After Alex was finally starting to regain a silver of his consciousness, his hand moved towards his pocket at an extreme speed in order to press a button on a alarm-type gadget on him.
However, his movements were predicted beforehand and dealt with as Azure Dragon encased his body in a layer of ice. A spiritual glow surrounded his body, as well as a deep coldness.
The freezing cold temperatures splashed onto him may not have injured the old veteran much since he was able to brake free from the frosty encasement instantly, but anything on him that could be used to call for reinforcements had already shattered.
Vermillion Bird and Black Turtle followed up his attack by combining their skills to throw molten lava created from the concrete of the rooftop onto Alex before he could recover. White Tiger and Azure Dragon stayed well back in order to block his escape routes or interfere with his actions whenever he tried something. Their coordination was beyond anything Alex had ever seen!
The old dragon was thrown off Death Eater's arm with a bang upon being hit by the magma and was thrown back onto the ground. Although he was able to barely resist the Colourless Miasma's impact on his thoughts, he still wasn't able to move properly as his body was burnt under the intense heat. Even his 'Healing Factor' wasn't keeping up.
Any kind of lava was a lot hotter than a regular spiritual fireball alone. Therefore it was only natural that despite having the most supreme of physiques, Alex's body was still unable to handle the molten concrete which was covering his arm.
The old man's bones crackled, his muscles burnt and his tendons were seared off by the unnaturally high heat formed through Vermillion Bird's extremely hot flames. Death Eater, whose arm was both iced and burnt a little by the string of ruthless attacks, didn't bother about his 'minor injuries' as he silently complained in his heart, not noticing a shadow that was moving swiftly towards him!
Alex's figure lunged through the air silently...
"Wait! The deal will be off if you don't leave some of his flesh for me to-" But just as Death Eater was halfway through his rant, his lungs suddenly contracted as he gasped for air. A look of disbelief coloured his face as his eyes shifted down to the figure of the charred old man who had punched his chest... His spine bent inwards as he exhaled...
"H-how...?" Was the first word he barely said after inhaling and trying to catch his breath, before realising that Alex was still under the affects of the Colourless Miasma. The dilated, empty eyes and blank expression on their target's face were evidence to this fact. The old man unconsciously moved his body as he retracted his hand, as he seemed to be wholly relying on its body memory...
I believe this was called 'Spinal Reflex'. It was when your body does an action that bypasses the brain...
An example when you pull your hand back after touching something hot, or when you salivate around salty food. In order to quickly respond to external threats, the body moved on its own accord sometimes... but was it possible to be at this level?
Azure Dragon was sure after his analysis that even the 'Grand Elder' wouldn't be able to understand what was happening. There was no way that normal neurotransmitters could make a body do these complex actions like it was a second brain...
Getting back to reality though... That one punch the heavily injured old veteran threw had caught Death Eater off guard, but after seeing his target's face and body that had been gruesomely burnt on one side and frozen on the other, after smelling the ashes that arose from the left arm that punched him, Death Eater regained some confidence in their chances. Victory for their group was still in sight!
It was only after silently taking a few steps back from their target's still-as-a-corpse figure, did he look confusedly at the ground not far from him where the hot magma Black Turtle and Vermillion Bird had conjured just landed moments ago.
The two Elders made eye-contact with each other in confusion as well since they didn't really understand how Alex's figure had suddenly disappeared and reappeared before Death Eater.
Did he use a Step Method by reflex...?
"Don't stop...! He is now severely injured and shouldn't be able to display his full strength anymore. Attack!" Azure Dragon roared as a rope made of water materialised out of nowhere.
The water then froze in midair into tendrils of ice that tangled around his target's body. He was hellbent on restricting the legendary White Dragon's bodily movements. This Elder was more like a magic user than a martial artist right now...
This time, Alex's body didn't react.
The injuries he sustained weren't healing well considering how Vermillion Bird seemed to have injected her special 'Vermillion Flames' into his wounds. Perhaps the only way he'd be able to find a way to recover from his grave injuries would be by breaking free from the Colourless Miasma's mental restraints. That was his only option!
The other Elders didn't waste time as well as they prepared to attack their target with full force, but before they could conjure more elements to restrain or finish him off, Death Eater jumped forward with his mouth wide-open. A demonic expression appeared on the cannibal's face as he drooled in an animalistic manner mid-lunge.
'Damn...!' The four Elders had their thoughts synchronised at this particular moment as they witnessed Death Eater's bold actions. None of them wanted this freak of nature to get stronger...!
Azure Dragon felt a little annoyed as he found that the cannibalistic scum he disdained previously had actually planned wait for him to finish retraining Alex before attacking. He felt like he had been manipulated by this creep and exploded in anger.
He and the other Elders with him didn't really have the intention of allowing Death Eater to strengthen his Divine Physique and techniques by devouring the flesh of one of the 'Dragons of the West'. They didn't even want to think about what would happen if one of their archenemies was granted the power of Alex's unfathomable physical strength!
The other three Elders could only hastily conjure projectiles so they could interrupt Death Eater before he ate too much of their target's flesh and bones... only for to notice something was off midway through their lunge at this old freak.
[Cyber Force- Reflex Programming!]
"Defence Mode... activated..." Three soft words suddenly left Alex's lips as his entire body suddenly moved away from the closest attacker nearest to him. His empty eyes gave them dread...!
Death Eater's sharp, fang-like jaw could only clamp on air as his realised his target had shifted his body to the side. He grinned after seeing how his 'fresh meat' could only use all his strength to desperately struggle in vain while the ice tendrils restrained him. There was a disgusting smile on his face as he enjoyed playing with prey that couldn't resist.
He reached his large arm forward, intending to hold the famed 'Dragon' before him in place so he could devour his flesh. It was then that a change occurred within the old freak's eyes after sensing his killing intent. Though he was still unconscious...
[Threats located... Activation of the Host's specialised Reflex Programme, 'Sleep Mode', has been confirmed...] The deep glow in his empty eyes changed into intricate patterns as a reflection of Death Eater appeared within Alex's iris'.
If one focused the entirety their visual perception into his unfocused eyes, they would also find many tiny letters engraved into his pupils. He looked like an unstoppable fighting machine even when unconscious. What a Super Badass this guy was!
(•_•)
( •_•)>⌐■-■
(⌐■_■)
The sentences in his lightless eyes disappeared as he moved to deflect the incoming projectiles behind him that were about to hit his body. The strange lights in his eyes finally disappeared the moment those cold tendrils of ice around him both shattered into pieces across the windy rooftop. It was then they realised that they screwed up...!
Alex didn't seem to notice the scattered ice and acted promptly to defend himself from their assault. His body was acting way more technically experienced for someone who was unconscious!
"What the-" Death Eater tried to retreat as soon as he detected his prey's clear change in attitude.
However, he was too late. A steel-like hand clamped onto his wrist and threw his body into the oncoming elemental projectiles that had blended together into a maelstrom of attacks.
A high-pitched scream with almost feminine qualities could be heard as Death Eater was unwillingly used as a human shield to protect the old freak from injuries. He felt like crying...!
Death Eater face was like this: (〒▽〒)
He didn't even have the time to open his tear ducts as his body was flung around as if he was a bat.
What appeared out of the dust formed from the four Elders attacks was Alex who was 'wielding' Death Eater like a human-shaped weapon. Their eyes almost fell out of their sockets as their target proceeded swing the cannibal around like a club!
"What on Earth is happening? How is he still fighting?!" Azure Dragon's hair stood in fright as he watched his target fling Death Eater about like a rag-doll. Though he didn't feel pity for the creep...
"He activated a Higher Force... It seems the rumours of the Dragon Family's current Head following the 'External Way' was true... There's no other answer after seeing this kind of abnormal Higher Force..." Black Turtle, who rarely spoke or interjected, answered to his comrade who was panicking in confusion. His analytic words having an impact on their whole team of Elders.
There were four 'Higher Forces': Cyber Force, Glyph Force, Spirit Force and Power Force...
These four 'internal forces' were necessary to become Master martial artists, but they too were also what a genuine fighter absolutely needed to refine in order to become a Grandmaster martial artist of the 'external way' of martial arts.
To put things simply: The Gaia equivalent these Higher Forces would be 'Spell Slots', though each only counted as half a Spell Slot since Mortals like them didn't even have the strength to imitate Gaia Human with there meagre internal energy.
Therefore, those of Earth would always try to bring the best out of the finite power they cultivated. By sharpening what one already has, they were able to bring out supernatural powers from within...
One might wonder why the naming of each Higher Force was so diverse in meaning. However, it must be understood that the 'Modern' martial arts of today were an amalgamation of four distinct paths that had been refined into a perfect blend.
The path of Warlocks.
The path of Mutants.
The path of Cyborgs.
The path of Psychics.
As such, it was understandable to wonder what was the difference between those who were practitioners on the Internal Way like the Elders fighting their ambush target than those of the External Way like the old veteran himself.
It was the difference in the extent one would go when searching for power... That kind of willpower and willingness to risk dying immediately from one wrong move was rare even in ancient times.
Why is it an External Grandmaster was more feared than an Internal Grandmaster? The answer to this question is undoubtedly the difficulty for one to survive this path of training. The way External Grandmaster martial artists would 'sharpen' themselves over time through actual combat is a lot more terrifying than how Internal Grandmaster martial artists would temper their internal energy in a safe environment to form weapons fit for combat.
It is only fair to say that those who would survive the External Way of martial arts were no doubt stronger than their Internal Way counterparts. The four Elders couldn't match Alex's 'badass' halo!
"There's no time to think about anything else. Let's get into our strongest formation!" Azure Dragon roared as blue scales started to grow on from his arms to his fingers to form some dangerous and scaly claws. His Arctic Azure Water Dragon style martial arts were displayed fully as he got into his most familiar stance along with the others.
Azure Dragon: [Cyber Force- Scaled Claws]
Black Turtle: [Cyber Force- Shell Armour]
White Dragon: [Cyber Force- Third Eye]
Vermilion Bird: [Cyber Force- Ribirthing Flames]
A mass of energy from their Qi Centres materialised to form different phenomenons.
Vermilion Bird had her blood red spiritual flames covering her as she got into a stance similar to Left Flamingo in Tae Kwon Do, Black Turtle covered himself in a shell-like armour shaped like muscles as he got himself into an advanced version Karate stance, and last but not least, White Tiger extended her fingers into claws as an eye opened on her forehead! All them looked intimidating...!
All four of them got into position as they attacked all at once. The dream team stood together!
"Threat neutralised... Initiating the activation of 'Assault Mode'..." In response to their threatening actions that were attempting to take his life, Alex's muscles flexed, and an immeasurable vitality expelled the flames that had entered his bloodstream from Vermillion Bird's previous attack and started to heal the injuries sustained all over his body. His 'Blood Bone Divine Physique' worked at the highest rate it had ever done in his entire life.
[Power Force- Body Conditioning!]
Alex didn't back away but instead met the battle formation approaching him head on! He flung Death Eater, who wasn't able to pull himself out of his inescapable grasp, like a ball at Vermilion Bird to try and break the synergy of the team.
Then headed towards the slowest member of their team without any delay. A dangerous look appeared in his eyes as now looked incredibly violent compared to the empty eyes of before.
Black Turtle was startled as he quickly reacted and met his target with a powerful high kick. Normally he'd be able to hold off his opponent long enough for the other three to back him up. However, he was shocked to find that his defensive techniques that were famed across the Eastern Hegemony as the most airtight skills ever to be created were meaningless against his current opponent.
In just one movement, the unconscious old man slid through his defensive form, and in that very same moment, he stopped Black Turtle's leg before he could complete his kick. It was then he ruthlessly elbowed the brown clothed man's neck!
Black Turtle was left breathless for a moment upon impact. It was only after he caught his breath that the man realised that his impregnable defence was of no use...! The burnt and fleshy-looking arm used to strike him crackled, but so too did his 'shell'.
The others fought valiantly to defend him and keep their synergy stable. An azure claw cut at him, an emerald flash struck his leg, and a ruby cannon-like kick smashed into his stomach. They expected him to respond, yet found he still didn't wake up despite his injuries... He seemed immune to pain and injuries as he dauntlessly grabbed ahold of Black Turtle in a familiar fashion they saw before.
He was turned into a another human weapon!
The brown clothed man's face twisted in anger as he tried to struggle, but found that he was no different from Death Eater after being grasped by Alex's hands. His whole body was thrown into the air as he too was thrown around like a rag-doll.
"Watch out!" White Tiger shouted towards Azure Dragon who had tried to sneak attack through their target's blindspot, but found himself being slammed away by their comrade, who was now in the same position Death Eater was previously.
Vermilion Bird tried to help after throwing aside any thoughts of secretly killing off the freaky abomination (Death Eater), before finding out that she was too late. Her kicks were useless against this 'berserker' who felt no pain or injuries...
Both Azure Dragon and Black Turtle had been knocked unconscious by one punch each without being able to make much of a resistance. Their fight was so anticlimactic that it hurt her pride...
Alex's shadowy figure didn't stop there as he then shot towards Vermilion Bird and Death Eater before they could respond. The old freak didn't even give them time to digest the sudden fall of two Masters.
Things didn't play out as they expected, however, as White Tiger somehow used her Third Eye to predict his agile movements, then responded appropriately before it was too late to take action!
Appearing on his left were two claw-like hands that dug deep into his flesh, Vermilion Bird didn't even have to think twice as she followed up with synergy to kick her target's shoulder while holding nothing back. Going beyond what her body could handle!
With the power of Rebirthing Flame in effect, she broke through regular human limits and kicked with enough force to break her own leg in the process of attacking him. Not that she minded considering her 'flames' would heal her injuries anyway.
A crackling noise could be heard along with the sound of their target's arm being severed off by Vermilion Bird's and White Tiger's combined efforts. He might not feel pain, but he was still a human being that could be defeated by them.
They could definitely win this!
The two females rejoiced since they were finally able to give their target a grave injury!
It was unfortunate that their feelings of accomplishment were cut short by what they heard next. Their faces visibly paled as white as a ghost's while Death Eater let out feminine scream again...
Alex's shadow swept past the three still left awake after Azure Dragon and Black Turtle had fallen...
In the next few moments, the three Master martial artists before him were laying motionless on the ground after he gave them a good beating. None of them could understand how they were beaten so easily even though their target was still injured.
A figure stood silently around the feeble losers.
It was then that Alex's eyes regained focus and the effects of the Colourless Miasma that poisoned him finally wore off. The pain signals his nerves were sending him made him grunt, but he didn't fall to his knees, deciding to handle such pain inwardly.
He stopped the bleeding of his armless shoulder as well as his other injuries and looked around himself to figure out what was going on. It was only after figuring it out did he let out a hearty laugh!
"You guys still lost despite me being asleep? Don't you feel ashamed?" He laughed at these 'Masters'.
These words would have undoubtedly made each and every one of them spit out a mouthful of blood should they have still been conscious. Though he knew the danger hadn't past as he heard someone land on the building he was on. Threads of lightning covered the old geezer's body who adorned the robe of the 'Golden Snake' appeared.