Cain stared at the three cocoons in silence.

The noise behind him continued to grow louder with every passing second, yet none of it entered his mind properly. The cheers, the excited voices, the endless praises directed toward the Moonshade family, all of it became distant, blurred into meaningless background noise as his eyes remained locked onto the cocoons that floated quietly in the air. 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

Ivira.

Cornelia.

Faith.

The three of them remained wrapped in dense layers of blood energy, the cocoon-like shells pulsing slowly as if breathing, each pulse releasing faint ripples into the surroundings. The red light around them was no longer violent like before. It had become calmer, steadier, yet far deeper than earlier, carrying a pressure that ordinary vampires could barely endure if they stood too close.

Such a power of boost, he hasn’t felt it before! But inside he was helpless. They are getting stronger and he was benefiting from them and not him anymore so he was literally confused.

Cain could feel it clearly.

And that was the problem.

"...Why..."

His thoughts moved slowly.

Complicatedly.

Because the connection between him and them—

Was growing stronger.

Not weaker.

The blood pact that once felt like a chain around his neck now felt stranger than before, because the more those three changed, the more he himself seemed to benefit from it.

At first, he thought it was only temporary.

A small side effect.

A meaningless reaction.

Something he will eventually forget and maybe not take into account too.

He wasn’t sure if this was genuine or not, but he felt really really bad about it.

But now—

He could no longer deny it.

His blood mana had been increasing at a speed that even he found ridiculous.

Not by small amounts.

Not gradually.

But rapidly.

Far too rapidly.

He could feel it inside his body constantly now, that overflowing sensation moving through his veins every second, his blood growing denser, richer, more alive than before. Even while standing still, even without cultivating, even without actively absorbing energy, his strength continued to rise.

And the source—

Was obvious.

The three cocoons.

"...This is absurd..."

Inside his head, Cain could not help but curse softly.

Because this was becoming dangerous.

Not dangerous in battle.

Dangerous for him.

Dangerous for his thoughts.

Dangerous for his decisions.

"...Why am I becoming stronger this fast..."

His gaze narrowed slightly.

"...Just because they’re becoming stronger too..."

The answer was obvious.

The blood pact.

That damned blood pact.

The thing he had wanted to remove from the very beginning.

The thing he once believed was restricting him.

Controlling him.

Manipulating him.

And yet now—

It was benefiting him beyond reason.

Cain could feel it clearly.

Every improvement in the three sisters echoed back toward him through the blood pact like connected rivers feeding into the same sea. Their growth nourished him. Their strengthening empowered him. Their evolving bloodline was affecting his own existence in ways even he had not fully understood yet.

And because of that—

His thoughts became messy.

Complicated.

"...If I break it..."

The thought lingered heavily.

"...Then what?"

He frowned slightly.

Because for the first time since arriving in this world, he could no longer answer that question as easily as before.

Before, the answer had been obvious.

Break the blood pact.

Remove the influence.

Free himself.

Simple.

That was what he kept telling himself.

Again and again.

But now—

Things had changed.

Because if he severed the blood pact now, would his growth slow down?

No.

Not slow down.

It would probably collapse entirely compared to this.

Cain knew himself better than anyone.

Even in his previous life as an Overgod, reaching greater heights had never been simple. Every step required endless effort, endless calculations, endless risks, endless sacrifices. He had schemed against beings stronger than himself, destroyed universes, rebuilt laws, manipulated existences beyond mortal understanding, all just to climb higher.

And now—

This blood pact—

Was giving him growth without effort.

No.

Not just growth.

Acceleration.

A terrifying acceleration.

"...Damn it..."

He closed his eyes briefly.

"...This is troublesome..."

Because the desire to break the blood pact—

Was fading.

Not disappearing completely.

But fading.

And he hated realizing that.

Because it meant the blood pact was no longer simply a curse in his mind.

It was becoming useful.

Valuable.

Necessary.

"...If I were alone..."

His thoughts slowed again.

"...Would my mana really rise this quickly...?"

The answer came immediately.

No.

Absolutely not.

Not even close.

Cain clenched his jaw slightly.

Because the truth annoyed him.

Without the three sisters, without this strange connection between their bloodlines and his own, his current development would be far slower. Even with his experience as an Overgod, even with his understanding of cultivation and existence itself, the speed he was currently experiencing was abnormal.

And he knew it.

"...This is because of them..."

His gaze returned to the cocoons.

"...Especially now..."

The pulsing from the cocoons intensified slightly.

Only slightly.

But enough for him to feel another wave of energy flow through his body.

His blood mana stirred immediately.

Denser.

Sharper.

Richer.

"...Again..."

Cain inhaled slowly.

His expression remained calm outwardly.

But inside—

His thoughts were becoming increasingly conflicted.

Should he still break the blood pact?

Should he continue trying to separate himself from them?

Or should he accept it—

At least for now?

The problem was that Cain did not like uncertainty.

He liked control.

He liked understanding every path before walking it.

But this—

This was becoming harder to predict.

And behind him—

The entire vampire race had begun celebrating.

The atmosphere changed completely now that the fear had faded. What replaced it was excitement so overwhelming that even the exhausted vampires could not suppress it anymore.

"They survived!"

"The Moonshade family truly carries monstrous blood!"

"The Blood God favors them!"

"Their bloodline will raise the entire race!"

Voices echoed everywhere.

Loud.

Passionate.

Filled with admiration.

The vampires who earlier feared the Moonshade family now looked at them with entirely different eyes. Respect replaced suspicion. Excitement replaced fear. Some even bowed slightly when speaking to the Moonshade elders, while others hurried toward them with eager expressions, trying to introduce themselves, trying to establish goodwill before others did.

"Elder Rivik!"

"Please allow my family to assist yours in settling here!"

"Ancestor Ghurd, our territory has excellent blood resources!"

"Elder Zenaya, if your family needs anything, please tell us immediately!"

The change was so sudden that even some Moonshade family members looked overwhelmed by it.

Earlier, they had been outsiders.

Now—

They were treasures.

Not because of wealth.

Not because of status.

But because of potential.

Because of what their bloodline represented.

Even those who had mocked them before now wore respectful expressions.

The surrounding emperor-level vampires no longer acted casually either. They observed the Moonshade family with visible interest, their thoughts clearly racing as they calculated possibilities, alliances, advantages, and future benefits.

And yet—

Cain ignored all of it.

Completely.

The noise behind him faded further into irrelevance.

His attention remained on the three cocoons.

On his wives.

On the source of his growing dilemma.

"...What should I do..."

The question repeated itself again.

Not emotionally.

Not dramatically.

But logically.

Because Cain was genuinely thinking now.

Carefully.

If he stayed connected to them, his growth might continue exploding at this absurd rate.

If their bloodlines evolved further, his own strength would likely continue improving alongside them.

And if that continued—

Then perhaps...

His eyes narrowed slightly.

Perhaps this blood pact could become useful enough to outweigh its disadvantages.

The thought itself annoyed him.

Because it sounded dangerously close to acceptance.

"...No..."

He immediately argued with himself internally.

"...I still need to remove it eventually..."

But another thought answered immediately.

Why?

His expression remained calm.

But inside—

He paused.

Because that answer was becoming harder to justify.

Earlier, it was simple.

Freedom.

Control.

Independence.

But now?

Now the blood pact was not only empowering him, it was connecting him to beings with terrifying bloodline potential. Beings who were now recognized even by the progenitor of the vampire race himself.

And the stronger they became—

The stronger he became too.

"...Troublesome..."

Cain exhaled quietly.

Very troublesome.

Because for the first time since this began—

He was hesitating.

Not because of affection.

Not because of romance.

Not because of love.

But because of power.

Pure power.

And Cain, more than anyone, understood how dangerous power was.

Especially power that arrived this quickly.

Behind him, the celebration continued growing louder.

The Moonshade family was slowly being surrounded by vampires offering gifts, support, alliances, territories, resources, and promises. Even GrandLord Dreath now spoke to them with clear respect, while Lord Vord and Elder Achilor discussed possibilities with excitement that they no longer bothered hiding.

But Cain still did not turn around.

His eyes remained on the cocoons.

Watching.

Thinking.

Calculating.

And slowly—

Very slowly—

He made a decision.

Not final.

Not permanent.

But enough for now.

"...I’ll wait..."

His gaze remained fixed on the three cocoons as blood mana quietly flowed through his body again.

"...I’ll see what happens next."