Ultraman Noah from Marvel

48. Myths of Vampires

This is the underground fortress belonging to the vampire headquarters. It is hidden hundreds of meters underground, with heavy alloy doors and several high-rate-of-fire machine guns every few meters.

The surveillance cameras covering every corner of the corridor and the turquoise-green toxic gas all indicate that the safety level here is extremely high.

In the deepest, spacious room, a group of well-dressed, impeccably styled vampires gathered together.

Strangely, each of them was connected to an IV tube filled with dark red blood, and each vampire's body was in a cycle of decay and restoration, as if it were under some kind of curse.

"We've failed. Perhaps we need to think of another way," a bald, gray-haired vampire gasped. "I have to admit, those creatures are not what they used to be. They've almost completely figured out what we're made of. Whether it's those weapons that are almost beyond our time or those ubiquitous viruses, they're all aimed at us."

A group of vampires whispered among themselves, their faces rotting with large holes due to the virus, and their voices slurred as they spoke.

Perhaps they never imagined that humans could become so powerful, clearing out vampires as easily as clearing weeds.

The virus targeting vampires alone caused them heavy casualties. If it weren't for the fact that the pure-blooded vampires here were much stronger than ordinary vampires and had a large supply of blood, they would probably have been wiped out by the virus long ago.

"If the day vampire we studied last time hadn't been killed and the data destroyed, how could we be in such a passive position? Damn Daredevil and Spider-Man!" one vampire said, slamming his fist on his thigh, chunks of rotting flesh falling to the ground.

"We also have leverage over the human elites. If we release that information, we can cause internal strife among them," a vampire elder suggested.

"Are you an idiot?" another vampire elder retorted. "Before the war started, we had leverage over you, but now that high-ranking official is probably looking for you somewhere. He'll kill you the first thing he does when you go out. At most, those leverages will make you die together with him."

"Besides, do you even dare to show your face under surveillance? The moment you do, you'll be detected, and Stark's mechanical army will arrive. Do you think you can defeat them? You've wasted hundreds of years of your life, how naive!"

"You!" The insulted vampire stood up, and with the help of his telekinesis, he floated on the ground, glaring at his centuries-old adversary.

"Enough! You've lived for over a thousand years, and you still resort to violence at the slightest disagreement." An old but authoritative voice rang out, and the two vampires, who were on the verge of drawing their swords, immediately sat down.

This person is the leader of their vampire clan for thousands of years.

The vampire leader is named Elia Damaschinos. He has pale skin, no hair, and looks extremely old and wise. At the same time, the virus has a much smaller effect on him, and his physical condition is far less deteriorated than that of other vampires.

He greedily took a sip of the crimson blood in his cup: "Perhaps our only option now is to surrender and undergo the ritual to become a pure-blooded vampire. Many high-ranking humans crave it; by giving up a portion of it, we might be able to save our lives."

The vampires present fell silent. They were beings who had lived for hundreds or thousands of years and had ruled vampire society for hundreds or thousands of years.

Not only are they among the highest-ranking vampires, but they are also among the elite of humans.

To surrender to what was once food, and even to be domesticated by food in the future, is intolerable.

But it seems that this is the only way to survive.

Just as all the rooms were so quiet you could hear a pin drop, a young male vampire suddenly let out a cold laugh.

Hearing that familiar and disgusting laughter, Elia coldly turned her gaze: "Norma, what are you laughing at? Of all the elders present, you're the most useless, more trouble than you're worth. If your subordinates hadn't failed to deal with the prey, would we have been completely exposed so quickly?"

Norma paid no heed to the verbal abuse, instead revealing a smile that Elijah utterly loathed: "Father, haven't you noticed we've been missing an elder?"

The vampires present looked at each other in bewilderment, and after taking a count, they found that one elder was indeed missing.

"Danica, Danica is missing," a vampire said.

The remaining vampires looked at Norma with suspicion, suspecting that Danica had betrayed the Elders.

Norma smiled. "Don't look at me like that. Danica went to find that legendary vampire. Judging by the time, she should be back soon."

The legendary vampire?

Elijah remembered the legendary being, the vampire myth, Dracula.

A progenitor-level vampire without any vampire flaws.

"How can you be so sure you can find it?" Elijah asked.

Norma stood up, her face filled with disdain, and said, "That was the guidance of darkness. Darkness chose us. Vampires will reach another peak. Father, you are old."

No sooner had she finished speaking than the computer in front of Elia sounded an alarm. In the surveillance footage, a tall woman stood outside the fortress gate, requesting entry. Strangely, she was the only one there.

After checking the surveillance footage again and finding no one else, Elijah let Danica in.

As soon as she entered, all the vampires' eyes turned to her. Elijah asked, "So, Danica, have you found that legendary being?"

The tall and slender Danica smiled slightly: "Perhaps you haven't noticed yet, but that being is right in front of you."

Only then did the vampires realize that a tall figure had appeared among them at some point. The surveillance footage clearly showed only Danica as a vampire, so when did he appear?

His tall and handsome appearance, mysterious and ancient aura, and absolute dominance by bloodline make his identity obvious.

Elia, suppressing the overwhelming pressure of his bloodline, trembled as he said, "You are... the progenitor vampire, ancestor Dracula?"

Dracula glanced indifferently at the vampires present and said coldly, "No, I am not the origin of vampires. The origin of vampires dates back to a much more ancient time, but you have disappointed me greatly..."

Dracula leaned forward slightly, his blood-red pupils staring directly into Elijah's eyes, while the shadow beneath him twisted eerily.

"I was invincible for several eras, but you, bearing the blood of vampires, are trampled underfoot by food. How weak you are."

"Now, I'm back..."

Dracula grabbed Norma, who was smiling beside him, and his sharp fangs pierced her neck. In a few seconds, all the blood was drained from her. Norma's body turned to dust and disappeared, accompanied by an imperceptible black shadow that merged into Dracula's shadow.

A layer of black mist enveloped his pale skin as he whispered, "I will make the world embrace darkness once more..."