It felt like he was punching a steel plate as Alex withdrew his fist, pain wracking his nerves for a brief moment.
For someone capable of shattering cement blocks with a single blow, the fact that Elizabeth hadn’t reacted despite the power he placed behind the punch, further heightened Alex’s suspicion that the lady before him was more inhuman than she initially gave off.
Elizabeth didn’t budge an inch after Alex’s sudden strike and apart from the brief shock she experienced, nothing else happened as she steadied herself and withdrew her blade, drawing blood from Alex’s palm.
Despite the injury, Alex remained calm as he knew letting himself panic would spell the end for him.
Back on Earth, Alex could be said to have reached the level of peak human physique, capable of performing feats that very few could match.
But this was Eventide, not Earth.
A place where the supernatural was just as real as the natural.
But of course that didn’t mean his experiences and knowledge from Earth weren’t handy here.
Taking a deep breath, he decided to take a gamble as he closed his eyes and envisioned a gauntlet made of aether wrapping around his fist.
Just like how one could use aether to trap the movement of sound, couldn’t it be used to bolster the physical attributes of the human body?
Alex wasn’t dumb to think that such a thing hadn’t been considered by other Mystics but then again, if he wanted to survive Elizabeth’s relentless attacks, he couldn’t hesitate to do what had to be done.
Elizabeth noticed the faint ripples of the aether flow in the room and realizing what Alex was about to do, attempted to stop him but alas, she was a bit too late in her realization.
Elizabeth was sent flying, crashing into the wall and destroying it in the process.
Taking a moment to understand what just happened, she quickly picked herself up and then glanced at Alex a few meters away.
Blood trailed down from his head, revealing that he wasn’t unscathed from the clash just now but that wasn’t Elizabeth’s concern as she stared at him in confusion.
"Hmm?" Alex raised a brow.
"Humans aren’t supposed to be able to use aether to strengthen their physical body. An attempt would lead to rapid cellular destruction, Yet you did so and remain unscathed."
Alex took a deep breath as he ignored Elizabeth’s words and the pain wracking his body, instead putting up a tough front as he remarked. "I guess that changes now."
Before Elizabeth could retort, she flinched as Alex appeared beside her in a few steps.
"..." Her vision darkened as Alex grabbed her face and without hesitation, slammed her into the ground, destroying the floor as he did so.
Elizabeth didn’t so much as let out a sound as she slammed into the next room below.
By now, her subordinates outside realized something was wrong as they quickly rushed into the room only for a snap to be heard.
The next moment, they found themselves lost in a dark place with a starry sky above their heads.
Elizabeth’s brows creased slightly as she glanced at the floor above.
Alex’s calm gaze was reflected in her eyes and for a moment she found herself unable to make a move.
Silence reigned briefly after which Alex remarked.
"I do not wish to make an enemy out of the law enforcement of the Empire but that doesn’t mean I won’t fight to save myself. Do not get the wrong idea, Liaison, but for the sake of my mission, I cannot die."
Alex allowed his words to linger for a few seconds before going ahead to snap his finger.
As pulsating black and white enveloped his figure, he added. "Take care."
Alex appeared in an alleyway not too far from the lodge he just escaped from.
His breathing ragged, he clenched his fist as tremendous pain coursed through his right arm and both his legs.
He resisted the urge to scream as he understood why this was happening.
What Elizabeth had said caught him off guard at first but thinking about it, it did make sense.
The Rule of Triune was formed around the usage of the pneuma to manipulate aether.
It bathed in the light and helped one harness the supernatural capabilities of the lifeblood.
The soma functioned as a sort of command center that gained enlightenment in the assigned domain and they gave keywords for which the pneuma would execute, resulting in an Ability.
The reason for this was because the soma, or at least, the human body wasn’t created to harness or make use of aether in any form.
Abilities were most times an exertion of one’s will on their environment, but what Alex did was exerting his will on his body.
Such an application would cause the body to break down and that was what Alex was currently experiencing, however, thanks to his werewolf lineage, his body didn’t immediately crumble and was instead trying to fix the damage.
"Damn it." He cursed through clenched jaws as he tried to move.
He tried to avoid troubles as much as possible since arriving in Krobridge but it seemed troubles still came to find him repeatedly.
And it all had to do with the one they called Damian.
"Because of that bastard..." Alex trailed off as he tried to control the rising anger in his heart.
Taking a deep breath, he calmed his nerves before walking toward the edge of the alleyway to scope out the lodge he escaped from.
He quickly discovered a large number of people patrolling the area.
Though they weren’t clad in official attire, Alex was able to tell that they weren’t normal civilians.
Thankfully, Elizabeth hadn’t used an enchantment like Fatima to prevent him from escaping, though he had a feeling she did that on purpose.
Letting out a sigh, he remarked. "I have to leave but..."
He trailed off as he realized Nadia could be in danger.
"This is why I hate working with people that can’t protect themselves!" He cursed exasperatedly as he closed his eyes and tried to track Nadia’s shadow.
Once he got a lock on her location, Alex’s expression distorted as he slowly opened his eyes.
Restraining the curses that threatened to escape his lips, he snapped his fingers and disappeared in a flash of black and white.
Meanwhile, Elizabeth stepped out of the lodge with an expressionless look on her face.
The lodge had been cleared out beforehand so despite the battle with Alex, there was only the property damage to take care of.
No one dared to speak upon seeing how silent she was, instead going ahead to fix up the damage to the building while giving her some time to brood.
Elizabeth pursed her lips as she stared at her blade, still stained with Alex’s blood. "Without knowing it, I proved you to be more human than a monster."
Then taking a deep breath, she added softly. "But what can I do?... You are the Dark Lord without a doubt and to ensure peace in the Empire... you have to die."
She let out a sigh as she raised her hand and traced her fingers over Alex’s blood with her eyes closed.
At the same time, silver energy escaped from her fingertips, and began to analyze the blood sample.
It would seem, the hunt had only just begun.