London.
Michael ran back to the hospital from the subway station, unaware that he was already being watched. But upon arriving, he could only leave in frustration.
Elsewhere, the last surviving werewolf, Raze, returned to the base carrying the corpse of his comrade from the earlier battle in the station.
He laid the body on the operating table and reported:
"We were ambushed. Three Death Dealers. But we managed to take two of them down."
Lucian looked at Raze and asked:
"And the target?"
Raze was covered in wounds, and four specially designed darts were still lodged in his chest.
"We lost him."
Lucian's expression remained flat.
"You lost him?"
At that moment, the werewolves' researcher and field medic tore open the dead werewolf's shirt.
Examining the bullet wounds, he sighed:
"What a mess."
Raze added from the side:
"Mercury bullets. High concentration. Stopped his transformation."
The medic pulled out a bullet with forceps and said grimly:
"Even if I remove the rest, it's useless. The silver already pierced his vital organs."
"There's no way to bring him back."
Then, glancing at the darts in Raze's chest, the medic said:
"Let me take care of those for you."
He picked up the tools, approached the darts, and warned:
"Hold still!"
With a sharp yank, he pulled the first dart from Raze's flesh. Raze cried out in pain as the dart clattered into a metal basin.
Lucian, watching the scene, asked Raze seriously:
"The vampires… they didn't know you were tailing a human, did they?"
"Raze."
"They didn't. Or at least… I don't think they did."
Lucian narrowed his eyes.
"You think they didn't? Or you don't know?"
Raze looked back solemnly.
"I'm not sure."
"Aargh!" he cried out again as another dart was removed.
Finally, catching his breath, Raze added:
"But I saw a guy at the station wearing a Power Level Detector. There's a good chance our presence has been exposed."
Lucian shook his head.
"They're more desperate than we are. I believe the Death Dealers will cover this up themselves."
Raze nodded and then suggested:
"Ever since the Continental Hotel in London became the Brotherhood's base, they've focused mostly on cleaning up the city's scum and underworld figures."
"What if we leaked the vampires' existence to them? Might get them interested."
"At the very least, it would stir up trouble and shift vampire attention away from us."
Hearing this, Lucian rubbed his temples.
"That's not a bad idea. But would the Brotherhood even be able to affect the vampires?"
Raze grinned.
"The Brotherhood alone? Not much."
"But the Assassin's League backing them? That's a different story."
"The 'God' in New York is said to be their leader."
Lucian nodded.
"Alright, then it's your mission. Leak what we can and pin some of the chaos on them."
"Murder, slaughter, blood-draining, human farming…"
"And it's not even false. Just because they've stopped doesn't mean they never did it."
Meanwhile, the medic extracted a sample of werewolf blood from Raze and mixed it with a solution in a beaker.
Watching as the red liquid completely absorbed the werewolf blood, the medic sighed.
"No good. These samples still can't neutralize lycanthropy. The silver weakness remains. Michael is our only hope now."
Lucian turned to Raze.
"Go sell the intel to the Brotherhood. Stir the vampires up as much as you can."
"Keep the Death Dealers distracted."
"And as for Michael… I'll go myself."
With that, Lucian turned and walked away.
As he left, Raze gritted his teeth and ripped out the final dart lodged in his chest.
As the silver left his body, his wounds began rapidly healing.
Without hesitation, he threw on a coat and headed out. The Brotherhood wasn't exactly next door.
…
Meanwhile—
In the Assassin's League's conference room.
Smith Dole had assembled the top brass of the organization. Bulma and John Wick were present as well.
However, Melina, Yelena, and Alexei were not included in this meeting.
Once everyone was seated, Smith began:
"It's been a year since John Wick used the Dragon Balls. Now, they've reactivated."
Wesley leaned forward.
"God, what do you need from us?"
"Are we vetting wish candidates again like last time?"
Everyone glanced at John Wick, seated at the end of the table. He had been the last candidate.
Smith Dole shook his head.
"This time is different. The Dragon Balls have changed."
"Anyone who previously held a Dragon Ball—or is the first to touch one this time—will immediately understand their wish-granting power."
"In other words, this round won't be quiet like last time. Many people will fight for them."
The room murmured with surprise.
"Why the sudden change?"
"Then how do we proceed?"
"Do we investigate every new holder?"
Smith raised a hand to silence them.
"We will only vet the final wisher—to ensure the wish isn't evil or world-ending."
"But since many parties will be involved, I've decided to initiate a Dragon Ball Battle Tournament—to better manage the chaos."
The room was stunned.
"Dragon Ball Battle Tournament?"
Smith nodded.
"I'll do my best to guide all Dragon Ball holders to converge. They'll fight one-on-one to claim each other's Dragon Balls."
"The last person standing with all seven will earn the right to summon Shenron."
Fox frowned.
"Battle?"
"You're saying the current holders aren't ordinary people?"
Smith nodded again.
"This time, the contenders are not to be underestimated."
"If John Wick were to join this tournament, he wouldn't stand a chance."
According to Smith's intel, current holders included Tony Stark (who hadn't yet discovered his Four-Star Ball had returned to normal), the vampire Selene, the vengeful Ivan Vanko (aka Whiplash), Xu Xialing from the Golden Dagger Club, and even Xu Wenwu, who would no doubt seek the Balls to revive his wife.
This time, the fight for the Dragon Balls wouldn't be a quiet collection mission.
It would be war.
…
(End of Chapter)
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