The rest of the demonic beast appeared, and its predatory growl only grew deeper as it looked around. It was a giant humanoid beast with dark leather like skin and bulging muscles. A creepy long maw lined with crooked razor teeth smiled at the fleeing humans. It resembled a walking alligator with mismatched limbs.
A single glance their way made everybody within the diner quiet down in an instant. It opened its mouth wide and the most horrifying growl shook the very buildings themselves.
"It has to be a B-rank demon at the least..."
"We're screwed..."
Many hushed whispers spread around the cozy, warm diner. At Oliver's table, his dad was staring at the demonic beast with dead eyes. His mind wasn't in the right place at the moment and so Oliver kicked him under the table to gain his attention.
"Don't worry about the casualties... just deal with it. Me and Simon will help evacuate the block."
This wasn't the first time Oliver had seen a demon appear out of nowhere. The last time he watched the dreadful demon demolish his former neighbourhood. An evacuation was ordered and his dad was one hero called to the action.
It was a terrible memory, but thanks to it, Oliver knew what actions to take, especially if you aren't among those fighting.
His dad frowned, but then simply nodded and got up from his seat. He sneaked out the diner door while the demon was looking in a different direction. It would be disastrous to agitate it while he was close to civilians.
The demon stomped down the street, leaving craters in the road in its movement. Oliver's dad got behind it in a flash and a blue hue spread over his eyes.
The demon reacted immediately and swung its giant brutish tail and destroyed a parked car. It completely missed the man who had simply ducked. With a childish grin, he tapped the ankle of the beast.
The demon was confused at first before it felt its body lighten and shoot towards the sky. It moved so fast it generated a shock wave that destroyed the street lamps and street below. It was quite the sight to watch a giant alligator fly towards the sky in the middle of winter.
Oliver's dad watched it hover in the air before he stomped on the cracked road. Bits of tarmac and debris levitated before shooting towards the demon at high speed. He repeatedly pelted the demon with several objects in a position it couldn't protect itself well.
It roared and struggled only to have several glass shards stab its vocal chords. It choked and coughed up volumes of black blood, but the pelting didn't stop.
Meanwhile, Oliver helped evacuate the diner and had placed an emergency call to the UGS hero response unit. They said help was on the way and that 5 C-rank heroes were in the area. Simon showed the fleeing people a safe route through the alleyways towards the harbor.
Everything was working well so far, and Oliver's dad shrouded the demon in a cloud of debris dust. By this moment, Oliver's dad was breathing harder as he increased the strength of the barrage.
He just needed to hold the demon up there for as long as possible and weaken it greatly. There was no energy in him to check on the progress of the evacuation.
{Hope that son of mine can keep his word. It would be awful if I lost any lives here today.}
Once the diner was completely evacuated, Oliver could see a figure flying in the distance. Looked like one of the C-ranked heroes had arrived. There were also other figures running in and out of the surrounding buildings. The evacuation was a success so far.
As for the flying figure, they didn't stop for a single moment, moving faster and faster and, in an odd move, flew directly into the dust cloud. Oliver heard a loud boom as they struck the demon down to the earth. What followed was hysterical laughter.
"I HAVEN'T HAD A GOOD FIGHT IN DAYS!!! LET'S HAVE FUN YA BASTARD."
The dust cloud cleared to reveal a person standing on what looked like a gold sniper rifle. The rifle silently hovered in the air and shone in the snowy weather. A roar shook the entire street as the demon resurfaced from the crater it made. Blood and wounds covered its body and several pieces of debris poked out of its leather skin. It was still active, though, and was in a great rage.
This only seemed to excite the person standing on the rifle as they waved their hand. An arsenal of golden hunter rifles immediately answered to her call, forming out of nothingness, and pointed their sights at the demon. They looked quite intimidating as golden light collected within their bolts.
The person raised their hand and brought it down in a swinging motion. Similar to the manner of a nobleman allowing an executioner to chop off someone's head.
"FIRST VOLLEY, STRIKE TO KILL!!"
Oliver had to cover his ears as the deafening sound of rifle gunshots rang through the air. The golden bullets tore through the air at blinding speed and pierced the demon's body.
What followed was the gruesome sight as the demon's corpse collapsed down. It was riddled with enormous gaping holes, and its jaw had been shattered. In just a single volley of 7 rifles, the B-rank demon was dead.
The {hero???} laughed maniacally as their smoking rifles dissipated into particles. This obviously wasn't a C-rank. Their mount (the rifle) descended and Oliver could get a clear view of the person.
They were an elderly woman with a maniac smirk on their face and wild eyes. Her white hair was long and braided in a ponytail with colourful accessories of ribbons and hair clips. She landed and her mount disappeared in particles. Her strides were long and steady and her maniacal appearance faded away to reveal an ordinary elderly. She walked up to [Simon's Diner] and entered the building without hesitation.
From outside, Oliver heard the old woman shout.
"I'M HOME YOU OLD OAF!"
{Lisa sure is wild...}
*************************
(A few minutes later.)
Oliver and his dad sat at a new table with the old woman and Simon who had returned covered in dust. There was no one else in the building and so Simon himself brewed cups of coffee for everyone. He set the coffee on the table and watched as young Oliver took sips.
He tried his best to avoid eye contact, but eventually, the old woman pinched his cheek.
"How could you not simply call me?.."
"I thought you were still busy at Beijing... that plus I didn't want to be some sort of baby, always running to his mother for help."
Simon hung his head low as he gripped the cup handle tightly. The old lady simply sighed and placed her hand on Simon's shoulder.
"But I'm still your wife, idiot. Don't feel scared to call me when you need help."
After saying that, she looked towards the father and son opposite of the table. She produced a warm smile.
"You've grown stronger, Jason."
Jason Smith smiled awkwardly as he accepted the praise. Jason wasn't really sure if he deserved it though, as compared to Lisa; he was still just another civilian. He hid his eyes behind the rim of his cup of coffee and now Lisa changed her gaze to Oliver.
"How'd the test go?"
"I'm a D-rank evolved now. Same ability as dad, too."
Lisa was genuinely surprised and happy for him as she sipped her coffee. Simon, sitting next to her, had a grand smile, and he lifted his mug high.
"Cheers! that's great news."
Oliver smiled and joined the toast before taking a big gulp of his coffee. This was what he enjoyed the most about his life, spending time with his close ones.
The snow stopped falling as the grey clouds cleared from the sky. The glimmering sunlight hit the collected snow. Amidst all of it, the thing that glimmered the most was the splattered red blood of the dead demon across the wet asphalt.
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