"Vampire Slayers."

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[Drive, Type Speed!]

A beam of light flashed—Drive armor activated instantly.

Dan raised his hand and caught the projectile. It was a throwing knife.

"Watch yourself, kid. The game's just getting started."

Erik's voice echoed through the shed.

Another flash came flying at Dan's face.

"Still playing these games?"

Dan smirked and caught it again—only for it to explode.

Boom!

"Kid, word of advice—if you don't know what kind of weapon someone's using, maybe don't try to catch it bare-handed."

Erik stepped out from the shadows.

As the smoke cleared, Dan stood there unharmed.

Erik shrugged.

"Well, I did reduce the explosive charge… still didn't expect your defense to be that good."

Seeing Erik, Dan deactivated his armor.

"Mr. Erik, I'm here—just like we agreed."

Erik nodded.

"Kid, I've been thinking about your suggestion these past few days… and I've decided—I'm in. Let's work together."

Dan was a bit surprised. From what he knew, Erik was a tough-as-nails lone wolf, not the kind of guy who'd accept help so easily. And yet, after just three days, he actually agreed?

"I gotta ask—what changed your mind, Mr. Erik?"

"Blood. Innocent people's blood."

As he spoke, Erik tossed a phone to Dan, who caught it and took a look.

On the screen were one horrifying image after another—vampires and bloodsuckers ruthlessly hunting down civilians all over the city.

The more he saw, the tighter Dan clenched his fists.

"Dan, your heart rate and adrenaline levels are spiking. What are you seeing?"

Kurimu had picked up on Dan's shift and asked curiously.

"A damn massacre, Mr. Belt."

Dan turned the phone toward Kurimu, who went silent after seeing it.

Erik glanced at Dan's angry face and said slowly, "In the past three days, there've already been fifteen cases like this. Over thirty people killed. The vampires are collecting blood. Looks like they're planning something big.

"And yesterday, I found this."

As he spoke, Erik pulled out two test tubes—one filled with a white, gel-like substance, the other with a green liquid.

"What's this stuff?" Dan asked, confused.

Erik didn't bother hiding anything this time.

"Spider silk and venom. Dan, we've got a new kind of bloodsucker on our hands."

Dan frowned. The rate these things were popping up was way faster than he'd expected.

"What do you need me to do?"

Erik looked at him, then pulled a handgun from his waist and tossed it to Dan.

"I need you to grow. Fast."

Dan caught the gun, still unsure. "Grow?"

Erik nodded and said it straight.

"Sure, you've got that red battle suit helping you, but your fighting style and technique are way too raw. Honestly, you've got no real combat skills. You've just been relying on the suit's power. But…"

"One day, you'll face an enemy that your armor alone won't be able to beat."

That hit home. Dan got what Erik was saying now.

"Dan, starting today, I'm going to teach you how to fight. Hand-to-hand, shooting—you name it. I want you to be stronger before the next battle."

Dan glanced at Kurimu, then tightened his grip on the gun.

From that moment on, Dan's life became a strict routine—lab to farm, farm to lab.

And man, being taught by someone like Erik wasn't easy. Erik wasn't just a firearms expert, he was a sword master, hand-to-hand combat expert, and a level-10 special agent. The guy didn't go easy.

During the day, Dan trained hard on the farm, getting beaten down in Erik's "real combat" sessions. According to Erik, nothing beats actual combat experience when it comes to learning how to fight.

At night, Dan worked with the data Kurimu had gathered, tweaking the LXA system. He was determined to turn it into a specialized vampire-hunting battle suit. Bloodsuckers or blood fiends—he'd take them all out.

"Dan, you holding up okay?"

Covered in bruises, Dan dragged himself back into the lab.

He nodded—barely.

Compared to the mess he was at the start, he'd definitely improved. After nearly two weeks of this brutal regimen, his body had become stronger, leaner, and more resilient.

"Sigh… the blueprints are almost done, but we still don't have the right materials."

Sitting in his chair, Dan massaged his sore muscles with medicated alcohol while staring at the blueprint on his screen, sighing.

This LXA system was built from Professor Rick's teachings, Kurimu's core tech, and combat data from Blade himself—Erik. Dan had no idea what it'd turn out like when complete, but damn, it'd be something special. If only he had the right materials...

"Beep beep~!"

A crisp honk echoed through the room. A tiny taxi rolled onto Dan's desk.

"Dimension Cab, you're back! Find anything?"

Kurimu looked at the mini cab curiously. It had been over half a month since he'd sent out the Shift Cars. This was the first one back.

Makes sense though—those things were fast thanks to their space-jumping tech.

"Beep beep!"

Dimension Cab excitedly spun in a circle on the table, then dropped a chunk of dark gray metal onto the desk.

"Huh? You found a good material?!"

Seeing the metal, Dan immediately perked up. The exhaustion vanished in an instant.

"Beep beep!"

Seeing Dan so hyped, the little car let out a couple more proud honks.

Dan rushed over to the analyzer with the metal sample in hand, diving straight into research.

Kurimu leaned over too, curious. He was always fascinated by rare materials in this world.

"This is insane... this metal isn't just tough—it's insanely moldable and has an incredible sound feedback property. It's perfect!"

Dan could barely contain himself. This stuff was made for building the LXA.

"But wait… this isn't from Earth, is it?"

"Beep beep~!"

Dimension Cab confirmed with two honks—yep, not from Earth.

Right after that, it projected a holographic image—another planet in the vastness of space.

Dan was stunned. He hadn't expected the little guy to actually leave the planet just to help him find the right material.

And when a blue-skinned alien showed up in the projection, Dan instantly realized what the metal was.

"....."