The man, Skinny, swung at him with his knife and Alex tried to sidestep the attack but failed miserably. His foot slipped on the partly wet, uneven ground, causing him to tip backwards.
He tried to compensate by leaning forward and the knife managed to slice effortlessly through his clothes, leaving a deep gash on his chest.
Skinny immediately thrust his blade at Alex, and the latter let himself fall. A bruised behind was better than certain death.
Without giving him any chance to think, Skinny immediately spun the blade in between his fingers and positioned it with its tip facing Alex.
He swung down and Alex had to part his legs to avoid the attack. This time, Alex used his legs to kick both sides of Skinny's head.
Shrugging his attack off, Skinny swung his blade for Alex's throat and the latter swerved at the last second.
The blade pierced his shoulder and stayed lodged in, blood starting to flow from his shoulder.
Alex gripped the knife and pulled it out, but that only succeeded in exacerbating the bleeding.
He let out a low groan and stood up with the knife now in his hand. Skinny immediately lunged and pushed his finger into the open wound on Alex's shoulder and the latter almost fainted from pain.
As soon as his grip weakened, he grabbed Alex's wrists, twisting them and forcing him to drop the knife.
Skinny grabbed the knife mid-fall and swung at Alex, the latter dodged but it was a feint. Before he could react, Skinny began thrusting the knife in and out of him, leaving many fatal wounds. Alex collapsed on the ground and blood pooled out of him.
Grabbing Alex's clothes, Skinny wiped the blood off his knife before spitting on him.
"Serves 'yer right." He rasped.
Black spots filled his vision as he watched Skinny pick up his Beast Art and walk away.
'It isn't fair…' The spots widened and consumed him, first taking his sight.
'I risked my life for this, twice!...' Next was his touch.
'I deserve this! Nothing should take this from me!' Only the beating of his heart told him he was still alive but even that started to feel faint.
'It is mine.' Then his consciousness faded.
Skinny heard a faint clicking sound behind him and turned around. Alex was standing on his feet with an odd look in his eye.
"Yer haven't learned 'yer lesson, huh?!" Skinny ran to Alex, knife in hand.
Alex's hand shot out at breakneck speed and gripped Skinny's neck, tightening. Veins bulged on his head as Skinny gasped for air, trying to pry Alex's fingers off his throat.
Skinny stared Alex in the eyes and saw nothing human in their crimson glow.
"I… don't… deserve it." Alex lifted Skinny and threw him to the ground. The latter rolled out of the way as Alex performed an axe kick, shattering the ground beneath his feet.
Turning around, Skinny tried to make a break for it, but Alex reached out, grabbed the edges of his clothes, and with a firm grip, pulled him back.
Skinny could only watch in horror as the holes made by his knife healed at a speed visible to the naked eye. With a blank look, Alex pulled Skinny's arms out of their socket with a sickening pop.
The man tried to let out a scream but Alex covered his mouth until he became silent. After doing the same with his legs to ensure he couldn't run, he placed his foot over Skinny's head.
"Please, please, 'yer don't wanna kill me." He tried to plead amidst tears but Alex acted like he couldn't hear. Perhaps he couldn't.
Alex stared at the street rat under his foot, "Nothing should be taken from me." He spoke before placing weight on his foot, snuffing out the life in Skinny.
Turning to the book, Alex picked it up and walked home with no thought whatsoever, his eyes distant.
He entered his room without turning to his dad, who was already passed out drunk.
He walked undisturbed into his room, crashed into his bed, and fell asleep.
______
Alex's eyes flew open, and he reached out to the roof of his room, gasping desperately for air as though he had been starved of it for years.
A faint ache spread in his abdominal area, raising an alarm in him, 'What happened?'
The memories of his encounter with Skinny came flooding back and he immediately gripped his shoulder, feeling no pain.
He looked at himself and saw his clothes drenched in blood. His!
Alex screamed as he remembered the many stab wounds he had accumulated from the delinquent. How he was alive was a miracle.
Pulling off his shirt, he was surprised to see that apart from the dried red fluid, his body was perfectly fine with no scars. He had survived and was in pristine condition at that.
"My Beast Art!!" He screamed and shuffled, bumping into the familiar faded book.
Alex calmed down and he opened the book, "My beast art must have healed me. I can't believe it is this powerful from the get-go." Another ache filled his abdominal area.
Closing his eyes, he was surprised to see that his core was no longer there. In place was a chaotic mess of energy trying to form a new core.
"My core shattered?! That only happens when someone dies. Did I die?! How exactly did I survive and get away with the book?" The more Alex thought about it, the stranger it seemed.
Flipping through the pages of the Beast Art, he finally found a page that had an image description of what he had gone through.
The lines read: 'The core can be shattered to give a temporary enhancement to all powers already wielded by the user'.
That line explained why his core was shattered but not how he survived. He glanced at the clock on his wall and almost fell out of bed. He would be late for school.
He quickly scrambled and got ready, hiding the bloodied clothes.
When he left his home and moved along the street, he was surprised to see police vehicles surrounding a body covered with a white cloth.
People were gathered around, taking pictures and trying to get past the police tape placed around the scene.
While others were confused about who was under the cloth, Alex was sure, it was Skinny. He was dead. 'How did he die?' His eyes traced the corpse, 'Did I kill him?!'