Chapter 175: Night’s Hunt VI
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"She is small," Bat Bat said. "Bat Bat small. Bat Bat needs a friend. Elena is big and scary. The master is big and doesn’t play with Bat Bat. Spirit is small. Spirit can play with me."
Vera’s eyes flicked to Bat Bat.
Vela’s eyes flicked to the spirit.
Then to Sekhmet. Neither twin spoke, but Sekhmet could read it.
They were not opposed. They were watching what kind of master he would be.
A master who kept trophies. Or a master who protected things that could not protect themselves.
Sekhmet exhaled slowly. He did not want extra burdens. But the system note was clear.
Rare potential.
And Bat Bat... Bat Bat would not stop complaining for three years if he said no.
Sekhmet looked down at Bat Bat.
"If I keep it," he said calmly, "you are responsible for it."
Bat Bat’s eyes widened with joy.
"Yes," Bat Bat said instantly. "Bat Bat is responsible."
Sekhmet narrowed his eyes.
"Responsible means feeding it properly," he said. "Protecting it. Not treating it like a toy you forget under a bed."
Bat Bat nodded so hard her hair bounced.
"Yes," she repeated. "Bat Bat will feed. Bat Bat will protect. Bat Bat will not forget."
Sekhmet paused.
Bat Bat had never kept a promise for longer than two hours in her life, but at least she meant it right now.
He made the decision.
"Fine," Sekhmet said.
Bat Bat nearly squealed.
Sekhmet added immediately, "Quiet."
Bat Bat clamped a hand over her mouth and vibrated with silent excitement.
Sekhmet looked at the baby spirit. He crouched again and extended two fingers slowly. His palm were down and non-threatening.
The spirit stared at his fingers, trembling. Then, very slowly, it reached out with a tiny hand and touched him.
Its hand was cool. Not cold like death. Cool like shade under a tree.
Sekhmet’s Blood Eye flickered again, sensing no threat. He could have carried it out.
But he did not want it exposed on the way back. He did not want some random patrol noticing asking questions. He did not want questions. Slavery and selling and buying living things are illegal inside the city.
So he chose the safer solution. He opened a thin slit of void land.
A small dark rectangle in the air, quiet and hungry like a mouth that swallowed light.
Bat Bat stared at it with familiarity and pride, like she was watching her master perform a magic trick she had already seen many times but still wanted to clap for.
Sekhmet looked at the spirit.
"You will go inside," he said.
The baby spirit froze again, terrified of the dark opening.
Bat Bat stepped forward quickly.
Bat Bat put her hands out and made a gentle beckoning motion.
"Safe," Bat Bat whispered.
The spirit stared at Bat Bat.
Bat Bat nodded firmly, then pointed at herself and then at the void slit like she was giving a tour.
"Home," Bat Bat said, voice soft. "Bat Bat home. Master home. It’s safe. Come with me."
The spirit hesitated. Then, trembling, it stepped forward by following Bat Bat. It moved like a tiny person walking into fog.
It vanished into the void. Sekhmet’s mind shifted.
He sent a simple command through the bond.
Auri.
In the void land, Auri would hear.
Sekhmet spoke quietly aloud anyway, because habit mattered.
"Auri," he said, voice low. "A baby forest spirit has been sent in. Watch it. Keep it safe. Do not let the bats scare it."
Bat Bat puffed her cheeks.
"Bats are not scary," Bat Bat whispered angrily to spirit. "Bats are my followers. You will be safe."
Then Bat Bat came out.
Sekhmet closed the void slit. Then he rose and turned back to the men.
The four criminals were still unconscious, groaning faintly, bodies limp.
The hunt was not finished. The lesson was not finished.
Sekhmet looked at the twins.
"Now," he said, "we return to rules."
Vera’s gaze sharpened immediately.
Vela’s posture tightened, focused.
Bat Bat was still glowing with happiness from her new tiny friend, but she tried to look serious again.
Sekhmet stepped toward the men, checking their pockets quickly.
A few chaos Stones.
A small knife.
A charm.
Nothing worth keeping except proof they had been doing illegal trade.
Sekhmet looked at the man who had been holding the cage. He was breathing. He would wake soon.
Sekhmet decided he would wake.
Sekhmet did not kill them all. He did not need to. He wanted one message carried back to the city’s shadow network. He wanted the rumor to do some work for him. Bring him more prey if they decide to come with more people.
He grabbed the man by the collar and slapped his cheek lightly. Not cruel. Just enough to wake him.
The man groaned, eyes fluttering. He tried to sit up.
Sekhmet pressed his boot lightly on the man’s chest.
"Listen," Sekhmet said calmly.
The man’s eyes focused enough to see red glints in Sekhmet’s gaze. They already forgot about the feeding part.
Yet fear flooded his face.
Sekhmet’s voice stayed flat.
"You will crawl back to the city," he said. "You will tell others: do not cage spirits. Do not sell living things outside the walls. Because something is hunting here now."
The man nodded rapidly, terrified.
Sekhmet lifted his boot.
"Go," he said.
The man scrambled up and ran, stumbling at first, then sprinting like the night itself was chasing him.
Bat Bat watched him go and pouted.
"Master let food run," Bat Bat complained. "Let’s hunt more."
Sekhmet looked at her.
"No," he said. "We must return home."
Bat Bat grumbled. Then she brightened again, suddenly remembering time.
"Master," Bat Bat whispered urgently, "Elena not know."
Sekhmet’s gaze narrowed.
"If Elena finds out," he said calmly, "your homework will become a grave."
Bat Bat stiffened.
Bat Bat nodded very seriously.
"Bat Bat is silent," she promised.
Sekhmet glanced at the twins.
"Do you understand the rule now," he asked.
Vera bowed her head slightly. "Yes, master," she replied.
Vela’s voice was quiet, almost reverent. "Yes," she said.
Sekhmet nodded once.
"Good," he said.
He turned toward the city wall.
"We go back," he said. "Before Elena wakes."
Then he open the void land again saying, "Toss the rest three inside the void land. They will serve as food for the bats."
The twins followed his command.
Bat Bat gasped after the work was done.
"Run," Bat Bat whispered urgently.
Sekhmet did not run. He moved steadily.
But Bat Bat ran anyway, flapping slightly like she was chasing her own fear.
The twins followed smoothly, hunger calmer now, discipline stronger. They slipped back into the city like shadows returning to their cage before dawn.
And Sekhmet held only one thought as he guided them home.
"This is how I keep them from becoming monsters.
By teaching them how to be monsters with rules.
And by saving small things in cages before the world teaches them the wrong kind of rules."