Selene's hand froze over the Dragon Ball, her body stiff, her heart screaming in disbelief.
"No way… this… this can't be real!"
Despite all her doubts, she still took the Dragon Ball off the scepter.
Back in her room, Selene turned on her laptop and, using her access privileges, pulled up surveillance footage from inside the mansion. She needed to know who was playing this twisted joke on her.
As the footage rolled, she kept her eyes on the statue's scepter. Rewinding and pausing again and again, she was finally forced to accept a ridiculous truth:
It was she herself who had found and placed the Three-Star Ball there.
Staring at the orb in her hand, and recalling the ability of the Dragon Balls to grant any wish, Selene murmured:
"If they really can grant any wish… I want the blood clan to be free from the fear of sunlight."
As a Death Dealer raised by Viktor, the ruling patriarch of her lineage, Selene had no interest in earthly pleasures or power. Having lost her parents to werewolves as a child, she harbored a deep hatred for them—second only to her yearning for sunlight.
There wasn't a single vampire who didn't long to walk in daylight without fear.
One Dragon Ball down. I need to mobilize resources to locate the remaining six.
Just as Selene was contemplating her next move, the vampire Erika entered the room holding a gown. She walked over to the mirror, held the dress up to herself, and declared:
"This one. Definitely this one."
Then she turned toward Selene, who was still focused on her laptop, and said:
"Selene, you have to wear this tonight. It's perfect!"
But Selene wasn't paying any attention to dresses. Her mind was entirely on the Dragon Balls.
Even the incident in the subway—the werewolves—had taken a back seat.
Seeing Selene unresponsive, Erika curiously stepped closer and peeked at the screen showing security footage from the main hall.
"This is the blood clan's castle. Even if some werewolves survived, do you really think they could make it in here?"
At that moment, Kraven entered the room and added:
"Werewolves?"
"They've been nearly wiped out."
As Kraven approached, Erika stayed silent and quietly slipped out, closing the door behind her.
Kraven walked over to the window, gazing at the rain falling outside. Then he turned back and said:
"I was thinking of inviting you to be my partner at tonight's banquet."
Selene didn't even look up.
"Take Erika. She's dying to be by your side."
Kraven frowned.
"You're taking all this war stuff too seriously."
"No matter how many you kill, you can't change the past."
"If you shut yourself off from the simple joys of life—what's the point of immortality?"
Selene ignored him, still focused on the Dragon Ball.
"If we no longer feared sunlight… how wonderful would that be?"
Kraven blinked, then chuckled.
"Selene… are you dreaming?"
"Do you know what sunlight is to us? It's the cruelest torture imaginable."
"I once saw a vampire scream as he was reduced to ash under the sun."
Just then, a loud sound echoed through the castle.
The front doors had been opened.
"Damn it!" Kraven cursed.
He walked to the window again and saw a Maybach pulling into the courtyard. Their guest of honor had arrived. With no time to argue, Kraven barked:
"Put on something appropriate—hurry."
Selene finally looked up.
"Kraven, the blood clan is about to undergo a true transformation. I don't have time to waste at some party."
She pocketed the Three-Star Ball and turned to leave. Her priority now was finding the remaining Dragon Balls.
Kraven scoffed.
"Transformation?"
"Talk to me again when you've become the leader of our bloodline."
…
Elsewhere—
A filthy, rundown lab.
A man was hanging by his arms, suspended midair with bindings.
A bespectacled researcher drew a syringe and jabbed it into the man's neck, extracting a tube of blood.
At that moment, the werewolf leader Lucian entered the room.
"Any progress?"
The researcher turned and said:
"Let me check."
He walked to a nearby lab table and dripped the blood into a reagent mixture, stirring carefully.
The beaker showed no reaction.
"Nope," the researcher said bluntly.
Disappointed, Lucian walked over to a chalkboard covered in names and photos.
He picked up a black marker and crossed off one name:
James T. Colvin.
…
Meanwhile, at the base—
John Wick had just returned to his quarters and embraced his wife.
"John, I want a child," Helen whispered.
Hearing this, John's face lit up.
"Then let's have one."
Just as they were about to get started on that plan, John's phone rang.
He was about to ignore it, but Helen gestured for him to pick it up.
The moment he answered, a woman's furious voice screamed through the speaker.
"John, you bastard!"
"You scumbag! You tricked me into handing over the Dragon Ball using a blood oath!"
"You knew what it could do, didn't you?!"
John recognized Sophia's voice instantly—she'd clearly learned the truth about the Dragon Balls.
"Sophia, you owed me."
"I exchanged a blood oath for what was rightfully mine. And now that you understand the Dragon Ball's power—do you really think you could have kept it safe?"
"Wasn't your wish to have your daughter returned safely?"
"Didn't I help you get her back?"
Sophia fell silent. She couldn't deny it.
Thanks to John, not only had she retrieved her daughter, but she'd also secured a high-ranking role in the Assassin Brotherhood in Monaco. Though an external manager was assigned by the League, Sophia was now second-in-command there.
"John… a blood oath doesn't match the value of a Dragon Ball. I don't care. You owe me a favor."
John sighed.
"Okay, okay…"
"We're old friends. If you ever really need help, of course I'll be there."
Sophia chuckled slyly.
"You're in the Boss's good graces—I've got to ride that wave."
Truthfully, Sophia didn't care about the Dragon Ball anymore. She knew she had no chance of collecting all seven. This call was just to cash in a favor from John.
"John, it's been a while. Did you use the Dragon Ball to make a wish?"
"Or… did you offer it up to the Boss?"
…
(End of Chapter)
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