Bara and Alex blurred across the battlefield, moving at incomprehensible speeds, their clash lighting up the sky. Bara unleashed a barrage of energy beams, each one more vicious than the last, while Alex countered by summoning massive blades of death, slicing through the beams with deadly precision. The explosions from their attacks echoed like thunder, shaking the city to its core.
Alex gritted his teeth, narrowly dodging a piercing beam that grazed his side. His energy burst form was beginning to wane.
"I don't have much time left in this form... I have to end this now. There's a limit to how much time i can charge up, renew and absorb energy from the world around me. I just learned how to use this technique, it harder to maintain it than to achieve the form for long."
Without hesitation, he launched a flurry of Flash Fist attacks—blinding, fast-moving punches made of concentrated energy—toward Bara. In response, Bara flew backward, weaving between the strikes while countering with his own energy blasts.
A wicked grin spread across Bara's face.
"You can't maintain that power for long, huh?" he sneered. "I knew it. Now it's time for you to die!"
He opened a panel in his chest and fired an enormous energy beam that tore through the battlefield like a meteor. The explosion that followed sent a massive shockwave through the city, rattling buildings and cracking the ground. Alex tried to resist the beam, but it overwhelmed him with a powerful explosion. When the dust cleared, he was in his base form, armor shattered and body releasing steam. Alex had a few burn marks and scratches on his body.
Bara calmly walked up to him, triumphant.
"Man, that was a good fight. But I told you not to get cocky."
Alex, struggling to lift himself, spat blood and glared with a smirk.
"You really think you've won? You damn fool..."
Bara raised his hand and began charging another beam.
"I like your resilience. Time to die."
Suddenly, a flash of crystal light intercepted the attack. A sword of crystallized energy deflected the beam back at Bara, who screamed in pain as his arm was blown off once again. His regeneration kicked in—but slower this time.
Raquel stood protectively in front of Alex.
"Huh? Raquel? What are you doing here?!" Alex asked with annoyance. "Get out of here—it's not safe!"
"I've been watching you risk your life fighting him," she said calmly. "Do you really think you can do everything alone? The others are out there helping people… now it's my turn to help you."
Her forehead glowed—her crystal eye now fully actived
"I won't let you get hurt.". Raquel seemed protective over Alex.
Bara was able to get back up and blated out more beams of energy at rapid fire "OUT OF THE WAY!",he exclaimed with anger. Raquel dashed toward Bara, evading another barrage of energy blasts. Her movements were fluid, almost predictive. Bara narrowed his eyes as Raquel tore tore through his attacks and dodged everything with skill.
"She's dodging my beams? No… it's because I'm low on power. Most of those shots were at max light speed before, but now they're slower. Still… she's impressive."
Raquel closed the distance, her hand crystallizing into a blade as she struck through his weaker beams. Alex watched in awe.
Bara, analyzing her ability while continuously blasing beams of energy, muttered:
"That eye… it gives her some kind of predictive vision. Looks like she can dodge attacks up to hypersonic speeds… but if that evolves any further... heh."
He powered up again and began launching beams at rapid fire, much faster than before. Raquel punched through them one by one, speaking internally.
"I won't let your hard work go to waste, Alex… I'm going to protect you."
She formed massive crystal slabs and hurled them at Bara. He tried to blast through them, but the attacks held—forcing him to retreat. As he jumped back, Raquel appeared above and slammed him into the ground, forming a crater on impact.
Alex's eyes widened.
"Did she… beat him?"
But smoke cleared—and there Bara stood, gripping Raquel by the throat. She was limp, unconscious.
"Impressive, that was quite the show… This city's full of powerful young soldiers," he smirked. "Be proud, girl. You caught my eye."
He tossed her into the air and fired a devastating and powerful beam. The sky lit up with a fiery explosion. It was tye same level of power he had used to destroy the entire city.
"RAQUEL!!!" Alex screamed, eyes wide in terror.
As the smoke from the sky cleated, Raquel plummeted to the ground, barely conscious. She had burn injuries on her arms and had blood on her parts of her face. Alex's face was in shock and terror.
"Don't worry…" she whispered weakly. "I won't… let anything… happen to you…"
She tried to heal herself, but before she could finish, another beam from Bara blasted her again—this time, her body burned up even more, her injuries became more devastating. Raquel was motionless on the ground.
Bara laughed darkly.
"Isn't that a shame? What a shame indeed. Do you want to know why you're in this position, kid? Because you're weak. You dont have enough strength or guts to compete with me right now. After I kill you… I'll wipe out this entire city. And then I'll continue with my personal goals."
Alex froze, his eyes were unreasonable. His heart pounded in fear and rage. The words echoed endlessly in his mind. He stood paralyzed… in the void of his consciousness. The floors were filled with a pool of blood
"Do your best, okay?" a gentle woman's voice echoed in his soul.
Suddenly, a violent surge of demonic energy erupted from his body. A scream of pure fury echoed as shockwaves burst outward, splitting the ground and shaking the very landscape. The air turned heavy with darkness. Serena and Mori felt the pulse and were utterly shocked.
"That pressure…" Serena whispered, trembling.
"It's him," Mori said, eyes wide. "Alex. That's the same power he used against me… but stronger. It's filled with hatred. Wait…" he turned around "Where's Raquel?!"
Alex's eyes glowed red, he slowly started to get up, his teeth now sharp fangs. A dark red aura consumed him as he transformed into his full demon form with a powerful scream. Wings of chaos erupted from his back, horns from his head, and dark armor forged itself onto his body.
Bara gasped in amusement.
"YES! So this is the true terror of your demonic power! But this is still too wea—"
Before he could finish, Alex appeared in front of him in a blink—and punched him so hard, Bara was sent flying. As he crashed to the ground, blood gushing from his mouth, he looked up just in time to see fireballs raining down on him. The explosions shook the entire battlefield.
Alex let out a feral roar, his energy burning brighter than ever and crackling all over the battlefield. His body now complete—fifth stage of his demonic transformation unlocked. Alex had a terrifying demonic look on his face, one that spoke danger and proved that he was a walking monstrosity.
"Demonic Form… Stage Five…" Bara muttered withba smirk "He's awakened it…"
The storm of energy around Alex faded slightly, revealing the monstrous form in full. Steam hissed from his mouth as his glowing red eyes locked onto Bara.
"I can feel your rage," Bara smirked, though shaken. "Come then, demon. Let's see who walks out of this alive."
Raquel stirred, weakly reaching her burned hand toward Alex.
"Alex…" she whispered, before slipping into unconsciousness again.
Elsewhere, Sukuna, Son, and Baraka felt the demonic force ripple through the air.
"What was that?!" Sukuna muttered withs shock.
"It's coming from Alex…" Mori answered, horror in his voice.
END OF CHAPTER.