"Aah…!"
Another second passed after that heart-wrenching scream when the hidden domain opened once more, revealing Alex stepping out of the realm with a very badly beaten god with their divinity flickering around their body.
Alex held the god by their left leg and dragged it behind him. With every step he took, he covered millions of kilometres, quickly closing in on where he stood initially.
Unlike before, Drakmor had backed away from where he stood with Alex. He was now cautious of his invisible domain he couldn't sense or see. Of course, Alex did not miss this small detail and also didn't really care.
"Where were we…?" Alex continued as if nothing had happened, tossing the beaten god before his feet. "Ah… we were talking about how you lot would compensate me."
"..."
The gods were unable to process what was happening. How did putting a foreigner in his place become the opposite? They couldn't comprehend it.
But the truth was right before their eyes and divine senses. With what Alex did to the minor gods, shaking them to their core, they realised the foolishness of their endeavour and how much they cherished being alive.
Chronovar, who had been out of it for some time, finally regained his composure and looked down at Alex, his expression unreadable. A second later, his cosmic form began shrinking, coming to a stop at a height of five meters.
His figure flashed and disappeared, reappearing beside Seradia. He was the one to handle and trap him here, but that action seemed pointless.
He looked down at the beaten War God at Alex's feet and couldn't help but gulp imperceptibly. He was one of the gods meant to engage Alexander in combat when the time came.
To think he was easily subdued in what appeared to be just a second. Chronovar would be lying if he said he wasn't impressed.
"What do you want…?" He finally asked.
"First off, I want all the gods here." Alex demanded coldly. "There will be no more hiding, no more subtle spying. Whether you were involved in this scheme or not, everyone must be here…"
"You don't know what you're asking, Lord Alexander." Seradia replied, her tone still gentle and soothing.
"Are you referring to the Primordials?" Alex asked with raised brows, once again leaving the gods speechless. "Yes, I know about them too."
"Then you should know what you're asking for is going too far…" Chronovar replied. However, before he could add anything else, Alex cut him off.
"Yet, I'm not seeing the others." Alex narrowed his eyes at the two gods. "Maybe I wasn't clear enough…" At the same time, his clone moved the white flames closer to their targets.
In response, several gods appeared behind Chronovar and Seradia, numbering in the thousands, major and minor gods alike. The only ones missing were the primordials.
Being gathered together, the different divinities caused the surrounding space to tremble continuously, the flares from them lighting up the space as well.
None of them liked being ordered around, but Alex got them by the throat. Even if they didn't have a herald held hostage by Alexander, they didn't wish to see Alex break into their private domains.
He had more than proved he was beyond their capabilities with his strange power. They were arrogant and entitled, not stupid.
"Much better…" Alex grinned softly, taking in the sour expressions of the numerous gods. He looked at the god who lay before him and kicked him towards the others.
'Lord Drakmor…' Andrew called to his mentor telepathically. 'What do you think he's going to do to them?'
'You have a front row seat, just watch.' The dragon replied, a hint of curiosity in his tone.
Andrew nodded and focused his full attention on Alex, watching his every move. Looking at his broad back, he wondered if he was ever going to ascend and be that domineering.
"Now then…" Alex began and took a step forward, and as he expected, the gods backed away slightly, weary of his invisible domain.
Ignoring their weariness, Alex continued: "What I want is a simple apology from you."
"What…?"
The gods couldn't help but echo in confusion. They expected extortion of their treasures to the highest degree, but an apology was not one of them.
"You heard me." Alex snorted. "What do you think I am? What do you have that I cannot create? Your private domains? Your divine weapons or armaments? I have no need for anything of yours…"
Chronovar and the others realised the truth in his words. But apologising was not something any of them had ever done towards a Being they considered lesser — even now, they still viewed him as lesser.
The Supreme One and the Primordials were a different story. But the above-mentioned barely interacted with the rest of them, keeping to themselves and their territories.
"What? You're too good for that?"
No response came as the gods stared at Alex with bitter expressions. Some of the gods clenched their fists, already feeling the humiliation gnawing at them.
The very fact that Alex asked this of them was humiliation enough. Moreover, the fact that they didn't have a lot of choices in the matter vexed them to no end.
Of course, there were those who were only bitter from getting dragged into this entire mess. Unfortunately for them, Alex didn't care about their reasons.
"I don't have all day, you know?" Alex furrowed his brows, reminding them of the gods he had at his mercy.
"Y-you're going too far, Alexander. Just because we aren't fighting you doesn't mean we're weak. Don't push us too far." Chronovar voiced coldly. "We admit we made an error in judgment, but don't get the wrong impression. Even a cornered animal will fight back when it sees no other way out."
"What's stopping you then?" Alex retorted. "Either you get down on your knees, or you come at me and risk losing everything…"
A snap of his fingers brought all the gods in his universe's region to him, forcing them to their knees and heads lowered in shame.
With his main body in Universe Prime connecting to his other body, it was an easy task to bring them over. This was still a connection he hadn't figured out yet; that and how the multiverse connects with every single universe.
For the hostage gods, the abrupt change in environment didn't surprise them much, but Chronovar was the one most shocked.
He still had space locked. Yet Alex did whatever he pleased without a hindrance.
"Now choose…" Alex demanded. "Kneel and apologise, or lose everything…"