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There were only two words that could describe a night in New York: dazzling and chaotic.
On the brightly lit streets, people of all kinds roamed about. But in the places where the flashing neon lights didn't reach, the ugliness of human nature could no longer stay hidden.
Inside a certain biotech company, two figures moved like shadows, slipping past security and sneaking into the building.
"Smells like vampires—no mistake."
Erik's nose twitched. That distinct, stale scent unique to vampires filled the air around him.
"Stay sharp. Our main goal is to investigate the lab."
Dan kept his eyes open and whispered a reminder.
Erik reached the center of the building, pulled a small black box from his belt, activated it, and pressed it to the floor. Instantly, a full 3D scan of the entire building appeared on his smartwatch.
Looking at the display, Erik muttered, "Figures. Another basement lab."
Dan glanced at the blueprint.
"Then we're in the right place."
The two of them found a hidden trapdoor in the corner and carefully made their way down.
But right then—an ear-piercing alarm blared out.
"INTRUDERS! Sound the alarm!"
And the next second, a pack of fully armed vampires came charging at them, shrieking.
"So much for sneaking in!"
"Guess we're going loud then."
Erik stayed calm as ever, pulling out his crucifix-shaped blaster blade.
With a pull of the trigger, beams of light fired from the barrel.
In a flash, the hallway echoed with vampire screams.
Erik tore through the crowd up front while a second wave of vampires—this group packing guns—rushed at Dan.
"Great, now even vampires know how to use guns?"
Dan muttered sarcastically.
A bracelet on his left wrist lit up, projecting a light blue energy shield. The bullets hit it and dropped harmlessly to the floor.
"Since you guys are being so warm and welcoming, let me give you a gift in return!"
Grinning, Dan raised his right hand. A glowing energy orb formed in his palm.
Then—FWOOOM!—a blazing beam shot out, incinerating everything in its path.
If a future Tony Stark were here to witness this, he'd probably yell at Dan for shamelessly ripping off his style. But hey—when it comes to tech, first come, first served.
In tight spaces like this, these vamps were no match for two seasoned vampire hunters.
They fought their way deeper, eventually reaching the seventh underground floor.
"Erik!"
A furious voice rang out.
The vampires all stopped attacking and stepped aside to clear a path. A man and a woman walked out from the group.
Dan leaned toward Erik.
"You know them? Old enemies?"
Erik's expression didn't change a bit.
"Nothing special. Just two pieces of trash who got lucky and escaped me before."
"Who're you calling trash?!"
The female vampire shrieked, pointing a finger at Erik.
"Damn you, Erik! We've received the ultimate power from Lord Feith! We're here to settle all our old scores!"
As she spoke, the two of them transformed—bodies turning into translucent, colorful crystal.
CRACK! The glass shattered, and the pair revealed their true forms: Fangires.
Dan and Erik's eyes sharpened. The two Fangires had taken on spider-like forms—one red, one green.
When Erik had first recruited Dan, he'd mentioned a pair of spider Fangires wreaking havoc. They'd been hunting those two for ages, but it was like they'd vanished off the face of the earth—until now.
Erik clicked his Ixa belt into place and clenched his knuckle blaster.
"Yeah. Time to finish what we started."
"You're gonna pay for what you've done!"
Dan placed his hand on his transformation bracelet.
Then, together, they shouted in unison—
"Fangires! Return your souls to God!"
"Hen… shin!"
A brilliant flash of light and burst of energy filled the air.
"Drive! Type Wild!"
"IXA Burst Mode!"
With the mechanical cue, two figures—one black, one white—charged forward, weapons drawn, rushing at the spider Fangires.
Meanwhile, inside Stark Industries' lab…
Tony was adjusting a suit of armor. After finishing the tweaks, he stepped in front of a camera, tapped it, and said:
"Alright, Test #23. Let's do this."
He took a few steps back and picked up a red belt.
Click!
The belt latched onto his waist. Then, striking a ridiculously flashy pose, he shouted—
"Hen… shin!"
He pressed the top of the belt.
The blue core in the center lit up. A dramatic, over-the-top BGM started blasting as pieces of armor flew in from all directions and attached to his body, assembling a sleek black suit.
"Genius. Billionaire. All rolled into one. That's me—Tony the Magnificent!"
Tony struck a heroic pose… and then the whole suit short-circuited. Pieces fell off and clattered to the floor, leaving Tony standing there, looking disappointed.
"Well… Test #23: failed."
Scratching his head, Tony muttered, "Where's the issue? They transform just like this…"
He waved his hand, pulling up videos of all Erik and Dan's past transformations.
"Tch… I've already got the basic transformation system figured out. The belt summons the armor and suits up the user—that part's clear. But the energy consumption is just way too high. How does Dan handle it? And what about all those special functions on their suits—how the hell do those work?"
While he was still thinking, J.A.R.V.I.S. suddenly spoke up.
"Sir, I've located the 'Blood Lake' you asked me to find."
Hearing the news, Stark temporarily set aside the thoughts swirling in his head.
"You found it? Where is it?"
J.A.R.V.I.S. brought up a nearby computer screen. A set of coordinates appeared, then zoomed in to a specific location on the map.
"Sir, I also discovered some recent activity by a certain group at this location."
As he spoke, another screen popped up—this time a list of names. Each one was a high-ranking official, all people in powerful positions.
Stark frowned at the sight of them.
"Damn bastards… I can tolerate the usual corruption, but selling out humanity? That's a whole different level."
Getting more and more pissed, Stark slammed his fist on the table.
"Get me in touch with Moon. Tell him Blood Lake's been found and he needs to take care of it. And as for those people on the list? Stark Industries is cutting off all sponsorships to any of their businesses."
"Yes, sir."
"....."