Chapter 36: Chapter 36: The Evolution and the Eagle’s Extraction
The assassin never got the chance to beg, the moment fear replaced the greed in his eyes, Qhuin moved.
His shadow-covered claws drove forward and pierced straight through the vampire’s throat. The assassin’s body jerked violently as blood sprayed across the stone pillar behind him. His mouth opened, but only a wet choking sound escaped.
Qhuin activated Blood Predator, dark crimson streams of blood essence burst from the assassin’s body and flowed into Qhuin like rivers rushing toward the sea. The vampire’s skin rapidly lost its color, and his muscles shrank his face aged before the naked eye could see.
In only a few seconds, the powerful assassin looked like a dried corpse that had been dead for years.
The blood entering Qhuin’s body was different from the beasts he had consumed before.
It was purer and stronger than the beasts he had drunk, every drop carried traces of a vampire bloodline.
For the first time since arriving in this world, Qhuin felt genuine satisfaction.
Then the system exploded across his vision.
Blue screens appeared one after another so quickly that they almost covered the entire balcony.
[Blood Energy Gained: +420]
[Current Blood Energy: 568/500]
[Threshold Reached]
[Level 10 Achieved]
[New Skill Acquired: Vampire Charm Lv. 1]
More screens immediately followed.
[Warning]
[Evolution Gate Open]
[Genetic Restructuring Initiated]
[Host Entering Mandatory Evolution Cycle]
[Countdown: 10 Seconds]
Qhuin’s satisfaction disappeared.
’What?’
Another screen appeared.
[Countdown: 09 Seconds]
Seeing the notification, resentment crossed his face.
"No."
The system ignored him, the countdown continued.
Qhuin immediately tried to suppress the process. His consciousness pushed against the system’s authority, attempting to delay the transformation until he reached safety.
Nothing happened.
The genetic restructuring had already begun and the process could not be stopped.
A dangerous realization settled in his mind, Valerius and Elizabeth were coming and he was about to fall unconscious.
The timing could not have been worse.
Without wasting another second, Qhuin reached through his blood connection and issued a command to the Wind Eagle.
Miles away, Marcus’s contracted beast suddenly raised its head.
Its crimson eyes flashed as a single order entered its mind.
Come to me, now.
The eagle immediately launched into the night sky, back on the balcony, the countdown reached five seconds.
Qhuin’s vision blurred.
The shadows around his body became unstable.
A strange heat spread through every part of him as the evolutionary process accelerated.
Four seconds.
The assassin’s corpse collapsed fully onto the stone floor, and the crimson mist surrounding Qhuin exploded outward.
His transformed body collapsed, the demonic hare vanished, and a small white rabbit dropped onto the balcony stones.
Qhuin landed awkwardly and rolled onto his side, his limbs felt heavy and his thoughts felt slow.
The evolution had already begun.
Suddenly, holy light appeared: a brilliant white glow descended from the sky, and washed across the balcony.
Even through his fading consciousness, Qhuin recognized the danger instantly.
Elizabeth.
With the last remaining strength in his body, he activated Shadow Meld.
His small form dissolved into darkness and merged with the shadow cast by a large decorative planter near the balcony wall.
The concealment completed barely a second before the holy light arrived.
Aurelion landed first.
The massive griffin touched down gracefully on the stone ledge. Golden feathers shimmered beneath the moonlight, illuminating the entire balcony.
Elizabeth stepped down from her back, her expression was completely different from the cheerful smile she showed her students.
Her eyes moved across the scene carefully, looking at the shattered stone and feeling the lingering mana, then the corpse.
She immediately spotted the dried body lying near the pillar.
Surprise flickered across her face, a heartbeat later, another figure arrived.
Valerius landed heavily beside the corpse, the impact cracked the stone beneath his boots, and golden patterns spread through his eyes as God’s Eye activated.
For several seconds, neither of them spoke.
Valerius crouched beside the corpse and examined the wound.
The vampire had been completely drained, not a drop remained.
His fingers brushed against the shriveled skin.
The result was identical to the Gore-Boar.
"Elizabeth."
His voice was calm.
"Were you responsible for this?"
Elizabeth folded her arms.
"No."
She studied the corpse carefully.
"When Aurelion and I arrived, it was already dead."
Valerius stood, his gaze sweeping across the balcony.
The creature responsible had been here, he could feel it, yet the trail had somehow vanished.
Hidden inside the planter’s shadow, Qhuin struggled to remain conscious.
His body felt numb and his vision darkened around the edges and every instinct told him to sleep.
But sleeping now meant death.
’Just a little longer.’ he could feel the eagle was close.
Far above the academy, a dark silhouette emerged from the fog.
Marcus’s Wind Eagle.
The bird flew silently across the rooftops, guided entirely by Qhuin’s command.
Below, neither professor noticed it.
Their attention remained fixed on the corpse.
Valerius continued examining the scene while Elizabeth studied the damaged runes along the balcony barrier.
Neither found what they were searching for.
Qhuin felt his consciousness slipping further, he needed a distraction.
Using the final fragments of his mental strength, he pushed another order toward the approaching eagle.
The Wind Eagle responded without hesitation.
Instead of descending toward the balcony, it dove toward the forest sector beneath the dormitories.
A moment later, a loud crash echoed through the night, stone shattering and branches snapping the noise rolled across the academy grounds.
Both professors reacted instantly.
Valerius turned first, then Elizabeth’s head followed a second later and one thought echoed in their minds.
The sound had come from the forest that means
The fleeing target.
Without exchanging a single word, both instructors moved.
Elizabeth mounted Aurelion.
Valerius launched himself from the balcony.
In the next instant, both vanished into the darkness below.
The moment they disappeared, the Wind Eagle changed direction.
The large bird swept silently upward through the fog before descending onto the empty balcony.
Its talons reached into the shadow beside the planter.
Carefully, the eagle grabbed the limp rabbit.
Qhuin barely felt it happen, his consciousness was already sinking into darkness.
The Wind Eagle immediately took flight, wind howled around its wings.
Within seconds, the bird reached Lina’s dormitory window.
The glass doors remained partially open from her earlier meditation.
The eagle glided through the opening with surprising precision.
Inside the room, Lina sat cross-legged on the floor. Suddenly, her eyes snapped open.
She had sensed the distant disturbance.
The sudden appearance of a massive Wind Eagle inside her room nearly gave her a heart attack.
Before she could react, the bird released its cargo.
A small white rabbit tumbled onto her bed.
Lina froze.
"Snowy?"
The rabbit didn’t move nor did it respond.
He simply lay motionless on the blanket, and for a moment, Lina thought he was dead.
Her heart immediately clenched, then her eyes lifted toward the eagle as recognition flashed across her face.
Marcus’s Wind Eagle.
The same beast that belonged to the boy who had bullied her, a dangerous crimson light appeared within her eyes.
Her fists tightened.
The floor beneath her feet creaked, every lesson Qhuin had taught her vanished beneath a wave of anger.
Her first thought was simple.
The eagle had attacked him. Strength surged through her body. She was already preparing to leap toward the window when a familiar voice echoed weakly inside her mind.
"Stop..."
The word arrived slowly and faintly, nothing like Qhuin’s usual confident tone.
Lina froze.
"The eagle... serves me..."
Her breathing stopped.
"My evolution... has started..."
The voice grew weaker with every word.
"Do not let... the hunters... inside..."
Silence followed.
Complete silence.
The connection vanished.
Lina looked down at the unconscious rabbit lying on her bed, and Qhuin’s presence had completely disappeared from her mind.
He was asleep.
Outside the dormitory, the Wind Eagle launched itself back into the sky and disappeared into the fog.
[A few minutes ago]
Valerius and Elizabeth searched through the forest sector. They found broken branches and a dead rat, nothing else. The trail had ended.
Valerius slowly lifted his head. Something was moving through the distant fog that caught his attention.
Far above the academy, a Wind Eagle crossed the moonlit sky.
For only a brief moment, it looked as though the bird had been carrying something.
The professor remained silent, yet the golden light within his eyes deepened.
Somewhere in the academy, a piece of the puzzle had just moved and Valerius felt he was getting closer to the truth.
