While Kei and the others were fighting Hektor, Alex was still having an ongoing battle with Richter's dead body. Alex had not sustained any wounds at all, but his breathing was now highly erratic. His body was getting a bit heavy, and he felt like his ability to perceive information in his mind was growing a bit hazy. While all of that was happening to him Alex was looking at the now disfigured body of Richter.
During the brief exchanges they had, Alex was able to somehow cut Richter's entire left arm, a few of his toes, and his right hand. The nanomachines couldn't reattach those because they were now cut into tiny slices. Still, no matter what he did, Alex just couldn't pierce through and destroy Richter's head.
