They got in the vehicle, sat down, and drove all the way.
The soldiers remained silent, and Ethan had no intention of speaking with them either. If the guy happily chatting now turned hostile later and ended up fighting Alexander, it would be awkward.
Although he didn't know exactly what Alexander's intentions were, it was never a bad idea to consider the worst-case scenario and be prepared.
Selene and Michael, who were also seated in the vehicle, looked bewildered. Michael couldn't figure out what kind of world he had stepped into. What had happened today had completely shattered his worldview. Everything and everyone now filled him with suspicion and caution. The sudden appearance of heavily armed soldiers made him tense. He curled up in his seat, that posture giving him a sense of security.
Selene sat on the other side, wondering why she had followed them in the first place. When the soldiers gestured for them to get in, she had followed Ethan without thinking.
After a while, she gradually recovered from the shock of her adoptive father's death and other events. Confusion began to creep in. Looking at Ethan, who sat in front of her with his eyes closed, she finally couldn't hold it in and asked the question that had been weighing on her mind.
"Will you kill me?"
Ethan was caught off guard by the question and stunned for a moment. He opened his eyes and looked at Selene, realizing that his efficient killing earlier had probably made the female vampire believe he intended to completely purge Budapest.
"Maybe."
At this point, Ethan couldn't be bothered to keep hunting. He had realized that he lacked the means to eliminate these dark creatures on a large scale. Or rather, even if he had a method, implementing it wouldn't be easy.
If the vampires were to resist him to the end and charge him without fear, he wouldn't have minded wiping them out. But they had scattered too quickly. After he killed the two Elders, he came out of the mansion and barely saw another soul.
Under these circumstances, hunting down every vampire scattered across Europe would take an enormous amount of time and energy, with little benefit. Naturally, he wasn't interested.
"If killing vampires gave me experience points, I wouldn't mind spending the time. Unfortunately, this isn't a game, and it doesn't have such a system."
The car returned to silence. Selene didn't ask what he meant by "maybe." If the man in front of her wanted to kill her, it would only take a flick of his hand. She didn't believe she was any stronger than the other vampires. Under that strange light, she probably wouldn't even know what hit her.
The only thing she could be thankful for was that she had finally learned the truth before she died, and had seen her enemy perish with her own eyes. From that perspective, Ethan was actually her benefactor.
The car soon arrived at a dock. While Budapest was referred to as a single city, it was actually composed of two cities on either side of the Danube, so it wasn't surprising for a dock to be located in the city.
Ethan knew from the movie's plot that Alexander was hiding on a ship somewhere along the dock, but he didn't know which dock or which ship it was. He didn't even know how many docks Budapest had. He wasn't sure if the second film's plot even took place in Budapest.
In any case, no matter where Alexander had docked his ship in the original story, at this moment, his ship was anchored at the Budapest dock. Ethan followed the group of soldiers and quickly boarded one of the many ships parked there.
Once inside the cabin, he finally saw the final target of this trip: the immortal Alexander Corvinus.
Alexander was already waiting for Ethan and the others. When he saw Ethan, he deliberately observed him for a few moments. But in his eyes, this was just an ordinary young man. He couldn't understand how someone like him had managed to single-handedly bring down the entire vampire faction in Budapest.
While Ethan and the others were on their way, Alexander's soldiers had thoroughly searched the blood-soaked mansion and found not a single vampire, not even in the stone chamber where the Elders used to rest.
"Hello, young man. Perhaps you're curious about my identity…"
Alexander was interrupted by Ethan before he could finish.
"I know who you are, Alexander Corvinus." As soon as Ethan spoke, Michael Corvin and Selene behind him also realized the old man's identity. In the story Ethan had told them earlier, this man was a key figure.
Compared to the calm demeanor of those present, Alexander Corvinus did not feel at ease. He had a bad feeling that things were heading in the worst direction.
"You know me? What else do you know?"
"Everything." Ethan looked around the cabin. There were sofas, tables, and even a small bar. But he wasn't interested in alcohol. He casually pulled a can of Coke from the nearby fridge. Without the slightest sense of formality, he even asked Michael if he wanted anything to drink.
"I'm good."
Ethan ignored the refusal and handed him a drink anyway. "You've been running around in the rain all night. You need some calories. A bit of sugar helps you stay calm."
He had undergone plenty of training, and Selene wasn't even human. Michael, on the other hand, was just an ordinary person. Running around for so long had taken a toll on him. Ethan didn't want the guy to suddenly collapse from exhaustion.
Hearing Ethan's reasoning, Michael, a doctor himself, knew that his condition wasn't great. He obediently took the drink and sipped it.
Ethan walked over to the seat across from Alexander and sat down before continuing their earlier conversation.
"I thought you'd only show up after all the vampires and werewolves were dead. Didn't expect your reaction to be this quick."
Alexander had lived for thousands of years and experienced many things. His intellect was definitely above average. From the moment Ethan said his name, he knew something was wrong. Now, Ethan's words made it clear that this young man hadn't come for the vampires and werewolves—he'd been targeting him from the start.
"What do you want?"
"Your blood."
Both men understood each other well. Neither bothered to talk in circles. Ethan got straight to the point.
Alexander looked at the young man in front of him, still confused about what kind of backing he had.
"You're on my turf, yet you make demands like that?"
Ethan remained calm. The man's reaction was reasonable. If Ethan wanted his blood, he had to demonstrate that he had the strength to take it. If he couldn't prove that, Alexander would vanish without a trace.
Ethan held the empty Coke can in his hand. Without any special movement, a glass-like substance suddenly enveloped the can and slowly lifted it into the air. The "glass" rotated, twisted, expanded, and shrank. Finally, with a light tap from Ethan, the Coke can crumbled into tiny fragments that sparkled under the light and gently scattered across the coffee table in front of him.
"For me, there's not much difference between a boat and a can."
Alexander Corvinus had lived a long life and seen much. His long years had taught him plenty, but he had never seen a power like this.
"What kind of ability is that?"
"Magic." Ethan used Mage Hand to retrieve another can of drink from the fridge. "Let me introduce myself. I'm a mage from another world. I travel across different worlds collecting special things."
"Other worlds?" Alexander immediately caught the key part of Ethan's words and understood why his blood was being targeted.
As for magic? Alexander didn't find it all that surprising. In his view, the power in his blood wasn't inferior to magic.
"If I give you my blood, will you leave this world?"
"Yes."
"How much do you want?"
Alexander was decisive. He agreed to Ethan's demand without hesitation. Now he understood why so many vampires had been helpless before this young man. With power like that, even his own soldiers would be of no use.
According to his subordinates' reports, only a few low-level vampires had escaped the mansion. The rest didn't even leave behind corpses. He had thought his son Marcus might have escaped. Now it seemed he was likely dead beyond saving.
That's why Alexander feared this mage and wanted him to leave as soon as possible. Since Ethan's words implied that he would leave after taking the blood, there was no reason to fight him.
"A normal dose is fine."
Just a few samples were enough for Ethan to study. A small test tube would do. However, Alexander was generous. He ordered his men to bring out a full set of equipment and had 400 milliliters of blood drawn without hesitation.
Once Ethan had the blood, he no longer cared about the issues with the werewolves and vampires. Michael's situation didn't need his attention anymore. As his ancestor, Alexander would naturally protect the only remaining human descendant.
Noticing Alexander still staring at him, Ethan activated a magic circle in front of him to prove he was a man of his word and would indeed leave this world after getting what he came for.
To avoid any "accidents," Ethan specially reminded everyone before activating the circle. But when he returned to the Goddess of Dawn, he found that someone had come back to his ship with him.
(To be continued.)
***
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