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For a moment, Dan's head was spinning with thoughts—he was starting to feel like something about this world just wasn't right.
"No—focus. Saving people comes first."
He slapped his cheeks to snap out of it, pushed all the distractions aside, and walked up to the device to study it.
Under his hands, the machinery came to life. The glass chamber started to lower slowly, and the green liquid inside drained out completely.
"Erik! Come give me a hand!"
Dan called out to Erik, and the two of them worked together to open the chamber and get the person inside out.
But when he laid eyes on the girl inside, completely exposed… Dan's face turned beet red. Even though this was technically his second life, he was still completely inexperienced when it came to stuff like this. He really couldn't handle such a provocative sight. Flustered, he quickly took off his coat and covered up her pale, naked body.
He coughed awkwardly to try to play it cool, then asked:
"Erik, do you smell any vampire scent on her?"
Erik shook his head. "Not sure. The scent on her is too messed up—there's all kinds of chemicals and drugs covering her original smell. I really can't tell."
Dan frowned. Now things were getting complicated.
If she was a vampire—or even a half-vamp—then it didn't matter if she was a victim or not. He could've just taken her out on the spot. But if she was human, they could just hand her over to the authorities.
Now, though? They didn't even know what she was.
"Hey, guess what I found? Turns out this place is actually called Blood Lake! I thought it was literally a lake made of blood or something. I was wondering why JARVIS couldn't detect something like that if it were real."
Stark strolled in, holding a folder, brushing the dust off his shoulders while proudly showing off his discovery.
But the second he stepped in, he spotted something way more interesting than his little folder.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Did you guys just catch the daughter of those monsters or something? This is way more exciting than any supermodel I've ever seen!"
His eyes locked on the girl lying on the ground. Stark had seen a lot of women in his time, but even he could tell—this young girl, who looked to be in her mid-teens, was an absolute knockout.
"Seriously, what's wrong with you two? A vampire hunter and a high schooler—what a combo. How about you hand her over to me instead? I promise I'll take good care of her."
Dan just gave him a cold smirk. "She's one of the vampire experiment subjects."
The moment he said that, Stark instantly shut his mouth. He'd heard plenty of horror stories from Dan about vampire experiments on humans. Who knew what kind of things had been done to her? And the worst part—vampires usually infected people first before they started modifying them.
Stark rubbed his neck uncomfortably. "Uh… forget I said anything. I don't think having two holes in my neck is on my bucket list."
Dan ignored him and turned back to Erik.
"So, what now?"
Erik stayed silent for a moment before speaking up. "We can't just leave her. Let's bring her back to the base and keep her under watch. Figure out if she's human or vampire. If she's human, we send her home. If she's a vamp… we put her down."
Dan nodded. Yeah, that was definitely the best option for now.
"Alright, let's clean this place up first. I want to see what kind of messed-up stuff these freaks have been doing."
Early 20th century, a small town in England
A happy little family was out enjoying a lovely picnic on the grass.
The adults sat chatting peacefully while two kids—around seven or eight years old—ran around on the field, laughing and playing.
"Sharina, be careful! Don't trip!" her mother called out gently.
"Got it, Mom~! Kana, wait for me!"
Sharina called back, then giggled as she chased after her older cousin.
"Haha, Sharon, Sharina's growing up fast! You've really got to stop babying her so much," said another woman nearby with a warm smile. She then turned to her own daughter and shouted, "Kana, have fun, sweetie!"
"Okay, Mom!" Kana called back.
The children's laughter echoed across the field under the warm sun. Honestly, there was nothing more perfect than spending time with family like this.
But the more beautiful a moment is, the easier it is to be destroyed.
Suddenly, the skies shifted. Thick clouds rolled in, lightning cracked, and thunder roared—the sky looked like it might just come crashing down.
The adults were starting to panic… and the kids were already terrified.
"Mama, I'm scared…"
Sharina clung tightly to her mother, burying her little face in the crook of her arm.
"It's alright, Sharina. We're going home now."
Sharon called out to her husband, telling him to get the car ready.
KRA-KOOM!
A massive bolt of lightning tore across the sky, and then—like the world was breaking apart—a huge crack split open in the air.
From that crack, a shining light shot out, as if guided by some unseen force, and flew straight toward the family.
As it got closer, they all finally saw it clearly—it was a sword.
The father, reacting instantly, bared his fangs, leapt into the air, and launched himself at the incoming weapon to protect his family.
But in the blink of an eye, that shining silver blade pierced straight through his body.
"John!!"
Sharon's heart shattered as she watched her husband impaled right in front of her.
But the sword didn't stop. It didn't even slow down. It kept going, heading straight for little Sharina.
"Sharina!!"
SPLURCH!
Blood sprayed everywhere. The gleaming sword—now soaked in red—appeared right in front of Sharina.
Sharon had used her own body to shield her daughter.
"Mama! Mama!"
Sharina cried out in despair, her tiny hands trembling as she tried to stop the blood from pouring out. Just as her fingertips touched the blade, a strange glow ran along the sword and entered her body. A mark appeared on her hand, glowing faintly for a moment… then vanished.
But it didn't end there.
A monstrous, clawed hand grabbed the sword and yanked it out of Sharon's body.
The one holding the blade was a grotesque creature—half man, half bat.
The moment it pulled the sword free, it let out an ear-splitting roar. A terrifying power surged from the blade and flooded the creature's body, and in an instant, the sword and the monster became one.
But the sword wasn't being wielded by the monster—it was controlling it.
With the blade in hand, the creature charged at Sharina.
"No! Daddy, don't!!"
Sharina raised her arms to shield herself and shouted out in horror—she'd recognized the monster as her own father the moment the sword struck him.
Just as the blade was about to strike her again, the strange mark on Sharina's palm lit up.
A strange power burst forth—and in the next instant, the monster was turned to ash.
On the side, Sharon's sister and brother-in-law had watched the entire thing unfold with their own eyes—unable to believe what they'd just seen.
"....."