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"Alright, just stay put. I need to go repair the IXA Belt anyway. That last fight really did a number on it."
Kurim drove his little car out of the room—right as Erik walked in carrying burgers and fries.
"You must be starving. Eat up."
Dan took the fries and burger, looking a bit baffled as he stared at Erik.
"Seriously? You brought this for someone in recovery?"
Erik looked confused and asked back,
"Is there a problem?"
"I mean… shouldn't I at least be getting some porridge or soup? Something easy to digest? Fries and a burger? Man, you're killing me."
Dan couldn't help but laugh. But then he remembered—Erik was American, after all. It started to make a little more sense.
"Ugh, whatever, I'll just eat it. I'm not that weak."
Muttering to himself, he ended up just biting into the burger.
"By the way, Erik, you doing okay? You look… bigger."
Dan stared at him. He looked like he'd grown again. Technically, Erik should've been more injured than he was—his back had literally been broken, his spine crushed. And yet, here he was, looking totally fine.
"I'm good. Actually, I feel better than ever."
Erik shook his head with a bitter smile.
"No wonder some of those guys were willing to give up being vampires and evolve into monsters instead. That kind of power… it's hard to resist."
As he spoke, Erik wiped his face with one of his big hands. Even though he'd lost control when he turned into a Fanged Vampire, he hadn't lost those memories. In fact, the images of himself tearing Feith apart piece by piece were crystal clear in his mind. And every now and then, that thrill of killing still surged up in him.
Dan looked seriously at Erik.
"Erik, tell me—why did you turn into a Fanged Vampire?"
"That's because—"
"Tell me the truth, Erik. We're partners, teammates. I need to know what really happened."
Dan stared him down. Honestly, when he saw Erik become a Fanged Vampire, he'd been furious. Becoming one of those things usually meant completely losing your mind, or worse—turning into a puppet or a slave to other vampires.
So yeah, Dan had been really mad. But at least Erik managed to regain his sanity in the end.
Erik met Dan's serious gaze and let out a long sigh.
"I got it during a hunt—from a high-level vampire. He was trying to use this black device to turn into a Fanged Vampire, but I cut off his arm before he could. I ended up with the device. I was gonna show it to you later, but then we got that intel from Stark about the military base. Everything happened so fast, I never got the chance to tell you."
Dan stared into Erik's eyes, and Erik met his gaze calmly. Trying to read a top-level agent's face for lies wasn't easy.
In the end, Dan chose to trust him.
"Alright. As long as you're okay now, that's what matters."
Then suddenly, something hit him.
"Wait—what happened to that military base? That was a U.S. military base. Are we on America's most wanted list now or something?"
Erik casually patted Dan's shoulder.
"Relax. I already called in the pros. Those weird, messy situations? They specialize in that. A high-ranking officer getting turned into a vampire, his whole unit turned into slaves? That's not the kind of news the White House wants out there. I doubt they'll go public with anything."
Somewhere on a Helicarrier, a bald guy in black suddenly sneezed.
Dan finally let out a breath of relief. The last thing he wanted was to show up on the first day of school only to get dragged away by federal agents or something.
"Oh, right, Dan—"
Erik suddenly stood up and gave him a deep bow.
"Thanks for everything you've done for me."
"Hey, what are you talking about, Erik? We're teammates."
Erik stood up straight, face serious.
"I know. But I still need to say it. That thank-you isn't just from me. It's from the tens of millions of people who've suffered because of vampires. After Feith died, most of the vampires in the states disappeared. Their leaders have started laying low too. The war's not over, but at least the nights in New York aren't as dark as they used to be."
Three Days Later
At home, Dan had changed into casual clothes. The vampire mess had finally settled down, and summer break was coming to an end. Soon, he'd be starting his new school life. But before that, he had something he needed to do.
He opened the garage. Inside was a sleek black Chevy—his new car. Even though Erik said the military base situation had been taken care of, Dan didn't dare drive the Dolatron around anymore. Like Stark said, that thing was way too flashy. It'd be just his luck to get spotted on the street.
The car cruised through street after street, with fewer and fewer people around. Finally, it pulled up in front of a building: Valentine Orphanage. The place he'd lived in before his teacher took him away.
Standing outside, he could hear the sound of kids laughing and playing echoing through the orphanage. Just hearing that made him smile.
"Hey guys, I'm back!"
Dan pushed open the front gate and waved to the kids.
As soon as they heard his voice, the kids came running out.
"Big bro Dan!"
"Big bro Dan's back!"
"Big bro Dan's back!"
They swarmed around him, a few of them clinging tightly to his legs.
"Haha, hey everyone! Did you miss me?"
"Mike, you've gotten taller!"
"Johnson, still the same troublemaker, huh?"
"Pierre, you little rascal—have you been listening to Sister Talia?"
Dan greeted them one by one. Even though he'd left the orphanage at six years old, he'd never forgotten the place that took him in when he was at his lowest.
"What's going on, kids? Why's it so loud out here?"
A gentle voice called out. An elderly nun with snow-white hair and a face full of wrinkles stepped out of the house, holding the hand of a five- or six-year-old girl.
Dan saw her and smiled warmly.
"Long time no see, Sister Talia."
"Big bro Dan!"
The little girl in her hand lit up when she saw him and ran toward him happily.
Dan bent down and scooped her up.
"Little Orange, did you miss me?"
Sister Talia looked at Dan standing among the kids with a kind, peaceful smile.
"The Lord's child has returned. Welcome back, Dan."
"....."