What kind of move was that?
The strange scene unfolding before Alex completely caught him off guard.
Wasn't Dracula supposed to be a vampire? Since when did vampires come with cheat codes?
Then again… thinking about the version of Dracula in the Marvel universe, well—Alex could only admit that Marvel's Dracula really didn't play by the rules.
Immune to sunlight. Hyper-regeneration. True immortality.
And by true, it meant actual, no-joke immortality. Every time Dracula was killed, he would come back. No matter what.
His undying nature seemed to be hardcoded into the very rules of the universe. Not even Death—one of the five cosmic entities—could truly kill him.
On top of that, Dracula could turn into mist, command storms, summon lightning, morph into bats or werewolves, and even hypnotize others…
And that's just scratching the surface.
It was straight-up cheating.
So if a walking cheat code like him could exhale some kind of white mist that knocked people out, it didn't seem so far-fetched after all.
The real question was—what was that mist?
Before he could think too deeply about it, the thick, creeping fog had already closed in and swallowed Alex whole.
But Alex wasn't your average person. The moment the white gas approached, he instinctively held his breath, refusing to inhale even a trace.
More than that, for the first time in ages, his mutant ability—one he'd nearly forgotten in the corner of his mind—finally came in handy.
Through his skin, he filtered out the gas, directly absorbing the oxygen from the surrounding air.
Just like that, he perfectly countered Dracula's trick.
"Oh? Interesting."
A voice rang out.
Dracula had appeared right in front of him, watching Alex with a curious expression, clearly surprised to see someone still standing.
Alex noticed the ring on Dracula's finger—it was the very same ring that had previously been sitting inside the display case.
So his earlier guess was right. Dracula had come for that ring all along.
"My hypnosis doesn't work on you. You're no ordinary human," Dracula said, eyes narrowing with intrigue as he stared at Alex.
"Well… maybe I just had too much coffee earlier," Alex replied casually, while quietly analyzing the situation.
Judging by Dracula's various OP abilities and that literal immortal cheat, picking a fight with him seemed like the dumbest thing one could do.
Besides, that ring hadn't been his to begin with.
Alex made a decision.
"Listen, I don't care who you are or what you're after. It's got nothing to do with me. So if you're done with your business, why not just leave?"
He kept his tone even as he addressed Dracula.
"But you did want the ring," Dracula said with a knowing smirk. "And you recognized me, didn't you?"
Even though he phrased it as a question, his tone was full of certainty.
"I didn't. I don't. Don't make things up."
Like hell he'd admit to that. Alex didn't even hesitate before denying it flat-out.
"You're not being honest."
"I don't like dishonest children."
Dracula shook his head. Then, with a blur of motion, he vanished into the air like a gust of wind, rushing straight at Alex.
In the blink of an eye, he was right in front of him, claws slashing forward.
Alex had tried to avoid a fight, but with Dracula bringing it straight to his face, what choice did he have?
He scoffed coldly and launched a punch right at Dracula.
Boom!
A deep thud rang out as Alex narrowly dodged the claw swipe with his super-speed and landed a heavy punch square into Dracula's chest.
Dracula was sent flying like a cannonball, crashing hard into the ground.
Alex's baseline strength now approached a hundred tons. When he let loose, it multiplied even further.
Even Dracula couldn't just tank a punch like that.
Sure, Marvel's Dracula had killed Captain America in the comics, but he clearly wasn't as invincible as Alex had feared.
"Who the hell are you…?" Dracula climbed to his feet, looking disheveled, his expression twisted with shock he could no longer hide.
He'd lived for centuries, but he had never met someone this terrifying.
"Homelander."
Alex spat out the name with a smirk.
…Homelander?
What the hell kind of name was that?
Dracula's expression darkened. Was this guy mocking him?
With a growl, his body shifted and transformed into a massive, hulking wolf. He lunged at Alex with a savage roar.
Roar!
But—
Bang!
Another punch sent the beast flying like a rag doll.
He crashed hard to the ground like a dying mutt, a massive dent in his chest.
Several of his ribs were probably shattered.
"Cough, cough!"
Dracula reverted back to his human form, chest caved in—and yet, it began to heal at a speed visible to the naked eye.
His regenerative ability was even more ridiculous than Wolverine's.
Alex's punch may have been brutal, but it hadn't done any real damage.
To truly hurt Dracula, you'd need silver, garlic, or a cross—items that specifically countered vampires.
Even as a "second-generation progenitor," Dracula couldn't completely escape those classic vampire weaknesses.
"Such terrifying strength…"
Dracula's voice trembled, still filled with disbelief. But soon, he sneered. "But what if… you couldn't use that strength at all?"
Whoosh!
As he spoke, Dracula dissolved into a swarm of bats that shot toward Alex like a black storm.
If Alex were only strong, this move would be a nightmare.
After all, you can't punch a thousand bats one by one.
Too bad for Dracula—Alex's powers didn't end with brute strength.
Fwoosh!
From Alex's eyes, two searing beams of heat vision blasted forth, sweeping across the cloud of bats.
He'd been practicing. His mastery over heat vision had improved significantly.
Hitting a cluster of bats? Child's play.
Screech! Screech! Screech!
One by one, the bats shrieked and dropped like rain, charred by the scorching beams.
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