Cain got up from the coffin. He stretched his body. His joints made noise. He looked around the room. Light came in through the windows. He rubbed his eyes. He let out a breath.
"The sun's already gone. So I slept until almost eleven at night," he muttered. "My first proper sleep in millions of years, and I wake up like some lazy mortal."
He stepped out of the coffin and stretched again. His limbs felt lighter. His blood felt warmer. He could sense more than before. He stared at his hands. Crimson mana ran under his skin in faint lines.
He closed his eyes and focused. His Overgod Blood pulsed. His bones thickened. His muscles grew denser. His core expanded. When he opened his eyes again, he let out a small breath of satisfaction.
"The sixth stage of the Blood Infusion Realm, and not even the early stage," he murmured. "Middle stage already. Perfect."
He rolled his shoulders. "I need to exercise this mortal body of mine."
His lips curved into a playful grin. "Should I beat the crap out of that bastard Crimson Blood King? After all, his nickname pissed me off… Or toy with that insect Chimera Ant Emperor because his very existence disgust me?"
He paused. Then he waved the idea away with a laugh. "Nah. I have a weak body right now. This is rare. I should savor it. I want to beat the crap out of someone using this weak flesh. No magic. Just pure bullying."
He chuckled and walked toward the door. "Alright. The Moonshade Family training ground it is. I'll warm up there."
…
The moment Cain arrived at the Moonshade Family training ground, noise washed over him like a wave.
Torches lit the wide courtyard.
Dozens of vampires and blood slaves were crossing swords, exchanging blows, casting sparks of mana along the stone tiles. It was lively. It was loud. It felt almost like a small festival.
Cain stepped in and watched as a pair of young vampires clashed blades while a group of blood slave soldiers practiced stances in formation. He scratched his cheek. "This many people, huh?"
He walked up to a blood slave soldier, an elf with pale skin and a cold gaze. The elf didn't notice him and kept watching the sparring groups.
"What's going on?" Cain asked.
The elf didn't turn his head. He answered in a flat voice, "Good news. Ma'am Cornelia reached the ninth stage of the Blood Infusion Realm in one night. So the clean-up of the unknown territory was easy today. They returned to give the report."
Cain nodded. "I see."
Inside his head he snorted. Of course she did. Their blood is slowly turning into Overgod blood. Of course their cultivation speed is ridiculous now.
The elf continued excitedly, "Yesterday, she reached the eighth stage. Then earlier, she hit the ninth stage. That's why the surrounding area got cleaned fast."
He kept talking. He talked about how difficult the unknown territories were. Kobolds swarming in packs. Goblins hiding in caves. Mutant beasts causing problems. Strange things lurking in the dark. His voice became dramatic as if he was describing the end of the world.
Cain stared blankly. Pathetic. Weaklings always think basic monsters are disasters.
The elf went on, "But when Madam Cornelia reached the ninth stage, everything became easy! Thanks to that, we finished early. We'll all go home to see our families after training."
Then he sighed. "That bastard Cain Moonshade is lucky though. He married three beautiful sisters. But luck ends there. He's nothing special. A noble from a fallen vampire family. Nothing impressive."
Cain's eyebrow twitched.
The elf kept going, his voice a little louder, "Even if he married the sisters, he won't touch them. He can't even get near them. Pathetic. I bet he'll act like a sticky glue again and chase the sisters for attention. Hahaha!"
Cain's eye twitched again.
"If Captain Cedrick was a natural-born vampire," the elf continued, "he'd be perfect for Miss Cornelia. Not that useless Cain."
A shadow fell over the elf.
Cain's face was dark. His voice low. "Turn around, tree nuthugger."
The elf didn't notice at first. "Huh? Who—"
He turned and saw Cain's clothes. He froze.
Then fell to his knees with a thud.
"Y-You…!"
Cain stepped closer. His shadow stretched over him. "Early night exercise, huh? I'll start with you."
But unexpectedly, the elf stood up with bravado. He crossed his arms and glared at Cain. "So it was you. So what if you heard it? Miss Cornelia doesn't care about you. And I know you won't do anything to me."
Cain laughed softly. Then darker. Then even darker.
"Oh? I can't do anything to an insect like you?"
The elf stepped forward. "We all know you never trained. No talent. Weak. A useless noble. And even if you attack me, I'll just ignore it. I'm sure I won't even feel it."
Cain closed his eyes and breathed deeply. Memories of his past life flashed in his mind. He saw this same type of insect laughing at him. He remembered how he ignored them because he was too busy chasing the affection of his wives.
Now he wasn't that fool.
He cracked his neck. "Alright then. Since you're so confident…"
He leaned closer. His voice became soft and cold. "Let's make a bet."
The elf stiffened.
"If I hurt you, I'll take your sisters," Cain said with a grin.
Around them, a few vampires paused mid-swing. The idea shocked them. Typically, several races would enter a vampire's territory, like that of the Moonshade Family, for protection from outside beasts. As part of a blood pact, one of the members would become a blood slave or a vampire and serve a noble family.
Generally, family members remained untouched once one of them became a blood slave. If they broke a rule or did something taboo, that's the only time they got punished. Or had their blood drunk.
So when Cain spoke, everyone understood immediately what he meant.
He wanted to drink their blood.
Cain laughed softly. "If you lose, I'll drink their blood daily… I'm gonna savor each one of them!"
The elf's eyes widened in rage. "You! You! You! You can't take my sisters!"
Cain grinned even wider. "You sure about that?"
The elf's fists trembled. His nostrils flared. His anger drowned his fear. "I'll make you regret it! Miss Cornelia will not let you—"
But the elf never finished his sentence. His body flew across the entire training ground like a fired arrow.
There was a sharp boom.
Everyone stopped sparring.
Then they saw the elf crashed into a stone pillar. Blood went everywhere. Across the torches. Across the tiles. Across everyone watching.
He didn't even scream.
He was out before he hit.
Cain stood there. Hand raised with a tiny smile on his lips.
"Ooh… Did I…? Too much…?"