BOOM…!!!
With devastating momentum, the fists tore through Alexander's stomach, a muffled groan escaping his lips.
Had he not shifted slightly to the side, that blow would have ripped him in half. Even so, he escaped with half his stomach missing, the hulmite hot on his tail.
'Yeah, this one is on me.'
Alex accepted the injury as his doing. The frustration of his situation drove him to make that stupid error in his attack, allowing the hulmite to deliver that blow.
'No more.'
He was done playing with the hulmite. It was time to teach the hulmite why he was a different breed. A sliver of his senses paid close attention to his injured side, observing the ominous essence.
The dark essence clung to his exposed wound like a leach, violently twisting and wriggling in an attempt to invade his existence. But it faced the source — Alexander's essence — and was swiftly snuffed out.
His radiance surged once more, already mending the gaping injury, though it consumed far more energy than usual. That blow he received left him in pain, but his focus remained unbroken.
BOOM…!
Trohan raised his nonexistent eyebrow as Alex deflected his next blow instead of meeting it head-on like before.
Without hesitation, Alex bypassed the launched fist, closing the gap between them. His left jab struck Trohan's head, snapping it to the side. Before the hulmite could react, another strike followed, driving straight into his face and sending him hurtling through the void.
But Alex wasn't done. Since the hulmite wanted a beating, that was exactly what he would get — and this time, Alex would stay close.
In a flash, Alex reappeared along Trohan's trajectory, slamming a knee into his back and breaking his momentum. The hulmite grimaced, attempting to regain control, but Alex gave him no chance.
Space contorted and twisted as numerous spatial spikes came out of nowhere and whizzed in on Alex. But as the hulmite expected, Alex adeptly manoeuvred out of the maze, his essence burning through any spikes that got too close.
Hardly any time passed from the moment Alex escaped the spatial spikes to when he appeared before the hulmite. The light in his eyes gleamed ferociously, his fiery fist descending on the hulmite like the raging god he was.
BOOM…!!!
With the landing of the first strike, a barrage of relentless assaults followed suit as the hulmite was beaten black and blue across his own domain, helpless and unable to regain control.
'Not again!' Trohan's thoughts roared in frustration, more fists slamming into his body with barely any time difference. 'Why…?! Why can't I beat him?!'
The blows stung like needles and burned through his dark essence with ease. With every strike he took, his existence shook and pain jolted through his system.
The beatings were relentless and heavy, but Alex didn't slow down. He moved so swiftly that every attempt the hulmite made to counter or evade was nullified. Trohan was helpless, unable to shift away or reclaim his balance.
Then, a dreadful shiver ran down his spine. Alexander had switched to a blade.
With horror flooding his expression, Trohan saw the momentum drive him straight into the blade's path. The gleaming edge flashed as Alex lunged.
In that instant, the hulmite swore he saw his life flash before his eyes.
"Enough!"
Trohan roared, and space quivered in response. He had all the power, yet what was the point if he couldn't pummel Alex into oblivion? Something was undeniably wrong with the narrative.
Just before the hulmite's face collided with the aura blade, Alex felt the oppressive suppression around him vanish.
"Finally…"
A smirk tugged at his lips as he abandoned the lunge. His figure flickered and disappeared, slipping seamlessly into the true void.
Trohan had recalled his domain, allowing Alex to escape. There was no point in holding him when it would only lead to more humiliation — a beating he couldn't stop, no matter how much strength he wielded.
Alex materialized once more, standing tall and composed. The void energy around him surged, hastening the healing of his wounds.
His core devoured the ambient void energy, leaving no trace of his injuries a split second later. With the same taunting smirk, he gazed at the hulmite in the distance.
Trohan's chest heaved with raging breaths. Fury twisted his features, his glare seething with such malice that if looks could kill, Alex would have died a thousand times over.
"You finally had enough, huh?" Alex said with a smile. "I hate to say I told you so."
His words struck the hulmite, shredding his pride and confidence. Doubt crept in — was the method he used for his ascension truly worth it? How could a single core be more powerful than four?
It defied all logic.
Naturally, he had no way of knowing that what set Alexander apart was the fact that his powers were entirely his own. In a sense, he existed beyond the defined system — an exception, forging his own path.
"What are you…?"
Trohan asked the same question for the nth time. Now more than ever, the hulmite wished to know what made Alex different — if he was even a god the same as him.
Alex was not surprised to hear the words. Even he was not sure why his ascension and decision to unfuse with his universe core made him different.
"I wish I could tell you, Trohan." Alex shook his head with a soft sigh. "The only thing I can say is that my ascension wasn't as you thought. That may be why I'm different. At the same time…"
Alex's eyes flared dangerously, sending a shiver down Trohan's spine. He knew what was going to come next, and he would be a fool to wait around to find out.
Seeing Trohan about to make a ran for it, Alex shook his head disappointedly and raised his left hand towards the hulmite.
"!"
Alexander's instincts abruptly flared — more so than anything he had felt since coming across Trohan. His eyes widened in horror when five void creatures materialized out of nowhere and surrounded the hulmite.
The hulmite shrieked like a frightened kitten, forced to halt his escape. He was unable to grasp how the void creatures suddenly appeared. And he dared not move either — his very core warned him of existential crisis.