It had originally come to prey on the manticore flies, but seeing its quarry slaughtered by a strange species, it flew into a rage.
The pterosaur spread its talons and dove straight for Sephirot.
"Look out!"
Andre couldn't help but cry out in alarm.
However, Sephirot simply watched the charging monster with calm indifference.
With a flick of his wrist, the deer bow vanished into thin air.
The moment the pterosaur reached him, Sephirot swung a heavy fist downward.
Splat!
Its ugly little head was smashed into a pulp by Sephirot's fist, and the force of the blow slammed its carcass into the ground.
Silence.
The supermarket fell into a deathly hush; you could have heard a pin drop.
No one dared to make a sound. They all stared at the man who had neutralized the threat so effortlessly as if they were looking at a monster themselves.
The old lady swallowed hard, her heart sinking.
She could feel that the group she had just brainwashed was shifting their stance once again.
A fear of her power being stripped away made her lose her mind.
"De... Demon!"
She jumped out and pointed at Sephirot, screaming, "Are you all blind?!"
"He is a demon! It was he who used that evil power to bring this disaster upon–"
Before the old lady could finish, Sephirot slowly turned his head and shot her a look.
Just that one look.
It was as if someone had seized her by the throat; the questioning voice in her mouth stopped abruptly.
She knew that if she said one more word, this man truly wouldn't hesitate to kill her.
The old lady's legs gave out and she slumped to the ground, her body trembling, a faint warmth spreading between her legs.
"Shut up, you lunatic!"
The supermarket manager was the first to step forward and fire back. "If it weren't for this gentleman, we would have been stung to death by those insects long ago!"
"Exactly! What else can you do besides standing here and lying to people?"
Several fence-sitters followed the wind, cutting ties with the old lady at lightning speed and joining the accusations.
The old lady's face turned pale and blue under the crowd's rebukes, and she retreated awkwardly into a corner.
Andre stood to the side, secretly reeling with shock.
No wonder Sephirot had walked out of that house unscathed; no wonder he had acted so composed the entire way.
It turned out this guy wasn't an ordinary person at all.
Having traveled far and wide for years, Andre had heard many rumors regarding Occultism and supernatural power, but today was the first time he had witnessed it firsthand.
Clancy held up the camera, his face flushed with excitement.
He had captured the entire scene of Sephirot's attack! This was absolute exclusive, viral material!
Once the crisis was averted, the crowd returned to their spots, whispering and buzzing as they looked in Sephirot's direction.
Sephirot stared out the window, deep in thought.
The combat prowess of these monsters in the mist had not changed due to his presence.
Since they were easily dealt with and posed no threat, he naturally wanted to go see what the authorities were up to.
"I want to go with you, Mr. Sephirot." A firm voice rang out beside him.
Amanda seemed to have realized Sephirot intended to leave and was the first to speak up.
Sephirot looked at the schoolteacher with some surprise; he hadn't expected her to be so decisive.
"Staying here isn't safe."
Amanda glanced around at their surroundings. "You all saw how these people behaved just now; it's total chaos."
"To still be engaging in infighting and dividing the group under these circumstances... if we stay, those who don't fit in will only end up as sacrifices in their power struggles."
Drayton remained silent.
As a pragmatic man, all he wanted now was to protect his wife and son, staying safely tucked away in this relatively secure supermarket to wait for government rescue.
Andre also looked conflicted. Though he craved sensational footage, the thought of the monsters outside made his survival instincts scream for him to back down.
"She's right. I've lived a long time on these old bones, and I'd like to see what those monsters actually look like."
The old lady stepped forward as well, echoing the sentiment.
Seeing even this frail woman take a stand, Andre felt his curiosity stir once more.
Perhaps, with Sephirot by his side, he wouldn't end up in harm's way?
At that moment, Clancy nudged him and shot him a look, subtly lifting the camera in his hands.
The two were instantly on the same page and chose to follow.
Sephirot nodded. He looked at Drayton and said:
"Don't worry. You stay here and try not to go outside. It shouldn't take more than a day or two for government reinforcements to arrive."
Drayton looked at him apologetically and handed over his Jeep keys. "Thank you. The car is parked right outside. Good luck to you all."
Sephirot took the keys and led the group to the entrance.
When the others in the supermarket saw them preparing to leave, they crowded around.
But between the fat man's screams from earlier today and the recent monster attack, not a single person dared to ask to come along.
The five stepped into the thick mist, their figures quickly swallowed by the white veil.
Once inside the Jeep, Sephirot started the engine and asked, "Does any of you have information regarding that military base in the mountains?"
Amanda shook her head. "I only moved to this town recently. I don't know much."
Andre and Clancy, predictably, looked completely lost.
Just as Sephirot was about to give up hope and focus on driving, the silent old lady suddenly spoke.
"I've heard a few rumors."
"That military base is called Black Mountain. A lot of the officers and researchers would come to town to relax on their days off."
"I heard them mention that they seemed to be researching how to open some kind of doorway."
As she spoke, she oriented herself by the local landmarks and pointed. "It's roughly in that direction."
"Alright."
Sephirot nodded, not bothering to ask the others for their opinions.
Since they had all chosen to follow him out, they would surely defer to him regarding their destination.
The car crept forward through the mist.
Suddenly, the chassis shuddered.
Thump!
An unknown, colossal boom echoed from the fog.
The group pressed themselves against the windows, peering out...
A pitch-black foot, shaped much like a rhinoceros's hoof, descended from the heavens and slammed heavily onto the highway directly in front of the Jeep.
A deep crater instantly formed in the asphalt.
The skin of the giant foot was wrinkled with deep grooves, and one could even see numerous tentacles and fleshy maggots swarming around the limb.
Thump! Thump!
The car jolted again and again as the remaining gargantuan feet emerged from the mist in succession.
Sephirot pushed open the car door and looked up.
A massive shadow had replaced the sky, with dense clusters of tentacles dangling from mid-air.
The monster's body remained hidden high within the clouds and mist, making it impossible to see its full silhouette.
The behemoth trudged slowly toward the Jeep, passing directly over the heads of Sephirot and the others.
Sephirot sensed no emotion from it whatsoever.
It was as if the creature were a void, or perhaps it was simply focused on its journey, completely ignoring the tiny humans beneath it, much like a human never pays mind to an ant.
The others followed Sephirot out of the car. Upon seeing this towering titan, they froze where they stood, their very breath hitching in their throats.
Only when the vibrations faded into the distance and the monster's massive silhouette dissolved into the fog did Andre, his face flushed, finally cough and choke out, "What the hell was that thing?!"
Clancy said nothing, merely clutching his camera and frantically snapping photos in the direction where the monster had disappeared.
Once the creature vanished, the group took a moment in the car to steady their nerves before setting off once more.
The Jeep soon cleared the town limits.
The surroundings remained shrouded in thick mist, but the highway was now littered with overturned cars.
Multiple mangled corpses, partially devoured, lay by the roadside. The wreckage and carnage along the way were a constant assault on the senses of everyone in the vehicle.
The closer they got to the mountains, the more monsters they encountered.
Occasionally, multi-headed hounds would appear by the road, baring their teeth and snarling at the Jeep.
Deformed humanoid figures, clutching cubes in their hands, flitted across the highway from time to time.
Sometimes, a translucent spirit or two would even drift straight through the body of the car.