The first bat grabbed me by the shoulders with its clawed feet and lifted me into the air before I could reach the entrance.

I enhanced my body with mana to protect my flesh from the grip.

I struggled as I was hauled upward. I couldn’t afford to be stuck in the air or I would be at a serious disadvantage.

I managed to unsheathe my katana and drove it into the bat, which screamed in pain and released me.

As I fell, bats came from every direction, biting and clawing.

One came from below and tried to snatch me, but I twisted my body and dodged its claws. I grabbed the fur on its back to spin myself behind it, then drove my blade into its back.

The bat screamed and shot upward.

Damn, I really hated heights.

It crashed through the other bats that were trying to get at me as well.

I clung to its back for dear life, hoping my katana wouldn’t slip free from the wound.

I kicked and punched with my free leg and hand at every bat that came close.

I sank my katana deeper and grabbed the bat’s ear, pulling it to steer it upward toward the ceiling.

Just before it hit, I ripped the katana free and pushed off.

The bat slammed into the ceiling with a crack, bones breaking, flesh torn, painting the stone red.

[You have slain a Low Greater beast, Blood-sucking bat.]

"Ouch, that must have hurt."

I turned and saw hundreds of bats surging up toward me, the sound of their wings filling the cave like a drumroll.

They moved as one, a black cloud full of red dots.

I gathered darkness energy along my blade and slashed forward, a black arc cutting through the swarm, killing and injuring dozens.

[You have slain a Low Greater beast, Blood-sucking bat.]

[You have slain a Low Greater beast, Blood-sucking bat.]

The system confirmed the kills, over and over.

Since getting out of the bamboo forest, I have been able to release the same arcs from my katana as well, not just the scythe.

The nearest bat came at me and before it could get any closer I threw my katana, which buried itself straight into its heart.

I dove and slammed my body against the dead bat, and we plunged down together into the swarm below.

Five black tentacles burst from my back and drove outward in all directions, skewering whatever came at me.

The bats kept attacking without discrimination, their claws shredding through their dead kin just as readily as they tried to shred through me.

I didn’t wait around and leapt onto another bat to my left, punching it in the throat when it snapped at me.

I was about to finish it when another bat slammed into me and sent me tumbling toward the ground.

From the height I was falling, I would survive, but with a lot of broken bones.

I thought of what I needed and a whip made of darkness appeared in my left hand.

I cracked it upward and it coiled around a bat’s leg. Before I hit the ground the whip snapped taut and yanked me back up, and using the momentum from the rebound I launched myself higher.

I let go, dropped onto a bat, and drove my katana into it. The bat screeched and tried to shake me off, but a long cord of shadow formed in my other hand and slipped between its jaws like a bridle.

"There we go. Now guide me to the exit!" I said, riding the bat like a horse and steering it toward the far tunnel entrance.

I had always wanted to ride a horse. Who would have guessed it would be a bat instead?

Honestly it felt even cooler.

Two bats came in from the left, so I pulled the rope and Batty banked left.

Yes, I named it Batty.

A set of claws came from above, so I ducked and drove my blade into the attacker’s stomach, and before its blood and entrails could fall on me, Batty and I were already gone.

We flew up, down, left, right, weaving through the swarm.

Thanks to the makeshift reins I could steer Batty and maneuver between the other Blood-sucking bats.

Whenever Batty was about to be boxed in, I would slap my palm against the hilt of the katana still buried in its back, sending a jolt of pain through it and making it fly faster.

As we shot toward the entrance, dozens of bats formed a wall across it.

I let go of the rope with one hand and opened my palm, darkness energy wrapping around it until a long spear took shape. I pulled back and threw it, and it screamed through the air toward a bat’s head.

Instead of impaling it, it burst like a watermelon.

[You have slain a Low Greater beast, Blood-sucking bat.]

Another spear formed instantly and I threw that one too, killing another.

"Hmm, this won’t be fast enough." I dodged a pair of claws.

I looked ahead. Dozens of bats packed the far entrance solid. Behind me, same story.

Going back wasn’t an option, and I wasn’t planning on it anyway.

An idea had already taken shape in my mind.

I stopped throwing spears and raised my right arm, then dragged one of my back tentacles across my wrist. Blood welled up and ran down my arm.

The moment it hit the air, every bat in the cave reacted. Including Batty. Their eyes blazed redder and their heads turned, noses working.

Blood-sucking bats were exactly what the name said. They survived on blood, and since they were blind they relied heavily on scent and vibration to navigate.

The cut on my wrist was like lighting a flare in the dark. Same principle as a shark scenting blood from miles away.

Every bat abandoned the entrances and came straight for me, front and behind, all at once.

When the scent of blood hit them, they went into a frenzy. Nothing would stop them until they caught their prey and drained it dry.

"That’s it. Come to me. Batty, one more climb."

’Schizo...’

My eyes twitched at Ezio’s remark, but I ignored it.

I pulled the reins and Batty banked into a wide loop, the rest of the swarm chasing us without slowing.

Once I was sure every last one of them was on us, I pulled up, and Batty climbed hard toward the ceiling.

The bats behind us couldn’t pull up in time and slammed into the ceiling one after another.

But the rest kept coming.

We flipped into a dive, plummeting fast, the wind hammering my face.

I glanced back. The remaining bats were diving with us, just as planned.

The ground rushed up to meet us, and when Batty and I hit a certain distance from it, I hauled back on the reins with everything I had and forced her wings open.

Even then, our speed barely dropped.

Damn, we were going to hit!

"Come on Batty, you’ve got this!" I said.

I don’t know if my encouragement did anything, but with only a few meters to spare, she hammered her wings and pulled us level, shooting us forward just above the ground.

"That’s my girl !" I praised her. She just growled.

I didn’t know whether it was a female or not, I had just assumed it because it gave off that girl energy.

The bats chasing us were not so lucky.

The first one hit the ground and became a splatter of flesh, and then the others came down behind it with heavy, ground-shaking thuds.

Bat after bat piled onto the growing mountain of corpses, a pool of dark blood spreading beneath.

Some managed to pull out in time, but I didn’t stick around to deal with them. Batty and I flew straight for the far entrance.

And went through.

We had made it out.

Thanks to Batty.