Arcane Academy: The Divine Extraction Legacy

Chapter 1316: Anti-Vampires

Batsaikhan continued toward a quieter part of the city, maintaining the pace of an ordinary merchant who had finished his business for the day.

He did not look back, nor did he make any obvious attempt to escape the two men following him. Instead, he deliberately chose a street with fewer pedestrians, passing several closed shops before turning into a narrow lane between two old buildings.

Rene and Deric followed without hesitation.

“Are you certain about this?” Deric whispered as they approached the entrance to the lane. “We don’t even know who that man is.”

Rene kept his gaze on the merchant’s back.

“That’s exactly why I want him. Did you see how he moved? He looks like an ordinary merchant, but his body is far too controlled. He watches every intersection, adjusts his pace whenever someone approaches, and never allows anyone to get too close to his blind spots. Even his breathing is unusual.”

Deric glanced at the man ahead of them. “You think he’s a trained warrior?”

“Well… I can’t determine his exact strength, but he certainly isn’t an ordinary person.” Rene smiled faintly.

“If he possesses enough strength, he might become a proper Vampire. I have already succeeded once. There’s no reason to waste this final opportunity on someone weaker.”

Deric said nothing, but his crimson eyes were filled with interest. He had only recently experienced the power of a Vampire, and the thought of having another companion who could share that strength was appealing.

Still, neither of them noticed the slight change in Batsaikhan’s expression.

‘Two Vampires. One of them is still quite weak, but the other is clearly stronger.’

Batsaikhan had spent years infiltrating enemy territories, gathering intelligence, and escaping situations in which a single mistake could cost him his life. He had learned to recognize dangerous people without needing to see them draw their weapons. Rene’s controlled movements and the unnatural stillness of his body had already raised his suspicions, while the younger man following him possessed a faintly unsettling presence that ordinary humans did not have.

The longer they followed him, the more certain Batsaikhan became that neither man was pursuing him for ordinary reasons.

He turned into a narrow courtyard behind a row of abandoned warehouses. The buildings had once been used to store goods brought into Atrium City, but changes in the city’s trade routes had left several of them unused.

Their crumbling walls and overgrown entrances made the area an ideal place for a private meeting, or for disposing of someone without attracting immediate attention.

Batsaikhan stopped beside a broken wooden cart and pretended to examine one of its wheels.

Rene exchanged a glance with Deric before approaching him.

“Excuse me, merchant,” Rene called out. “I believe we need to have a little conversation.”

Batsaikhan straightened and turned around. His expression showed mild surprise, just as one might expect from a merchant who had unexpectedly been approached by two strangers.

“Is there something I can help you with?”

“Perhaps.” Rene stepped closer, his smile remaining pleasant. “You seem like an interesting person. I was wondering whether you might be interested in a business opportunity.”

“What kind of business?”

“One that could change your life.”

Batsaikhan studied him for a moment, then glanced at Deric. “And what would I need to do?”

“Nothing particularly difficult.” Rene’s smile widened. “You would only need to become one of us.”

The moment those words left his mouth, the last trace of friendliness disappeared from Batsaikhan’s eyes.

He had heard enough.

Rene’s body moved before the merchant could answer. His right hand shot forward as he attempted to seize Batsaikhan by the throat.

He had no intention of wasting time with persuasion. Once he restrained his target, he could reveal his identity and begin the transformation!

However, Batsaikhan was already moving.

He turned his body to the side, allowing Rene’s hand to pass within inches of his neck. At the same time, he caught Rene’s wrist, redirected the attack, and drove his elbow toward the Vampire’s ribs.

The impact landed with a heavy thud.

Rene slid backward several steps…

‘What?’

He had expected resistance, but he had not expected the merchant to react so quickly. More importantly, the man’s grip had been firm enough to disrupt his movement despite Rene’s enhanced strength.

Deric immediately moved to intercept him. The newly transformed Vampire lunged from the side, aiming a punch at Batsaikhan’s head. His strength had increased considerably after his transformation, and he was confident that his enhanced body would allow him to overwhelm an ordinary warrior.

Batsaikhan ducked beneath the punch and struck Deric’s abdomen with the heel of his palm.

The blow forced the air from Deric’s lungs. Before the newly transformed Vampire could recover, Batsaikhan seized his arm, turned his body, and threw him against the side of an abandoned warehouse.

Deric crashed into the wooden wall hard enough to crack several planks. He fell to one knee, clutching his stomach as he struggled to understand what had happened.

Batsaikhan stepped away from him and returned his attention to Rene.

“Vampires,” he said quietly. “I was wondering why you were following me.”

Rene’s expression hardened.

He had not expected him to identify their nature so quickly. Worse, the man’s movements suggested that he had considerable combat experience.

“You knew what we were?” Rene asked.

“I suspected it.”

Batsaikhan reached inside his coat.

Rene immediately recognized the movement as a potential threat and rushed forward again. This time, he abandoned restraint and released the full strength of his transformed body. His speed increased sharply, and the distance between them vanished in an instant.

His fist struck Batsaikhan across the chest.

Bam!

The impact sent the scout crashing into a wooden support post. The post splintered beneath his weight, and the entire structure shuddered as Batsaikhan struck the ground.

Rene landed several steps away, breathing steadily despite the force of his attack. A smile returned to his face.

“So you’re not invincible after all.”

Batsaikhan remained on one knee… For a brief moment, he appeared to be struggling to recover from the blow.

Rene approached cautiously, but his confidence had returned. Whatever skill the man possessed, he could not deny the difference between a human body and the body of a Vampire.

Rene’s strength, speed, and regenerative abilities had all improved after his transformation. Even if his opponent was a formidable warrior, Rene believed he could eventually overwhelm him.

“You should consider yourself fortunate,” Rene continued. “I was planning to give you a chance to become stronger. Instead, you’ve forced me to do things the difficult way.”

Batsaikhan raised his head.

“Become stronger?” He glanced at Deric, who was slowly pushing himself away from the broken wall. “Is that what happened to your companion? You turned him into one of you?”

“That’s right.”

“Then I suppose I should thank you for making things clear.”

Batsaikhan’s hand emerged from his coat, holding a small metallic cylinder engraved with several red runes.

Rene’s eyes narrowed.

He sensed an unfamiliar energy coming from the object, but before he could determine its nature, Batsaikhan pressed his thumb against a sunken mark on its surface.

The artifact then activated!

A brilliant red light spread across the cylinder, followed by a surge of heat that swept through the courtyard. The air seemed to distort around Batsaikhan’s hand as a mystical energy was released!

Rene’s instincts screamed at him to retreat.

He immediately sprang backward, but Batsaikhan was one step ahead!

A burst of flames erupted from the cylinder, spreading across the ground…

Whom~

“You!”

The fire did not behave like ordinary flames. Rather than following the wind or consuming whatever happened to lie in its path, it moved like it had a mind of its own, moving toward the two Vampires as though it could recognize their presence.

Deric barely managed to turn around before the flames reached him.

“Rene!”

He threw himself sideways, but the edge of the fire swept across his arm and shoulder.

The moment the flames touched his body, Deric let out a scream.

His flesh blackened beneath the unnatural heat, and the wounds refused to close. He tried to draw upon his Blood Energy to regenerate, only to discover that the energy within his body was becoming increasingly unstable.

The familiar sensation of power flowing through his veins had turned into something painful, as though an invisible force were burning through his very essence.

“What is this?!” Deric shouted.

It was a weapon against Vampires!