Doomsday Pillars

As Alex eyed the reddened abomination in front of him with his wooden sword in hand, he couldn't help but recall the prowess the monster had shown in the past minutes. He estimated the speed and strength it showed was on par, or even exceeded himself, who was a high stage Sky realm fighter.

Alex saw how the tier 3 weapon artifacts of the other fighters were not that effective against the monster's thick, root-covered skin. Fortunately, Alex had Stroke, a tier 5 artifact.

However, even though he had enhanced Stroke with the [Fire Infusion] spell which increased its lethality, Alex was still amazed at how much effort he needed to spend in order to cut the hand of the monster. 

Moreover, with the addition of its inhuman regeneration capability, Alex perceived the monstrosity before him was like a monster one tier higher than the golden tier 5 zombie. Something that never appeared in his previous life.. He estimated only those who had reached the Saint realm would be able to handle this monster with ease.

Looking at the figure closely, Alex felt he would not be able to win against it, if he chose to fight it in a contest of strength. However, he was also not sure on how to tackle this abomination without actually bringing it to the death's door. Thus, Alex decided to test the water by sending his twelve stone golems to block the monster.

Minutes later, the result of the experiment was a one-sided beating for the golems' side. The monster easily crushed the twelve golems one by one as it punched, kicked, stomped and slammed the golems until only rock shards left on the ground. The sight would be unbearable to many, if the victims were not the stone golems.

In conclusion, the monster was too fast and strong for the golems. Therefore, before the stone golems were destroyed without any merit, Alex quickly proceeded to test a magic scroll on the monster: [Curse - Tier 1 Darkness Spell].

Next, he casted [Decelerate - Tier 4 Light Spell] to decrease the speed of the monster. As a result, the fight between the golems and the monster slowly turned to equal, as the monster's actions turned slow and sluggish, causing the golems to be able to dodge its attacks and counterattacked.

Alas, the monster's strength was off the charts, as the [Curse] spell didn't affect it in any meaningful way. If the golems were hit by one of its attacks, they would be blasted and left in tattered state. Hence, Alex began to increase the firepower, as he aimed his two revolvers and fired his special bullets, [Magic Bullet - Tier 3 Light Spell Smite-enhanced], at the monster.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

Deafening gunshot resounded in the air, as the bullets zoomed through the air, creating mini air blast in the path. Every bullet that hit the monster managed to tore through the monster's thick skin, causing blackish blood gushing out of the wounds. However, the success was minimal, the wounds would soon heal and be closed by its regeneration, as if nothing had happened.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

While continuing to move around and dodge the occasional golem the abomination threwn at him, Alex kept casting his [Decelerate] spell. This time, he decided to aim his bullets at the joints of the monster. He continued to fire until the bullets broke its leg joints and it fell to its knees.

Alas, as if it had unlimited strength, the monster quickly healed its injured body, as its wounds closed back indefinitely. Seeing the phenomenon, Alex knew this situation must not go on. The monster's regeneration power appeared limitless, while his special tier 3 bullets were extremely limited and precious. 

Scanning its entire massive body, Alex thought of the most conspicuous, classic way to finish someone. There was only one obvious area he could aim to defeat this monster, which was firing his bullets right in its head. However, he couldn't use this 'classical' way with the president's son, at least he would not do it before he had tried everything.

Alex shook his head and sighed inwardly, as he continued his barrage of bullets, expecting the monster's strength to decrease or its regeneration to slow down.

More than 10 minutes passed, dozens of tier 3 bullets were already fired, but the monster was still energetic and its prowess didn't decrease even one bit. On the other hand, Alex's bullets were almost depleted, while his golems were almost completely annihilated, leaving him with only half of his initial number.

Looking at the pitiful situation bestowed upon him, Alex didn't know what to feel. However, he definitely knew he needed a new tactic. It was time for him to do the hands-on approach.

[Hexagram Technique - stage 4]

[Magic Scroll - Stone Skin]

[Magic Scroll - Windwalk]

[Magic Scroll - Fire Infusion]

[Bless - Tier 3 Light Spell]

Colorful elements and mysterious runes swirled around Alex's entire body, as he brought out every buff he could activate. Blazing flames enveloped Stroke's blade, after he stored his two revolvers.

Alex proceeded to use the Silver Dagger's ability, [Haste]. Over the next few minutes, Alex would be in his current most powerful state, with buffs enhancing its overall capability. If he still wasn't able to defeat this monster within the timeframe, then not a single human in the world could.

BOOM!

Thunderous sounds reverberated through the air, as Alex jerked his legs and darted at breakneck speed towards the monster, who was still entangled with the golems.

*SWISH*

Ear-piercing sounds, followed by wind gusts appeared, as the wooden sword travelled through the air, heading towards the reddened figure.

Splat! Splat! Splat!

The slashes and thrusts delivered with Stroke managed to cut and tear through the monster's skin open, as Alex exhibited his swordsmanship. Blackish blood was splattered in the air to the ground, following the new emergence of wounds on its body. 

Even though the monster had extraordinary strength and speed, it still did not manage to touch Alex, who was currently in his most powerful state, let alone catch him.

Several minutes later, as Alex carried on with his rampage, he began to see bright results. Observing the monster, he noticed the monster was weakening and its regeneration was slowing down. But on the other hand, his [Haste] buff had also ended, robbing him of a substantial amount of speed.

Either it was a coincidence or the monster was much smarter than he expected, as soon as Alex's [Haste] ability had finished and his speed considerably dropped, the monster hit the ground many times with its massive hands. The consecutive blows to the ground created a powerful quake, causing Alex to suddenly lose his balance.

*swooosh*

Hearing the mysterious sound coming at him, Alex glanced at the direction and found out the monster's massive hands were reaching out to him. Realizing the dire situation he would be in, Alex swiftly swung his sword towards the approaching hands.

Alas, due to the imbalance he was going through, Alex's blazing sword missed its target and only cut off a few of the monster's fingers. As a result, the monster managed to catch Alex with its both hands.

"!!!" 

As soon as Alex was caught, he and the others knew he was in big trouble. Therefore, Rama, Ardeth, and Theo, who were still around in case anything happened, immediately advanced together as they attacked the monster from various sides, trying to force it to release Alex.

However, with Alex being caught and his hand that was casting [Decelerate] locked, the spell was gone. The monster was able to dodge all of the attacks with ease. Even though one of Theo's flying swords managed to stab it, the monster seemed completely unfazed.

Alex released all the strength he could muster as he tried to break free from the monster's grip. However, the monster gripped Alex even harder, when it felt his struggle. Alex was forced to correct his previous assumption. This monster was definitely stronger than him, between the peak stage of Sky realm or Saint realm.

"Aaarrrggghhh!"

As the monster's grip got increasingly hard, Alex felt his body would soon turn into paste. If he did not do anything, his life would definitely end here. His mind then swiftly ran, as it tried to think of a way to escape his current predicament.

A body with strong defensive capability, a strength and speed equal to that Saint realm stage. How to fight this monster, how the chemist was able to create such an abomination. Alex's thought was filled with those thoughts.

Moments later, a flash of idea crossed through Alex's mind, one that might let him keep his life. Releasing Stroke that was still in his hands, Alex used his [Telekinesis] and directed the wooden sword towards the distracted monster. The sword then swiftly flew to its head!

"I'm sorry, Daisy. I'm sorry, Rico." Alex muttered to himself as the sword flew and aimed at the back of the monster's head.

Splat!

Blood gushing out like a waterfall, as half of Stroke's blade stuck in its head. The monster roared in pain the second it felt the sword pierced through.

ROOOAAARRR!!!

Alex was then released from the tight grip, his whole body still felt crushed. At this moment, Theo shouted, "Alex, the chemist told me a possible way! Let me try it!"

Theo then immediately approached the still roaring monster. Five of his flying swords swiftly stabbed into the monster's joints, immobilizing it. He then proceeded to climb the monster's back and placed both of his hands on its head.

[Mind Blast] [Mind Blast] [Mind Blast]

Theo quickly casted [Mind Blast] in quick succession. The monster screamed very loudly before it fell to the ground head first.

"Daisy! Now!!!" Theo shouted while keeping his eyes on the monster.

Upon hearing the shout, Daisy immediately ran over to 'Adam'.

"Adam… look at me… look at me! It's me, Daisy. It's me… remember?"

The monster lifted his head with difficulty when it heard Daisy's voice. The expression on its face clearly showed its confusion.

Seeing that, Daisy excitedly said, "I think it's working!! ...It's working!!"

Alas, the monster suddenly stretched its hand and grabbed Daisy, hard.

"Adam! Noooo!!!"

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Written and Directed by Avans, Published by W.e.b.n.o.v.e.l,