Michael returned to reality and chose to cut off one of Claeg's legs and both of Kaila's arms instead, achieving all of this before they could react to his presence. Claeg let out an audible sound of surprise as he fell over. "Fu—ughhhh!" Kaila yelled as her arms fell to the ground. She dropped to her knees, and Michael observed as her blood created a bridge link from the severed joints of her arms back to the stubs. She sweated as the arms were pulled back in, and her regeneration started to mend them back in place. Then, a little to the left, Claeg was sitting, mostly unfazed but still sweating, as he felt the pain of the severed leg he held in his hand. "You think something like this is gonna stop us?" Claeg scoffed defiantly, lifting his severed leg over his head. They truly are resilient little cockroaches...Michael sighed, hoping he made the right decision. He was beginning to think he'd actually have to resort to cutting off their heads to end things. Kaila grinned in agreement as she breathed, shaking from the pain. She raised an arm and shot more blood to Claeg, who drank it. Claeg's body glowed red as he stood and balanced on one leg, his muscles bulging even more grotesquely. "Better stay on your toes, bird boy. We won't make the mistake you just did." Claeg declared with a vicious, raspy laugh. Michael realized Claeg was right. He didn't have time for some internal struggle. His job was to preserve the life of Earth. Hesitating at a time like this would only risk the humanity he was trying to protect. So, he buried his doubts as something shifted within him. "Hoo, that's a nice look in your eye," Claeg commented as he crouched until one of his hands touched the ground. He was prepared to spring. Michael identified Claeg as the physical and moral fortitude of the duo. If not for him, Kaila would run or submit when she felt distressed. If he were to take out Claeg, her spirit would undoubtedly break. Not to mention, he wasn't sure how far Claeg's limits were if he continued to consume her blood. So, instead of the sister, Michael decided it was best to focus his efforts on Claeg first. Kaila must've sensed his focus shift and tried to attack Michael, but he was too quick, and he'd steeled his resolve. Michael's body glowed as he used Streak and vanished from Kaila and Claeg's line of sight. In a split second, he circumvented the globe and appeared behind Claeg, hitting him with a supercharged kick that generated a strong shockwave along with an awful snap as it connected with Claeg's spine. Claeg was sent reeling and crashing through the bloody marsh until he stopped somewhere in the distance. He didn't move. He'd been paralyzed and was bleeding out. With a murderous glare, Michael turned toward Kaila, who stared back in horror. "Wait..." she began as she held up her arms and backed away. But Michael didn't hesitate. He blitzed toward her and used his Bright Talons to kick her hard in the stomach. This sent Kaila flying back thousands of feet. As she tried to regain her balance to come to a stop, he appeared before her again, and with a downward, slashing, gripping motion of his feet, he smashed Kaila's head into the ground before using it to carry her skyward at breakneck speeds. At about 20,000 feet, he threw her higher, then sped past her, and stopped her upward momentum by colliding with her as he sped back downward. In the collision, he embedded his talons into her torso as they rocketed back toward the ground. Michael then ejected his talons away from him, shooting her down with even greater force. As Kaila approached the ground, the talons unraveled and wrapped around her, immobilizing her as she crashed with enough force to level the vicinity. When Michael descended, he saw her bleeding, severely wounded, and hyperventilating as his threads constricted her. About 300 degrees behind him, Claeg had been thrown closer in the commotion. Michael raised two powerful rays of light over Kaila and Claeg, ready to disintegrate them once and for all. He turned to Kaila. "You High Gods are affronts to humanity. I shall rid this world of at least the two of you." "Wait! Just spare us!' Kaila pleaded. "Look at us! You've beaten us! I know the human wouldn't want you to kill us like this." Michael's gaze drifted down. He glanced back at Claeg, who coughed up a puddle of blood and acknowledged that Alissia didn't want this. Perhaps somewhere deep down, he didn't want to. He didn't have it in him to kill someone defenseless, regardless of their nature. He lowered his hand as the rays of light vanished. "I will let you li—" he started as he turned to Kaila. Suddenly, a vice grip firm enough to crack his collarbone was felt at his shoulder as Claeg, having used the moment to sneak up, used some of his remaining strength to rip at Michael's right wing, bending it unnaturally. Michael howled in blinding pain and was met with a solid uppercut to the chin so hard it rattled his brain and sent him miles into the sky. Michael was dazed as the world blurred by until the pain finally dulled a little and set in. He slowed naturally as gravity began to take over again, and he started to fall. He could taste blood in his aching mouth, and the area around the back of his eyes throbbed with pain. He grew angry, deciding it best to end the irredeemable pair after all. There won't be a third chance, he told himself. He looked back at his wings. The broken wing flailed painfully as the wind caught it. He focused, trying to undo partial of the transformation until his wings merged back into his back. He then tried to steer his descent back toward the other two, who he now saw were within a cocoon of blood. He crashed and landed, kneeling not a hundred feet before them, breathing heavily, face caked in a layer of sweat. He felt a tear run down his cheek. When he rubbed the tear with his thumb and looked at it, he saw it was red. He fixed his gaze on the cocoon before him as he stood upright and spat the blood from his mouth. Michael didn't utter a word, but his intent was clear as a pair of red eyes peered back at him. They're merging? No matter. I'll have to kill whatever emerges, he fumed angrily. Michael braced himself as the cocoon of swirling blood cracked and opened, releasing the presence of something much more powerful than himself. All of his anger was suddenly blown away as his mind tried to wrap itself around what was happening before him. "What monstrosity is this...?" He questioned aloud as a leg stepped from the cocoon. "Ahh, this sensation...," said a new voice. It was masculine and slightly distorted, but above all, predatory. Michael watched as a male figure stepped out completely and inhaled deeply, basking in their power. They were 6-foot-threeand wore dark jeans, a white collared shirt, and a red cape that flowed like blood. No. It was blood. They had long, black hair that fell past their chest. Their skin was similar to Kaila's light complexion; their teeth were jagged like Claeg's but with two elongated fangs, and their eyes were a searing red with white pupils. When Michael met their gaze, he felt an insatiable yet controlled hunger within them.