Oliver continued to gaze at the two vampires who had joined him. Zoe looked down, and Dylan smiled, but Oliver could clearly see the relief in their expressions.
But then he crossed his arms and returned his gaze to the city, focusing his attention much further away.
"Just a little longer."
As he continued searching, Oliver could see the house in the distance from which the two had emerged. In the window, there was Wander again, who appeared worried despite visibly being better than before.
"I can't just go confront the Doctoress. I'll need you to gather some information for me about the power of vampires."
"Look, we've told you everything we know," Dylan seemed clearly uncomfortable but continued, "We can't gather more information. If we go to her without confirmation that we killed you, she'll just—"
"If she could have killed Wander whenever she wanted, she would have done it already."
Both of their expressions turned to astonishment, and Oliver turned towards them, stepping away from the edge as he walked towards them.
"She gave the command only to Wander and couldn't give it to you. Otherwise, all three of you would risk your lives. This shows that she has no influence over the vampires she didn't transform." Putting his hands in his pockets, Oliver continued, "You said there was a day when he received the command. Find out when that was and try to find a pattern. Research vampire legends and whatever you need for that. I can deal with her, but I don't have much free time. I have to prepare."
"Wait a minute, how can you be so sure?" Zoe frowned in disbelief and clearly nervous. "When she can, she will kill Wander since we didn't finish you off."
"Initially, she must monitor all the information about the Green Vigilante," Oliver sighed and said, "I'm constantly active, so she knows I'm alive. But even if I stop, nothing guarantees that she can't find out if he's lying or not. Her power is strong, but it's not unlimited. Your friend's life is at stake, but if you don't calm down, you'll make mistakes that could get you all killed."
His words carried a certain weight, and the two vampires felt it. It wasn't easy to come up with a plan in their situation. Oliver passed by them and continued to look at the house where Wander was.
Zoe took a step forward and frowned.
"I know she can be strong, and Wander might not be able to fight her, but if the two of us go with you, I think..."
"Do you know other vampires?" Oliver returned to a more serious tone, and his green eyes sparkled. "I am strong, but you are not. She has been a vampire much longer than the three of you, and I'm sure she's much stronger. She knows how to get stronger and has an ability that none of you have, even though you're vampires."
Zoe stepped back and frowned, but Oliver continued to speak.
"Remember the fight you had with me, even though it may not seem like it, Wander is the strongest among all of you. He was the only one who could take my blows without staying down for too long. In fact, he was the only one who had a chance to kill me there."
The memories of the fight were still fresh in everyone's minds, especially for the duo that had suffered the most damage.
"From what it seems, the vampire transforms a human but can't make them significantly stronger. This means that among all of you, she is the strongest. And that's not even considering the experience and abilities she may have that you don't know about." Oliver sighed again and slowly composed his expression. "Entering this battle with so little information, against a stronger opponent with unknown abilities, and with the possibility of having allies, is not just a bad idea; it's suicide."
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"What... are you going to do?" It was Zoe who asked now with her head down. "We can tell you her office location, but if you don't intend to confront her now..."
"For you, I can't do anything right now," Oliver turned to face the two of them and said. "I will face a tough opponent in a few days. If I go to confront the Doctoress and take severe damage, I might save you, but I'll end up dying. I said I would help you, and I will, but I won't diminish my already low chances of winning."
"You're going to face someone?" Zoe took a step forward and said. "In that case, we can help."
Dylan also stepped up, raising his head, appearing determined. But Oliver laughed calmly and said.
"Sort out your own problems first if you really want to help me." He reached into his pockets, feeling a bit more at ease, and said, "I won't engage in a battle without information, and I'm too busy to help with that. I can only rely on you."
The vampires' enthusiasm diminished considerably, and the two seemed downcast as Oliver continued to look into the distance.
"It's a shame... but we don't even know where to start. We've given all the information we had about her." Dylan clenched his fist and said, "If it's not enough, I think..."
"It's not about her; you're under the influence of her abilities. You're walking experiments, and you have all the information you need in your own bodies." Oliver turned to the two and looked up. "Many folklores say that the night is when darkness descends upon us and creatures of the night grow stronger under the moon—vampires, werewolves, and monsters... these stories told to make children sleep may be the only guide we have after all."
Oliver gave a slight smile and sighed.
"Maybe it's a clue, maybe not. I'm sorry, I can't help more than that for now." Oliver once again approached the edge of the building and turned, looking serious. "It's cliché, but if you want to do something, work hard for it. No one who wants to achieve greatness is born with everything handed to them."
Soon, he leaped from there, leaving the two vampires to stare at each other, looking worried.
Returning quickly to his home, Oliver pondered.
"I've gathered more information, but telling them isn't entirely safe... in fact, them knowing what I know would be pointless..."
With that brief conversation, Oliver could make some notes based on what he had understood.
As far as he knew, all vampires could transform humans with great ease, but if they could or wanted to do that, they would have done it a long time ago, and it would be noticeable.
Neither of the two knew any other vampires, which explained why they hadn't allied with Nolan to try to kill him again. Probably the news of his death hadn't even reached him.
Oliver could think of reasons for the Doctoress to transform Nolan, but the difference in strength between him and the other vampires was clear.
"He had that ability that made him stronger, but in the end, it cost him his life."
Thinking that Nolan might be slightly stronger than that trio but weaker than the Doctoress made Oliver consider an entire vampire hierarchy, which could explain the range of vampire appearances in the world.
With those possibilities, he furrowed his brow, knowing they would have more enemies to face, and once again without support, even though the vampires could increase their numbers. In the end, they would be an easy target for the gunslinger.
He closed his notebook and sighed, glancing at his watch as it approached two in the morning. Time seemed to pass quickly as his routine became increasingly filled.
Less than two days remained before he would face the gunslinger, and the feeling of insecurity still haunted him.
But as he looked at the corner of his bed, he noticed that his backpack still contained something, and it wasn't money. This made him contemplate the wall thoughtfully as he concluded:
"I'd like to help, especially when the target seems less dangerous than the threat I'm about to face."
Oliver finished his thoughts with a long sigh, folded his relics, and placed them on his nightstand while gazing out the window, reminiscing about everything that had happened.
All the battles he had faced there made him realize how far he had come with his relics, even though there were still no clues about his family. Nonetheless, the words of the silver-haired woman still echoed in his mind.
Oliver knew he would reach a certain place soon and once again looked at the crescent moon in the sky, which made him think:
"I had only one goal in mind, but whether I like it or not, using these relics has dragged me into this so-called war that the letter mentioned."
He then turned back to his notebook's screen, where the silhouette of the gunslinger was displayed. The drawings were much more detailed, allowing him to clearly see some pieces of clothing the target wore. Beside the gunslinger's image was a depiction of another man.
The man had an unusual posture, and his expression exuded authority, especially as he held a prominent pistol in the image. His clothing resembled the designs Oliver had made, with a simple scarf around his neck and various accessories adorning his body.
Oliver squinted as he gazed at the image of the likely ancestor of the gunslinger and then closed his eyes, forming a smile as he looked back at the moon.
"Once again, I'm going to do this my way."