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[Thug 1: Overall Battle Power 4300]
[Thug 2: Overall Battle Power 4700]
Their battle power was the same as before. But their shame was louder.
One of the new thugs stepped forward.
He was the strongest of the group — battle power hovering around 6100. He cracked his neck, then smiled.
"Pretty boy," he said. "You made our brothers look bad."
Sekhmet’s expression did not change.
Bat Bat’s eyes narrowed.
"Not pretty," Bat Bat muttered. "Handsome."
Sekhmet’s eyes twitched. "Quiet," he murmured.
The leader thug tilted his head. "You talking to your pet," he mocked.
Bat Bat puffed up immediately.
"Summon," it snapped. "Not a pet."
Hek! Hek! Hek!
The thugs laughed.
One spat.
Another swung his knife casually, making a slicing sound through the air.
Shhk... Shhk...
The leader thug, lifted a hand and silenced them. He looked Sekhmet up and down slowly.
"Listen," he said. "You don’t belong here. But you walked into our territory and embarrassed our people. We are the second strongest underground group. Our reputation will be damaged if we don’t punish you."
Sekhmet’s gaze sharpened.
"Second strongest underground gang," he thought, recalling the witch’s earlier tone when she said underground rule. This place was a jungle with invisible borders.
The leader thug continued, voice casual as if offering a deal.
"You come with us," he said. "We break your hands and legs, take your money and storage tool, then we let you crawl away alive. What do you think?"
Bat Bat’s claws dug into Sekhmet’s shoulder.
Bat Bat whispered, furious. "They want to break the master."
Sekhmet’s voice stayed calm.
"Storage tool," he repeated, as if tasting the words. "I don’t have any. I don’t have any money either."
The leader thug grinned.
"Don’t lie," he said. "You got something. Everything got something. If you don’t hand it over, we take it by force."
Sekhmet exhaled slowly. His hunger stirred again; not for blood alone, but for violence.
But he kept his face blank.
"I will not go with you," he said.
The leader thug shrugged. "Then we do it here," he said.
He lifted his hand. The thugs moved.
Step... step... step...
They spread out, forming a half-circle, cutting off the corridor behind Sekhmet and blocking the stairs ahead.
The crowd nearby noticed and drifted away quickly. No one interfered. People recognise them. They don’t want to mess with them.
Whatever happens underground stays underground.
Bat Bat whispered, "We fight?"
Sekhmet’s eyes hardened. "Yes," he murmured. "We fight."
The leader thug lunged first. His dirty club glowed with chaos energy.
He swung at Sekhmet’s head.
WHOOOM!
Sekhmet stepped aside smoothly, the club smashing into the stone wall behind him.
CRACK!
Dust fell.
The leader thug grinned, pleased.
"You can dodge," he said. "Lucky."
Sekhmet did not reply. He moved forward and slammed his fist into the thug’s ribs.
BOOM!
The thug leader’s grin vanished instantly as pain exploded through his body. He stumbled backward, gasping.
The other thugs surged in.
Knives.
Chains.
Clubs.
They attacked together like a pack, chaotic but coordinated enough to overwhelm weaker prey.
Sekhmet’s body moved with a terrifying calm.
His chaos body was 5500. His battle power was 10500.
They were not fighting a boy. They were fighting a ranked predator.
Sekhmet ducked under a chain swing.
RATTLE! RATTLE!
He spun and grabbed the chain, yanking the thug forward.
The thug stumbled.
Sekhmet drove his elbow into the thug’s jaw.
CRACK!
The thug’s head snapped back, teeth flying like broken stones.
Bat Bat launched from Sekhmet’s shoulder.
FlapFlapFlap!
It flew low and fast, like a red arrow.
A knife thug raised his blade, aiming at Sekhmet’s side.
Bat Bat darted between them and bit the thug’s ear.
CHOMP!
The thug screamed.
"Aaaa—!"
Bat Bat tore away, ear flesh in its mouth, then spat it dramatically like it was disgusted.
"Dirty," it muttered.
Sekhmet stepped in while the thug was distracted and punched him in the stomach.
The thug folded and collapsed.
Two more thugs rushed Sekhmet from both sides.
Sekhmet activated Blood Control. A thin line of blood slid from the corner of a thug ear. The same one Bat Bat just bites.
It moved like a living thread.
Shhk...
The blood line wrapped around one thug’s ankle.
The thug’s eyes widened. "What the fuck—"
Sekhmet yanked.
The thug fell.
THUD!
Sekhmet stepped on his chest and kicked the other thug in the throat.
CHAK!
The thug flew backward, slamming into a crate.
The leader thug recovered, fury burning now. He roared and charged again, the club glowing brighter with chaos energy.
His energy surged.
FZZZZ!
He swung with full power, aiming to crush Sekhmet’s shoulder.
Sekhmet did not dodge. He met it. His arm raised. His forearm blocked the club.
BAM!
The impact echoed through the corridor. Stone dust shook loose from the ceiling.
The thug leader’s eyes widened in shock. He expected the bone to break.
Instead, the club vibrated like it hit iron.
Sekhmet’s expression was cold. "You are weak," he said softly.
The leader thug snarled. He tried to pull back his club.
Sekhmet grabbed it.
The thug leader’s eyes widened.
Sekhmet yanked, dragging him forward like a child.
Then Sekhmet slammed his knee into the thug’s stomach.
BOOM!
The thug leader gagged, spit and blood spraying.
Sekhmet grabbed his collar and threw him down.
THUD!
The leader thug lay there, coughing, eyes rolling.
The remaining thugs hesitated. They had expected a fight. They had expected pain. They had not expected a massacre.
One thug tried to run.
Sekhmet’s blood eyes locked onto him.
[Overall Battle Power: 3200]
Sekhmet flicked his hand.
Blood Control. A thin shard of blood hardened into a needle.
Shhk!
It shot forward and pierced the thug’s calf. The thug screamed and fell.
Sekhmet walked forward calmly, stepping over bodies.
Bat Bat landed on his shoulder again, wings fluffed, proud.
"Master is strong," it said. "They stupid."
Sekhmet did not reply. He scanned the corridor quickly.
Most thugs were down. Not dead. Some are unconscious. Some groaning. Some are trying to crawl away.