Alex dodged a swipe aimed straight at his head and took advantage of the opening to deliver two quick strikes—one to Peter's head and another to his ribs. The blows caused Peter obvious pain and forced him to stagger back, but surprisingly, they dealt far less damage than they should have considering Alex's strength and reinforcement.
That was intentional.
Alex was deliberately holding back. His goal wasn't to injure Peter—it was to make him hurt.
The moment Peter charged again, Alex spotted the perfect opening. Peter lunged with his claws spread wide, intending to slash him apart, but just before the attack landed, Alex interlocked his fingers with Peter's claws, gripping his hand in an iron vise and locking him in place.
Peter immediately tried to pull free.
To his surprise, Alex's grip was monstrously strong. No matter how hard he struggled, he couldn't break loose.
Still, Peter didn't care.
As far as he was concerned, this only meant Alex had given up the ability to dodge.
But before Peter could capitalize on it, Alex yanked him forward and began unleashing a relentless barrage of blows aimed exclusively at places that would maximize pain while minimizing lasting damage.
Alex hated doing this to his friend.
But he knew that if he went easy on Peter...
Peter would never come back to himself.
It became a completely one-sided beating.
Peter couldn't even fight back.
After several moments of pummeling him, Alex managed to seize Peter's other hand as well, completely preventing him from escaping or retaliating. The beating continued uninterrupted until Peter finally lost consciousness and collapsed like a marionette with its strings cut.
Even then...
Alex didn't let go.
Instead, he tightened his grip even further to make absolutely certain Peter couldn't escape.
There was a reason for all this brutality.
Even though Peter had become a mindless monster, Peter himself was still in there somewhere.
And whether he was conscious or not, there was only one thing capable of making a creature without reason stop, obey, or hesitate.
Fear.
The overwhelming terror of standing before something so unimaginably stronger than yourself that every obstacle you had ever overcome suddenly felt like nothing more than a child's fence.
That lesson came from the oldest and most experienced person Alex knew in that particular field.
Sukuna.
Alex had never imagined that he would ever follow one of Sukuna's teachings, especially after witnessing fragments of that psychopath's memories.
But even among Sukuna's incomplete memories...
This method had never failed.
So Alex intended to use it.
A few seconds later, Peter regained consciousness, looking even more feral than before.
Before he could even roar to intimidate anyone, Alex resumed the merciless beating without a moment's hesitation.
Alex genuinely felt guilty for treating his own friend like this, especially after everything Peter had already been through.
But if Peter remained like this...
Someone else would eventually stop him.
And they wouldn't be nearly as merciful.
Peter would most likely end up dead.
Alex would rather have a friend covered in bruises than a corpse sealed inside a coffin because he had become too monstrous for anything else.
Since the pheromones hadn't worked...
The only option left was to beat his friend until his instincts learned to stay quiet.
Brutal...
But effective.
"STOP IT, ALEX!!!"
Unable to watch Peter being beaten any longer, Gwen finally shouted.
Alex heard her.
Without stopping his assault, he merely turned the two eyes on the side of his face toward her while continuing to punch Peter over and over again.
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO HIM, ALEX?! YOU'RE GOING TO KILL HIM!!!"
Alex smiled calmly.
"If I actually wanted him dead, he'd already be in thousands of pieces."
"I'm just knocking some sense into Lizard Peter before he does something stupid."
"I'd rather have a living friend than a corpse."
Gwen frowned in confusion.
She wanted to stop Alex.
But as she watched Peter gradually struggle less and less, no longer trying to fight back, she found herself unable to argue.
Even so...
She still couldn't understand Alex's method.
The uncertainty only made her more anxious.
Then, before she could react—
A perfect slash flashed through the air.
Peter's arm was severed cleanly.
Seeing that, Gwen nearly had a heart attack.
She was about to scream when something unexpected happened.
Peter...
Knelt.
He remained conscious, yet made no attempt to attack Alex.
Instead, he looked down at where his arm had been, glanced around in confusion, and finally raised his eyes toward Alex.
For the first time since waking up...
His expression changed.
Terror.
Pure, unmistakable fear.
The moment Peter's eyes met Alex's, he instinctively lowered his head, almost as if submitting.
"There."
Alex shrugged.
"Problem solved."
"Now he's basically a pet iguana."
Watching the unbelievable scene unfold before her, Gwen couldn't shake a single thought from her mind.
How monstrous Alex had become.
She still remembered the frightened nerd he used to be.
Someone who always preferred talking things out and rarely let anything bad happen without trying to alert the authorities first.
But the person standing before her now...
Felt less like a human being...
And more like a force of nature.
Alex reminded her of a hurricane more than anyone she had ever met.
His presence alone felt almost tangible in a way she had never experienced before.
"I still think that's just bullying, Alex."
Gwen muttered, still staring at the cowed Peter.
Alex chuckled before finally releasing Peter.
He watched as Peter's severed arm regenerated at remarkable speed, quietly letting out a relieved sigh once he saw it growing back properly.
Noticing Peter becoming noticeably less aggressive, Alex rested a hand on his shoulder before turning toward Gwen.
"Gwen... I actually wanted to talk to you before all this happened with Peter."
"I wanted to tell you to stay away from the destroyed part of the city."
"And stay away from the surrounding area too."
"Something's going to happen there..."
"And I'm going to be involved."
"I don't want to have to hurt you."
Alex, having said that, looked at Peter, ignoring Gwen's reaction as he began thinking about what to do with his friend now transformed into a lizard.
Alex considered taking him back and making him one of his members, but after thinking it through, that wouldn't really be fair to Peter. So instead, he decided to wait and see if Peter regained his consciousness. If he did, then Alex would offer him the invitation.
Peter still had a chance at a normal life. Even after everything that had happened, he could still become human again. However small the possibility might be, Alex still wanted to believe that his friend could escape the cycle of hatred and pain that he himself was trapped in.
And if his friend couldn't... then Alex would still be there.
Looking at Peter, Alex still felt guilty for not being able to protect him before he became what he was now. Alex knew it was already too late. Even though he had only just begun his plan, even though everything was still in its testing phase, he knew one thing for certain.
If he stopped now, he would never forgive himself.
The hopes of hundreds of people rested in his hands from this moment onward, and he would lead every one of them to victory.
Without hesitation, Alex struck Peter hard enough to knock him unconscious before lifting him with some difficulty due to his unnecessarily large size, making him awkward to carry. Still, Alex quickly found a comfortable position and began walking away while speaking to Gwen, releasing a small amount of cursed energy.
"Gwen, I really hope you take my advice seriously because it'll be the only warning I'll be able to give you for a long time. And besides... not everything they say I did... I actually did."
With that, Alex burst forward at full speed toward his base. He needed a controlled environment if he wanted any chance of bringing Peter back.
Of course, Alex didn't want to have to experiment on Peter, but there simply wasn't another option.
It wasn't long before Alex was nearing his base when a loud scream echoed through the streets, causing him to stop instantly and turn toward the direction it had come from before glancing at Peter over his shoulder.
Alex knew very well that the smartest decision would be to head straight to the base and deal with Peter first instead of interfering with whatever was happening.
But this territory belonged to him now.
As its leader—and as a symbol of fear and strength—he needed to start asserting his authority.
After knocking Peter unconscious again with another quick blow to the head just to make sure he stayed asleep, Alex sprinted toward the source of the scream.
Within moments, he arrived to find what looked like a gang surrounding a young black boy who wasn't unfamiliar to him.
The group continuously shouted threats at the terrified kid.
"TALK, YOU SON OF A BITCH, BEFORE I RIP YOUR ARMS OFF AND MAIL THEM TO YOUR MOM!"
At first, Alex was confused about what information they thought that kid could possibly have.
Then he recognized him.
It was Oliver—the boy Tyon had recruited because he could perceive cursed energy.
Judging by how frightened Oliver looked, he clearly hadn't awakened the ability to control cursed energy yet. Maybe he never would.
Still, Alex found himself curious to see whether the boy would eventually awaken that power... or if he'd give these men the answers they wanted.
__________________________________
"I ALREADY TOLD YOU I DON'T KNOW WHAT THE HELL YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT!!!"
"Quit lying, you little bastard. We know you're part of the new gang running this area. We saw you acting as a messenger, telling your family about the changes that are coming. You little piece of shit."
The moment he heard those words, Oliver immediately fell silent.
He remembered that after returning from the base, he'd told his mother that their lives were about to change because there was a new leader controlling the neighborhood now—and that he was far better than that damn fat bastard who used to run the place.
Oliver knew it had been stupid.
But he also knew just how hopeless this place had become. For the first time in years, someone had planted a seed of hope, and he wanted to share that hope with others.
What he had seen—and the plans he had heard about inside the base—were so grand they almost sounded like they were trying to reach the sky itself.
Yet somehow...
When they talked about those dreams, they didn't sound impossible.
The powers they possessed were incredible as well.
For example, the man who had recruited him—Tyon—seemed capable of influencing people's will, making them lose all desire to act, and he was unbelievably strong too.
Tyon had explained that what he used was cursed energy, the blessing their leader had bestowed upon them. He also explained that ordinary people couldn't see him because he was a curse—a being made entirely out of cursed energy.
He had also told Oliver that their leader—that towering four-armed giant—was the strongest being alive.
The one who would change the world whether it wanted to change or not.
According to Tyon, Oliver possessed the talent to perceive cursed energy, and that was important because anyone capable of perceiving cursed energy could eventually learn to use it as well.
Even if Oliver couldn't use it yet, Tyon had assured him that it would happen eventually.
He simply needed time.
Unfortunately...
Oliver might not have that much time.
These men weren't bluffing.
He knew exactly who they were.
They belonged to one of the most influential gangs in Hell's Kitchen, a gang feared by everyone.
When they threatened to cut off his arms and mail them to his mother...
They genuinely meant it.
Oliver was terrified.
He didn't want to die.
Not before leaving his mark on the world.
He wanted to die as a legend...
Not as an idiot who talked too much and paid for it with his life.
"You know what? I'm done. Either you start talking now—"
The man standing in front of Oliver pulled out a revolver, pressed the barrel against Oliver's forehead, and cocked the hammer before finishing his sentence.
"—or I'll blow your fucking brains out and figure it out myself."
Feeling the cold steel against his scalp, Oliver froze.
Death was literally pressed against his head.
He nearly pissed himself.
For a brief second, he almost gave in.
He almost revealed everything he knew.
But then...
Someone appeared in his thoughts.
Oliver remembered the leader of the new organization.
The instant his mind pictured him...
All of his fear disappeared.
He remembered the overwhelming terror he had felt simply from standing near that man.
Compared to that monstrous presence, the revolver pressed against his head suddenly felt insignificant.
The fear inspired by that towering figure was primal.
It wasn't ordinary fear.
It was something deeper.
More brutal.
More absolute.
Almost divine.
And because of that...
Oliver stopped being afraid.
The very instant he accepted that he might die without saying a word...
Something awakened inside him.
Instinctively, he tried to react to the gun.
But it was already too late.
The man's finger was only millimeters away from pulling the trigger.
Then—
Everyone in the alley froze.
In the blink of an eye, every single person standing there was diced into thousands of pieces.
Their clothes.
Their bodies.
Even the revolver itself had been reduced to nothing more than shredded scraps of metal.
"What are you standing there with your mouth hanging open for? Go home, kid."
"I've got things to do, and walking you home isn't one of them."
____________________________________
So yeah, that's it, guys. This chapter took a lot longer than I really wanted it to, but at least I managed to finish it in a reasonable amount of time.
So, here we are. Now I've got to make up for being away from writing for so long.
See you!
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And if you have any constructive criticism or anything that could help me improve, don't hesitate to say it, I always read everything.
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Good night.