Hearing the vampire lord's words—and the disgust hidden between the lines—Blade curled his lip in irritation and mocked, "Sounds like he's actually doing me a favor. Maybe I should put him on payroll."
The moment he saw the creature called Jared Nomak, Blade felt an inexplicable sense of familiarity, even affinity. The vampire lord wasn't wrong: the two of them were aberrations within the vampire race. From that perspective, he and Blade were, strictly speaking, the same kind.
Rare mutations among vampires—what else would that make them if not kin?Although the two shared no identical traits; at the very least, Blade could never stretch his mouth open like a blooming chrysanthemum.
"You didn't catch the important part. Blade!"Still standing alert beside her father, Nyssa explained on his behalf. "My father mentions this mutation because he is the cancer of the vampire race."
"Vampires he feeds on don't die—they transform into new carriers. Rapidly."
"And far worse than conventional vampires," Karel added, adopting a professional tone. "Their craving for blood is far more severe than a vampire's natural bloodlust—like junkies driven so deep into addiction they've nearly lost all sanity. Their hunger for blood is extreme. They must feed every day."
"Jared Nomak has already been active for more than seventy-two hours," Karel said as he manipulated a holographic projector, displaying scenes of multiple attack sites. "By the most conservative estimate, we already have at least a dozen newborn Reapers. And while you may both be 'mutations,' his rate of propagation is far faster than yours."
"Within a week, we could see hundreds. By the end of the month, thousands. They aren't vampires—there's nothing controlling their growth. Think about it: if none of you act, how long before they consume all of New York? Three months? Six?"
Karel spoke with a twisted sense of amusement, but the humans present did not find it funny at all. The speed at which this new species was spreading was horrifying. If its proliferation wasn't stopped, it would be a catastrophe for humanity.
New York was the largest and most populated city in the United States. Nearly nine million people of every race and nationality lived here. No one wanted to imagine what would happen if the Reaper mutation spread unchecked.
A city crawling with vampires—monstrous, deranged, blood-hungry aberrations—would become a sunlit necropolis, a dead city. Should such a thing occur, the shockwaves wouldn't stop at the U.S.; the entire world would feel the impact.
Zhou Yi glanced at Blade and found Blade looking back at him. The two men—who had never met before—exchanged a silent nod of mutual understanding.
Blade turned first and asked the vampire lord, "Let me get this straight. You want us to hunt him for you?"
The vampire lord looked at the Daywalker, then at the armored figure standing beside him, and said solemnly, "No—not for me. For yourselves. Think about it. Once vampires are forced into hiding, who will the Reapers turn to for their bloodlust? Your precious humans. Unlike us, ordinary humans facing these mutants will not survive—not even one."
Though it sounded like a threat, Zhou Yi and Blade both had to admit he was right. Ordinary humans struggled even against normal vampires. Against these enhanced, infectious mutations, they would stand no chance. The very idea was chilling.
Seeing the serious expressions on both vampire hunters, the vampire lord added more weight to his offer.
"My forces include an elite guard—the Bloodpack. A specialized tactical unit of precious pure-blood vampires, the strongest protectors of our empire. I will assign them to assist you in hunting these aberrations."
He placed a hand on his daughter's shoulder.
"Furthermore, I will send my beloved daughter—my future heir, the next Vampire Duke, Nyssa Damaskinos—to join your strike team. If this does not demonstrate our sincerity, nothing will."
Having said this, he looked steadily at the Daywalker—the greatest unknown factor in the room.
"I'm in."The calm voice from behind the helmet belonged to Zhou Yi—the Dawn Knight. His acceptance meant he would join the hunt for the Reaper mutation. The vampire lord had imagined many outcomes, but hearing the answer he wanted still made him unconsciously exhale. It had been decades since he last remembered the sensation of breathing.
"Then I'm in too. Hunting vampires—that's my specialty."Blade bared his white teeth in a cold grin. To him, everyone in this room was prey—future prey.
"Excellent." The vampire lord smiled faintly and shuffled back toward his high seat. "Very well. In that case, our pact is complete. Nyssa, please escort our guests out. I require rest."
"Yes, Father."Nyssa stepped forward, her movements stiff, and gestured for Zhou Yi to follow. The vampire beauty was seething with anger toward him.
Zhou Yi felt somewhat helpless. He did have some fondness for her, but nowhere near enough to tolerate her decrepit father. His senses recoiled from the vampire lord's decaying existence. He would not suppress his instincts for the sake of a woman—nor was it in his nature.
So he said nothing, merely followed Nyssa the way he had come. Blade, unwilling to stay in this den any longer, led his two assistants after them.
On the way out, Zhou Yi maintained silence. He had no idea what to say to the disgruntled vampire princess. Blade, however, had no such reservations. He asked the question that intrigued him.
"The Bloodpack. I've hunted you people for years—how come I've never heard about that?"A vampire elite tactical force—yet the most notorious vampire hunter had never heard of it. The idea was absurd.
It was like Afghanistan going to war with the U.S. without knowing the U.S. Marine Corps and Navy SEALs existed. A guaranteed route to destruction. Then again, historically, some dictators really didn't know—Saddam certainly hadn't expected the SEALs to drag him out of a hole.
Since the cards were already on the table, Nyssa did not bother hiding the truth.
"Three years ago, when you went to Russia, we gathered elite warriors from every region of the U.S. and formed this unit. For one purpose—your extermination."
Blade hunted vampires. Vampires hunted Blade. Their enmity was absolute. Were it not for this extraordinary situation, Blade and the vampires would never have sat at the same table.
Once she escorted Blade and Zhou Yi outside the gates, Nyssa turned and left immediately—exactly as Zhou Yi expected. She had no intention of offering polite farewells. Zhou Yi considered it the classic behavior of a woman giving attitude.
But she didn't forget business. Before leaving, she told Blade she would bring the Bloodpack to his base the following night. It was said for Blade, but also for the Dawn Knight.
Watching the temperamental beauty leave, Blade smirked at Zhou Yi with a teasing look. He could clearly see the Dawn Knight felt something for the vampire woman—otherwise, he wouldn't have stopped when she tried to intervene. Blade still regretted not getting to watch the vampire lord get punched in the face.
Ignoring Blade's teasing, Zhou Yi looked toward the night sky. Midnight had passed, but the city's noise never slept. He turned to Blade.
"You think we can trust them?"He didn't trust vampires. But Blade—Blade he trusted. The man had honor, discipline, and the moral backbone of a warrior.
"I never trust vampire sweet talk. But right now? We probably do need to work with them." Blade bared his fangs. "The situation is bad."
"What will you do next?"
"With the truce in effect, at least I don't have to hunt tonight. I need to head back and prepare. Creatures like that won't be easy to kill." Blade cracked his neck. He suspected they might end up facing an entire horde of Reapers—and would need some serious firepower.
"I'll check the city. See if I can find any clues."Feeling the urgency, Zhou Yi decided to sacrifice his rest. He needed to know whether the mutation had already begun spreading through the population.
Blade was hardly going to stop him. The Dawn Knight was powerful—very powerful. Blade wasn't worried about him. Any information Zhou Yi uncovered would help them all.
"Brooklyn district. Abandoned tram terminal." Blade left an address, waved, and vanished into the night with his assistants.
Zhou Yi leapt into the air, soaring upward as the Dawn Knight, scanning the city for hidden crimes and buried secrets.
Though they walked their separate paths, both men shared the same realization:The coming days would likely bring disaster. They needed to prepare for the worst.
Meanwhile, in the most chaotic part of Manhattan—where society's bottom-feeders gathered: thugs, gangs, pimps, drug dealers—those who came here did so seeking filth, and those who lived here fed on that filth. Like leeches, they drained every drop from the fools who wandered into their territory.
But tonight, things were different.Compared to these metaphorical leeches, a true blood-drinking monster had entered their midst.
Completed English PDF of this fan-fic on my Patreon shop if you want to support and own the full fan-fic in one go. Just grab the PDF and binge the entire story from start to finish!
Guys, I've uploaded some High Quality english translated fanfic on my Patreon shop! Feel free to check it out-if you're interested, you can grab a copy and support me there.
Here are a few titles of recently uploaded fanfics:
New Addition
"Marvel Automatic Humanoid Girl"
"Marvel DC: Become Aquaman from Black Robe"
"The Marvel World Filled with Heroes"
"American Comics: Multiverse Simulation"
"Living in Marvel, Starting by Marrying the Scarlet Witch"
"Traversing the Myriad Worlds, Starting by Obtaining the Marvel Ten Ring"
"Marvel's Multiversal Magic Controller"
"Marvel: The King's Descent"
"Marvel: Randomly Load a Protagonist Template"
"Living in Marvel: Starting by Building 2B Missy (18+"
" Marvel: Glory of the Sun God (18+) "
many more are available 63+
Your support means a lot-thanks in advance, legends!
patreon.com/SuperTL
(End of Chapter)