Chapter 1018: Dragon Goddess of the Apocalypse.
With Nero.
Nero asked herself a question, a question she had been repeating over and over again.
How many times did she repeat this loop?
How many times has she tried different alternatives?
Threaten her caregivers. Leave the gallows. Manipulate them in some way. Activating the base's self-destruction system when Victor's incident occurred.
She has completely exhausted her alternatives to leaving this place.
'How long have I been here?'
She does not know. She has no way of knowing. The only thing she knows is that she needs to get out somehow. Honestly, if it weren't for her unconditional trust in her father's constant presence in her memories, and in her heart, she would have already gone crazy in this place.
The world shatters again after Nero's attempt to casually walk out the front door, and soon she is back in the family room.
The door opens and her caregivers appear again.
Nero visibly sighs when he sees these two beings.
"Honestly, this is getting old. Don't you have more things to do? Why don't you try sword fighting or something? I heard that older vampires have this desire for bisexuality after 1000 years pass."
The two caretakers visibly stopped in shock when they heard Nero's words.
A predictable reaction, a reaction that Nero has seen several times, in different forms. Beings tend to get creative when faced with an irrational situation like a time loop.
"This is unexpected…"
"And to think she had the strength to-."
"Yeah yeah. How can this weak and depressed child have so much strength to speak? Blah, Blah. Honestly, this conversation is old." Nero, who was previously a very quiet and kind woman, became a cynical woman who likes to provoke others.
But in her defense, the old Nero didn't have to go through this constant time loop.
"By the way, how is Mary?"
The caregiver visibly shivered when he heard those words.
"How do you know that?!"
"I know many things." Nero nodded, in the various loops, she learned more about her caregivers, what they like, what they dislike, and even a little about their personal lives.
"For example, you, your codename in this shitty organization is 069, your partner's codename is 096, I also know that the wife named Mary from number 069 is selling her body to a noble vampire in exchange for benefits."
"Nothing against it, a person can do whatever they want with their body, it's just disgusting that you easily sold your wife just for a minor benefit. Umu, such an attitude would never happen to my beloved Daddy, he is a lot of terrible things that would make lesser beings shit themselves with fear, but he is not a cuckold."
"...Hmm, I think that's because your taste in women is quite peculiar. A yandere, huh. A psychotic woman who is only beautiful and beautiful when you are stronger than her. I feel a little sorry for Adonis, being weak is a crime in this world."
While Nero chattered.
The two caregivers went through waves of emotions, they were surprised, shocked, cautious, and then in disbelief, some things that came out of Nero's mouth were completely incomprehensible, other things were something that no one should know, at least not someone who is considered a laboratory mouse.
"...Let's finish our work quickly." 069 spoke with a cautious expression.
"Yes…" 096 spoke.
They didn't bother reporting this to the higher ups after all, they should already know this considering this whole place is full of cameras and forms of surveillance, the hybrid was very important to Niklaus' plans after all.
Preparing the medical tools while listening to Nero's non-stop conversation, number 096 quickly took out a syringe and tried to pierce Nero's skin... Yes, the correct word is 'try'.
096 couldn't pierce Nero's skin.
"What are you doing? Finish your work quickly!" 069 ordered.
"... I can't pierce the subject's skin."
"The subject has a name, you know? My name is Nero." Nero's eyes narrowed slightly as blood-red draconic slits took over the pupils of her eyes. "Nero Elder-... Nevermind, you vermin aren't worthy of hearing my grand surname." She scoffed as her eyes returned to normal.
But this brief moment was not lost on the duo, they were terrified, and from that terror came inaction. They didn't know whether to flee or continue their work, after all, they instinctively knew that at some point, they had entered the domain of a predator, any wrong move would lead to the end of both.
Fortunately, Nero was kind to them and told them what they should do. "Continue your work... Not that it will work anyway."
'I guess that's one of the advantages of being in an eternal loop, after that incident with my dragon side awakening, with each new loop, I could subtly feel much stronger, with my current strength, I could easily walk out the front door without any difficulty.' Despite knowing this, Nero still hadn't done anything, after all, she had tried everything, the answer wasn't to leave, but something inside.
The two caretakers glanced at each other for a few seconds, and nodded, they just decided to continue their work quickly.
Taking the syringe, 096 tried again to pierce Nero's skin, but the syringe wouldn't go through.
She had already understood that, because of that, in some of the loops, she infiltrated the organization even further, but still, she failed, and was back in this damned white room.
The two caretakers glanced at each other for a few seconds, and nodded, they just decided to continue their work quickly.
Taking the syringe, 096 tried again to pierce Nero's skin, but the syringe wouldn't go through.
"Try the syringe we use for the stronger werewolves." 069 spoke.
"Okay."
While the two continued with their futile attempts, Nero was lost in thought.
She visibly sighed, making the two caretakers shiver in fear, but she didn't care about them, she just solemnly looked at the white ceiling.
'Honestly, I'm so tired...' Her exhaustion was more mental than physical, at this point, she didn't even care about this organization, her past, or even her former hybrid status.
This place, which was a terrifying room for her, had become a familiar room, and at the same time, it disgusted her internally, but she no longer felt fear.
'... I just want to go back to my father and feel his embrace...' Small tears threatened to fall from her eyes when this thought appeared, her heart ached as if someone was squeezing it, and she felt chills down her arms.
She didn't care about this place anymore, she didn't care about these two caretakers, they could go to hell for all she cared, she just wanted to see her father.
She was mentally exhausted. Would she be able to get out of here? Would she be able to see her father again? Not just her father, would she be able to see Ophis again? Her mother Ruby? Her mother Anna?
These thoughts were a greater source of concern than being in this damn room!
"Haah..." Nero sighed again, and with a flick of her wrist, she freed herself from her restraints. "Staying in this position is annoying."
"Hiiii!" The two caretakers fell backwards in fear.
Immediately, alarm sounds started blaring, the caretakers wet themselves in fear when they saw Nero, her short white hair at some point had grown and become wild like a lion's mane, and her weakened body gained a bit more muscle, she wasn't completely healthy, but she wasn't too weak either. Nero didn't care about the state of the two caretakers, she just looked at the alarm sounds with a slightly furrowed face.
"Irritating." She huffs, and a beam of white light with hints of black emanates from her mouth, hitting the base's alarm system located in the basement. She had studied the blueprints of this place before, and with the loops happening, she knew this place better than her own room, which was somewhat depressing.
Of course, this simple beam of light split the base in half; this base was not built to handle the powers of a dragon, weakened or not.
Such was the difference between the two beings; even in their weakest states, few beings could contend with dragons.
Nero sits, crosses her legs, and rests her head in her hand with a rather bored posture. Her eyes, now completely draconic, looked at 069, 096.
Seeing their state of pure terror, seeing how they wet themselves, parallels with her old figure, and the figure of these beings overlapped. She could visibly see herself in their position; if they were to switch sides, it would be a dying Nero trembling on the ground in fear of the powerful elder vampire named Niklaus.
She could even recall now the words of the elder vampire when he captured her, words that were forgotten over time and constant experiments, words that her brain, as a form of self-protection, words that she didn't understand before, but now she could fully understand.
"I won't mind if you hate me, child."
Reality shattered; instead of the white room, she was in a dark forest surrounded by werewolves, noble vampires, and vampire slaves. She was much younger than her current self, just a powerless little girl who found herself being hunted because of her unique birth.
Her parents were killed by both vampires and werewolves, her home was destroyed, her 'normal' life taken from her.
Sitting on the ground with pure terror and fear engulfing her being, Nero looked at Niklaus.
"... W-Why?" She asked, a simple question that she herself didn't know if it would be answered, but surprisingly, the old vampire replied.
"Your blood that can harm vampires and werewolves is too valuable for my plans; even all this rabble gathered here is not worth as much as your blood is to me."
"With the right combination, your blood can harm even the strongest."
"... Just because of that..."
"Yes, just because of that, you were useful to me, so I took you." The man nodded. "I don't mind if you hate me or hate everyone here present, after all, we harmed you; such emotion is expected..."
"But in the end, you can only do this. You are weak, after all." A hybrid doesn't have much potential; they are crippled by their own existence. The prospect of Nero getting stronger in the future was an impossibility, which must be why Niklaus was talking to her.
... Or maybe, he just felt that way because this girl somehow reminded him of his daughter, the true appearance of his daughter.
"Take her and bring her to the lab."
"Yes!"
Watching this memory, it was at this moment that something clicked in Nero's head. "Oh... I understand now."
Reality shattered, and she was back in the white room.
"Weakness..." She looked solemnly at her two caretakers, beings that she had once been quite afraid of just by seeing them, as if they were two very scary bogeymen, but now, she only felt indifference and disgust for being afraid of 'them.'
"Because they were weak, my mother and father were killed... Because I was weak, I was captured and used as a lab rat."
Why did no one dare to provoke her father? Why did those gods who lived hundreds of thousands of years look at her father with apprehension and talk to him cautiously for fear of possibly offending him?
Because he was strong... No, because he was the strongest. In the supernatural world where gods, demons, dragons, and vampires live, the law of the jungle will always be applied.
Did you lose? Was your family destroyed? That's your fault; you're weaker after all. Only the strongest have the right to be benevolent; only the strongest have the privilege to dictate the rules.
"... I accept that..." She spoke solemnly. "In the past, I was weak. Nothing more than a little girl who was thrown into this world and had everything taken from her." A white power began to circulate through her body; slowly, her body began to grow and become stronger.
Her slender body changed into the toned body of a warrior; her white hair grew to waist-length and became wild with sharp ends.
"I was weak... Yes, that's correct... I 'WAS' WEAK!" Gigantic white wings opened behind her, and two horns grew on her head.
The pure pressure emanating from her body pushed everything around her away; the two caretakers had long turned into bloodstains on the floor just from the power emanating from Nero's body.
Nero's eyes shone blood-red; the white aura began to be stained with shades of black. "I am not weak anymore."
"W-What's going on here-."
Nero's eyes focused on the noble vampires. "Just as in the past, you decided my fate because I was weak; now, I will decide your fate."
A smile full of sharp teeth appeared on her face. "And my decree is... DEATH."
"DEATH TO THIS SHITTY WORLD!"
The power emanating from her body began to spin like a black and white hurricane, and she began to float towards the ceiling; everything was being destroyed just by the sheer pressure of the power emanating from her body. Her body began to glow, and in the next moment, the gigantic head of a white dragon emerged from the ground.
The dragon's mouth opened, and a powerful dark divine sphere formed in its mouth.
The vampires were on high alert; beings only died when they approached the dragon; everyone was dying; they didn't know what was happening.
Victor, who was in his noble vampire form, was watching all of this in shock; suddenly, his eyes changed to crimson-violet, and then a small smile appeared on his face.
Watching the white apocalypse dragon flying from the ground towards the sky, his smile never disappeared.
When the dark sphere was fully formed, the dragon in the sky bit into the sphere; in the next moment, a black aura spread across the entire planet.
1 second passed.
2 seconds passed.
3 seconds passed... And it was at this moment that everything was turned upside down.
The weather started to become chaotic; giant tornadoes began to appear.
A climactic cataclysm began to occur.
But that wasn't all. The power plant that powered Nightingale's electricity for some reason started to act strangely and exploded, causing an infrastructural cataclysm that left everything in the dark.
Due to the hurricanes, everything was being destroyed. Due to the influence of the dark power, the vampires for some reason began to kill each other.
Volcanoes became active, the earth split in half, the Apocalypse that would lead to the end of the world began to happen.
All of this happened in less than 30 seconds, events that shouldn't happen so easily. They began to happen on a large scale and in a very uncontrolled manner.
While all this was happening, Victor only watched with pride as the majestic white dragon in the air looked coldly at everyone; the twisted smile on its dragon form was visible even from here; she was loving seeing the world burn due to her influence.
Suddenly, everything turns gray, and the world stops; in the next moment, reality shatters like a mirror.
.....