Viktor exchanges a wordless glance with Jayce--just the latest of many, though he knows if he lingers too long he'll start to have second thoughts. This procedure is his best shot, but he also might not survive it. However tempting it is to back down, however, and explore alternate options, he tells himself that he would rather try this and fail than keep chasing stop-gaps.

Success or failure, he'll never be able to properly thank any of the people in this room. A lifetime of free inventions and equipment repairs from their business will have to do. Viktor offers Jayce a smile, hand snaking upward to meet the one that brushes through his hair.

"It's going to be fine," he says, though that's possibly to reassure himself more than anything. He's quick to steel himself after that, nodding toward Alucard to start the first infusion. Having someone cut him open while fully conscious, even using what anesthetic they can, is insanity. He'd known from the start that they needed something stronger, to continually boost his constitution throughout the procedure. That's what the blood--and the serum they developed with it--is for. This inextricable link that he now shares with Alucard, an immeasurable amount of trust in him, something he knows he can never repay.

Then, to Nadine, though it's certainly meant for the entire room. After this, there will be no going back. They'll have to see it through to the end. "Just like we practiced."