Isamu"s mask instantly transformed into flashy red eyegla.s.ses. A black jacket and red gloves appeared on his body, while an exquisite revolver appeared in his right hand… This was the exact same Sin Activation form he had in his dream!*Pow! Pow! Pow!*
The moment that he transformed, Isamu instantly started shooting directly at the bird monster!
Three mystical bullets left red trails behind them as they accurately struck the monster"s limbs, instantly injuring it.
The monster howled, releasing Riho from its clutches. Isamu rushed over, caught his cla.s.smate, and then landed a vicious whirlwind kick on the monster"s body! Isamu then made use of the reactive force to pull a distance away.
The bird monster was obviously angered by this. It grabbed a nearby arcade machine and threw it directly at Isamu!
*Boom!!*
While still holding onto Riho, Isamu managed to dodge this attack. The arcade machine smashed into little pieces right next to them.
"Hurry and run!" Isamu shouted at the other people who were still in a daze in the game center. He also counterattacked with his gun.
The bird monster lifted its injured claw. This claw began to glow red, magically blocking the mystical bullets while speedily recovering its injuries. The bird monster grabbed another arcade machine in its other claw and tossed it at Isamu!
There was another loud cras.h.i.+ng sound as Isamu successfully dodged yet again with Riho still in his hands.
Everyone screamed and scrambled to run away.
*Boom! Boom! Boom!*
The bird monster kept throwing arcade machines that Isamu continuously dodged with the cla.s.s president in his hands. As all this happened, a man who didn"t run fast enough was unluckily crushed to death by one of the flying arcade machines.
"d.a.m.n it!" Isamu cursed out loud.
He wanted to fight the monster, but that would be impossible while carrying the unconscious Riho, nor could he simply just set her aside.
He kept dodging arcade machines tossed at him and ran out of the game center to the street where there was a heavy downpour of rain.
At this moment, Isamu happened to spot a pa.s.sing by taxi.
"Stop!" Isamu flagged down the taxi, swiftly opened the door, and put Riho in the backseat. "Hurry and take her to the hospital!"
The taxi driver had an obviously confused expression.
But soon, the middle-aged male taxi driver"s expression changed to terror, because he saw the horrifying monster that came out of the game center!
"Hurry and drive!!!" Isamu slammed the taxi car door shut and started shooting at the bird monster!
The bird monster let out a red glow from its claws which blocked the mystical bullets. It then roared and charged directly at Isamu!
The taxi driver sped off with Riho in the car.
Only when the monster got close to Isamu did he swiftly dodge the claws and circle around to the monster"s side, injuring it from close distance.
The bird monster roared angrily while viciously swiping with its claws, creating more red lights!
*Bang…* Isamu wasn"t able to dodge the red light in time and was struck by it. He was knocked back a bit, but remained uninjured. However, his black jacket showed obvious signs of damage.
The bird monster kept chasing the constantly dodging Isamu. The sounds of the monster"s claw whistling through the air kept intermingling with gunshots, covering the sound of the pouring rain.
All the bystanders on the streets were stunned at this sight.
The people that were closer ran in fear. The ones who were farther away started filming the scene with their cell phones.
Was this a movie? A TV show? A cosplay performance?
n.o.body saw any cameras anywhere. If this was a performance, that actor in the monster costume was truly doing such a good job. Even from a great distance, people felt instinctive fear and danger!
Why would they feel such fear and danger?
Those who escaped from the game center would answer like this: because the monster was fricking real!
*Bam!* Isamu was struck once more by the red light emanating from the monster"s claws.
This was the fourth time already… His jacket was now tattered in many places. It seemed that the jacket wouldn"t be able to block many more hits.
Although Isamu was able to somewhat injure the monster, it wasn"t enough!
He was too weak.
Not only that, he was already beginning to feel fatigued. Even without the problem of not being able to take many more hits, he probably wouldn"t be able to move like this for much longer.
The police… could he count on the police?
It was definite that someone probably called the police already. But even if the police arrived, would they be able to handle this monster?
No… Isamu could sense that even if the police arrived, the police would only suffer casualties.
This monster couldn"t be dealt with by ordinary people.
Only a spiritual ability user… a powerful spiritual ability user could handle the situation!
Isamu instantly thought about that person.
If only Seigo Harano was here, this type of monster would surely be dealt with swiftly.
Isamu wanted to contact him… but was unable to spare the time right now.
Not only could he not spare the time, Isamu felt like he almost couldn"t go on anymore.
The bird monster kept chasing after him. Isamu tried, but was unable to increase the distance between them. His body kept feeling heavier and heavier.
He shouldn"t have fought just now. He should have called for help from Seigo at the very first opportunity!
It was too late to regret now.
Isamu suddenly slipped, and was unable to dodge the monster"s next attack. He was viciously swiped by a claw attack, causing him to fly backwards!
Isamu crashed heavily into a street light, causing the black mystical jacket he wore to completely vanish.
His gloves and gun also began to glow. This was an indicator that they were almost completely out of energy.
Was he about to die?
Isamu started feeling afraid as the bird monster approached.
He shouldn"t have fought… He shouldn"t have worried about his cla.s.s president… He should have run away at first opportunity…
He had only fought in his dreams before, yet he thought he would be a capable fighter… that was so foolish of him!
Only the truly strong were capable of dealing with such a monster, such as someone with Seigo Harano"s strength.
"I"m… about to…"
"Ahhhhh!!! Don"t come!!!"
Isamu started shouting loudly as he imagined the way he would die! He picked up his gun and shot furiously at the monster as tears welled up within his eyes!
He felt fear; he felt regret. Yet, he still clenched his gun tightly.
"Justice is a heavy concept, Seimkun." Isamu once again recalled Seigo"s words. "Supporting justice is a good thing, but sometimes the situation isn"t what you think it is. …How much you can believe in justice, and how far you can persist with it, is something that only you can come up with an answer to."
"My own answer…"
Isamu furiously shot with his gun as tears streamed down his cheeks.
The bird monster blocked the mystical bullets with a red light as it waved its claws.
Slas.h.!.+ With a swipe of its claws, it cut right through the street light, leaving a deep fissure in the ground.
However, Isamu didn"t die.
He used all the energy he had left to dodge this almost fatal attack at high speed!
Yet, his gloves and gun had both disappeared now. His body felt incredibly heavy.
He knew that he probably couldn"t escape anymore. However…
Isamu defiantly showed his middle finger to the bird monster!
"Graaaawwwrrrr!!!" As if the bird monster sensed Isamu"s will, it roared angrily at him.
Isamu chuckled as he struggled, got up, brought out his cell phone, and made a call while running away!
Even if he couldn"t escape in the end, he would struggle until the very end!
He conquered his own fear. He no longer felt any regret for his actions.
The bird monster chased after him and swiped yet again...
*s.h.i.+ng!!*
A black-clad figure descended from the sky, slas.h.i.+ng down with a powerful sword stroke that cut off the monster"s claw!
The claw fell to the side and evaporated in a puff of mist.
The bird monster screamed in pain. Its other claw started glowing red and swiped viciously towards the figure before it!
The black-clad figure dodged this attack, and then slashed with his sword again. This seriously injured the bird monster"s other claw!
The bird monster screamed pitifully and retreated.
Isamu saw only a black-caped, helmeted, and mysterious individual wielding a longsword.
Complex yet elegant silver runes were on the cape and helmet. Two hand-sized feather ornaments were on either side of the helmet. The handiwork was exquisite, and there was an alluring beauty to the combat equipment.
This person"s longsword glowed white and flashed with golden runes. Isamu had seen this exact same scene in his dream before!
"Harano-kun?" Isamu looked at the mysterious individual.
"Graaaahhhhhhhh!!!!!"
The bird monster roared in a loud voice as its entire body began to glow red. Both its claws speedily regenerated, and the gray spikes on its body started glowing with black electricity. Soon, the black electricity meshed with each other like a tight web, forming something resembling a suit of armor made out of lightning on its body!
Isamu instantly froze over at the sight.
A cold chill permeated throughout his entire body, feeling like it even penetrated through his bones, making his body difficult to move.
Just about all the other bystanders felt the same chill, although the degree was different depending on the individual.
Now, even the biggest skeptics could only admit that this monster had to be real!