An Unbelievable Coincidence

Ryan arrived at the Great Hall with a shield in his left hand and a sword in his right, taking the lead just ahead and to Kate's left.

Kate's little face was serious. She said nothing, merely signaling with her eyes that they could begin. When Ryan did not move, she picked up the wooden mallet herself and struck the bronze bell that marked the start.

Clang! Clang! Clang! The bronze bell rang.

Snap! All the torches outside the Great Hall went out. The entire castle suddenly became a dark, secluded hunting ground. The only question was which side was the prey.

Bats began flitting through the dim corridors, and vampires could be hiding among them.

Ryan and Kate chose the passage leading to the second floor. Ryan walked ahead, occasionally waving the Silver Sword like an amateur, though the Iron Shield remained held out in front of him.

Squeak! Squeak! Squeak! The bats kept making irritating noises.

With cobwebs occasionally brushing across his face, impatience showed in his silver eyes. To play this game, Ryan had already shifted his mindset. Muggle detective Ryan had made his appearance.

Given that character setting, he should act careless and aggressive, drawing the vampire into attacking first. Besides, this experience counted as something new, providing fresh nourishment for the magic in his heart.

Unexpectedly, when they reached the second-floor corner, Ryan still found no trace of any vampire with his ordinary vision.

From another perspective, Salvatore heard the bell ring and leisurely crawled out of his coffin. This was a room on the third floor.

Salvatore's eyes glowed red, and several bats whose eyes glowed the same red opened them at once. They were scattered throughout every corner of the castle, serving as Salvatore's eyes.

"Two people, four hands. My luck can't be so bad that they picked every right one," Salvatore said confidently.

"How is that possible? A Silver Net? Who would choose a Silver Net? No normal person would pick that!" A bat hiding on the first floor saw a sight that shocked Salvatore: a small witch holding a Silver Net and hiding in the rear. If he had not had so many eyes, he might have missed her.

As for the torch and Silver Sword, those were normal choices. Most visitors used them more for lighting the way, while wizards who knew that vampires could eat garlic would not choose a Garlic Necklace like Muggles and wear such an undignified accessory.

And yet, something terrifying had happened. The torch, Garlic Necklace, and Silver Net had come together. Even in his novels, he had never made them appear as weapons at the same time. Vampire Hunter Sir Kate might know about them, but it could not possibly be such a coincidence, could it?

"Luckily, the deadly weapons are on a small witch. Heh heh, Salvatore Stefan is going to get serious." Salvatore thought to himself as he pressed the knob beside the coffin. A hidden passage appeared in the corner of the wall. "Watch me launch a surprise attack from behind. Little wizards, your nightmare has arrived!"

One step, two steps. One step, two steps. Rub, rub. Those were the vampire's cautious footsteps.

Salvatore, who had linked his vision to both the area ahead and the second-floor corner, wiped away a cold sweat. Using two viewpoints at once was already his limit.

"Thank goodness. That little wizard ahead looks easy to deal with too. Damn pretty boy, why can't I be as handsome as my counterpart in the books?" Salvatore grumbled inwardly, completely forgetting that he had only been hired because he looked ordinary.

Ha! A flash of claws swept out as a pale, ordinary-looking vampire with no presence suddenly emerged from around the corner.

His attack targeted Ryan's Garlic Necklace, but that strike, delivered with absolute confidence, was blocked by the Iron Shield.

Ryan restrained his strength with all his might. Otherwise, the rebound alone would have snapped the vampire's claws. Ryan did not press the attack, instead yielding his position to Kate, who was waving the torch and Silver Net.

"Damn it!"

"That pretty boy reacted so quickly. And every clove of garlic has been lightly crushed. That smell is disgusting. No, I have to endure it!"

"And there's another little brat. Why is she bringing a torch over as a weapon? She's even waving a Silver Net in her other hand!"

The approaching firelight and garlic smell made Salvatore's entire body go weak. He wanted to turn into a bat, only to be stopped by the Silver Net.

At the critical moment, Salvatore noticed that there was fortunately a gap in the otherwise airtight enclosure, right where that pretty boy stood.

Accompanied by black smoke, the bats on the ceiling swooped over as well, carrying him away through the gap Ryan had deliberately left open.

Kate did not pursue him. Instead, she looked puzzled.

"Kate, we still have the whole morning. It wouldn't be any fun if we caught him just like that," Ryan explained.

"That's true." Kate gave a faint, serious nod.

"Danger, danger, danger! How did this happen?!" Salvatore trembled all over as he hid among the bats.

By the usual routine, Salvatore should have been chasing visitors everywhere, following hidden passages or turning directly into a bat to ambush them. In the end, they should have been forced to hide in the safe zone, shivering in the Great Hall.

But today was completely different. He had nearly been caught instead.

Vampire Hunters were mostly half-vampires. The other half of those vampires' bloodlines were Muggle, with almost none having wizard blood. They were skilled at using tools and hunted with Muggle methods.

Half-vampires with wizard blood had wizards in their families, so it was impossible for them to suffer vampire attacks. Most were the result of free romances between wizards and vampires. This also meant that Vampire Hunters did not have anyone so powerful that they could not be resisted.

And now, Salvatore strongly suspected that the ancestors of these two little brats must have included Vampire Hunters, and that they had even kept up the relevant training.

"This is insane. Ever since the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures was established, vampires and Vampire Hunters have practically vanished after being protected and restricted by the Non-Wizarding Demihuman Treatment Guidelines. So why are there still some now? And why did I happen to run into them?" Salvatore complained inwardly.

"But all these weapons have been enchanted. At worst, it'll hurt a little! Last time, I faced a wizard who had been a Quidditch Beater. Come on, I'm going to become a vampire star." Salvatore gathered his courage. It was definitely not because he was worried that visitors would complain afterward about not having enough fun.

"Besides, they don't deduct much money, and I have extra income!"

"Salvatore, Salvatore, how can you think like that? You're not doing this for money! It's for your dream! It's destiny! The renewed battle between vampires and Vampire Hunters!" Salvatore encouraged himself as he returned to human form in a dark corner.

He pressed the hidden passage switch, then crept forward while holding his breath. At that moment, the bats above Ryan's head lit up again with red light too faint for the naked eye to notice. Vampire Selvato, carefully observing everything, prepared for another round.

"Ryan, he isn't just going to stop coming out, is he?" Kate asked worriedly, a yearning expression appearing on her childish face.

"After going through the hell of studying and exams, I was ready to go all out!"

"Quiet. He's already here." Ryan put on an innocent face, pretending not to have noticed.

Two updates today