Through the broken windows of the bus, the terrified students could only see the silhouette of Lief confronting that figure lunging at him.
Fear had strangled itself in their throats, preventing them from even saying anything, and they were frozen between pleading and despair.
However, right at that moment of tension, Lief softly snapped his index fingers in the direction of the bus.
An invisible energy wave, with him as the epicenter, instantly expanded, enveloping the vehicle.
And the effect was not a violent shock, but the softest and sweetest sensation imaginable, as if the brain were being stroked by a warm blanket.
Inside the bus, everyone, from the trembling students to the driver and the teachers, felt an overwhelming heaviness.
All the chaotic thoughts and emotions of fear were instantly silenced, and their consciousnesses surrendered to a magical drowsiness.
One after another, they fell softly into their seats or slumped against the aisles, sinking into a deep sleep. Even Frank, who had been holding on so tightly to the armrest, relaxed and slid to one side.
The bus instantly became silent, a mausoleum on wheels.
Everyone, except one person.
Jennifer, who was aware of Lief's nature, tensed her body by reflex at the moment of the snap.
She could feel the wave pass, but it went around her, without causing her any effect.
She knew that this had been a deed by Lief and quickly understood that he did not want the others to see what was going to happen.
...
After making sure that no one was a witness, Lief refocused his attention on the monster that had stopped abruptly because of the energy wave it felt.
"Well, we do not have an audience anymore," said Lief, flexing his wrist with a smile. "And look what a coincidence, I just got a new toy... I hope you do not mind serving as a cutting board."
As soon as he finished speaking, he extended his right hand forward, palm up.
Instantly a point of golden light appeared from nothing, and then it expanded and distorted in a fraction of a second, taking physical form.
The light dispersed, revealing the dark gold halberd he had gotten in the last lottery.
With it in hand, his presence went from a disinterested young man to a lethal warrior.
The Creeper seemed to register the threat that emanated from the human in front of it and let out a low growl.
Its hunting instinct screamed at it that the armed man did not belong to the same category as the defenseless "food" from before.
There was a superior predator in the way.
"Roar!"
Letting out a roar it decided to avoid direct clash, so it stepped on the ground with such force that it cracked the asphalt and unfurled its wings to rise vertically. It shot toward the clouds like a missile, seeking to take advantage of its aerial superiority to find the perfect opportunity and strike a fatal blow from the heights.
Inside the bus, Jennifer watched this with her heart pounding in her throat.
But Lief was not afraid. As he watched that black dot rapidly disappearing in the night sky, an arrogant smile curved the corner of his lips.
"Do you think you are the only one who can fly?"
Under Jennifer's stunned gaze, Lief slightly separated his feet and flexed his knees while lifting the heavy Halberd with a single hand.
It was then that the unthinkable happened, because without wings or thrusters and defying all laws of physics, he shot vertically toward the sky with an explosive speed.
His ascent left a trail of distorted air and the blade of the weapon shone under the moonlight, tracing a golden trajectory similar to that of an unstoppable missile.
...
Hidden among the low clouds, the Creeper circled high above while its third nostril dilated and contracted in an attempt to pinpoint the exact position of the threat on the ground.
!
However, the next second his instinct screamed at him that something was terribly wrong, as he felt an imminent danger approaching from below at full speed.
He lowered his head abruptly and his eyes opened with incredulity upon seeing that the young human had already intercepted him in his own territory... demonstrating an ascent speed even superior to that of his own flight!
Reacting wildly like a cornered animal, he went into a sharp dive, folding his wings to gain speed, and launched his claws sharp as hooks directly toward Lief's head.
"Come on, ugly thing!"
Lief did not move away, but maintained his collision course and thrust the halberd fiercely upward in a devastating attack.
Clang
A metallic thunderclap, similar to a hammer blow on an anvil, exploded under the layers of clouds when the Creeper's claws clashed against the blade giving off a rain of dazzling sparks that illuminated the night for a second.
But the demon had calculated poorly, since a surprisingly immense force was transmitted from the weapon to his body, being flung backward losing control of his flight while he spun violently in the air.
Without giving him even a second to stabilize, Lief was already on him.
"You are going to look perfect in my collection," he stated with coldness.
As soon as he finished speaking, the halberd turned into a golden lightning bolt that swept over the creature.
Terrified, The Creeper flapped his wings desperately in an attempt to escape to the left, but he was too slow.
"Schluck!"
With a wet sound that gave away the separation of flesh and bone, the blade went through the scales with ease and cut one of the wings cleanly from the root, sending a spray of blood into the wind.
A blinding pain assaulted him tearing a miserable shriek from him that resonated in the whole sky, and with his aerodynamics destroyed he lost his balance instantly to fall in a spiral toward the darkness of the cornfields.
Boom
A roar shook the earth, raising a cloud of dust and opened a considerable crater in the middle of the crop.
"..."
Lief descended with total control and rested his boots on the edge, observing without any sympathy the creature that writhed and squealed at the bottom.
He knew perfectly well what he was facing and from what he remembered, this thing possessed an absurd regeneration capacity.
Whenever it was given time and could devour enough fresh organs and flesh, even that severed wing could grow back...
But, obviously, he had no intention of giving him that opportunity.
So he began to go down step by step toward the bottom dragging the Halberd through the burnt earth.
The metal screeched against the hidden stones tracing a deep groove in the ground, a constant sound that resonated like a countdown.
With his body destroyed, the Creeper struggled pathetically to sit up, but when he looked up and met Lief's cold eyes, something changed irremediably in his bestial gaze.
For the first time the insatiable greed disappeared to be replaced by a primary emotion that he had never before experienced in his own flesh... fear.
Lief stopped in front of him, immense under the moonlight, and raised the halberd high with both hands.
"The hunt is over."
Push
The blade descended heavily driving into the center of the Creeper's chest and piercing him until nailing him firmly to the floor of the crater.
The demonic heart was pierced instantly. Creeper had a violent convulsion and then collapsed like a puppet whose strings have been cut.
Although he had lost his capacity for movement, Lief knew that this was not enough, so he yanked the halberd from his chest and spun it in the air.
Two flashes of cold light cut through the darkness, cleanly separating the remaining wing and both legs from the torso, ensuring that, even if it woke up, it was not going anywhere.
Once the dismemberment was finished, he used the tip of the halberd to skewer the torso, which was still convulsing from nervous reflexes, and after hoisting it onto his shoulder, he began to climb out of the crater and return to the road.
...
Jennifer had already stepped off the bus and was waiting next to the remains of the destroyed door, anxiously looking for some sign of him.
After a few minutes she saw the figure she had been waiting for emerge under the moonlight... walking with absolute calm while carrying the mutilated corpse of the monster on one shoulder and holding the still bloodstained halberd in the other hand.
Composing an image that was so powerful... so mythical, that it burned itself into the depths of her mind.
"Jenn, come here," said Lief upon reaching the road and walking toward the back of the bus. "Let's go to a safer place."
"... where?" asked Jennifer, confused but following him without hesitation. "What are you going to do with... that?"
Lief did not answer with words, he simply stopped in front of the rear emergency door of the bus and focused his mind on a single frequency: 'Devil May Cry' 'Devil May Cry' 'Devil May Cry'
He extended his hand and opened the door.
!
The instant the metal yielded, Jennifer's pupils contracted.
On the other side was neither the narrow aisle of the bus nor the sleeping people.
What was revealed before her eyes was a spacious area, with high ceilings, red brick walls and an atmosphere charged with a unique magic... Something she had never seen in her life.
There was a huge desk, behind it a weapon rack, an armchair... and above all a red neon sign blinking softly on the back wall.
"Come in," said Lief, entering first.
"..."
Jennifer stood stunned for a second, blinking to make sure she was not hallucinating, before taking a step forward.
The instant she crossed over and her feet touched the wooden floor of the office, the school bus door behind her closed with a sharp thud.
But when she turned to look, the emergency exit had disappeared.
In its place, there was now an imposing black double door, carved with strange patterns...
Lief casually threw the Creeper's body onto the floor in the center of the room and walked toward his trophy area.
With a simple snap of his fingers, the brick wall seemed to come to life. A new display space opened up, and from out of nowhere heavy shackles and supports forged in pure silver materialized.
Lief crouched down, lifted the Creeper's mutilated torso and hung it on the wall, securing the shackles around what remained of its limbs.
Then, he took out the two Silver Crucifixes from his backpack and proceeded to firmly nail the pair of broken bat wings he had brought with him, one to the left and another to the right of the torso, unfolding them as if it were a butterfly collection.
When he finished, he stepped back a few paces and examined his work under the reddish light.
"Not bad," he murmured with a satisfied smile, admiring how the silver hissed slightly upon contact with the monster's skin. "It gives character to the room."
________
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