"Hmm? A grown woman and a teenage girl?"
"Heh heh... sounds like the perfect appetizer."
"I am the Bat Devil. Rejoice, for you shall become the first step in my glorious feast to devour all humanity!"
The devil with a bat-like head twisted its grotesque face into a grin as it spoke to Hitori and Seika.
"I don't really get what's going on," Seika gulped hard, then suddenly grabbed Hitori by the arm. "But we need to run, now!"
"O-okay!" Hitori nodded, dazed.
Seika turned on her heel and broke into a sprint, pulling Hitori along behind her.
Feeling the tight grip on her arm, Hitori was genuinely moved.
The manager… she's actually really kind.
In a crisis like this, her first instinct was to run while dragging me with her!
"Yes, run! Run as much as you like!" the Bat Devil bellowed in amusement. "I'm not that hungry just yet. I can afford to toy with you a little. Blood tastes better after a good warm-up!"
Tap. Tap. Tap.
No matter what the creature shouted, Seika didn't respond. She just kept running for her life, pulling Hitori as fast as she could.
But with every leap, the devil could clear dozens of meters in a single bound, constantly cutting off their path.
Seika had to zigzag frantically through alleyways just to avoid it.
Eventually, they ducked into an abandoned warehouse.
It seemed like the Bat Devil was herding them, intentionally driving them into a trap so it could toy with them indoors.
"Hitori, why are you slowing down?" Seika turned back, frowning. "If you don't run, that thing will catch us!"
"S-sorry... Manager... I'm... I'm out of breath..." Hitori panted.
"You have to keep going! If it catches us, who knows what will happen?!"
"I-I know..."
Pushed by Seika's urgency, Hitori forced herself forward, drenched in sweat and barely able to keep moving.
The Bat Devil entered the warehouse too, clearly entertained, following them at a casual pace.
With nowhere else to go on the first floor, Seika led them up a staircase, onto a suspended metal catwalk above.
Whoosh!
Suddenly, a powerful gust of wind surged through the warehouse.
The entire building began to creak and sway. The catwalk beneath them shook wildly.
It felt like walking on an old rope bridge, one gust away from collapsing entirely.
One fall, and you could be paralyzed for life.
"Ah!"
Seika stumbled and felt her grip on Hitori loosen.
She quickly grabbed the railing to steady herself, preventing a fall.
Then she looked back and saw Hitori had fallen hard, sprawled face-down on the metal walkway.
Dressed only in a pink tracksuit, Hitori looked completely overwhelmed.
"Can you still stand?!" Seika shouted.
"I-I think... I'm okay..."
Hitori forced herself up, and Seika rushed to help her.
Whoosh!
Another burst of wind tore through the space.
This time, they both looked and saw the Bat Devil down on the first floor, its mouth wide open like a megaphone.
The gusts were coming straight from its mouth.
It really was full of hot air.
"Run!"
Seika didn't hesitate. She grabbed Hitori again, and they fled.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Each time the devil exhaled, the warehouse structure trembled. Dust and debris rained down around them.
They started to wonder if the ceiling might collapse completely.
And if it did collapse... would it be enough to crush the devil?
No way to know.
But if it came down on them, they'd be the ones dead.
"There! An exit!" Seika cried in relief.
Hitori looked up and saw it too. Up ahead, at the far end of the second floor, a door hung wide open.
Maybe the shaking had broken the lock, maybe they just got lucky but it was open now.
They raced toward it with everything they had.
"Just a bit more! You're doing great, Hitori! We're almost out!" Seika shouted with encouragement.
"Yeah!" Hitori nodded desperately.
They were so close. Just a few more steps, and they'd be outside.
But then...
Whoosh!
Another violent gust swept through.
That tiny sliver of hope Seika had just felt was instantly crushed.
She knew all too well what this wind meant.
It would shake the structure again.
And the ceiling above, already showing signs of cracking, would collapse for sure.
Not the whole thing just enough.
Just enough to completely block the only way out.
And once the exit was sealed, there'd be nowhere to run.
They'd be trapped.
Toyed with.
Devoured.
That was the end.
Smack!
In that instant, Seika felt a push from behind.
Not a powerful shove, but just enough force.
Enough to give the one being pushed the momentum to break through the exit.
Hitori?
"Manager... you have to run as far as you can. You have to live!"
Seika's foot hit solid ground outside.
BOOM!!!
The ceiling collapsed behind her in a deafening roar. The blast wave knocked Seika off her feet and sent her tumbling.
When she finally stopped rolling, she looked up in panic.
The door she'd just escaped through was now buried under a mountain of debris.
"Hitori!!!"
Her scream rang out uncontrollably.
She had no idea what was happening inside.
And she couldn't bear to imagine what would happen now that Hitori was alone... with that thing.
Hitori Gotoh.
The shy girl who avoided eye contact, who mumbled her words, who was so painfully timid...
Had saved her life in the end.
"Hitori..."
Seika pressed a hand to her tear-soaked face.
Eventually, she staggered back to her feet.
Crushed with guilt. Angry with herself. Utterly helpless.
There was nothing she could do.
She wasn't strong enough to fight a devil.
She didn't even know who to call.
All she could do was run.
...
"One got away?!" the Bat Devil roared in fury. "Damn it! Did I play too much? Half my appetizer's gone!"
It looked up at the second-floor walkway and glared viciously at Hitori.
"Whatever. I'm not in the mood to toy around anymore. You're the only one left. I'll eat you now, then go find the next batch of humans."
"You're right..."
Hitori's voice trembled just a little.
She was scared.
Anyone would be, faced with a monster like this.
But even through the fear, her tone held a rare, unshakable resolve.
"From this moment on... it's just you and me, devil."