"Lord Alexander, we have an issue."
Drakmor said through the door, knowing Alexander was already aware of his presence. There was no need to knock or see him directly.
"Thank you, Lord Drakmor. We'll meet you in the lobby."
The reply came right after, as Drakmor nodded in understanding before disappearing from the hallway.
A split second later, Drakmor was in the lobby, where a few of his colleagues were waiting. He swept his gaze over them and nodded.
"He will be here soon."
Calyndra, Vornarax and Ignarok nodded. The missing members of the group had already departed for their destination.
They needed to assess the degree of damage while giving out orders to their subordinates on what to do.
Suddenly, the Enforcers turned their heads when they felt a distortion in space. Knowing who was appearing, they fully turned to face the distortion.
A split second later, Alexander and his companions appeared.
'!!'
For a very brief moment, the Enforcers could have sworn their cores skipped a rotation. Meeting the blazing white eyes that stared back at them sent shivers down their spines!
'What the hell…?'
Calyndra echoed through their shared connection, unable to associate what she saw with the being she had come to know as Alexander.
Standing at equal heights to themselves was a completely different being, a being whose piercing eyes gnawed at their danger instincts.
The carefree image Alexander presented before was no longer in sight, replaced with something far more mystifying and dangerous.
Clad in a dark, hooded cloak with faint light details running across its hem, exposing neither armour nor face, Alexander stood imposingly.
The hood of his cloak cast a dark, abyss-like shadow over his face, leaving only piercing eyes that rattled the senses.
Neither their eyes nor senses could see past the shadow, making the presented image even more unsettling to behold.
Slightly behind Alexander were his companions, who were equally terrifying to behold. They gave off next to no presence, resembling regular people.
But the Enforcers knew better. In the place of overwhelming presence were eyes that spoke louder than any given aura.
Had they not known the beings behind those cloaks, they would have been clueless about their power level, left guessing and hesitant in a confrontation.
"Lead the way."
A heavy and commanding voice snapped the Enforcers out of their thoughts, catching their attention.
This was a tone they had never heard from Alexander before. It came out deep and imperious, leaving no room for disobedience.
Drakmor had no way of knowing what brought about the change, but it was a change that elevated Alexander's threat level in his mind.
Despite the sudden and unexpected nature of the change, the Enforcers could not find fault with it. They knew how powerful Alexander was.
What they were currently seeing only made that truth more apparent. Anyone would have to think twice before confronting him.
"Of course," Drakmor nodded and then glanced to his right, where a Veil Tear swirled to life, revealing the dark void.
The dragon was the first to move, quickly disappearing into the Veil Tear. The others followed soon after, casting cautious glances at Alexander and his friends.
'Hehe… I knew it!'
Julia had a hard time stopping herself from jumping around. Her plan had worked flawlessly! The cautious looks in the eyes of the Chiefs were all the proof she needed.
'I still can't believe you talked me into this,' Ross scoffed, feeling ridiculous. 'But I can't argue with the results either.'
'In other words, I'm right.' Julia stated smugly. 'Also, make sure to keep your actions to a minimum. The goal is to project mysteriousness.' she added as she made her way to the Veil Tear.
'Aren't you forgetting something?' Her steps faltered and came to a stop when Cassandra called her out.
Julia turned around to see Cassandra's eyes shifting to and from Alexander. 'What is it?' She looked at her beloved and then back at the catwoman.
'Alex is supposed to be in the front?' Cassandra stated matter-of-factly.
'Oh, right.' Julia scurried back to Alexander's side, falling back to her previous position. Fortunately for her, they were the only ones in the lobby.
Moreover, Alexander was one step ahead. He had subtly altered the way others perceived their actions, thereby protecting the group's image.
Even so, Alex found the entire thing humorous. But this was what Julia wanted. No one said he couldn't do what he did without projecting dominance and absoluteness.
'Let's go.' Alex took the lead and entered the Veil Tear, their delay not lasting more than a second.
On the other side of the Veil Tear, Drakmor, Calyndra, Vornarax, and Ignarok met with the others, who silently observed their subordinates carry out their instructions.
"How far along?" Drakmor asked as he arrived beside Nyssa, Velmyra, Rycan and a few others.
A significant distance away from where they gathered were the boundaries of a high-level universe surrounded by thousands of Enforcers acting as security personnel.
"Not long," Nyssa answered, glancing at the others before looking over her shoulder. "Is he coming?"
"Mm."
The swirling mass of darkness the dragon created acted as a tunnel connecting the true void of his home universe to their current destination. "Although…"
Nyssa turned back to the dragon and waited. However, Drakmor remained silent, prompting her to turn to the ones who came with him. "What is it?"
"You'll know soon enough."
That was the only answer she got; their vague response stoked her curiosity. With no way of knowing what they were on about, the phoenix could only look back at the swirling portal.
'What the…'
Before she could even lay eyes on the swirling portal, the domineering sound of someone taking a step echoed through the void.
A reverberating sound like that had no business echoing in the void in such a manner. But what shocked her the most was how that step reverberated through her existence.
Without looking, she spotted her colleagues turning halfway to see what was happening, even those who were supposedly in the know.
Nyssa's eyes and those of her ignorant colleagues abruptly widened, their cores skipping a rotation when a being clad in all black with white detailing materialised out of the portal.
'I-Is that A-Alexander…?'
Nyssa could not help the stutter that came out of her, too taken aback by the abrupt effect Alexander's appearance and piercing eyes had on her.
'That's him, alright.'
The reply came a moment later. Nyssa could not believe her eyes, unable to comprehend how Alexander's presence had taken such a turn.
'D-Did he benefit from what we shared with him?!'
Panic surged through her thoughts, spreading to her companions. They could not help but swallow hard. Alexander had no presence to him, but that was what made him appear so dangerous!
Another step, and Alexander crossed more than half the distance, seemingly disappearing and merging with the void as he walked.
Not far from him were three other beings who projected similar auras, leaving the Enforcers gawking and rooted in place.
When Alexander arrived before them and took another step, the Enforcers subconsciously paved a way for him, stepping aside as he walked to the forefront.
The Enforcers quietly stood behind Alexander, watching as his cloak billowed softly around him, almost as if a gentle breeze followed his every move.
And at this point, the subordinate Enforcers had been drawn by the phenomenon, silently communicating amongst themselves.
'Isn't he the Deviant Veilwalker everyone is talking about?'
'Yeah… But he looks different from the image and profile devised from his personality.'
'And what's with his eyes…? Am I the only one feeling unsettled?'
The eyes were the most noticeable aspect of everything they noticed about him. Even with the distance separating them, they could feel the intensity of his gaze.
'How is he able to affect us like that…?'
Everyone, including the Chief Enforcers, was curious to know the answers to that. And while they had their guesses, they could not comprehend how Alexander made it possible.
"What do we have here?" Alexander finally spoke in a domineering tone, his voice snapping them out of their thoughts.
"T-Tha universe and every other one connected to Zauren began acting out." Nyssa, who had been issuing instructions, began.
"The corrupted essence in them suddenly turned aggressive, corrupting everything it came across."
"Currently, our subordinates are evacuating said universes to avoid further… issues."
Alexander showed no reaction to her explanation. Instead, a statement was thrown their way.
"This is a high-level universe…"
"Yes, Lord Alexander," Drakmor replied. "Most high-level universes represent one of us, the Chiefs.
"Only a few among us have fused with other high-level universe cores. But most of our cores come from mid-level and low-level universes…"
"How long until the evacuation is completed?" Alex threw another question at the Enforcers, his changed demeanour leaving them guessing and baffled.
They had noticed how he made statements instead of conversing with them, reducing the number of things he said to the barest minimum.
"Not long," Nyssa answered. "Our subordinates should be taking care of the last of the inhabitants."
The Enforcers did not need to say why they called for him, as only his essence had the power to neutralise and purify the corruption.
"How many universes are reacting this way…?" Another question came after several moments of silence.
"..."
The Enforcers hesitated, subtly glancing at each other. The number of cores each chief carried was not the same as it had been before.
With a derisive but inward sigh, the dragon took it upon himself to reply. "2,025…"