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The moment Dan thought of vampires, one name popped into his mind—Blade. A half-human, half-vampire hybrid. A vampire hunter.
Sirens started wailing again in the distance. The cops were on their way.
"Alright, Dan. We should get outta here now. It'd be a problem if they found us."
Dan nodded. Yeah, he definitely wasn't in the mood to get involved with the police.
Back on the Dolletron, Dan had to admit—Kurim's craftsmanship was no joke. Even though they'd crashed into a tree, the Dolletron didn't even have a scratch.
"Officer Jimmy, we found the fugitive. But he's already dead."
Cops surrounded the scene. The Queens precinct had dispatched all available officers just to handle this one freak—but now, someone else had already taken care of it.
"Shit… what the hell is this?" muttered Jimmy, staring at the corpse on the ground, brows furrowed.
"Whatever. Bring the body back and have forensics look at it."
Inside the garage, Dan slumped into the Dolletron's seat, looking pale.
"You okay, Dan?" asked Mr. Belt with concern.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Just tired. Kinda like the time I ran a 1000-meter dash for the first time—completely drained."
Mr. Belt ran a scan on him using the Drive bracelet on Dan's wrist.
"Looks like it's a side effect of the transformation. Your body still isn't fully adapted to the Drive system. First-time usage tends to overload things a bit."
"Overload, huh? Yeah… I'm wiped."
Mr. Belt looked at him and said slowly, "Honestly, I'm surprised. I didn't expect you to be able to transform just like Shinnosuke. Maybe that's why I ended up in this world—to meet you."
Dan chuckled.
"You're giving me too much credit, man. Why would you come to this world just for me? If I had a choice, I wouldn't be here either. This place is seriously dangerous."
Mr. Belt agreed. Vampires—creatures that were supposed to be nothing more than myths—actually existed here. Yeah, this world was really dangerous.
"Alright. I'm gonna go take a hot shower and drink some warm milk to wind down."
Hell's Kitchen.The freest neighborhood in the so-called 'Land of the Free.'
Inside a filthy, grimy nightclub, flashing lights and blaring music set the mood. Men and women danced wildly in the center of the floor.
But these people? They weren't human.They were real vampires.
"Damn it, where the hell is John? Wasn't he supposed to bring two victims and some cash?"
One vampire grumbled.
"Don't tell me that bastard ditched us with the money?"
"No way. He's a blood thrall turned by the big boss himself. He wouldn't dare go against the master, even if you gave him a hundred lives."
"You think something happened to him? That so-called Blade guy's been killing off our kind left and right."
At the mention of Blade, one of the vampires scoffed.
"Pfft. Just a half-breed traitor."
In the center of the nightclub, a vampire grabbed the mic.
"My fellow brethren… let the party begin!"
The club erupted into wild cheers.
"Feast to your heart's content!"
With a push of a button, sprinklers in the ceiling started spraying blood instead of water.
In a flash, the vampires went into a frenzy, guzzling down the blood like maniacs.
But just as the party reached its climax—BAM!The club doors were kicked wide open.
A muscular man in a black trench coat burst in, dual pistols blazing. It was none other than Blade.
"Your end is here, vampires."
The vampires let out monstrous roars and charged like a crazed horde.
Blade didn't hesitate. He pulled the trigger, and both pistols roared to life.Bullets rained down, tearing into the attacking vampires.
They weren't normal bullets either—these were specially made silver rounds, designed to kill vampires. One hit, and they turned to ash.
But the clips ran dry quickly, and only half the vamps were down.
Blade tossed the pistols aside and drew a silver sword from his back.
It was a bloody dance of death.A one-sided slaughter.
"Blade! Please, don't kill me! I never hurt anyone!"One vampire, his arms chopped off, begged from the floor.
Blade looked down at him, face emotionless.
"Mercy's God's job.Mine is to send you to Him."
Slash. One clean strike. Another life ended.
The smarter vampires realized they didn't stand a chance and tried to flee—but Blade didn't give them that option.
In the end, only one high-ranking vampire was left in the entire club.
"Well, looks like it's just you and me now.Tell me—where is it?"
Blade pointed his silver blade straight at him, cold and unwavering.
But the vampire wasn't scared at all. In fact, he smirked.
"Oh, Blade—you really do live up to the stories. But I don't get it. You're a vampire too. We're the same. Why the hell are you helping humans?"
SWISH!A flash of silver light slashed across the vampire's face.Blade's sword was now aimed right at his heart.
Blade's voice was ice-cold:"Cut the crap.I'm human.I'm nothing like you filthy bloodsuckers.Now, where. Is. It."
The vampire raised both hands."Whoa, whoa. Chill, man. No need to get all stabby. Let's talk this out."
Seeing Blade wasn't attacking right away, the vampire spoke again.
"Listen, man. Deep down, you know it—you don't belong with them. To them, you're just a freak. But with us? You're family. Think about it. The world's about to change. Once we get that thing, we'll be able to create a whole army of daywalkers. With our strength, money, and tech?We could take over this whole damn world.Come on, man. Join us while you still can."
Blade slowly lowered his sword.
The vampire let out a sigh of relief.
But in the very next second—SLASH!
The look of shock on the vampire's face said it all.
"Talk too damn much."
Blade sheathed his sword as the vampire turned to ash.
"I know you're just a puppet.Now come out—I know you're there."
Clap~! Clap~! Clap~!Slow, sarcastic applause echoed through the club.
A pale figure stepped out of the shadows.
"No surprise there… Blade. Or should I say… Eric?"
Without a word, Eric flung a silver throwing star.It hit the pale man dead-on—and then… something strange happened.
"....."