Cain stood motionless within the underground darkness.

The drifting remains of the creature still floated faintly around him like scattered crimson smoke, slowly dissolving into the blood currents flowing beneath the earth. The torture had ended.

The screams had vanished.

The hidden presence was gone.

Yet Cain’s expression remained colder than ever before.

Because the final memory fragments continued replaying inside his mind repeatedly.

That voice.

That laugh.

That ancient strand of authority.

And the realization behind it—

Made even him serious.

Truly serious.

For the first time since returning to the past, the lazy amusement that usually lingered beneath Cain’s actions had disappeared completely.

No mockery.

No casual arrogance.

No playful manipulation.

Only focus remained.

Pure focus.

"...That damned old monster..."

Cain slowly raised one hand.

The underground blood currents instantly froze.

Then—

The first magic circle appeared.

A massive crimson formation unfolded beneath Cain’s feet, countless ancient blood runes spinning slowly throughout its surface while terrifying Overgod authority leaked outward endlessly.

The underground world trembled immediately.

Not because of raw destruction.

But because the magic itself carried laws far beyond this lower realm.

Cain’s expression remained completely calm.

Then—

He formed a hand seal.

Instantly—

A second magic circle appeared behind him vertically, enormous crimson symbols rotating endlessly through layers of overlapping blood equations older than entire civilizations.

Another hand seal.

A third formation emerged overhead.

Another.

A fourth appeared beneath the blood currents surrounding him.

Another.

A fifth unfolded through the underground walls themselves.

The entire underground space rapidly transformed into a terrifying sea of crimson formations layered upon one another endlessly.

Each magic circle contained different functions.

Isolation.

Erasure.

Concealment.

Karmic severance.

Memory destruction. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

Existence masking.

Soul separation.

Trace purification.

And Cain—

Continued.

His hands moved continuously now.

Fast.

Precise.

Terrifyingly precise.

Every hand seal flowed perfectly into the next without hesitation, his fingers moving through ancient sequences so complex that even GrandLord Dreath and Elder Achilor combined would not comprehend even a fraction of what they were seeing.

Because this—

Was true Overgod-level blood magic.

Not ordinary spells.

Not lower realm blood arts.

But ancient authority capable of altering the very structure of fate itself.

The underground space shook continuously as more crimson formations emerged one after another around Cain endlessly.

The pressure became unbearable.

The air itself distorted beneath the overwhelming concentration of blood authority.

And still—

Cain continued forming seals.

His eyes remained cold.

Focused.

Serious.

Because this matter had already crossed a line.

That old existence should not have traces here.

Should not have touched the blood pact.

Should not have influenced him.

And most importantly—

Should not have noticed his return.

The thought alone made Cain’s blood boil.

Another series of hand seals unfolded instantly.

The surrounding crimson formations began rotating faster.

Then faster again.

The blood currents throughout the underground erupted upward violently as ancient runes flooded through every layer of space surrounding Cain.

The first magic circle activated.

Boom.

The underground walls darkened immediately.

Every lingering trace connected to the dead creature began surfacing visibly like black strands being dragged from hidden cracks in reality itself.

The second formation activated next.

Boom.

The black strands immediately ignited into crimson fire.

The third activated.

Boom.

The burning traces collapsed inward violently.

Cain continued without pause.

More seals.

More formations.

More ancient runes.

The underground world now resembled the inside of some ancient blood ritual lost long ago in the upper realms.

Crimson light consumed everything.

The pressure became suffocating.

And Cain’s expression only grew colder.

Because this was not merely cleanup anymore.

This was concealment.

Absolute concealment.

If that old bastard truly left traces here—

Then Cain needed to erase every possible connection immediately.

Every single one.

Another hand seal formed.

A gigantic blood eye appeared behind Cain briefly before dissolving into thousands of smaller crimson symbols flooding through the underground space.

The remaining traces hidden within the creature’s scattered essence surfaced instantly afterward.

Cain’s eyes sharpened.

There were more than expected.

Far more.

Tiny hidden karmic threads stretched faintly through reality itself, connecting back toward somewhere impossibly distant.

Upper realm connections.

Cain immediately attacked them.

The surrounding formations exploded with activity simultaneously.

One magic circle severed the karmic links directly.

Another concealed the disturbance afterward.

Another erased the traces left behind.

Another purified the blood authority residue.

Another distorted time perception around the underground area to prevent retroactive tracking.

And still—

Cain continued.

His hands moved faster now.

The hand seals had become so rapid they blurred together continuously while endless crimson runes flooded through the underground world like storms of blood-colored stars.

Sweat finally appeared slightly along Cain’s forehead.

Not from weakness.

From concentration.

Because even for him—

Performing this many Overgod-level concealment techniques simultaneously in his weakened current body strained him heavily.

Yet he did not stop.

Could not stop.

Not until everything disappeared.

Boom.

Another formation activated.

The drifting remains of the creature finally dissolved completely.

Boom.

The karmic strands snapped apart one after another.

Boom.

The ancient blood authority lingering in the underground world began fading rapidly.

Cain’s expression remained frighteningly focused.

He had not looked this serious since returning to the past.

Because now—

This was no longer merely about surviving.

Or growing stronger.

Or escaping the blood pact.

This involved the upper realm directly.

And if that old bastard truly discovered traces of him already—

Then things could become dangerous far earlier than Cain originally expected.

Another seal.

Another activation.

Another layer of concealment unfolded.

The underground space darkened repeatedly as ancient blood laws overwrote reality itself continuously around him.

Even the memory of the creature’s existence began fading from the surrounding environment.

That was Cain’s goal now.

Erase everything.

Every residue.

Every connection.

Every possibility.

The crimson formations rotated endlessly around him like giant celestial mechanisms powered by ancient blood authority.

Then suddenly—

Cain paused briefly.

His eyes narrowed slightly.

Halfway done.

Only halfway.

And yet—

The traces were already disappearing rapidly now.

The karmic strands connecting upward had almost completely collapsed.

The lingering curses hidden within the blood pact remnants were fading too.

Good.

Very good.

Cain immediately formed another sequence of hand seals.

The surrounding formations surged violently again.

And this time—

The remaining traces shattered completely.

The hidden curses dissolved one after another into nothingness beneath the overwhelming purification magic flooding the underground world.

Cain watched silently as the final cursed strands vanished entirely.

Then slowly—

He exhaled.

Because halfway through the process—

He had already removed all his traces.

And the curses disappeared completely.

Cain did not stop.

Not even after the curses vanished.

Not even after the karmic strands shattered.

Not even after the underground space had already been flooded with enough Overgod-level concealment techniques to make ordinary upper realm existences lose their minds trying to comprehend them.

Because Cain understood something very clearly.

That old bastard—

Was dangerous.

Far too dangerous.

The ancient existence hidden behind those traces was not merely some ordinary Overgod from the upper realm. No.

That monster controlled curses themselves.

Not metaphorically.

Not symbolically.

Literally.

An existence whose authority had long fused with curses to such an absurd degree that entire upper realm civilizations once vanished simply because they offended him unknowingly.

A lunatic.

An ancient curse-ridden monster.

And worst of all—

An extremely patient schemer.

Cain’s expression darkened further.

Because if that old fool truly left traces through the blood pact—

Then Cain refused to believe it was accidental.

Which meant—

There could still be hidden links remaining.

And that possibility alone made Cain continue.

The underground world trembled violently again.

The massive crimson formations surrounding him had already grown beyond count now. Hundreds of ancient blood circles layered endlessly across the underground space, rotating slowly like overlapping worlds made entirely from blood authority.

And Cain—

Continued forming hand seals.

His movements had become frighteningly precise now.

Every finger movement carried terrifying calculation.

Every seal activated multiple formations simultaneously.

Every pulse of blood mana rewrote hidden laws throughout the underground region continuously.

This was no longer ordinary concealment.

Cain had moved far beyond that already.

Now—

He was erasing possibility itself.

Another hand seal formed instantly.

Boom.

Several massive blood circles overhead rotated violently before collapsing inward.

The underground darkness immediately distorted.

Threads invisible even to Ascendant beings surfaced faintly throughout the space.

Tiny.

Hair-thin.

Barely existing.

Yet Cain’s eyes sharpened instantly.

"...Still here."

Curse residue.

Not direct curses anymore.

Echoes.

Tiny leftover conceptual marks buried deep within reality itself.

If Cain ignored them—

Nothing would happen immediately.

But that old bastard specialized in absurd curse tracking methods beyond ordinary logic. Even a microscopic fragment of connection could eventually become a pathway.

Cain refused to allow that.

The blood circles activated again.

The tiny hidden marks immediately ignited into crimson flames before collapsing violently into nothingness.

But Cain still did not stop.

More hand seals.

More formations.

More ancient blood authority flooding the underground endlessly.

The strain on his current body continued increasing rapidly now.

Blood slowly dripped from Cain’s fingertips.

Tiny cracks even began appearing faintly along parts of his skin from overusing power far beyond what this reincarnated body should currently handle.

Yet his expression remained cold.

Focused.

Because he knew exactly how terrifying that old curse monster truly was.

Cain still remembered the upper realm clearly.

Entire Overgod factions avoiding speaking that ancient bastard’s true name openly.

Countless existences disappearing mysteriously after becoming entangled with his curse authority.

Ancient blood empires collapsing from invisible curse contamination spreading across generations.

Even Cain himself—

Back then—

Preferred avoiding direct involvement with that old fool whenever possible.

Not because Cain feared him.

But because curse authority was troublesome.

Annoyingly troublesome.

And now—

That same existence somehow touched the blood pact.

"...How irritating..."

Cain’s eyes narrowed dangerously.

His hands moved even faster.

The underground space began collapsing repeatedly beneath the overwhelming density of blood authority flooding outward from the formations surrounding him.

One blood circle activated.

Boom.

The underground layers themselves folded inward.

Another activated.

Boom.

Time residue throughout the area destabilized instantly.

Another.

Boom.

Spatial memory contamination vanished completely.

Another.

Boom.

All remaining emotional synchronization echoes disconnected from the surrounding world.

Cain continued endlessly.

The giant formations spun faster and faster around him while ancient blood runes flooded through the underground like crimson storms consuming everything in existence.

The concealment techniques had become absurd now.

Even upper realm tracking methods would struggle to detect anything afterward.

Yet Cain still was not satisfied.

Because that old bastard specialized in curses.

Which meant normal concealment was never enough.

Cain suddenly changed hand seals.

Instantly—

The surrounding blood formations trembled violently.

Then several gigantic circles merged together overhead into one enormous crimson structure covered in incomprehensible blood equations.

The moment it appeared—

Even the underground blood currents froze completely.

Because this spell—

Was ancient even among Overgods.

A forbidden blood concealment art specifically designed to sever causal observation itself.

Cain’s expression became colder.

Then—

He activated it.

Boom.

The underground world darkened instantly.

Not ordinary darkness.

Absolute darkness.

Even the concept of observation became distorted briefly throughout the underground region.

The remaining traces hidden deep within reality surfaced immediately afterward.

Tiny fragments.

Microscopic.

Yet horrifying.

Cain’s eyes sharpened instantly.

"...You really are annoying..."

Because even after everything—

The old curse monster still left hidden conceptual anchors buried unbelievably deep.

No wonder that bastard survived so long in the upper realm.

Ordinary Overgods would never detect this level of hidden contamination.

But Cain—

Was not ordinary.

His blood mana exploded violently outward.

The gigantic concealment formation overhead activated completely.

And instantly—

The conceptual anchors shattered apart.

One.

Two.

Three.

Hundreds.

Thousands.

All erased simultaneously.

The underground world trembled endlessly beneath the overwhelming pressure released by the spell.

Cain continued forming seals afterward immediately.

No pause.

No hesitation.

Because he knew the moment he stopped carelessly—

Even the smallest overlooked trace might become fatal later.

Another formation activated.

This one targeted retroactive curse observation.

Another targeted emotional karmic resonance.

Another distorted blood authority signatures entirely.

Another erased lingering upper realm scent from Cain’s soul itself temporarily.

The deeper Cain went—

The more serious his expression became.

Because now he understood something terrifying.

That old bastard probably sensed him only faintly.

Not fully.

Not clearly.

Otherwise—

Things would already be much worse.

That realization alone made Cain move even faster.

The underground space now looked like the core of some ancient blood apocalypse.

Crimson formations layered infinitely across every direction while rivers of blood mana surged violently through collapsing underground structures.

And in the center—

Cain continued.

Cold.

Focused.

Terrifyingly calm.

His fingers moved through impossible sequences endlessly while ancient blood authority flooded outward continuously from his body.

Minutes passed.

Or perhaps much longer.

Time itself had become unstable inside the underground region.

Eventually—

The formations began slowing slightly.

Then slowing further.

One by one—

The gigantic blood circles started fading.

Not collapsing.

Dissolving carefully after completing their functions perfectly.

The underground pressure eased gradually afterward.

The blood currents resumed flowing naturally again.

The darkness surrounding the underground space slowly returned to normal.

Cain finally stopped moving.

His hands lowered slowly.

The remaining formations vanished one after another until only faint crimson light remained drifting through the underground.

Silence followed.

Complete silence.

Cain stood motionless for several long moments while carefully sensing everything around him.

No karmic threads.

No curse residue.

No conceptual anchors.

No hidden observation.

Nothing.

Absolutely nothing.

Only then—

Only after confirming repeatedly—

Did Cain finally relax slightly.

His shoulders eased faintly.

And at last—

He heaved a quiet sigh of relief.