Chapter 128: Midnight Son Prelude (ending)

BONUS CHAPTER ACHIEVED!! 1000 POWER STONES ARE VOTED!! THANK YOU SO MUCH-! （‐＾▽＾‐）

P.S. The next bonus chapter will be at 1500 power stones voted next week. I believe we can do it!

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"We need to terminate them, the Sword of Light…by all means necessary!" Danica Talos, a purebred vampire said as she led the vampire army toward the cave area. 

Military trucks, enhanced weapons, advanced artillery, and even helicopters are on their way to the cave. Their movement is hidden from the United States Military, as the vampires are using a channel from a US Senator under their control, to smuggle all the things needed for the operation. 

With her hair tied up in a bun, her tiny fangs are excited as she thinks about the meeting with their Progenitor. The long, white-haired, handsome man in blood-red armor made from the skin of a dragon, the Nightsword that he claimed from the legacy of the Goddess of Death.

His pupilless eyes aroused confidence in Danica as she found herself lost in them. Sitting on a throne, the vampire Progenitor ordered her to obliterate their enemy and capture the old man or Maria Laveau. 

There are only two people in the world that knew the whereabouts of the thing Dracula is seeking–and they were the target of this operation. 

Without Shiklah's coffin, the vampire couldn't lead the monster army to lay waste and enslaved all of mankind. 

The war between vampires and monsters that started in the dawn of time will only be finished when the vampire Progenitor claimed the succubus princess as his wife, and become the ruler of the Monster City.

That is when Dracula will announce, that the Kingdom of Evernight era…has come.

…

"Guys, where are you?! Bruce! We may need you!" Tony said anxiously on the communication line as the army was 200 meters away from his position. 

Maria Laveau is tied up in a steel cable right beside Tony, unknown to the Avengers that she is a target. 

"Who are they?" Bruce asked from inside the Avenger jet that was hovering 500 meters in the air. The jet scanner showed no way out for the group inside the cave unless they went through the army's direction. 

"My scans showed most of them have a low body temperature. Most likely vampires. There are also a lot of humans though," Tony reported. 

Bruce nodded and opened up the jet hatch. The jet has an automatic landing and flying function, so he doesn't have to worry about them being unmanned. 

"This is it Hulk, your cue for battle," Bruce said in an instigating tone to himself. His eyes were turning green, but he hasn't completely changed into the monster yet. 

A major change from the MCU is that Bruce finally… had sex with his girlfriend. 

After that, his effort to speak with the Hulk didn't have to wait until the Hulk was reluctant to show up on Earth after getting beat up by Thanos. 

The effect of getting laid is the same as the effect of a universal cataclysm event for Bruce. 

Bruce is moving towards a variation of the Hulk, where he can change spots with the creature and hold a conversation with the green guy. By theory, when that happens, Hulk won't show up when he gets agitated or excited unless he told the Hulk that his existence is necessary–allowing him to have nightly activities with his girlfriend again. 

Many factors are leading Bruce to his decision, and Eclipse's ability to put the Hulk to sleep plays a major part in Bruce. It allowed Bruce to think clearly for the first time in years–as he doesn't have to prevent the Hulk from coming out. 

Hulk still thinks Bruce is puny and is reluctant to speak to Bruce because the guy has been caging him for years–but now he has come to a tacit understanding with Bruce. Once in two days, Hulk can come out and smash and eat as many snickers bars as he wants.

With Ryan behind Bruce, the condition can be achieved easily. Ryan even provided Hulk with a little stuff to smash. Mainly at a secret location, where Ryan's asteroid storage is kept. 

Hulk can smash the asteroid and Ryan can process the raw material better. Win-win, right? Of course, Bruce only thought Ryan got the material someplace on earth, not in space. 

He has complete trust in Ryan who is the only one to reach out to him at his lowest moment that he didn't even think about the source of the raw material Hulk is smashing. 

"Wait for it…" Bruce muttered to himself. He waited until the jet was hovering directly on top of the vampire army. Then, Bruce jumped off the jet and free fall from 500 meters in the sky. 

In the sky, his skinny body turned into a hulking-green monster. His clothes ripped, however, a  purple, stretchy shirt and pants grew together with his body.  

"HULK SMAAASH!!!"

Hulk yelled and smashed the army at the center, breaking multiple trucks, and producing a big shock wave with a hit. The shockwave caused some humans to be smashed onto the trees and rolled on the rocky ground. 

"BACKUP IS HERE!" Hulk said menacingly as he smiled at the vampires. 

In Transylvania, inside a black castle located in an area where the sun doesn't reach–a pale, muscular man with his long, white hair tied up is watching the green monster from the LCD screens that Danica Talos brought to his castle. 

Seeing the might of the green monster, he smiles and mutters in a cold, harsh voice. "Interesting monster. This era is very full of surprises."

Dracula flashes a wide smile, revealing his long fangs. "I can't wait to go outside."

Hulk's otherworldly strength that causes his enemy to tremble in their boots, is making Dracula excited instead. He gripped the nightsword tightly, waiting for his moment to arrive. 

Back to the battle. 

Kai and the others have exited the cave, regrouping with Tony who is fighting multiple vampires. 

"FINALLY!" Tony exclaimed as he shot out silver dust missiles from his shoulder pad, making the vampires choke as their lungs caught on fire. After seeing Kai versus mutant vampire videos, he did make some special items to fight the dark society creatures. 

"Kai, your sword," Natasha handed Kai's vampire killing sword that was in S.H.I.E.L.D storage. 

"Meh. You can use it. I have these," Kai said, showing Natasha two silver daggers he retrieved from the cave. 

"I didn't really want to give the sword back to you, so this works," Natasha said playfully as she activated the UV laser edge of the sword. Too bad the sword that S.H.I.E.L.D took for research didn't have the Nichirin ore (Demon Slayer universe) and Vibranium alloy like his true sword–otherwise, Natasha alone can fight the entire army. 

The battle wasn't even hard. Stab a vampire, they turned into ashes. The enemy shoots using their machine guns and pulse rifles–Captain America blocked it with his shield while Hawkeye took care of the long range gunners. 

Blade and the Werewolf are entering the enemy line, killing all the vampires they can find. None is more threatening to the vampires than the Daywalker and the vampire's natural enemy. 

The helicopters in the sky are handled by Kai and the Hulk. Hulk throws Kai into the helicopter, which he boarded, and killed everyone inside. 

Natasha is fighting near Tony as the man is now grounded–the duo is lethal and efficient in killing the vampires. However, they keep entering the enemy line, leaving the sorceress alone and unconscious near the cave entrance. 

An elite vampire team under Danica Talos had been eyeing the sorceress from the start of the battle. Slowly, they encroached on the Avengers' line and pounced on the sorceress. 

"Their target is the magician!" Steve Rogers realized, but it was too late. The elite team is already back inside the enemy line, retreating with their cargo. 

"What is this, the Renaissance age? Vampire versus Churches?" Tony chided as he used both palm repulsor to shoot down the truck full of vampires. The truck explodes, but the vampire survives.

"No matter what era it is, if the vampire and the sorceress joined hands, that can't be good," Natasha said as she slashes the vampires from the truck's necks with the black sword, turning them all into ashes. 

"Someone needs to chase after them," Captain America said. 

"I'm on it," Hawkeye takes the job and starts to chase the elite team. Hulk and Kai are fighting on the frontline, so they can't see what is happening. Blade and the Werewolf didn't care about the sorceress' fate. 

"Retreat," Danica Talos grinned and ordered the army after hearing the report of the capture. It is very rare for egotistical vampires to back away. They only do that because Danica is speaking on behalf of the Progenitor. 

Hawkeye is running toward the elite vampire team. Vampires have superhuman speed, but Clint can see their path. 

"Damn it," Clint cursed as the vampire team boarded a small plane–with almost the Quinjet capabilities. It can take out vertically instead of on a runway. He fired a few arrows toward the jet, but it was too late. Maria Laveau is now in the hands of the vampires. 

"They got away!" He reported to the earpiece.

"Regroup at the previous spot. The battle here is ending," Natasha said as Steve is preoccupied with shielding an RPG artillery. It exploded in front of Steve but didn't hurt him. 

"I understand," Barton replied with exhaustion inside his voice. 

On the vampire army front, half of the vampires managed to retreat. Kai furrowed his brow to see the well-organized army. Then, he looked back at his team. 

Although the team can handle the battle, they have made many little mistakes. Like Tony and Barton aiming at the same vampire, Natasha goes off alone, Hulk…well, he is Hulk. 

Blade and Werewolf couldn't be counted on at all. Both of them are going off on their own during the battle. 

When the battle is over, the Werewolf goes off on his own. His instinct is telling him to run away from there as he can be killed or worse, captured again.

"Should we let him go?" Blade asked. 

"What should we do then? Keep him as a pet?" Kai replied sarcastically. 

The werewolf had been imprisoned for a decade. Kai will let him be free for a little longer. If he hurts a human, then Kai or Ryan will come for him. 

Running on top of the hill, the werewolf looked at the half moon and let out a long howl. "AUUUUuuuuuu!!!!!"

"Let's go back. I already contacted S.H.I.E.L.D, they'll take over from here," Natasha said. It is the standard procedure, but when she looked at Kai's expression, she found out that he is apprehensive about it. 

"What? You don't trust S.H.I.E.L.D anymore?" Tony said teasingly. He is greatly surprised when he hears Kai's reply. 

"Yeah. I don't trust them."

Kai's statement causes the team to be silent. 

"Kai, I know that they have made mistakes before, but…" Natasha tries to convince Kai. After all, SHIELD is her home. The organization has given her a second chance in life before this. She wishes for Kai to give them a second chance too.

"I…don't think I will anymore," Kai said, shaking Natasha on the inside. Steve and Barton are keeping quiet, as they too are with SHIELD. 

Tony senses the decision that Kai had made. "Will you really disappear?" 

Kai nodded to answer Tony, making the atmosphere weird. Although they are reluctant for Kai to leave, they also know what Kai is going through. 

Tony knew that Kai had emptied his house before. He didn't tell the rest about it because he wishes to talk to Kai about it first. If he can't convince Kai, then he thought Steve or Ryan could do it. 

"Why do you guys look like I'm dead or something? If you need me, just DM me on Instagram or something."

"Ahhh, so you're moving away? Not totally disappearing?" Barton finally understands what is going on. The rest comes to a similar understanding, and the mood is lifted. 

"We will give you a ride then," Tony said as their jet landed near the scene. They should wait there until S.H.I.E.L.D comes, however, they don't think it mattered anymore. 

At this moment, the Avenger isn't an official organization as S.H.I.E.L.D hasn't fallen yet. The teamwork isn't very good and the leader still hasn't been picked. 

They band together in critical times and will go their separate way when the battle is over. 

"Don't you have any clothes here?" Kai asked as he was only wearing what seemed to be a skirt. It was the lower parts of the religious clothes he was forced to wear before. 

Kai is dropped off in Buffalo, at Blade's base. He will stay with Blade for a day to teach the guy the basics before he goes back to the island. 

Before Kai split ways with the group, he had a talk with Steve. 

"Have you decided whether to meet her?" Kai said, referring to the conversation they had in the bar before this. 

"I… Many things happened that I haven't thought about it yet," Steve replied. 

"Don't wait too long all right? She may not have the time," Kai advised honestly, making Steve's face crestfallen. Kai patted his shoulder before he went away to another person that was waiting for him. 

"Kai... I…" 

"You know, I waited for you," Kai cut off Natasha's sentence.

She avoided his eyes and tried to come out with an explanation… but she couldn't. She turns to look him in the eyes, but his expression almost breaks her. 

"I get it," Kai said in a sad tone after seeing her hesitation. He thought that he had misunderstood the feeling between them. Right now, he didn't want her answer. 

With a complicated feeling, Kai left with Blade.

…

3 days after the incident. In the S.H.I.E.L.D research lab. 

The corpse of the old man, Isaiah Curwen, is laying down in the corpse storage with the other corpses. His body has been dissected – there is an X-shaped scar on his torso.

Suddenly, the light inside the morgue flickered. A pounding sound is heard from inside the corpse storage. After knocking for a while, the storage door finally opened. A naked old man crawled out from the storage, staggering as his feet touched the cold floor. 

"The Lord has saved me. He still has a purpose for me," The old man said fanatically. He has been faking his death when he saw no way out. He uses dark magic to 'resurrect' his body.

He chooses to resurrect after 3 days so that he can go through what the Lord went through. He grabbed the white clothes that were used to cover up a corpse and cover up his body. 

"Too bad I have lost Maria," He muttered. As he is faking his death, he needs to lose the control he has over the sorceress, freeing Maria from his brainwashing. 

"Doesn't matter. I can do it again," The old man said. 

"Really? I don't think you will," A gloomy voice suddenly sounded in the morgue. 

"G-God?" The old man tried to search for the source, but he didn't find it. 

Coming out from the shadow, a man in a full black suit appeared in front of Isaiah. 

"Not God. Not even close," Ryan in his Eclipse suit said to the old man. Faking his death? Laughable. Kai had noticed it even at the cave. 

"You, who are you?" The old man asked in fear. He just resurrected. Being extremely weakened, he can truly die now. 

"I am... your nightmare," Ryan caught the old man before he could run away and teleport him someplace else.

Placing the old man inside his anti-magic cell, Ryan will get some answers from the old man. Also, the old man had been collecting artifacts and magical books from various parts of the world. Ryan is eyeing the hidden base that the old man made. The ones with all of his collection inside it – even Shiklah's coffin are there. 

"You won't get anything out of me, demon!" The old man yelled as he held the metal bar of the jail cell he was in. The same jail is used by Ryan to imprison Amora before. 

"Don't be too difficult, old man. I need to get back to my bed before she wakes up, so let's make this quick."

Ryan smiled evilly behind his mask. The old man shouldn't have bothered getting back to life. He will be sent to his lord again quickly after the knowledge in his brain is emptied. 

…

In a castle in Transylvania. Maria Laveau finally woke up after a long dream. She got her freedom back from the old man–which life instantly turned her over to a new owner. 

"You're finally awake," Dracula said as he glanced at the prison cell. 

"Good idea to use vampires to make a life-preserving potion. You're a very resourceful person."

"Who are you?" Maria asked. 

"Me? I think you already know the answer. No?" Dracula chuckled as he walked towards Maria.

"Now tell me. Where is the coffin?" He asked in a calm tone. 

"And why should I tell you?" 

"Because my dear. When you use vampires as the potion, that means, I now control your life…" 

Dracula raises his hand and starts to take his gift back from the world. The young Maria is turning older as if years had passed instead of second. 

"WAIT! I'LL TALK" Maria yelled out as her skin was becoming wrinkled. 

"Good decision… Heheuhe… Hahahaha…! EUHAHAHAHAHAHAA!!!!" 

Dracula let out an evil and maniacal laugh that resounded to the entire castle. Finally, he can achieve what he is meant to do! To rule the world! 

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