Chapter 31: The Bar That Came Alive
Regarding John Pluto Smith's question, Hikigaya indicated—he was not a man who only looked at girls.
In fact, even when it came to looking, he was better than other men.
"The name John Pluto Smith, is that a pseudonym?" he asked. The Eye of the Sun in his right eye flashed and was gone, having seen the true appearance the other party was hiding.
The Sun above, how clearly he saw it.
Fiery red short hair, a graceful body with a beautiful vitality, all the physical advantages of a Caucasian woman were present. She exuded an intellectual aura, and a gentle face showed no visible emotion; her beautiful eyes were calm. This was an ice beauty, appearing to be about twenty-five or twenty-six years old.
But in the depths of those eyes, Hikigaya saw a soul whose emotions burned like a raging fire.
Simply put, once this person started to get "spicy," even she herself would be afraid.
Unlike Luo Hao, seeing this woman's true face gave Hikigaya a great impulse.
Please forgive him, after all, East Asian men really liked "foreign mares" and such.
There was no one around now. In fact, when the black magical bird, the transformed King of Los Angeles, landed, the people nearby had already been frightened away. Even without seeing the terrifying demonic body with their own eyes, the aura emanating from the huge shadow alone was enough to awaken the instincts left behind in their bloodline by their ancient ancestors.
Except for the couple who were a beat late, everyone else had fled completely. In fact, this exodus was still ongoing; viewed from above, it would be a spectacular scene.
The National Guard had been mobilized, but they were primarily focused on evacuating the public and had already secured nearby traffic arteries and established a defense perimeter.
And by instructions from the White House, an aircraft carrier strike group in the Pacific was being urgently diverted to the West Coast.
The world's most powerful nation did not seem to have a magical organization powerful enough to match its national strength; it was a shared stage for powerful organizations from all over the world. This led to a first reaction from the White House that was not entirely appropriate.
But someone would remind it.
For the two Godslayers, this was irrelevant.
"Yes, that's a fake name." The American King removed her helmet, revealing her true face. "My name is Annie Charlton. My friends call me Annie."
"My friends all call me Hachiman." Hikigaya smiled, then looked around. "Let's find a place to sit. Do you have any recommendations?"
"I'm not very familiar with this city, but..." Annie's eyes scanned around and spotted the entrance to a bar.
Hikigaya followed her gaze.
It was evident that it was originally a very high-end place, but due to the earthquake... well.
Speaking of which, there were many other shops nearby, yet she specifically looked at the bar. Could this woman be fond of bar hopping?
While thinking this, he saw Annie tuck the mask under her arm and stride over quickly.
So, he followed her in.
The door was metal, and it seemed the people inside hadn't forgotten to close it when fleeing for their lives, but it was useless in front of Annie.
With a slight exertion of force, the door was pulled aside.
Hikigaya walked in behind her.
It was clear the owner had deliberately limited the lighting; because the power was out, it was very dark inside.
Of course, visibility was not an issue for two Godslayers.
The decor was very luxurious, that's all he could say, as Hikigaya was unfamiliar with this area and couldn't be specific. He just felt the decoration was incredibly impressive, and the owner had tried hard to create a mysterious atmosphere in the bar, with decorations like hanging goat-horned demons.
However, the once luxurious place was a mess, mainly because many fragile items were shattered on the floor, and tables were overturned, including the electronic instruments on the stage.
But many liquor bottles in the cabinet were intact; they were fixed in place and hadn't been knocked to the floor in the chaos.
Hikigaya swore he saw Annie's eyes light up when she saw the bottles.
Okay, retracting what he said earlier, she didn't just like bar-hopping—she was a boozer!
But there was nothing wrong with that. Aside from the Black Prince, Annie Charlton, for now, was the most normal Godslayer he had ever met.
At least she wasn't constantly shouting about gouging out people's eyeballs like another female Godslayer.
So, he decided to help out.
"Whoosh—"
A sound of wind emerged from the bar.
Annie, who had walked to the center of the bar, quickly turned around, pulling out a large, silver-white gun.
Clearly, she still had some reservations about Hikigaya and hadn't completely dropped her guard.
Hikigaya gave her a "please relax" look, then continued to channel the wind force.
All the debris created by the human panic was swept up by the wind, becoming finer fragments with a crunching sound, until it was reduced to powder, then rolling towards the door like smoke.
In an instant, the bar was spotless.
Annie had already put away her gun when the process was half-done and cast an apologetic look at Hikigaya.
"I apologize, Hikigaya Hachiman. I thought you were trying to ambush me."
"It's nothing, a natural reaction. Just call me Hachiman. I like friends calling me that," Hikigaya accepted her apology.
An ambush would be fine; he was quite interested in it, like a backstab or something.
"Okay, Hachiman. Please call me Annie, too. I also like friends calling me that." Annie nodded, then sighed, "This bar is nice, but it's a shame the power is out and there are no people."
After thinking for a moment, she added, "If you go to Los Angeles, please contact me. I'll take you to some good places."
"It doesn't matter; we don't need people anyway," Hikigaya chuckled. "As for electricity, that's easy to fix."
He pulled with both hands, and a dazzling light of thunder was drawn out.
"You also possess the authority of lightning, but this is different from the electricity humans use... What is this?"
Annie initially spoke with a hint of disappointment, but she immediately showed surprise.
Because she saw the thunder in Hikigaya's hands turn green, yet it quickly detached from his hands and began moving through the air.
"What is that?" Annie stared at the constantly moving and expanding thunder mass and asked Hikigaya.
She felt the power of the Sun.
"Most Gods in the world possess the power of life to a greater or lesser extent. Don't you think there's a reason for that?" Hikigaya said. "Because of my nature, the authorities I acquire are mostly related to this, which seems to have allowed me to touch upon some of its secrets."
Before he finished speaking, the thunder mass in the air suddenly vanished.
Annie first heard the sound of the electric motor starting up.
Then, the bar's beam lights turned on, once again emitting lights of varied colors. Following that, the speakers placed in different areas also regained function, and the electronic instruments on the stage began to play on their own.
But that wasn't all.
Hikigaya gently tapped his heel on the steps, and accompanying this sound, green flames swept across the entire venue.
This time, Annie made no aggressive moves.
But she was astonished to find that the tables and chairs in the bar began to sway one by one, including the liquor cabinet she cared about most.
The bottles inside were shaking, trying to break free.
This bar had come alive.
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