Chapter Fifty-Nine: The Origins of the Agreement

“The appearance of Dracula completely overturned the course of this war.”

“His formidable combat abilities allowed him to move effortlessly across any part of the battlefield, destroying our squads and turning them into his own followers.”

“His existence once cast a shadow of despair over the war, but precisely because of this, humanity’s resolve to eradicate vampires only grew stronger.”

“Otherwise, such a powerful vampire would inevitably reduce humanity to mere slaves.”

“Fortunately, though Dracula was strong, humanity was not entirely defenseless. In the end, by deploying certain secret weapons, we managed to kill Dracula.”

At this point, Gu Zhongyan instinctively glanced at Nick Fury. If he wasn’t mistaken, things likely hadn’t gone so smoothly—otherwise, it would have been impossible for humans and vampires to reach any accord.

Moreover, the mention of Dracula reminded Gu Zhongyan that he seemed to be a bug in the Marvel Universe.

There are many immortal beings in the Marvel Universe, the most famous being Deadpool; even if he’s chopped to pieces, he can regrow as long as given enough time.

Dracula was similar—not only was he much stronger than ordinary vampires, but while his combat prowess didn’t rank among the top in the Marvel Universe, his immortality certainly did.

Dracula’s immortality didn’t mean he couldn’t be killed at all, but rather that no matter who killed him, he would always resurrect eventually.

He is a bug in the very laws of death in this universe; even Death, one of the five primordial cosmic entities, cannot truly kill him—unless she alters the very fabric of death’s rules in the Marvel Universe.

But if that were to happen, while Dracula could be killed, new rules of death would be born in their wake. Thus, Dracula became an existence that not even the gods of the multiverse could truly erase.

Sure enough, Nick Fury soon sighed. “Just when we thought everything could return to normal after killing Dracula, he resurrected.”

“After coming back to life, Dracula once again inflicted immense losses on humanity. With no other option, we tried one power after another.”

“But regardless of the method, every time we killed Dracula, he would revive elsewhere. In the end, we had to abandon the idea of killing him and chose instead to imprison him.”

“And then? Did you capture him?” Gu Zhongyan asked quickly.

Nick Fury nodded. “After paying a heavy price, we did manage to capture him. Yet, things still didn’t return to normal.”

“We successfully imprisoned Dracula, delivering another devastating blow to the vampire race. But what we didn’t expect was that the vampires had one last trump card.”

“They could perform a certain magical ritual, sacrificing one of their own to transfer Dracula elsewhere.”

“After countless failures, the higher-ups of humanity finally realized that we neither had the ability to kill nor to imprison Dracula. As long as he existed, vampires would never truly be wiped out.”

“If the fighting continued, it would only lead to pointless loss, with nothing to gain.”

“Moreover, the vampires themselves no longer wished to continue fighting humanity. So they took the initiative to seal Dracula away and expressed a willingness to reach an agreement: as long as humans no longer sought their extermination, they would not release Dracula.”

“In the end, world leaders agreed to the pact with the vampires.”

“According to the agreement, vampires are forbidden from expanding their numbers at will or arbitrarily turning humans into vampires. In exchange, human nations tolerate the vampires’ existence, establishing blood banks around the globe and selling expired, unusable blood to them.”

“These past years, the rapid development of the world’s economy and technology owes much to the sponsorship provided by the vampires.”

“Now you understand why I haven’t taken action against the vampires?” Nick Fury turned to Gu Zhongyan.

“Eliminating vampires is simple. But destroying Dracula is nearly impossible. As long as Dracula cannot be killed, eradicating vampires is meaningless.”

Gu Zhongyan’s brow furrowed, his face darkening. If that was the case, the vampires he’d always dismissed were truly a troublesome foe.

After all, if even the Goddess of Death couldn’t kill him, how could he hope to?

“But now the vampires have broken the agreement. They’re already disrupting human society and turning many into vampires. Can’t you just act against them?” Gu Zhongyan pressed, his brows tightly knit.

“And then what?” Nick Fury retorted.

“If S.H.I.E.L.D. acts, it could provoke a backlash from the entire vampire race. What if that plunges humanity into another war with the vampires?”

“I am not afraid of battle, but I want no part in a pointless one. Young man, I know you’re full of passion, but have you considered that vampires aren’t the only threat to humanity in this world?”

“Werewolves, ghosts, demons, aliens, mutants—we have no idea how many threats exist. S.H.I.E.L.D. must be prepared for all possible dangers. I can’t devote all our resources to vampires alone.”

“Besides, the harm vampires cause is not as great as you imagine. The old vampires who survived the war of extinction know well the strength of humanity; they dare not act recklessly.”

“The ones causing trouble in New York this time are likely some newly turned hybrid vampires. Only the ignorant and fearless would dare be so brazen.”

“Even if you have many situations to guard against, that’s no excuse to let vampires run amok,” Gu Zhongyan said loudly.

“Who said I’m letting them off? Do you really think S.H.I.E.L.D. hasn’t done anything?” Nick Fury retorted just as loudly.

“Where do you think those cheap silver weapons, garlic extracts, and some of the military tech in the hands of vampire hunters come from?”

Gu Zhongyan was stunned, his face full of surprise. “Are you saying you provide those weapons to Blade?”

Nick Fury shot him a sharp look and said in a low voice, “Wizard, I know we’re not the closest of comrades, but believe me, my concern for this world runs deeper than yours ever could.”

“You can act alone as you please, but I must consider the bigger picture. Sometimes, I must make cold-blooded decisions that shouldn’t have to be made.”

“But believe me when I say, every choice I make is the best one I can.”

Looking at Nick Fury’s earnest face, Gu Zhongyan hesitated to speak.

He had to admit, though he didn’t agree with everything the one-eyed man did, this person had indeed always been Earth’s most steadfast line of defense.