"Alright then, how about we set a place for tomorrow to specifically discuss whether or not to open the tomb? Because even if we decide to open it, we still need many things, like the spellbook, which I assume you haven't found yet. And then there's the witch; right now, Bonnie is probably the only witch left in Mystic Falls, and we'll need her consent too," Kevin said after some thought.
"Kevin, where's Damon?" Stefan asked Kevin at this point.
"Damon? Didn't he leave yesterday? I'm actually surprised you're still here. The deadline I gave you has expired," Kevin said with a hint of sarcasm.
"I'm sorry, Kevin. With other vampires now in town, you know I couldn't possibly leave Elena here alone and feel at ease," Stefan apologized and explained, having mostly guessed that Damon was in Kevin's custody.
"Forget about that for now. Let's meet at the bar tomorrow. As for the time, let's set it for seven in the evening. Tomorrow, you bring all your associates. If I find out later that you've deceived me, believe me, neither you nor your mother will be walking out of Mystic Falls," Kevin first replied casually to Stefan, setting the time, then sternly warned Anna.
"Okay, I will," Anna replied.
"Alright, it's getting late. Elena, remember to tell Bonnie. I have to leave first," Kevin said, preparing to depart.
"Kevin, are you sure you don't know where Damon went? Because he came back with me. If you don't know, we should look for him, otherwise, who knows where he's hiding and what trouble he's causing," Elena said, trying to probe Kevin with a rather poor excuse.
"Where he's hiding, I couldn't be bothered to look. Anyway, if I see him, he's definitely finished. As for all the bad things he's done... honestly, apart from Sarah, whom he killed specifically targeting me, people like Zach, Tanner, Vicki... I probably haven't exchanged more than three sentences with any of them. If you guys don't care, why should it be my business?" Kevin said, looking at these people who clearly knew how much harm Damon had done yet still wanted to get information about him from Kevin, and he didn't hold back his derision.
"Alright, enough said. This costume party today, frankly, doesn't suit my aesthetic tastes at all. I think I'll head back and rest first," Kevin said, and seeing their speechless faces, he turned and left.
After leaving the dance, Kevin drove directly to his cabin. Because another batch of vervain had just arrived today, Kevin needed to prepare more weapons; after all, dealing with 27 vampires later would be no simple matter.
"Did you know? We might have found a way to open the tomb, and we're actually planning to open it," Kevin said upon returning to the cabin. He saw Damon, though much weaker from lack of blood, was somewhat more lucid, as the effects of the vervain injection would gradually diminish.
"You'd be that kind?" Damon glanced at Kevin, clearly disbelieving.
"Anna, do you know her? According to her, her mother is also trapped in the tomb. She's the one who brought the method to open the tomb this time," Kevin said, trying to bait Damon.
"If Bonnie agrees tomorrow, I'll probably agree to her request to open the tomb and rescue her mother. By the way, you were looking for Bonnie this time probably because you also found out a way to open the tomb, right?" Kevin recalled Damon's earlier behavior when he was trying to mend his relationship with Bonnie.
"Impossible. Stefan won't let you open the tomb. And opening the tomb doesn't seem to benefit you in any way," Damon said, though he believed Kevin's words, he clearly didn't believe Stefan would allow them to open the tomb.
"Perhaps. But what if Anna promises me that apart from her mother, she'll abandon the other 26 vampires? Do you think I'd pass up such an excellent opportunity to solve this big problem?" Kevin said to Damon with dark amusement.
"No! You can't harm Katherine!" Damon cried out excitedly upon hearing this.
"Don't worry. By the time those vampires are dealt with, you'll be pretty much desiccated yourself. I'll send you into the tomb to accompany your Katherine. It's just that, by then, whether she's dead or alive, I can't guarantee," Kevin said, then gave Damon another shot of vervain.
Kevin processed the newly arrived vervain. The small crossbow he had ordered online a couple of days ago—after deciding that a crossbow would be more suitable for sneak attacks—had also arrived.
Kevin fiddled with the crossbow and found its accuracy to be decent. It was a custom-made small model, mainly for fitting small bolts that, after being soaked in vervain, could mostly pierce a vampire's body with one shot. Moreover, the small bolts would be difficult to pull out, and with the vervain, it would essentially be one shot, one incapacitated vampire.
Kevin put away the small crossbow and soaked the bolts he had with him directly in the concentrated vervain solution. Looking at the prepared weapons, Kevin patted his hands in satisfaction and went to the adjoining small building to sleep.
Soon, the next day, the appointed time was approaching. Kevin drove to the bar.
"Hey Bonnie," Kevin greeted, spotting Bonnie sitting alone as soon as he entered.
"Hey Kevin, you're here," Bonnie replied, waving him over.
"Are we really going to open it?" Bonnie asked as soon as Kevin sat down. After all, with 27 vampires, it was perfectly normal for Bonnie to be afraid.
"We'll see how the discussion goes later," Kevin said, subtly gesturing to his ears, and using his eyes to indicate they'd talk privately later.
"Okay," Bonnie, understanding Kevin's meaning, didn't ask further.
Not long after, surprisingly, Stefan arrived with Elena and Caroline.
"Caroline, what are you doing here?" Kevin asked Caroline but directed his gaze at Stefan.
"Kevin, I wanted to come myself. After all, with Bonnie and Elena both here, how could I be absent?" Caroline explained.
"Since you dragged her into this, then you take good care of her," Kevin said directly to Elena and Stefan, the unspoken meaning being that if anything happened to Caroline, Kevin would hold them both responsible.
As for persuading Caroline not to come? Kevin also knew that his relationship with Caroline was no longer what it was when they were boyfriend and girlfriend. Now that her best friends were bringing her into this adventure, what right did he have to stop her?
Just as they were talking, Anna walked over with someone.
"Ben?" Bonnie exclaimed in surprise.
"Looks like he was your backup plan to get Bonnie to act, wasn't he?" Kevin said, understanding the situation immediately.
"Yes, that's right. I had Ben approach Bonnie earlier to try and understand her better and see how to get her to agree to break the seal," Anna admitted directly.
"Alright, let's begin. The general situation is as such. We'll discuss it, and if anyone has any questions or conditions, you can state them. Finally, we'll vote on whether to open this tomb or not," Kevin said, briefly outlining how the tomb would be opened.
"I won't beat around the bush; I'll state my views and conditions directly. There are over twenty vampires in this tomb. Frankly, if we don't open it, there's certainly no immediate danger. However, it leaves a hidden threat for the future. After all, lack of blood will only cause vampires to suffer; it won't kill them. If they were to escape uncontrollably later, that would be a true disaster," Kevin stated his opinion first.
"So, I think opening the tomb is acceptable, but I have three conditions. One, after the tomb is opened, only your mother can be rescued. Two, I will go in with you, and I will kill all the remaining 26 vampires to eliminate any future trouble. Three, after you and your mother come out, you must not kill ordinary humans or feed on their blood. I don't require you to be like Stefan, but you can only consume blood from hospital blood bags. See if you have any questions or other requests," Kevin laid out his conditions.
"When we find Emily's spellbook, I get to keep it. Emily is my ancestor; this is merely returning it to its rightful owner," Bonnie said.
"That's no problem; I can agree to that on my own," Kevin said directly. The others didn't object; firstly, a spellbook was of little use to them as vampires, and secondly, Kevin was the strongest one there – their objections wouldn't matter much anyway.