Chapter 32

On that same night, Oliver was already resting at his home, wearing his usual clothes, with his cape folded next to him on the bed.

His eyes quickly scanned the screen of his laptop, which had several tabs open with vampire stories and some fiction books.

Oliver continued to stare at the screen, but then leaned against the wall, deep in thought.

"I knew that some vampires could hypnotize during a bite, and others only with their gaze, but some legends are quite confusing." Oliver pulled his cape closer as he let it rest on his shoulders, then sighed, appearing frustrated. "Maybe commands apply to hypnosis. Finding the specific command is difficult, but it probably involves not revealing information about the master vampire."

But once again, Oliver scratched his chin, gathering the information.

He recalled Nolan's last words, asking him to escape, reinforcing the theory about a condition. He remembered that all the vampires were never defeated but always fled when they were losing, which made Oliver smile faintly as he thought, "I've already unraveled a good part of the riddle. The problem is how he does it."

Oliver emptied his backpack, put it on his back, put on the cape, and his eyes started glowing green again.

Some time passed, and Oliver was running among the buildings, still lost in thought.

"It might be that the vampire is not involved with the gunslinger. Nolan was much stronger than that trio, or maybe I've become stronger, but in the end, it doesn't matter." He jumped to a taller building and once again stood near its edge, gradually becoming invisible. "They also had that strange ability, but thanks to my escape, even after the blue-haired woman tried to fight, in the end, Wander wasn't harmed."

Oliver's eyes then noticed a black van stopping in front of a bank with some lights illuminating its sign.

Oliver gave a slight smile and immediately jumped across the buildings. Three men wearing balaclavas emerged from the van, but unlike other criminals, they were armed with submachine guns and wore bulletproof vests.

The trio stopped on the other side of the van, drawing the attention of a guard inside the bank.

"Go ahead."

The driver spoke from inside the van, and the trio hurriedly turned. One of them ran toward an ATM machine, holding dynamite in his hands.

He quickly placed it near the support and, after lighting the fuse, ran back to the van, drawing the attention of the guard, who was already reaching for his communicator.

After retreating behind the van, the criminals grabbed bags and covered their ears in anticipation of the explosion.

However, several seconds passed, and they remained crouched, with no sound coming from the dynamite.

The driver, still protected inside the van while covering his ears, couldn't hear the explosion and looked at the ATM in confusion.

His eyes widened as he saw the green vigilante with the dynamite in his hands, and Oliver quickly thrust his fist through the glass, causing the dynamite to fall into the driver's lap. The driver, seeing the bomb, screamed in fear, drawing his companions' attention.

But again, the bomb didn't explode, and before the criminals could look confused, a punch shattered the glass and hit the bandit, throwing him against the door, knocking him out from the impact. Oliver grumbled, "I pulled the fuse out, dumbass."

However, footsteps were heard behind the van, and Oliver turned toward the criminals, who were now raising their guns, pointing them at Oliver as he ran toward the front of the car, dodging the bullets.

"Surround him!"

One of the criminals shouted, and the guard opened the bank's doors as the criminals split up, trying to encircle Oliver around the van.

The duo went left, while one went alone to the right. When the duo reached the front of the van, they heard a scream, and then something falling.

Both hurried and turned to see one of their comrades lying on the ground. Then, they began another volley of shots when they noticed the vigilante moving behind the van, now carrying one of the criminals.

Outside, the guard watched as the vigilante easily held the criminal with both hands, and when the duo returned to pursue him, they were met with their own ally being thrown in their direction, knocking both of them down as the vigilante advanced.

Through his communicator, the bank guard listened.

"We're on our way, over."

Still incredulous, the guard moved his communicator closer to his mouth and said, "Y-You won't need it... anymore..."

"What?"

The bank guard saw only the vigilante finish knocking out the criminals. Shortly after, he sighed and shot at the front tires without even looking.

Quickly, the vigilante crouched next to the criminals, and the guard shouted, "Hey!"

But before he could respond, the vigilante ran away at high speed, and the communicator spoke again, "Answer the question! What happened? Where are the thieves?"

Far from there, Oliver didn't hear the conversation but continued running while carrying some objects through the streets, following a route he was already familiar with.

While looking at what he carried, Oliver thought, 'Let's put my theory to the test.'

After a few more minutes of running, he came across the park where he had his first fight with the swordsmen. Given the approaching midnight hour, there was no one in the park except for Oliver, who ran among the trees and eventually stopped after running for some time.

Looking around, Oliver sighed when he realized he was in the exact spot where he had fought. He then let the objects fall to the ground, heaving a long sigh as he sat down, leaning against a tree.

In front of his legs, Oliver saw bulletproof vests and the weapons the criminals had been using earlier, and he gave a faint smile, looking up as time passed.

Oliver pulled his hood down and continued to examine the weapons, unloading their magazines and learning about them and the vests.

While they could withstand bullets, Oliver knew it might not be enough, but they could be easily concealed beneath his clothes and cape.

After waiting for a few hours and clearly growing bored, Oliver raised his head when he heard footsteps. He sighed upward and muttered, "You're late."

His voice seemed to be carried away by the wind, but Oliver remained silent as the footsteps continued to approach. Eventually, he clearly heard the steps stop behind him and something touch the tree.

"You should've made a better invitation. I couldn't guess what you wanted." The female voice remained cold and persuasive, reminiscent of the first time they had met. Then her silver hair fluttered in the wind as she said, "So, Oliver, what do you need from me?"

Once again, the footsteps became audible, and soon the silver-haired woman revealed herself, the same one who had observed the confrontation with the swordsmen. Oliver turned his gaze to her, still with the green gleam in his eyes.

"It's been a while, hasn't it?" She spoke as she slowly moved her eyes, surveying the weapons and the vest that Oliver had acquired, including the one he now wore, as she walked up to him, maintaining the same smile. "Interesting toys you have. Who are they for?"

"That depends on what I discover tonight." Oliver pushed himself up and stood. The silver-haired woman moved away but kept the same smile.

"But I'm happy to know that you watch over me, having arrived within just a few hours."

"Oh, so I shouldn't have come?" Slowly, she turned her eyes back to Oliver's body, appearing surprised and slightly excited as she extended her hand, touching the archer's chest while saying, "You've gotten stronger; I almost didn't recognize you. It seems you're using your relics well, but you haven't faced a significant challenge yet, have you?"

She felt Oliver's muscles were more toned, but his gaze remained serious as he looked at the silver-haired woman, who blushed slightly and averted her eyes.

"Don't look at me like that; it makes me nervous."

The tone was clearly sarcastic, and Oliver just smiled, sighing again and catching the woman's attention. She looked back at Oliver, scratching her neck with a smile, and said, "Don't be mistaken; I wanted you to come."

He forced a slight laugh, and the woman continued to gaze at him with a smile. But then Oliver took an arrow and spun it between his fingers, with the blade side pointed at the woman's neck, who continued to smile while Oliver kept a smile on his face.

"I'd like to know... are you with the gunslinger?"