In Alex's field of view, his friends might as well be moving at a snail's pace and could defeat them without thinking too much about it. But that would defeat the purpose of this spar.
He wanted to see how far they'd come and how strong they were. He wasn't particularly sure how strong Class D awakened were supposed to be as he had no reference. Moreover, his friends were anything but normal.
Alex's eyes darted around as he followed their movements. First, he dealt with Ross's overhead strike, ignoring the intense heat of his flames. Flames powerful enough to melt magical steel like butter.
If Alex hadn't coated his armour in a ward of defensive light, his armour would have melted. And that was when the armour was capable of taking attacks from Class B hunters.
'Definitely not normal.' Alex mused thoughtfully as the flames fell on him from above. Then, the ice-cold intent of Julia's sword strike came from the side, smothering the flames where it passed and reached Alex.
*CLANG!*
The clash generated a powerful shockwave of hot and cold energies as they intermingled and spread out for several kilometres. However, Ross and Julia knew Alex was anything but affected.
"You'd have to do better than that."
Alex's voice came out of the chaotic energies as a sudden wave dispelled the flames and ice, revealing the target standing in the same posture.
In his right hand was Ross's weapon, held at the bladed tip with only the index finger and thumb.
In his left hand was even more impressive as a single finger—his index finger—stopped the lade of Julia's sword like it was nothing. The results appeared as though Ross's strike was heavier than Julia's.
"Don't think too much about it," Alex muttered before they could even draw any conclusions.
Julia and Ross were not surprised by his words. Still, it would have been a boost to their egos if they managed to push him back, even to the smallest degree measurable.
Unfortunately...
Before the two could recover their weapons to continue their assault, Alex made his move. Since he decided to match his friends, that was exactly what he did.
First, he shoved their weapons aside, disrupting their form as he closed in on Ross, appearing before him in an instant.
'Shit!'
Ross cursed and acted quickly, managing to recompose himself fast enough to deliver a counter. He swung his sword at Alex who went low and evaded the swing with minimal effort.
"Too slow." Alex teased.
With his right hand, he delivered a palm strike straight to Ross's gut, knocking the air out of him as he was hurled back several kilometres in an instant.
Abruptly and without even looking back, Alex sensed Julia already behind him. She lunged her sword straight for Alex's exposed back, aiming to take him by surprise.
"Not gonna work."
Julia was sure she timed her attack right as the moment Alex moved in on Ross, she was on his tail. She couldn't help but grin slightly with the tip of her sword so close to Alex.
However, Alex suddenly disappeared and reappeared behind her. She couldn't even react in time as Alex spun around and delivered a kick that sent her across the void, just as fast as Ross—if not faster.
Ross and Julia had to struggle to break the momentum of the force that pushed them.
"Tsk!" Julia snorted. "I thought you said you'd match our strength and speed." She felt betrayed.
The woman half expected Alex to go easy on her for obvious reasons, but she had underestimated her influence over him.
"Yes, I did." Alex nodded. "But I never said I won't use my abilities." The reply made sense and, what were they expecting?
Ross and Julia would have felt their eyes twitch if they saw his smug grin. The two exchanged another glance.
"Let's forget about testing our prowess and go for teamwork," Ross suggested in a serious tone and turned to Alex who remained floating in place.
"Roger." Julia acknowledged as the two put their weapons away.
They had decided to go for hand-to-hand combat. It may be the only chance they had at landing a blow on Alex.
Alex grinned observing their actions, waiting for them to come to him. 'A wise decision. Still…'
With their weapons away, Ross and Julia took on their Manastorm state as their figures came alive, blazing with a fiery mana intensity that made the immediate surroundings tremble slightly.
They may not be as strong and powerful as Alex, but they still had enough power to destroy planets.
And they planned on pouring that power unto Alexander, not daring to hold anything back.
Then as if to taunt them, Alex made a daring gesture for them to come at him. His posture was relaxed, leaving him open for a beating.
Suddenly, the two disappeared from their position and appeared before Alex, each with their fists clenched as they hurled it at Alex.
*BOOOM!*
Alex caught both fists with his hands as the resulting shockwave erupted with a thunderous boom and spread out for thousands of kilometres. Even then, Alex did not move.
"That's more like it."
He muttered as the trio quickly fell into a rhythm. Julia and Ross attacked Alex with everything they had as they exchanged rapid blows and kicks while speeding through the void.
With every punch and every kick delivered, Alex parried them or evaded them with minimal movements.
When he saw an opening, he would attempt to seize it. However, the other would react in time, forcing him to abandon his attack to either evade or block. He only had two arms and legs after all.
"You guys are good as a team," Alex muttered several exchanges later. "But you're still ways along."
Suddenly, Julia and Ross lost sight of Alex as he increased his speed. He closed in on Ross and dealt precise and coordinated attacks to targeted areas—his shoulders, sides, torso and then a final kick that sent him across space like a ragdoll.
The momentum of the kick was so strong that Ross couldn't even break free to recompose himself.
Julia did not even have time to react to Alex's sudden movements when she heard Alex's voice.
"Sorry, babe. But you have to learn."
As quickly as the voice came, Julia felt a combination of different attacks at precise points on her body. However, to her senses, they might as well have been dealt at the same time.
*BAM!*
A final strike sent him after Ross, none of them unable to break the momentum. The disparity between them was just that vast.
If he went a tad bit harder on them, they wouldn't come out with just feeling pains and sourness in certain areas of their body.
Several minutes passed before Ross and Julia managed to break the force that sent them hurtling through space.
They had utilized all their energies and pushed themselves to give their all. Even then, the most they managed to do was force Alex to withdraw his attack when he was matching their speed.
They couldn't land a single hit. Ross and Julia realized it at that moment—they still had a long way to go before matching Alexander.
"That was brutal, man," Ross complained bitterly. "You could have at least let us land a hit or two." His sides ached to the point of tears, but he held back.
"If I did that, you'd think you stood a chance." Alex laughed. "The illusion could be detrimental to your psyche."
The two knew he was right, but it still stung, nonetheless. They had a lot of catching up to do.
'But will he even remain at the same level?' Ross asked himself, but he already knew the answer.
Unlikely…