Confession

Vampires had incredibly powerful bodies, and Blade was no exception, despite being a half-breed. Even though Pearl had grievously wounded him and left him unconscious for a time, and the KIVA system's toxins had done enough damage to shorten an ordinary person's life by half, a night's rest and a dose of nutritional supplements specially developed for his physiology had already restored him.

After meeting with the two Hydra leaders, Wei Xiuming had also been rushed back to the Osborn Industries campus as quickly as possible. He had spent most of the day in the lab, making the follow-up upgrade components and weapons for the KIVA system.

In the lounge where Blade could rest, Wei Xiuming set a long sword of antique, ornate design and a palm-sized box on the table. "As the one wearing it, what do you think of Kiva's power?"

Blade Warrior Brooks thought it over. "It's powerful. My strength, speed, stamina, agility, and defense have all improved significantly. The mechanical components linked to my nervous system also provide a lot of useful information. But against those mutated vampires, it wasn't enough."

As a warrior, Blade didn't hide his weaknesses. Facing them was the only way to grow stronger. And from the look of the scientist before him, Blade could tell he'd anticipated this situation. The things on the table were clearly meant to address it.

But Wei Xiuming said, "That's not what I'm asking. Do you feel unwell anywhere? For example, like something's been drained out of you? The KIVA system only gave you a preliminary version, like the skin test hospitals perform before injecting certain drugs to see whether a patient will have an allergic reaction."

As he spoke, Wei Xiuming opened the box, revealing a red vial. "Since you feel fine, we can save this injection, which neutralizes the toxins and counteracts their side effects. Take the sword. It's both a weapon designed to work with the KIVA system and an upgrade component. But be careful: you can only draw it from its scabbard after transforming. Your body won't be able to withstand it otherwise."

Whistler chimed in. "Doctor, is this sword some kind of magical object? Like King Arthur's Excalibur, which only someone worthy of being king can pull from the stone?"

With his lab coat and gas mask, Wei Xiuming looked much more like a mad scientist than a wizard from legend, tinkering with all kinds of minerals, herbs, and living things.

"No. It's a perfect combination of biotechnology and machinery," Wei Xiuming explained. "I doubt you'd understand the specifics, given what you know. Just think of it as a filter. Through contact, it draws out the user's blood, filters out unnecessary components, and mixes in a higher-grade toxin, boosting the wearer's bodily functions to twice their original level or even more."

"But it only allows a short burst of power, like anaerobic exercise. If you use it for too long, who knows what might happen? We don't have the biological tests or data to say. But given your hatred of vampires, I assume you've already made certain preparations?"

Blade stared at the sword, silent.

Meanwhile, back at S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Triskelion, Nick Fury had remained in his office, sitting on the leather sofa with his eyes closed. In truth, he was going over the information left to him by the Agent Coulson from a parallel world, using it to settle on his next move.

After all, enemies surrounded him, and he didn't know whom he could trust. The people who would become the Avengers hadn't made a name for themselves yet. Hawkeye and Black Widow were already working under him, but judging by how things would unfold, they were little more than mascots when it came to combat. Tony Stark was still a playboy who hadn't undergone his transformation or realized what it meant to be a superhero. He hadn't even started developing his signature Iron Man suit.

Bruce Banner, the Hulk, was still on the run, with General Ross pursuing him relentlessly. Since there had been no destructive showdown with Abomination, S.H.I.E.L.D. hadn't had the chance to help Ross clean up the mess and spare him a court-martial, which might have led him to abandon his pursuit of the Hulk. Or should I send someone to the Arctic to dig up that old popsicle, Captain America?

The most pressing task was to root out the Hydra agents within S.H.I.E.L.D., like picking fish bones out of a meal. Internal scrutiny was essential.

But without a reliable list, figuring out how to conduct the investigation was a serious problem. One wrong move and it could end up with Hydra agents investigating Hydra's infiltration of S.H.I.E.L.D. under the watchful eyes of other Hydra agents, alongside yet more Hydra agents. In the end, they'd surely conclude that everything was fine, perhaps even framing some S.H.I.E.L.D. agents as a smokescreen.

Further interrogation of Pearl had yielded nothing useful, either. After the first round of questioning, she had already spilled everything she knew, including where the Amazon Cells injected into her had come from: a deal between the non-pureblood Blood Clan member Daikan Fiss and the other vampires.

As for anything else about the Amazon Cells, including their creator, Doctor Death, and the organization behind him, Shocker, she knew absolutely nothing. To learn more about Shocker, they would have to go after Daikan Fiss.

As for Pearl, whose usefulness had been exhausted, she had already been taken away for humane extermination.

At the sound of a knock, Nick Fury opened his eyes and saw his former superior, Alexander Pierce—the head of Hydra's S.H.I.E.L.D. division—come in carrying a file folder.

Now that he knew Pierce's true identity, Nick Fury was on maximum alert around him. But he still put on a warm welcome. "Hey, old friend. How did the meeting with the World Security Council go? Did they approve the plan to clear out the vampires? How much funding and manpower will they provide?"

Alexander Pierce's expression was grave, as if he'd just discovered his newborn looked like Nick Fury. "Our conversation must remain completely confidential and be classified as Level Ten. No one else can know about it."

Nick Fury grew serious. He didn't know what the old Hydra agent was up to, but he activated the Shielding Device in his office. "What happened?"

"A ghost. An organization we thought we'd defeated and wiped out completely. It's back—or no, it never left." As he spoke, Pierce handed the file folder to Nick Fury.

Nick Fury opened the folder and pulled out the documents. On the first page, a huge symbol in red and black caught his eye: a skull entwined with tentacles.

Then, in unison, Nick Fury and Pierce said what the symbol stood for.

"Hydra!"