Cain shouted, his voice cutting through the sky like a blade drawn from its sheath.
"Blood Rain!"
The word had barely finished echoing when the heavens above the Chira Ant Empire twisted unnaturally, clouds spiraling inward as if the sky itself had been wounded. A deep red seeped through the gray, not falling all at once but gathering slowly, thick drops forming like coagulating wounds suspended in the air.
At first, the humanoid insects below simply stared.
"What is that?" one of them muttered, shielding his compound eyes as the first droplets touched his chitin.
Another laughed nervously. "So kind of illusion?"
The rain began to fall.
Not heavy, not fast, just steady, patient drops splashing against armor, wings, and exposed skin. For a few heartbeats, nothing happened. The city remained frozen in confusion, guards looking up, civilians murmuring uneasily, children tugging at their elders’ limbs.
Then soone scratched their arm.
"Why does it itch?" a soldier asked, rubbing at his forearm where the red liquid had touched.
Another chira grimaced. "My neck... it burns."
The itching spread like wildfire. Hands clawed at skin. Mandibles snapped in irritation. Wings fluttered erratically as discomfort turned into sothing sharper. The rain soaked deeper, seeping into cracks, joints, pores that should never have felt pain.
A scream rang out.
It was thin at first, high and disbelieving, but it shattered the fragile calm like glass.
"My arm!" a civilian shrieked, staring in horror as thin red lines opened across his limb, skin splitting as if sliced from the inside. Blood poured out, not spurting, but leaking endlessly, as if his body could no longer rember how to keep itself whole.
More screams followed.
All across the empire, bodies began to fail. Itching beca pain. Pain beca agony. Chitin cracked. Flesh ruptured. Eyes burst as blood forced its way outward, veins swelling grotesquely before exploding into red mist.
The streets filled with chaos.
"Help !" soone cried, collapsing to the ground as their legs gave out beneath them.
"Make it stop!" another howled, clawing at their face until their own fingers were slick and red.
Mothers scread for their children, only to watch in helpless horror as small bodies convulsed, blood pouring from mouths and ears as the rain continued its rciless descent. Guards tried to move, to form lines, to do anything at all, but their limbs betrayed them, joints locking up as blood flooded where it should never be.
The empire beca a living nightmare.
Above it all, suspended in the crimson orb, the two Emperors watched.
The faceless Chira Ant Emperor stiffened, his infestation aura flaring violently as the pain of the rain reached even him. It was dull compared to what his people suffered, but it was enough to send a jolt of rage through his towering form.
"Below..." the Holy Human Emperor whispered hoarsely, holy light flickering as his senses stretched outward.
They both saw it.
The streets drowned in blood. Towers stained red. Thousands upon thousands screaming, writhing, dying not from an enemy’s blade but from their own bodies tearing themselves apart.
Even for beings who ruled entire worlds, the sight was unbearable.
"This isn’t an attack," the Human Emperor said, his voice trembling despite his strength. "It’s slaughter."
The Chira Ant Emperor roared, the sound shaking the orb itself as his rage exploded outward. "VAMPIRE!" he bellowed, his voice carrying through dinsions. "SHOW YOURSELF! I WILL RIP YOU APART AND BURN EVERY BLOODSUCKER UNTIL NOTHING REMAINS!"
Only laughter answered him.
It ca from everywhere and nowhere at once, soft and amused, layered with cruel delight.
"Hahaha..."
The sound slithered into their ears, into their minds, wrapping around their fury like a mockery.
"Listen to them scream," Cain’s voice murmured lazily. "It’s fascinating, isn’t it? Such noisy creatures when they realize blood doesn’t belong to them."
The Chira Ant Emperor trembled, his infestation writhing wildly as he raised both arms. "I will erase you!" he roared, channeling power deeper than he had ever dared before.
The air warped.
From behind him, enormous spectral mandibles ford, forged from pure infestation mana, each one glowing with venomous light. Countless insect sigils ignited, layering one over another until the spell felt heavy enough to crush worlds.
"Devouring Plague Cataclysm!" he scread, hurling the attack outward.
A tidal wave of corrosive, living energy slamd into the blood orb barrier, chewing at it, screaming as if alive, devouring everything it touched.
Nothing happened.
The barrier absorbed it all, the blood surface rippling once before settling again, calm and untouched.
The Chira Ant Emperor froze.
His breath hitched.
"That... that should have—"
"Step aside," the Holy Human Emperor said suddenly, his voice tight, fear barely hidden beneath authority.
He raised his staff, holy symbols blazing brighter than ever as he drew upon the deepest well of faith and authority granted to him by humanity itself. Light poured from his body, forming massive wings of radiance behind him.
"Final Sanctum," he intoned, voice echoing like a divine decree. "Judgnt of Absolute Purity."
A pillar of blinding white light descended from above, slamming into the blood barrier with enough force to annihilate continents. The air scread. Reality buckled.
Still nothing.
The light vanished, swallowed whole.
The Holy Human Emperor staggered, his aura flickering violently as disbelief crashed into him like ice water.
"No," he whispered. "That spell... it has never failed."
Cain’s laughter grew louder, richer, echoing with unmistakable satisfaction.
"Oh, please," he said, his tone dripping with mockery. "If that was your best, I’m almost disappointed."
The blood rain continued.
Below, the empire was dying.
The Chira Ant Emperor clenched his fists so tightly that cracks spread along his armored arms. "Stop this!" he roared, voice breaking with rage and sothing dangerously close to despair. "Fight ! Face !"
Cain’s presence shifted. A shadow ford atop the blood orb, coalescing into a clear silhouette at last. Red eyes opened within the darkness, glowing like twin stars soaked in blood.
"You want to stop?" Cain asked lightly. "Then entertain ."
The Holy Human Emperor swallowed hard. "What are you?" he demanded. "No vampire should wield this kind of authority."
Cain tilted his head, as if genuinely considering the question.
"?" he asked softly.
The two Emperors struck again and again, unleashing long-range magic, layered techniques, forbidden spells that drained lifespans and shattered laws. Holy fire. Infestation storms. Beams, curses, annihilation waves.
Each one vanished upon contact.
Cain laughed through it all, clapping slowly, deliberately, his insults weaving between their attacks.
"That one was flashy, but empty."
"Oh, I felt that... barely."
"Is this really the pinnacle of your worlds?"
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