Krujë was far quieter than Jon had expected.
At the foot of the mountain, Sandru let out a sharp whistle. Before long, two giant eagles swooped down from the summit of Eagle's Nest Mountain, carrying the two of them up toward the peak.
The Albanian wizards on the mountain seemed completely unaware of what was happening in the outside world. The region was, by nature, heavily isolated… They merely pointed at Jon and Sandru, whispering among themselves in low voices.
Sandru had no time to pay them any attention, nor could he spare a thought for his own injuries. Brimming with excitement, he hurriedly led Jon toward the Bat Hall to meet the elders of Krujë.
...
The three elders were still seated in the same positions as before. It was as if, despite the days that had passed, they had not moved at all.
When they saw Jon and Sandru return, surprise flickered across all three of their faces.
"You're back already? It's only been a few days…" Elder Finis, seated at the highest position, frowned slightly as he asked.
"Did you really hunt enough bat fangs?" The elder on the left, bald on top, also furrowed his brow, his tone carrying a hint of suspicion.
In his view, such a short span of time meant that Jon might have killed only one or two vampires at most—or perhaps even used the teeth of other animals to make up the numbers.
Jon's expression did not change in the slightest at the questioning tone. Calmly, he placed a snakeskin pouch in front of him, raised his wand, and lightly tapped the knotted opening.
The mouth of the pouch slowly loosened. The expressions on the elders' faces shifted from doubt to confusion…
"What is this?" Elder Finis froze for a moment, then instinctively covered his nose as he asked.
The snakeskin pouch contained no vampire fangs at all—only a bag full of black ash. The ash gave off a strange, scorched stench that made them avert their gazes.
"A few days ago, I lost control and didn't leave a single vampire intact," Jon said evenly. "They ended up burned like this. I had no choice but to collect the ashes left behind at the scene."
"Some of it belongs to vampires, some to werewolves. There may even be charred remains of other animals mixed in—I didn't sort it carefully." After a brief pause, Jon added, "Sandru can vouch for me."
Sandru, who was also covering his nose, nodded repeatedly at his side.
The three elders exchanged glances, momentarily at a loss for words.
"If you expect me to hunt another Transylvanian Vampire and extract its fangs, I'm afraid I can't do that anymore," Jon continued in a casual tone. "This time, I hunted down nearly all the local vampires. They should be extinct by now. At most, one or two might have slipped through the net—but even then, they'd only dare to hide in some corner, trembling."
"Extinct?" Elder Finis said in disbelief. "They're all dead? You killed every last one of them?"
"I believe so…" Jon smiled.
To the elders, that smile sent a chill down their spines.
Elder Finis no longer cared about maintaining appearances. He hurried over to Jon, plunged his hand into the ashes in the snakeskin pouch, scooped up a small handful, and tasted it.
After pondering for a moment, he lifted his head and studied Jon carefully, murmuring, "These ashes do carry the scent of those bats… and there are several different kinds of it."
"I'm not very good at lying, my lord," Jon said lazily, stretching. "Sandru can testify for me. Every word I've said is true—not a single lie."
"I believe you, Mr. Patrick," Elder Finis said solemnly.
The other two elders also stepped forward in a fluster, examining the ashes in the pouch. When they glanced at Jon out of the corners of their eyes, there was now unmistakable fear there.
"Then I suppose I've passed?" Jon didn't wait for their reply before continuing. "In that case, Elder Finis, shouldn't you fulfill your promise?"
"A branch from the Karaba Soul Tree, correct?" Elder Finis asked gravely, making one final confirmation.
"Yes," Jon replied without hesitation.
"Lord Patrick, since you have consigned the vampires of Transylvania to history… it is only right that you receive this reward." He hesitated before finally speaking.
"Follow me!"
...
Following Elder Finis, Jon left the Bat Hall.
The surrounding Albanian wizards all stopped what they were doing, looking toward them with respectful gazes.
Upon reaching the terrace, the white-haired wizard in front of him suddenly transformed into an aged giant eagle.
The eagle glanced back at Jon, who quickly climbed onto its back—though he couldn't help wondering whether Elder Finis, at such an advanced age, could still carry him.
That concern proved completely unnecessary.
The giant eagle remained swift and powerful in the sky. It flew over Eagle's Nest Mountain before diving straight down, heading toward a black forest roughly ten miles from Krujë.
Around the black forest, many giant eagle guardians were still visible. Clearly, they were all familiar with Elder Finis—none of them moved to stop Jon and the elder.
As they entered the forest and pressed deeper inside, the air grew noticeably colder. And this was August.
Elder Finis had already reverted to his wizard form, muttering nonstop, "Karaba… the Soul Tree. Its history predates all of Albania itself. It grants us the power to draw close to nature, and in return, it is our duty to protect it…"
Jon followed carefully behind him in silence, keeping a vigilant eye on their surroundings.
...
More than ten minutes later, they reached their destination.
To Jon's surprise, the legendary Soul Tree looked quite ordinary—much like a short olive tree, except that its crown bore no fruit.
Elder Finis instructed Jon to remain ten yards away. He then cautiously approached the tree, dismantling the magical protections around it…
…until he finally snapped off a branch no more than half an inch long and brought it back to Jon.
"Mr. Patrick, take it," he said quietly. "Place it in water within twelve hours, and it will survive. It can retain its vitality for up to six months. After that, the magic and the soul within it will gradually fade away."