"Do you believe in prophecy?"
Across the Hudson River, a man stood atop a building in North Bergen, gazing out over New York City at night.
"Lord Sarus, of course I do. The great Navarre will bestow his mighty power, and when the time comes, the sky will be shrouded in darkness, and sunlight will never again fall upon the earth."
The speaker was a man clad in resplendent, jet-black armor, whose voice rang out with the metallic resonance of steel as he spoke.
A luxurious scabbard hung at his waist, sheathing a pitch-black longsword, and a shield engraved with a red dragon was strapped to his back. Clearly, this was no ordinary man—his dark armor seemed to devour the light, reflecting not a single glint.
Sarus fixed his eyes on the sword, then studied the Black Knight himself, his expression initially grave but quickly overtaken by ambition. His lips curled upward, revealing thick canine teeth as he lifted a glass of red wine from the table.
"To your rebirth, Sir Nathan."
"Cheers, Lord Sarus."
This was one of the council chambers belonging to the Swordclaw Blood Covenant. Under Sarus's rule, the Swordclaw had nearly complete control over the western bank of the Hudson, with enterprises spanning the entire state of New Jersey.
"But why are you so obsessed with Manhattan? Is there something special about it?"
The man known as Nathan was clearly confused by Sarus's fixation on Manhattan, as if the place held some kind of magical allure.
"Because our future lies here. According to the prophecy of the Old Gods, we must unite the Blood Covenants, welcome the arrival of the Old Gods, and embrace the coming of darkness."
On the surface, Sarus's words sounded like fantastical nonsense. But given that he was a vampire, and considering his unwavering conviction, his words took on an eerie, almost persuasive weight.
"Is that single page from the book really that powerful?"
"Hahaha…"
Sarus's fingers twitched, crimson magical energy flickering at his fingertips. At the same time, the air around them seemed to tremble, as sinister and obscure magical runes erupted across the room in an instant.
He looked as though he could tear through space and leave at any moment.
"The great Lord God has chosen a new divine champion. Sir Nathan, haven't you already experienced it for yourself? This power is far beyond the reach of those third-rate dark magicians."
It was clear that the power of the Dark Grimoire had descended into this world through Sarus. Though he was still himself, his ambition had already begun to swell in strange and dangerous ways.
"Sir Nathan, tonight marks the first step toward the revival of a glorious era. Skula and Atlantis will soon become Swordclaw's vassals, and when the Six Blood Covenants are reunited, we will strike the Sanctum and welcome the return of the gods."
He raised both hands triumphantly as he spoke, radiating utter confidence. It was hard to tell where that confidence came from, but Sarus was utterly convinced of his own ability to succeed.
But Nathan, for his part, had little patience for his pompous superior's endless ravings. He decided to speak up.
"When do we move, Lord?"
"Tomorrow night. Prepare your weapons and magic, Sir Nathan. My warriors are already gathering along the west bank of the Hudson. By tomorrow night, Skula and Atlantis will be history."
With that, Sarus burst into laughter. Nathan left without another word, his armored helmet providing some relief from the noise, even if the source of his strength was the unrelenting ambition of the vampire before him.
Were it not for the promise of the near-limitless lifespan granted by vampirism, he would never have stooped to serve such an arrogant blowhard.
Leaving Sarus's hall behind, Nathan Garrett quickly departed this den of chaos. Compared to staying with his "lord," he much preferred solitude.
He made his way to the rooftop, mounted his jet-black magical pegasus, and, with a flash of magical energy, concealed himself from view and vanished into the night above North Bergen.
The war brewing among the Blood Covenants had not gone unnoticed by others. Their large-scale mobilization—right in the heart of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s territory—was already drawing attention. Across New York, the recent surge in vampire activity was enough to exhaust even Phil Coulson.
"Phil, the vampires are mobilizing again. Looks like they're planning another war in New York."
Coulson had already assembled a trusted team to deal with the vampire problem, bringing in his oldest and most reliable friends to help.
His temporary base was located in a house near the Manhattan Bridge in Jersey City, now filled with agents monitoring and investigating vampire activity around the clock.
This was the first time since S.H.I.E.L.D.'s founding that they'd observed such a large-scale operation, with the vampires acting as if the agency didn't exist at all.
"Do we have any more intel on this?"
Coulson, buried in a mountain of reports, looked thoroughly fed up with the job. No wonder Fury couldn't find anyone else to take it on—there was almost no chance of achieving anything noteworthy.
"It's tough. The structure of these vampire organizations makes them almost impossible to infiltrate. Our informants are all low-level vampires, and all they know is that the Swordclaw Blood Covenant's lord recently issued an order.
The elite combat squads are massing along the west bank of the Hudson, clearly preparing for something big."
"May, help me organize this material. We need to report to the Director—this is starting to get out of control."
"I suspect Fury is just going to tell you to keep watching. Last time I went with you to brief him, he didn't look too happy. Seems like he's got a lot on his plate."
"Sometimes I really wonder about the original purpose of this organization. The bigger S.H.I.E.L.D. gets, the more disasters seem to pop up, not less."
Coulson sighed heavily, handing May a box of files.
"Let me be clear: I'm not going to see the bald guy."
"No problem, just help me sort through this garbage they've sent us. Most of it is useless anyway."
Meanwhile, Brutus finally welcomed the return of Zoya, battered and bruised. After hearing about the Swordclaw's troop buildup, the lord seemed to realize something.
The many pairs of eyes on his face began to blink in rapid succession, deep in thought, paying no attention to Zoya, who knelt in the great hall of the catacombs.
He headed straight for the depths of the catacombs, intent on checking his own tome and reinforcing its magical protections.
"The old man clearly hasn't made any real breakthroughs. Looks like that book page still hasn't acknowledged him."
After some time, with Brutus still not having returned, Zoya left the catacombs. Considering the strange human with mysterious powers might soon launch an attack, she figured she'd be staying away for a long while.
"Swordclaw wants to shatter the balance, and with that human interfering, New York is no longer safe. I need to get the lord out of here."
The next morning, there was nearly a whole day left before Lynn's planned meeting with Blade.
Lynn finally emerged from the laboratory, this time unable to hide his excitement. It was as if he'd achieved some major breakthrough, with Kara as steadfast as ever at his side.
"Doctor, the problem with direct symbiont implantation remains unresolved. Should we continue testing?"
"Of course, Kara. Prepare the testing area. I'll go pick up the subject—we'll start with some basic trials to get ready for the coming battle."
With that, Lynn left the lab. Although the prototype G-Unit had proven unsuitable for direct implantation into himself due to certain issues, Lynn still had other candidates in mind.
This would also be a good chance for her to adjust to a new way of life. After all, her worldview and values had already undergone major changes under Lynn's influence over the past while. Given what was likely to happen in this world, there was no way Lynn would let her remain an ordinary person.
About two hours later, Jessica and Lynn were riding a bus together. Jessica looked both thrilled and nervous; this was the first time Lynn had brought her to his "workplace."
"What's up?"
"Huh? Oh, it's nothing. I'm just curious why you're bringing me. Isn't your workplace supposed to be secret?"
"It's not really a secret between us."
"I just didn't think it would happen so soon. Lynn, I thought you'd take a while longer to decide. I haven't had many chances to spend time with you. Honestly, I…"
Lynn patted her on the head before she could say something she might regret. After all, she was only eighteen, and before the Purple Man kidnapped her, she'd just been a regular teenage girl.
In terms of life experience, her superpowers hadn't even had time to toughen her mind before being broken once by the Purple Man.
Jessica gazed out at the busy streets of New York, though her eyes seemed to focus on nothing at all, as if the buildings and all those bustling people were just scenery.
"Your friend from school, you two seem pretty close. Did you know each other before?"
"Patricia? She's been my friend since we were kids. When I went missing, she was the only one who kept looking for me. She's a bit overbearing, though, so she doesn't have many friends at school.
Her parents didn't get along, so before… all that happened, she lived with us for a while. We're very close."
"I see."
"Why? Is there something wrong with her?"
Jessica shot him a look, as if she'd drop her friend in a heartbeat if Lynn asked.
"It's nothing. Just… be ready for what comes next."
"Is anything you do ever not dangerous…?"
She clapped a hand over her mouth mid-sentence.
About two hours later, Lynn brought Jessica to the underground laboratory. She eyed the bio-reactor and its floating contents, and asked Lynn, puzzled:
"What's that?"
"The prototype G-Unit. It was supposed to be tested on me directly, but there were complications. So I need your help."
"Can't Aunt Kara do it?"
Jessica seemed to think Kara was a better fit for the experiment.
"I'm not suitable," Kara replied, glancing at Lynn. Clearly, he had already made his decision, so Kara had no objections. After Lynn's modifications, she trusted him implicitly; if he said she wasn't the right candidate, she didn't need to ask further.
"What about you, Lynn?"
"I'm not suitable either."
"The doctor can't proceed with implantation because of… certain parameters," Kara explained.
"Okay, so what do I have to do?"
"Come with me, miss."
That night, Lynn called Blade and told him to meet up in the Bronx, bringing only the necessary manpower. He had also secured the location of the Nosferatu catacombs, and since ordinary humans wouldn't be of much help, he told Blade to come alone.
Blade had no objections; in fact, he preferred this, since it meant his friends could stay somewhere safe.
Tonight's operation would be a desperate, life-or-death affair, and Blade didn't want them getting in his way.
"Hey, Eric, you don't have to fight alone. Aren't we all in this together? Can't we join in? This is what some of us have chased all our lives."
"You two stay here. This isn't my arrangement, either. King, you and Rachel stay put."
With that, Blade walked out.
"So, what do we do? Follow him?"
The woman named Rachel seemed just as frustrated, though she was much calmer than Hannibal.
"If we follow him now, he'll spot us. Sometimes it's better not to clash head-on."
Now and then, Rachel's sharp fangs would peek out as she spoke—clearly, she was a vampire.
Why a vampire would team up with Blade was anyone's guess.
"So what, we're just going to let this opportunity slip by? If we don't go now, we might never get another shot."
"Who says we're not going?"
"Huh? Then shouldn't we leave now?"
"Shh…"
Rachel glanced around.
"You just can't wait, can you?" she said, pointing to her ear. "Don't forget, I'm a vampire. I could hear everything on his phone. He's going to the Bronx.
Tonight is going to be huge. None of us will miss it. When we show up as reinforcements, we'll be a lot more useful—don't you think?"
"Yeah, good point. Why didn't I think of that? So, what do we do now?"
"Clean your weapons, then let's play some poker."
"You mean… that kind of poker?"
Rachel's sly grin instantly turned odd, and she hurled a pillow at him.
"What are you thinking? That stuff's for after."