When Rivik spoke, Cain stepped back so fast it almost looked like he teleported. Ivira froze for a moment, confused by his sudden retreat. She lifted her eyes and looked at him with a little frown, and Cain raised both hands in a helpless gesture.
Ivira sneered inside. "Almost, " She said while licking her blood lips.
"Wife, your father… he needs you to calm him down," he said.
But inside his head, Cain was shouting in pure relief. Thank the bloody god that old freak opened his mouth. I was about to be eaten alive by lust. Shit. Shit. Shit. I need distance. I need space. I need to stay ten miles away from her until I figure out a way to make her hate me.
Ivira stared at him, lips slightly parted, then let out a long breath. She understood he wanted to step away, but she didn't understand why. She could hear every messy, panicking thought in his head and it only made her chest tighten more.
Meanwhile, Rivik shot upright inside his coffin like someone yanked him up by a rope.
"Daughter!" he cried with trembling panic, "Daughter, run away! That Chimera Ant creature can harm all of you! They are Unkillable! Hurry and escape! Hurry and escape!"
His voice cracked as he shouted, spit spraying everywhere. His eyes bulged in terror. His fangs rattled.
Ivira stared at her father with concern. "Father, are you alright?"
Cain glanced at Rivik, then looked away like he couldn't stand watching an elder embarrass himself. Inside his head, he smirked. He actually did it. He used his mana foundation to force himself awake. What a dumb old bastard. The after-effects are going to break his bones for months. Worse, from Sixth Stage Blood Condensation… down to Twelfth Stage Blood Infusion. Hah. Not worth it. Not worth it at all.
Rivik scrambled out of his coffin and fell to his knees. "Daughter, it's not important! I will sacrifice myself if I must! You need to run! You need to hide! You must never show yourself to anyone! Stay away from windows, stay away from doors, do not breathe unless necessary—"
He kept going. And going. And going.
Ivira leaned back as he continued shouting instructions so fast she could barely hear them. He rambled about hiding behind curtains, disguising herself as a shrub, never speaking to strangers, avoiding rivers because water might attract parasites, avoiding forests because trees might hide parasites, avoiding stone walls because parasites could crawl inside walls, avoiding lamps because the shadow of lamps looked suspicious, avoiding—
When he finally reached a dramatic pause to inhale, he sucked in enough air for a scream that could destroy a chandelier.
"HURRRYYYYYY! ESCAPEEEEEEE!!!"
His roar echoed across the hall.
Ivira winced at the volume. "Father, look."
She pointed at the cracked wall. Rivik blinked through his panic and slowly turned. His gaze landed on the web-like fractures and then on the faint green-yellow traces of infestation mana etched along the surface.
He froze.
"What… what is this…?" he whispered.
He walked toward the wall with shaky steps. His eyes widened as he felt the lingering aura. "There is… a remnant of Infestation magic here. A very strong one. Wait. Wait."
He pressed his hand against the cracked surface. His expression became grave.
The mana signature… this is high-level. This creature was at the peak of Condensed Infestation. No, above it. And it died. It actually died. But how? Even if I were at my full strength, I cannot kill something like this… And if it adapted while inside me… then for it to die here… for it to die here means something else interfered.
Something—or someone—with deep knowledge of infestation properties. No. Someone who knew the precise moment it was unstable. Someone who took advantage of the only weakness these parasites ever reveal… Who? Who could do this? No vampire has ever—
He inhaled sharply.
"Something died here with a powerful infestation magic," he muttered. "And even at my peak, I would not be able to beat it."
Ivira sighed like she had already explained everything ten times. "Father, the parasitic creature that tried to control you is already dead. You don't have to worry."
Rivik stared at her. "What?"
Ivira repeated patiently, "It was dealt with by my husband."
Rivik processed this.
Then he crumpled like someone told him the moon fell.
"Wha… what… what did you say?"
"My husband killed it," Ivira said.
Rivik slowly turned his head toward Cain with the stiff movement of an old door hinge. He looked Cain up and down. He looked at the cracks. He looked back at Cain.
"That's impossible," Rivik whispered. "That was the pawn of the Chimera Ant Emperor. It is Unkillable. It is a liquid parasite that cannot die. Its regenerative ability far surpasses any vampire. Even the Crimson Blood King cannot deal with them without sending his strongest vanguards. So how? How can a weakling like your husband kill it? How?!"
Ivira lifted her chin. "Father, he is not a weakling. He realized its mana was not stable when it came out of your body. He saw that it had an unstable mana circuit pattern. He knew it was vulnerable at that moment. So he acted."
Then she continued explaining.
And she kept explaining.
And explaining.
Her voice flowed like a teacher giving the longest lecture in vampire history. She talked about the parasite's exit angle, its disrupted mana flow, the distortion in its inner magic core, how its splitting sequences went out of rhythm, how its regenerative cycle became unstable after leaving its host, and how Cain took advantage of that single moment to strike.
Rivik blinked more and more as she talked.
Cain stood at the side sweating buckets. My god, she is making it sound like I studied that thing for ten years. Woman, stop! Stop! You're overselling it! I punched it! I literally just pinched it to dust!
Ivira finished with a firm nod. "That is why my husband acted. He saw the moment of weakness."
Rivik stared at Cain. "Really? Is that so?"
Ivira nodded again. "Yes, Father."
Rivik rubbed his chin. "But even so… to beat it that way… someone must have extremely detailed knowledge about how infestation magic works. Only someone familiar with its weaknesses can strike at the exact moment of its instability."
Ivira turned her head toward Cain.
Cain began sweating even harder. Inside his mind, he was screaming. Shut up, old man. Shut your mouth. Stop digging holes. I don't want to explain anything. Damn it. Damn it. Damn it.
Rivik kept staring.
Cain cleared his throat. "Ahem. Actually… I have taken some personal interest in infestation parasites."
Rivik blinked. "Personal interest?"
Cain nodded. "Yes. I drink their blood."
The entire room froze.
Cain continued without breaking expression. "As a hobby."
More silence.
Cain coughed again. "Their blood… has variety. Many types. If one trains oneself to adapt to the poison, then eventually the blood becomes enjoyable. I… like collecting tastes."
He said it with such fake seriousness that even the walls felt embarrassed.
But Rivik stared at him, stunned. "O-oh… So that's why… You must have learned how their mana works because you drink them…"
The Blood Slaves and Blood Maids nodded with open admiration.
"Oh…"
"That's amazing…"
"No wonder Master Cain defeated it…"
Cain smiled stiffly. I am going to hell. I am going straight to hell for this lie.
Only Ivira looked at him with flat eyes because she heard every screaming, panicking inner thought.
This man… is such a liar. But my liar. My husband. Keep talking, husband. Let's see how far you can go. I can see through you…
Rivik suddenly widened his eyes again.
"We need to prepare!" he shouted.
The Blood Maids jumped in surprise.
Rivik slammed his fist into his palm. "Now that we have dealt with something connected to the Chimera Ant Demon Emperor, we must report this to the Crimson Blood King immediately!"