The glass pane shattered and a mature man wearing a conical hat and has a katana tucked under his belt came crashing through the window.
In a flash, the demon was butchered in a pork chop slice and the man landed on the top of a table in front of the severed demon.
It happened at lightning speed that his katana never seemed to have left his belt—at least that's what the students inside the cafeteria saw.
The sliced demon dematerialised into dark microscopic particles and dispersed along the air like dust, leaving no trace.
"Yo, that's Ermit!" Liam exclaimed in awe.
That signature hat, a faint white long beard, and an insane move that his eyes didn't even follow made Liam realise that the middle-aged man who saved them is none other than the mighty S-ranked DH from White Hawks, Ermit.
"Evacuate the campus," calm and collected, Ermit uttered.
Liam put down the chairs in his hands. "I knew it was you," he chuckled a little. At that instant, Liam caught a glimpse of several DH in white uniforms fending off the demons outside through a busted window.
Liam got confused and couldn't help but ask Ermit, "What's the White Hawks doing here, though? Did the Twilight guild-"
"Evacuate. Now." Ermit said in a calm but forceful tone.
"Alright. We'll do that," Liam didn't question him any further. After all,
It's the White Hawks who came to their rescue, while the Twilight guild was running late.
"Consider taking a route away from the entrance gate," he said before walking out of the cafeteria.
On his way out, he came across Hayden who was just entering the place.
As the two strong men with a calm and serious countenance walked past one another, their eyes crossed for a very brief moment.
And none of them give a shit about each other.
Hayden proceeded to his 'Friends' with his dead serious eyes locked into Aubrey.
He aggressively grabbed Aubrey by her wrist and pulled her to him.
"You're coming with me," Hayden dictated.
Aubrey doesn't like it and tries yanking away her hand, but Hayden's grip is as tight as if he never wanted to let go.
In fact, his clutch was rather too suffocating that Aubrey was hurt when she failed to pull her arms away.
"Hands off! You're hurting me."
Liam stepped in, saying, "Easy, Hayden. What the hell was your prob-" but it ended with a pistol directed to his head.
Without hesitation, Hayden draws out his gun and points it at Liam's head as Hayden's undaunted gaze creeps into him.
Frightened, Liam shuffled away and raised his hands, showing no sign of retaliation.
"Yo, bro, chill. We're in the midst of literal hell right now, you don't wanna do this."
"This doesn't concern you, so stay in your line," Hayden threatened in a grimly serious way.
"How do you even slip a handgun inside the campus?"
"Alright, you win," Aubrey laid his unrestricted hand on the top of Hayden's gun and gently pulled it down. "I'm coming with you," she reluctantly complies in fear of bringing danger to her friends.
"Are you really cool with this, though?" Liam worried.
"Actually… This douchebag is my personal servant," she told them, seeming shy about it.
"Are you for real?!!!"
Not only was Liam shocked about the news, but the other girls on the sidelines were more hysterical.
"No way!"
"We don't believe you!"
"Tell me you're lying, girl."
"I'm not," Aubrey replied with a little chuckle.
"That's a shame though," Liam said. "I really thought you two were dating."
"Yeah, you two really look like a cute couple," the girls concurred.
"What!!!" Aubrey's cheek uncontrollably turned tomato-red. "What made you guys think of that absurdity?"
"Well, you two went home together after our drinking session yesterday, and uhh… we sorta fill in the blanks."
"Don't get us wrong, but you two seem really on it," Liam added.
"That's too shallow of a reason. I would never!'' Aubrey glanced at Hayden and gave him a disgusted look. "Never in a million years will I date this psycho! He's way out of my league," she ranted.
"Wait… if Hayden is your servant, then that must mean you're some kind of bigshot," Liam said.
"So you're one of those, huh," Camille said.
"Those what?"
"Those undercovered rich guys I saw on YouTube."
"Not quite," she let out a cute tee-hee. "Actually… my real name is Aubrey Es-"
~~~
Hayden recollected Esperanza's instructions before he got admitted to this school.
Third instruction: I must recognise Grace as Grace Garcia and Aubrey as Aubrey Reyes. No one shall know about the Esperanza daughters' true identity.
~~~
Before Aubrey could spill her real identity, Hayden tightened his clutch on her wrist and pulled her to his chest.
"She's the daughter of a wealthy man. And if you may, I'd like to get her out of here before more demons arrive."
Even in the most chaotic situation, Hayden refused to neglect the instructions given to him, that's why he restrained Aubrey from revealing something crucial.
After their conversation concluded, Hayden dragged Aubrey out of the cafeteria and the others also got out to make their escape. But while Aubrey's friend went to the south where most students are advised to go, Hayden on the other hand lugged Aubrey towards the north where the entrance gate was located.
Hayden still has his hand binded on her wrist even as they run along the student walkways. He was leading Aubrey on the tracks and Aubrey was struggling a bit to keep up with Hayden's pace.
"Are you bringing me to my death? Don't you know that the entrance gate is where the gate is?" She still wanted to have an argument with him even when she was gasping for air due to sprinting.
"I don't like the terminology you used. I'm your bodyguard, not a servant," Hayden said with his voice not seeming exhausted whatsoever.
"That doesn't answer my question!"
"I know a shortcut."
Aubrey roamed her eyes around and spotted several demons in a far distance slithering on the buildings which some are covered in huge flames. The dark fumes from the burning buildings gathered atop the barrier which the smoke failed to ventilate through.
"A shortcut to afterlife you mean!!!"
She was distracted from the havoc that she was unaware of a demon coming their way.
In front of them, a demon twice the size of Hayden had a muscular head and ripped upper body is knuckle-running in their direction. The demon resembles the posture of a gorilla but with a mane of lion around its neck.
It was charging in from Hayden's front, but he didn't make any effort to pivot away to avoid the demon. Instead, he confidently pressed forward as if there were not a monstrous hindrance on their path.
As the demon closes in, it roars loudly and grabs Aubrey's preoccupied gaze.
Terrified, Aubrey froze just like when she first saw the four-legged demon. Her legs suddenly felt heavy and because Hayden was dragging her to run, her feeble legs lost their pace and she tumbled to the ground, causing her knee to scrape the brick ground.
For the only moment, Hayden relinquished his grip on Aubrey and leapt higher than the demon's height. As the demon approached Hayden's reach, he spun mid-air, gathering momentum for a single blow.
He outstretched his feet and on perfect timing, he booted the demon directly on its head, and the impact—it was solid.
Its head got dislodged from its mane in one clean sweep.
As the amputated head flung in the air not too far, the demon crumbled into dust.
Hayden went up to Aubrey who was still on the ground and said something that ticked her off in a different way from usual.
Aubrey looked up at Hayden as Hayden stared her down.
"Will you not be a klutz? I'm trying to save you here."
Hayden's burning pupils gleamed into her.