Chapter 77: Team Building While Shopping and Encountering a Killer
Jennifer stood in the bizarre office, her mind temporarily unable to process everything.
She reached out cautiously and touched the massive trophy display case. The cold metal confirmed that all of it was real.
On the wall, the Creeper's torso—just hung and still twitching slightly—along with the tattered bat wings pinned by pure silver crosses, silently testified to the horror of the battle that had just occurred.
And the architect of all this sat behind the imposing desk like nothing had happened, watching her with an evaluating gaze.
"Boss?" Jennifer tentatively called out, the title feeling both novel and thrilling to her.
"Mm." Edward made an acknowledging sound, clearly pleased with the title. "As my first employee, you need to understand the office's business scope and how to evaluate targets."
He pointed to the puddle of dark green ichor on the floor, already beginning to congeal. "Let's start with that 'pest' from earlier.
Tell me—what did you sense about it?"
This sudden "performance review" caught Jennifer off guard momentarily, but she quickly focused.
After becoming a fledgling succubus, her perception had greatly enhanced, especially when facing non-human entities.
She closed her eyes and carefully recalled her earlier sensations.
"It's... ancient," Jennifer organized her thoughts. "Its body is filled with craving for flesh and blood. That feeling is like... hunger. The most primal, desperate hunger.
It repairs itself by consuming. I can sense that many parts of its body have discordant auras, as if pieced together from different 'donors.'"
She paused, then continued, "Also... fear. It can smell fear and is drawn to that emotion.
The terror from the students on the bus was like... lighting a beacon in the darkness for it.
But it was terrified of you, Master.
From the moment you manifested that hammer, its instinctive hunger was completely overwhelmed by even stronger fear."
Edward listened quietly without interrupting. Jennifer's perception was remarkably keen, capturing almost all the Creeper's core characteristics.
"Solid analysis." Edward nodded approvingly. "That thing is called the 'Creeper'—an ancient demon that prolongs its existence by devouring humans.
It awakens once every twenty-three years for a twenty-three day hunting period.
It selects prey it has terrorized because the scent of fear reveals which organs it needs to replace its own damaged parts."
Edward's tone was flat, as if reading from Wikipedia, but to Jennifer's ears, it revealed an incredibly cruel and insane truth.
"Will it... wake up again?" Jennifer asked, looking at the "decoration" on the wall with concern.
"No." Edward leaned back in his chair, hands clasped behind his head. "I destroyed its heart and brought back its torso.
Without its core, even if the rest of its body were left outside, it would only slowly rot into useless biomass.
Now, its only value is as a collectible—a reminder to other things not to cause trouble on my watch."
Jennifer looked at Edward's calm profile, and her heart began racing despite herself.
This extreme, controlled power held fatal attraction for her.
"I understand, Boss." She nodded seriously.
Edward smiled with satisfaction, surveying his own space.
He walked to a small bar setup in the corner of the office, grabbed two Cokes from the mini-fridge, and tossed one to Jennifer.
"Working after hours, no overtime pay, but drinks are unlimited." He pulled over a bar stool and sat down, twisting open the cap to take a sip. "We've got a few hours until dawn anyway."
Late into the night, only the soft rustle of pages turning and the faint hum of the mini-fridge remained in the office...
Early next morning, when the first rays of sunlight shone through the broken bus window, everyone inside gradually woke.
"Ugh... how'd I fall asleep?"
"My head's killing me... what happened?"
"Oh God! Coach!!"
The first students to wake immediately saw Coach Davis lying in the aisle, one leg a mangled mess.
Immediately after, the terrifying memories of last night flooded back like a tidal wave.
The strange bone dart, the blown tire, the coach's screams, Mr. Peterson dragged through the window, the torn-open door...
For a moment, screams and sobs erupted in the cramped bus compartment. The scene plunged back into chaos.
"Everyone, calm down!"
At that moment, Edward's calm, authoritative voice cut through the panic. He and Jennifer had returned to their seats at some point, as if they'd been there all night.
"Last night, we were attacked by a large predator." Edward, without changing expression, began his "official explanation." "Coach Davis and Mr. Peterson were injured protecting us.
Right now, the most important thing is staying calm and getting help."
His words seemed to carry strange power to settle nerves. The panicked students gradually quieted. Though their faces still showed fear, at least they'd stopped screaming like chickens with their heads cut off.
The bus driver pulled out his phone with trembling hands, only to find zero signal out here.
Despair settled over everyone again.
Fortunately, not long after, a passing RV spotted the school bus parked on the shoulder.
The owners—a kind retired couple—helped call 911 and used the first-aid kit from their RV to stabilize Coach Davis.
Police and ambulances quickly arrived, taking away the severely injured coach and the "remains" of the missing teacher, then surveying the scene.
Facing police inquiries, everyone's statements were surprisingly consistent—they'd been attacked by some unknown large predator.
No one mentioned the winged humanoid monster, as if that most terrifying memory had been collectively forgotten, leaving only vague, confused fragments.
This was, of course, thanks to the subtle mental suggestion Edward had quietly applied with his telekinesis.
Finally, after changing the spare tire, the school bus—escorted by state patrol—arrived at its destination around noon: the neighboring city of Youngstown, Ohio.
Considering the severe psychological trauma the students had suffered, the school administration urgently canceled the academic competition, arranged for everyone to stay at the best local hotel, and sent counselors to provide trauma support.
In the hotel room, Frank lay pale on the bed, rubbing his temples vigorously.
"Edward, I swear, that was the most terrifying nightmare I've ever had in my life." His voice still trembled. "That thing... I felt it breathing right next to my ear.
If I hadn't somehow fallen asleep, I might've lost my mind."
Edward handed him a bottle of water. "It's over now. We're safe."
"I'm not going anywhere. I'm sleeping for twelve hours straight and forgetting this ever happened." He pulled the covers over his head.
Edward looked at his genius friend's rare moment of vulnerability and said nothing more.
He turned and gave Jennifer a meaningful look.
The two quietly exited the room.
In the corridor, Jennifer asked in a low voice, "Master, where are we going now?"
"Shopping," Edward said simply.
Jennifer let out a soft giggle, naturally looping her arm through Edward's and pressing close to him. "As you wish, my dear Master~"
Inside Youngstown's largest shopping mall—Eastwood Town Center—Edward and Jennifer walked side by side.
The mall was bustling with weekend shoppers. Stores lined both sides with everything from designer clothing boutiques to electronics shops to the typical American mall staples: Hot Topic, GameStop, Bath & Body Works.
Jennifer was in her element, practically dragging Edward from store to store. Despite being a supernatural entity, she had surprisingly mundane tastes in retail therapy.
"Master, look at this!" She held up a black leather jacket from Wilson's Leather. "Would this look good on you?"
Edward glanced at it. "I already have a jacket."
"But this one would make you look even more intimidating," she pouted. "Like a proper demon hunter."
"I'm not trying to look like I walked off the set of Blade," Edward said dryly, but he let her hold it up against him anyway.
As Jennifer debated between the leather jacket and a different style, Edward's instincts suddenly prickled.
That familiar sensation—malevolent intent, predatory focus, the psychic signature of something wrong.
He casually scanned the mall's second floor. His gaze swept across the food court, the arcade, the movie theater entrance—
There.
Near the Spencer's Gifts, a tall figure in a worn jacket stood motionless, staring down at the crowd below. Even from this distance, Edward could feel the wrongness radiating from him.
The man's posture was too still. Too focused. Like a predator selecting prey.
And in his jacket pocket, Edward could make out the distinctive outline of a large blade.
Great, Edward thought. Can't even have a normal shopping trip.
"Master?" Jennifer noticed his shift in attention. Her own senses immediately went on alert. "What is it?"
"We've got a problem," Edward said quietly. "Second floor. Near the novelty shop. See him?"
Jennifer's eyes tracked upward. When she spotted the figure, her expression darkened.
"I feel it too," she whispered. "That's not... human malice. That's something else. Something that's killed before. Many times."
Edward's jaw tightened.
Just once, he'd like to go shopping without running into a supernatural serial killer.
Just once.
"Stay close," he said. "Let's see what we're dealing with."
As they moved toward the escalator, Edward's hand instinctively moved to his jacket—where Ebony and Ivory waited in his dimensional inventory, ready to be summoned at a moment's notice.
Another monster.
Another hunt.
Just another day in Edward Connor's life.
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