The moment the energy blast struck Alex, his Reflection Effect activated immediately.
The technique started working at full force.
Absorb.
Redirect.
Reflect.
That was what it was trying to do.
The violent energy pouring into him was instantly being pulled apart and redirected through his body.
But almost immediately, Alex noticed the problem.
The energy was too violent.
Too dense.
Too overwhelming.
With Alex's current mastery over the Reflection Effect, he could handle most attacks without much issue. He had always relied on that ability to survive attacks stronger than himself.
Still, deep down, Alex had always known there was a limit.
One day, he would eventually meet an attack too powerful to fully reflect.
And right now, that moment had arrived.
The energy continued building up against his body.
At first, the Reflection Effect held firmly.
But slowly…
Very slowly…
Tiny portions of the energy started leaking through.
Alex's eyes narrowed immediately.
Those leaks were dangerous.
Even a small amount of that force reaching his actual body would seriously injure him.
'Damn…'
So far, only a few people had ever managed to push beyond his Reflection Effect while it was active.
Gwen.
Tamsin.
Merrick.
Those monsters.
And now…
Eric had joined that list.
As the energy pressure kept increasing, Alex could feel the strain growing worse and worse.
The Reflection Effect was buying him time.
Nothing more.
'I have to swap now,' Alex thought quickly.
'I already bought enough time.'
Normally, the energy should have exploded much earlier.
But because the Reflection Effect kept delaying and redirecting portions of the attack, the full detonation had been slowed down.
That tiny delay became Alex's opening.
The next instant—
Swap.
Alex exchanged positions with the Astral Body.
Suddenly, his real body appeared far behind the battlefield.
Right at that same moment—
Boom!
The energy that had been building up finally exploded.
A blinding flash burst outward, so bright that it swallowed the entire area in white light. At the same time, a deafening sound rang out like a giant bell exploding beside their ears.
Booooom!
The shockwave spread rapidly.
The dome of energy expanded in every direction, swallowing everything in its path.
Alex was still stunned from the ringing in his ears. His vision shook violently, and his body reacted a second too slow.
Before he could fully understand what was happening, the expanding light had already reached him.
His body was engulfed.
"Arghhhh!" Alex screamed from inside the light.
The energy pressed against him from every side. It felt hot, violent, and crushing at the same time.
Boom!
The dome exploded one final time.
For a few moments, the entire forest went silent except for the crackling sound of burning wood.
Then gradually, the light began to fade away.
The destruction left behind was obvious.
The ground around the center of the explosion had turned completely black, scorched by the energy blast. Long cracks spread across the earth like spiderwebs.
Several nearby trees had caught fire. Flames crawled up their trunks while smoke rose slowly into the air.
Broken branches littered the area.
The smell of burnt wood and smoke filled the forest.
Meanwhile, amidst the destruction, two figures could be seen lying on the ground.
Alex.
Eric.
Both of them were separated by several meters.
Neither moved for a moment.
Slowly, Eric's metallic arm moved. The fingers dug into the scorched ground, gripping tightly. At first, his movements were shaky, unstable even, but the arm still pushed with force as faint energy pulsed through it.
Eric was not in good shape after the explosion.
He had stepped out of the suit before firing the attack, leaving only the metallic arms attached to himself. Because of that, he had also taken part of the blast head-on.
Parts of his clothes were scorched black. Not fully destroyed, but badly burned around the edges. Blood slowly dripped from his nose and one side of his ear. His breathing was rough and uneven.
Compared to before, he looked far worse.
Still, he forced himself upward.
One knee touched the ground while the metallic arm supported the rest of his weight. He stayed there for a second, breathing heavily, before finally lifting his head to look around.
The forest around them was ruined.
The ground was charred black from the explosion. Several trees were still burning while smoke rose into the air in thin streams. Some branches crackled loudly as the flames slowly consumed them.
Eric then turned his gaze toward Alex.
'It worked... it actually worked,' Eric thought inwardly, unable to stop the smile slowly spreading across his face.
'The system said that once I hit the original body hard enough and destroy the astral body, he wouldn't be able to summon it again.'
The more he thought about it, the more relieved he became.
That annoying skill had pushed him harder than he expected. A stage two warrior forcing him this far? Just thinking about it irritated him.
Yet now, it was over.
Or at least, that was what Eric believed.
"Argh...!"
A painful groan suddenly sounded out.
Eric's eyes immediately snapped toward Alex.
Alex's arm had moved.
Slowly, painfully, Alex tried pushing himself off the ground with his bruised body. His movements were sluggish, almost like every part of him weighed a thousand pounds.
Burn marks covered parts of his skin. Bruises spread across his body from the explosion and impact damage. Some areas looked so bad that an ordinary person would already be unconscious or dying.
But Alex still moved.
He was still conscious.
He was still trying to stand.
Eric stared at him for a moment before a grin slowly returned to his face.
Alex's chest caved inward from the impact as Eric's fist shot out once again and slammed into him.
Bang!
The force sent Alex crashing straight into one of the burning trees behind him. The trunk shook violently on impact, and burning bark scattered into the air.
"Aghh..." Alex groaned.
The flames behind him crackled louder. He could already feel the heat pressing against his back. The burning tree was dangerously close now, and smoke curled around his body.
Alex tried to steady himself, but his breathing had become rough and heavy.
Huff! Huff!
As he breathed, an abnormal amount of steam escaped from his nostrils. His entire body looked overheated from the constant strain of using multiple techniques at once.
Meanwhile, Eric ignored the burning forest around them like it was nothing important. Some trees had already started collapsing from the fire, yet he casually walked forward without even turning his head.
Clank! Clank!
As he moved, the scattered parts of his suit suddenly reacted.
The detached armor pieces flew toward him one after another. Metal plates locked back into place around his body smoothly until the suit completely covered him once again.
At the same time, a system notification appeared in front of his eyes.
[The host only has 30% energy remaining]
Eric glanced at the message and dismissed it immediately.
'This boy... he forced me to waste that much energy just for one attack, and he still hasn't gone down,' Eric thought.
Even now, Alex was still trying to stand.
To Eric, that no longer looked normal.
'Has Rhyssa been secretly pouring clan resources into him?' Eric wondered.
The more he fought Alex, the more suspicious he became. A normal stage two warrior should never have been capable of this much.
Not the strange techniques. Not the endurance. Not the reaction speed.
None of it made sense.
Eric's eyes narrowed behind the helmet visor.
'There is no way someone like him developed all this alone,' he thought.
Then another thought crossed his mind, and a cruel smile slowly formed on his face.
'What a pity for him... this is still a tournament.'
'If he dies here, nobody will question it.'
'And with the wristband gone, she might never even know I was the one who killed him.'
Eric finally stopped a few steps away from Alex.
The flames behind Alex continued to rise, painting both of them in flickering orange light.
"Look at you," Eric said as he stared down at him.
"Seems like I finally destroyed your little party trick," Eric said.
"This leaves you completely at my mercy now!"
Boom!
A burning tree crashed behind them, sending sparks and ash into the air. The ground shook slightly from the impact, but Eric didn't even bother looking back. It was as if the fire around them didn't matter at all.
Alex slowly lifted his head. His breathing was rough and uneven.
"You said that before... and I was still able to..." Alex tried to speak.
Before he could finish, Eric's detached fist shot forward.
Bang!
The metal fist slammed hard into Alex's throat.
Alex's eyes widened instantly. His body jerked against the burning tree as his breathing stopped for a moment. Pain spread through his neck like a hot blade.
"Cough...!"
He grabbed at the metallic fist instinctively while gasping for air.
Eric stared at him with visible irritation.
"You still have the guts to talk?" Eric asked.
"Aren't you afraid to die?"
Honestly, that was what annoyed him the most. Eric had expected fear by now. Begging. Desperation. Anything.
But Alex kept resisting.
Even now.
"It doesn't matter anymore," Eric said coldly. "I am going to kill you."
Eric stepped back slowly.
At the same time, his free arm began to shift. Metal moved and folded over itself with sharp mechanical sounds. In seconds, the entire arm transformed into a massive cannon-like gun.
The barrel pointed directly at Alex's chest.
A dangerous glow started gathering inside it.
"You pushed me this far," Eric said. "So this marks your end."
The burning trees crackled around them. Smoke drifted through the air. Pieces of ash floated between the two fighters like black snow.
Meanwhile, Alex looked at the weapon calmly.
The detached fist was still gripping his throat tightly. His body hurt everywhere. His astral body was gone. His qi was heavily drained.
Yet his eyes slowly changed.
The hesitation inside them disappeared.
'I guess you really left me with no choice,' Alex thought quietly.
'If I want to survive this... then I have to kill you too.'
At that very moment, something appeared in Alex's hand.
A bone-white weapon materialized out of nowhere. It had a long handle and a heavy crescent blade on both sides. The edges were sharp and cold, carrying a strange feeling the moment it appeared.
It was Alex's axe.
The atmosphere changed instantly.
The burning trees crackled loudly around them, but for a second, it almost felt like everything had gone quiet.
Then Eric's system reacted.
[Warning!]
Eric's eyes widened.
Without his command, the metallic fist choking Alex's throat suddenly released him and shot back toward Eric at full speed.
At the same time, the cannon arm he had pointed at Alex rapidly shifted shape.
Click! Clank!
The large gun folded inward and transformed into a shield in front of Eric's body.
All of it happened automatically.
Eric froze for a split second.
'What the heck...?' Eric thought.
He could feel it clearly now. Even the system was reacting strangely.
"System, what's going on?" Eric shouted in confusion.
Then more notifications flooded his vision.
[Warning!!]
[Warning!!!]
[Threat level of opponent has drastically increased]
[Danger assessment updated]
[Immediate retreat is advised]
Eric's expression twisted.
"What nonsense are you talking about?!" Eric yelled angrily.
A stage two warrior.
That was what Alex was supposed to be.
Yet now his own system was practically screaming at him to run.
Meanwhile, Alex slowly adjusted his grip on the axe.
Steam still escaped from his mouth with every breath. His body was covered in burns and bruises, but the moment the axe appeared in his hand, something about him felt different.
Not stronger in an obvious way.
Just... dangerous.
Then Alex moved.
He spun the axe once in his hand. The weapon cut through the air with a deep humming sound.
The next moment, he threw it.
Whoosh!
The axe tore through the air at terrifying speed as it flew straight toward Eric.
Immediately, Eric's vision was flooded again.
[Warning!]
[Auto Exit has been activated]