Chapter 46

When he heard the information, Oliver furrowed his brow and thought, 'There's something wrong here.' Then he raised his head and leaned against the tree until he could stand up. "Military, so all of that was martial arts? You're fast even by superhuman standards, but still, it's completely different from Nolan. Both of you are vampires, but I imagine this can't be by birth; you're too different."

"You have relics, and you know the difference between users, of course the difference in strength. In the end, you're an archer; finding a way to defeat you was easy." Christopher uncrossed his arms and cracked his fingers. "Thanks to what I saw, I know you didn't shoot to kill since all the hits weren't vital, but I still know who was there when he died, but there wasn't enough damage to kill a vampire, and just for that, I haven't killed you yet."

Oliver furrowed his brows while still deep in thought as he concluded, 'It wasn't him who turned his brother, right? So why is he stronger than the trio?'

"You said you were going to explain, I don't want to get to know you or learn about your past. Just tell me what happened to my brother already; if you claim to be innocent, prove it."

"I know that." Oliver continued with a furrowed brow, still confused, but then he went on. "Maybe we're after the same person."

In the end, Christopher raised an eyebrow in doubt, but Oliver continued, "I fought Nolan twice, and in both times, I didn't want to kill him. It seems he came after me following orders, and in the last confrontation, he died after transforming into something bestial." Oliver furrowed his brows, still remembering the battle as he said, "I shot, but as you said yourself, if I wanted to kill, I could have, but I didn't, I just wanted information."

When he heard this, the vampire's forehead instantly furrowed as Oliver continued. "I still don't know if it was this strange ability that killed him, but I'm after a vampire who might be doing this." Oliver leaned away from the tree, feeling his breathing calming, but despite that, he groaned, still feeling the pain throughout his body due to the blows and wounds. "At the end of the fight, he didn't say anything, but it didn't seem out of affection but rather out of obligation or will... but he..."

"That's enough."

Oliver quickly raised his head and saw the vampire avert his gaze, changing his neutral and serious expression to a disappointed one, even seeming distant, which made Oliver question, "Is there something bothering me? You weren't the one who turned your brother, right?"

"No, if I could have prevented him from transforming, it would have been much better. But now I have a target."

Gradually, that larger appearance with exposed muscles diminished, returning to his normal skin tone and size.

Oliver, who had now recovered, could see in more detail the resemblance between them; the hair and the face were almost the same, but the physical build made the difference clear.

Then the vampire turned and headed towards the forest exit, but Oliver passed the bow through his body and said, "Wait." The vampire stopped walking upon hearing this and turned to look at him, saying, "You may not trust me, but I'm also after this vampire. If we join forces, we can..."

"Don't be mistaken just because I spared your life, kid. We have nothing in common."

"What did you say? I can help you find your brother's killer and get revenge."

"I have no reason to ally with someone weaker. If you discovered it in the short time you had since the fight with him, I will too, but in my own way." He turned completely and faced the vigilante. "Some of my kind are after you; that arrogant bald guy is too, but that's not my problem."

Oliver furrowed his brow and saw the vampire turning completely as he walked toward the exit. "I will mourn my brother where I buried him, but after that, it's my duty as a soldier and as an older brother."

Gradually, his image receded, being illuminated only by the streetlights, but as soon as he disappeared once, it was no longer possible to see his image walking through the forest, leaving Oliver with a furrowed brow as he thought, 'Since he started fighting, I barely heard him move.' Clicking his tongue, Oliver removed the bandages from his most recent wounds and began to wrap them around the cuts that had been made recently. 'The difference in combat between us was like night and day.'

After stopping the bleeding, Oliver left the forest and returned to his home, going up to the roof and then going down the stairs, checking if there was no one in the hallway.

Once he entered his room, Oliver rushed to his wardrobe, where the false black ceiling was removed again, and from there, the relics of the gunslinger fell, making him sigh in relief as he thought.

'Living in a falling-apart building certainly has its benefits; no one seems to have noticed yet at least.' Oliver went to his window, putting on a dark bedsheet as protection against the cold and the coming daylight.

While putting on the cover, he could already feel his injuries nagging at him. Even with difficulty and grunting in pain, he put on the cover and headed for the bathroom.

Some time passed, and Oliver sat on his bed with an irritated and pained expression, fresh bandages on his body, making him think, 'If it was already hard to hide rib and shoulder injuries, I can't even imagine with my forearm.' When he looked at the window, his expression darkened even more, knowing he would have to spend a good amount of money on new glass. 'There's no way to know if these wounds would get infected, but to avoid it, I made the shower feel like fire when it hit the wounds, mixed with alcohol, a perfect formula for a nice fire.'

Even moving his arms made the recent wounds hurt even more, especially after so many blows. The wounds on his body felt like they were burning, but still, Oliver pulled out his notebook and began searching for something that had been bothering him since the beginning of the fight.

After a quick search, Oliver found information about Christopher and furrowed his brow as he concluded, 'Christopher West, 30 years old, single.' His eyes quickly scanned a biography of the soldier, and in the end, he concluded, 'Second sergeant, one rank below Steel, but a few years younger.'

His missions focused on combat and territory conquest, missions in other countries that allowed for a quick rise in the military hierarchy, achieving accomplishments rapidly and making a name for himself. However, one thing stood out to Oliver, 'There are no records of his actions before three years ago; I guess he must have been climbing the ranks since he became a vampire.' Oliver furrowed his brow, thinking that there might be relic users infiltrated in the army or government for longer than he could imagine. 'In the end, they're just hypotheses, but the fact that they exist already frustrates me.'

Oliver continued to gather information about Christopher from various sources, including other websites, articles, and even social media profiles. It was hard work that Oliver had gotten used to, but in the end, it took several more hours of his night.

Time passed quickly, and Oliver still felt the heat from his wounds, but his expression remained focused on the information he had gathered. 'It seems he's almost ten years older than Nolan, and there are no photos of them together.' Oliver furrowed his brow and crossed his arms, thinking, 'Christopher could have turned Nolan, but he chose not to... so did Nolan turn to the doctor?'

Oliver bit his thumb while continuing to assimilate information. 'If she knew about Christopher's existence, picking a fight with such a dangerous vampire would be a terrible idea. Which makes me wonder... is she stronger?' Oliver again thought about Luna and clicked his tongue, 'No, he's too challenging for her to handle so easily. Besides, the vampires she creates seem more like experiments than her personal army.'

Gathering the information he had obtained from the trio, Oliver found the hospital where the doctor supposedly worked and mused, 'I can assume she just didn't know about Nolan's relation or didn't know Christopher...' Various hypotheses flowed through Oliver's mind, who pushed the notebook aside and lay down with a furrowed brow.

'If Nolan did this to follow in his brother's footsteps, I bet he didn't expect such a large power difference...' Oliver looked to the side and saw the notebook, squinting as he remembered Christopher's words. 'The way he talked about his own brother makes me wonder if they have a complicated relationship. There's no reason for him to deny help or be prevented.'

In the end, Oliver continued to mull over things and squinted as he concluded, 'I am stronger now; I can tell just by the effort I put in to ensure none of the criminals I fight end up dead. But still...' His brow furrowed as he looked at the ceiling, 'The vast difference makes me think that both now and before, if this guy wanted to kill me, I'd already be dead.'

The screen of his notebook still reflected an image of Second Sergeant West, making Oliver continue with a furrowed brow as he thought, 'I'm getting somewhere, but the problems don't stop coming.' Oliver turned his head to the ceiling and closed his eyes, concluding, 'I'm getting into more fights than the ones I've been called to.'