Cain brushed a bit of dust from his sleeve and looked straight at Elder Fang.
"Is that all you’ve got?"
His voice was calm, almost bored, yet it echoed clearly across the ruined courtyard.
Elder Fang’s face drained of color before flushing red with anger. His lips trembled.
"Impossible," he muttered, then louder, "Impossible!"
His eyes scanned Cain from head to toe as if searching for hidden wounds. "You took Blood Bolt head on. No defense. No evasion. Not even a blood shield."
Cain gave a faint smile. "You talk too much, old man. If that was your newly mastered spell, then I am disappointed."
A ripple of shock moved through the Moonshade vampires.
Disappointed?
Elder Fang’s hands trembled. "You dare mock after I spared your life?"
"Spared?" Cain tilted his head. "I did not feel anything worth ntioning. Were you holding back because your back hurts? If you are tired, I can wait."
A few vampires gasped.
Faith’s heart pounded wildly. She could feel the tension tightening like a drawn bowstring ready to snap.
Elder Fang clenched his fists. "You are provoking ."
Cain shrugged. "You said you would punish . I am still standing. That ans you failed."
"Failed?" Elder Fang’s voice cracked with fury. "You think I failed?"
"I do not think," Cain replied lightly. "I see."
The words struck harder than any spell.
Elder Fang’s aura flared again, but this ti it was not as controlled. The crimson energy burst outward violently, whipping the air into a frenzy. Small stones lifted from the ground, circling him as though pulled by an invisible storm.
"You ungrateful brat!" he roared. "I showed rcy!"
Cain’s smile widened slightly. "Then stop showing rcy."
For a mont, Elder Fang froze.
The words echoed in his mind.
Stop showing rcy.
"You want to go all out?" he asked slowly, voice low and dangerous.
Cain spread his arms casually. "Please. I insist."
The crowd could barely breathe.
At first, Elder Fang did not release killing intent. His mana surged violently, but there was still restraint. He ford another spell circle, larger this ti, filled with complex blood runes that pulsed with terrifying energy.
"I will break your legs this ti," he said coldly. "Let us see if you still laugh."
The circle glowed brighter, humming with power.
Cain stared at it without fear.
"That looks slightly better," he said. "But still not enough."
Elder Fang’s eye twitched.
"You think this is a ga?" he hissed.
"I think you are weak," Cain replied plainly.
The insult landed with full force.
Sothing inside Elder Fang snapped.
The restraint vanished.
The air around him grew colder despite the burning red mana. His eyes darkened, and a thick wave of killing intent poured out from his body like black smoke. The nearby vampires staggered backward, their faces turning pale.
Faith felt it instantly. This was different. This was no longer punishnt.
This was lethal.
"Elder, stop!" she shouted, but her voice sounded small against the roaring surge of blood mana.
Elder Fang did not hear her.
"I will show you the difference between arrogance and strength," he growled.
The magic circle before him transford. The runes twisted into sharper forms, and the energy within condensed into a blazing crimson mass that throbbed like a living heart.
"This ti," he said through clenched teeth, "I will not hold back."
Cain’s eyes glead faintly.
There it is.
That killing intent.
A faint smile curved his lips, one that no one else noticed clearly in that mont.
"Finally," he whispered.
Elder Fang thrust both hands forward.
The attack exploded from the circle like a roaring dragon made of blood and fire. It tore through the air with violent force, ripping apart the already damaged ground beneath it. The sheer power distorted the space around it, making the courtyard tremble.
"Cain!" Faith scread.
But he did not move.
He did not raise a shield.
He did not step aside.
He simply stood there, smiling faintly, and received the attack with his body head on.
The impact was deafening.
Bang!
The explosion swallowed him entirely. Flas of crimson light surged upward, forming a towering column that shook the Moonshade estate. Shockwaves blasted outward, knocking vampires off their feet. Windows in nearby buildings shattered. The earth cracked deeper, forming a massive crater at the center.
Faith felt the heat and force push her backward. She fell to her knees, staring at the raging pillar of mana with wide, terrified eyes.
"No... no..."
Elder Fang’s rage drained instantly as the realization hit him.
His hands lowered slowly.
"Oh no," he muttered. "Oh no..."
The killing intent that had filled him monts ago vanished, replaced by dread.
"I only wanted to punish him," he whispered hoarsely. "Did I... kill him?"
He stepped forward shakily, trying to peer through the thick smoke and swirling debris.
"Did she shout at Cain?" he mumbled, but he shook his head think, he must have misheard it. Suddenly, "Cage Boy?" his voice was uncertain for the first ti. The dust slowly began to settle.
A shadow ford within the fading light.
Then a figure stepped forward.
Cain erged from the smoke.
His clothes were torn slightly at the edges, but his body was unhard. Not a single burn mark or drop of blood could be seen.
But his eyes—
His eyes were no longer calm.
They burned with pure killing intent.
It was heavy, thick, ancient.
It did not feel like the killing intent of a young vampire.
It felt old.
Terrifyingly old.
He stared at Elder Fang and smiled slowly.
"Finally," he said softly. "Finally."
His voice trembled, not with fear, but with excitent.
"I could splatter so Moonshade blood."
The words made the entire courtyard freeze.
"It’s just what I needed," he continued quietly. "A killing intent from a Moonshade family mber."
His smile widened slightly.
"Now I can break soone without breaking the blood pact."
Faith’s mind reeled.
From the future.
Overgod.
Blood pact.
Her thoughts beca tangled as mories flooded her mind.
She rembered a weaker Cain, standing behind her nervously during family gatherings. She rembered how other young vampires whispered and laughed, calling him useless because he married into her branch.
Paper husband.
She rembered the tis she scolded those who bullied him, only to see the harassnt worsen afterward. She rembered watching him lower his head silently, enduring everything.
So she stopped confronting them directly.
Instead, she trained.
Day after day, night after night, pushing herself until her muscles scread and her blood mana felt like it would tear her apart.
She told herself that once she beca the strongest in the Moonshade family, she would protect Cain properly. She would silence everyone who mocked him. She would make sure no one dared look down on him again.
She imagined a future where he would stand beside her proudly, not as a burden, but as her equal.
She endured every hardship for that dream.
But now—
Now she looked at him standing in the crater, blood mana rolling off him in waves far stronger than anything she had sensed from him before.
It was unfamiliar.
Yet strangely familiar.
Her chest tightened.
For the first ti, she felt fear toward him.
Is he still the Cain I know?
Will he ever need my protection?
Her legs lost strength.
She fell onto the ground, sitting helplessly as she stared at the man she had sworn to protect.
Around them, the Moonshade vampires were speechless.
"That attack was lethal..."
"He took it head on."
"How... how is he unscathed?"
Even Elder Fang stood frozen, his mouth slightly open.
Cain slowly raised his arms toward the sky, as if embracing the night.
His expression turned almost blissful.
"Finally," he murmured. "I can finally spill the blood of my own family."
His voice carried a strange joy that sent chills down everyone’s spine.
"I need to savor this," he whispered. "I need to savor this."
He lowered his arms and took a step toward Elder Fang.
The ground cracked beneath his foot.
Elder Fang instinctively stepped back, fear flashing across his face.
Cain’s killing intent intensified, pressing down on everyone like a crushing mountain.
He lifted one hand slowly.
Blood mana gathered around his fingers, dense and dark.
He moved to strike.
Then—
His hand froze midair.
His eyes widened slightly.
"No way," he muttered under his breath.
User Comments
0 comments from readers