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"You… are a vampire?"
Vlad stared at the man in black who had just chopped off his arm, looking confused.
Erik didn't answer. Instead, he swung his cross-shaped gunblade straight at him.
Before Vlad could make a move, a shadow dropped from above and blocked Erik's strike. It was him—the tentacle-fanged vampire who had freed Vlad earlier. After drinking enough life energy, his severed arm had fully regenerated.
"My lord Count, this guy's a traitor to our kind. Let me be the one to judge him."
With that, he batted Erik's blade away with a single claw.
"A high-ranked fang-vampire…"
Erik narrowed his eyes. With just that brief exchange, he had already gauged the guy's strength.
Vlad glanced at the two locked in battle. He raised his severed arm, and a length of white bone shot out, quickly regrowing. Flesh formed over it at a speed visible to the naked eye, the limb restoring itself completely.
"Tch… Looks like I've been asleep too long. Even healing a wound like this takes time."
Erik saw that terrifying regeneration and felt a bad premonition.
This guy's recovery is insane… No way! I can't let him regain his full strength.
But the fang-vampire blocking him refused to let him pass, keeping him from getting to Vlad.
"Vampire! Return your life to God!"
Erik smashed the tentacle-fanged vampire back with a heavy strike, then pressed the palm of his hand to his weapon's grip.
[R-e-a-d-y]
"Henshin!"
[Fist On]
A golden phantom of armor appeared, then solidified around him.
[Ixa Burst Mode]
"Get out of my way!"
Erik—now transformed into Ixa—stepped forward, swung his blade in a horizontal arc, and cut clean through the vampire's torso. Filthy black blood splattered everywhere as the tentacle-fanged vampire crashed to the ground.
Erik leapt forward, aiming his sword straight at Vlad's heart.
"An interesting ability… but it's a shame."
Vlad smiled faintly and raised a finger.
A burst of power erupted, stopping Erik's blade half a foot from Vlad's chest.
"It's been far too long… so long that this world has forgotten what my power looks like."
Vlad's voice was rich and magnetic, as if it traveled across time itself.
Dark, multicolored runes crawled from his neck up to his face.
Shhhhk!
A sound like shattering glass echoed as Vlad transformed into a dark red bat-like monster. A massive bat-wing-shaped crest sat on his head, his glowing green eyes brimming with malice. His entire body was covered in thick, dark-red muscle plating like some monstrous armor.
"Do you see? This is my true form. Feel the fear that spans eras!"
He thrust his palm forward, and a massive force sent Erik flying into a wall.
"Damn it… what the hell is that power?!"
Struggling to get up, Erik felt something he hadn't felt in a long time—fear.
The tentacle-fanged vampire, still lying injured nearby, looked at Vlad with joy.
"Hahaha! This is the Count's power! Unmatched in the whole world! You're done for, Erik! Kamen Rider is finished!"
"Kamen Rider? So that's your name?"
Vlad looked at the armored Erik and crooked a finger.
"Come here. Let me see what that strange armor of yours can really do."
Erik spun his cross-shaped gunblade.
"Heh, fine. Watch closely!"
He pulled a whistle from the case at his waist and slotted it into his belt.
A mechanical whistle sounded.
[I-x-a Ca-li-bu-r R-i-se U-p!]
A huge surge of energy erupted, like a blazing sun rising behind Ixa, bright enough to light up the night.
Vlad was startled—he could actually feel danger coming from Ixa.
[Ixa Judgement]
The small sun's energy poured into the upgraded cross gunblade, and Erik charged at Vlad.
Vlad raised his hand, intending to block him the same way as before.
"Die!"
Erik's sword slashed down, explosive energy bursting from the blade. It shattered Vlad's energy barrier.
Seeing that, Vlad was forced to raise his arm in defense.
Shhhhk!
The strike slammed into his arm, shattering the muscle plating.
Erik followed with another slash in the opposite direction.
Vlad let out a cold snort.
"Hmph. Enough! You've actually managed to piss me off."
Before Erik's sword could land, Vlad smashed a palm into his chest. The blow carried crushing power laced with dark energy.
BOOM!
Erik was blasted back again, and before he could recover, Vlad was already in front of him.
A savage kick slammed into Erik's side, sending him flying. In a blur, Vlad appeared ahead of him again.
"Die!"
His fist smashed into Erik's chest, sending him crashing to the ground. His weapon flew from his hand, and the Ixa armor broke apart.
"Kh—!"
Erik coughed up blood. Staring at the monster before him, his head slumped as consciousness left him.
"Erik!"
Frank, paralyzed on the ground, shouted his name, but there was no answer.
"It's over… if even Erik can't beat this monster, what hope do humans have?"
Vlad looked at the unconscious Erik, ready to finish him off.
But then—he felt a strange burning sensation in his right arm. The place where Erik had cut him hadn't healed. In fact, the wound was spreading, eating away at the flesh. At this rate, his entire arm could rot.
"That sword strike… had this kind of effect?"
Vlad gave a cold snort, reverted to human form, and grabbed the tentacle-fanged vampire.
"Lead the way."
"Yes, my lord!"
And just like that, the two vanished from the orphanage grounds.
At dawn, a phone call jolted Dan awake from where he'd fallen asleep at his lab bench.
Last night, after the test subject had spoken, Dan and Krim had spent the whole night digging through everything they could find about vampires. But when it came to him, there wasn't a single clue.
"Hello? What's up, Tony? Why aren't you with some girl right now instead of calling me at this hour?"
Dan yawned, dark circles under his eyes.
Tony Stark's face was deadly serious.
"Dan… something happened at the orphanage."
The moment he heard that, Dan was wide awake.
"What happened? I'm coming right now. Belt-san, we're heading out!"
"....."