Gu Yanshu kept walking.
The dragon looked up at Bao Yuan and said, "Why are you smelling so bad?"
Bao Yuan replied, "Don't talk to me like that. I just haven't showered for five years, that's it."
Everyone stayed quiet.
Bao Yuan continued, "Showering doesn't mean you smelled. It is not like that. I haven't showered for five years. That is nothing special. Last time I showered was like when I was with this guy."
Gu Yanshu said, "If that is the case, you really used to shower. But now you are saying you didn't shower after that."
Bao Yuan said, "Yeah, you got a problem? Ignore my smell and just move forward if we are going forward."
Gu Yanshu looked at him.
"If you really haven't showered for five years, then that should not be five years. Tell the truth. Didn't you not shower for nine years? Because that smell is absolutely bad."
Bao Yuan blinked.
"Um, did, are you an internet hacker? How the hell did you know me? How the hell do you know my ass? Don't you have shame spying on a guy for many years?"
Then he said, "And the answer is yes. I used to just show like I was showering when I never did."
Gu Yanshu said, "You actually didn't shower for nine years. Interesting."
Bao Yuan frowned.
"Huh? Why are you going so rushly because I didn't have shower? Who cares about showering, huh? Didn't you know? Showering is just something not good at all."
Gu Yanshu did not reply.
The dragon took his hand and said, "Well, it is likely there, but the smell is really bad. Not gonna lie."
Bao Yuan's face changed.
"You calling me bad?"
He was about to punch the dragon, but Gu Yanshu blocked his hand and slowly rotated it.
Bao Yuan screamed in pain.
"Why did you do that? Didn't you know that was already not what you have to do?"
Gu Yanshu did not reply.
After walking for a while, Bao Yuan said, "We are going?"
Gu Yanshu said, "Forward."
Then slowly, it became day again.
The sun rose.
The noise went up.
Bao Yuan pointed ahead and saw a guy begging loudly.
"For God's sake, help me!"
He kept repeating it.
But no one gave him money.
One guy kicked him in the face.
Bao Yuan looked sad and was about to go and give him money.
Gu Yanshu said, "Stop being manipulated by your emotions."
"There is no benefit to giving that homeless guy money. And look, his half leg is behind his back. So he is hiding and this is his bad technique. He is showing someone's life with the half of his leg. Ignore it."
Bao Yuan put his money back in his pocket and shouted, "You are saying I am being controlled by your emotions? Didn't you realize how was that and you are saying it is a trick? That is a trick. Let me check it out."
When he tried to go behind the man, the homeless guy kept hiding his back.
Again and again and again.
When Bao Yuan grabbed the man by the shoulder, he finally saw he had both legs normal.
Nothing was wrong.
And his shoes looked like they were very, very, very valuable.
Bao Yuan forgot he even had to hold his grip.
He did not want to stay still.
He came back and started walking forward.
Then he saw a woman looking for a pocket when he did not have one, and all of the money had already been stolen and everything was already gone.
When he held the money, someone took it and ran away.
When Bao Yuan looked closely, it was that homeless guy who had been begging for money.
He was about to run and catch the thief.
Gu Yanshu choked him.
He fell into the ground.
Gu Yanshu carried his body and took it on the way with him.
When he realized to check, he had choked him to knock him out.
No expression was still there.
Bao Yuan was still knocked out.
After a while, he fell.
When he saw he had been choked to knock out, he screamed at Gu Yanshu, "Don't you have shame? You almost killed a guy in public. But the public could target you!"
Gu Yanshu said, "Public? There aren't guys who want to be hero like you here. You are getting it wrong, didn't you? You saw that homeless man, he was careless, not like you. So first learn from others, then say anything."
Bao Yuan looked disappointed and slowly started walking.
After a while, he just forgot everything he did.
He said, "Well, wasn't it supposed to be something?"
The dragon said, "Supposed to be what?"
Bao Yuan said, "Huh? Oh, I mean, can't you let me sleep? I am sleepless. I haven't slept for three straight days and you're making me continue walk."
Gu Yanshu opened empty space and said, "If you want your chance to be the sign, you can take your pillow and rest. Go on, your style."
Then a big shadow came behind Bao Yuan.
It wasn't that big.
It was Yu Chang.
Gu Yanshu looked at him.
He was in the memory.
He was likely his old disciple, when Gu Yanshu controlled his brain and saw one memory, and that was a disciple from his own thing and his name was Yu Chang.
Gu Yanshu slowly spoke, "Oh, you came back?"
Yu Chang said, "Yes, the thing is clear. I apologize for later for showing my feelings and protecting the dragon. Is he still here?"
Yu Chang looked up and saw the dragon on Gu Yanshu's shoulder.
He said, "You are here? Nice. Well, I apologize for earlier. Can you take me back on your text? Because I can't live without you."
Gu Yanshu said, "You have already been a disappointment. There is no chance for you to come back on this text. There will be no apology to manipulate me. The answer will be the same. And that answer is no."
Yu Chang cried quietly and walked away, hiding his face.
The dragon said, "You still couldn't wait him back on your steps. He's there, a good one. He's a good one, isn't he?"
Gu Yanshu said, "He is sure a good one, but he is the weakest of us all. So there is no choice, he will come back to his steps."
Bao Yuan tapped Gu Yanshu's shoulder and said, "Oh, well, isn't that adult abuse? Don't adult abuse."
Gu Yanshu said, "Yes, so what? I accept I am doing adult abuse. But why should I even care if I am doing adult abuse or child?"
Bao Yuan said, "You should stop that abuse. My mother used to tell me that. Didn't she?"
"Yes, she will always tell that. But she…"
Unfortunately…
Bao Yuan did not stare after that, but Gu Yanshu instantly understood he meant his mom had died when he was young.
There was a short silence after that.
Bao Yuan looked away.
The dragon stayed quiet too.
Qu Yaoyang glanced at Bao Yuan once, then said nothing.
Yu Chang's figure was already farther away now, disappearing into the street with his face hidden.
Bao Yuan kept walking, but his steps were slower now.
Gu Yanshu noticed.
He did not say anything immediately.
Then he said, "Keep moving."
Bao Yuan nodded, but his voice was smaller than before.
"Yeah."
The road in front of them stayed open.
The town around them was still alive.
People were still talking.
People were still moving.
A few shops were open.
A few were already closing.
The sound of the town kept pushing forward around them like nothing had happened.
Bao Yuan finally asked, "Does everyone here leave and come back like that?"
Gu Yanshu answered, "Some do."
Bao Yuan looked at the road.
"And if they do not come back?"
Gu Yanshu said, "Then they were not ready."
The dragon added, "Or they found another road."
Bao Yuan thought about that.
Then he said, "That is kind of sad."
Gu Yanshu replied, "Yes."
Bao Yuan looked at him.
"You really just agree with everything like that."
Gu Yanshu said, "Not everything."
Bao Yuan waited.
Gu Yanshu did not continue.
Bao Yuan sighed.
"Of course."
They kept walking.
And the road continued ahead, full of noise, full of people, full of small things that kept happening while the sect moved through the town one step at a time.Meanwhile, the third blacker opened his eyes and found himself on a ship.
The only things he saw were the ship and Kuou Shen Yin.
Kuou Shen Yin said, "Oh, you are finally awake. I need you to fight Yuiya."
The third blacker said, "Yuiya?"
Kuou Shen Yin said, "Yes."
Then he said, "Found it."
Yuiya descended onto the ground.
He was not normal at all.
He had blue skin, light blue hair, red eyes, and only one eyebrow. Even that eyebrow was blue.
He wore a black coat over a black T-shirt, along with black pants.
He dressed like an ordinary human.
He did not look human at all.
The third blacker said, "Who are you?"
Yuiya answered, "I am Yuiya."
The third blacker grinned.
"Such a pretty name, but now I am your enemy."
Yuiya nodded.
"I know. I have known for a while. I was simply waiting for a battle. Now you are here."
The third blacker walked to the far corner of the ship.
Then he exploded forward.
Yuiya could not dodge.
The bat struck directly into his head.
His head flew off his shoulders.
A new one regenerated instantly.
The third blacker narrowed his eyes.
"You regenerate too?"
"Of course."
Yuiya threw the first punch.
The third blacker blocked it with his bat.
Then came another.
And another.
And another.
Punch after punch rained down, but every single one was blocked effortlessly.
The third blacker kicked Yuiya square in the face.
Yuiya flew backward, grabbed the ceiling, then launched himself forward again.
Another clash.
Another explosion.
Several meters of steel vanished.
Neither of them moved an inch.
Then the battle truly began.
The third blacker swung relentlessly.
Yuiya answered with punches powerful enough to shatter sections of the ship.
Yet the third blacker held the advantage.
Yuiya suddenly stepped back.
A grin spread across his blue face.
"I have gone mad now. Second form—Savayi."
His body expanded in seconds.
Dark blue skin replaced the lighter shade.
Muscles swelled violently.
His aura surged.
The third blacker did not retreat.
He swung.
This time, Yuiya caught the bat.
Then he slammed the third blacker into the floor over and over.
Metal crumpled.
The next instant, Yuiya ripped his head clean off.
A new one regenerated immediately.
The third blacker cracked his neck.
"You are starting to annoy me."
Yuiya only smiled.
His speed increased dramatically.
It still was not enough.
The third blacker moved faster.
For one single second, his bat became a blur.
When it ended, Yuiya had been torn into seven hundred pieces.
Every fragment scattered across the battlefield.
Then, impossibly, they all pulled together.
His body restored itself completely.
Yuiya stood again.
"It is over. This is your end."
His body transformed once more.
Dark blue turned pitch black.
A black aura spread across the battlefield.
The pressure alone bent the steel beneath their feet.
Yuiya raised one fist.
"This will be your end."
He punched.
The third blacker barely dodged.
Ninety-five meters of the ship vanished instantly.
He stared at the destruction.
Then his expression darkened.
"Do not piss me off even more."
He swung his bat.
This strike was completely different.
The pressure wave alone erased three hundred and forty-nine meters.
Yuiya's body exploded apart.
For a moment, he was nothing but scattered flesh and energy.
Then every piece reassembled.
He returned once again.
Yuiya looked serious now.
"Enough. Final attack."
He leaped onto the rooftop of the colossal spaceship.
They were near the moon.
The ship itself was larger than the moon, nearly half Earth's size.
Yuiya raised his fist.
"World Base: Unlimited Punch."
Power gathered.
Even the vacuum around them distorted.
The third blacker watched calmly.
"I do not have flashy attack names like you. But I do have a strong one."
He lifted his bat.
"Very strong."
Air twisted around him.
Energy poured from his body into the weapon.
"This actually makes me try."
He swung.
The impact happened instantly.
Kuou Shen Yin immediately raised a protective barrier.
Even he had no intention of tanking that collision directly.
The two attacks met.
Reality screamed.
The spaceship ruptured from the center outward.
It exploded near Jupiter, fragments scattering into space like meteors.
Yuiya was thrown apart.
This time, he did not regenerate.
He burned like a meteor and vanished forever.
Kuou Shen Yin grabbed the third blacker immediately.
"I am teleporting us to Area 917."
Space folded.
A moment later, both appeared inside the emergency meeting chamber.
The third blacker landed directly on the scanning table.
A mechanical voice spoke.
"Scanning. Scanning."
"Overall health: Bad."
"Recovery time required: Four to five days."
"Combat intensity: Extreme."
"Subject designation: Third Blacker. Number 23."
"Combat capability remains acceptable."
"Energy: Seven hundred seventy-five thousand."
"Strength: Three hundred ninety-seven million."
"Energy capacity: Two million."
"Strength capacity: Five hundred sixty-eight million."
The scan ended.
The third blacker sat up slowly.
Kuou Shen Yin folded his arms.
"You overdid it."
The third blacker rubbed his neck.
"He was entertaining."
"He nearly destroyed a moon-sized ship."
"I noticed."
Kuou Shen Yin stared at him for a long moment.
Then he said, "Rest."
The third blacker jumped off the table.
"I will after I eat."
Kuou Shen Yin blinked once.
"That is acceptable."
The third blacker picked up his bat and walked toward the exit.
Then he paused.
Without turning around, he asked, "Are there more like him?"
Kuou Shen Yin gave a small smile.
"Oh, much worse."
The third blacker grinned.
"Good."Kuou Shen Yin's smile stayed small.
"Oh, much worse."
The third blacker grinned wider.
"Good."
For a few seconds, neither of them said anything else.
The emergency chamber remained still.
The scan table had already gone quiet after reading out the third blacker's condition, and the bright lines on the monitor moved in slow, steady waves.
The third blacker rolled his shoulder once, then stretched his fingers around the bat.
He still felt the aftershock of the battle sitting in his body.
Not enough to stop him.
Just enough to remind him that Yuiya had been worth the trip.
Kuou Shen Yin turned and started walking toward the side door.
"Come."
The third blacker followed without question.
The corridor outside the chamber was long, metal-walled, and cold in the way Area 917 always seemed to be when the serious rooms were behind it.
No music.
No chatter.
Only the low hum of the facility and the soft rhythm of their steps.
The third blacker looked sideways once.
"You said there are much worse ones."
Kuou Shen Yin replied, "Yes."
The third blacker's grin did not fade.
"How much worse?"
Kuou Shen Yin did not answer immediately.
Instead, he stopped near a window that looked out into one of Area 917's inner transport bays.
Several massive platforms sat there in rows, each one marked with symbols and emergency tags.
Past them, there were sealed containers, escort teams, and a few moving shadows that looked like people who did not want to be seen.
Finally, Kuou Shen Yin said, "Worse in a way that does not look impressive at first."
The third blacker tilted his head.
"That sounds annoying."
"It is."
The third blacker laughed quietly.
He liked that answer better than a grand speech.
A battle he could understand.
A threat he could measure.
That was fine.
But something that looked harmless while being worse than Yuiya?
That was more interesting.
Kuou Shen Yin resumed walking.
The third blacker kept pace.
As they moved, a pair of staff members passed them in the opposite direction. Both of them stopped immediately and stepped aside.
One of them lowered his head without a word.
The other one was already sweating.
The third blacker noticed and smirked.
People in Area 917 always reacted like that when he walked through.
He never minded.
Sometimes he even preferred it.
Kuou Shen Yin said, "You should eat before you ask more questions."
The third blacker answered, "I was going to ask while eating."
"That is even worse."
"Why?"
"You chew louder when you are curious."
The third blacker looked offended for half a second.
Then he laughed.
"That was a strange insult."
"It was not an insult."
"It felt like one."
Kuou Shen Yin's eyes stayed forward.
"Then it worked."
They reached a wider hall that opened into the lower transport section of the base. Several tables were set around the edge, each one occupied by different members of the organization.
A few of the Blackers were present.
The fourth blacker looked up first.
Then the others noticed him too.
The room changed instantly.
Not by much.
Just enough.
Conversations slowed.
A tray stopped halfway to a mouth.
One of the Blackers narrowed his eyes and then leaned back in his chair.
The third blacker saw that and gave a lazy grin.
"Still alive, all of you?"
No one answered right away.
Then the fourth blacker said, "You came back faster than expected."
The third blacker shrugged.
"He was not that patient."
A few of the others looked at him.
One of them, an older-looking Blacker with a scar across his forearm, asked, "Yuiya dead?"
The third blacker nodded once.
"Dead enough."
That answer caused a brief silence.
Then the scarred Blacker exhaled and shook his head.
"Good."
The third blacker found a table near the center and sat down without waiting for permission.
Kuou Shen Yin did not object.
That was, in itself, permission.
A service drone rolled over almost immediately.
The third blacker pointed at it.
"You."
The drone paused.
Then its screen flashed.
"Meal request?"
"Food."
"How much?"
"Enough."
The drone stared for a moment as if offended by the word.
Then it turned and rolled away.
The fourth blacker sat across from him a short while later.
She crossed her arms and looked at him carefully.
"You really did use your strong attack."
The third blacker leaned back in his chair.
"Did you want me not to?"
"I wanted you to survive long enough to brag about it."
"I did both."
That got the smallest hint of a smile from her.
The scarred Blacker looked toward Kuou Shen Yin.
"So what are the numbers now?"
Kuou Shen Yin did not sit.
He remained standing near the wall where he could see everyone.
"The scan is incomplete for the rest of the mission," he said. "But Yuiya is gone."
That made several of the people in the room noticeably relax.
Not fully.
Just enough.
Because in Area 917, a missing threat was not always gone until someone said it twice.
The third blacker drummed his fingers on the table.
"Then what was he? A test?"
Kuou Shen Yin answered, "A gate."
The room quieted again.
The third blacker looked up.
"A gate to what?"
Kuou Shen Yin finally walked forward.
He placed one hand on the edge of the table and looked at the third blacker.
"To the kind of enemy that appears after people stop taking the first enemy seriously."
The third blacker's eyes sharpened.
He understood that kind of wording.
Something bigger was being dragged toward them.
Not now.
Later.
The kind of later that was already moving.
The drone returned with trays.
Large trays.
Too many trays.
The third blacker looked at the amount of food and nodded with satisfaction.
"That is more like it."
He started eating immediately.
The room remained mostly quiet while he did.
The others did not stare too obviously, but they watched enough to know when he was about to say something.
The fourth blacker finally spoke.
"Do you know why Kuou Shen Yin sent you alone?"
The third blacker did not stop eating.
"He wanted a clean result."
"No backup?"
"Not needed."
That answer made a few people in the room exchange glances.
The scarred Blacker said, "You say that like it was easy."
The third blacker swallowed a mouthful and looked at him.
"It was not easy. It was just simple."
That got a reaction from several of them.
The fourth blacker sighed through her nose.
"You are annoying when you come back alive."
The third blacker grinned.
"I am annoying when I do not?"
"Yes."
"Good."
The food arrived in waves after that.
The third blacker ate steadily, his mood improving with every plate.
The room around him shifted from tension into that familiar low-grade safety that only exists after a major mission ends.
Not peace.
Just the absence of immediate problems.
Kuou Shen Yin watched from near the wall for a time, then spoke again.
"There is another matter."
The third blacker looked up.
He already knew the tone.
Business.
Interesting.
The scarred Blacker leaned forward slightly.
"What matter?"
Kuou Shen Yin said, "A report came in during the fight."
The room's attention sharpened.
He continued, "A new movement is appearing outside the current map grid."
The third blacker swallowed slowly.
"Movement from where?"
Kuou Shen Yin answered, "Not from where. From who."
The fourth blacker's expression changed.
The third blacker set down his spoon.
"Say it."
Kuou Shen Yin looked at him.
"Gu Yanshu."
The name settled over the room.
Several of the Blackers had heard it before.
Others had not, but could tell by the way Kuou Shen Yin said it that it mattered.
The third blacker laughed once.
"Of course."
The fourth blacker glanced at him.
"You know him?"
The third blacker leaned back.
"Not personally."
Kuou Shen Yin said, "He is not a fighter in the usual sense."
The third blacker's eyes narrowed slightly.
"I like him already."
That drew one short look from the scarred Blacker.
Kuou Shen Yin continued, "He does not waste movement. He does not waste words. He is already building something."
The room became quieter.
The third blacker tapped the table once.
"Then why mention him now?"
"Because he is closer to several key nodes than expected."
The fourth blacker spoke.
"Nodes?"
Kuou Shen Yin nodded.
"Markets. towns. information routes. small domains. people with influence."
The third blacker gave a low hum.
"So he is moving pieces."
"Yes."
The third blacker smiled.
"Good."
Kuou Shen Yin looked at him as if he already knew that answer was coming.
"You want to meet him?"
The third blacker did not answer immediately.
He thought about Yuiya's fight.
The way the ship had broken.
The way the numbers had flashed.
The way Kuou Shen Yin had said there were worse things.
Then he said, "Not yet."
A few people in the room visibly relaxed.
The third blacker saw that and found it amusing.
He pointed a chopstick at Kuou Shen Yin.
"But when I do, it better be fun."
Kuou Shen Yin answered, "It will not be for your entertainment."
The third blacker smiled.
"That never stops me."
The fourth blacker leaned back in her chair.
"Gu Yanshu sounds more dangerous than you are pretending."
Kuou Shen Yin replied, "Yes."
That answer was immediate.
No embellishment.
No hesitation.
The third blacker went still for a moment.
That made it more interesting.
If Kuou Shen Yin admitted danger that fast, then the danger was real.
The scarred Blacker glanced at him.
"You are already planning the route."
Kuou Shen Yin said, "I always am."
The third blacker resumed eating.
He liked this part.
Not the planning itself.
The promise of a fight later.
A controlled fight.
A good one.
He swallowed another bite and said, "Then make sure I'm not busy when it happens."
Kuou Shen Yin looked at him.
"I already know your answer."
The third blacker grinned.
"Good."
The rest of the meal continued with smaller conversations.
A few of the Blackers discussed transport windows.
One of them mentioned a sealed corridor that had been opened and closed three times in the same hour.
Another complained about the briefing schedule.
The fourth blacker asked whether the supply bay had been repaired yet.
The third blacker mostly listened.
That was rare for him.
Not because he was polite.
Because he liked knowing what moved around him.
Area 917 always had something underneath the surface.
He had learned that long ago.
Now it was just more obvious.
When he finally finished eating, he leaned back in his chair and let out a slow breath.
Much better.
Kuou Shen Yin noticed.
"You are still not rested."
The third blacker said, "I am better."
"That is not the same thing."
"It is enough for now."
The fourth blacker stood.
"Then stop showing off and go lie down."
The third blacker looked at her.
"Are you ordering me?"
"Yes."
He laughed.
"You are brave today."
"I have watched you eat for long enough."
That got a dry look from everyone else in the room.
The third blacker stood as well, rolling his shoulders one more time.
He glanced at the wall display.
The scan numbers had not changed much.
He still needed rest.
Still needed time.
But he was not in a hurry to give it.
He looked at Kuou Shen Yin.
"So when do we move on the new thing?"
Kuou Shen Yin replied, "After the next report."
The third blacker smirked.
"Which means soon."
"Probably."
"Good."
Kuou Shen Yin's gaze sharpened.
"You are enjoying this too much."
The third blacker picked up his bat.
"Yes."
That was the simplest truth in the room.
He liked a strong enemy.
He liked a target that mattered.
He liked it even more when the target was hidden behind layers of planning and timing.
That meant the next fight would have shape.
Not just force.
Shape.
That was worth waiting for.
He started toward the exit again.
This time, the fourth blacker called after him.
"Do not break anything on your way out."
He looked back and gave her a grin.
"No promises."
She sighed as if she already expected that answer.
The third blacker left the room and walked down the corridor again.
The base around him kept moving.
Technicians hurried past.
Carts rolled by.
Doors opened and sealed.
Somewhere far above, Area 917's larger systems hummed like a giant sleeping machine.
The third blacker was still sore.
Still carrying the aftershock of the battle.
But his mind was already moving forward.
Gu Yanshu.
That name stayed with him.
Not as a threat he had to solve now.
As a thing worth meeting later.
He turned a corner and stopped near a glass wall that looked out into one of the lower transport lanes.
For a second, he just watched the activity below.
Small people.
Big systems.
Hidden routes.
That was how the world always worked.
The people who looked biggest were not always the ones moving things.
And the people moving things were not always visible.
The third blacker grinned to himself.
That was fine.
He liked hidden things.
Especially when they thought they could stay hidden.
Behind him, a voice came from the corridor.
"Still standing?"
He turned.
The fourth blacker had followed him partway.
She rested one hand against the wall and looked at him with mild irritation.
"You are supposed to rest."
"I am."
"You are not."
"I am standing still."
She gave him a flat look.
"That is not resting."
He shrugged.
"It is close."
The fourth blacker rolled her eyes.
Then she said, a little quieter, "Kuou Shen Yin is serious about this one."
The third blacker looked at her.
"Gu Yanshu?"
"Yes."
The third blacker's grin faded slightly into something sharper.
Not concern.
Interest.
The kind that comes before a good fight.
"He should be," the third blacker said.
The fourth blacker studied him for a second.
"You really want to meet him."
The third blacker rested the bat on his shoulder.
"Eventually."
"Why?"
He gave a small, almost lazy smile.
"Because Kuou Shen Yin said there are much worse ones."
The fourth blacker was silent for a moment.
Then she said, "That is not a normal reason."
The third blacker looked back through the glass wall.
"Nothing here is normal."
For once, she did not argue.
The corridor lights reflected in the glass.
Area 917 moved around them like a living fortress.
Somewhere ahead, something had already started shifting.
And somewhere ahead of that, Gu Yanshu was probably already moving pieces on a board the rest of them had not seen yet.
The third blacker did not mind.
He liked boards.
He liked pieces.
He liked watching the moment when a hidden thing finally had to show itself.
He turned away from the glass.
"Fine," he said. "I'll rest."
The fourth blacker raised an eyebrow.
"Really?"
"After I find a place to sit."
"That is not rest."
"I know."
She looked at him for a long second, then gave up.
"Just do not die before the next briefing."
The third blacker laughed.
"No promises."
He walked off down the corridor, bat on his shoulder, the weight of the battle still in his body and the promise of a better enemy already sitting in the back of his mind.