---
Sekhmet's jaw clenched.
Earlier, he had not dared to open it.
Not because he could not.
Because he was not stupid.
His bats were not Chaos Rank One. Not yet. Most of them were still growing, still adapting, still building their bodies and their instincts.
If he had summoned them into a four versus one execution, they would have died.
Not maybe.
Died.
They would have been cut apart by weapons coated to resist blood. They would have been pierced by needles laced with poison. They would have been crushed by raw Chaos Rank Two force.
And Sekhmet refused to throw his family into a grinder just because he was desperate.
He would die first.
But now…
Now he did not have to choose between pride and survival.
Now he had Raka.
A Chaos Rank Three wall.
A monster of raw power.
A distraction that could hold the assassins' attention long enough for Sekhmet's swarm to do what swarms did best.
Overwhelm.
Divide.
Humiliate.
And feed.
