Born in Blood



An ear-to-ear smile spread across Nord's lips. He couldn't help but laugh incredulously. 

"I'm doing it! I'm actually doing it!"

Looking at the delinquent so happy, Rin couldn't help but feel a bit of envy. Even Nessa looked like she wanted to be next.

Niveh raised her hands in triumph, then looked at Liam with a smug smirk that said, 'I told you so.'

"Who's next?" Liam questioned, ignoring the vampire's existence. 

Rin was about to raise her hand, but Nessa beat her to the punch. 

"I'll go…"

With a slight awkwardness to her step, Nessa carefully entered the dungeon and made her way to the nearest bat.

Meanwhile, Nord was already ruffling the hair on his Blood Bat's head, rubbing his face into his fur as he called the beast a 'good girl'.

'They're letting their guard down,' Liam thought with a tinge of anger. 'Raast' came up in his head again, souring his mood.

Then he remembered his dreams of riding dragons, perching atop their heads and soaring through the skies. 

Bats' flight probably resembled the sensation, but most definitely lacked the power and might that a draconic beast had.

A solemn look flashed on Liam's face for a split second, but he suppressed it and scoffed lightly.

'I won't settle for cheap replications.'

Nessa reached deeper into the dungeon, eventually reaching a smaller-sized Blood Bat curled up in the corner. 

She looked a bit fearful getting too close to one, but seeing how easily Nord tamed his, she pushed away any second thoughts.

The Blood Bat noticed her and started to hiss, but Nessa held her ground. 

With a quick bite of her hand, she drew enough blood to fill the hollowness of her palm.

Stretching it forward, she squinted her eyes with hope and waited for the Blood Bat to accept the offering. 

It took a bit more convincing compared to Nord's, but eventually, the beast came around and started to shloop up the blood from Nessa's hand, warming up to the human.

'She is growing,' Rin gestured to Liam from the side. 'You helped her in that regard.'

Liam shrugged indifferently. "Your turn now." 

Rin sighed. 

Any attempt at making small talk was instantly slapped away by Lawrence, and she couldn't find any foot in the door to ask about his life or forging method.

Nonetheless, Rin was the third person to enter the dungeon and look for a bat. Hers was unsurprisingly the fastest to finish, too.

Her violet eyes scoured the available beasts and chose the one she assumed would be the best for her. 

She formed a quick cut on her palm and let one of the more larger beasts take a good amount of blood from her, successfully forming a bond.

With a lithe jump, Niveh jumped atop Nessa's bat and settled behind her. Out of the four, she was the one easiest to speak to, and the vampire's favorite.

Then, it was Liam's turn.

The others were already halfway attempting to figure out the beast's controls. 

A tuft of dark crimson fur gave them a seat behind the bat's giant head, and to move it forward, they simply had to tug the hairs in a specific direction.

Right as Liam took his first step into the cave, a bat from the deepest part of the dungeon let out a low hiss. 

At once, every Blood Bat fixed on Liam's figure with hostile glimmers in their beady, scarlet eyes.

Nord looked confused. Rin furrowed her brows. Niveh grew fearful while Nessa grimaced.

Heaving a sigh, Liam shook his head, prepared to unsheathe his blades.

'What now?'

Liam already knew what it was. 

A peak Rank 3 Blood Bat. The pack leader, to be precise. 

From a steep slope on the furthest end of the den, it climbed out and stared at Liam with a violet gaze. 

Dragging itself with its spiked wings, it took haughty steps towards Liam, causing bits of the cave to shake due to its sheer size, spanning more than 6 meters tall.

The surrounding bats flew away to make way for their alpha.

Liam didn't move, even as the beast towered over him. 

It let out a guttural growl, its huge, ruby-like eyes staring down at him. It slowly brought its head closer and closer to Liam's, enough that its drool dripped below his feet and its foul breath entered his nostrils.

Rin, who watched from atop her beast and had the most knowledge about magical beasts, knew exactly why the Blood Bat exited its dwelling. It made her widen her eyes in hidden shock.

…It felt threatened by Liam's presence. It didn't attack for the same reason. 

Magical beasts were prideful animals. 

The only time they grew docile, was when a significantly more powerful beast invaded their domain.

Without so much as a flinch, Liam responded with a penetrating, pressurizing glare of his own, his golden iris constricting vertically and causing the bat to considerably soften its growls. 

The silent staring contest lasted for a good minute, but felt like hours to everyone watching. 

By the end of it, the Blood Bat lowered its head below Liam's, its perked up ears drooping down just like its pride.

"You can't be serious…" Nord voiced with a dumbfounded look. Everyone else mirrored the same expressions.

Liam suppressed a smile. He put his palm on the Blood Bat's head, then perched on top of it as though it were a horse. Pulling its mane forward, it let out a slight screech and began to flap its skinny wings with growing fervency.

With an awkward hop over to the ledge, the giant bat leaped off the dungeon entrance, plunging towards the foot of the mountain at a terrifying speed. 

Liam couldn't suppress his smile any longer. 

He felt alive!

Gales of cold wind dragged his lustrous blonde hair and garment, making it flutter like a flag. 

Just as the bat was about to smash face-first against the earth, it unfurled its wings and smoothly rode the gushing waves of air, ascending towards the skies and taking flight.