Alex really hoped the Cosmic Emperor was looking down on him right now.
But it was way too soon to celebrate. There was someone else lurking in the shadows (not literally of course). But this person, whoever he was, had strongly made his desire to have the blade known. Obviously, money was not a problem for them. And that automatically translated to them being a person of considerable means. Things were certainly going to be interesting from here out.
So, Alex decided to be proactive.
Instead of taking his ususal route home, Alex decided to take a detour. With his eyes firmly fixed on the rearview camera, he pulled out of the parking lot and took a much busier road. Sure enough, he found what he was looking for. An ominous looking black SUV was spotted just a few cars behind. They were careful, but apparently no careful enough.
Having confirmed that he was being followed, Alex decided to lure them in. He needed someplace quiet. Somewhere reserved where he could make them scream and no one could hear them. Of course, it was likely that they were actively making the sad mistake of underestimating him. But that was going to work in his favour.
Deliberately, Alex headed downtown and found a route that would take him to the outskirts of the city. Gradually, the glamour of the towering buildings began to recede, and in its place, the shanty small, box-like houses began to fill his landscape. Alex began to slow down gently. He had set the scene, all his enemies needed was to swarm him.
And swarm they did.
It turned out that there was more than one car. In fact, there had been three all along. But they had been silently driving behind each other in formation all this while. As if they were trying their best not to spook him. It was the smartest thing they had done so far. But it was far from being enough.
Suddenly, with the lighning precision of a SEAL team, they broke formation and surrounded him all at once. The three pronged attack was efficient. The Bugatti was a exceptionally fast and fiercely expensive car, but it stood no chance against the black monsters. They surrounded the small vehicle with their heavy duty SUVs, and a small army of suits emerged from the open doors brandishing glocks and pistols in their hands.
In no time at all, they had him surrounded on all sides. He could not move.
One of them in dark shades walked up to him with a gun pointed;
"Slowly hand over the Cursed Blade in five seconds and you will live. Resist and we will light you up on the spot. Nod twice if you understand me!"
They looked and sounded like private security. Probably ex navy SEALs. But that was really of no consequence to Alex. Seated behind the steering wheel, he looked at the man addressing him, and suddenly, without warning, he threw his head back and erupted into peals of laughter. His shoulders vibrated in accordance with his gyrating body movements, stunning his adversaries.
The men were professional. They were not moved.
So, the first guy reached for the door handle, but Alex beat him to it. He opened the car door and simply stepped out with the coolness that was not expected from someone who had close to a dozen and a half guns pointed at him.
Brazenly, he walked up to the first man;
"Stop right there! I SAID STOP!!"
Alex heard, but did not listen. In one swift movement, he dropped to the ground and swept the man off his feet. His hefty frame crashed to the ground hard. Very easily, he took out the next two men who were closest to him, hoping that the others would be discouraged and abandon this futile mission.
But the men were more irritated than impressed by this man's display of masculinity. He was mocking them, and they had no time for this. Their objective was the Cursed Blade and this schmuck in a white suit was the only obstacle. There was no need to think too much about it. There was only one efficient thing to do.
The triggger happy man directly in front of Alex still had his weapon aimed directly at his head;
"I don't have time for this! Trust me this is no time to be a hero! Give up the Cursed Blade or die!!!"
The look on Alex's face showed that the words did not hit home at all. So, almost impatiently, the man squeezed the trigger twice, sending two live bullets straight at Alex's skull. They were not in anyway intended to serve as warning shots. They were meant to strike him dead. And yet, both bullets did not make it.
For the god of sex, it seemed like it took the bullets five to six seconds to reach him. So, he simply sidestepped, and the bullets whizzed past him leaving a trail of smoke too fast for the natural eye to follow.
But for the regular men, it all happened way too fast for them to comprehend! It was like a hunter shooting an arrow at a deer at close range, only for him to see that the animal had dodged! It was every hunter's nightmare. For most, it was the stuff of movies and dreams! Out of fear, he released another five or six bullets at Alex. Eyes blazing, and heart pounding as he fired. But Alex moved at a speed that could only be described as inhuman, and dodged every single one them!
This was too much for the men to take. This was far beyond the limits of their knowledge and imagination. Their minds were already defeated, so it did not take Alex much to finish them off. They did not put up much of a fight. Very easily, Alex knocked out all of them. It genuinely seemed like they were more than happy to go down. They welcomed the encompassing blackness that swallowed them as they slipped into unconsciousness.
Maybe, when the would finally awaken, it would turn out to be just a dream. A man that could dodge bullets was not good for business. It was simply bad business. This man in the white suit was definitely bad business.
Alex got home safely, without the fear of being followed. The time of waiting was finally over. He was one step closer to his apotheosis- thanks to this artifact.
It did not take long before he realized that something was very wrong.
The warning bells at the back of his mind had been ringing pretty much since he had offcially acquired the said object. He frowned as he took a proper look at the box on his couch-
"That's weird, I can't seem to sense my little companion..."
He was referring to the dreadful presence of the vengeful spirit trapped in the blade. In retrospect, Alex realized that he had been way too busy with fending off the human vultures who had wanted his prize. He had settled in to realize this a little too late.
Without even bothering to take off his clothes first, Alex charged at the box like a wild bull, hoping against hope that the mischievous spirit was playing some kind of prank on him. If that was the case, he was determined to put it in its place. This was a really bad time for pranks.
Hands firm, he broke the lock and very nearly tore the wooden box apart with his superhuman strength. The container stood no chance, and gave way immediately. Alex's impatient eyes roved back and forth across the dagger within, searching for any traces of foul play- he did not find one, he found everything wrong with the blade! It was a fake!!
There was no way the naked eye could tell the difference at first glance. This imitation was a real work of art! It had been crafted deftly to fool any human with an acute sense of sight! If not for the Eye of god, Alex would not have been able to tell that the soul inside was missing!! It was not just missing, it was never there to start with!
The atmosphere around Alex began to simmer like the outside of a boiling cauldron. This was but a mere reflection of the rising surge of anger actively coursing through his entire being! All this work...for nothing?! His mind began to go back and forth, running back the events of the past four hours at lightning speed, trying to figure out when the switch had been made- and more importantly, the culprit(s) responsible for this.
The answer was right there.