Published at 16th of July 2026 6:19 am

Chapter 1850: Familiar Gates

This chapter is updated by JustRead.pl

The desperate wails of his brother and the sound of falling trees echoed in Dorian’s ears.

His eyes snapped open. Immediately, a wave of pain swept through his body, making him grimace in agony. Adam’s earlier attack had rendered him unconscious for a moment.

He raised his head weakly, and the sight that greeted him made his heart sink in terror.

Over a dozen thick, ancient trees were severed cleanly in the backdrop. At the center of the clearing stood Adam. Beside him lay Louis, bisected cleanly at the waist.

"Lo-Louis..." Dorian murmured in shock.

Then he screamed at the top of his lungs.

"LOUIS!!"

Adam turned to him and coldly said, "Oh, how nice of you to finally join us."

As he slowly weaved hand signs, he added, his words colder than before. "Wait a minute, I’ll be right there with you."

The raven-haired youth turned back to Louis, who was still alive and kicking despite being severed in two. Though the vampire’s earlier rage and arrogance had been replaced by desperation and fear.

Adam raised two fingers, a small magic circle lighting up at the tips.

[Fire Blast]

A thin stream of fire shot forth and engulfed the vampire.

Louis’ scream echoed through the woods. Adam poured more mana into the spell, and the flames intensified.

The screams grew louder and louder. And then louder still.

Dorian witnessed this scene in abject horror. He tried to get back up on his feet and rush to his brother’s aid, but his body refused to listen to him. Due to the severe spinal damage, his legs felt unresponsive.

"Louis! No!!"

He watched as his brother writhed in pure agony under the effects of Adam’s spell.

Then, little by little, Louis’ screams began to fade. Until silence descended onto the clearing, except for the sound of fire crackling.

The vampire’s body was reduced to ashes. Adam closed his eyes and confirmed that the Lotus had absorbed Louis’ soul.

At last, he turned to Dorian. "Time to die."

He then began walking toward him.

Dorian shifted his gaze from his brother’s corpse to the one responsible for it. He gnashed his sharp teeth as he shed tears of pain and loss.

"I will not forgive you, human! I will never forgive you!"

Adam finished weaving the seals for the spell and pointed his hand at the vampire.

"That is why I cannot allow you to live," he declared.

He cast [Fire Blast] once again.

However, just as the stream of seeing hot flames was about to engulf Dorian’s figure, the vampire finished weaving his own spell.

At the last possible moment, his figure dissolved into black mist!

The flames crashed onto the ground below, scorching the earth and reducing the surrounding vegetation to ash. Meanwhile, the black mist shot into the sky and drifted away in the wind.

Adam quickly cancelled his spell when he realized that Dorian had escaped. He looked to the skies, just in time to see the ominous black mist vanish.

"Fuck!"

He turned and rushed back to the campsite.

***

It hadn’t even been thirty minutes since Adam had dragged the two vampires away.

At the camp, Esmond paced around in trepidation. Despite having full faith in the young man’s capabilities, he still couldn’t help but worry.

From time to time, he heard the sound of explosions and saw flashes of light in the woods. This further added to his apprehension.

The enemies were vampires, after all. They were known to be more powerful than most other species at the same rank. And there were two of them.

Can the boy handle it?

The thought echoed inside Esmond’s mind more than a few times.

Suddenly, Valerian, who was calmly lounging by the campfire, rose to his feet and faced the direction of the woods.

"Who is it?" Esmond blurted out.

Valerian’s eyes squinted before they relaxed. Gray light flashed, and he transformed back into a cute little cat. He sat back down by the fire and gracefully licked his paw.

"Who else?" he said matter-of-factly. "It’s my brother, of course."

A moment later, the familiar figure emerged from the darkness.

Instead of entering the campsite, however, Adam first inspected the surrounding areas.

"Young man!" Esmond beamed with joy as he walked toward Adam.

"Don’t come out!" Adam warned.

Esmond’s heart sank at those words. "What... what’s the matter? Did something happen?"

Adam remained silent for a long time, fully focused on inspecting the nearby land. Still, he found no trace of Dorian.

Almost ten minutes later, after doing a clean sweep of the surroundings, he finally entered the campsite.

"Brother, what is it?" Valerian asked solemnly.

"Nothing." Adam heaved a long, heavy sigh. "It’s nothing. Everything’s alright now."

"Magus Constantine, what happened?" Esmond pressed.

Adam turned to the old man and could see the worry in his eyes. His shoulders relaxed a little, and he briefly explained, "I killed one, but the other escaped. I thought he must have come here. Turns out... he hasn’t."

Esmond sighed in relief. "That is wonderful news!"

Wonderful news? Adam thought to himself grimly.

I hate having enemies lurking in the dark.

Especially ones holding a grudge this deep.

"Yeah," he forced a smile. "I suppose it is."

Esmond stepped closer and gently clasped Adam’s shoulders. "I doubt we’ll be attacked again. By sunset tomorrow, we will have reached Davos!"

He looked the youth in the eye and said from the bottom of his heart. "Thank you, young man. Thank you, truly."

Adam took a deep breath, then nodded.

"You’re welcome, sir."

But at the back of his mind, the fact that Dorian had escaped alive weighed heavily on him.

***

The following day passed without incident.

No beasts emerged from the wilderness. No bandits appeared on the road. And no vampires stalked them from the shadows.

The calm should have been reassuring, but it made Adam all the more vigilant.

As the sun neared the horizon and painted the skies in shades of gold and orange, the traveling party finally caught sight of their destination.

The Free City of Davos.

Its mighty walls rose in the distance, standing proudly against the twilight sky. Countless towers and rooftops stretched beyond them, the seven statues faintly visible in between the buildings.

A collective sigh of relief swept through the convoy.

They had finally made it.

After ten days of constant attacks, sleepless nights, and endless vigilance, the southern gates of Davos were finally within reach.

Even Esmond’s weary face revealed a brilliant smile.

"Home," the old adventurer murmured.

The convoy pressed onward, and before long, the familiar gates of Davos stood before them.

Only after going through inspection and riding through the towering gates did Adam finally lower his guard.

For he knew that Davos was off-limits to undead creatures.

It was time to get that citizenship.

And collect his money, of course.

Share