The Return (Two Chapters Combined)

The salty sea breeze brushed Daniel Ferrant's sun-darkened, roughened face. He had stood on deck gazing out at the sea countless times, but this was the first time he had waited so desperately for the coastline to appear.

Seven years. Daniel had never imagined that his last expedition would stretch on for so long or bring so many hardships. He felt deeply exhausted. Nearly twenty years of wandering and exploring had shown him a world rich with wonders and marvels, but every inch of ground he had covered was steeped in his youth and passion.

Daniel Ferrant was truly tired. He wanted to sink into the well-tanned leather sofa before the manor's fireplace, drink the finest gin, and find a beautiful, gentle woman to look after him for the rest of his life. Or several women, for that matter.

Jack had been waiting at Victoria Harbour for two days. The reports coming in had said that Daniel and the others were having a smooth journey home, but this was the only thing James had paid much attention to lately. Jack also hoped that the well-traveled Mr. Ferrant might be able to help young Master James. After all, James hadn't been doing too well recently.

"What did you say? James locked himself away!"

After Daniel and Jack had exchanged greetings and embraces, Daniel had eagerly opened a bottle of gin in the carriage on the way back to the manor. He swallowed a mouthful, then asked Jack in confusion, "What do you mean?"

Jack chose his words carefully. "A lot has happened over the past few years. You may not know this, but there are many things in this world we can't imagine. Some people have even gone beyond what we understand as 'human.'"

"Hah!" Daniel poured himself another half glass and said oddly, "I've seen and experienced far more complicated things than you can imagine, lad. I'm surprised you'd bring this up."

Daniel suddenly wasn't sure what had happened during all the years he'd been away. He had thought the news he brought back would shock everyone—or perhaps they'd laugh it off and refuse to believe it.

But from the looks of things, he was the one who needed to prepare himself. He took another swig of gin and listened as Jack told him about the many events of the American Civil War.

Edmonton, beneath the castle at the Howlett Estate.

At the very bottom of the Underground Palace, firelight flickered in the quiet stone chamber. James looked at the lightly caramelized, tender steak on the plate before him and forced himself to eat the last bite.

A flavor he had once loved was now almost impossible to swallow. It was a perfect medium-cooked fillet, cut from the sirloin of a Simmental cow raised on the Howlett family ranch for his exclusive enjoyment. The manor's French chef, who had worked there for years, had always known James's tastes best.

But now James grimaced as though the food were tasteless, chewing each bite with effort. He stretched his neck, pressed down his tongue, and struggled to swallow.

How he wished the steak had been cooked rarer. Rarer still—even full of fresh, rich blood. That would have tasted right.

Several months had passed. After returning to the castle at the Howlett Estate from Joliet Town and burying Victor, James had shut himself away underground. He had only spoken to the butler, Vane, and Jack from a distance of more than ten meters, giving them a few instructions. Then he had ordered them to send down food and news at set times every day.

James's appearance had changed drastically. The few people who had seen him were so horrified they couldn't speak.

That was why Jack was so worried. He feared that the vampires had affected young Master James, and Victor's death could only be explained that way. Fortunately, James still seemed to be in his right mind. It was just that the dangerous aura about him seemed directed at everyone.

He forced himself to eat every day through sheer willpower, and he had to finish everything. That day, James had unexpectedly "plundered" all of Victor's powers, including the vampiric Source Blood Victor had absorbed from Adam.

Victor's Sabretooth powers had fused with James's Mutant Gene with uncanny perfection, as if they had been one and the same all along. The fusion had transformed James's bone claws into an entirely new form.

His build had also become as imposing as Victor's. He had grown almost thirty centimeters, from a height of just under two meters to a giant's stature, and had become as powerfully built as Victor.

Apart from his bones being completely replaced, James's skin, fascia, and muscle tissue had all been renewed as well. After years of training and advancing to Huajin, his body had already been exceptionally tough, withstanding blows and pressure far beyond an ordinary human's capabilities. But it still hadn't reached the realm of superhuman ability.

Now, although James hadn't conducted any precise tests, he could feel that the firearms of the modern age could probably only cause superficial damage to his flesh.

His Beast Perception, sense of smell, and various other senses had grown even keener. Somehow, he had also gained an awareness of things that might bring him either good or bad fortune.

Judging by the martial arts he had practiced in his previous life, this was the wondrous state of spiritual cultivation known as "seeing danger without seeing or hearing it, and avoiding it through awareness." He had never known whether such a skill was real, but now he had gained a similar sense through the power of his Mutant Gene.

After passing from Adam to Victor and then being absorbed by James, the Source Blood had lost some of its vampiric traits and power. James had become somewhat averse to sunlight, and touching pure silver caused a slight sting, much like a mild metal allergy.

His speed and reflexes had improved considerably, and he had developed an instinct for concealing his presence. He also sensed that he could turn people into vampires by biting them.

But the most troublesome part was the bloodthirsty darkness of the vampiric power, combined with the Sabretooth's wild ferocity. It left James's mind feeling fractured. He constantly fought the violent urges in his mind and his body's instinctive craving for blood.

Because James and Victor already possessed powerful Mutant abilities, their bodies hadn't been changed into the vampiric kind, with internal organs that could only absorb blood. But they had both developed an intense craving for blood and an aversion to ordinary human food.

That meant he and Victor could still eat normal food and draw energy from it.

But each bite disgusted them, from the perspective of both mind and senses, as if they were eating rotting, foul-smelling meat. Fresh blood, on the other hand, looked so delicious and sweet that it made their mouths water.

Victor hadn't resisted the urge. He had even indulged it, which only fed his animal nature and drove him to fight James in their final battle.

James had tried everything to control himself and find a way to deal with the drawbacks of the vampiric power inside him. That was why he had shut himself away in the underground chamber and avoided seeing anyone, hoping to keep his thirst for blood under control.

The sudden surge in James's power and his unstable state of mind had caused him to lose his Huajin cultivation immediately after the battle. He could no longer control his strength with ease. In recent days, he had often accidentally torn apart or snapped the specially made steel equipment in the underground training room.

After reaching Anjin, James had begun tempering his body. Back then, his base strength had been about five times his body weight. He had trained his way to Huajin, and his body had further transformed after reaching that level. By then, his strength and punching power could already be measured in tons.

But now, all the training equipment in the underground space was completely useless against him. He had no idea how strong his body had become. The heaviest specially made barbell weighed nearly two tons, but he could only feel its weight when doing something simple like a bicep curl.

The enormous Iron Stake had once taken at least three tons of force to move even slightly. Now, striking it felt like an ordinary boxer practicing on a wooden post.

Even the heaviest hollow mercury-lead ball, weighing three tons, could be tossed around with nothing but his raw physical strength. He didn't even need to focus and coordinate his internal energy. Those were the only two toys he still had any fun with.

He didn't know why he and Victor had formed such a strange connection and undergone such a transformation. His understanding of the powers bestowed by the so-called X-Gene was far too limited.

In an age when modern science was still in its infancy, everything was uncharted territory. He could only use the resources he had accumulated during this period to deliberately promote scientific research as quickly as possible.

The urgent problem was the vampiric power entrenched inside him. James was confident that the key to resolving it lay in his ability to control and sense the flow of qi and blood in his body.

He could no longer perfectly control his qi and blood, stimulate his heart, and unleash a vast amount of force beyond his body. But he could still clearly sense a mass of cold, sinister blood-energy lodged inside him. Once he regained Huajin and mastery over his body, he would be able to control that vampiric Source Blood—or even eliminate it completely.

James had no interest in possessing such an inferior power with so many side effects.

Jing, jing, jing.

The bell hanging outside the chamber rang out crisply. James had installed it so the people at the manor could contact him in an emergency. He slowly rose to his feet and lumbered toward it, his terrifying frame looming as he shook the other iron handle to let them know he had heard.

This was the first time Daniel had entered the passageway beneath the Howlett Estate. The last time he had returned, renovations at the manor had been in full swing. He had watched the work many times, but had never seen the finished result.

Now he felt as if he were exploring an ancient pharaoh's tomb again. The deep passageway and underground space had been built with great care, showcasing the finest architectural techniques of the age. The air was fresh, with no foul odors, and the oil lamps had been arranged to provide ample light.

But the thought of meeting James in a place like this still gave him the creeps. The butler, Vane, had reluctantly told him that he had to go in alone to see the young master. Then Vane had added a warning that was unsettling to even think about: "No matter what you see, don't be afraid."

"J-J-James, it's me, Daniel! Are you there?"

Mr. Ferrant shuffled farther into the stone chamber, his voice trembling uncontrollably. Ever since he had gone underground, a cold, terrifying presence seemed to be breathing down the back of his neck. He felt like a little white rabbit that had wandered into a lion's den.

"That's enough. You can stop there. It's been a long time, Mr. Daniel. Thanks for all your effort." James's voice came from inside the chamber. Daniel could still recognize it as James's, but it had grown hoarse and deep, as if it carried a faint rumbling resonance from deep in his chest.

He stopped abruptly and peered cautiously inside. He could just make out someone sitting cross-legged with his back to him. The firelight cast flickering shadows, but the figure was enormous—bigger even than Victor had been when Daniel left.

"James! W-what happened to you?"

Daniel asked anxiously. He couldn't understand what could have turned James into this, if this person really was James.

"More or less. Jack should have told you about the American Civil War and the vampires. I've been affected, but don't worry. I know what I'm doing."

James's voice had grown even raspier. He could smell the living man and even sense the steady pulse of blood in Daniel's neck. He struggled to control his bodily craving for flesh, but his four fangs had instinctively extended.

He hurried to make use of the time they had and asked, "Tell me about Wakanda. Just the important parts, and don't stay down here too long!"

"Oh, right! Okay." Daniel jumped, then quickly told him about his search for the Wakandan tribe in Africa.

"...Jason, Blake, and the others were killed on the spot. The rest of us were captured and locked up. They even branded us with red-hot irons."

"Later, I learned those were marks for thieves and intruders. We were locked up for more than three years, mining as slaves in the dark. We have Kenyara, the Black man from your estate, to thank for our escape. On the night of the tribe's sacrificial ritual, he rescued the three of us."

"Did you record the route and location?" James asked, seeming to suppress something as he spoke through clenched teeth, one word at a time.

Daniel hurriedly reached into his inner coat pocket and pulled out a rolled-up hide and a long, flat piece of black metal wrapped inside it. "I did, I did! I also secretly took a piece of their metal ore, something they value as much as their lives. I'll leave it here for you."

He hurriedly set the hide scroll on the floor, then stood there awkwardly, unsure what to do.

"Thank you, Mr. Daniel. You can stay at the manor from now on and do whatever you like. Vane will take care of everything for you. Hurry along. Once I'm feeling better, I'll talk with you more."

Daniel nodded silently and slowly made his way back up the passageway.

Just before he emerged, he faintly heard a heart-rending roar from deep underground. It was filled with pain and anguish, and sent a chill through him.

Suddenly, he felt that the mighty guardian of the Wakandan tribe, who had seemed like a god, wasn't quite so frightening after all.

In the underground chamber, James slowly picked up the hide map Daniel had left behind and examined the dark, uneven lump of raw metal. He wondered what it might be.

I'm posting today's chapter early. I've taken some time to organize my thoughts, but I'm still affected by what happened, and I haven't handled the pacing and plot very well. Readers can see that the story in Volume One takes place before the earliest main plotlines in the Marvel or Mutant film universes. I originally wrote this part simply to lay the groundwork for the protagonist—a very, very small "map." I never expected such a short stretch of content to leave readers with such strong impressions and opinions about some of the characters.

I didn't handle it well, and I still have a lot to learn. But the story has only just begun—there's a long way to go. I'll keep working hard. As the plot progresses, I'll explain some of the unresolved threads more clearly.