The forest stretched endlessly before them, the thick canopy above only letting in slivers of light. Leaves rustled beneath their boots as Alex walked alongside Tobi and Levi, the trio surrounded by silence aside from the occasional chirping of birds.
"Are you sure this is the right direction?" Alex asked, his tone laced with impatience. "We've been walking for hours. Where exactly were the Dark Signs spotted?"
Tobi groaned, dragging his feet a bit. "Can't we just take a break already? My legs are going numb."
Levi, eyes locked onto a small device in his hand, didn't even glance up. "Calm down, both of you," he said, voice steady. "We're almost there."
But then, he froze.
"Lower your voices," Levi warned, his tone dropping to a whisper. "I hear something..."
In an instant, Tobi's expression shifted shifted to that of serious blood lust. His instincts flared, and he spun around just in time to sense a beam of light hurtling toward them. Without hesitation, he shoved Alex and Levi aside, drew his sword, and with one clean slash, split the beam in half.
BOOM!
The explosion tore through the forest, shaking the earth beneath them and blasting the tree that were all over the place into ashes. Smoke and dust filled the air.
"You guys okay?" Levi coughed, eyes scanning through the fading smoke. Alex asked himself "What was that? I couldn't even react to it. Was that...."
A slow clap echoed from the shadows.
From the mist stepped out a familiar figure—Bara—his mechanical arm glinting in the broken sunlight, a confident smile on his face.
"Well, that was unexpected," Bara said, clearly amused. "I wasn't expecting anyone to actually deflect that."
Alex's expression twisted with frustration. "Bara…!" he growled.
"Ah, demon boy," Bara said mockingly. "You're just the one I wanted to see. I've been itching to test your power since our last encounter."
Levi didn't waste time. His arms transformed into dual machine guns, and without a word, he unleashed a barrage of bullets, each one bursting with explosive power. Trees splintered as the ground erupted around them. "The mission starts now. KILL BARA OF THE DARK SIGN!"
But Bara danced through it all, weaving through the forest, his body a blur of movement. With a swift shift, his arm morphed into a cannon and fired a devastating beam at Levi.
Levi met the attack head-on, his arms now transformed into blasters. He fired a beam of his own—both attacks collided mid-air, triggering another massive explosion that ripped through the forest.
As the smoke cleared, the two stood locked in a standoff, weapons raised.
"Where's your accomplice?" Levi demanded.
Bara smirked. "If you're talking about Garou, then he should be in the city by now. Too bad, you already missed him."
He took a step forward, voice calm but menacing.
"The Dark Signs have two objectives. First, capture the demon child—your little white haired friend over there. And second... world domination."
The weight of his words struck like a thunderclap.
"What did you just say…?" Alex asked, his tone low and dangerous.
Bara shrugged. "Relax. I'm not here to capture you today. I'm just here to see how strong you've become."
With a sudden movement, his arm shifted once again—now a massive blaster.
He fired.
The blast tore through the forest, engulfing the trio in fire and chaos. Trees shattered, the earth was scorched—but when the smoke settled, Levi stood firm, his left arm turned into a shield-like blaster.
"Alex! Tobi!" he shouted. "Forget about killing him! I'll handle him!"
Alex clenched his fists, rage boiling within him.
"Bara… get lost."
Bara tilted his head, mockingly. "What was that? Speak up, demon boy. I couldn't hear you."
Alex's eyes gleamed red.
"I SAID GET LOST!!"
The ground shook.
A violent surge of dark red energy erupted from Alex's body, winds howling and tearing through the forest as his power surged. The trees were ripped from their roots, the earth trembled beneath the pressure.
Levi's eyes widened as a huge burst of demonic energy blasted out of Alex's body "Huh? This violent power. Is this… demonic energy?"
The energy spiraled around Alex like a storm. His scream echoed across the forest as his body began to morph—massive wings sprouted from his back, a single horn grew from his head, half of his face transforming into a demonic form.
A spiked tail curled behind him, and jagged protrusions burst from his shoulders.
Tobi's eyes narrowed. "Stage three… How can a transformation alone cause this much destruction?"
Bara, eyes wide with excitement, grinned. "Yes… YES! That's it! Show me more!"
But before he could finish, Alex vanished.
CRACK!
A fist slammed into Bara's chest, sending him flying at space that was once a forest. Before he could recover, Alex fired two lava-like beams from his hands, engulfing the forest in catastrophic explosions that turned trees to ashes. His body has fully turned into that of a demon.
Alex let out a feral roar, the shockwave flattening everything within the area.
Levi stared in disbelief. "Tobi… are you seeing this?"
Tobi nodded slowly. "Stage… four."
Alex's body now fully resembled a demon. His face and body were coated in black scales, his wings spread wide, and long spikes jutted from every inch of him.
"Get down!" Levi ordered.
Tobi quickly summoned a force field around them as Alex shot out a powerful explosion of energy that engulfed the entire area.
When the smoke finally cleared, the forest was gone completely. Nothing but ash and craters remained.
Bara stood up, still laughing.
"So this… this is the true power of a demon?" he said, awestruck.
Alex roared again and fired massive flame-like beams at Bara. The beams flew like meteorites, each one leveling the terrain upon impact.
Bara ran and dodged, turning his arm into a blaster and firing back, the two trading blows in a symphony of chaos. Each impact created more craters, lighting up the ground like bursts of chaotic energy.
"Is that all you've got?" Bara taunted.
Alex roared again and charged.
The battle took to the sky—blasts, punches, and energy beams filling the air like a storm. Both Bara and Alex in his demonic state were going crazy as they flew all over the air at insane speeds while causing explosions.
At one point, Alex opened his mouth and fired a massive beam, sending Bara crashing into the ground. Though he blocked the attack, the impact left a massive scar on the earth.
Bara coughed and muttered to himself, "With the speed he's moving… it's faster than ever. This demonic form of his is one that gives him amped speeds and more explosive power. This gives me flashbacks of when we first fought about three years ago."
Back in the safety of the barrier, Tobi turned to Levi.
"Should I stop him?"
Levi shook his head. "You might be able to face him head-on... but one hit from that beam, and you're done."
He paused, glancing up at the battle.
"It's better to let him rampage for a bit. Besides… I don't have the strength to take on Bara right now. And i definitely dont have the power to stop Alex's rampage, just blocking Bara's attacks alone was enough to dain me badly."
Tobi raised an eyebrow. "So, at the end of the day… you are an old man."
Levi's eye twitched as he yelled at Tobi with annoyance "I'm only 29!!"
END OF CHAPTER.