---
Batbat licked his lips. "You taste like spicy phoenix and molten magma. I blacked out. I regret nothing."
Kai gripped his dagger tighter. "You've got three seconds before I staple your wings together and launch you into orbit."
Batbat hiccupped. "Fair enough. But how will you manage that? With that tiny power you can't even cut one of my fur. Maybe in one thousand years you can manage that. I will wait for that. Or maybe I can promise to help you with something for the blood I ate."
Before Kai could reply, the air exploded. Not with sound but with energy.
The bat opened its tiny mouth wide, and a spiral of red light burst into the sky. It twisted into unknown runes, then cracked the clouds apart like a divine call. Crimson lightning struck the ground around them. The grass hissed. The trees bent backward. The core on the ground shaking in fear like a living thing.
