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"Damon!?"
Stefan gasped in shock as he stared at the person Ron was holding in his hand. He could hardly believe it.
"Ahhh!"
A sudden gust of wind rushed past, making Elena scream in fright. But before she could react, she found herself embraced in a warm, familiar hug.
That scent...
That feeling...
"Elena, stop touching me. This isn't the time or place."
Ron's words made Elena blush furiously.
Could she really be blamed for this?
Ron was just too attractive. How could anyone resist?
Not to mention—his muscles were so firm and springy...
While the two of them flirted, Damon, who was trapped in Ron's grip, was filled with terror.
At that moment, countless vines burst from the ground, twisting around Damon like massive snakes, binding him tightly in place.
In this world, vampires have three major weaknesses:
Sunlight – Direct exposure burns them to ashes. However, they wear daylight rings, allowing them to walk in the sun without harm.
Vervain – A plant that weakens them when ingested, though not fatally. As long as they don't consume too much and replenish with blood, they can recover.
Wooden stakes – Piercing the heart with wood is an instant kill, no matter how immortal they claim to be.
In other words, Ron's wood-style abilities were their ultimate weakness.
Now that Ron had reached Kage level, if he wanted to, he could cover half the town in a wooden forest in an instant.
At this very moment, sharp wooden stakes emerged all around Damon, aimed directly at his chest. The threat of death made him instinctively want to escape.
But despite being far stronger than Stefan, despite using all his strength—he couldn't even move.
Through Damon, Ron roughly gauged the strength of vampires in this world.
Damon's combat power was around 200—about the level of a Jonin.
If he fought Connors the Lizard in a one-on-one, he'd have to rely entirely on speed, much like Gwen did.
But if the Lizard got close, at best, he'd take a minor injury—while Damon would be torn to pieces.
Stefan, on the other hand, barely had a combat power of 100. Connors could take on ten of him at once.
And after absorbing them with Return to Origin, their power wouldn't even increase—just their memories.
And what use did Ron have for centuries of vampire memories? Just more useless information cluttering his mind.
"Too weak."
Ron waved his hand, and flames erupted from his palm, instantly burning away the mist in the cemetery.
Damon and Stefan's pupils contracted in shock.
What the hell!?
Who is this terrifying guy!?
He had powers like a witch, a body tougher than any vampire, and could control plants—practically a vampire's natural enemy!
Mtherfcker! This world is insane!
Since when did vampires have natural predators!?
Ron raised his hand.
From the sky, a gold-and-red suit of armor descended.
"Inject tracking signals into both of their hearts."
"Understood, sir."
The Iron Man suit responded and moved toward Damon first, aiming at his chest.
Damon's face twisted in horror as a syringe extended and punctured his heart.
Two seconds later, the needle retracted.
The suit turned toward Stefan.
Stefan's expression changed, and he turned to run.
"Stefan, if I were you, I wouldn't run."
"You've seen my power."
"And you wouldn't want me to kill your brother and start hunting vampires worldwide, would you?"
Vampires had some strange abilities.
They were incredibly fast, but their physical durability was lacking.
Ron, when moving at high speeds, would create sonic booms. And to withstand sonic booms, his body had to be absurdly strong.
His defense was nearly on par with the Lizard's.
He could punch through ten centimeters of steel without a scratch.
But vampires? Forget steel—bullets, knives, even sharpened wooden sticks could pierce them.
Their speed came from manipulating wind, allowing them to move swiftly and silently.
They barely made any wind noise—just the sound of their footsteps.
If a vampire was determined to hide, even Ron would have trouble tracking them down.
"Who are you?" Stefan finally asked, stopping in his tracks.
Ron: "You'll find out soon enough."
Stefan glanced at Damon, his expression conflicted. After a long sigh, he closed his eyes and stood still, not resisting anymore.
The Iron Man suit approached, and he felt a sharp sting in his chest—then it was over in an instant.
When he opened his eyes again, the red-and-gold armor had already shot into the sky.
Ron flicked his wrist, and a strange-looking pair of glasses appeared in his hand.
He put them on and lightly tapped the edge.
A simple radar display projected before his eyes.
On it, one green dot and two red dots were clearly visible.
Ron nodded in satisfaction.
"Alright, you two can go now."
"Don't bother trying to run or remove the tracker."
"That thing is smaller than your cells."
"Unless you rip out your own heart and crush it to dust, you're stuck with it."
These two were hard-to-come-by test subjects.
If they died, he'd have to find replacements.
Too much of a hassle.
Without hesitation, the two brothers vanished in an instant.
"....."