Chapter 30: The Host of the American
Although Hikigaya had not met the American Godslayer, he had heard some rumors about them.
For example, that they could transform.
A bird that spoke human language and came to stop him, considering that San Francisco was not too far from Los Angeles, the person should be the American Godslayer, John Pluto Smith.
That name sounded like it should belong to a male, and the voice was also a deep male voice.
However, Hikigaya's authority told him that the bird flying in the sky was female.
Just as this question arose in his mind, the large black bird had already flown in front of Hikigaya.
Its flying speed was extremely fast.
"Hikigaya Hachiman, please cease your destructive actions on this land," the American Godslayer said.
But Hikigaya felt that this statement had no persuasive power at all, because...
An earthquake occurred in every place this bird flew over, and this was not caused by Hikigaya.
Isn't it obvious who is causing the destruction?
So, Hikigaya decided not to pay attention to them. He pulled out the next map—hmm, it was to the east.
All organizations would try to avoid places generally recognized as Godslayer nests, unless ordered to by the Godslayer.
In China, without Luo Hao's summoning, members of the Holy Cult of the Five Mountains, who were her direct subordinates, would not dare to enter Mount Lu.
Similarly, as Los Angeles was John Pluto Smith's territory, any somewhat normal organization would not enter Los Angeles.
Although Yomi was not a light-hearted group, they were quite normal in this regard.
Having confirmed the direction, Hikigaya was ready to leave.
But John Pluto Smith did not seem to think so.
The black magical bird flashed across Hikigaya's eastward path, speaking human words: "Excuse me, I cannot let you leave before I've made myself clear."
Oh, so imposing, but...
"Are you sure?" Hikigaya couldn't help but ask.
Was this guy really that clueless?
Was she sure she wanted to continue talking like this?
If she were to finish speaking, it would take at least half an hour. By the time she stood here for half an hour, San Francisco could be rebuilt.
Was she here to protect the area or to smash her own field?
Hikigaya thought this while looking at the scene of the ground fissures already extending towards the harbor...
It seemed she really disliked San Francisco.
Perhaps noticing Hikigaya's frequent glances at the ground, John Pluto Smith also glanced down.
Having previous experience with transforming into and fighting birds, Hikigaya read the underlying meaning of that expression—embarrassment.
The best evidence was that the Godslayer, who was about to speak again, had her voice stuck in her throat for a long time.
"Um..." John Pluto Smith turned her head somewhat unnaturally. Since she was wearing a mask right now, Hikigaya couldn't tell if she was blushing, only hearing her say, "Could we land and talk?"
"Sure." Hikigaya nodded, then landed first.
He didn't dislike this fellow member who seemed to have a strong sense of justice. Moreover, he had finished cleaning up the West Coast, so there was no harm in chatting with a fellow Godslayer.
As soon as Hikigaya landed, the surrounding earthquake was calmed by the power of his authority.
He saw a small boy stuck in a ground fissure, crying loudly, next to a couple with collapsed and anxious expressions.
Hikigaya walked over, easily picked up the child, and returned him to the couple, receiving his first expression of profound gratitude in America.
He accepted it with grace.
To be fair, he acted with precision. Although he had been on a killing spree, not a single life taken could be called innocent.
Having a good mastery of natural and life forces, he possessed a selective killing ability that other Godslayers did not.
Even without that, the earthquake in San Francisco had nothing to do with him.
At this moment, a fierce wind howled above his head, and John Pluto Smith also landed.
The American couple, who hadn't finished expressing their gratitude to Hikigaya, were stunned to see a super black, super large bird landing not far away, accompanied by a strong wind.
It was clearly not an Earth species; its counterparts were often seen in movies, especially those fond of demolishing New York.
Oh my God! Is this Satan?
"Wow! Big birdy! Mommy, look, a big birdy!"
The boy, who had been crying his eyes out, now shouted excitedly and struggled to grab the birdy. His parents, of course, wouldn't allow it, holding him tightly, their expressions perfectly demonstrating what a breakdown of worldview looked like.
Hikigaya expressed admiration for the boy's big heart.
"Hey! Boy! Big, big birdy is very dangerous, you can't grab it," he said.
However, he felt that speaking to a child this way might not be appropriate, so he thought for a moment and changed his wording.
"You'll have a big birdy too someday, so you can't steal other people's birdy."
While he was speaking, the black magical bird that had landed on the ground had transformed into a human figure. It was completely impossible to clearly distinguish the gender from the appearance. A black helmet concealed the face, and the area where the eyes should have been was covered by goggles resembling the compound eyes of an insect. They wore European court-style clothing from the Middle Ages and a black cape like a vampire's cloak in movies.
Flipping the cloak, the Godslayer, dressed as a masked nobleman, walked towards his Eastern counterpart.
"I apologize, I was negligent. Thank you very much for reminding me."
No, you are just clueless.
Hikigaya thought to himself.
"But seeing you helping the public, I feel that I must have misunderstood you. However, as the host, I think I should still talk to you, after all..." The Demon King with the sinister transformation clearly tried hard to organize their words to avoid creating a confrontational atmosphere, "What you did earlier was quite terrifying from an ordinary person's perspective."
Then she seemed to finally notice the family of three beside them, who were now trembling like quails.
"Sir, you should take your wife and child home. Although there won't be any more earthquakes, the streets are still unsafe."
"I'm sorry, sir. We... we seem unable to move. It... it will be fine in a moment. C... could you wait for us?"
The American husband asked with shaking legs.
Due to personal preferences, John Pluto Smith was a King known, revered, and feared even by many ordinary people, despite usually being active in Los Angeles.
The husband's gaze fully revealed that he was one of the admiring and terrified citizens.
"Where do you live?" Hikigaya suddenly asked.
"We live in South Bay, kind sir."
Then there was no need to ask anything else.
Hikigaya waved his hand.
Go!
The family of three instantly vanished in a whirlwind. Hikigaya, possessing the Eye of Horus, could "air survey" any part of San Francisco and send people anywhere with the wind.
"Alright, it's quiet now." He looked at the fellow Godslayer who was pretending to be a man in front of him. "Honestly, I have no problem with your preference for cross-dressing, but could you return to your original appearance while we talk? I just feel it's a bit strange..."
"You can tell?" John Pluto Smith's voice, coming from behind the mask, conveyed a surprised question, but the next sentence the tone turned into one of sudden realization, "So it was you that He was talking about..."
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