"Fuck, the Komoerus!" Yoichi shouted, taking advantage of the general bustle to activate Kenji's power. He crossed his arms, and they were immediately wrapped in black reptile scales, strengthening themselves.

Yoichi was now able to activate and deactivate the power of his Oracle almost instantly, thanks to the practice of combat in those hectic days. ​​

As Shioko continued to load and fire multiple arrows in the hope of repelling the many bat demons, Enastu entered the tunnel leading to the exit. Standing on the side of that sizeable rocky room, the merchant tamer crouched on the ground, covering his head with his arms.

His Moruba tried to scratch the hard stone surface of the floor, but its long mole nails failed to dig. At that point, unable to use its skill, Rokuro positioned itself in front of its tamer.

With thick arms and long claws ready to strike, it seemed ready to protect its master at any cost. Its small black eyes, particularly suited to darkness, could spot flying demons even in spots not illuminated by Nobu.

Dozens of bats dodged Shioko's arrows, diving towards her and Yoichi. The archer retreated again, joining Enatsu and keeping on firing arrows, killing the Komoerus one by one.

Meanwhile, five bat demons pounced on Yoichi, forced to cross his arms in front of his face. The claws of wild demons hit his scales several times, failing to scratch them.

However, the lower part of his body remained uncovered, becoming an easy target for the Komoerus. Darting at high speed next to his calf, one of them scratched it with its claws, disappearing back into the darkness.

"Ouch!" – trying to resist the acute pain caused by the cut, Yoichi stood still, kicking blindly. A second bat demon attempted to hit him in the lower body area, but Kenji intervened just as it was about to scratch his other leg.

Always close to its tamer, the little dragon jumped towards its master's leg, exploiting it as a support for a second jump. Acting like a fierce predator, Kenji opened its jaws and bit the bat's small head, driving it away from its target.

The heartbreaking verse of the stricken enemy was loud enough to be heard over that of its fellow beings: Kenji began shaking its head from side to side, causing its winged opponent to lose consciousness.

The big ears of the bat were torn by the sharp teeth of the little dragon, who, in a few seconds, cracked the Komoeru's head. When it was severed from the neck, it rolled onto the floor near Yoichi's feet.

Preserving muscle memory for a few more seconds, the bat's headless body moved, flapping its wings. Soon after, it fell to the ground lifeless, and Kenji opened its mouth, dropping its head off the ground.

Between the scales of his arms, crossed before his eyes, Yoichi was able to catch a glimpse of the scene. Nobu's light, intent on dodging other Komoerus, illuminated the head of the newly defeated enemy for a moment, allowing Yoichi to notice a crucial detail.

From the severed and bloodied neck of that wild demon, a small red sphere flowed towards Kenji. Before reaching its forehead, it split into two equidimensional spheres, penetrating its body and earning him two XP points.

The Komoerus have not been infected with black mud! This means Kenji can get twice the XP points by killing them! Yoichi pondered, figuring that if they came out of that cave alive, its little Oracle would earn a pretty big haul.

Loaded with Kenji's intention of never lowering its guard, Yoichi suddenly opened his arms, hitting all the bats that fluttered around his head. He struck five of them with his forearms, destabilizing their flight and gaining an excellent chance to give them the coup de grace.

"Aaargh!" he yelled, throwing a punch at a Komoeru and hitting right on its head. The impact with Yoichi's pointed knuckles was so strong that the bat demon's fragile skull shattered.

The next moment, the young tamer made a second attack with his other arm. This time, the power of the long reptile claws prevailed over the blunt force of the knuckles: cutting through the air, Yoichi's black finger claws cut one of the two wings of a Komoeru.

The bat stopped flying and, shortly before falling to the ground, its head was bitten again by Kenji's jaws. *splat* - like a nutcracker, its small but strong jaws cracked it.

*blop*blop*blop* - the sound of blood spheres coming from newly defeated enemies echoed in the background amid the screeching of the other bats. One by one, they touched Kenji's forehead, entering it.

A third bat quickly flew towards Yoichi's face. The young tamer, foresightedly, intercepted it with an elbow, turning 180°. Grabbing its head in his big hand, he squeezed it like a lemon, killing it.

These sons of bitches are many, but individually their strength is ridiculous. The wings and joints of their body are incredibly fragile, as are their heads... I can break it by closing my hand, Yoichi thought, juggling among the enemies.

Suddenly, yet another bat swooped towards him, trying to catch him off guard. At the same time, across the room, something forced Nobu to turn around, moving its light beam in another direction.

"Fuck!" the young tamer gasped, suddenly finding himself plunged into darkness. After less than a second, a sharp claw of the Komoeru hit him on a cheekbone. "Argh!" he yelled, reacting instinctively to sudden pain.

Komoeru's bright eyes left a red trail in the air, tracing its trajectory. After suffering the same damage as its tamer, Kenji used its prone position to jump on its shoulders.

Acting on its own will, the little dragon followed in the wake of the bat's eyes, biting one of its wings in mid-air. When Nobu's light lit up the area again, the weight of Kenji's body caused the Komoeru to lose height and fall to the ground.

Both black demons rolled onto the rocky terrain amid the debris and the black mud. "Screek! Grooargh!" the screeching of the bat was interrupted by the growl of the little dragon, who, after detaching one wing from it, focused on the other one.