"Another Deadpool wannabe."
Alex winced inwardly. The last thing he wanted to deal with right now was another so-called "martial arts expert."
People like that couldn't really hurt him, sure—but damn, they were slippery. Like cockroaches. Hard to hit, harder to pin down.
And Alex hated wasting time.
Still, the one in front of him right now…
Was a step below Deadpool. Maybe two.
The guy barely had room to breathe, completely overwhelmed from start to finish.
It was only a matter of time before Alex took him out.
If only my heat vision lasted a bit longer…
Alex couldn't help but sigh internally.
If his heat vision had better uptime, fights would be a breeze. He wouldn't even need to get close. Just laser the enemy down—problem solved.
No matter how agile someone was, how long could they really dodge a concentrated beam?
Instead, it was like having a machine gun, but only being allowed to tap fire.
Still, even with the limitations, Alex's power was overwhelming—especially against regular people.
And this ninja was no exception.
All the guy could do was dart around, relying on his footwork and speed. No way he dared to engage head-on.
Alex's raw strength was off the charts, and those deadly beams from his eyes? One misstep and you'd be toast.
While Alex was toying with the ninja, Erik had already made his way to the second-floor balcony—and struck without mercy.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
One after another, metal objects flew toward Shaw, hurled with deadly intent under Erik's control.
But the phased guy beside Shaw didn't lift a finger to help this time. He just phased through the floor slightly, folded his arms, and stood back to watch like he was at a show.
A few metal pieces flew through him, but they passed harmlessly—no effect whatsoever.
As for the Black King himself…
He strolled forward with a faint smirk on his face, ignoring the flying debris as if it were dust in the wind.
"You're just brimming with rage, aren't you, Erik? Shouldn't you be thanking me instead?"
Shaw's voice was lofty and amused, like an artist admiring his masterpiece.
Erik didn't even acknowledge him. He just kept launching more metal, wave after wave, eyes blazing with fury.
No matter how menacing the attack looked, the moment any piece touched Shaw's body, all its kinetic energy was instantly absorbed. The metal clattered to the ground, harmless.
Still, Erik didn't stop.
His mind was consumed by a single thought—kill the Black King.
Everything else had faded. Logic, strategy, caution… gone.
And so Shaw walked straight through the storm, unfazed, metal hanging off him like junk armor, until he reached Erik.
And seized Erik by the throat.
Every floating piece of metal fell at once.
At the same time, Alex finally finished off the ninja and casually tossed the body aside.
He turned toward the second floor, his expression unreadable.
"Don't move a muscle," Shaw said coolly, one hand still wrapped around Erik's throat. "Or your friend here won't make it."
Erik thrashed wildly in his grip, but when it came to raw strength, he was just a regular guy. He couldn't break free from Shaw's iron grasp.
"D-Don't… worry about me… Just kill him!" Erik choked out, each word costing him breath and pain.
Shaw chuckled. "Erik, don't be ridiculous. He won't let you die. That's your kind's fatal flaw, isn't it?"
"And even if he did let you die, do you really think he could kill me?"
He turned his gaze to Alex, smiling like a general surveying the battlefield.
"So… what will you do?"
Alex still said nothing. But slowly, his eyes began to glow a deep crimson.
"Tsk tsk. That won't help," Shaw said, shaking his head, still smug.
But Alex didn't fire at Shaw.
Instead, his heat vision blazed upward—blasting into the ceiling above the corridor.
The steel-reinforced concrete crumbled like clay, and a shower of rubble and dust rained down, blanketing Shaw in a thick gray cloud.
Energy absorption or not, dust in your eyes was still dust in your eyes.
Instinctively, Shaw let go, throwing both hands up to shield his face and mouth.
Alex launched himself like a cannonball, the floor beneath his feet shattering. He slammed down in front of Erik and caught him before he could fall.
"You okay?" Alex asked, lifting him up.
Erik hacked out a lungful of dust before catching his breath. "I'm fine. Seriously… thanks, Alex. If not for you…"
He would've been nothing but a helpless victim in Shaw's grip—completely powerless, like a slab of meat waiting to be butchered.
To him, that kind of humiliation was worse than death.
"You're even more impressive than I imagined. You've surprised me, over and over… Wow. Your performance is nothing short of brilliant!"
Shaw had cleared his eyes by now. He stared down at Alex with genuine admiration.
But then—his expression darkened.
"It's a shame, really. A talent like you… but I'm afraid I'll have to kill you."
Without another word, he charged.
Alex hadn't expected it—but Shaw's technique was shockingly sharp.
Not quite Deadpool level, but easily on par with the ninja he just crushed.
Oh, come on. This is just cheating.
Alex couldn't help rolling his eyes mentally.
Absorbing all energy, immune to every kind of attack, and a martial arts expert?
How many hacks could one guy have?
At this point, he was almost catching up to Alex's own cheat sheet—like… maybe a tenth of it.
But Alex didn't fight back.
Instead, he grabbed Erik and leapt far out of reach.
No point in wasting time. Fighting Shaw head-on was nothing but a waste of energy.
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