"YOU DARE!!!"
Alexander let out a void-shaking roar as the void creatures exploded with ruthless momentum.
BOOM…!!!
"Aah…!"
The subordinate Enforcers were the most affected by the explosive force, as the majority of them were sent flying.
"Fuck..! The stupid creatures took the boy with them!" A chief roared in shock, shielding their face from the energy waves.
"I doubt it," Rycan peered into the distance, finding nothing there.
Alexander and the void creatures were gone. The void creatures were obviously dead, but Alexander was another matter.
"He must have gone somewhere," Rycan added, recalling the angry roar that momentarily shook the void before the explosion.
'Drakmor, what's happening at your end?!' Rycan quickly reached out to the others.
'Nothing at the moment,' the dragon replied. 'What happened there? You sound anxious.'
'That's because the boy disappeared!' Rycan quickly shared what he saw with them. 'Where do you think he went?'
'...'
The line went silent for a moment before a reply came. 'His universe…'
'Shit!' Rycan inwardly cursed.
Reaching Alexander would be too late by then. Alexander's universe was not part of their shared connection, annulling instant void transfer.
The only alternative was to void-shift to one of the closest universes and make his way from there. Without hesitation, Rycan got the details and soon disappeared, the others following his lead.
***
Surrounding a small and inconspicuous spiral in the void was a group of corrupted Enforcers and void creatures.
The group had been eyeing this low-level universe for some time, planning how best to utilise it for their purposes.
However, unlike other universes, this universe had an almost undetectable protective ward surrounding it.
The ward extended for many million light-years, acting as a shield against external threats. Anything that breached its space would be detected the instant it occurred.
However, a couple of tests carried out showed that it allowed roaming void creatures capped at a certain level inside its space.
Once close enough to the universe, a Veil Tear opened up to allow said void creatures into the universe.
As remarkable as the protective ward was, its existence revealed a crucial fact about its master:
Alexander was overly protective of his home universe.
It was a common trait most Veilwalkers shared, and an easily exploited weakness.
With Phase One of their plan, engaging Alexander to delay his arrival, Phase Two quickly followed.
Using what they learned from their previous encounter with Alexander, the corrupted Enforcers held nothing back in their attempts to erase him.
They knew their target was somehow capable of killing any of them if they invaded that domain of his. Phase Two of that plan considered that, and it was the reasoning behind Phase One.
Gathered together were three Enforcers brimming with corrupted essence that wildly flared around their frames, their bodies overly blackened and shadowy.
They no longer resembled sentient life forms, but something straight out of a horror story.
With eyes that glowed ominously with dark, sinister intent and mouths resembling voracious maws, the corrupted Enforcers fused their essence to generate a massive swirling mass of darkness.
The gathered energy wreaked havoc on the surroundings with just its presence. It rivalled the size of a small galaxy, completely swallowing the Enforcers who had conjured it.
When the signal came, the Enforcers unleashed the gathered energy mass as the others watched it barrel towards the universe before them.
The dark energy mass broke into the protective ward with ease, swiftly closing more than half the distance to the universe.
Rumble…
'Get ready… He's here.'
An attack like that was not something a body double could stop. Alexander's main body would have to make an appearance.
And to ensure he would not split himself to handle the attack, they chose to use one gigantic beam of destructive essence.
The moment the void warped and twisted to reveal the arrival of their target, the rest of the Enforcers grinned and made their move.
Alexander's arrival was accompanied by the crackle of immense and overwhelming power, his radiant essence lighting up the void as he unleashed a torrential beam of his own.
BOOM…!!!
Black and white clashed in a cataclysmic explosion of universal proportions. The void shook with an even greater intensity, collapsing in on itself.
'Ugh!'
Alexander stifled a groan, momentarily overwhelmed by the power behind the massive beam of corruption. But he had no time to think, as his senses picked up several hostiles heading for him.
'Right where we want him!'
The Enforcer overseeing the operation grinned. Alexander would be too preoccupied fighting back the attack to focus on them, creating the opening they needed to finish him off.
Sacrifices were going to be made if they wanted to erase the Deviant Veilwalker. But they were sacrifices the Enforcers were willing to make.
The Enforcers resisted the protective ward as they instantaneously flanked Alexander. Two Enforcers appeared to Alexander's left, their dark fists hurtling towards him.
Wherever the fists passed, the void rippled and twisted, the weight behind the two fists unimaginable to behold.
To the right of Alexander were the remaining Enforcers, who appeared a few hundred meters away from him. And unlike the two attacking Enforcers, these Enforcers assumed fetal poses.
Their forms wobbled and shook, the corrupted essence around them flaring chaotically. Finally, their forms collapsed their immediate surroundings, instantly devouring everything in sight.
They sacrificed themselves to create a region of absolute nothingness that spanned several billion kilometres in diameter; a graveyard specially prepared for the occasion!
At the same time, the two fists barreling towards Alexander momentarily paused before continuing unimpeded. Unfortunately for him, that slight pause made no difference.
The Enforcers knew that was the last bit of resistance their target could put up. Alas, the power behind their fists was not that simple.
'Shit!'
Alexander inwardly cursed as he saw the approaching fists. He had anticipated an attack on his universe somewhere along the line. That was the purpose of the protective ward.
How could he have known his essence would fail to reject the attack? He was utterly blindsided by the attack, forcing him to resort to purifying the incoming beam, which left him exposed.
But what truly sent shivers through his existence, rattling his core, was the creation of the absolute region of nothingness.
BOOM…!
By some miracle, Alexander neutralised most of the attack headed for his universe, dispelling the rest. But that did not matter with the fists ruthlessly slamming into him.
The two strikes carried the weight of numerous universes behind them, a weight Alexander could not just shrug off. Had they not held back, his body would have exploded on contact.
However, that would not get the job done.
"!!"
Upon contact, Alexander's body and existence violently shook as a foreign power washed over him. It bypassed his defences and aggressively invaded his inner realm to reach his core, fracturing it!
Before he could decipher what that was or how his core was damaged, he was hurled back like a cannonball, speedily heading for the collapsed void of absolute nothingness!
He had no way of breaking that momentum, and no one was coming to save him! With his core cracked and essence almost depleted, he was in a despairing position.
Phase Two was a success!
Alexander was helplessly swallowed by the abyss, instantaneously erased without the possibility of revival. Beyond a shadow of a doubt, he was gone; the Enforcers were certain.
A moment of harrowing silence descended on the void. The point at which the two essences clashed became a vacuum devoid of any energy.
Then, as if the pause had been lifted, the dispelled energies rushed back to fill the created vacuum, save for the absolute patch of nothing left behind.
"Haha…. Hahaha…!"
A boisterous and villainous laugh from one particular Enforcer who had remained in the back to watch everything unfold echoed through the void.
"Fi-"
Before the Enforcer could express any more sentiments, he and the remaining Enforcers, along with the void creatures, snapped their heads towards a direction in the far distance.
"ZAUREN…!"
"Ah, looks like the morons are here…" The Enforcer, identified as Zauren, chuckled as he watched a team of chief Enforcers barrel towards him. "Not that it matters, hehe."
With a wave of his hand, he ordered the void creatures to meet the Enforcers en route. Soon, continuous explosions rang out in the distance as the Enforcers clashed with the void creatures.
Zauren, the demon Veilwalker, now turned corrupt, returned his focus to the universe that was still standing. With the master of the universe gone, the universe would soon follow.
Its core, along with its master, had been swallowed by nothingness. The universe could not stand alone; it was doomed.
However, after several seconds of waiting, nothing seemed to happen to the universe. Zauren furrowed his sinisterly glowing eyes, suspicion flickering in them.
'Something is off…' the demon realised and then looked around. His expanded senses swept the entire vicinity several times over.
But there was nothing amiss, the observation making him relax a bit. He looked back at the universe and pondered, deciding to wait a bit longer.
A few more seconds passed — nothing.
'Did he not fuse with the core of his universe?' Zauren was quick to deduce. However, he soon shook his head and discarded the thought. 'It's not possible…'
He remembered how the boy's ascension had taken place. The memories of the Veilwalkers who had seen the ascension were thoroughly reviewed, leaving no room for doubt.
'We can't leave anything to chance.' The corrupted demon made a decision and was about to instruct the others when his attention was once again drawn in a particular direction.
'His companions…' Zauren narrowed his eyes, staring at the newly arrived observers.
Drakmor, Calyndra, and Velmyra had appeared with Alexander's friends. They kept their distance from the raging fight and focused on Zauren.
"Are you searching for the boy?" the corrupted demon grinned as he noticed Drakmor's actions. "I'm afraid you're late to the party. Hahaha…!"
"So it seems…"
The response that came was unexpected, cutting off Zauren's villainous laugh. He frowned and swept his gaze over the so-called friends of Alexander.
'They're too calm…'