Ben ran for his life.
He jumped over the desks to speed up his flight, but despite the monster being slower, it was catching up.
It just stepped over the everything in the way with huge strides!
"Ie!!! Yamero kudasai!!! Stop!!! Tingzhe!!! Jangan!!!" He yelled out at the monster to stop in as many languages he could remember but it clearly didn't understand - or didn't care.
It opened its mouth - all of the hundreds of mouths on its body - and repeated the only word it knew.
"Eat eat eat eat... EATEATEATEATEAT..."
"GET AWAY FROM MEEEEE!!!" He ran into the passageway at the end of the office area and made a sharp right turning to flee out of the building...
*CRASH!!!*
Then came face to face with the monster that burst right through the hallway walls to emerge in front of him.
Menacingly, it opened its mouth to devour him, the horrific green saliva and blood mixing together.
'Oh, its wounds have healed except for its mouth...' He watched on in morbid interest, watched as the mouth began to close in on him, frozen in the gaze of the predator looming over him.
The mouth gaped open, then lunged forward to chomp down on him.
"Get out of the way!!!" He heard a shout from behind him, from the passageway he had just come from.
"Huh? HAH??!?!" He spluttered and suddenly realised that he was about to have his head eaten - and jumped back as fast and as hard as he could!
But it was not enough to get away, the creature just stretched its neck and lunged *forwards* to close the distance - only for a fire extinguisher to soar over and slam into its throat.
"GROARRRRR!!!!" The disgusting creature gagged on the unfamiliar metal object, seemingly disgusted.
"So you hate metal, eh? Then eat this!!! DIE!!!" Constable Kirishima unleashed a barrage of bullets at the monsters mouth, firing nonstop causing it to roar in anger.
But it did not back down, instead trying once more to bite off Ben's head.
Until finally a bullet hit the target - the fire extinguisher.
"WHOOOSH!!!" An explosion of ABC powder erupted from the broken canister!
"GRARGHAHGR!!!! Grah--Gwhh..." The humongous monster stumbled back as its cries grew weaker and weaker.
Then it stiffened.
And it slowly, slowly toppled backwards from its two-footed stance.
And fell to the ground with a crash.
"Ben! Ben!" Kirishima ran across the remaining 10 metres between them and kneeled by his fallen kouhai's side to help him up.
"Are you alright...?" The older policeman looked winded, obviously he had ran without holding anything back, all while carrying the hefty fire extinguisher.
In fact, as Ben looked over to his senpai, he noticed another ABC powder fire extinguisher behind him, clearly a backup.
"T-Thanks... Thank you so much... I... Thought I was going to die, heh, heheheh!" Ben found himself giggling in nervousness and relief, feeling like he had just literally stared death in the jaws and came back to tell the tale!
Kirishima clasped hands with him and helped him up, then patted the first-year policeman on the shoulder and said, "Don't worry about it, that's what brothers in the police force are for, right?"
They both breathed heavily as the adrenaline left their bodies. They were winded from the intense encounter despite it having lasted just 20 to 25 seconds.
Ben looked over at the horrendous creature still lying unmoving, its head and upper body covered in the fire suppressing powder.
'Probably suffocated...' He shivered as he looked at the creatures horrifying skin and the mouth that nearly devoured him.
Kirishima patted him on the shoulder from behind and spoke, "C'mon, let's go. The special forces should be here soon. These kinds of things..." He glanced over at the monster one last time before saying, "...Aren't for normal demons like us to deal with."
Ben nodded numbly and they both turned around to leave the scene of battle.
"Oh! Marsha! You're alright!" They saw the girl jogging over, barefooted and in her knee length white dress. Then Ben felt a bit worried as the teenager had a sharp looking military knife in her right hand. From the way she held it, she looked like she knew how to use it...
"Marsha, where'd you pick that up from? It's dangerous to hold it like that, you'd better--"
"Watch out!!" A look of panic warped Marsha's perfect face as she called out to the cops.
They heard a rustle and a loud growl from behind them. Kirishima was the first to react. He instinctively shoved Ben aside and jumped forward - but it wasn't quick enough.
Ben rolled multiple times over from the force of the grizzled old cop's push. And he heard the air being knocked out of his senior's lungs as Kirishima was grazing by the devil's backhand swing of its gigantic claws!
"Senpai!!!" He got up to his feet quickly as warm droplets of blood hit his face. Kirishima's body was flung more than 5 metres by that one blow and when he hit the floor, he stopped moving.
Ben felt a rage rise up to his head as a new burst of strength re-energised him.
"I'll kill you, you monster!!!!!" He stood up furiously and began firing at the hulking devil, drawing grimaces from it and screams from the faces on its skin, but unable to do any real damage to it. It was charging at him like a bullet train, but Ben felt like time had slowed down and everything was happening in slow motion.
Then he suddenly felt a surge of inspiration and his hands started to move by themselves. He cocked his revolver slightly and with his last few bullets, he fired.
And he struck a lucky blow - two bullets just happened to land on the exact same spot on its eye, drawing a huge burst of green blood!
The monster roared in anguish, its left hand pressing against its blinded eye, clearly in great pain.
But it was already too close. The slowed flow of time returned to normal and Ben could only see a crushing palm swung towards his chest. He desperately leaped aside, and just managed to dodge the berserk creatures swing - only for its claw to snag on his uniform.
He felt a sudden crushing sense of weightlessness and inertia as it was his turn to be flung 10 metres through the air. He landed with a loud *oof!* as he lost his breath and stars swam in his vision.
He struggled to get up as a film of red covered his eyes. He lifted up a hand to touch his forehead and brought it down - it was his blood.
He felt a waze of dizziness come as he tried to stand up but fell down again. His eyesight began to alternate between clarity and a hazy blur as he saw the monster roar in rage and start walking menacingly towards him.
His heart clenched tightly, each beat sounding like a drum in his ears. He couldn't help but blink again and again as his vision started to turn dark.
Was this his end?
Then a shadow covered him and he opened his eyes to face his doom.
But when he looked up, it was not the monster that he saw.
It was a slim and small back. The back of a golden-haired girl in a white-dress fluttering in the breeze blowing in from the broken walls and windows.
She was so tiny, so small. But right now, with the dagger in her frail right hand, her back looked like the most reliable figure in the world.
"Marsha... No..." He croaked. She shouldn't be doing this... "Run, Mar... Marsha... Run...!" He managed to gasp out and reached out his hand towards her.
'Don't... We can't make it anymore, you need to escape!' But he couldn't find the words to speak it out.
The girl brandished her knife, taking up an en-garde pose and spoke.
"Don't worry. Devil-slaying is my specialty."
Then the giant and the girl rushed at each other in an epic clash of skill against brawn.
* * * * *
Ben fought to keep his head up despite his pain and he was greeted by a shocking sight.
The monsters mouth parted in a toothy, predatory grin as it rushed towards the girl. It changed its target to this delicious and tender young morsel!
"Hmmph!" Marsha scoffed as she ran forward. A small fry like this dared to challenge her?[1] In the past, such a creature was only cannon fodder for grunts!
She smoothly dodged under the devil's grabbing claws, dancing gracefully through its reach. Then she stepped onto its left torso with her small frame, kicking off its hip and thigh as she released a vicious slash of her dagger!
The sickening sound of metal slicing through flesh was heard.
*Shiiiiiing!*
"GRRRRAAAAOOOOOOOHHHH!!!" The huge monster was swinging its arms around wildly and snapping its teeth left and right, spinning round and round.
The little girl was running circles around it, showing off deft footwork and deadly dagger skills, cutting it again and again and again!
Each time she swung the blade in her hand, she would leave behind a 2-3 inch deep and nearly foot long gash on the creatures squirming skin covered by faces. And she moved like a blur, striking again and again and again, leaving the monster bloody all over and covered in cuts!
'Whoah... She's... Amazing...' Ben was amazed, unable to even participate in this heroic battle before him.
But as the seconds passed, he grew worried.
Marsha was beginning to pant and sweat profusely, while the creature was regenerating.
'Dammit!!! Where are those special forces!? Why haven't they arrived yet!?? How can we normal people face such monsters!? And leave a young girl like Marsha to put her life on the line?? F*** it all!!!' Ben swore profusely in his mind, lacking the energy to speak. And he was afraid that if he did make a sound, it would distract the girl.
Then the inevitable and expected disaster happened.
As the battle raged on, Marsha had stayed untouched until now, cutting up her enemy and leaving it with deep and bloody wounds. But those same wounds and the green blood it had lost made the ground slick and slimy. It was only a matter of time before it happened.
She slipped mid-dodge and fell to one knee, delaying her escape by 1 second - a fatal mistake.
She tried to recover, spinning to regain her balance. She pulled off an impossible pirouette as she somersaulted through the air, but it wasn't enough to get out of range of the monsters incoming fist.
'Shit!!! This slow body is just too weak!!!' She braced herself for the crushing blow that she could not avoid.
Only to see a red blur fly through the air straight at the monsters open mouth!
Constable Kirishima had regained his consciousness and footing, and mustered his remaining strength to throw the fire extinguisher at the monsters face!
And his action distracted the monster just long enough to turn the situation around.
*Clang!!!*
The creature swatted the fire extinguisher aside. It had learned from the last experience and made sure to keep the red canister away from its mouth. It then ignored the following gunshots from the feeble weapon and turned to crush the dangerous girl.
But when it looked down again, the girl was gone.
"Where are you looking at!" A white shadow arced up high in the air, seeming to float due to the supernatural height she jumped to.
Then her body was covered in a blue glow.
Her eyes closed and her lips moved in a short mystical chant as she channeled this body's meagre mana into the only move she could use right now.
And the blue glow instantly flowed into her short dagger that shone with intense light!
"HUEEEE!!!??" The devil shut its eyes and covered its face from the blinding flash, and was defenceless before the girl's Ougi - a secret skill finishing blow!
"Swallow's Dive, Sky Slash!!!!"
A beautiful ancient white and blue rune was painted on her hand and dagger, a spinning magical formation concentrating and enhancing the power of the wind into her dagger slash. A sharp and long 3 foot shining blade extended from the edge of her metal military knife!
Then she opened her eyes in a fierce, kingly look and held the dagger over head in a 2-handed grip.
And shot down like a meteor from the heavens, leaving a beautiful blue-white blade light in her path!
The glorious slash sliced through everything in its path like a swallow's dive slicing through the sky!
A radiant flash of light streaked down from the ceiling to the ground beneath the devil's feet. Then Marsha landed lightly in a kneeling position, the tip the dagger in her hand touching the floor.
There was silence for a moment, before a splurting sound was heard. Even as this happened, Marsha's eyes flitted open and she leaped backwards, slight tremors seen in her body from fatigue.
Green blood sprayed out like crazy from where the monster was split in half, right down the middle of its body!
From the top of its head to its groin, it was bisected cleanly.
Then the two halves of its body fell to the ground with a boom, the faces on its skin silent.
And it might have just been the trick of the eye, but the people's faces looked like they had been released from a great torture.
They seemed to finally be at peace.
Panting, Marsha let go of the dagger in her hand.
Her body's mana pool was too small, and the meridians to channel mana were also very slow. If not for that, she would have released her Ougi - the killing move - much earlier!
The dagger began to crack. It was unable to bear the concentrated power and force it was subjected to.
The beautiful, blonde-haired girl stood like an ancient divine goddess. The wind from the holes in the walls and windows rustled through her hair and her dress fluttered dramatically in the wind.
At this moment, Ben and Kirishima stood in awe.
They were amazed... And they were certain.
Today, these two humble constables had witnessed the birth of a Heroine.
Then the girl took one trembling step forward - before she stumbled.
Marsha fell to the ground, fatigued from overdrawing her mana and strength.
"Over here! It's over here!" And as the two men ran over to the fallen girl, they heard the sound of Dr Linda's voice and the sound of sirens.
They let out a breath of relief. The special forces were finally here.