Walking down the mall aisle, looking into the shops from time to time, the trip was rather smooth.
In a quick moment, the group had reached the atrium.
Holding the camping lantern above his head, Liam took a good scan around.
Apparently, there was a giant tree growing here. Its crown reached up to the glass ceilings, blocking out the light from the outside. Its branches were laden with unknown fruits.
Knitting his brows, Liam examined around. "The S-rank monster should be here..."
"Or maybe she knew we are coming, and she escaped." Everly's voice echoed in this space.
Jeff raised his brows. This detection man was not so professional after all.
"Up there." Jeff pointed upwards.
Following Jeff's finger, beams of light converged in that direction. On the second floor, there was a girl sitting on the glass q-railing.
The girl wore a black dress and a ribbon headband. Wearing a cute smile, the girl's crossed legs dangled in air.
"Hello~" The girl giggled and waved. The bell bracelet on her wrist made crisp tinkle sounds. "How are you?"
Jeff felt that his heart had skipped a beat.
This girl was pretty like an angel.
Jeff's heart suddenly pounded as if he had a crush on this girl. He suddenly felt a strong desire to make this girl happy. He had to protect this girl from any possibility of danger.
This was his love!
'I'm in love now... My ass!'
'Innnntereeeesting though.'
'Adamant Will. Toggle on!'
Jeff's thoughts instantly cleared up. His blood quickly cooled down. Like a switch turned on, Jeff was a cold-blooded monster-slayer again.
However, looking around...
Barry had dropped his tablet onto the ground. This mid-aged dude drooled with a perverted smile. Chuckling like an ape, this guy made grabbing gestures with his hands.
Liam was breathing in heavily through his nose. Pulling open his collar, this guy gulped.
Everly had a nose bleed. Staring up, this girl's gaze brightened up.
Jeff: ...
Taking out his earplugs, Jeff threw them onto the ground. These were useless!
Looking at his mesmerized teammates, Jeff's cheek twitched. "So how am I supposed to break their hallucination again? No idea..."
"Awwww... You don't like me?" The girl up there seemed to be genuinely disappointed.
"Well... No." Jeff took out his glint-tier dagger. "You are not my type."
Injecting mana into it, the dagger started to emit a blinking glow.
"But don't worry. It'll be over in blink." Jeff squint.
You know what they say: 'If you can't solve the problem, just solve the person bringing up the problem.'
"Help! Someone! Protect me!" The girl pretended to whimper.
"Me! Me! Me!" Everly popped out an AR-15 into existence.
The rifle's roar echoed in this atrium.
Ra-Ta-Ta-Ta!
In a quick moment, Everly had unloaded an entire magazine.
That vampire girl looked down at her body in disbelief.
"Didn't see this one coming, did ya bitch!" Everly cracked up with laughter.
The vampire girl tried to cover the bullet holes. But mist was still steaming out the holes in her body. Losing balance, the girl leaned forward.
Thump!
Like a ragdoll, the vampire girl crashed onto the ground floor. Her body started to evaporate into mist.
"No... No! No!" Barry balled into tears.
"My love! This can't be." The crying fella stumbled forward.
Liam pulled on Barry's shirt and yanked this crying dude back. Grabbing onto Barry's collar, Liam made sturdy slaps on Barry's face.
Left. Right. Left. Right.
Pa! Pa! Pa! Pa!
Jeff raised a brow. For some reason, Jeff got a feeling that Liam was enjoying this.
"A-huh-huuuuhhhh..." Barry gasped as if he was waking up with a start. "Where am I. What's going on."
'Oh. I'll remember this method.' Jeff nodded at what he saw.
"Well. That was easy." Everly put her hands behind her neck.
Jeff raised a brow at the girl.
"What's up with that look on your face? Of course we had more protection than just ear buds. We are not poor like someone." Everly smirked.
"Excuse me?" Barry looked offended.
"What. It's true. Can't face reality old man?"
"I-"
"..." Barry sighed and slumped, as if he'd just lost his purpose in life.
"Mind wiping your nosebleed first?" Jeff asked.
"Tsch..." Everly popped a tank-top into existence. She wiped her nose with that.
"This is what top-notch acting looks like." Everly added.
"Uemmm-Huuhhh... Surrrreee." Jeff nodded. 'Wow. That felt nice!'
"I had it all under control." Everly squinted. "I mean. We didn't even need you."
"Yeah... I'm not so sure about that." Jeff clapped.
"Now that you've all recovered..." Jeff turned to the evaporating vampire. "How long are you going to play dead for?"