Alex swam with the speed of a moving tornado as he pushed against the current and dived deeper. A few minutes later, he arrived at the sea bed where he saw a gigantic crack that was expanding with time.
'That's why.'
With his suspicion confirmed, there was no point in staying in the water. He turned around and shot towards the surface at full speed.
Alex leapt out of the water, wasting no time looking back and began walking forward.
'That thing is too late and there's no way of doing anything to correct that. Yet, the trial expects me to save the city?'
No matter how he played it, the city was going down. Even coming up with a plan days ahead would not stop nature from doing what it wants, when it wants.
"Huu… This is bad…"
He muttered with a dejected expression. He wasn't sure if he could have another do-over and he had no plans of finding out.
His thoughts spun as he tried to come up with ways that would save the city. Yet, everything he came up with couldn't hold.
He stared at his palms as if they betrayed him.
"What's the point, huh?"
So what if you were the strongest person around, but couldn't save anyone, how would that make you feel? What if this was real, didn't that mean he would fail?
The thought scared him more than he could admit.
After an hour or two used in trying to come up with a solution, his gaze moved towards the mountain range that would be adjacent to the direct path of the tsunami.
He continued to stare at it until something he heard earlier today rang in his ears.
"What if?"
The idea came and the more he thought about it, the more feasible it was. His expression brightened and the next moment, sped towards one of the high-rise buildings and scaled it to the top in seconds.
"I'm such an idiot! The big picture! The big picture!!!"
"Hahahahaha….!"
He was beside himself with joy. The answer was a very simple one. Saving the city didn't mean the buildings and the things within, just the people!
The people made the place a city and not the buildings and its amenities. Cities can be rebuilt but not people.
With the answer gotten, he wasted no time and rushed towards the City Hall where the leaders were.
However, he encountered another problem. Because he was in a rush, he forgot that the people were still people and as such would act like one, especially those in authority.
"Don't move!"
A shout came from a man dressed in sleek black armour with a plasma cannon aimed at Alex the moment he popped out of nowhere inside the building.
"What…?"
Alex was dumbfounded for a moment trying to process what was happening when more people geared up in the same way as the first man rushed out and surrounded him with their weapons humming his way.
'Fuck….'
He quickly deduced the situation after a few seconds.
'I suddenly popped out of nowhere and no one knows me. To them, I'm an invader, here to threaten their leaders.'
Alex quickly raised his hands up in the universal language of surrender and watched on as the civilians evacuated the building.
"Wait. I mean you no harm. I just want to speak with your leaders about an urgent matter." He tried to explain, however…
"Quiet! Don't resist arrest or else…"
In response, the guards surrounding him had their plasma guns hum threateningly.
'Fucking hell… I don't have time to waste on you lot!'
"Just listen to me damn it!"
He began to feel the frustration at being delayed when they were on a clock.
"An earthquake will hit the city soon, followed by a tsunami. We have to evacuate the people as soon as possible."
Yet, they turned a blind ear to what he was saying, their guns humming to claim its blood for the day.
"Seargent…"
"Right…"
The man who appeared to be the commander instructed his subordinate to approach Alex and handcuff him.
'Tch! I don't have time for this. My life is on the line too!'
Suddenly, Alex put his arms down and the air around him changed; a change the commander felt.
"Seargent, step back!"
The commander bellowed but it was already too late. The young man they surrounded swiftly appeared right behind the sergeant and delivered a hand chop to the back of her neck that knocked her out before she could even understand what was happening.
"I'm sorry for this…"
He muttered as the guards watched their sergeant collapse to the floor out cold. A moment of silence settled between the two parties.
Then…
"Fire at will!"
The commander wasn't willing to take any more chances. It was either they eliminated him or he killed them all. The choice of what the commander wanted was clear.
Alex watched in slow motion as their guns hummed to life as the red beam of concentrated energy storm his way.
'Haa…'
The beams reached him and he evaded them with ease, executing complex athletic moves that would have left them in awe if not for the given situation.
Then things changed when Alex decided to not play in passive mode anymore. He took a hiding spot behind a large column as the guards continued to fire their weapons chipping away at the column's integrity.
After a couple more rounds to make sure their target was hit, they eventually stopped and silence returned to the large hall.
The commander gestured for one of his men to check on the intruder. The others waited with nervous breaths. They had never seen a being move like that before.
"Sir, no one's here."
The man who went to check on Alex found nothing besides the rubbles of the column they fired at.
'Fuck…'
The commander cursed when he noticed the shocked look on the faces of his men as well as their rush to point their weapons.
"I'm sorry."
A whisper came from behind him and he didn't need to see who it was.
Then, everything went cold as the commander fell into the hands of darkness.