Marvel - The Blood God

"Deacon's prediction was right. Besides Blade, someone else has infiltrated. Who are you to dare harm Deacon?"

The vampires who rushed in were led by the somewhat disfigured pureblood vampire, Mercury. When she saw the masked Maverick, she shouted angrily.

Maverick took off his sunglasses, slipped them into his jacket pocket, then pulled off his mask. He sighed and said, "Miss Mercury, you really hurt my feelings. I'm your subordinate, and you don't recognize me?"

"Maverick!"

Behind Mercury, James shouted in disbelief. Mercury turned her head and frowned, "You know him?"

"Uh..."

James stammered. Admitting he knew Maverick could get him killed.

"What are you waiting for, James? You brought me into Deacon's crew. You let me, who was only supposed to guard outside, into the altar. Do you think they'll let you go? Hurry up!"

As Maverick spoke, he pulled out a submachine gun from behind and fired at the group. Two vampires were hit by bullets and turned to ashes on the spot!

Mercury swung her sword horizontally, blocking an incoming bullet with a clang. Then, like a phantom, she suddenly appeared in front of Maverick, slashing toward his neck like a blade!

"As expected of a pureblood, so fast!"

Maverick didn't dodge. He pulled the trigger of his submachine gun, looking like he was willing to die with her!

This was what Frank had taught him: on the battlefield, the more you're afraid of death, the quicker you'll die!

Mercury had to dodge Maverick's bullets by sidestepping, causing her sword to miss its mark and slash across Maverick's chest, leaving a long gash in his clothes and skin.

The injury wasn't serious for Maverick because Mercury used a regular blade, not a silver one!

Which vampire would carry a weapon that could harm themselves? Well, except for Maverick and Blade!

Though the wound wasn't severe, it was painful. Fortunately, Maverick had undergone strict training. He endured the pain and raised his clenched left hand toward Mercury. Silver powder sprayed out, hitting her face. She screamed as her skin began to dissolve rapidly.

It was silver powder that Maverick had quietly grabbed when he put his sunglasses into his pocket.

"Who told you to wear so little?"

Maverick fired again without hesitation. Bullets struck Mercury's body. She screamed and was thrown backward. But since he missed her vital spots, she didn't die—she just fell unconscious!

While Maverick dealt with Mercury, the former cowboy James shot at the other two vampires, blowing off their arms. However, they weren't dead and cursed in their vampire tongue!

"Help me finish them off!"

James shouted. Maverick killed them with two shots. He was about to speak when blood suddenly dripped onto his forehead. Outside, dark clouds covered the sky—the ceremony was about to begin!

Maverick pulled down his hood and shouted, "James, stick around. After I become the Blood God, I won't treat you badly! You can have as much money as you want!"

"Do I have a choice?"

James smiled wryly. He was the one who let Maverick in. Deacon Frost would never let him live if caught. He had to stick with Maverick—not for success, but to survive!

Maverick had already stopped paying attention to James. As the ceremony began, the altar grew cold and eerie, sending chills down their spines.

At that moment, a massive bolt of lightning struck from the sky, channeling through the device atop the altar, lighting up the runes on the walls one by one with crackling sounds!

Soon, the lightning reached the twelve pillars. The runes on them lit up, mixing with the lightning and striking the bound twelve elders!

The elders let out shrill screams as their bodies turned to ashes in the lightning and runes, leaving only twelve blood-red bats. They flew toward Maverick, circling above his head and merging into his body—it looked bizarre and evil!

"Yes! I want to become the Blood God! I want to live life to the fullest, bask in the sun, and hit the beach to watch bikinis!"

Maverick spread his arms and shouted. James, standing beside him, was speechless. "Is that all you're after? Did I pick the wrong person to follow?"

"No, that's Deacon's!"

At that moment, Mercury regained consciousness. She looked at Maverick in the center and roared in frustration, but she couldn't stop any of it!

"Not anymore!"

Maverick shouted as the twelve blood-red bats flew into his body, merging with him. He roared in pain as his body transformed into swirling blood—it looked mystical!

In a corner of the altar, Deacon, who was being chased, sensed the ceremony starting and shouted anxiously at Blade, "Blade, the ceremony has begun! We need to hurry, or someone else will become the Blood God!"

"So that's the kid's goal—to become the Blood God!"

Blade realized but didn't stop attacking Deacon. He said, "That's not my problem. Right now, I just want to kill you!"

Deacon used his sword to block Blade's attack (a trophy from earlier) and shouted, "Once that guy becomes the Blood God, he'll be invincible! Then you're dead meat—he won't let you live!"

Blade replied stubbornly, "So what? I'll kill you first, then deal with him!"

"Why are you so stubborn?"

Deacon was furious. He gritted his teeth and shouted, "Blade, I'm actually an undercover agent for S.H.I.E.L.D.! My mission is to become the Blood God and find out if vampires have hidden nuclear bombs. If we don't stop him, humanity is doomed!"

Deacon's words surprised Blade, but he didn't stop attacking. "I don't know what you're talking about, and I've never heard of S.H.I.E.L.D.!"

S.H.I.E.L.D. is a spy agency under the World Security Council, responsible for handling strange events worldwide. It's highly secretive, so it's normal Blade hadn't heard of it.

Blade scoffed, "Never heard of it. Deacon, you're really reaching. What kind of organization has a name that long?"

"I'm not lying! I'm really undercover!"

Deacon was losing it. Dealing with this thick-headed guy was driving him crazy. He wasn't lying; despite his own agenda, he had joined S.H.I.E.L.D. over ten years ago as an undercover agent.

At that moment, several vampires rushed in, shock evident on their faces—they'd heard what Deacon said!

The savior of half-blood vampires was actually a human spy? It was too absurd!

If true, all half-blood vampires would become a joke!

"Damn it!"

Deacon didn't care about revealing his secret and yelled, "What are you standing around for? Kill Blade!"

Deacon's prestige was high; a vampire followed his order instinctively. Suddenly, a barrage of bullets was fired at Blade, forcing him to dodge.

Back in the hall, as the runes dimmed, Maverick reverted to his human form. He closed his eyes, feeling the surge of power within. He felt invincible and couldn't help but smile!

"The Blood God is stronger than I expected—immortality."

Maverick was thrilled. The Blood God was actually a mass of blood essence left by Dracula, the vampire ancestor. Dracula's power was absolute immortality—even cosmic beings couldn't kill him. The blood he left granted Maverick immortality!

Of course, Maverick's immortality wasn't that potent. His ability, called Blood River, meant that every time he devoured a human or vampire, he'd gain an extra life. The Blood River could also aid him in battle—it was powerful!

"In the movie, Deacon never devoured anyone when fighting Blade. Not only was his strength at its weakest, but he also had only one life—that's why he died!"

Maverick shook his head. Deacon had the ability to avoid death, but after becoming the Blood God, he got overconfident and thought he could win easily, leading to his downfall!

"Learn from the past; I can't be like him!"

Maverick's excitement cooled down. He didn't want to be the next Deacon!

Just then, Deacon burst into the hall. He glared at Maverick on the platform and roared, "Thief! The Blood God is mine!"

Maverick opened his eyes, which glowed red like a sea of blood. Deacon was shocked but quickly became enraged. He shouted and leaped onto the platform, aiming to kill Maverick and reclaim what was his!

Maverick stood still as Deacon slashed down. He moved like a flash of blood, appearing behind Deacon, then stabbed his hand like a blade into Deacon's back!

Deacon screamed as his blood was rapidly drained by Maverick. He quickly lost strength, dropped his sword, and collapsed.

Deacon turned his head with resentment, surprise, and unwillingness. He asked, "This is the Blood God? So powerful?"

"This is the Blood God!"

Maverick said mysteriously. In truth, moving at such high speed consumed a lot of energy. In his current state, he couldn't do it many times!

The Blood God was indeed strong, but he needed to devour enough blood!

"What a waste!"

Deacon muttered his last words. His blood was completely absorbed by Maverick, leaving only a mummy, which Maverick casually tossed aside!

"Deacon!"

Mercury was initially in disbelief, then burst into tears. It was over—even their savior was dead. The vampires were doomed!

While James was shocked, he was also ecstatic. It seemed he'd chosen the right side!

After devouring Deacon, some of his memories surfaced in Maverick's mind. A decorated undercover agent!

This was one of the Blood God's abilities. He could access the memories of those he devoured. The stronger they were, the more he could obtain. Currently, Maverick could only access some deep memories, which was good—too many could drive him insane!

"So he was an undercover agent for S.H.I.E.L.D.? No wonder no one stopped him from holding the blood banquet. If I'm right, the reason he could overthrow the purebloods so easily was because S.H.I.E.L.D. was secretly helping!"

Maverick realized. He felt the growing power within and nodded. By devouring Deacon, not only did he become stronger, but he also gained another life!

At that moment, Blade's voice sounded, "So this was your goal—to become the Blood God?"

Maverick turned to see Blade looking at him with a hint of fear—he'd seen Maverick devour Deacon!

"Yes."

Maverick didn't deny it. He pulled out his sunglasses and tossed them to Blade. "But I'm still human. I haven't changed, and I won't change."

Blade caught the sunglasses, put them on, and said coolly, "I hope so. Otherwise, I'll have to kill you."

"You won't get the chance, and you're no longer my match."

Maverick smiled confidently. "Enough talk. Blade, S.H.I.E.L.D. has an ambush outside. Let's use the secret passage. James, you're coming with us!"

Blade asked, "S.H.I.E.L.D.? Deacon mentioned he was an undercover agent for them. What kind of organization is that?"

"Deacon was an undercover agent for S.H.I.E.L.D.?"

When Mercury heard this, she was shocked. "You're lying! That's impossible! He was the savior of our kind!"

"Just a savior propped up by S.H.I.E.L.D. Otherwise, how could a half-blood achieve so much?"

Maverick sneered. "I don't have time to argue. Blade, go get your mother. Let's get out of here!

Even though S.H.I.E.L.D. protects humans, they probably won't be friendly to us. Otherwise, they wouldn't have sent Deacon after you!"

"Alright."

Blade nodded, grabbed his sword, and leaped to the second floor. He jumped across, climbed up, and soon reached the fifth floor. After a moment, he descended with Vanessa!

"Let's go!"

Maverick led Blade and James toward the secret passage. Deacon had secretly arranged it, having long disagreed with S.H.I.E.L.D.

He wanted to be a god—the god of vampires!

That's also why S.H.I.E.L.D. hadn't stormed in yet. Deacon had set up barriers to stall them!

"Let's go too!"

Mercury shouted to the arriving vampires. She wasn't willing to die like this. She wanted to find out if Deacon was truly an undercover agent. If he was, their entire race would be a joke!

The vampires quickly helped Mercury and fled toward another secret passage under her guidance.

The secret passage Deacon left was guarded by vampires. Seeing Maverick and the others approach, they raised their guns. Suddenly, a blood-red blur flashed. Maverick appeared among them, his fingers turning into blood. With a swipe, blood spears pierced their bodies, absorbing their blood!

Seeing this, Blade narrowed his eyes and said to Maverick, "You're quite strong now."

"The more blood the Blood God consumes, the stronger he gets. If you want to stop me, now's your best chance!"

Maverick shrugged. "Once I've absorbed enough blood, no one can kill me—not even you."

James looked at Blade warily, thinking Maverick was crazy to say such things.

"You haven't done anything wrong. Why should I kill you? Just because you're a threat?"

Blade shook his head. "When you actually commit a crime, I'll come for you, no matter how strong you become. I'm Blade, a vampire hunter. I'm only good at one thing—killing vampires!"

"Blade, I like you more and more!"

Maverick laughed. If it were S.H.I.E.L.D., they'd eliminate any threat, but Blade isn't like them.

Blade said coolly, "I don't like men."

"Sounds like I do!"

Maverick withdrew his fingers, ignoring the vampires who had turned into mummies, and led them out of the altar that had changed his life dramatically!

Before he came, he was a vampire. Now, he was the Blood God!

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Read up to chap 50 at [email protected]/Onesword