Marvel: A Lazy-Ass Superman

Chapter 716: Chapter 716: Reaper Serum

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

For 40 advanced Chapters, visit my Patreon:

Patreon - Twilight_scribe1

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Although Henry was itching to ask whether the man belonged to the Assassin Brotherhood, he ultimately held his tongue. Instead, once they entered the infirmary, he efficiently secured the injured man to a hospital bed.

The bound assassin didn’t struggle much. Perhaps with his companion present, he wasn’t worried that being restrained meant he’d be killed. Even so, he said irritably,

”Is this really necessary? Or are you such a quack doctor that you’re going to make it hurt?”

”Scared of pain, kid?”

”The hell are you talking about? I’ve gone through pain-conditioning training beyond anything you could imagine.”

”I believe you, brave little guy. Unfortunately, I don’t share your confidence. If you suddenly mutate and start biting everyone in sight, these restraints are necessary. Besides, your partner’s right here. It’s not like I could do anything shady. So where were you bitten?”

”Are you blind? My arm, obviously.”

Henry rolled up the man’s sleeve and found that most of his forearm was covered by a familiar-looking hidden blade and bracer. The sight gave him pause before he shifted his attention to the injury itself.

The bite was just above where the bracer ended, close to the elbow. The wound was already suppurating, thick white pus oozing from it.

Henry called to the other assassin.

”Can the gear on his wrist come off? How do you remove it?”

”I’ll do it.”

”Once it’s off, strap his wrist down again. I’ll disinfect the wound with alcohol first, then draw a blood sample for analysis. Mr. Charon, is this all the equipment your infirmary has?”

The infirmary resembled an ordinary school nurse’s office. It seemed suitable for treating scrapes and minor injuries, but nowhere near adequate for major surgery or medical research.

Charon opened two additional doors. One led to an operating room, while the other revealed what looked like a chemistry laboratory.

”Mr. Brown, would this equipment suffice? If you require anything more specialized, we can arrange to have it brought in.”

”No, this will do.”

Taking a syringe for collecting blood samples and a bottle of medical alcohol, Henry walked over to the injured assassin.

The hidden blade had already been removed, and the restraint around the man’s wrist had been fastened again. Rather than carefully dabbing the wound with cotton soaked in alcohol, Henry simply poured nearly half the bottle directly over it to clean it.

Then, selecting a spot beside the bite, he said,

”I’m drawing blood now. Don’t squeal like a little girl.”

The taunt worked exactly as intended.

The young assassin clamped his lips shut, his face turning bright red as he endured the pain without making a sound. It wasn’t because he handled it easily—he was simply forcing himself to bear it.

Once he had collected the blood sample, Henry immediately began his analysis.

The Reaper virus carried by this new breed of vampire was drastically different from the traditional vampire virus.

What concerned Henry most was that the remarkable stability characteristic of the traditional vampire virus was completely absent.

Instead, the Reaper virus behaved like an ordinary virus, constantly evolving and mutating.

A traditional vampire virus remained perfectly stable. No matter how many times it replicated, every copy was identical to its parent strain.

A vampire born a thousand years ago and one turned today were fundamentally the same.

The Reaper virus, however, changed as it propagated.

That meant greater potential.

It also meant far greater danger.

In the past, the vampire virus only affected humans. If it infected anything else, the most likely outcome was that it simply killed the host. In a handful of cases, it would lie dormant without producing any effects until it eventually found its way back into a human.

That was why this world had never seen vampire horses or vampire dogs. Even if such things existed, they would likely be artificial anomalies created through other means.

But the mutating Reaper virus...

Henry couldn’t guarantee that it would never adapt to infect creatures other than humans and vampires, resulting in far more widespread transmission.

If that day ever came, a worldwide outbreak on the scale of the T-virus would no longer be impossible.

Looks like staying out of this isn’t an option... not if I still want to live on Earth.

That was the thought occupying Henry’s mind throughout his research.

As for creating a serum, it wasn’t particularly difficult given his current knowledge and abilities.

Using the infected assassin’s blood as the raw material, along with the equipment at hand, Henry quickly produced a Reaper serum and injected it into the patient.

The wound, which had been leaking white pus and was beginning to turn green, stopped oozing almost immediately.

Instead, normal beads of blood emerged, and the injury itself looked far healthier.

Once the man’s condition improved, Cassandra hurried into the infirmary to check on him herself.

After confirming he was recovering, she grinned and gave Henry a heavy slap on the shoulder.

”Nicely done! It hasn’t even been half a day, and you’ve already developed a serum.”

Handing over his research notes, Henry explained,

”I basically adapted the method used to make antivenom. I isolated and cultured antibodies from the patient’s own blood, then used them to eliminate the Reaper virus.”

Ordinarily, people died from snake venom because their immune systems couldn’t produce antibodies quickly enough to neutralize the toxins. Under normal circumstances, there simply wasn’t enough time.

But the vampire virus already had natural weaknesses.

Garlic extract, silver ions, and ultraviolet radiation.

The earliest serum used to treat people who had just been bitten by vampires—before they fully transformed—was made by refining specific compounds from garlic extract and using them in high concentrations to destroy both the vampire virus and the infected human cells in one sweep.

This time, Henry combined the patient’s own antibodies with carefully balanced proportions of garlic extract, silver nitrate, and a UV-reactive solution, hastily creating a serum that was itself somewhat toxic.

Given more time, he might be able to eliminate those toxic side effects—or perhaps develop an even safer treatment altogether.

Unfortunately, the young assassin didn’t have that kind of time.

Henry had already spent most of the night at the New York Continental. Dawn was fast approaching, and he still had to return to Grandma Hepburn’s house.

As a result, the injection left the young assassin in miserable shape.

He vomited repeatedly, suffered severe diarrhea, and visibly weakened before everyone’s eyes.

Still, compared to becoming one of those Reaper monsters, those side effects were entirely acceptable.

Because manufacturing the serum required antibodies taken from the infected individual, it wasn’t yet suitable for mass production.

Henry could only leave behind his research notes as insurance for the Continental’s campaign against the Reapers.

It was much like the Embrace Serum’s greatest value to vampire hunters.

Knowing they could still be saved after being bitten—as long as they hadn’t fully transformed—allowed them to hunt vampires far more aggressively.

Today’s Reaper Serum would serve the same purpose.

Not only would it encourage people to take the offensive, but they would also no longer have to fear Reaper virus infection.

Which meant...

It was finally time to prepare the counterattack.

As for a perfect serum without side effects...

That could wait until some future day, whenever Henry had the time—and the inclination.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

🎉 Power Stone Goal Announcement! 🎉

I’ll release one bonus Chapter for every 500 Power Stones we hit!”

Let me know what should I do

Your support means everything—let’s crush these goals together! Keep voting, and let the stones pile up! 🚀

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~