Zephyroth arrived close to the heaving and wreathing figure of Alexander, circling around him to get a better view of his features.
"Mm, he's easy on the eyes at least." Zephyroth smiled predatorily. "Too bad he's a weakling."
"Zephyroth!" Drakorin and Oryndrax arrived a second later, glaring at the woman for her impulsive behaviour. "Don't do that again." The leader growled.
"Fine." Zephyroth rolled her eyes. "It's not like I wanted to attack him or anything. You should chill."
"Haa…" The leader sighed as he shook his head. "He hasn't noticed us even with us this close."
"Our technique is flawless, Drakorin." Oryndrax shrugged. "Without the appropriate level, seeing through this is almost impossible."
"What do we do?" The woman asked. "Do we present him with the choice or do we subdue him."
"..."
Drakorin remained quiet for a while, drifting to face Alexander as the oblivious Veilwalker continued to draw in the surrounding energies to recover.
Following Drakorin's lead, Zephyroth and Oryndrax moved to his side, flanking him to the left and right.
"He has potential," Drakorin said, observing as Alex stood up and looked around. "But experience teaches us that Veilwalkers hardly surrender until they are shown the error of their ways."
"So some beatings are in order, correct?" Zephyroth asked, smiling from ear to ear. "Allow me the honours."
The woman moved forward, staring at the oblivious Veilwalker. Her companions stepped back, knowing what was about to happen.
"Don't go too far, Zephyroth." Drakorin instructed. "We don't want him broken."
"Yeah, yeah." The woman replied, taking off the hood of her cloak to reveal her true appearance.
The woman was a heaven-defying beauty with cascading locks of red hair. Protruding from the side of her head were horns split into two as they moved away from her head.
Her eyes, also red, were vertical slits, resembling that of a beast. And the clothes she wore underneath her cloak resembled armour made entirely of scales, glimmering in red and orange hues.
Zephyroth was not human, neither were her companions. They were a race of supreme beings considered the apex of all intelligent life in all universes--their words.
They were dragons.
Moreover, they were not in their true forms. As beings of immense pride, only a few had laid eyes on their majestic and supremely beautiful forms.
"Sorry little man, but you'll have to bleed a little." Zephyroth grinned as she made her move, closing in on Alex through the void.
Her right hand was clenched into a fist as she targeted his face. However, things didn't go as expected.
The moment she reached the Veilwalker and was about to deliver her blow, the target's eyes shifted to her position, his gaze piercing right through her.
'Shit!' The woman cursed, realizing her dire situation. 'He knew!'
Unfortunately, she was already close and couldn't back out. In one swift motion, the man's left hand moved, melding with the void and grabbing her by the neck before pulling her out.
"Ugh!" Zephyroth groaned under the choke hold, taken by complete surprise.
"Zephyroth!" Drakorin called out, his heart sinking to the bit of his stomach.
However, before he or Oryndrax could react, they saw the Veilwalker extend his right hand in their direction and then flickered.
BOOM…!!!
"Ugh!" The dragons were blasted out of the void, blood leaking from the corner of their lips.
That simple action had caused them massive damage. The realization sent cold shivers down their spines.
'Fuck…!' Drakorin cursed. 'I knew there was something off about him. He was hiding his true strength! From the very start, he knew we were here. We were played for fools!'
Unfortunately for Drakorin and his companions, the Veilwalker wasn't done with them.
The trio felt the surrounding space solidify, strengthening against cracks and making escape impossible.
They were trapped.
"You three have been sniffing around for some time now." Alex snarled, his expression dead serious. "Did you enjoy your little experiment?"
He tightened his hold on the woman, eliciting a groan of pain from her. Zephyroth tried to break free but to no avail.
And for whatever reason, she couldn't tap into her powers. She was locked out!
'We made a mistake!' Zephyroth looked at Alex with trembling eyes. 'He is no immortal… He's already a Demi-god!'
"A Demi-god, huh?" Zephyroth's heart skipped a beat when she heard Alex echo her thoughts. It confirmed her thoughts about his level.
"It has a nice ring to it."
Suddenly, she was tossed away like a rag doll, joining her companions a few kilometres away.
None of them made a move against Alexander, opting to observe first. They were immortals and no match for a Demi-god.
Alex observed them calmly, waiting to see if they would make any other moves. But the dragons were sensible to remain calm and composed, at least on the outside.
Drakorin wiped the blood from the corner of his lips, his eyes not leaving Alex's for a second.
"Greetings." He finally said, standing upright with his companions and acting like the creatures of pride they were. "We are vassals of the Supreme One and have come to your universe to show you his favour."
Inwardly, he cursed himself for not taking this route first. His pride in his race and success in other lower universes had blinded him to the truth.
Had he had more control over Zephyroth, he might have opted for the diplomatic route first.
"And sending a death storm my way is the favour you brought?" Alex sneered. "If that's the case, then you're not welcomed--"
"Wait!" Drakorin rushed to interject, sensing Alex was about to make a move. "We had every intention of interfering had no one the capability to stop it."
"Tell that to someone else." Alex said, seeing through the lie. He stretched his right hand in their direction. "Let me show you what happens when you play with my universe."
The surrounding vibe changed, and an ominous and spine-chilling aura descended, pressing down on them like a mountain.
"Mm!" They groaned as the strain of the pressure intensified. "We should do something!" Oryndrax cried out, unwilling to fall here.
If they were going to fall, they might as well go all out. Knowing a being from a lower universe forced their hands to reveal their true forms stung their pride.
But survival came first.
ROAR…!!!