The bullet blasted out of the gun's barrel, and it will only take milliseconds before it puts a hole in Ermit's skull.
Suddenly, a glowing tendril, similar to a luminous vine, erupted from the ground beneath Wolf's gun, shattering the concrete surface as it surged upward with startling speed.
*Whack!*
The tendril rapidly nudged Wolf's hand from below, elevating the angle of his gun and causing the bullet to shoot skyward, sparing Ermit his life.
Ermit whirled around with lightning speed, his katana slicing through the air in a lethal arc aimed at the assailant who dared to shoot him dead.
Wolf dodged, skipping away from Ermit after the failed attempt. That was the second bullet out of the remaining three, leaving him with his final ammo.
The radiant tendrils moved, slithering on the ground like a snake as it went over to Victor. It crawled up from his boots, all the way up to his arms then reshaped back into a cross with a single long leg, resembling a long sword.
"Likewise, I am not inclined to be your savior," Victor said to Ermit, giving the swordmaster a deja vu. "Even so, I will require all the help I can get to come out victorious in this battle." Victor slowly tread next to Ermit. "I suppose you're aware of who ARE the enemies."
"Wolf has been dedicated to having my head ever since the gate outbreak," Ermit murmured, so that only Victor could hear. "I have a hunch… While I hold nothing to confirm it, Wolf might be with this archdemon."
"Oh?! A headhunter?" a loud voice sounded from above.
Ermit glanced up at the brazen archdemon, realizing his hunch might be wrong. On the other hand, Wolf also realized something when he spotted the archdemon in the air—although the archdemon's countenance is almost incomparable to a normal human's facial structure, Wolf could still recognize him and he confirmed that those large eye bags and hollowed eyes belongs to the principal of the school, Conor himself.
"HWUAHAHA!!! I really am the most fortunate cannibal alive," Conor burst out cackling. "I've been wondering if those 'animal' headhunters will taste like the animal they're cosplaying… and to know the answer, I suppose I'll have a taste myself!"
Conor ravenously descends, passing over Ermit and Victor's head as he ardently stoops straight towards Wolf, wings spread and head leading the charge.
Wolf raised his gun, aiming the barrel at Conor's head, when the thought occurred to him that it was his last bullet. Hesitation struck Wolf, rendering him unable to pull the trigger.
Before Wolf could decide, it was too late; Conor was already upon him, his jaws gaping wide, poised to devour Wolf's flesh.
There was no escape.
*Swoosh!*
An arrow pierced through Conor's temple, sinking all the way through the other side of his head. The momentum of the arrow dragged Conor crashing sideways down the ground. The arrowhead hooked in the concrete, nailing Conor down.
Only one wielded such exceptional prowess in archery.
Judging by the arrow that zooms faster than a bullet, Wolf instantly recognized who it was. His eyes darted towards the arrow's trajectory, where he spotted someone. This person held a golden bow, wore an eagle mask that conceals the face, and a black hooded cloak. The person stood balanced on a thin acacia branch not far from them.
"Eagle…" Victor murmured. "Clashing with two headhunters will be bloody."
'Franklin said he assigned another agent on the archdemon,' Wolf thought to himself with a displeased look. 'I never expected it to be him/her.'
Suddenly, Conor's corpse on Wolf's feet began hissing. Toxic fumes lightly seeped from his mouth as he lay dormant on the ground, followed by an overwhelming, dark energy that permeated the area, causing everyone within the perimeter to feel the gravity dragging them down twice as heavily.
An energy darker than black, even able to send an S-rank DH, Ermit, to shudder.
*Shriek!!!*
The entire place dimmed pitch black as a shrieking noise crept into their ears. As if their eyes were shut, practically blinding them even with the eyelids open.
The darkness periodically disappeared, but something's different.
When their sight returned, the sun was gone.
The light pole on the side road of the city, and the lamppost on the campus walkways, simultaneously flickered to life, casting light into the nightfall.
However, there was one more thing that sent shivers down Wolf's spine: Conor is gone.
'The darkness lasted for a single damn second, and he vanished?'
Once more, the surroundings plunged into blackness, lasting just long enough for a heartbeat to race. As the darkness dissipated, a towering, shadowy figure twice Wolf's size loomed before him.
Slender legs, purple glaring eyes that stand out in its entirely black exterior, and carved all across its body are statue-like human heads, mouth agape as if they're screaming—seeming as though they are sealed inside the body, struggling to escape through its exoskeleton.
Aghast, Wolf's body hair straightened, but in an instinctive response, he drew out his knife.
*Slice*
The blade slides through, hitting nothing but air.
In a blink of an eye, the archdemon soars above.
*SHRIEK!!!*
Suddenly, the ground beneath the archdemon's position underwent a change: a cyclone pattern, sharing the same texture as the undead, emerged on the concrete, and the summons soon arose.
Crawling out of the dimensional rift were hundreds of creatures similar to those who transfigured among the students. Each summon has different appearances, but there's one thing they all share; their hideous face and much more hideous intent.
Like an army, the summons surge ahead, and they don't have a specific target. They went on a rampage, attacking anyone in sight.
Ermit unsheathed his katana, then proceeded with the demon butchery.
As Ermit took several summons down, Victor made his move, a sneaky attack and he's coming from behind the archdemon. His light magic creates several platforms for him to set foot on, getting higher with each step.
The archdemon remained stationary, giving Victor the confidence that he was unnoticed. With an opening from the back, Victor had his eyes locked on its nape.
'A perfect, unavoidable attack,' Victor thought as his sword struck.
Someone halted Victor's attack, leaving him shaking.
A face Victor is familiar with protrudes from its nape.
"Commander Vic…tor~" it said in a voice that resonated with suffering.
Victor pulled away his sword, then vaulted back to the ground.
Victor shook his head off, steeling his heart against that petty trick.
"My soldiers fought with virtue and died with honor to rescue the students in this academy… To take their souls and dignity buried deeper than where they should be is a disrespect I couldn't let slip; I, as their commander, refuse to let their demise be in vain."
The archdemon's chapped lips curled upon sensing several humans nearby. Then, it zipped across the sky, heading towards the civilians and a few DH on the road passage where the entryway for the school was blocked.
Victor followed as his gaze was directed from above, sprinting at a speed as if the lives of many lay upon his feet.
As the archdemon drew near, it glided down at a lower height before opening its hissing maw and unleashing toxic fumes. It exhaled the noxious smoke like a tempest, casting down the decaying breath to humans below.
Victor zoomed in a flash, getting to the center of the crowd then created a barrier with his light magic, fully repelling the fumes. However, although the barrier is spacious enough to fit everyone, there are several civilians and DH who are scattered and aren't covered by the barrier.
As the cursed breath surged down, Victor yelled his lungs out, "GET IN!!!"
Unfortunately, as panic ensued, even some who were inside the barrier obliviously went out and made a run for it. But before they could even get away, they stood paralyzed as the fumes infiltrated their nostrils.
It didn't take long for the curse to take effect.
Simultaneously, the civilians outside Victor's barrier morphed into those demon-like creatures, voraciously seeking murder.
Some DH were also struck by the curse, but none of them seemed affected by it which made Victor ponder.
The fumes eventually dispersed and the cursed human roared to attack. Victor's barrier reshaped back to a sword and with the help of several DH around, they fend off the enemies.
However, there are simply too many of them and they were slowly getting overwhelmed. The archdemon left, proceeding on its way in the city and Victor noticed it, but he wisely decided not to pursue.
There were also people he had to protect and his C-ranked comrades alone couldn't handle these estimated B-level cursed humans. As they swarmed, Victor and the DHs struggled to defend the civilians as the enemies charged from every direction. Unexpectedly, arrows shot from afar took some of the enemies down.
'Eagle?' Victor wondered. 'What's her ulterior motive for aiding us?'
~~~~~~~~~
Ermit was left to deal with the summons, and Victor and Eagle were also occupied, leaving Wolf to chase down Conor.
Wolf was hesitant before, but he knows what to do now. His mission was to prevent Ermit from defeating the archdemon, but if Wolf himself took Conor down, that also qualifies as a mission success.
The archdemon reached the city, hovering between the buildings as the busy road below came to a halt due to the curious citizens getting out of their vehicles to take photos of the ominous entity above.
They were all aware that it's a demon, but since it hasn't done anything yet, they assumed it's not hostile. Archdemons naturally lose their ability to speak once they are in their original form, however, they retain their intellect.
*Screeeeee!!!*
An eardrum-shattering screeching roar echoed through the entire city, its high pitch shattered every pane of glass of the buildings, sending shards of glass cascading like rain.
That scream awakened terror in everyone's heart, causing the citizens to erupt in panic. As the people went on a stampede, Wolf caught up, hopping over the abandoned cars to avoid the crowd.
Behind Wolf's mask, lie burning eyes, implying that he could jump high enough to shoot the bullet at a close distance where it will be impossible for Conor to evade.
Wolf, about to launch himself upward, suddenly felt chills, extinguishing his blazing eyes as the archdemon glared directly at him. Its purple eyes before are now tinted with blood red as its piercing stare strikes Wolf's soul.
'There are many people around me…' Wolf thought, feeling vulnerable. ' Yet, I could tell… his dreadful eyes are specifically staring at me as if I'm being watched.'
In a heartbeat, without gathering magical energy or incantations, Conor unloaded a magical beam from his maw, emanating with an eerie green hue as it stormed down to Wolf.
The beam envelops a vast expanse, ensnaring numerous bystanders nearby, including the car where Wolf stands.
Although Wolf absorbed the full impact, he at least managed to shield himself using his arms. However, the beam pushed through and his arms failed to uphold the constant ray. It incorporated a sonic sound as Wolf got propelled away, crashing into the 7/11 store with the beam decimating the structure.
Gasping for breath, Wolf struggled to orient himself amidst the wreckage. Dust and debris filled the air, obscuring his vision as he attempted to push himself upright, only to be thwarted by his aching body and charred arms. Amidst the haze, a stinging sensation rippled through him, and as he glanced down, he sighted several glass shards embedded in his body.
Grimacing against the pain, Wolf surveyed his surroundings, realizing he was lying on a bed of debris as the 7/11 logo flickered out of light beside him. The smoke after the impact settled, revealing the trail of the beam on the road, seeming like the footprints of a ginormous serpent.
Fighting the pain, Wolf plucked the shards out of his skin when suddenly…
"Wolf?"
Wolf glanced over his shoulder, seeing someone familiar sitting on his knees.
Wolf's arm raised, holding a gun.
"Please don't," he pleaded. "I have family waiting at home."
Salty water accumulated at the corners of his eyes.
*Bang*