"You should've stayed dead."
The leader of the dark elves sneered, his dagger pointed straight at Alex. His tone dripped with disdain, but there was a flicker of unease in his eyes.
Off to the side, Sophia and Clara rushed to Marci, who had already lost consciousness.
Sophia's hands trembled at first, but when she saw Alex standing, alive, glowing she steadied herself. Hope returned to her eyes.
Clara, however, remained hesitant. She hovered nearby, her eyes darting between Marci, the bodies, and Alex. She had no idea who these people really were, but they appeared to know her name.
Back in the clearing, Alex's golden eyes burned brighter, his fists clenched at his sides.
He turned slightly, glancing at Sophia without taking his eyes off the dark elf.
"Ms. Sophia," he said calmly, "once you're done healing Marci, please check on Lieutenant Cloe. She's resting by that tree.
He nodded toward a tree nearby, where Cloe lay slumped against the trunk.
Sophia followed his gaze and gasped softly.
"O-Okay! Right away!" she replied, quickly regaining her focus.
The dark elf watched all this unfold with a curious smile.
"Huh... You're not the same kid I saw before."
He lifted his blade, the tip gleaming under the fading light. His eyes narrowed, not with rage, but with interest. With excitement.
"Looks like I finally have a worthy opponent."
A slow grin spread across his face as he took a step forward.
"My name is Yerevan Aranion, of the Chaos Tribe, one of the strongest clans among the Dark Elves."
His voice was proud.
"Remember that name, boy. Because it'll be the last one you ever hear."
Alex didn't flinch.
"Alex,"
He said simply, his voice calm.
Unlike before he appeared to not lose his consciousness and he didn't release his golden aura from his body. Only his eyes glowed with that intense, radiant light.
Without another word, Yerevan lunged.
He moved in an instant, dagger aimed straight for Alex's neck.
"Ahh... goodbye, little lamb,"
Erevan muttered with a smirk. But then,
"...Eh?"
His expression changed.
Confused. Shocked.
A split second later, he flew sideways, crashing into the trunk of a nearby tree with a brutal thud. Bark splintered from the impact.
Yerevan coughed violently, blood spilling from his lips.
He hadn't seen it or even felt it.
Alex had kicked him in the ribs, a single, lightning-fast blow the moment he got close.
Still standing firm, Alex turned his head toward Yerevan, eyes blazing gold.
His face was expressionless.
But his rage was clear.
Yerevan groaned, barely managing to get back on his feet. He reached for a potion at his belt, uncorked it, and drank it quickly.
"That... was an impressive speed," he muttered, wiping the blood from his mouth.
He tossed the empty bottle aside and narrowed his eyes.
Then he moved.
He bounced from tree to tree, launching himself with explosive force. One moment he was to the left. Then the right. Then above. Then gone.
A blur of shadows and speed.
This was his special technique, 'Phantom Dash' , a movement style that had allowed him to defeat many enemies before they could react.
Clara and Sophia stayed frozen, breathless.
They couldn't believe what they were seeing.
Yerevan was no longer visible, just flashes of shadow darting between trees, branches, and ground. To them, it was like he had vanished completely.
'Where is he?' Neither of them could answer.
But Alex didn't move.
He stood still, calm and unshaken, at the center of Yerevan's Phantom Dash.
A blur slashed past.
Blood streaked across Alex's side.
Then another—his shoulder. His arm. His back.
Thin cuts, fast and sharp.
Yerevan's voice echoed through the trees, mocking and sure of himself.
"I see… you can't keep up with my speed."
He grinned, breathing heavily now, confident he had the upper hand.
But then… something changed.
He felt it.
A presence, watching him and locking on.
Erevan turned, eyes wide.
"That gaze…"
Golden eyes glowed in the shadows, it was deadly and unblinking.
Alex was watching him.
Alex had been standing still, not because he was overwhelmed, but because he was observing.
Every movement. Every pattern. Every bounce from tree to tree.
He had used his golden eyes to track Yerevan's Phantom Dash.
And the moment Yerevan went for the finishing strike,
"wha–!"
A hand slammed around his neck.
Erevan choked.
"Ugh—eh—uh…"
Alex's grip didn't shake.
He stared at Yerevan without blinking.
Golden eyes burning with fury.
"What you did … was unforgivable !"
His voice roared with rage.
With one hand still gripping Yerevan's throat, he raised the other struck.
A brutal punch landed square across Yerevan's face
"Hah—!"
Yerevan let out a muffled gasp, but there was no time to breathe.
Another blow then another.
The sound of bone breaking echoed through the trees.
Alex didn't stop.
His knuckles split open from the force, his hand slick with blood, not his own.
He kept punching, each strike landing harder, fueled by anger and revenge.
For Mr. Hex, Sir John, Marci, Lieutenant Cloe and everyone that this group had hurt
Alex wasn't thinking anymore.
Until
"...Alex."
A soft voice broke through the haze.
It was Sophia.
She had just finished healing Cloe and now stood beside him, her expression pale and shaken.
Alex froze.
It took a moment… but slowly, her voice reached him.
He blinked.
The golden glow in his eyes faded slightly as he looked down at the lifeless elf, long dead.
He slowly released his grip, letting Yerevan's body slump to the forest floor.
Then he turned to Sophia.
"Ms. Sophia… are you alright?"
"I'm… fine,"
She said, though her voice trembled slightly.
"Then we should leave this forest."
As the words left his mouth, soft light broke through the trees.
The morning sun began to rise, casting golden rays across the bloodstained ground.
It was over, for now.