Chapter 202: Feigning Ignorance
The moment Cain stepped out of the hall together with Faith, Ivira, and Cornelia, the air outside struck them like a wall, thick and suffocating, carrying with it a pressure that had not yet fully faded, and the sight that greeted them was something none of them expected, something that made even Cain pause for a brief moment despite everything he had just experienced.
Several vampires were scattered across the wide stone courtyard, their bodies sprawled across the ground in disarray, some lying flat as if their strength had been completely drained, while others struggled to push themselves up only to collapse again, their limbs trembling, their faces pale, their eyes filled with confusion and fear.
Some clutched their chests as if their hearts had been gripped by an invisible hand, others held their heads, groaning softly as if their minds had been shaken by something far beyond their understanding, and there were even those who simply lay there, staring at the sky with blank expressions, as if they had not yet processed what had just happened.
The once orderly grounds of the vampire stronghold had turned into a scene of chaos, where even those who should have stood proud were reduced to helpless figures struggling to regain their footing, and the air itself still carried a lingering weight, a reminder of the force that had crushed them moments ago.
Cain slowly turned his head to the left.
His eyes swept across the area, taking in the full extent of the damage, and what he saw only deepened the strange silence within him.
There, a group of vampires huddled together, their voices low and shaky as they tried to make sense of their situation, some of them supporting each other as they attempted to stand, only to stumble again as their legs refused to obey them properly.
"I... I can’t move properly..." one of them whispered, his voice trembling as he tried to push himself up again, his hands slipping against the cold stone.
"What was that... what was that just now..." another muttered, his eyes wide as he looked around, as if expecting something to descend upon them again at any moment.
A female vampire nearby was crying softly, her shoulders shaking as she clutched her arms tightly, her voice breaking as she spoke.
"I thought... I thought I was going to die... I couldn’t breathe... I couldn’t even think..."
Others nodded weakly, their expressions filled with the same lingering fear, their bodies still not fully responding to their will, and the more Cain looked, the more he realized just how deep the impact had been, how completely it had crushed them, how thoroughly it had stripped them of their strength.
He turned his head slowly to the right.
The scene there was no different, yet at the same time, it carried its own kind of desperation, as if the confusion had turned into something sharper, something more urgent.
A group of armored vampires stood together, or at least tried to, their armor dented from their sudden fall, their breaths heavy as they leaned against each other for support, their eyes darting around as they searched for answers that did not come.
"Who did this..." one of them asked, his voice filled with both anger and fear, his hand gripping the hilt of his weapon even though his arm trembled.
"This wasn’t normal..." another added, his gaze scanning the surroundings as if expecting an enemy to appear.
"This wasn’t an attack..." a third muttered, his expression darkening. "This was... something else..."
A younger vampire nearby shook his head frantically, his voice rising slightly.
"No... no, this is wrong... this shouldn’t happen here... we are inside the territory... who would dare..."
His words trailed off as he realized how hollow they sounded, because whatever had happened did not care about territory, did not care about status, did not care about strength.
It had crushed them all the same.
Cain said nothing.
He simply watched.
Then he turned his gaze forward.
The central area of the courtyard was filled with even more figures, some kneeling, some sitting, some lying completely still as if they had yet to regain consciousness, and the murmurs here were louder, more frantic, as if the shock had begun to settle into panic.
"What kind of power was that..."
"Was it the Lord..."
"No... no, even the Lord wouldn’t..."
"Then who..."
"What kind of realm... what kind of existence can do that..."
The questions overlapped, one after another, voices rising and falling as the fear spread, as the unknown gnawed at their minds, as the realization slowly crept in that whatever had just happened was beyond anything they had ever experienced.
A vampire with blood still trickling from the corner of his mouth looked up at the sky, his voice hoarse.
"Are we being judged..."
No one answered him.
Because no one knew.
And perhaps no one wanted to know.
Cain’s expression remained calm, but inside, his thoughts moved quickly, analyzing, observing, connecting everything he saw with what he had done, even if he refused to admit it out loud.
Too much.
He clicked his tongue lightly in his mind.
I went too far.
He had not intended to affect this many people.
He had not even intended to release that much pressure.
It had simply... happened.
Because in that moment, when his focus had narrowed completely onto that glimpse, onto that feeling, onto that unreachable realm, everything else had been pushed aside, and his power had followed that focus without restraint.
And this was the result.
He slowly turned his head again.
This time, toward the back.
Behind them, more vampires were struggling, some trying to crawl away from the area as if distance alone could protect them from whatever had happened, others leaning against walls, their bodies still shaking as they whispered among themselves.
"What if it happens again..."
"I don’t want to feel that again..."
"It was like... like something was crushing my soul..."
A taller vampire clenched his fists, his voice low.
"We need to report this... this is not something we can ignore..."
"But to who..." another replied weakly. "If even the elders felt it..."
Their voices faded into the background as Cain’s gaze moved away from them.
And then, at the center of everything—
The Moonshade Family.
They stood together, their figures steady, their posture upright, as if they had not been affected at all, and yet their expressions were filled with confusion, their eyes scanning the surroundings, trying to understand why they were different, why they could stand when others could not.
Rivik frowned deeply, his arms crossed as he looked around, his instincts telling him that something was very wrong.
Ghurd narrowed his eyes, his gaze sharp as he observed the fallen vampires, his mind clearly working as he tried to piece everything together.
The other ancestors remained silent, but their expressions were serious, their presence heavy even without the overwhelming aura they usually carried.
Zenaya stood with her Blood Owl perched quietly, her gaze fixed on the surroundings, her expression thoughtful.
"...Why are we not affected..." one of them muttered.
"It’s as if..." another began, his voice uncertain.
"...as if it didn’t touch us at all."
Their confusion was clear.
Their unease was real.
And yet, none of them had an answer.
Faith, Ivira, and Cornelia slowly turned their heads toward Cain.
Their gazes met his.
And Cain—
Looked away.
He scratched the side of his head lightly, his expression almost casual, as if he was just as confused as everyone else, as if he had nothing to do with what had happened.
Faith narrowed her eyes slightly.
"Cain..."
Ivira’s voice followed, calm but firm.
"You know something."
Cornelia stepped closer, her gaze fixed on him.
"You’re hiding it."
Cain raised his hands slightly, shaking his head immediately.
"I don’t know anything."
Inside, he sighed.
Here we go again.
Faith stepped closer.
"How did you do that..."
"I didn’t," Cain replied instantly.
Ivira frowned.
"Stop lying."
"I’m not lying," Cain insisted, his tone steady, his expression unchanged.
Cornelia crossed her arms.
"Then explain."
"It was someone else," Cain said again, repeating the same answer as before.
Faith stared at him.
Ivira stared at him.
Cornelia stared at him.
None of them looked convinced.
"Cain," Faith said softly, her voice carrying a hint of frustration now.
"Tell us the truth."
"I am telling the truth," Cain replied without hesitation.
Inside, his thoughts continued to argue with him.
You are terrible at this.
I know.
Then stop.
I can’t.
Before the conversation could continue—
The air changed.
Again.
But this time, it was different.
It was not pressure.
It was not weight.
It was—
A crack.
Space itself seemed to tear open, a thin line appearing in the air, stretching slowly as if something from the other side was forcing its way through, and the moment it appeared, every single vampire in the courtyard froze.
The murmurs stopped.
The movements halted.
All eyes turned toward the crack.
It widened.
Slowly.
Unnaturally.
The edges of space trembling as the tear expanded, revealing a dark void beyond, a place where even light seemed to hesitate.
Then—
A figure stepped out.
A vampire.
His presence was calm.
Controlled.
Yet the moment he appeared, the atmosphere itself seemed to settle slightly, as if his existence alone carried authority, as if he was someone who stood above the chaos that had just occurred.
He looked around.
At the fallen vampires.
At the damaged ground.
At the confusion and fear that filled the courtyard.
His expression was one of mild satisfaction at first, as if he had expected something else, something less chaotic, something more... orderly.
But then—
He paused.
His eyes narrowed slightly.
His gaze sharpened.
And for the first time since he arrived, his expression changed.
"...Huh?"
The single word escaped him as he took in the full scene before him, the confusion in his voice clear as he looked around once more, as if trying to understand what he was seeing.
Then his gaze swept across the courtyard again, slower this time, more careful, more focused.
"What..."
His voice lowered slightly.
"...happened?"