As Kevin watched Liz Forbes' car approach, he couldn't be bothered with Damon anymore. Right now, Kevin genuinely didn't want to expose himself to ordinary people; there was no telling if their views on super-powered individuals would be the same as their views on vampires and witches. So, Kevin just activated his Rabbit Talisman and sped off. Another reason was that another of the Talismans in Kevin's mind had just lit up. Kevin was now eager to get home and experiment with his new Talisman.
Kevin didn't even bother with his car and just used the Rabbit Talisman to run back, which was very fast. Returning to his room, Kevin sat on his bed and began to examine the newly unsealed Talisman in his mind.
Kevin focused all his attention on the twelve slowly rotating Talismans in his mind. Now, four of them were glowing. Kevin took a closer look and saw that the new Talisman was the Snake Talisman.
"Not bad at all," Kevin mused, recalling the Snake Talisman's specific functions. "Although the Snake Talisman can't mask scent, sound, or even heat signatures, the ability of invisibility is still very tempting. It's also an excellent choice for sneak attacks."
Kevin even got off the bed, tried holding a few things in his hand, and then activated the Snake Talisman. To Kevin's delight, the objects in his hand also became invisible along with him. 'With this, if I use firearms from three or four meters away, how could I possibly miss?' However, Kevin suddenly thought that for stealthy shots, a crossbow would actually be more suitable due to its quieter operation. With his Rabbit Talisman speed combined with the Snake Talisman's invisibility, he reckoned he could probably kite and wear down a dozen or even twenty vampires until they were dead, without them ever finding him.
"It must have been from killing that vampire," Kevin thought, as he calmed down from the excitement of obtaining a new Talisman and began to consider how it had unsealed.
"If Damon doesn't leave by tomorrow, I'll definitely kill him this time. Besides testing if this is the reason for unlocking Talismans, the main thing is I'm just really, really annoyed with Damon," Kevin thought silently, lying on his bed.
So, early the next morning, Kevin, with both the Snake and Rabbit Talismans active, ran to where he had parked his car the previous day, then drove to Stefan's house.
"Anyone home?" Kevin called out, knocking rather casually on Stefan's door.
"Kevin?" Stefan opened the door.
"You're still here? What about Damon? Is he here too?" Kevin directly asked Stefan about Damon's whereabouts.
"I don't know, I'm looking for him too. He took Elena," Stefan said anxiously.
"I see. Well, since Damon isn't here, you should hurry up and pack your things and leave too. Or you could go look for Damon, that's also an option," Kevin suggested to Stefan, clearly not wanting to see either of the brothers hanging around.
After saying this, Kevin left directly. The first day without seeing Damon was actually quite pleasant.
Kevin arrived at school in high spirits, intending to reacquaint himself with the school environment; at the very least, he needed to get a diploma eventually. He'd missed several days of classes recently due to all the trouble with Damon and the other vampires. If his identity hadn't been specially arranged, Kevin's guardian would have blown up his phone by now.
Upon arriving at school, Kevin suddenly realized he didn't have many classes today. Feeling bored, he wandered around for a bit and, thinking he hadn't visited the school library yet, decided to check it out.
"You're kidding me! There's no such thing as vampires," Kevin heard Jeremy arguing with a girl as soon as he entered the library.
"There aren't any written records, but there have been rumors ever since the Civil War. My grandfather told me these kinds of horror stories when I was little; he said his grandfather told them to him," the girl said.
"Yeah, that's just folklore. Vampires were used as a metaphor for bad people back then," Jeremy retorted.
The two of them began to debate the reality of vampires. Kevin found it amusing and glanced at them as if watching a show. That one glance, however, instantly annoyed Kevin, because he noticed the ring the girl was wearing was basically identical to the ones Damon and Stefan wore – it could be said to be the exact same style. Don't ask why Kevin saw it so clearly; the ring's style was just that uniquely ugly. The aesthetic taste of whoever designed it was truly terrible.
"Excuse me, sorry to interrupt," Kevin said, deciding to test her directly.
"Kevin?" Jeremy had seen Kevin before. After all, he was at least Caroline's boyfriend, and the boyfriend of his sister's best friend. They weren't close, but they had met.
"Hey Jeremy, not bad!" Kevin said teasingly, giving Jeremy a thumbs-up. "Aren't you going to introduce me?"
"This is Anna. She's homeschooled and came to the school to look up some information," Jeremy introduced Anna to Kevin.
"Hello, Anna," Kevin said, extending his hand to shake hers.
"Anna, would you mind if I took a look at that ring? A friend of mine used to have a similar one. I quite liked the style, but unfortunately, my friend lost his. Let me see the ring; if it's alright, I can offer a high price for it," Kevin said, making up an excuse to question Anna. After all, while it wasn't high noon, there was still sunlight streaming in. If she took off the ring, that would be telling. If she didn't dare to, that would also be telling.
"I'm sorry, this ring has been passed down from my ancestors. I won't sell it," Anna said, looking rather embarrassed.
"Is that so? That's a pity then. In that case, would you mind if I just admired it? Even if I can't own it, I'd be very satisfied just to take a look," Kevin pressed. 'You say you won't sell it, but surely you can't refuse to even let me look, right?'
"I'm really sorry, but there's a family rule. Unless it's being passed on to the next generation, this ring cannot be taken off," Anna apologized.
"I see. That really is a shame. In that case, I won't disturb you any longer. Goodbye, Jeremy, Anna," Kevin said. Ostensibly, he bid them farewell and left the library, but Kevin secretly found an unnoticed spot, activated the Snake Talisman, and doubled back.
By the time Kevin had followed the two of them to a bar, he was, frankly, running out of patience watching them hang out. Fortunately, it wasn't long before they left, and Kevin followed Anna out of the bar.
"Don't move. One more move, and I'll pierce your heart," Kevin said, appearing in a deserted alleyway. He had come up behind Anna, one arm choking her neck, the other hand pressing a wooden stake against her back, before revealing himself.
"Kevin?!" Anna was extremely surprised by Kevin's invisibility; she had no idea he possessed such an ability.
"You were the one who turned Logan, weren't you? As far as I know, only the Salvatore brothers have rings like the one on your hand. What's your objective?" Kevin asked. He had heard from Logan that it was likely about the vampires in the church tomb, but he pretended to know nothing.
"Kevin, what are you talking about?" Anna continued to feign ignorance.
"In that case, don't blame me," Kevin said. Although he was over ninety percent sure Anna was a vampire, there was always that small chance of being wrong. So, Kevin lowered the stake and, with that hand, took out his car key and directly jabbed it into Anna's arm.
"Noah!" Anna, feeling the sharp pain in her arm, knew this was her best chance. If she didn't break free now, once Kevin picked up that stake again, she wouldn't be able to escape. So, she immediately called out to her companion, with whom she had arranged to meet here. At the same time, she grabbed the arm Kevin was using to choke her and executed a shoulder throw.
Just as Anna shoulder-threw Kevin to the ground, another vampire appeared, grabbed Kevin, and flung him into an alley. By the time Kevin got up, he saw the two had already vanished. Their speed was not that of a newborn vampire; they were at least one or two hundred years old and had been feeding on human blood regularly.
Kevin knew he couldn't catch up. After all, without a vampire's super hearing, once they were out of sight, he had no idea where to pursue them. He had no choice but to pick up his car key from the ground and head towards his cabin.