Dracula stood near the edge of the skyscraper, the wind tugging at his coat.
Behind him, Diana was bent over, vomiting violently.
"First time jumping between realms?" Varin asked casually.
Rebecca winced. "If I'd known she'd never used a Bifrost before, I would've tried to stop her. This is my fault."
Diana grabbed Rebecca's cloak, struggling to lift her head.
"Don't blame yourself," she rasped before another wave hit her stomach. "Even if you knew... you wouldn't have convinced me."
She went back to retching.
"You heard the lady," Varin said with a shrug. "Nothing you could've done."
Rebecca forced herself to calm down. As she lifted her head, her eyes met Dracula's.
For a moment, it felt like he was staring straight through her.
A chill crept into her stomach.
"There's... no emotion in those eyes," she whispered, quickly looking back down at Diana.
Varin glanced toward Dracula and grinned before strolling over.
"What troubles the mind of the great Dracula?" he asked.
Dracula didn't answer.
He simply stood there, arms crossed, gazing over the sprawling city.
A long silence passed.
"I'm amazed," Dracula finally said, "at how many vampires live among humans without being noticed."
Varin's brow lifted. "How many can you feel right now?"
Dracula closed his eyes.
Behind him, faint crimson lights flickered into existence in every direction, scattered like distant stars across the skyline.
After a moment, he opened his eyes again. The lights vanished instantly.
"Over five million," he said.
Varin's eyes widened.
"Imagine how many of them are in power," he muttered.
"Alright!" Diana suddenly shouted, swaying as she tried to steady herself. "Let's get this mission—"
Dracula moved.
Before anyone could react, he had already passed her.
In the next instant, the veil covering Rebecca was in his hand.
"Now... what are you hiding?" he murmured.
The moment sunlight touched her skin—
Rebecca screamed.
A searing pain erupted across her body as her skin began to burn. She collapsed to the ground, her scream echoing down the skyscraper and spilling into the streets far below. People on the sidewalks stopped, looking up in confusion.
For the first time since his awakening, Dracula's face changed.
Shock.
He watched in disbelief as Rebecca's skin blistered under the sunlight.
Diana rushed to her, throwing herself over Rebecca to block the sun.
"What are you doing?!" she screamed. "You're killing her!"
Varin walked calmly over to Dracula and placed a hand on his shoulder.
"What you're seeing," Varin said evenly, "is a rare genetic disease among vampires. It causes them to burn in sunlight."
He glanced down at Rebecca.
"It started appearing after your supposed death."
Dracula froze.
Then, in an instant, he dropped to his knees beside her, quickly covering her with the cloth again.
"I... am terribly sorry," he murmured.
Back in Sanguinastra — The Citadel
Tharion pushed the heavy door open.
The stench hit him first.
Bodies hung from the ceiling by rusted iron hooks, swaying gently. Winged abominations flapped erratically in the dim light, their screeches echoing through the chamber. Guts were strewn across the floor, half-dried, half-fresh. Blood stained every surface.
Tharion lifted a hand to his nose, unimpressed.
For a woman that beautiful… she has no sense of order.
A sudden screech cut through the air.
Three of the winged creatures snapped their heads toward him and lunged—jaws wide, limbs twitching unnaturally.
Tharion didn't move.
He traced three thin lines through the air with his fingers.
In an instant—
The creatures split cleanly from head to toe.
Their bodies collapsed in wet halves across the floor.
Silence followed.
"What have I told you about touching my things?"
Seraphine's voice slid out from the shadows, calm… but edged with irritation.
Tharion smiled faintly. "It seems your pets aren't properly trained. I acted in self-defense."
For a moment, she said nothing.
Then she stepped into the light.
Seraphine Duskbourne—composed, elegant, and splattered faintly with blood that wasn't entirely dry.
"What do you want?" she asked.
"How is it progressing?" Tharion replied.
Her eyes narrowed slightly. "Why ask me? I'm not the only one you gave it to."
"True," Tharion said, tilting his head. "But you're the only one trying to understand it… not just use it."
Seraphine paused.
Only for a second.
Then she turned her back to him.
"Leave."
Tharion didn't move. His smile remained.
A quiet tension filled the room.
"…It's similar to my creations," Seraphine said at last.
Tharion's interest sharpened. "Similar?"
"No," she corrected, her voice lowering. "It's closer to what I've seen chasing perfection."
She turned slightly, just enough for him to catch her expression.
"A species that can merge with any flesh… and synchronize with it instantly. No rejection. No instability."
A beat passed.
"Perfect adaptability."
Tharion's smile widened.
"I'm glad you like it."
Seraphine's gaze hardened. "Where did you get them?"
Tharion turned toward the door.
"Have you ever heard of someone called… Nobody?"
He didn't wait for an answer.
He simply walked out.
The door creaked shut behind him.
Seraphine stood alone, surrounded by the remnants of her experiments—yet for the first time, her thoughts weren't on them.
"Was that sarcasm…?"
Seraphine murmured to herself, eyes lingering on the split remains of the winged creatures. She clicked her tongue, turned, and walked away.
The moment she left—
Skinny, grotesque creatures spilled out from the shadows, clawing and shrieking as they tore into the carcasses, devouring them in a frenzy.
America
A skyscraper stood among many.
At the top floor—an office decorated with mounted animal heads—violence hung in the air.
In the center of the room, a teenage boy was pinned to the wall.
A spear of blood had pierced through his left shoulder, anchoring him in place.
Below him, behind a desk, Varin lounged with his legs crossed on the surface, a lighter flicking open and shut in his hand, a cigarette resting between his fingers.
"Endure, kid," Varin said lazily. "Daddy should be here soon."
Diana and Rebecca stood frozen near the entrance, hands covering their mouths.
"Isn't this… too much?" Diana whispered.
"He's just a kid," Rebecca added, shaken.
Varin lit the cigarette and took a slow drag.
"And I had already taken five lives at his age," he replied without looking at them.
Smoke curled from his lips.
"I don't know what Val Hellsing sees in these things…"
He clicked the lighter shut and snuffed the cigarette out against the desk.
Dracula said nothing.
His gaze drifted across the room—slow, observant—before settling on a liquor shelf against the wall.
A mirror was mounted beside it.
He picked up a bottle, paused, then cracked it open slightly. He inhaled the scent, as if unfamiliar with it, then poured a small amount into a glass.
When he looked up—
The mirror did not reflect him.
A crimson, shadowed figure stared back.
Horns. Distorted. Watching.
"Hrrraaaah!!"
The boy screamed, gripping the blood spear and trying to wrench it free from his shoulder.
Diana rushed toward him, hands outstretched.
"Stop! You're making it worse—"
"Go to hell!!" he spat, eyes wild with pain.
Varin's expression shifted instantly.
Cold.
"You will," he said sharply. "If you don't learn to control your mouth."
The room fell still.
Diana froze.
That's the most serious I've ever seen him, she thought.
Moments later, a convoy of black cars screeched to a halt outside the building.
Doors flew open.
A bald man with a heavy build, dressed in a tailored black suit, stepped out and hurried inside, a squad of armed agents flooding in behind him.
"Activate the Phantom World," one of them ordered.
In an instant—
A transparent dome shimmered into existence above the building, spreading downward until it completely sealed the structure from the outside world.
"When will the bounty hunters be here?!" the bald man barked, panic slipping through his voice.
"Very soon, sir," one of the agents replied. "We just need to stall until they arrive."
The man stopped, forcing himself to breathe.
Then he raised his hand.
A crimson magic circle ignited across his arm.
"Workers of this establishment," his voice echoed unnaturally through the building, "my son is being held hostage in my office."
Gasps rippled through the floors.
"If you value your lives… evacuate immediately."
Chaos followed.
Employees rushed for exits, flooding out in a desperate wave.
Back in the office, Varin's grin stretched wider.
"They've activated a Phantom Space," he muttered. "Looks like they're ready to get serious."
"Prepare yourselves," Dracula said calmly.
Diana blinked. "Who is he talking to?"
"You," Varin replied without hesitation.
The office doors burst open.
"Taylor!!" the man shouted.
"D-Dad!!" the boy cried back.
Varin chuckled. "Nice reunion."
The man's jaw tightened. "Why are you doing this? Is it money? Just name your price!"
"Relax, Mr. Carter," Varin said, leaning back slightly. "We're simply here to discuss business… vampire to vampire."
At the building entrance—
Two figures stepped inside.
One was massive, built like a wall. The other was slimmer, shorter, with a sharper presence.
"Why's it empty?" the big one asked.
"How should I know?" the other replied.
Back in the office—
Sweat rolled down Mr. Carter's face.
"You see," Varin continued, "you've amassed quite the fortune, yet you don't seem to—"
"Enough."
Dracula cut him off.
The room stilled.
Dracula turned his gaze to Mr. Carter.
"I'm disappointed in you," he said. "And so should your son be."
Mr. Carter frowned slightly. Who is this man… drinking my liquor?
"Your son is in danger," Dracula continued, voice low. "Yet you arrive with weaklings… to save him."
A pause.
"Do you truly love your child?"
"Who are you calling weak?!" one of the agents snapped, stepping forward.
He didn't make it another step.
His body froze.
His hands shot to his throat as if something invisible was crushing it.
"T-the… d-devil—"
Blood burst from his ears, eyes, and mouth.
He collapsed.
Dead.
Dracula didn't even look at him.
They're not even as strong as those children, he thought, calmly opening the cabinet and retrieving two more bottles.
The remaining agents charged.
They never reached him.
In a single instant—
Blood sprayed across the room.
Bodies dropped.
Headless.
Varin now stood in front of Mr. Carter, casually holding their severed heads under his arm.
"They were getting in the way," he said with a grin.
Mr. Carter collapsed backward, trembling violently.
His vision warped.
For a split second—
Varin stood before him with a single horn protruding from the right side of his head.
Then it was gone.
Mr. Carter's pupils shook.
That's impossible…
The Right Horn of Dracula…
And he's taking orders from that man…
Then that means—
Dracula is alive.
Varin tilted his head slightly.
"Now then… shall we continue our business?"
Crack.
A hand burst through the floor.
Then another.
They shot upward, gripping Varin's legs tightly.
Varin glanced down, amused.
"Oh?"
More hands clawed their way out from beneath the ground, their grip tightening as they dragged him downward.
These ones are stronger, he thought, a grin forming.
And in the next instant—
He was yanked out of the office.