Cain's teasing caused their attacks to grow more desperate, more violent, mana surging wildly as frustration and fear drove them past reason.
However, the blood rain intensified in response, the screams below rising into a deafening chorus that clawed at even their hardened hearts.
"Enough!" the Chimera Ant Emperor roared, his voice cracking. "I will tear down heaven itself if I must!"
Cain's smile widened.
"Yes," he said softly. "That's the look I wanted."
The rain slowed.
The screams faltered, not because the suffering ended, but because there were fewer mouths left to scream.
Cain straightened, the playful air around him vanishing as something heavier settled into place.
Then he stepped forward, and for the first time since the blood orb formed, his presence existed clearly outside it, no longer a distant voice or a mocking shadow but a living figure wrapped in crimson authority.
