Chapter 014:

Alexander could feel his fist shatter into as many pieces as had his shoulder moments ago but still, the most he could do was dent the Graveclaws knight’s helmet.

Thankfully, doing damage wasn't his goal from the start.

"Ghh," The lumbering knight grunted as he took a step back in irritation.

"I win, dumbass," Alexander gloated as he slowly collapsed onto the floor from exhaustion.

Confused by Timothy's declaration, the knight shifted his gaze downward, only to find that he was currently outside of the ring's bounds. Finally understanding what Timothy meant, a loud snort came from within the helmet as the knight drew his sword.

The draw was certainly fast but the attack was even faster; so much so that even if Alexander still had access to Clive's Wisker, he still would not be able to dodge it.

Watching as the blade neared his throat, Alexander remained unfazed.

"You're late, Uncle Nox," he uttered before passing out.

……………………………….

Another deafening sound reverberated through the hall as the two knights clashed for the second time that day before parting after a draw.

A moment of silence descended upon the scene as everyone took time to process what happened.

Erika stared at Timothy's unconscious figure being held by Captain-Commander Nox with deep astonishment. It had to be stated that Timothy had never shown any interest in combat training before this event, so his entering the ring was enough of a surprise, let alone his achieving such unbelievable results.

Not only had he beaten Clive with ease, he even pushed The Graveclaws kingdom's Vice Captain-Commander back.

“Timmy?” She muttered in a daze.

……………………………….

Prince Clive’s Point of View:

Sitting in the middle of the ring, frozen with shock, Clive kept replaying the scene of Timothy punching Cedrick with everything he had.

'If Timothy were to hit me with that fist….' He shuddered and decided not to think too deeply about the matter.

'But there is something else too,' He thought as he recalled the feeling he had earlier. It was almost as if Timothy momentarily resonated with his Wisker, seizing control of it.

He had only ever felt that way once when sparring against a second-grade magician specializing in wind magic.

Clive wisely decided to keep some distance away from Timothy for the time being.

Over to where the adults sat, the king of Iron-Wall gave Nox a meaningful look and the Captain-Commander nodded in response.

Their silent conversation ended with Nox carrying Timothy out of the room

Count Schuyler tactfully left the table as the two kings seemed to have a lot to discuss.

……………………………

The Allied Saviour's tournament served two purposes.

The first, and most obvious, was a formal introduction to humanity's heroes.

Now that their existence and role in the apocalypse could no longer be hidden, the newly formed global alliance had deemed it necessary to regain control over the situation by not only admitting to the existence of heroes but also by implying control over them.

The second, more subtle, goal was a show of strength; a not-so-direct threat against anyone who got in the alliance's way, be they residents of this world, or Otherworlders.

Little did they know however that their second goal ran counter to their first, as they would soon discover, the heroes were under no one's control.

And the first glimpse of this was caught during the final battle of the tournament where two beings who had long since surpassed the limits of humanity did everything in their power to tear each other apart.

"{A Blind Teacher’s Domain}" A voice as cold as ice spoke as darkness began to spread across the arena. In the center of such a nightmarish scene, calmly stood the man who had activated the skill.

"Finally getting serious are we?" Alexander spoke solemnly as the blood-red fire encasing him grew even more violent.

With a vicious thrust, he pointed his spear toward the sun and uttered the name of his own skill.

"{Sun Gazer, Absorption}" A flash of light followed suit, causing everyone in the crowd to squint their eyes and boo in annoyance.

Alexander paid none of this any mind as he was too busy doing everything in his power not to lose control over his skill.

With a grunt, he ended the casting and the flash of light faded away, once again revealing the arena.

The mass of ever-consuming darkness had grown exponentially larger, almost consuming the entire span of the arena. But there was one spot where the darkness could not encroach. The same place where all gazes had gathered.

There Alexander stood tall with a glowing white spear in hand. The awe-inspiring weapon looked as if it were made from the sun's flames themselves.

The hero who wielded it squinted at the sight of the ever-growing darkness and spoke righteously: "{Release}" as he pointed his weapon at the center of the darkness.

A beam of highly condensed light shot forth with impressive momentum, causing the sturdy ground beneath them to shake. Even the protective barrier surrounding them, humanity's current best, was shaking from the mere presence of the attack.

"What folly," The cold voice reappeared as a wall of darkness sprouted from the ground, followed by another, and another; Soon a maze materialized before everyone's eyes with the dark figure secured within its dizzying walls.

But Alexander’s attack was not straightforward either, as it plowed straight through the walls with little regard; stubbornly making its way toward its destination.

A large boom rattled the already half-collapsed barriers surrounding the ring and the figure at the center of the darkness was immediately engulfed in flames.

The crowd broke out into cheers as did some of the V.I.P guests who sat far above everyone else in their own tower.

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Alexander basked under the praises being given to him by the crowd as he tried his best not to stare daggers into the top of the tower.

"You're still as sloppy as ever," A low and cold voice suddenly announced from behind him.

Though the voice was low, it clearly traveled far as every single face in the crowd paled in a mixture of surprise and worry and even some of the V.I.P. guests showed genuine surprise.

Before Alexander could reply, chains made of black, shadowy matter wrapped around him, preventing his movement. One sneaky chain even wrapped around his mouth.

Alexander rolled his eyes as he gave the man behind him an exasperated look.

Thankfully no one noticed his odd expression as the veil of darkness returned, growing faster than ever.

"How despicable!" Someone among the crowd announced with indignation.

"Attacking from behind, fucking cowardly," Another bystander agreed.

"Shut up, this isn’t some mock battle, this is the finals! The flaming spear should have kept his guard up," and yet another disagreed.

Soon the crowd broke into rowdy discussions but Alexander did not hear most of this, as he was too busy being plunged into a world of darkness.

In this world, his senses were all but useless, he saw, smelled, and felt nothing.

He could still remember the first time he experienced the odd sensation of nothingness.

In some twisted way, it was a bit therapeutic.

But now was not the time for it.

"Stop fucking around, Earnest," Though he could not hear it, he could still sense the impatience in his own voice.

"Chill for a minute more, Alex," A cold voice replied out of nothingness. It was the first thing Alexander had sensed since being confined in this world, but rather than grateful, he felt even more frustrated.

"How are the boys doing,"

"They've managed to break in successfully; Nammu is still quite light on her feet,"

"Good, but tell them not to get careless, even though most of the big shots are here, the office might still have a couple of alarm barriers up,"

"They know that already, Alex,"

"I know, but…" It was silent then, and though Alexander had wanted it moments ago, he loathed it now.

"You need to let him go-"

"SHUT UP!" Alexander interrupted with a roar as fire ignited around him.

"It's not your fault, it's theirs," the disembodied voice soothed as it drew closer to him. "But never mind that now, Nammu just replied back, they got it,"

"Good,"

"I will lift the veil, we'll fight a bit more to stall for their arrival. They should be here by the time I win,"

"Sounds goo-" He was midway through his sentence when Alexander realized what he was being told. He then promptly blew his fuse.

"What the fuck are you on about, we had a deal!"

"Oh, that,"

"Yes, that! I let you win last time, now it's my turn,"

"Letting me win is an exaggeration,"

"Exaggerate my ass,"

"Unnecessary, your ass is exaggerated enough,"

The two bickered long enough and soon more fighting was unnecessary, as the other heroes had made it back.

The final match ended with an explosive upset as Alexander was tossed off bounds. ……………………………….

Alexander awoke to a familiar darkness.

'No it's not Earnest, I'm just unconscious,'

He thought to himself as he floated freely in non-space.

Earnest or not, the darkness still calmed him somewhat.

Unfortunately, that wouldn't last.

"H-help," a voice, as small as it was weak, suddenly sounded out.

Alexander’s heart inexplicably started pounding. The voice was familiar even though he was sure he had never heard it before.

The thoughts spinning in his head threatened to drive him mad and his beating heart drowned out any reason he tried to gather.

“Haghh!” He sat up with a pained groan and sweat trickling down his forehead.

“Easy now, young man. Nightmares are unfortunately common when being healed,” An angelic voice spoke softly into his ears.

With some semblance of calmness being shoved down his throat, Alexander took his surroundings in. He was laying on a bed with little clothes on. It seemed like he was being treated for his injuries.

The room was simple in design and so clean it sparkled. ‘I think I’m still in the palace,’ That thought brought him some comfort and he regarded his surroundings in more detail. The only thing of note was the woman who sat next to him in creaseless white robes.

Her long, greying hair was tied up tightly into a ponytail giving her a neat appearance. Her face was without a speck of makeup, thus a few wrinkles could be seen, but even then it was clear that this woman was once extraordinarily beautiful.

“Seeing an angel is giving me mixed feelings,” He blurted.

The priest's eyes widened a bit before settling in once more; a shadow of a smile could now be seen on her face. “I’m glad you are well enough to jest. But I must say, I did not expect your mouth to be as reckless as your actions,” She said with her angelic voice as her calloused hand softly gripped Alexander’s wrist.

Immersed in the odd sensation of her hand, which was both coarse and soft, Alexander was genuinely unprepared for the barrage of pain that came with his hand being jerked into its proper position.

“Ow. Fuck!” He cried as he immediately stood to his feet. He frantically waved his hand about as he spun in circles.

“What the fuck is wrong with-” It was then he realized, with some amazement, that he could freely move his supposedly broken hand as if nothing was wrong with it. In fact, even his shoulder was fine; were it not for the fact that he still felt some aching from his overtaxed muscles, he would have thought that the entire ordeal with Clive and friends was merely a dream.

A soft giggle brought him back from his reverie, and he once more looked toward the angel priest whose smile was now more apparent.

“Forgive my unsightly mannerisms,” Alexander said elegantly as he flashed an even more refined smile.

The priest’s eyes, Alexander noticed, looked a bit tired but they were still filled with boundless kindness and wisdom.

He began to wonder about the history behind this woman.

“You are completely unlike your father,” She said softly.

‘Interesting…’ He thought.

“How so?” He asked.

“In many ways, but enough of my ramblings. It seems to me that you’ve taken well to my treatment, but even then I recommend plentiful rest and hopefully, you’ll make a speedy recovery in no time,”

Alexander moved to speak but he was interrupted by a low, menacing cough.

With surprise, he turned to his back where he spotted Nox standing quietly to one side.

‘Nox!’ He thought to himself as boundless rage erupted from within the deepest reaches of his soul.

His stomach clenched and his body froze as the rage dyed his world a sharp and daunting crimson. His every hair stood and his teeth were set on edge.

Unfortunately for Timmy, Alexander knew from the start that the rage was not his own.

“Uncle Nox!” He said happily as he made his way over.

Nox studied the boy up and down looking, searching, for even the barest hint of resentment. But when he failed to peer into Alexander’s soul, his expression loosened and he spoke.

“The king wishes to see you. If you are well enough, meet him in his office,” He said curtly before leaving the room.

“Don’t pay him much mind,” A soft voice spoke once more after the door shut closed. “He has always been a man of few words, but I’m sure you already knew that,”

“Mhm,” Alexander replied as he studied his Synchronisation Rate.

……………………………….

Standing before the king’s familiar study, Alexander marveled over how long of a day this had been.

With a couple of knocks, he was let in, and now he stood beside the king looking through a window that spanned from ceiling to floor, allowing one to get a clear view of the scenery outside of it.

The kingdom of Iron-Wall was by no means small, but at that moment, Alexander felt as if he could see it in its entirety from the portal of this window.

“Timothy,” The king’s heavy voice spoke.

“Yes,” The youth replied as he studied the unending ripple of people marching from one destination to another. They looked like ants.

“What is the most important resource a king must manage?”

Searching through his memories, Alexander was baffled to realize that the king had never spoken with Timmy regarding such matters.

‘Is my cover blown?’ He thought to himself as he replied to the king’s question halfheartedly. “Its army,”

“A fine answer, one your father would have agreed to, but wrong nonetheless,” The king replied as he pointed toward a particular destination beyond the window.

Magically, the view changed and magnified as the highlighted region was expanded upon.

‘Spatial magic?’ Alexander thought before rejecting the notion.

Soon a scene appeared before them. In it, several robed figures gestured meticulously about as wood, clay, and porcelain followed their commands, settling into place. Beneath them, a magical circle of enormous scale covered the entirety of the building ground.

“It’s a school,” Alexander muttered.

“Yes, one built in cooperation with the kingdom of Graveclaws,”