The Final Blow

Marcus looked up, watching the giant-winged bat. The beast was only circling cautiously in the air now, letting out threatening growls without rashly swooping down again. From its posture, it even seemed to be showing signs of retreat. "It isn't about to run, is it? Tracking it down would be a pain," Marcus said, frowning. "*Cough, cough...*" Gray pushed himself up from the ground and dusted himself off. Though disheveled, he was fortunate enough to have escaped any real injury. "Normally, a giant-winged bat would've fled long ago. But one that's nursing and rearing its young is a different story." Gray glanced around, his gaze soon locking onto a specific spot. He raised a finger and pointed. "See that? That's its nest." Sure enough, high up in the dense canopy hung a dark mass resembling a colossal tumor. It was a giant-winged bat nest constructed from branches and animal bones cemented together with copious amounts of saliva—a thoroughly revolting sight. Had Zelier's Light spell not been bright enough, it would have been nearly impossible to spot even with someone pointing the way. "Go on, Zelier, take aim and blast its nest," Gray sneered. "Let's see if it's willing to abandon its little beast pups." "On it!" Zelier answered crisply. Hitting a stationary target like this was child's play for him. After a brief charge, Zelier unleashed a Fireball straight at the nest. *Boom!* The moment the Fireball struck, a blaze flared up, directly igniting the branches and foliage! Because the material was relatively damp, the fire did not spread immediately, though it produced an even thicker cloud of smoke as a result. Zelier's Fireball was like poking a hornet's nest. Shrill, chattering chirps erupted from within at once—doubtless the bat's young. "Nicely done!" Gray beamed with delight. This completely provoked the giant-winged bat. The creature, which had been wheeling back and forth high above, instantly turned fiercely aggressive. *"Kreeeeeek!"* The bat spread its wings wide, casting a shadow that blotted out the sky. An unseen force swirled around it, and the bone spurs at the tips of its wings began to tremble and loosen. "Watch out! It's going to fire its spurs!" Marcus raised his shield and fell into a defensive stance. Zelier and Gray immediately ducked behind trees. Yet at that critical juncture, Vallis dropped the ball. He stood frozen where he was, staring blankly up at the bat high in the air, without making a single move. "Vallis! What the fuck are you spacing out for? Take cover!" Gray yelled. Vallis looked as though he had just snapped out of a dream, finally reacting. But it was already too late. A torrential rain of wind-blade bone spurs ripped through the air, shooting straight down! A sudden surge of brute force crashed into him from the side, wrapping an arm around Vallis and sending both of them tumbling uncontrollably across the ground. In the nick of time, Gray had charged forward and tackled Vallis out of harm's way. *Thwack, thwack, thwack!* Dozens of bone spurs drove deep into the ground where Vallis had stood just a moment ago. The immense force drove them over a dozen centimeters into the dirt, kicking up a plume of dust. The two rolled several times across the dirt before coming to a stop. Vallis was completely unharmed, while Gray had merely suffered a scratch on his calf from a stray spur—nothing serious. Panting heavily and still rattled, Gray immediately lashed out at him. "What are you doing? Are you still half-asleep?!" Fortunately, the spurs hadn't struck Vallis's body. With the penetrative power behind them, a direct hit would have likely killed him on the spot. "Sorry... won't happen again." Vallis shook his head hard, pulling himself together. High above, after unleashing the barrage of spurs, the bat continued to hover and circle, showing no intention of descending. Its wings shuddered, and white bone spurs slowly began to grow back from the tips once more. Bone spurs could not regenerate indefinitely; each volley caused the bat's skeletal density to decrease slightly, resulting in permanent damage. Thus, unless pushed to the brink, a giant-winged bat would never fire its bone spurs continuously. Today, however, it was ready to pay any price to slaughter the humans who dared threaten its nest! *"Kreeeeeek!"* The piercing shriek erupted once again. With a flap of its wings, the bat's speed surged abruptly, turning its silhouette into a blur. It banked into a sharp turn, instantly swinging around to the blind spot of the party's defenses, loosing sharp bone spurs mid-flight! "Watch out!" Marcus shouted a warning. A flurry of sharp, metallic clangs rang out against the face of his shield. Numerous bone spurs lodged directly into it, and one even nearly pierced clean through, its pale tip visible from the reverse side. Zelier ducked low against the ground, not daring to move his head in the slightest. The whistling rush of wind tore past, prickling his scalp as if he were caught in a hail of gunfire. After the second ranged volley ended, the bat's murderous intent had not waned in the slightest as it continued to sprout new spurs. It seemed intent on using this tactic to slowly wear the party down to death. "Damn it, the beast is getting clever..." Marcus ran his blade across the face of his shield, slicing off all the spurs embedded in it. "Zelier, keep firing at its nest! Let's see if its brats can handle being smoked and roasted!" "You got it!" Zelier rolled behind a tree. His next Fireball was already charged, and it struck the bat's nest with pinpoint accuracy! *Boom!* The nest, which had begun to smolder down, flared into blazing flames once more. The frantic chirping from inside grew even louder, laced with desperate agony. At the sight, the bat went completely berserk. Its entire body shook violently with frenzied rage, its shrill screeches nearly rupturing their eardrums. If this dragged on, its nest would be completely destroyed by that cursed human mage! It had to kill him first! "Marcus!" Zelier shouted. "On it!" Just as the bat locked onto Zelier and plunged into a dive, Marcus charged forward with his shield raised! The bat was struck head-on, sent tumbling across the ground several times. The party seized the opening at once to launch an all-out assault! Once forced to the ground, the creature's advantages vanished entirely. A rapid volley—five arrows in quick succession! Every single one of Vallis's arrows punched clean through the bat's underbelly, pinning it firmly to the earth. Gray stepped forward, sword in hand, and leaped into the air. A cold flash descended, slicing away half of the bat's wing membrane! The final blow came from Zelier. Aiming for the wound across the bat's compound eyes, he released another Wind Blade. The already exposed cranial tissue suffered another devastating strike, finally giving way as the attack sheared off half the bat's head. The creature's cranium whistled through the air before landing in the grass. The giant-winged bat convulsed a few times, collapsed heavily to the ground, and gradually fell silent.