Conner nailed the shovel on the ground, finishing the job of burying the corpses of the wizards and sorcerers. Thaddeus looked at him confused since they hadn't buried any witches or warlocks.

-Aren't we going to bury the rest?- Thaddeus asked confused

Conner turned around and looked at him as if Thaddeus was retarded, but quickly looked away realizing that Thaddeus still didn't understand what had happened and was happening. With confidence he approached Thaddeus and then pointed to the north where Thaddeus could see a huge castle in the distance, it was the "tears of blood" kingdom, and around the kingdom there was an extensive dark fog that emanated a gloomy and sad feeling.

-I see that you still don't understand what is really happening- said Conner -you do know who damnatus is and what he did, right?- he asked

-Of course, before he died he managed to control 70% of the earth-one. Even now, with the separation of the lands, his followers control a total of 90% of the earth-ash- said Thaddeus -I understand that his magic was so great and powerful that he could create beings with only malicious intentions-

-correct!... more or less- congratulated Conner -you see, Damnatus was not so powerful as to create living beings, he was so powerful that he created his own magic- he revealed

-create magic? How do you create magic?- asked Thaddeus totally confused -magic is supposed to be able to acquire special attributes depending on the species and its level of manipulation, but create another type of magic?-

Conner looked at Thaddeus amused, in fact almost no one knew about this fact about damnatus, in fact, there are many things that both gods and mortals do not know about him, even damnatus' own followers.

-Yes, he was a son of a bitch, but a very powerful son of a bitch. The most powerful being that the earth has ever seen - the only one in fact- revealed Conner seriously, in his eyes you could see a flash of fear and hatred, it was clear that Conner had seen the power of Damnatus in person.

-And how did they kill him?- asked Thaddeus curiously, he could not think of a way to kill such a being.

-Kill him? Who said he was dead?- asked Conner -No... no one could kill him, but they could seal him. Anyway, we are getting off-topic. The point is that Damnatus' magic was not natural, his magic was born from the darkest feelings of living beings and focused only on those feelings, this did not please the Elder tree, and offended by Damnatus' actions he rejected this magic and any user of it-

-Wow... wait! So those wizards and witches?- Thaddeus couldn't finish speaking when Conner was already nodding. The wizards and witches who hadn't been buried were using damnatus' magic.

-Yes, and now, since you participated in the creation of a creature made with the magic of damnatus, it is very likely that the tree wants you to take care of that "vampire king"- Conner clarified

-I suppose it is my responsibility...- said Thaddeus looking at his wife's tombstone -I don't know why but I thought he would cry more for her loss-

-Oh, no, those are the side effects of being close to Merlin or any benign in general- revealed Conner -his very presence helps you face your fears and sadness in an incredibly fast way-

-I see- understood Thaddeus

-Well, you should prepare yourself for...- before Conner could finish speaking he felt a breeze run through the forest they were in.

A disgusting sensation along with the stench of blood and death flooded the surroundings of the forest. Little by little a dark mist settled over Thaddeus and Conner, limiting their visibility. Conner just looked around with obvious disgust, his face reflected the disgust towards the smell that the mist emitted.

-What the hell is this smell?- asked Thaddeus covering his nose.

-Don't go away from me... it's them- said Conner

As if it were a summoning spell, 4 shadows appeared from the mist, Thaddeus tried to distinguish their appearances, but he could only see a blurry silhouette with red eyes that looked at him as if he were a defenseless prey.

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

Conner stood in front of Thaddeus protecting him from the shadows, by his gaze, Thaddeus could tell that Conner had already faced these shadows in the past.

-Is it that my message was not clear enough to you days ago? Filthy leeches- asked Conner showing evident disgust towards the shadows

-As clear as water...- said one of the shadows. His voice was very raspy and you could even tell that it wasn't human and from its clear tone you could distinguish a strange hatred and desire at the same time.

-So, what the hell do you want here, suckers?- asked Conner still hostile towards the shadows

"Suckers? Wait, those shadows are vampires?" Thaddeus thought alarmed, he quickly remembered Merlin's warnings and how these vampires could suck the blood and magic of other creatures.

-The girl...-

-We want her-

The other shadows spoke, their voices were very similar to the first shadow. Conner showed a grimace of disgust followed by a simple movement of his hand causing the fog around them to disperse instantly.

In front of them now were the 4 vampires completely visible. They were 3 men and a woman, all had very pale skin and the color of their hair was a strange dull tone; their clothes were tattered, especially where they had a bite mark. One of the men and the woman were not even wearing clothes and their appearance looked wild and uncivilized, they even wore collars where they could be tied.

-Oh, you brought two flea-bitten ones with you, is there no more manpower?- asked Conner mocking the two vampires with collars

-I'm sorry for such... indecency of my pets, as you can see I haven't trained them properly yet- said the vampire who looked more stable and sane. His clothes had a few tatters but nothing as serious as the others, this one was obviously their leader.

Thaddeus looked at the vampires horrified, in just 5 days they had clearly already established a hierarchy between them which led him to wonder "how many vampires are there already that they have to establish a hierarchy?"

-Give us the girl!- shouted the male vampire with a collar -or we will be forced to...

In an instant, the vampire's upper body disappeared, leaving only his legs on the ground next to a large pool of blood. Conner had killed the vampire with a simple wave of his hand.

-to What?- asked Conner

The remaining Vampires looked at him warily, they knew that Conner was not a guy they could mess with, even their king was probably unable to face Conner.

-I already told you that we will give you no one, besides the girl is already gone. She left a day ago to a place where you will never be able to reach her- said Conner -Now get out of here if you don't want to die instantly!- he threatened

The Vampires looked at them angry and full of hate, they didn't like the idea of leaving empty-handed, but they knew they had no other choice. The Vampires took a few steps back and when they were about to leave Thaddeus called them.

-Wait, I have something to ask you!- shouted Thaddeus getting their attention -Why do you do it, why suck the blood of your victims and their magic? And why do you want Rhonna?-

The vampire leader looked at Thaddeus for a few seconds, inspecting him from top to bottom and then gave him a sinister smile showing his elongated and bloody fangs.

-Thirsty... human blood is so satisfying, so tasty that it always leaves us thirstier. The more we drink the stronger we become, the essence of life in the blood is so... delicious- he mentioned while giving a quick glance at the vampire woman, it was obvious that she was nothing more than a simple dog, no, even less than a dog that was made to obey

-mph, in that case, suck dick. You might find more essence of life there and who knows maybe you'll like it more- Conner mocked

The vampire ignored Conner's comment and stared at Thaddeus, while speaking again.

-As for the girl... that is not my concern, my king wants her and I will give her to him, sooner or later...- said the vampire.

This last thing was like a whisper that faded with its appearance between the shadows of the forest leaving only a feeling of coldness behind along with a strong concern in Thaddeus, the king of the vampires was looking for his daughter for some hidden reason.

"I definitely have to take care of Varion" Thaddeus thought worried about the health and life of his daughter.

After a few seconds of the vampires leaving, the horrible stench began to disappear along with the disgusting feeling. Conner breathed in a calmer air, it was obvious that those vampires had irritated him.

Thaddeus looked at Conner somewhat surprised, even though he had been informed of Conner's condition, he had never thought about how powerful he was and boy was he strong even if he was hurt.

"We better hurry up," said Conner.

Conner walked towards the house calmly, when he passed by the corpses of the witches he extended his hand causing a bolt of lightning to come out of it and incinerate the bodies in the blink of an eye, it was as if he had turned them to dust in an instant. Conner arrived at the door of the house and before he could open it, a small bird landed on Conner's shoulder. In its beak, there was a letter apparently addressed to Conner. The letter was pink and had several flowers painted around it.

Conner took the letter and read it quickly, then nodded to the bird, who quickly nodded back and flew off to the east.

-This is where we part ways, Thaddeus- Conner said as he took a leather bag and put it on his shoulder. -You have a mission to complete and I have to go east. One of my companions is waiting for me there to treat my wounds.-

Conner approached Thaddeus, extending his hand in farewell, and Thaddeus did not hesitate to take it. Conner gave him a small smile and then walked away.

-I hope your trip goes well and if you see more of those leeches don't hesitate to kill them- Conner recommended -by the way, there are some provisions there. Take them for your trip, you will need them-As soon as Conner finished speaking his body was surrounded by blue lightnings and after a few seconds he flew at high speed towards the skies.

Thaddeus watched Conner's departure with a slight sigh, leaving all uncertainties aside he entered the house and looked for the provisions Conner spoke of. After a few minutes he found them in the kitchen and without delay he put them in a leather bag and put it on his shoulder.

This was not his first time making a long trip, but he was making a trip alone. He used to travel long distances with his companions and his wife to other allied kingdoms, but this time he would not be traveling to another kingdom but to a completely unknown place.

Without saying or thinking anything else, Thaddeus created a small crystal sphere with his magic, leaving the golden leaf inside the sphere. Little by little the leaf began to move until it hit the crystal, showing the direction it had to go.

-There is no other way...- thought Thaddeus and prepared to begin his journey to wherever the leaf would take him. His destiny would be determined by the legendary Elder tree.