A muffled groan crackled through Daniel's earpiece—Blade.
Then a new, oily voice took over.
"Vampire Killer, I presume? Word on the street is you've been cozying up to the Daywalker trying to hunt little old me."
Daniel smirked. "Deacon Frost?"
"The one and only." Frost sounded almost amused. "I'm impressed, human. You've been carving through my kind like butter. Join us. Become something greater."
Daniel laughed. "Tempting offer. Tell you what—I'll swing by right now and we can discuss the benefits package in person."
Frost's tone dropped to ice. "Then enjoy your last call, meat. After tonight, humanity kneels."
Click.
Daniel glanced at the mini-map. Blade's green dot was hauling ass deeper into the building.
Elevator ride later—ding!
The doors slid open to a firing squad of vampires unloading full-auto into the empty car.
When the smoke cleared, the elevator: still empty.
"Hold fire!" the squad leader barked.
One brave (or stupid) vampire crept inside to check.
He looked left, right, up—
Daniel dropped from the ceiling like a silent meteor, grinning ear to ear.
"Dinner time. Hope you like Italian."
He yanked the pin on a garlic-extract grenade and jammed it down the vampire's throat like a party favor, then punted him back into his friends.
FWOOSH—yellow mist exploded outward. The poor bastard barbecued from the inside out.
"GARLIC! SCATTER!"
They scattered. Daniel didn't.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
Golden Desert Eagle coughed four times; four heads turned to dust.
When the mist settled, only the squad captain remained, fists raised in classic tough-guy pose.
"Put the gun down. Fight me like a man."
Daniel tilted his head. "Nah."
Bang! Bang!
Both kneecaps.
He strolled over, pressed the warm muzzle to the vampire's forehead.
"Frost. Where'd he take Blade?"
"You'll get nothing from—"
Bang! Shoulder.
"Every time you stall, you lose another limb. Clock's ticking."
"F— you—"
Bang!
"Okay, okay! Eternal Night Temple! Underground! He needs the Daywalker alive for the ritual!"
Good. Blade wasn't dead yet.
Daniel snatched the car keys from the sobbing vampire's pocket. "Thanks for the ride."
The "temple" was a fake construction site on the edge of town—cranes frozen, lights off, perfect vampire cover.
Daniel parked two hundred yards out, scoped the fence, spotted patrols, then shrugged and pulled out the Diamond Pickaxe.
Ten minutes of furious mining later, he broke through into a cavernous ancient chamber buried beneath the city.
Following the green dot, he reached a sealed crypt. Four vampire guards around a stone sarcophagus.
Golden Desert Eagle barked four times. Four piles of ash.
A woman's scream sliced the dark.
Daniel spun. A female vampire—dark skin, familiar face—cowered in the shadows.
Racial stealth too OP, seriously.
Bang.
Silence.
He found the coffin switch, hit it. The lid ground open.
Blade lay inside, wrists shredded by internal blades, blood draining into channels below.
Daniel slapped his cheek. "Yo, Sleeping Beauty."
No response. Dude was ghost-white.
Daniel almost used the Coin of Destiny, saw Blade's chronically unlucky face, and swapped it for a glowing red potion instead.
[Item: Potion of Life – restores HP over 15 sec]
He pinched Blade's nose and poured.
Wounds closed like time-lapse footage. Color returned. Eyes snapped open.
Blade coughed, hoarse. "Thought we were doing this together… how'd I end up the damsel?"
"Long story short: your mom's alive, Frost turned her decades ago, she helped kidnap you. Surprise stepdad."
Blade's face cycled through grief, rage, and existential horror.
"She… tried to kill me. For him."
He clenched his fists until they shook. "I need to see her. Ask her why."
Daniel gave a supportive pat on the shoulder. "Where is she now?"
Blade looked around, confused. "She was right here before I blacked out. Black woman, long braids—did you see her?"
Daniel glanced at the inconspicuous pile of ash in the corner, then back at Blade with the straightest face imaginable.
"Nope. Must have slipped out. I'm sure you'll bump into her again someday, buddy."
Blade nodded slowly, eyes wet but determined.
Daniel offered a hand up.
"Come on. Let's go ruin your new stepdad's whole night."