My Three Beautiful Vampire Wives can hear my Inner Thoughts-Chapter 29: Curse Nemesis

Suddenly, the injured Blood Knights erupted.

One voice broke the silence, hoarse and cracking. Then another. Then several at once.

The courtyard filled with shouting, rough and angry, words crashing into each other without order.

"I knew it!" a Blood Knight shouted, stabbing a trembling finger toward Cain. "I knew it from the start!"

"He cheated!"

"A magic scroll!"

"There’s no way he did that himself!"

One of them staggered forward, clutching his side. His armor was dented and split, his ribs clearly broken, yet he kept going.

His face was twisted with pain and rage as he glared at Cain, breathing hard, barely able to stay on his feet.

The others followed, voices rising as accusations flew. The noise grew louder and uglier by the second.

"That’s right! I felt it! That strength wasn’t normal! He cheated! He cheated!"

"He crushed my armor with one hit!"

"My shield shattered!"

"My arm—my arm is ruined!"

The shouting came all at once. Words blurred together, the noise swelling into something ugly.

"He humiliated us!"

"He broke discipline!"

"He abused his status!"

"If he didn’t use a scroll, then what was that power?!"

"You think we’re fools?!"

The words became curses.

"Kill him!"

"Kill that bastard!"

"Crush him like he crushed us!"

"Don’t let him live!"

"You kill him! Kill that shit!"

Spittle flew from their mouths.

Fingers stabbed toward him. The hatred was thick, choking, burning the air.

Those who had kept quiet earlier couldn’t stay silent anymore. Once the anger found their target, it swallowed them all.

Inside the glowing cage, Cain lowered his head. His shoulders shook, selling the act perfectly.

Inside, he sneered.

Pathetic.

I could wipe you out even like this.

He nearly laughed. His breath came out rough. His hands trembled. His face stayed pale and helpless.

Outside, the humans from the other plane stared in confusion.

This wasn’t what they expected.

The vampire they had chosen as hostage felt wrong now. Too wrong.

They had seen nobles before. They had captured leaders before. Important people screamed differently.

They demanded to see their hostage free.

They threatened to kill them.

They promised revenge if the hostage was hurt.

This one was being hated!

They are all cursing him!

One of the humans swallowed hard. "Why does it feel like... he’s not important?"

Another frowned. "They want him dead."

If that’s true then, it means they took someone hostage for nothing. How to escape now?

Suddenly, the blood knights turned their eyes to Cornelia, so naturally, the humans too.

She stood rigid, jaw tight, eyes burning as the Blood Knights screamed for Cain’s death. The sound drilled into her head, mixing with Cain’s thoughts, with the smoke, with the heat of the shattered ground.

"Don’t hurt him!" she shouted suddenly.

Her voice cut through the noise like a blade.

The shouting erupted louder.

Heads turned.

"What?" a Blood Knight demanded. "Why, Madam?!"

"Why protect him?!"

"He’s clearly the villain!"

"He abused us!"

"He deserves death!"

Cedrick stepped forward then, limping, his face pale and strained. His armor was cracked where Cain had struck him earlier. His movements were stiff with pain.

"Lady Cornelia," he said, voice heavy but firm, "you’ve seen the injuries. You’ve heard the confessions. He admitted to using magic scrolls. This man is a danger to the Moonshade Family."

Cornelia snapped her head toward him.

"Shut up."

The word landed hard.

The Blood Knights froze.

Cedrick stiffened, his mouth closing instantly.

Silence spread, thick and heavy.

Cornelia’s chest rose and fell. Her head felt like there was throbbing inside. Cain’s thoughts whispered at the edge of her mind, chaotic and eager and felt so wrong.

She spoke again, slower this time.

"Still," she said, "he’s my husband."

Murmurs rippled through the Blood Knights.

Her grip tightened around her sword.

"Save him first," Cornelia continued, voice cold and clear. "Then punish him later."

The Blood Knights hesitated. They looked at each other. Anger burned in their eyes, but it looked like their loyalty ran deeper inside their blood. Slowly, reluctantly, they nodded.

"...Yes, Madam."

"We obey."

The humans tensed immediately.

Weapons rose. Spells tightened. The mana cage hummed louder.

They saw it now. This woman mattered. And that meant the vampire inside the cage mattered too.

The Blood Knights spread out, forming a loose circle around the humans, weapons drawn, eyes sharp despite their injuries.

One of the humans raised his hand.

"We are warning you!" he shouted. "Do not come closer!" "If you advance," another yelled, voice shaking, "we will destroy him!"

Inside the cage, Cain cried out again, voice breaking.

"Save me! Save me!" he shouted. "Save me, wife!"

He slammed his fist against the barrier and fell back, coughing, shaking like a frightened child.

Cornelia clenched her teeth.

Her head felt like it would split open.

She could hear him.

Every fake sob was layered with anticipation.

Every plea hid calculation.

Hurry. Hate me. Despise me.

You hate abuse of power, don’t you?

Come on. Break it. Break the blood pact.

She didn’t know anymore.

She didn’t know if he was lying now or if this was another layer of truth buried under madness.

But she had to act.

Cornelia stepped forward.

"Release him," she said sharply. "Now."

The humans laughed nervously.

"Open a path back to our world," their leader said. "Then we talk."

Cornelia’s eyes hardened.

"Release him first! I swear on my blood," she said, voice ringing across the courtyard. "I will open a path. I will send you home alive. I will not hunt you afterward. I will not betray this oath."

She took another step closer.

"You are not in your world," she continued. "This is a nightmare plane. You are surrounded by vampires and monsters who do not fear you. If you hurt him, you will not leave this place alive."

She raised her sword slightly.

"I promise your return. This is my word as a Moonshade."

The humans looked at each other.

They hesitated.

Then their eyes flickered strangely.

No sound passed between them, yet there was a strange understanding in their eye contacts as if they were communicating through telepathy.

Suddenly, one of them nodded faintly.

This is going to be a Stalemate.

Let’s put an Oathbound affliction on him.

If we’re hurt, he’s hurt.

They needed insurance just to make sure.

They nodded together.

Inside the cage, Cain kept shaking, kept begging.

"Save me..."

"Save me..."

But inside his mind, he was practically vibrating.

Hurry.

Hate me, my beautiful Cornelia.

Despise me.

I confessed. I admitted abuse.

You hate that, right?

Let the hate bloom.

Let me erect the altar so I could weaken our blood pact.

Let me be free.

Then he felt something was wrong.

His brow knitted.

What are these worms thinking of doing?

The humans moved.

Light spilled from their bodies, thin rays at first, then brighter, sharper. Symbols crawled across their skin. Magic circles formed in their palms, humming with alien structure.

Cain’s eyes narrowed.

Oh?

The humans raised their hands together.

"Oathbound Affliction!"

The shout echoed.

Cain’s eyes widened.

You foolish son of bitches!

The spell landed on him and the next thing happened as the entire world screamed.

Cain’s body reacted before even a thought.

Bloosssh!!

Blood pressure surged violently. His veins burned. His heart thundered once, twice, like a war drum.

Then—

Kaboom!

A blood shockwave erupted from him.

The mana cage shattered instantly, exploding into fragments of light. The ground cracked outward in a violent ring. Air compressed and detonated. Humans were flung like broken dolls, bodies snapping, screams cut short.

Blood sprayed.

Stone turned to dust.

The Blood Knights were thrown backward, shields shattering, bodies slamming into walls.

Cornelia was blasted off her feet, skidding across the ground as she raised her sword just in time to anchor herself.

Silence followed.

Smoke dust rolled so very slowly.

Then—

Suddenly a footstep can be heard.

Crunch.

Crunch.

Crunch.

From the center of the destruction, Cain walked forward.

He brushed dust from his sleeve and looked around calmly.

"These bastards," he said coldly, looking around the bodies on the ground.

His eyes glinted crimson.

"Curses won’t affect me."

He glanced at their broken bodies one by one.

"Anyone who casts them on me dies."

His lips curved faintly.

"Even the Highest God of curses doesn’t dare."

He lifted his gaze.

"But you scraps actually dared."