The King''s ws closed in around his neck, and Alex could even feel them slightly prate his skin, drawing blood.


    It stared directly into Alex''s eyes.


    Even without the ability to speak ormunicate acrossplex thoughts, Alex could easily see the yfulness, arrogance and mockery in its eyes.


    But instead of crushing his neck, killing him then and there, the beast decided to toss him into the air.


    Alex was helpless to resist, and only momentster he could feel the dark energy surrounding the beast start to build up around the same hand that had just tossed him.


    Vwoom!


    The gathered dark energy sted out all at once in Alex''s direction, sending him flying upwards for hundreds of kilometres.


    This time, he managed to ce Virtue''s Edge in front of him, allowing it to absorb the brunt of the attack, lessening the damage he would have received otherwise.


    He was still sent flying though, as he found himselfing to a stop very, very far up in the sky.


    He was probably farther than even the floating inds could reach.


    However there was no time for him to enjoy the short moment of respite, as the Primordial Expanse''s gravity soon took charge.


    With theck of any terminal velocity, he just kept on gaining and gaining more speed.


    By the time he had fallen thousands of kilometres, he was moving so fast that even his reinforced body was struggling tobat the incredibly fast and hot winds that were pushing up against his body.


    The friction between him and the atmosphere caused his body to heat up so much that his clothes had long burned away, and even parts of his skin were starting to be charred.


    But he had bigger things to worry about.


    With the ground fast approaching, he had to time things perfectly if he wanted to survive this incredible fall.


    ''Wait… Is the King flying towards me?''


    However his ns were quickly put to a halt when he noticed something both rming and peculiar.


    The King of Evermoor was currently flying upwards from the ground, and was now a few dozen kilometres up.


    This surprised Alex greatly, since he thought only Higher life forms had to ability to go against gravity and fly.


    ''Maybe King ss beings also have the ability?''


    Judging from the beast''s slow speed, he was probably right.


    As he hurtled through the sky, his body was nearly fully aze from the friction of the atmosphere by now, every inch of him screaming in agony.


    But he pushed the pain aside, focusing entirely on the King of Evermoor, still rising to meet him.


    ''If I miss this… it''s over.''


    ''Fuck it!''


    His eyes looked at Virtue''s Edge. The de, already simmering with heat from the friction, began to glow hotter and brighter as Alex began to pour everyst drop of his energy into it.


    If he was going to do this, he may as well go all out!


    The sword hummed with power, radiating with a light so bright it dwarfed even the earlier explosion.


    The heat was so intense, it rivalled even the core of the sun!


    Alex''s momentum continued to build, the wind already having burst his eardrums from the insane speed as he plummeted toward the King.


    The beast''s cold, reptilian eyes tracked himzily, as if relishing Alex''s inevitable death when he meets the ground.


    ''It doesn''t think I''ll be able to hurt it…''


    This realisation filled Alex with an unexpected burst of adrenaline.


    His lips curled into a wild grin.


    He was falling faster than the beast could react, and with all the power he had pushed into Virtue''s Edge, this strike would be unstoppable.


    ''Just a little closer…''


    As he neared the creature, he could already feel the pressure of its aura bearing down on him, but he didn''t flinch.


    The pain from the friction was already enough to keep his mind upied.


    Knowing he wouldn''t even have a chance to react by the time he neared the beast, Alex pointed Virtue''s Edge in front of him.


    ''Now!''


    The sheer force of his momentum,bined with the searing power he had channelled into the sword, was more than even the King ss beast should be able to withstand!


    In the split second before impact, Alex locked eyes with the King.


    Its smug smirk faltered, reced by something that looked like confusion.


    Then, toote, panic flickered in its glowing eyes.


    BOOOOOOOM!


    The sound of the impact was like nothing Mira, who was watching from afar in the Void dimension, had ever heard.


    It was as if the heavens had cracked open.


    The shockwave from the collision rippled through the sky, dispersing any clouds, even those tens of thousands of kilometres away.


    mes and light exploded outward, engulfing both Alex and the King in a blinding, fiery ball.


    The world seemed to have stood still for Mira, suspended in the aftermath of Alex''s attack.


    The colossal fireball created from the impact expanded rapidly, a burning sphere of destruction stretching not only across the sky, by down to the surface as well, thousands of kilometres in diameter.


    Its brightness and heat consumed everything it is path, outshining even the sun and casting shadows that stretched for miles.


    From within the Void dimension, Mira shielded her eyes instinctively as the mes erupted with a fury she had never witnessed before.


    Even in the istion of the Void, she could feel the pure energy from the st.


    Her heart pounded in her chest as she watched, wide eyed, the fiery inferno raging through the Primordial Expanse where Alex had made his final, desperate strike.


    As the fireball expanded, it tore through the atmosphere, igniting the air itself.


    The st reached the ground, massive fissures cracking open and swallowing entire forests.


    The ground buckled under the force, rippling out in violent waves of earthquakes that could be felt all the way to Tenebrus City — over 50,000 kilometres away…


    And yet, Mira hadn''t caught sight of Alex yet.


    She couldn''t bear the anxiety and fear she was feeling.