An RV charged straight toward the Ogre.
Old Jack stood steadily in the bed of the pickup truck, both hands gripping the harpoon launcher, modified from a drilling machine, set before him. A thick, heavy spearhead was already loaded into the launcher.
He stared in shock at the monster perched atop the RV.
Though he had prepared himself mentally, seeing this non-human entity with a wingspan of three or four meters with his own eyes still filled him with dread.
The Ogre looked at the newcomer, its expression puzzled.
Didn't I just eat one of your sons? Is it really worth chasing me this far? What's wrong with food these days?
In the past, as long as it appeared, the food would kneel and tremble, selecting the tastiest among them to offer up. How was it anything like this? Not only did they dare to strike back, they even dared to hunt it down?!
Old Jack quickly snapped back to his senses. The agony of losing his son transformed into a surging tide of hatred, and murderous intent coalesced in his heart.
"Die! You animal!!!"
With a furious roar, he pulled the trigger with both hands.
Thump!
A spear connected to a Dyneema rope shot violently toward the Ogre.
The Ogre didn't even have time to react before the spear pierced through its chest, pinning it firmly to the hood of the RV.
"Aha! Got you!"
Jack pumped his fist in excitement, the pleasure of revenge making his body shake uncontrollably.
The Ogre let out a pained wail, its hands clawing at the spear in its chest, trying to pull it out.
But the spear was barbed; the more it struggled, the tighter it became stuck.
"Roar!"
The wings on its back flapped frantically.
It spread its arms, digging its claws into the fenders on both sides of the vehicle. Relying on its horrific monstrous strength, it actually tore the entire hood off the RV.
Carrying the mangled piece of sheet metal, the Ogre surged into the sky.
The rope spun rapidly off the pickup's winch, depleting as the monster gained altitude.
"Quick! Reverse the truck and pull it down!"
Jack hammered on the roof of the cab, screaming at his eldest son behind the wheel.
The Ogre gripped the spear in its chest with a death's grip, wings beating incessantly as it flew backward and upward with all its might.
Screeech!
The pickup's tires ground against the pavement, sending up plumes of acrid white smoke.
But the disparity in strength was simply too great.
After a stalemate lasting only a few seconds, the rear wheels of the pickup were yanked clean off the ground by the force, the tail of the truck tilting upward.
"Oh no!"
Before Jack and his son could react, the entire pickup was dragged over, flipping the vehicle and its occupants onto the ground.
The fate of the two men remained unknown.
—--
On a side road off East Route 9.
A sports car tore through the darkness at extreme speed.
Sephirot held the steering wheel with one hand while holding a signal-less phone in the other, his brow furrowed.
This highway was built like a labyrinth without a single road sign; how was he supposed to find anything?
"Alessa, can you sense it?"
In the shadows of the passenger seat, the little girl shook her head.
Sephirot felt a hint of frustration; this feeling of having strength but nowhere to vent it wasn't pleasant.
Bang!
Not far away, a sudden, thunderous roar shattered the silence of the night.
Sephirot looked toward the sound.
In the distance, a dark silhouette was pulling a long rope, slowly ascending into the sky, the pair of massive wings on its back exceptionally striking.
"Flying a kite in the middle of the night? Someone's in a leisurely mood."
Sephirot narrowed his eyes, killing intent surging within them.
It didn't matter if it had encountered Patty or not; all that mattered was killing it.
His foot slammed on the brake as his hands whipped the steering wheel around.
The black sports car executed a perfect drift on the highway, and in the next second, it veered straight off the road.
"The road ends ahead. Do you need me to lay one out for you?"
Alessa's voice rang out.
"Lay a road?"
Sephirot looked at the small embankments rising from the wilderness ahead. Instead of braking, he floored the accelerator.
The sports car erupted with a deafening roar that made his hands go numb with the vibration.
"That's for cowards."
A trace of wildness surfaced on Sephirot's face.
"In a devil's dictionary, those words don't exist!"
As if sensing the madness of its driver, this high-performance beast now seemed like a demon unshackled, venting long-accumulated malice onto the wasteland.
It seemed born for this kind of violent driving; the speedometer needle redlined instantly, shattering past the limit as the car transformed into a black arrow streaking toward the embankment.
Vroom!
Using the incline of the slope, the sports car took flight under the moonlight.
At the peak of the ascent, Sephirot leaped out of the cockpit, turning to deliver a heavy stomp against the car to propel himself even higher.
Demonic power surged through his body, a faint purple glow surfacing on his skin, casting him in an eerie and dangerous light.
Crash!
Lost of its momentum and claimed by gravity, the sports car plummeted toward the earth, tumbling and disintegrating through the trees before finally erupting into a ball of fire.
In the night sky above the flames,
Boom!
A circle of red ripples manifested beneath Sephirot's feet as his silhouette turned into a violet-red afterimage, charging into the distance.
[Devil Trigger double jump]: Condenses a demonic platform in mid-air to achieve a second jump.
He moved like a phantom under the moonlight, trailing a thin red wake as he surged toward the battlefield where the dark silhouette loomed.
[Trickster: Dash]: A sudden burst of demonic power to perform a high-speed displacement in any direction.
—--
"No..."
Patty looked at the father and son, whose fates remained unknown, a flash of worry in her eyes.
But she had no way to save them, for the Ogre had slowly descended, landing not far from her.
The Ogre ripped the rope apart with a single yank and tossed the mangled hood aside like a piece of trash, slamming it toward the pickup truck.
It turned around, those eyes gained from devouring humans fixing once more upon Patty, who stood in the middle of the highway. Looking at this fearless piece of prey, a cruel grin spread across the Ogre's face as it used one hand to violently rip the spear from its own body.
Squelch.
Dark fluid splattered as the spear left a hollow void in its chest, though the tissues at the wound site writhed frantically, repairing themselves in an instant.
Grabbing the spear, it advanced step by step toward Patty.
Its towering silhouette completely swallowed Patty's petite frame in darkness.
The Ogre raised the spear, using the tip to gently tilt Patty's chin upward, forcing her to look at its hideous, mangled face.
Forced to look up, Patty stared at the drooling monster from point-blank range. Smelling the stench wafting off its body, her frame trembled slightly.
But there was no fear in her eyes.
"Come on..."
Patty grit her teeth, her voice shaking, "If you've got the guts, you better eat fast..."
"Because..."
"This is going to be your last supper!"
The Ogre's movements paused, its eyes narrowing. This blatant disregard was an insult.
It couldn't smell the scent it liked on this prey.
That sweet, addictive fear born of breakdown and begging for mercy.
From beginning to end, this prey had been looking at it with a gaze that mirrored how it looked at its own excrement.
It made the monster feel unsatisfied, even bored.
If that was the case, there was no point in keeping her alive for sport.
"Roar..."
Characterized by a low growl, it suddenly lunged with its claws, reaching straight for Patty's head.
Patty trembled all over, clenching her fists. She closed her eyes in resignation, yet the image of Sephirot's back as he rejected her surfaced uncontrollably in her mind.
You bastard! Even in Hell... I'll definitely... definitely never let you go!
In the split second when those claws were less than a centimeter from Patty's face.
The Ogre's ears twitched as if it had heard something.
Through the pitch-black night sky, the sudden roar of air being torn asunder came screaming down.
It looked up in bewilderment.
A streak of crimson demonic power expanded rapidly within its pupils.
(Translated by yourtl.app)