Anger, disgust, and frustration enveloped Alex upon hearing Kain's words.
Fortunately, Kain could not discern the contortions on Alex's face, which revealed a complex mix of emotions. If he had seen it, he would have used it to his advantage.
Following Kain's explanation, Alex gained insight into Chitra's altered behaviour. He empathised with the pain she experienced upon witnessing her sister in such a state.
Just as Chitra moved to embrace the horned mutant, Lila, in a careless manner, the Divine Butterfly intervened, preventing a potentially fatal outcome. Without this intervention, Chitra's life would have been extinguished at that very moment.
Despite her status as a tier 5 warrior, her vulnerable state rendered her susceptible to the horned mutant's attacks.
After forcefully detaching Chitra from the horned mutant, the Divine Butterfly emitted a beam of energy aimed at Chitra, jolting her out of her stupor. This temporarily restored Chitra's sanity.
In that moment of clarity, she recognized the grievous error she had committed. Nonetheless, tears continued to stream down her cheeks, an outward manifestation of her inner emotional turmoil.
"I understand," Chitra finally uttered, nodding her head in acknowledgement toward the caring gaze of the Divine Butterfly.
After careful contemplation, she resolved to confront the horned mutant head-on. Despite their sisterly bond, delaying action was no longer an option. Dwelling in pain and suffering would yield no progress.
Should Lila's salvation prove unattainable, Chitra determined it best to grant her a swift demise. This decision crystallized as she found her inner calm.
"My sister aspired to be a formidable warrior, a hero that would protect everyone. Yet your actions have transformed her into a monstrous being. I will never forgive you." Chitra addressed Kain, her seething anger manifesting as an energy attack launched at him.
Though aimed at Kain, the attack's proximity prompted even Alex to evade hastily.
"I do not need your forgiveness," Kain retorted with casual indifference. He effortlessly manipulated the horned mutant to deflect the energy barrage.
Amused by his prowess, Kain erupted into hearty laughter. The battle had exceeded his expectations, highlighting the unanticipated potential of his creation.
'Maybe, what I have created is God.' He thought as he saw the horned mutant battling the spirit guardian.
'As a person that can create gods, I am the almighty.' Kain decided himself.
The god complex that he always had emerged and took form in his psyche. And finally, that triggered his next series of actions.
"Let me show you the true power of my creation." He said while releasing a torrent of mana from his staff towards the centre of the underground hall.
The giant dome-like structure in the centre of the hall responded to his mana releasing a torrent of mana outwards. And the shell that war protected it dimmed and broke down just like the shell of an egg.
This structure was where all the ancient runes that proliferated the underground maze conjoined.
It was this structure that gave Kain the ability to create a runic shield that could protect himself from the attack of tier 5 warriors. It was also this structure that allowed him to gain the life-saving ability to teleport.
So, no one could have predicted that Kain would destroy the dome-like structure in the centre.
But before anyone could process why he would do that. A sudden influx of energy originated from the centre of the now-destroyed dome.
An object the size of a ping pong ball emerged from inside it.
Kain controlled this object with his staff and threw it towards the horned mutant. The mutant happily took the object and swallowed it whole.
The entire sequence unfolded in a blur, leaving no room for reactions.
Even Chitra and the Divine Butterfly were taken aback because the future was slightly changed from the one they have seen.
A change had been wrought upon the sisters' fate, a truth discerned by the Divine Butterfly. In a sudden shift of focus, it fixed its gaze upon Alex, the enigmatic figure it could not decipher.
Did his role intertwine with these developments? The Divine Butterfly's curiosity peaked.
Upon ingesting the ping-pong ball-shaped object, an energetic vortex materialized, drawing in the ambient energy from its surroundings and leaving only a small residue behind.
The horn jutting from the horned mutant's skull began to emanate a vivid purple glow, its brilliance escalating over time.
The object that the horned mutant ate was the ancient runes core. It contained a vast amount of energy. All the energy was sucked away from the underground maze and its surrounding, even from the unfortunate living things that entered it.
It had all that energy stored inside it.
Kain had essentially dismantled the protective runic barriers encompassing the core, presenting it as a gift to the horned mutant, which greedily devoured the offering.
Within seconds, the entire body of the horned mutant strengthened to an unprecedented level with the new supply of energy. It regenerated the wounds in its body and returned to its apex condition.
Now, Alex was certain that the horned mutant had the superiority of energy over the tier 5 warrior and the spirit guardian that was present.
The situation took a turn for the worst at that moment.
Once again, Alex found himself on the losing side. Although Kain revealed that he had some hidden cards up his sleeve, Alex never imagined it to be something like this.
The question of what he should do once again rang inside his head.
Of course, he hated Kain. He detested his very existence. He wanted to help Chitra and if he can, he even wanted to save the child called Lila who was turned into the horned mutant.
But, was he capable of doing that?
Doubts crept into his mind unknowingly.
It was not cowardice that prevented Alex from deciding on his next course of action. But, it was reason and logic.
Fighting against an enemy that he had no chance of winning was stupid. All his brain cells were screaming that at Alex.
But something inside Alex was asking him to break away from logic and reason.
So, what should he do?
"FUCK!" The dilemma presented itself as an unsolvable question. Alex cursed aloud in the moment submerging all his worries.
He took an immediate decision.
'Future me can worry about the future. Now, let me do what I want to do.' Some might say it was an irresponsible choice, but Alex was satisfied with it.
He suddenly turned towards Kain who was smiling from the side and said. "You shouldn't have done that."
Kain was amused by Alex's words.
"What?" He asked back.
"Everything. Your very existence is unpleasant to bear. And you succeeded in making me lose all reason."
"*SMIRK*, What can you do about that?" Kain taunted.
"Let's see."
Alex disappeared from his position and emerged near Kain. And at the same time, Chitra launched her attack towards Kain.
Kain sent the horned mutant to battle Chitra while he welcomed Alex's attack with his own body. He was confident in his abilities to take care of Alex, the white robe man.
Just as he emerged, Alex released a kick, flexing all the muscles in his leg simultaneously. It almost tore through the sound buried and contacted Kain.
"Is that it?" Kain, who became physically superior after becoming a mutant asked.
Although the kick was strong, he could easily block it with his bare body.
As a mage, what Kain feared the most was a warrior who could approach for close combat. But after becoming a mutant, he realised that this weakness became non-existent.
The kick that connected with his shoulder was easily deflected by the push of his arm.
Alex leapt back noticing Kain's strength. Kain was showing the strength of a tier 4 warrior.
—
Meanwhile, the horned mutant, with its horn shining in a purple glow began to assault Chitra. They collided together creating shockwaves that rippled through the atmosphere.
The Divine butterfly flew around like a guardian protecting Chitra. Although it was strong, it didn't have much-attacking power.
It could only deflect the attack of the horned mutant by using concentrated beams of energy.
'Future is volatile, I can only look up to a second in combat.' Chitra realised this as she battled the horned mutant. Although she realised that it had something to do with the white-robed man, this also meant that there was hope for her.
If it was the future she saw, her fate was sealed. She would have died without a doubt. But, the appearance of the white-robed man somehow changed that. Although it seriously affected her combat ability to peer into the future.
It was a sacrifice worth enough to gain the opportunity to change her fate.
–
Even though there was hope, she was still in for a beatdown. Chitra has yet to realise that. The horned mutant was still toying with its prey. The real battle was about to begin. The deciding battle that would overturn the fate of the entire world.
And in that battle, Alex was at the forefront.
This 𝓬ontent is taken from fre𝒆webnove(l).𝐜𝐨𝗺