed to only be a small part of a much bigger area. The ceiling was arched, with a large chandelier hanging from the middle of the room, and two bookshelves built into the walls spanning the entire area, with three doors leading out.

“I see, so it was here.” Amphitrite muttered with a soft whimper her hand grasping a small crown, the gemstones bright blue, with a strange inscription at its side.

“I thought I would never see this… I lost it back then.”

Nikolai was not interested in what she said, walking past her and grabbing a book that looked interesting before pulling it out.

Poof~

Sssss~

The old books collapsed, dust and dried pages turning into ashes and dust, the bookshelf emptying itself, before a clicking noise sounded, and a large, iron safe appeared. The lock mechanism was simple, but the structure was not something that could be broken easily.

“Huh?” Nikolai’s eyes gazed at the discoloured black safe that appeared before him, the door and dial swirling with a buzz and click, before the door swung open.

“What’s this?”

There was an old, dusty book.

Its yellowed pages were full of writing, with a strange crest at the top of each page. Nikolai couldn’t read what was on the page, but he knew this would be important.

The paper remained relatively sturdy, and because the mermaid queen was touching the crown tiara in her hands, he quickly stored the contents into his ring.

‘Dad, and grandfather should be able to help with these documents.’

“But why was the Nosferatu clan’s emblem on the front?” He muttered to himself before shaking his head.

‘It’s not the time to think about this now,’ he flicked his gaze to Amphitrite before turning away.

He stepped before one of the sealed doors, a strange series of patterns and runes etched into the door.

Nikolai’s hands reached out, stroking the indentations.

He was about to pull the handle when his ears twitched. His head jerked around. The ghostly image of Amphitrite pushed her hand against the door and looked at him with terrified eyes.

“T-That’s not the right room.”

“Oh? You can’t enter?”

Amphitrite shook her head.

“That is the torture room, where unwilling monsters who refuse to accept the tower’s rule are sent. There is nothing useful in this place. Here… this door is for the laboratory, be careful not to touch anything.”

Nikolai watched the mermaid with a raised brow. ‘I wonder if she’s lying.’

“Alright, let’s go there first. But…”

He walked over to the other door, grabbing the handle.

Nothing

“…”

“Well, you’re not a monster registered in the towers, soul cache, here, let me.”

That was when Nikolai noticed she left the crown on the desk.

He looked at the mermaid and her figure seemed to have faded even more than before. His chest became hot, a throbbing coming from his mother’s necklace, so he grabbed it.

‘Strange.’

“Why not take the crown?” He asked curiously, but received no answer.

He thought as he watched Amphitrite slowly turn the handle. Once again, the brilliant light spread from the etched sigils. Her expression became increasingly stiff as the door opened, and a pungent, fishy smell came from inside.

“Ugh, what’s that smell.”

“Oh god, what is this?”

Inside, the dull green glow of the laboratory illuminated rusted copper tanks with small windows. The unspeakable horrors that appeared caused Nikolai’s eyes to dilate, his hands trembling at the deformed, mutated monsters.

‘Those are the corpses of the monsters, why are they still alive, floating in those things?’

“Come on, this place is only going to get worse. I cannot believe we’ve been fooled for so long.” Amphitrite’s eyes dripped with ghostly tears as she moved to the next room.

Nikolai’s eyes flicked across the chalkboards with diagrams and images of different monsters, their organs, and other scientific diagrams before following Amphitrite.

However, one phrase stuck in his mind. “The Artificial Hybrid Project.”

This door was different, with only one small symbol and no handle. When Amphitrite’s hand pressed against the centre of the symbol, the door split down the middle and opened up, allowing them to enter the next room.

An endless hall stretched before him, filled with endless rows of shelves stacked high. Each shelf held countless jars, and in those jars were bodies. Organs. Limbs.

“This is the storage.” Amphitrite’s voice was now weak, her body almost completely invisible as she leaned against a shelf.

Though a ghost, it made Nikolai unsure if this would work. He noticed the thick medicinal scent and ammonia in this room washed away the musky, dirty scene of rotting corpses.

Nikolai’s cold gaze became worse as he walked down the aisle. Each jar held a different body part, or some kind of organ, and some were filled with blood, bile and other bodily fluids.

Werewolves, Mermaids, Vampires, Body Changers, Mimics, Ghouls, many monsters, all used in this laboratory like rats.

“C-Come on, Nikolai this is the room.”

Amphitrite visibly suffered. Her words became lighter and less audible while she stood outside a white doorway, with a more intricate lock and seal around the edges.

“Are you going to disappear?” Nikolai asked as he caught up.

“I’ll tell you after you find what you need.” Amphitrite said softly. Enjoy new chapters from My Virtual Library Empire

The seal to open the door was the same as the other rooms, but with an extra step. Amphitrite touched the lock and a strange, pulsing energy passed through her and into the door. Once again, the lock mechanism clicked and opened, revealing a clean, sterile room.

The walls were like an old hospital, or asylum, while two silver tubes sat against the back wall, inside pristine corpses, their features both female, with a beautiful face, a tail, a pair of wings and gills.

It took Nikolai a moment, but he noticed the similarity between the two.

‘Would this body be worthy enough for mother?’

Nikolai’s eyes turned towards the desk in the room corner before he read the strange text. Although difficult to read, it was written in an old style of writing.

His expression grew increasingly dark, his eyes twitching, before he suddenly grabbed a piece of parchment, crushing it in his fist.

“H-How dare they! These bastards, they experimented on us for fun, and pleasure?”

These two creatures weren’t just ones with wings and tails, all the monsters in the previous room, the regeneration of a werewolf, the strength of a werewolf, the hearing of a ghoul, and the magic absorption of a mimic.

Everything was combined in them, they were the ultimate creation. But, the most important thing was written on the last page.

These two bodies were created with humans as the base. Twins. Both from the ancient world.

The experiment so cruel, an entire city used just as the initial test.

First, they were turned into vampires, then infused with a werewolf’s blood, this stage caused horrific casualties.

— Experiment #502

Specimen 502’s transformation into a vampire completed without issue, but upon injection of werewolf blood, the subject experienced extreme discomfort, before her body swelled up like a balloon, and popped.

Status: Dead.

— Experiment #505

After a week of experimentation, Specimen 505 has shown no adverse effects. They are now undergoing treatment with a body changer and mermaid blood.

Status: Dead.

— Experiment #507

Specimen 507 has undergone successful treatments with the shapeshifter, and mermaid blood. However, the body rejected the mimic tissue injection, causing her heart to burst.

Status: Dead.

Nikolai tossed the report down, and covered his face, but then he noticed that the visage of Amphitrite became almost completely invisible.

“I have done what you asked.” She said, before pointing towards the tube. “You need to inject a small amount of the person’s soul and your blood to begin the merging process. The process will take a while, and shouldn’t be rushed.”

‘Wait, blood… how will she?’

“Where’s your blood?”

The moment Nikolai asked, her lips curled into a bitter smile. “I have been bound to the tower and died thousands of years ago. Do you think there would be any blood remaining?” Her eyes showed a deep sense of regret, but also a hint of relief.

“Amphitrite…”

She shook her head. “My death cannot be overturned.”

“Then why did you act like that, and make that pledge?”

“Fufu.” Her hand covered her pale lips.

“Of course, who would want to vanish without no bonds?” She then floated closer, with a trembling smile and bright eyes.

“If I disappeared now, would you remember me?”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep