Apocalypse Baby

BOOM!

A shockwave exploded out from his body, sending cracks through the ground beneath him.

His muscles tensed, expanding, as if his entire body had been supercharged.

Steam seeped from his skin, rising in thick, ghostly wisps.

His breathing grew heavier, his chest rising and falling like a machine preparing for battle.

Alex's aura glowed an ominous red, the sheer intensity of it warping the air around him. A raw, overwhelming power coursed through his body, making the ground beneath him tremble.

The Grim Lord squinted its eerie, emerald-green eyes. Something was off.

The human in front of it had changed.

His strength had skyrocketed.

And that was not a good thing.

Alex slowly raised his head, locking eyes with the beast.

The Grim Lord didn't hesitate.

It moved instantly, instinct screaming that if it didn't react now, it wouldn't survive.

WHOOSH!

But even with its speed, it was too late.

Alex's blade tore through the air like a meteor, slicing through the Grim Lord's face in a devastating arc. A massive chunk of its flesh was ripped away, sending black ichor spraying across the battlefield.

The Grim Lord's eyes widened.

Even though it had reacted instantly, it had still gotten cut.

That had never happened before.

Snarling, the beast lord lashed out, summoning dozens of thick, writhing vines, all shooting toward Alex like deadly spears.

But they all struck nothing.

Alex was already gone.

And he was already in front of it.

So fast.

The Grim Lord reacted on instinct, exploding in a mass of vines as it leaped backward, trying to create space.

Something was wrong.

The human in front of it had suddenly surged in power—a power it didn't understand. It needed time to analyze.

But Alex had no intention of giving it time.

WHOM!

A shadow loomed over the Grim Lord.

It looked up—

And there was Alex, plummeting from the sky like a meteor, a blur of red energy, his blade raised high.

The beast lord reacted instantly, slashing out with its chain blade.

SWISH!

But Alex twisted midair, barely tilting his body, dodging the attack by inches.

Then—

BOOM!

Alex's sword came down like a warhammer, striking with a force that shook the battlefield. The ground beneath shattered, a deafening explosion ripping through the air.

A thick cloud of smoke burst outward.

But from the haze—

The Grim Lord staggered out, a deep wound on its shoulder already sealing shut, black ichor bubbling over the injury.

Its eyes held unease.

The Grim Lord felt it—a sinking sense of dread.

Alex's sudden power boost was unnatural.

It didn't understand what had happened, but it knew one thing for certain—

It needed Varkos.

But before it could do anything...

YANK!

A powerful force jerked the Grim Lord backward.

Alex had seized it by the leg, his grip like iron shackles.

His eyes burned crimson, glowing with a feral intensity.

Then he pulled.

The beast lord was ripped off its feet and dragged toward Alex at a terrifying speed.

Alex raised his blade, ready to cleave the monster apart—

But—

SHLAAK!

The Grim Lord's body twisted, morphing into a mass of writhing vines that coiled around Alex in an instant.

The vines tightened like a serpent, wrapping around his arms, chest, and legs, pinning him in place.

Alex gritted his teeth, struggling, but the vines multiplied, thickening around him until he was completely covered.

The Grim Lord grinned.

In its mind, the fight was already over.

Alex, despite his power boost, had let himself get caught.

What a fool.

The beast lord prepared to crush him...but then:

BOOM!

A deafening shockwave erupted from within the vines.

The entire mass exploded outward, shredded into a storm of green debris.

Alex stood in the wreckage, his muscles tense, his aura still blazing red.

He had just torn through the Grim Lord's trap with sheer strength alone.

The Grim Lord groaned, its massive body collapsing onto the ground.

Its pendant glowed, radiating a sickly light as its wounds rapidly healed.

But healing wasn't enough.

It knew now—this wasn't the same human it had faced before.

This thing in front of it was something else.

Something unstoppable.

The moment its body reformed, the Grim Lord made its decision—

Run.

Survival was all that mattered now.

It turned to retreat, its monstrous limbs tensing—

But...

A shockwave of pure force erupted from Alex's throat as he used Sonic Howl.

BOOM!

The Grim Lord's body was slammed into the ground.

The sheer pressure pinned it down, its claws scraping helplessly against the earth. The ground trembled, deep gouges forming as the beast was dragged back, its massive form grating against the dirt.

And Alex didn't stop.

The moment the howl ended, he vanished.

A blur of movement...

Then...

SLASH!

A clean, merciless strike.

The Grim Lord's arm flew through the air, severed completely.

The beast reeled back, an ear-splitting scream of agony shaking the battlefield.

Panic overtook its mind.

There was nothing left but the overwhelming urge to flee.

But Alex's voice cut through the chaos.

A single word.

"Petrify."

Grim Lord froze.

Its body refused to move—not because of any physical restraint, but because of something far more terrifying.

Fear.

The petrification effect took hold for just a fraction of a second—

But that was enough.

Enough for Alex to move.
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Enough for him to grab the second pendant.

RIP!

With a single, forceful yank, Alex tore the skull-shaped charm off the beast's neck.

The Grim Lord's eyes widened.

Panic flooded its mind.

The moment it regained control of its body, it leaped backward, desperately shielding the last pendant with both hands.

But—

CRACK!

Alex crushed the pendant in his grip.

A wicked grin spread across his face.

At that moment, he understood.

Seeing the beast Lord healing, he knew exactly what the effect of the pendant he broke was.

It was the pendant that enabled the beast Lord to put up a magic barrier that dismissed Alex's ability.

The Grim Lord's body twitched as it healed.

That was it.

Its best defense was gone.

And with that, it did the only thing it could.

Run.

The beast Lord turned and fled.

But Alex wasn't letting it go.

His hand shot forward, and in an instant, the Explosive Disk transferred onto the Grim Lord's back.

A surge of energy ignited, locking onto its target.

Sensing the incoming devastation, the Grim Lord instinctively tried to summon a shield.

But nothing came.

Its magic was gone.