"You bastard," Alex said, voice razor-sharp and deadly calm.
"You''ve got exactly five seconds to release her. If you don''t, none of you bastards
are walking out of here alive."
The room erupted in an instantughter and mockery swept through Hugh
Jones'' crew like a brushfire, loud and vicious.
"Who the hell does this fool think he is? Threatening Hugh Jones? He''s got a
death wish!"
"Drop to your knees if you value your life, kid!"
"This brat''s got some nerve!"
Angry murmurs swirled violently, insults hurled like bullets.
Hugh raised his hand, silencing the uproar, a thin smile stretching across his lips.
"Easy now, everyone," Hugh said smoothly, stepping forward with a chilling calm
in his eyes.
"Let me deal with our little intruder-he clearly doesn''t know who I am yet. But
don''t worry... once he does, regret will be the only thing he feels."
He stopped, sizing Alex up with smug disdain. "You must be Alex. Here''s your
chance-get down and lick my boots, and maybe I''ll let you live."
Alex smirked, eyes like steel. "Cute offer. How about you kiss my boot instead,
and I''ll spare your sorry excuse of a life."
Hugh''s grin vanished, reced by a cold fury.
"Do you have any idea who you''re messing with, kid? Just because you managed
to knock around a few people, you think you''re something special? Those insects
you beat? They''re nothing but garbage-just like you."
"You''re wasting your five seconds," Alex warned, his tone icy and merciless.
Hughughed bitterly. "I admire your guts, even if you''re about to lose them."
Without warning, Alex lunged forward, a sudden, fierce blur.
Hugh''s eyes widened in shock, barely reacting in time to block the iing kick.
"You little-"
But his arrogant sneer dissolved into pure horror as Alex''s foot mmed into his
arms with crushing force, hurling him backward like he''d been struck by a freight
train.
He crashed through tables, sending splinters and dishes flying, demolishing
everything in his path until his body smashed into the wall with a sickening crack.
Dust billowed, ster falling in chunks around Hugh''s crumpled body.
Alex turned immediately toward Jasmine, eyes softening as he saw the blood
trickling from her forehead.
"Are you okay? Does it hurt badly?"
Her eyes shimmered with tears, the tough mask she''d worn copsing into raw,
aching vulnerability.
"It hurts," she whispered, voice fragile and shaking. "It really hurts..."
Without hesitation, Alex pulled out a small bottle of pills. "Take this. It''ll ease the
pain."
But Jasmine barely moved. She gave a faint shake of her head, her lips parting
just enough to speak.
"Give it to me... yourself," she breathed, her eyes locked onto his, full of trust and
silent desperation.
Alex lowered himself beside her, his movements slow and careful. With tender
precision, he brought the pill to her lips, his fingers brushing her skin like a
whisper.
As she epted it, he summoned his inner force, hands steady as he worked.
With a delicate touch, he extracted the slivers of ss buried deep in her heads.
wound, guiding the energy of his strength into her torn flesh.
Before their eyes, the gash began to seal, muscle and skin weaving back together
with an unnatural grace-smooth, silent, and almost unreal.
Suddenly ovee, Jasmine flung her arms around him, burying her face into his
chest.
"What took you so damn long?" she choked out.
Alex sighed softly, holding her close.
"Sorry," he murmured, a faint smile on his lips. "Traffic was terrible."
Across the room, Hugh painfully dragged himself upright, eyes zing with
hatred.
"Kill him! Tear him apart!" he roared,manding his followers.
Instantly, five ruthless figures surged forward, eyes gleaming with murderous
intent.
Number Four turned pale, horror etched deeply on his face. "Those...those are
the Five Giants! Murderers who''ve ughtered cops and important politicians!"
Hispanion''s voice shook with dread. "He''s finished. They''ll rip him to shreds!"
But Alex didn''t flinch.
"Alex! We''ve got your back!" Four and a handful of wounded kingswell soldier''s
stumbled forward, battered but determined.
"Stay out of this, you are useless." Alex snapped sharply. He gently guided
Jasmine toward them, positioning her safely aside.
Four felt her pride sting sharply at Alex''s dismissive words.
She had faced countless battles, always respected, always admired-but now
she stood dismissed like a pesky fly.
"Even if we''re not at your level," she said, her voice steady and defiant, "numbers
still count. Don''t underestimate us."
"You''re just in the way," Alex snapped, his tone colder than ice. "I''m better off
alone."
Four clenched her fists, feeling humiliated in a way she''d never known. "You-"
Alex didn''t wait. He strode forward to meet the five attackers approaching him, his
movements fluid and terrifyingly swift.
Before any of them could fully react, Alex''s fist crashed into the first man''s head,
sending him spinning violently into the shadows.
Without breaking rhythm, Alex swung his other arm, delivering a fierce backhand
thatunched the second man sprawling across the room.
His leg whipped around next, mming the third attacker so powerfully that he
hurtled backward, colliding brutally into the fourth.
The fifth man froze, mid-charge, eyes wide with panic.
Four of hisradesy sprawled
across the floor, defeated in mere
heartbeats. The sudden, grim
realization of his vulnerability
twisted his stomach.
With a desperate cry, he spun toward the exit, sprinting away like a terrified
animal.
Four lunged forward instinctively, grabbing the fleeing man. "You''re going
nowhere!"
"Get off me, you filthy bitch!" the man roared, swinging a wild punch.
"You think I fear you?" she snapped back, raising her own fists in challenge.
Their fists shed mid-air, but the
sheer force hurled Four backward
with brutal impact, sending her
tumbling across the ground in a
series of harsh, bone-jarring rolls.
She skidded painfully across the floor, stunned and humiliated, while the attacker
didn''t even pause, bolting out the door.
Alex looked down at Four with undisguised disdain. "Absolutely pathetic."
Four''s face burned crimson, shame searing deeper than any wound.
She knew exactly why he''d spoken those harsh words-it was revenge, in and
simple, for when she''d mocked him earlier, calling him a monkey.
Regret twisted bitterly inside her. If only she could turn back time, she''d swallow
her arrogance.
"Don''t get too cocky, kid!" Hugh Jones suddenly thundered, his voice echoing
through the hall, authority crackling in every syble.
"Do you really think you can parade
your arrogance just because you
beat a few weaklings? I''m at level 50,
you fool. I can crush you pathetic
mortals with a mere flick of my
finger!"
As Hugh''s voice rose, his arms quivered with suppressed power.
An oppressive, suffocating aura radiated outward, pressing heavily onto everyone
around.
Kingswell''s warriors staggered back, breathless, feeling as though boulders
crushed their chests.
"Damn, this pressure! I can''t breathe!"
Four''s eyes widened in horror. "Level 50! He''s reached the stage of internal
energy! He''s practically a monster!"
Whispers of dread spread among them. "They say once you surpass level 50,
your inner strength alone can shatter walls and kill from afar."
Hughughed arrogantly, basking in the terror he inspired. "Already trembling,
huh? Maybe you should start licking my boots, little girl."
Four''s face contorted with fury. "You bastard! You''ll pay for this!"
"Kneel!" Hughmanded, directing a wave of intense energy to force everyone
in the hall into submission.
One by one, they sank unwillingly to their knees, overwhelmed by his crushing
presence.
Yet Jasmine stood unaffected, watching with curious calm.
Alex, equally unperturbed, fixed his gaze on Hugh, an icy smirk ying on his
lips.
"You kneel," Alex said calmly.
In that instant, Hugh felt a colossal force strike him.
His smug expression vanished as the immense pressure mmed him face-first
onto the cold, unforgiving floor.
Meanwhile, Alex stared at Four, now on her knees and broken under Hugh''s
attack.
He stared at her, his tone like venom. "Totally... absolutely... pathetic."