Chapter 45

With the end of the blonde's sentence, various questions formed in Oliver's mind, but he was certain that he couldn't fight there.

The blonde grabbed the arrow in his arm, and Oliver's eyes widened as the arrow was pulled from the vampire's arm. Oliver jumped towards one of the buildings in a hurry, but once again, a shadow moved quickly, and before he knew it, Oliver saw the blonde again, hand raised with claws.

Oliver gritted his teeth and protected himself; in an instant, the blow hit him, and blood flew after the impact, sending Oliver tumbling towards the ground. The archer grunted, seeing the ground approaching, and with a quick mid-air spin, he managed to reposition himself and jump again, reducing the impact damage, but the vampire attacked once more.

With no choice but to retreat, Oliver leaped backward, avoiding a punch that would have hit him, and quickly turned, running through the streets.

"He's fast and strong... besides..." Oliver looked at his arms and saw them trembling, still feeling the effects of the impact, with large claw marks that were still bleeding. However, heavy footsteps made him look back and think, "Crap."

The vampire was already running at high speed with his entire body, maintaining a serious expression, and this time advancing towards Oliver with raised clawed hands.

Oliver landed on the ground and started running again, looking for a setting that would benefit him, turning a corner and approaching the scene where he had fought against the car shooters.

"I can be more agile, but I'm using everything I have, and any slip-up, and he'll catch me..." Oliver saw the vampire crossing the street at high speed, moving like a tank, while Oliver entered the same alley where he had been ambushed and leaped over the walls, finally reaching a rooftop. "He's fast enough to keep up with me, but if he can't see me, it's no use."

As he stopped, Oliver became increasingly out of breath, sweat dripping from his chin, and his wounds began to throb as they hadn't fully closed.

Oliver groaned but heard a heavy step beside him, making him widen his eyes as he listened, "I smell blood."

Oliver heard the wind cut at high speed, and he quickly crouched, narrowly avoiding a punch that would have struck his face directly. But the vampire attacked again, bringing his arm down violently, hitting the bricks of the walls and destroying them while Oliver jumped back just in time to avoid the flying debris.

He quickly turned and the vampire attacked once more, and Oliver resumed running, taking fast steps and jumps, climbing the buildings little by little while being pursued, and feeling the exhaustion weighing on his body.

He knew the vampires couldn't help him, so he continued to flee, narrowly dodging the vampire's blows. Even when the vampire's attacks grazed him, they still inflicted significant damage through the cuts.

However, gradually, Oliver realized that he was being led somewhere.

When they reached a taller building, Oliver crouched, gathering all the strength in his legs, when he saw something casting a shadow under his body. Once again, his green eyes widened as he saw the vampire with a raised fist, ready to finish him off.

"This is the end."

But in the last moment, as if it were a leap forward, Oliver escaped, causing the vampire's punch to hit the ceiling and sink into the concrete, making the lights in the building flicker as he saw Oliver still in the air, heading towards a forest while the vampire looked into the distance.

Some time passed, and he descended, following Oliver's footsteps in the forest, which led to the depths of the area.

The few streetlights barely illuminated the place, and the vampire stopped walking after a while, raising his head slightly as he said, "You're here; I hear your heart."

He spoke with a voice that, for some reason, seemed as heavy as lead.

Nearby, an invisible Oliver had his arrow aimed at the vampire, his eyes still wide, and his breath held.

"As I thought, he's superhuman and has senses as sharp as mine," Oliver tightened the bowstring, feeling his arrow growing stronger, but his air was running out. "No, he's even stronger... I can endure his blows to some extent, but being injured and with these claw strikes, I'll..."

He felt all the pressure that the vampire emanated; in addition to it being a surprise attack, it had been some time since Oliver had felt disadvantaged overall against an opponent who continued to hunt him, until the vampire looked in his direction.

Oliver had held on as much as he could and fired the arrow like lightning at the vampire. The vampire heard the wind being cut, looking at a green streak that pierced him before he could react, making his calm expression turn into confusion with a furrowed brow as blood spurted from his hand and shoulder.

As the arrow disappeared, Oliver collapsed on his knees, completely out of breath, and hot air could be seen coming from his mouth as he stared at the vampire, still with his eyes wide open.

The blonde looked at the hole that had pierced his defense with one hand and passed through his shoulder, snapping it off with anger as he saw the blood flowing.

Oliver took as much air as he could and said, "This won't kill you." Before he could say more, he tried to breathe more rapidly, saying, "But... you won't be able to move that arm anymore."

Still panting and sweaty, Oliver raised his bow and aimed the arrow at the vampire, still with his bright green eyes, thinking, "It's as tough as when I faced the gunslinger, but I had prepared a bit at least." He swallowed hard, slowly managing to normalize his breathing. "It's much tougher and more exhausting... I can't kill again... is this guy Nolan's brother? How did he find me?"

"Once again, I'll ask, who are you?"

The silence continued in the area as the vampire examined his wounds, and as the vampire forced his fist, Oliver shouted again.

"Hey!"

"I understand, it makes a bit more sense that you managed to kill Nolan."

Oliver widened his eyes when he saw the vampire move his hand calmly when he should be feeling unbearable pain. However, what surprised him even more was that the blood stopped flowing from the wound and rapidly decreased.

Gradually, the flesh and muscles around the wound began to reconstruct, closing the gap in the flesh, which quickly returned to the blonde's skin tone.

Both his hand and shoulder regenerated rapidly, and the vampire lowered his hand, fully recovered from the shot, making Oliver still stare, devastated, with wide eyes as the vampire spoke.

"If you had shot me in the head, maybe you could have killed me."

The vampire began to walk towards Oliver, while the archer aimed his arrow again, reloading his shot. But before he could advance, the vampire stopped his approach and stopped walking.

Oliver continued to have wide eyes and was panting, and his hand began to tremble. However, the vampire remained calm, until he spoke again.

"You don't seem like the type to refuse to kill for just anything. Why didn't you, and you limited yourself to ending the fight? Even with one arm, I could still fight."

"I only kill scumbags." Oliver frowned, still with the bow positioned, while his heavy breathing made it difficult for him to speak. "And there's also a misunderstanding; if you're the person I'm thinking of, it's more of a reason not to kill you."

When he heard that, the vampire remained suspicious while Oliver continued to point the trembling arrow.

After a few seconds that seemed to last longer as the two stared at each other, Oliver realized that he couldn't use that charged shot anymore, making him think of clicking his tongue but maintaining composure to avoid suspicion.

"He didn't see the arrow clearly; he may not know the difference." Oliver swallowed hard as he continued to force his breathing to calm down and concluded, "As soon as he moves, I'll..."

"Okay."

The vampire relaxed his posture, but didn't undo his transformation, only crossing his arms and maintaining a serious gaze.

Oliver wanted to keep the bow up, but his arm felt heavy and hurt like never before, making him click his tongue as he realized, "Damn, you can't win them all."

Slowly, Oliver lowered the bow and his body, feeling all the fatigue and wounds weighing on him as he thought about putting the arrow away.

However, when he noticed, a shadow was already in front of him, making him widen his eyes, and when he saw it, the vampire looked down at him, his red eyes still bright, causing Oliver's body to stop momentarily.

Now the pressure was even closer, and Oliver no longer felt his legs, only being able to stare with wide eyes as he heard.

"If you wanted to kill me, you could have killed me. Just because of that, I'll let you talk, but as soon as I feel you're lying, you'll die."

His words carried a weight that seemed to want to drag Oliver to the ground, but upon hearing that, the vigilante yielded and fell backward, leaning against a tree, while the vampire raised an eyebrow, still maintaining a serious gaze.

"What are you doing?"

"You approached me to put pressure on me and prevent me from escaping; sitting down won't change the crappy situation I'm already in." Oliver just sighed, calming his face and breathing. "I won't lie; there's no reason to. After all, I also think you can answer my doubts."

The vampire continued to stare, but for a brief moment, a smile appeared on his face, making Oliver raise an eyebrow, but the vampire quickly took a step back, returning to a serious expression.

Oliver sighed now with a certain genuine relief, knowing that he couldn't fight anyway. But in the end, before he could evade the question, he asked.

"I said there was a misunderstanding, but I have so many enemies that I want to be sure." Oliver raised his head with a serious look. "Please answer me, who are you?"

The vampire still maintained a serious gaze as he watched Oliver from above, but then he closed his eyes and spoke.

"Christopher West, Military... Nolan's older brother."