, Reincarnation, and You.

John's reaction to the massive bat's appearance was fast, but not quite as fast as Mithra's. The more aggressive of the sisters leaped forward, grasping onto the back of the bat and sinking her teeth in.

Party Member: 10 DMG!

"That's new," John muttered, bringing up his menu for a split second. He opened his character screen and found that, somehow, Maera and Mithra's HP and MP bars were displayed at the side. They must have been included immediately when he started the dungeon because of the collar around Maera's neck. He could've probably seen more info, but by the time he had finished up with that, the bat had flung Mithra off - and nearly onto him. John closed up the menu just in time to leap to the side and avoid the flying Neko, who of course landed on her feet and was immediately back in the fray. Still, John couldn't help but glance at the notification above her as she moved back to attack again.

Party Member: -5 HP!

"Can I put their stats up above their-"

Almost as soon as John had thought that, as though his very idea had flicked the option on, HP and MP bars appeared above Maera and Mithra. John noted that Mithra was at 70 / 75 HP. He wasn't totally sure if HP held meaning or not for people besides him, but it seemed to be pretty accurate against the Werecats he fought before he met them, so he wasn't going to take chances on them getting their stats down. Which meant they couldn't take many hits - all Mithra had done was get thrown off and it had cost her a decent chunk of HP. As the giant bat turned and roared at them, John couldn't help but grimace at the thought of what those fangs would do if they sank into any of them. Hell, he might fail his quest instantly if he was the one struck.

"Gotta do damage… gotta take this thing out, fast!" John murmured. He watched the bat turn toward Mithra as she circled around waiting for an opportunity to strike. It seemed to have been angered enough by that last attack to focus on the Neko, though occasionally its eyes glanced toward John. Maera wasn't drawing much attention at all, though she had started circling as well. Despite the fear of bats she had displayed earlier she seemed more than eager to help her sister, now that Mithra had taken some damage. John used that to his advantage, stepping aside so that the bat's attention was mostly focused on the two Nekos. As soon as he felt safe in charging forward, John hefted up his bat and slammed it down on the back of the bat's body.

Glancing Blow! 14 DMG!

"Shit, must be because it's armored there," John thought, dancing away as the bat turned toward him. It had felt like connecting with a solid concrete wall when he hit it. Whether it was the bat's thick fur or its tough hide, John knew that attacking from behind wasn't much of an option.

Well, at least not for the body. The wings were still pretty ****, a fact Maera proved as she leaped in from the side, ripping and tearing with fangs and claws.

Party Member: 8 DMG!
Party Member: 7 DMG!

"About as good as my bat on its back," John thought, grinning. Hopefully, they would have the thing killed before it could even throw a single strike at him. As the bat swung around he realized that the few points of mana he'd regenerated since the bat started to form were enough for an Observe. Assuming he wouldn't have any use for a handful of points, John immediately used the skill, hoping to understand what they were up against.

Giant Bat
Level 5 Feral Creature
<Creature of the Abyss>
86 / 125 HP
Relationship: N/A
Alignment: -3

"Shit!"

The curse couldn't voice a tenth of the frustration John felt as he read those words. Why was it so strong? It was only a level below him! Then again, Maera and Mithra hadn't been much weaker than him either, and there were two of them. The only differences now were that John had a quest to keep his health up-

Party Member: -11 HP!
Party Member: -6 HP!
Party Member: -3 HP!
Party Member: -4 HP!

-and that John had to protect his new creations, which only caused him to wince harder as Maera was thrown off of the giant bat, slammed into the ground, and then slammed into her sister, sending both of them tumbling. Mithra was up immediately, protecting her sister, standing ahead of the approaching bat with fangs bared.

"No way we complete this quest… we might not even all live," John thought as he rushed over to Mithra's side. the Neko wasn't exactly out for the count, but she had lost a lot of her health in one combo. John eyed her depleted health bar warily, knowing there was no way to bring her back into the fight. His eyes slowly scanned toward her mana bar, still ass full as ever with the max of 18. John wished he could utilize that, but there was no spell that Maera knew - at least as far as he had been led to believe. John shook his head, cursing himself. He'd never been so stupid when playing a game, why now, with so much more at stake? He'd brought two naked Nekos into a life-or-**** situation when they couldn't even spend their mana! John cursed himself, wishing he'd just manned up and called Moira, wishing there was anything he could do to make use of what he had-

Skill Unlocked: Siphon Level 1.
Siphon: Absorb the HP / MP of a party member, or transfer your HP / MP to another willing member of your party. Must be touching target to Siphon. Siphon cannot transfer hitpoints or mana that has been restored recently (within the last 15 minutes). Mana Cost: N/A, Costs HP / MP (Whichever was not siphoned) from the target equal to amount Siphoned. Cannot be used if target cannot supply both HP / MP required for spell, can only reduce target's HP to 1.

"Wait, that means…"

With the bat's alignment so low, John and the cats had already done enough damage to Purify it. John did the math quickly, glancing between Maera, Mithra, and the giant bat that was tangoing with her. Meanwhile, Mithra and the spawn of the Abyss duked it out, exchanging quick, glancing blows.

Party Member: -10 HP!
Party Member: 8 DMG!
Party Member: -9 HP!
Party Member: 10 DMG!

"If I drain all of their mana, I'll have enough to purify it!"

John grinned as he tapped his hand on Mithra, hoping the Siphon ability didn't cause pain. Maera mewled quietly, but showed no signs of harm. Instead she simply slumped a little closer to the ground, struggling to regain her footing. John's heart called out to her, but as he watched her MP bar slowly filling into his, he knew that it was the only way he could safely take out the bat without either failing his quest or risking the lives of one or both sisters.

"Maera, stay here, stay safe!" John said, reaching down and gently wrapping his arms around her in a close embrace, feeling her soft but flushed skin against his face as he tried to reassure her. Maera must have either understood his words or his gestures, because she nodded meekly and laid her head on the ground, taking deep slow breaths. John frowned regretfully at her HP bar that was now just below half, but he hoped not to put her in any further danger that would risk whatever happened when it hit zero. Instead he turned toward Mithra, who was readying herself for another round with the bat.

"Mithra, come here!" John called out, stretching out his arm as he ran toward her. Mithra hesitated, but started moving just in time to dodge the wing that nearly slammed her into the steep slope, dashing in front of the original cave entrance with the massive bat hot on her heels. John ran toward her, arms outstretched when she leaped, actually wrapping them around her body as she landed on him, sending both of them tumbling to the ground. John felt his mind whirring as the mana flowed, giving him just barely enough, just enough mana to end this. Thanking his lucky stars for the massive bat's alignment being so close to neutral, John cast his hand out and tried to recall exactly how it had felt when-

Purify Failed! Creature's HP above 50%!

"Wha- it didn't mention that!" John cried aloud as he ducked to the side, carrying Mithra with him. The Neko wasn't quite as drained as her twin had been, and by the time John stopped rolling she was prying herself free of his grip, hissing at the massive bat and preparing to strike.

"Shit, gotta move fast because of shitty patch notes? Seriously?!" John shouted, acting on pure instinct as he lifted the bat. He was actually amazed he'd kept a tight enough grip on it this entire time, but threw those thoughts away long enough to follow Mithra into the fray, swinging for all he was worth as the massive Abyss bat turned towards them, its leathery wings and sharp claws carrying it directly into their path.

Party Member: 7 DMG!
19 DMG!
-17 HP!

"Ah, fuck!"

John cried out as the bat's fangs sank into his arm, dealing a huge amount of damage, but despite its successful blow, his own hit had connected just as well. The bat refused to release him, screeching in pain as Mithra continued to pound it from atop its head where she had landed. John didn't care. Against the blinding pain, only one single thought rang out in his mind as he flexed his free arm and sank his fingers into the bat's neck.

"Be purified by the light!"

Purification Successful!

A Skill has leveled up!

Purify - Level 2: Mana Cost now 9 x level of creature being Purified. May now be used on two creatures (that are not magically bound) at the same time!

Seras
Level 5 Feral Creature True Vampire
<John's Creation>
125 / 125 HP
Relationship: 47
Alignment: 0

"It… it worked!" John shouted out, ignoring the myriad of windows that were popping up around him. He focused, instead, on the fact that he was still alive, and the fact that his Nekos were still alive, and that there was a beautiful, naked blonde woman with shoulder-length hair standing right where the giant bat used to be, and that-

"Wait, Seras?!"