Alex, now transformed into a vampire, felt his power multiply, each beat of his heart resonating like a war drum. A shiver of energy coursed through his veins as he looked up at the blood spears floating in the sky.
With a simple wave of his hand, he altered their shape: the sharp points retracted, their edges becoming more rounded, less lethal. He did not intend to kill the monster—only to neutralize it.
"Don't worry," he said in a calm yet icy tone. "I don't want to kill you. I just want to make you understand, violently, that I want you in my village."
He lowered his hand. The blood spears shot toward the monster at an insane speed, far beyond its maximum. Unable to track them with its eyes, the monster crossed its arms and tensed every muscle to protect itself. The spears struck violently.
The monster managed to block the attack, but the pain was too intense. Its defense cracked under the impact of the five spears. Thinking the assault was over, it lowered its arms… but the last spear remained suspended in the air, right in front of it.
Alex gave a slight smile and whispered, "Now."
The spear shot forward and struck the monster's head violently, hurling it to the ground. Dazed, it remained lying there, unable to move. If Alex hadn't made the spears less sharp, the assault would have been fatal.
Alex let out a satisfied smile.
"I did really well… So, are you getting up?"
Andris and the slime at the back jumped for joy.
"Bravo, new boss!" exclaimed Andris.
The monster forced itself up, its eyes burning with rage, and charged toward a tree. With a swing of its axe, it split the tree in two and hurled the massive trunk straight at Alex.
Alex smiled, his red eyes glowing dangerously.
"Perfect… it's the ideal moment to test my forgotten skills."
As the tree flew toward him, he precisely activated his Acid Jet skill. The beam struck the trunk and, sweeping across its entire surface in a horizontal motion, reduced it to dust instantly.
But the monster was not done. At full speed, it cut down several more trees and hurled them, one by one, at Alex.
Alex smiled again and activated Typhoon Dance. He spun around, generating a massive tornado around him. To protect Andris and the slime, he trapped them in a giant cube of blood, firmly anchored to the ground. The tree trunks were caught by the wind and spun around in the tornado, gradually being shredded into pieces.
Once reduced, Alex took perfect control of the tornado and directed all the wood debris toward the monster. It tried to protect itself as best it could, but Alex wasn't done. He followed up with his Aerial Howl skill: a piercing scream compressed the air around him, creating a shockwave that surged straight at the monster. Overwhelmed, it leapt to the side to dodge the attack.
Exhausted and desperate, the monster charged straight at Alex. He remained still. In its momentum, it swung its axe horizontally… which passed entirely through Alex's body, rendered intangible by his Mist Body skill. Without wasting a second, he activated Concealment, disappearing into a cloud of mist.
The monster, panicked, gasped:
"But… what's happening?!"
Alex calmly retrieved his axes as the skill deactivated.
"Look over here, big guy," he said.
The monster turned, seeing nothing.
"No… above!"
Alex appeared in the air. From his position, he activated Wind Blades and unleashed two horizontal slashes on each side, releasing thin, sharp air blades that surged straight at the monster.
It tried to counterattack with a vertical swing on one of the blades, managing to cut it in two. But the second blade sliced deeply across its shoulder. A scream rang out: "Urgh!" It flexed its muscles and quickly closed the wound.
Without wasting time, the monster launched an ascending diagonal strike toward Alex, who was descending to the ground. The axe grazed his head when Alex activated Gale Eye. Time around him seemed to slow while the airflow accelerated. The monster's movement drastically slowed. Disoriented, it no longer understood what was happening.
With a slight pressure of blood beneath the soles of his feet, Alex lifted himself above the axe's blade and landed delicately on it before leaping backward. The blood cube protecting Andris and the slime vanished. The monster saw them and, furious, charged, swinging a descending diagonal strike. Unable to react, Andris and the slime panicked.
"I'm your opponent," said Alex. "Why involve the spectators?"
He then activated Mana Wall. The axe struck an invisible barrier that absorbed and completely blocked the attack.
Alex crossed his arms, his face serious:
"We're done playing. This time, let's finish this."
Alex charged at the monster and activated a new skill: Sacred Blade. A blade of divine energy appeared on his right mini-axe, glowing with a brilliant light.
The monster, with no other choice, charged straight at Alex.
"I will protect my home… even if I die!" it roared, determined, eliminating all trace of fear.
But Alex, faster, struck first. He brought down a diagonal strike with his right axe, enveloped in divine light. The monster tried to block with the handle of its axe, but Alex split it cleanly before following through with a diagonal strike from its left shoulder to its right hip.
Alex restrained his strike at the last moment, making the wound shallow. The monster collapsed to the ground, exhausted and unable to continue the fight. Alex gave a small smile.
"And there… one thing done."
The slime and Andris rushed toward him, ecstatic.
"This is incredible! You defeated a king!" exclaimed Andris. "I've always believed in you, boss!"
Alex responded calmly:
"I know… don't worry."
He then stepped toward the slime.
"I have a gift for you," he said.