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Sekhmet’s mind remained cautious. Summons could be unstable. Divine blood could have unpredictable effects. He had also consumed a drop himself, and he could still feel that deep steady power moving inside him like a quiet ocean.
He needed to absorb it properly. He needed to see if anything would go wrong.
Sekhmet stepped back and spoke carefully.
"Auri," he said. "Standby. Guard me."
"Bat Bat you absorb the blood too." He said.
Auri’s eyes sharpened. She nodded. "I will protect you with my life," she said without hesitation.
Bat Bat hopped off the bed and strutted toward Auri, circling her like a tiny inspector.
"You... bat people," Bat Bat said.
Auri blinked, then lowered her gaze slightly to look at Bat Bat.
"You are Bat Bat," she said calmly, as if she already knew.
Bat Bat froze.
"How you know," Bat Bat demanded suspiciously.
Auri smiled faintly. "I heard the master calling you," she replied.
Bat Bat puffed up proudly. "Good," it said. "You are smart. Respect me."
Sekhmet rubbed his temples. Now was not the time for Bat Bat to establish social dominance.
Sekhmet reached for the vial again.
Zero drop remained.
He had already eaten one. Bat Bat had eaten one. The last had been used for summoning. Nothing remained.
But the taste still lingered in his throat.
He felt stronger, but also unsettled.
Divine blood was not normal nourishment. It was a force. He needed to be careful.
Sekhmet sat down slowly on the edge of the bed. His room was filled with wings now.
Bat Bat.
Six rare bats.
Auri standing tall and calm. A small team in a merchant’s house.
Sekhmet stared forward, feeling the pulse of his blood.
Ba - dum... Ba - dum...
The system chimed softly again, confirming changes in his body.
[Ding! Post-Mission Status Update.
Blood Proficiency: 100%
Blood Awakening: 3%
Blood Summon: Lv2
Chaos Energy: +500 increased
Chaos Body: +500 increased
Overall Battle Power: 11,500]
Sekhmet did not speak the notification aloud.
Bat Bat could not see it. Instead, Sekhmet spoke simply, keeping his tone controlled.
"I am going to meditate," he said. "All of you remain quiet."
Bat Bat blinked.
"No," it said instantly. "You drink blood now."
Sekhmet’s eyes narrowed.
"What," he asked.
Bat Bat pointed at Sekhmet’s throat dramatically.
"You hungry," it said. "I smell. You hungry again."
Sekhmet paused. His hunger was not screaming. But the divine blood awakened something deeper. A craving for more. A pull.
Bat Bat was right. He felt it. That is why he needed to absorb the blood quickly.
Sekhmet stared at the jars left on the table — fresh blood purchased for Bat Bat and for emergencies.
He couldn’t drink more now. "Bat Bat stop talking and absorb the god blood you just ate. I will do the same. Let’s find out what chance has occurred."
"Okay, master." Bat Bat replied.
He looked at Auri. Her eyes were calm, watching him with loyalty that felt unsettling. He had just summoned her. She would not betray him.
But Sekhmet still felt the instinctive distrust of someone who survived purgatory by assuming the world wanted him dead.
Sekhmet exhaled slowly.
"Guard me," he told Auri again, firmer. "If anything changes, stop me."
Auri’s gaze sharpened. "Yes," she said.
Bat Bat nodded enthusiastically.
"Stop master if master go crazy," it agreed.
Sekhmet stared at Bat Bat. "You enjoy saying that," he muttered.
Bat Bat smiled innocently.
"Stop messaging around." Sekhmet gave a chop on Bat Bat head.
"Standby auri," he said.
Auri bowed her head slightly. "Yes, master."
Bat Bat pouted, but obeyed.
The six rare bats remained still, waiting like shadows with wings.
Sekhmet leaned back, closing his eyes for a moment.
Ba - dum... Ba - dum...
Sekhmet’s heartbeat slowed until it became a drumbeat beneath everything else.
The room around him did not disappear, but it faded into the background, like a painting you only notice when you stop looking at the street. Lantern-light became a soft blur. The wooden floor became a sensation of firmness beneath him rather than a thing to be seen. The wings of his summons became quiet shapes in the corners of his awareness, still and obedient, like shadows with breath.
He sat on the edge of the bed, back straight, shoulders relaxed, hands resting on his knees. His breathing turned steady — long inhale, longer exhale. He let the air fill his chest and left it without forcing. The habit of survival made him want to stay alert, to keep listening for footsteps in the hallway, to keep one eye open, to keep a weapon ready.
He pushed that habit down.
Tonight was not about fighting.
Tonight was about digestion.
Not of food, but of force.
Divine blood was not like normal blood. It did not simply become energy and vanish. It settled in the body like a living seed, and if he did not absorb it properly, it would grow into something he did not control. He could still feel that deep steady power moving inside him like a quiet ocean. It was calm, but it was heavy. The kind of calm that could turn into a flood if the wall cracked.
Across from him, Bat Bat mimicked his posture.
Not perfectly, because Bat Bat was Bat Bat.
Its tiny red body tried to sit upright like Sekhmet, but its wings did not fold the way human shoulders did. It ended up looking like a child trying to copy a teacher in a classroom, serious but slightly wrong, as if it thought posture was a spell that only worked when you looked proud enough.
Bat Bat closed its eyes dramatically.
Then one eye opened.
Bat Bat peeked at Sekhmet.
Sekhmet did not react.
Bat Bat closed the eyes again, satisfied, and breathed loudly.
Huuuuuu...
Sekhmet almost sighed, but he held it in. If he laughed now, Bat Bat would stop meditating and start talking, and if Bat Bat started talking, he would start replying, and then the "quiet ocean" inside him would keep moving without being absorbed.