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Night. A gunshot shattered the quiet of a remote family estate.
"Left! Eight o'clock!"
Two men in black coats fired modified weapons, mowing down creatures that moved with impossible speed.
The place was crawling with vampires—hundreds of them.
Flashes of gunfire lit the night as the two carved their way through. The vampires didn't stand a chance.
A furious roar shook the ground. From deep inside the manor, a massive beast burst out—a hulking bull-headed vampire with towering horns, charging straight at Erik.
Silver bullets bounced uselessly off its thick hide.
"Look out!" Erik shouted, splitting to the side with Frank.
The beast barreled forward uncontrollably, smashing through a wall with a thunderous crash before staggering back to its hooves, bellowing at them with blood-red eyes.
"Blade! Punisher! You again?!" it roared.
Erik ripped off his coat and tossed his gun to Frank."He's mine. You take the rest."
Frank nodded, raising his pistols."Got it. Don't get yourself killed."
Then he sprinted deeper into the manor, leaving Erik to face the monster.
"You think you can stop me alone, Blade? Let's see what you've got!"
The beast lowered its head, claws gouging the ground before it thundered forward.
Erik didn't flinch. He stared it down and let out a beastly roar of his own.
In an instant, his body shifted—lion's head, monstrous form. He caught the bull's horns in both hands.
"You dare lock horns with me? I'll show you cruelty."
The bull vampire snorted hot breath, muscles straining as it pushed Erik backward.
But Erik's arms tightened. With a surge of power, he heaved the creature's head up and brought his hand down like a blade.
Crack—one horn snapped clean off.
The beast howled in pain. Its prized weapon was gone.
"I don't need to wrestle you. There's only one thing I'm here to do—wipe parasites like you off the earth."
Erik's voice was a death sentence. He slammed a palm into the monster's chest, then followed with a crushing punch to its face.
That punch and strike rattled the Buffalo Fang vampire so hard his head was ringing like a gong.
"Why?! Blade—you're just like us, a monster! Why the hell are you helping humans hunt us down?!"
With a furious roar, the vampire flipped his wrist and a massive black cleaver appeared in his hand. He swung it straight at Eric.
Eric sidestepped, caught the flat of the blade, and slammed another fist into his gut.
The Buffalo brute grunted from the hit, but still clung to his weapon with a death grip and threw a punch at Eric's head.
Eric didn't dodge—he met the strike head-on. What followed was pure, savage brawling. No tricks, no finesse. Just fist for fist, claw for claw. Even with skin thick as leather, the Buffalo vampire had a strip of hide ripped right off him by Eric's razor-sharp claws.
"Eric!"
From the rooftop, Frank shouted down, signaling that his side of the fight was already cleaned up.
Eric gave a quick nod, then kicked the Buffalo vampire, sending him flying several meters.
"I'll kill you!"
Foaming with rage, the monster charged, swinging his blade like a man possessed.
"Die!"
The cleaver came down, aiming to split Eric's skull in half.
But with a sharp metallic crack, Eric's claw slashed out and snapped the blade clean in two. His other fist smashed into the vampire's chest.
"As long as I can wipe your kind out, I don't care what kind of monster I become!"
Blow after blow rained down, and as Eric's punches kept hammering, a glowing totem flared into shape around his fist.
"Disappear, parasite!"
Power roared into his knuckles, and with one final punch—
Boom!
The Buffalo vampire exploded into pieces, body shattered beyond recognition.
"You okay? How do you feel?"
Frank had climbed down and rushed over, watching Eric shift back into human form.
Eric stared at his hands for a moment before answering quietly, "I'm fine. Guys like that aren't enough to hurt me."
Frank shook his head, the twin rifles on his back shifting with the motion.
"That's not what I meant, and you know it. You've been different ever since what happened to Dan."
Eric didn't reply. He just picked up his long coat from the ground and shrugged it on. Only then did he seem to feel steady again.
"Relax. I know what I'm doing. I've just… accepted what I am. A monster. And to you guys, that's all I ever was anyway."
Frank frowned but let it go. He knew Eric hated that other side of himself, the monstrous side that made him no different from the very things they hunted. But Eric was forcing himself to embrace it, to take the strength that came with it, even if it disgusted him.
Anyone else might've broken under that weight, lost their mind. But Frank believed in Eric. This wasn't the first time he'd wrestled with something like this. He'd find his way through.
The sun was rising, painting the wreckage with light. No matter how dark the night, the dawn always came.
"Come on," Eric said. "The doctor said Dan should wake up today."
He started walking toward the gates. Frank tightened the straps on his rifles and followed.
"Ugh…"
Dan sucked in a breath. A sharp chemical stink—plastic mixed with something stranger—stabbed into his lungs. Slowly, his eyes opened to the white ceiling of a hospital room.
"Where… am I?"
"You're awake! How do you feel?"
Eric's voice was a mix of relief and joy.
"I feel… okay, I guess. You guys brought me back?"
"That's right. Honestly, when we found you, we thought you were dead. You looked like hell, man. I even took a picture—want to see?"
Tony Stark smirked from the side, tossing in his usual smart-mouthed humor.
Dan chuckled weakly. "Don't worry. Even if I die, I'll make sure I go after you do."
Hearing the familiar banter, Stark grinned, stroking his goatee.
"Then you'll be disappointed. I've got money, and I'll hire the best doctors to keep me in top shape forever."
Dan laughed softly, then turned to Eric. For a second, he froze. A faint mist, like blood-colored smoke, seemed to cling around Eric's body—there and gone again, like an illusion.
"Eric… you okay? Been out hunting again?"
Eric hesitated, unsure how Dan noticed, but finally nodded.
"I used to show them mercy. Not anymore. Vermin like that should be wiped out completely."
Dan frowned. "And your belt? You didn't use the Ixa system… or did you—"
"I've accepted my other side completely. I am who I am. As long as I can destroy those bastards, I don't care what I become."
Eric's eyes were firm, like he'd already made peace with it.
"....."