As Selene drank the blood, Viktor's immense reservoir of memories surged into her mind, submerging her in a vast ocean of recollections.
Meanwhile, Michael returned to his human form, reverting from the hybrid state between vampire and werewolf.
At this moment, the surviving vampires and werewolves had naturally split into two camps. The remaining vampires surrounded Selene—after all, Viktor had publicly passed down the elder position to her just before his death.
On the other side, the werewolves recognized Michael's importance. As the strongest among them after Lucian's death, and with others like Doctor and Connor perishing in the battle, the remaining werewolves instinctively gathered around him.
Michael looked to Mr. X and Alexei and spoke:
"Gentlemen, I believe we are not enemies."
Alexei glanced at the corpses of Lucian and Viktor and replied:
"The ones who needed executing… are dead."
Hearing this, both the vampires and werewolves at the scene breathed a collective sigh of relief.
Selene, having now absorbed all of Viktor's memories, stood up. Her gaze toward Viktor's corpse was filled with hatred and inner conflict.
She now knew for certain—he had murdered her family.
But she also knew, from centuries of memories, that Viktor had genuinely loved her in his own way.
Yet, he had already been executed by the Assassin's League, and with that, her hatred faded like dust in the wind.
Selene approached X and Alexei respectfully and said:
"Thank you both for avenging me—for bringing justice."
"Is there anything else you need from me?"
Mr. X gave her a glance, then simply said:
"Finish handling your clan affairs. Then head to New York. That's where the next phase of the Dragon Ball war will unfold."
After leaving that one instruction, X and Alexei departed.
Once they left, Michael led the werewolves away, and Selene led the vampires in the opposite direction. Although both of them longed for peace between their clans, the timing wasn't right yet.
Not long after the departure, within an hour, a unit of heavily armed special forces arrived at the werewolf base. They gathered up the corpses of both vampires and werewolves, cleared the battlefield, and loaded everything onto helicopters for transport.
…
Elsewhere—
Inside the vampire castle.
Because no one had dealt with Kraven's body, his blood slowly trickled down into a hidden sarcophagus beneath the ground.
The moment the blood touched the sleeping Marcus, he stirred awake—and absorbed all of Kraven's memories.
Since no one had activated the underground mechanism to properly wake Marcus, he burst through the earth on his own.
Two massive, hairless wings unfurled from his back, a stark contrast to Viktor's more humanoid appearance.
"Vampires… werewolves… So much has changed while I slept…"
"Viktor, you fool. You actually chose a werewolf hybrid as your proxy."
Marcus glanced at the time—it was nearly dawn. He summoned the remaining vampires in the castle and began asking about everything that had transpired since Viktor awoke.
But since Selene and the others had yet to return, Marcus remained in the dark.
…
Daylight arrived.
Having trained through the entire night, Smith Dole received a new update: someone had retrieved the Dragon Ball from the mountain cave.
Using the Dragon Ball's perspective, Smith Dole saw something very interesting—the one who picked it up was none other than Bruce Banner.
After Hulk escaped the factory, he fled deep into the forest and hid in a cave.
When the Hulk form subsided, Bruce's consciousness returned, and in his dazed state, he grasped the Five-Star Ball inside the cave.
Upon awakening, Bruce froze as a strange signal flooded his mind.
He stared at the Dragon Ball in his hand, inspecting it closely.
"Something like this actually exists in the world…"
"Any wish can be granted?"
"If I gather all the Dragon Balls… and wish to eliminate the Hulk… could I return to normal?"
A spark of hope lit within Bruce Banner. He began studying the orb immediately.
He wondered whether this so-called Dragon Ball emitted a specific energy frequency—if it did, he could potentially locate others (similar to how he once tried to locate the Space Stone globally using his instruments).
But for now, he didn't have the tools needed to analyze it. He decided to return to his former lab.
He had two options: continue working with Mr. Blue to find a cure… or collect all the Dragon Balls.
With that, Bruce stashed the Dragon Ball and set out for Culver University in Virginia.
…
Elsewhere—
Xu Xialing arrived in New York with her team.
A convoy of cars rolled out from the airport. Inside the lead car, Xialing gave instructions:
"Find someone. He's my brother. He should be hiding in San Francisco."
"Once you find him, bring him to New York. Just tell him I'm looking for him."
She handed over a photograph. Her men nodded and got to work.
This was the only reinforcement she could think of on her way back to New York. Her brother, Shang-Chi, had received more training from Xu Wenwu than she had—and his strength surpassed hers.
If anyone could help her now, it would be him.
Besides, Shang-Chi wouldn't refuse her.
He owed her.
The convoy arrived at John Wick's villa. At the entrance stood John himself.
Xu Xialing stepped out of the vehicle.
"You always seem to favor this place," she said. "Every time, you choose to meet here."
John smiled faintly.
"This is where the dream began."
"You got the goods?"
Xialing pulled out a token and placed it in John's hand.
He examined it, then took out a golden coin—the ticket to the Dragon Ball War.
"This is your pass. From now on, you are officially qualified to compete for the Dragon Balls."
"When the battle begins, you'll be notified."
Xialing carefully put away the coin. This was the key she had exchanged for with a personal token—something too important to be careless with.
John Wick saw her accept the token and said:
"We're even now. Good luck."
…
(End of Chapter)
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