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On the third level of the Goat Cave Valley Laboratory, Abraham Whistler opened his eyes inside a hastily assembled medical recovery tank.
Because his nose and mouth were covered by a breathing mask, things weren't too bad. But opening one's eyes underwater required a moment of adjustment, even for people capable of doing it.
Suddenly finding himself in such an environment, the old vampire hunter was understandably alarmed.
Especially since his hands, feet, and body were restrained.
His first instinct was that he had been captured and imprisoned.
"Calm down, Whistler. You're inside my medical tank. It helps speed up recovery."
Standing outside the glass enclosure, Black Super somehow transmitted his voice into the old man's ears.
...Or at least, Whistler thought he heard something.
Black Super tapped on the tank's glass.
"If you want to speak, talk softly. There's a small microphone inside the breathing mask. We can hear you out here."
Although he had already completed a tiger-language brainwave translator, human thought patterns were far more complicated. For now, the brainwave device could only detect emotions, not accurately interpret language.
Still, Black Super had placed a brainwave sensor on the old hunter anyway, collecting data while he was at it.
Whistler asked from inside the tank:
"Where am I? Why am I tied down?"
"This is my secret base. Completely secure."
One hundred and ten meters underground.
Even nuclear disaster shelters weren't always this deep.
If this place wasn't safe, then nowhere was.
Its power came from the same batteries used in the Duck-Leopard Armor, charged at the undersea power station—a Kree technology product.
"As for restraining you, that's because I don't want you moving around.
"Your wounds have only been stitched, not healed. Movement won't help.
"I also treated the old injury in your left leg. That needs rest too."
Whistler immediately asked about his beloved student.
"Where's Blade?"
"Off causing trouble for vampires."
"Damn it. Don't tell me you don't know it's a trap."
"Blade said as much. But do you think I could stop him?
"And you were half dead. Was I supposed to abandon you?
"Even if I wanted to ditch you and go with Blade, he wouldn't allow it."
"Damn it! How much time has passed?"
Black Super answered casually.
"Since the moment I jabbed you with that anesthetic needle? About seventeen hours.
"It's already the evening of the next day.
"The surgery was a success. Aside from that foul mouth of yours—which is beyond saving—everything else is fine."
He continued:
"I gave you two bags of artificial plasma, plus an erythropoietin shot.
"Right now the IV drip is glucose nutrition.
"And no, don't think I'm letting you out for dinner."
"Black Super... do me a favor."
"It already sounds troublesome. Can you not say it?"
"Go help that boy."
Whistler's tone became serious.
"He went alone into enemy territory. Too reckless.
"Especially knowing they set a trap specifically to capture him."
Black Super sighed.
"You still said it.
"You understand why I don't want direct conflict with vampires, right?
"Changing my appearance isn't enough against creatures with noses like theirs."
Vampire smell was bizarre.
They didn't merely detect body odor.
They could smell blood itself.
That was why Blade had immediately noticed the plasma Black Super brought earlier was wrong.
Because it really was artificial plasma.
Not the real thing.
Whistler continued:
"I know.
"But there's no one else I can ask.
"Other vampire hunters and exorcists—they don't trust Blade. No matter how much that kid's done."
Then he added:
"You're the only one who got close to him without wanting money... and not because you wanted to screw him over his looks or physique."
Black Super nearly rolled his eyes.
"I'm not asking you to fight beside him.
"Just watch his back route.
"If it gets dangerous, help him once.
"I don't dare ask for more."
Black Super walked from one side of the medical tank to the other, using those few steps to think.
During the earlier Kree-Skrull war, one major reason he dared stay uninvolved was Captain Marvel's absurd level of power.
Once that woman went all out, there were very few beings capable of stopping her.
The only thing Henry had done was assist a crashing Quinjet on its way down from space, reducing the number of Kree warships chasing it.
Mostly because Nick Fury had been onboard, and Henry had still hoped the man might clear his name someday.
But the current situation was different.
It was foreseeable what came next:
The Blood God versus Blade.
Did Blade have a guaranteed chance of winning?
Would the Blood God be as pathetic as in the movie?
If Deacon Frost actually succeeded, it would undoubtedly create even more trouble for Henry.
Unlike the Kree and Skrulls, whichever side won would eventually leave Earth.
At worst, they might blow the planet into cheese first.
But if the Blood God defeated Blade—
Then Deacon Frost, or whichever vampire became the Blood God, would become far bolder in attacking the real world.
Could anyone expect them to kill only the poor and powerless, while sparing the rich and influential?
Of course not.
In the end, it would be the same old story:
Submit and prosper.
Resist and perish.
And someone like Henry, unwilling to cooperate, had a high chance of becoming the sacrificial chicken used to scare the monkeys.
Which meant—
If he didn't want a bigger disaster later, he had to stop it now, at this critical moment.
Not stand aside and let events plunge into the abyss.
Having reached that conclusion, Black Super sighed softly.
"Fine. I'll help."
Whistler relaxed.
"Thanks."
"No need."
Black Super reached the control panel.
"I'm giving you another shot. Sleep well.
"Hopefully the next time you wake up, I'll have good news."
He added a measured dose of sedative into the tank.
Under the medication's effects, the badly wounded old hunter drifted back into deep sleep.
---
Black Super returned to the laboratory's second level.
This was the original excavated cavern area.
Unlike the third level, which had been reinforced with synthetic concrete until it resembled a proper building interior.
The makeshift medical tank had required dismantling quite a few components from this floor.
Fortunately, the disabled systems were mostly unimportant ones.
He removed the Black Super Kevlar combat suit.
Against vampires, that outfit was basically transparent.
It couldn't conceal his identity at all.
Blade himself had confirmed it.
Every time Blade recognized him, it wasn't because of the deliberate footsteps Black Super made.
It was because of that unique blood scent.
So now—
It was time to change suits.
Duck-Leopard Armor, Duck Form.
Green paint scheme.
Its most striking feature:
A Punjabi-style hat with a circular inner frame, triangular edges—
And a pheasant feather sticking proudly out of the top.
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