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Pepper looked scared and a little shaken. Vampires? That sounded like something out of a fantasy novel or a bedtime story. How could someone like Tony Stark, the science genius, ever believe in that kind of thing?
But what Pepper didn't know… was that Tony not only believed it—he'd already started investigating. Especially after that mysterious guy sent him that video.
"Calm down, Pepper. Take a breath. Just tell me what happened."
With Tony's reassurance, Pepper slowly began to settle down. She sat on the couch, hands covering her face.
"It was like this… I went out this afternoon to negotiate a deal on behalf of the company."
Basically, she was out doing her job, representing Stark Industries. But then, out of nowhere, she got ambushed—by a bunch of strange people. They were ridiculously strong, freakishly fast, and guns didn't do a damn thing to them. Only later did she realize—they were vampires. And the worst part? They were after her.
She had pretty much given up hope. But right at the last second, some guy showed up—dual pistols, a long sword on his back, black cloak, the whole deal. After a wild fight, he managed to save her.
"You're saying… a black-cloaked lone wolf type saved you?"
Pepper nodded.
"Tony, I know it sounds crazy, but it's real. I swear it's all real."
Tony kept nodding.
"I believe you, Pepper. I believe you."
Once she'd calmed down again, Tony spoke up.
"Alright, Pepper. You've been through a lot. You need to rest. Forget about work for now—take a break. I'm giving you some time off."
Pepper looked at him, still worried.
"Tony, I don't think this is just about me. I've got a feeling those people… they might come for you too."
Tony flashed that trademark confident smile.
"Don't worry, Pepper. Come on—do you know who I am? I'm Tony Stark, genius extraordinaire. If they come for me, good! I'll show them what happens when they mess with the amazing and beautiful Miss Potts."
Pepper couldn't help but laugh. Yep, that was the Tony Stark she knew.
After she left, Tony turned to the others in the room.
"Today's incident doesn't leave this room. Got it?"
"Yes, sir."
With that, he rushed back to his lab.
"JARVIS, help me find someone."
"Yes, sir. Who are we looking for?"
"I don't know."
Tony paused for a second.
"Let's do a keyword search. Keywords: dual pistols, long sword, black cloak… and throw in 'vampire hunter' too."
JARVIS immediately started digging through the data. In the Marvel Universe, if anyone had a massive database, Tony Stark was definitely at the top of the list.
"Search complete."
Dozens of entries popped up on the screen. Even with the keywords, there were still a ton of matches.
As Tony was skimming through the files, one thing stood out—a S.H.I.E.L.D. logo.
"Huh? Blade?"
Out in a secret farm on the outskirts—
"Faster, kid! Keep up!"
Dan, wearing just a white tank top, was swinging his wooden sword like crazy at Erik.
The wooden blades clashed, filling the air with sharp cracks.
Suddenly, Erik pulled off a clean upward slash.
Whack!
Dan's wooden sword went flying.
"Ugh, lost again…"
Dan sighed, a little disappointed.
"Not bad, kid. You lasted three minutes longer than last time."
Erik waved a stopwatch and tossed it aside.
"Take a break."
Dan flopped onto a haystack and chugged some water.
Under Erik's training, Dan had grown a lot stronger—physically, he was already above most regular people. Though, of course, still no match for a half-vampire like Erik.
"Hey Erik, I wanna show you something."
He pulled a small box from the Dollet Tron.
"What's this?"
Erik looked curiously at the box in Dan's hands.
"It's a little gadget my partner and I came up with. I want you to test it out and help me gather some data."
Erik gave him a weird look.
"So I'm your guinea pig now?"
Dan scratched his head and gave a sheepish grin.
"Well… it's custom-made for you. I can't use it myself—so I kinda need you to try it."
Erik sighed, shook his head, but still took the box. Inside was a belt and a strange-looking glove.
"What is this stuff?"
"The Ixa Driver."
"Driver?"
Erik suddenly thought of the belt Dan wore when he transformed.
"You mean like the belt you use to transform?"
Dan nodded excitedly.
"Exactly! Go ahead, put it on!"
Under Dan's urging, Erik strapped on the belt.
"So, how do I use it?"
"First like this… then this… then that…"
Dan flailed around, trying to demonstrate the moves.
"Do I really have to do it like that?" Erik asked, clearly unimpressed.
Dan nodded seriously.
"Come on, please?"
Erik let out a long sigh and struck a super dramatic pose.
"Vampires… return your souls to God."
Then he pressed the glove into his palm.
[R-e-a-d-y]
"Henshin!"
[Fist On][Ixa Save Mode]
As the sound effects rang out, a golden light shimmered in front of Erik. A golden armor silhouette appeared and merged with his body.
Shhh~!
A burst of steam hissed out. A gleaming white suit of armor took shape. White chest and shoulder plates, a holy shield design with a red sun emblem across the chest, and a golden cross guarding his eyes.
"I did it! I actually did it!!"
Dan was over the moon. He'd finally succeeded. Using his memories of Kamen Rider from his past life, combined with Grandpa Rick's teachings, Kurim's Rider system, and rare Marvel Universe metals—he had built a real Kamen Rider.
"This power's… insane!"
Erik was stunned too. He could feel the strength in the suit like it was part of him.
"What is this thing?"
"Ixa. Kamen Rider Ixa."
Dan proudly announced the name. It felt like a passing of the torch—vampires, Kamen Riders, Blade… what a crazy combination.
"Let's test how powerful it really is."
Dan, pumped with excitement, summoned Kurim.
"Did it work?!"
Kurim, who had noticed the transformation from the car, was wide-eyed. It had really worked.
"Yup! Now it's time to test performance. Mr. Belt, you up for a field run?"
"No problem!"
"Start your engines!"
[Henshin!]
"....."