It was a complicated plan with a lot of coincidences riding on it.
Alex wasn’t one to work like that but he hardly had a choice in the matter.
He had to fulfill the promise he made as he wasn’t one to say empty words.
So classically, he dared to plan for all eventualities that could come up.
On the off chance that he would have to face off against the Hyenas and the mysterious lady, Alex knew he couldn’t make use of his domain with his true identity.
As he was still on trial, he couldn’t let anyone discover his identity so unless wearing the mask, Alex didn’t dare to use Evernight.
And even if he did, he could guess that it would be inadequate to deal with Fatima, who he could tell was greater than he was.
His only chance of winning was with the entity that brought him into Eventide and as much as it was annoying to ask for their help, he has to swallow his pride and do so.
Unfortunately, Nyx was a petty bastard and so, dared to waste time, time Alex did not have as Fatima was a brutal fellow.
She attacked without mercy and even went ahead to use a crazy attack like cell death as her first move.
"Where is he?" Fatima asked as she made her way toward Nadia, the latter who was writhing on the floor as her skin cells died in quick succession.
"Tell me!" Fatima bellowed after reaching Nadia, going as far as to kick her as she was already down.
However, Nadia didn’t open her mouth, merely glaring at Fatima hatefully.
Seeing the fire in her eyes, Fatima clicked her tongue in annoyance.
"You seem so eager to die, no?... Fine then, I’ll put you out of your misery." As Fatima crouched down and reached out to grab Nadia’s chin, she froze in her steps upon sensing a terrifying aura.
Behind her, Amalgam whimpered as it slowly backed away.
Fatima rose to her feet and turned round to find a strange being standing at the hall entrance with a tranquil gaze in her direction.
Their entire being was forged of shadows and their eyes were crescent moons, their form crooked with no other human features to speak of.
Despite the being’s calm demeanor, Fatima could tell that a terrifying amount of killing intent was being directed toward her.
"Evil god." She breathed out, struggling to keep her wits about her.
She thought to use Nadia as a bargaining chip but by the time she turned, the ’evil god’ had already arrived behind her, caressing Nadia in its arms.
With a flash of light from his palm, the necrosis cast by Fatima began to slowly heal.
"This..." Fatima was shocked by this as she slowly backed away.
Her strongest ability was so easily erased, solidifying her belief that the evil god before her was not to be underestimated.
One had to understand that she was a Bringer of Ruin, having already broken through the 4th Lock of the Devil Wheel and currently on trial to break the 5th, yet at this moment, it felt as though everything she had done to raise her power was pointless.
Not bothering to even spare her a glance, Alex, wielding a borrowed strength, laid Nadia gently on the ground before slowly rising to His feet.
Turning to face Fatima, he inquired. "I will ask again... For what purpose did you require the hearts of me and my siblings?"
"Go to hell!" Fatima cried out as she ordered Amalgam to attack while she prepared to cast another spell.
Albeit unwilling, Amalgam had no choice but to obey the wishes of its master as it growled at Alex before pouncing on him.
Alex merely looked on with an uninterested expression before waving his left hand.
By the time Amalgam landed, Alex and Nadia had already moved to a different location in the garden with the former still staring at Fatima.
Amalgam opened its three mouths and shot out a combined sonic wave which rushed toward Alex at speeds far surpassing that of sound.
However, as it got close, a shadowed barrier appeared about Alex after he snapped his fingers, and the sonic wave was repelled the moment it struck it, sending it back twice as powerful and even faster than it originally was.
Using his authority to keep Amalgam in place for only a second, the rebounded attack struck the monster and without mercy, ripped it apart, leaving a large bloody hole in its torso.
As Alex heard that word, he felt the power he had worked so hard for leave his being, returning him to the state before he borrowed Nyx’s strength.
"Yes, it worked." Fatima erupted in joy upon seeing this.
Not wasting any more time, she ordered Amalgam to attack.
Despite its terrifying injury, it rushed forward.
Fatima glanced at Alex, expecting to see a terrified look on the face of the latter but soon realized his expression remained unchanging, calm, and collected without an ounce of worry on his visage.
A deep sense of foreboding crept up her spine but before she could make sense of it, a sharp pain tore through her body, leaving her blank.
"Hehe, would you look at that?.... It worked." A hoarse voice with a sickening laugh muttered from behind Fatima.
She slowly glanced back to find a being covered mostly in shadows but for some reason, had a face structure similar to Alex’s.
"You... How?" Those were the last words out of her mouth before the being removed its hand from her chest, with Fatima’s heart following it.
Feeling life drain from her body, Fatima dropped to the ground with a dull thud.
At the same time, gunshots rang out after which a pained whimper was heard followed by the surrounding area quaking at the fall of Amalgam.
Alex calmly pocketed his revolver before glancing at the shadowy being which was actually his shadow which he’d separated with Nyx’s power before it was taken away.
Reaching out with his right hand, the shadowy being revealed a twisted smile before rushing toward him after which both merged with pulsating black and white erupting as a result.
By the time the lights died down, Alex was kneeling with his head down and a pool of black blood on the ground.
"Let’s not try that again."
With color completely drained from his complexion, he glanced at Nadia to find that she was slowly waking up.
Letting out a heavy sigh, Alex fell face-first to the ground, unconscious.