Chapter Twenty-Six: The Blade, Frank Joins

"Master Kieran, what is Pike’s current condition? How did he end up like this?" Van Helsing asked, steadying his emotions.

"He’s not like you," Kieran replied with a hint of regret. "During that catastrophe, he lost most of his consciousness. Though we used the magic of the Blue Pouch Fish to reconstruct his body, his consciousness recovered painfully slowly. After a hundred years, he has regained only a fraction of his instincts."

"There’s another matter," Kieran continued. "You’re a veteran from the Monster Hunter organization. Now that you’re awake, will you return?"

Van Helsing paused, then shook his head. "Master Kieran, you know I was never truly a qualified monster hunter. Most of my colleagues thought I was too selfish. Since the organization no longer exists, I won’t get involved. Still, I’ll abide by the necessary rules."

"But, though I don’t intend to rejoin, I’d like to recommend someone." Van Helsing’s eyes brightened as he slapped Blade up from his chair. "My apprentice—a half-blood, born of human and vampire. Even before I awoke, he was a vampire hunter, never hunted humans, and after all this training, he’s quite capable. Do you think he meets the requirements?"

Hearing his teacher’s recommendation, Blade straightened his back. Despite years of training, he still wasn’t a match for his mentor. If he could join the organization his teacher once belonged to, his strength would surely improve.

"New recruits aren’t my responsibility, but I can recommend him for the next entry assessment," Kieran replied with a smile.

"That’s enough. As long as he can take the assessment, that’s enough." Van Helsing patted Blade’s shoulder, confident in his apprentice. Blade’s hybrid nature was a significant advantage—many monster hunters, even after extensive training, hadn’t reached Blade’s current strength.

"Well, one thing must be said in advance. The entry assessment now carries real risk. The vampire blood in you may not guarantee your survival. Are you sure you want to participate?" Kieran looked at Blade.

"Master, I am not afraid of death," Blade answered earnestly. If he feared death, he would have joined those vampires long ago, and he wouldn’t have stayed steadfast on the path of hunting them.

Kieran nodded, waved his hand, and the Ouroboros symbol appeared on Blade’s right forearm. Blade’s consciousness connected instantly—by touching the mark, he could "see" his tasks.

For now, there was only one: the entry assessment, date to be determined.

Then Kieran turned to Frank, who had been quietly listening.

Under Kieran’s gaze, Frank felt as if he’d become transparent, and sensed that Kieran’s eyes weren’t focused on him, but rather on his future.

"Would you like to join the Ouroboros?" Kieran asked.

Frank took a deep breath. "Will joining you help me realize my dream?"

His dream was to eradicate all evil, but he knew it was unattainable in his lifetime.

Kieran shook his head. "Your dream cannot be accomplished by one man or in one moment. Joining us will only help you walk a few more steps along this endless path."

"I’ll join," Frank responded immediately. If the other had claimed to realize his dream, he wouldn’t have believed it. Frank bowed to Kieran. "Thank you for your recommendation."

"No need for such formalities. I’m only recommending you. This round’s examiner has a rather twisted sense of humor, so be prepared," Kieran’s voice faded, as if rising from their midst to the heavens.

As Van Helsing saluted, something occurred to him. "Master Kieran, did you take Deacon?"

"No, it was the Ancient One," Kieran’s final words echoed in Van Helsing’s ears.

Van Helsing recalled the portal that swallowed Deacon and suddenly smiled wryly. "Owe a favor before even meeting—guess I’ll have to behave myself now."

Frank looked at his right hand in silence. Master Kieran... I’ll find a way to repay this debt!

A sudden splash startled them all—Pike, who’d been standing on the street, abruptly transformed into a puddle and vanished from sight.

"Still as elusive as ever," Van Helsing remarked, then turned to Frank. "Hey, big guy, leave your number. If you and my apprentice end up in the same assessment, you can look out for each other."

Frank pulled out a phone the size of a brick and tossed it over. "This phone is hard to tap—my number’s inside. Also, you’d better ditch your phones; they all have backdoors."

Frank’s advice came from his time at SHIELD. Back then, all publicly sold mobile devices had monitoring backdoors. Although he’d left SHIELD for some time, he was certain the surveillance hadn’t stopped—if anything, it had become more frequent.

"You mean this?" Blade fished a battered phone from his pocket. As a former vampire hunter, he knew the ways of various agencies and had already destroyed his phone. He kept the shell and components only for Van Helsing to study its structure.

Seeing Blade was already prepared, Frank said nothing further, turned into the nearby alley, and quickly left.

He’d gained too much information today. He needed to digest it and prepare for the upcoming assessment.

"They’re gone—we should leave too," Van Helsing called to his apprentice.

"Teacher, what’s our next step?" Blade asked, following.

"What’s next? Training! I told you to shoot your arrow at the ground, but you went and shot it straight through."

"Teacher, it’s not my fault—the cement was too soft!"

"..."

At Yang Qiu’s home, after orchestrating Pike’s performance, the prelude was nearly complete. He no longer intended to recruit those who already existed in the Marvel universe.

After all, this fictional Ouroboros organization wasn’t meant to have many members; if it ended up as a branch of the Avengers or SHIELD, that wasn’t what Yang Qiu wanted.

It was only with the Ancient One’s support that Yang Qiu could be so bold. Otherwise, in past scripts, even evolving a single character was difficult—he wouldn’t have dared to play this way.