As he stared at the sinister grin of the muscular man, it only took a second for Alex to realize… "He knew all along!"
He had been hasty to act.
Flustered by everything that happened, Alex made a rookie mistake.
It was too late for regret, so he tried to think of a way out, unfortunately, his opponent saw through him.
"How did you survive the injury I gave you?... I remember ripping your heart out…" The muscular man remarked as he looked at Alex's chest. "Regeneration?... But how come?"
Alex couldn't help but question what the man was talking about as they exchanged eye contact.
Thinking back now, the dead man that Nyx had decomposed fit the description of the person the muscular man was referring to.
Did that mean he mixed up the identities of the dead man with his own?... Alex questioned.
Unsure of what to make of his conclusion, he turned to Nyx for answers.
'Nyx.'
Pursing his lips, Alex was both shocked and annoyed.
Shocked that he had so easily assimilated the identity of another person.
Annoyed because the person that caused the death of the guy from earlier was still out for blood.
At first, he thought the muscular man was on him to silence witnesses to his crime but now realizing that he mistook him for the target changed things.
Try as he may, Alex quickly deduced that he wouldn't be able to break free from the man's hold.
Running away was also not possible since Nyx was still assimilating with his shadow and of course… the man still had his grip on him.
Staying still however was not Alex's strong suit and so despite the hopelessness of the situation, he didn't stop struggling.
Meanwhile, silence reigned as the muscular man waited for a response while trying to figure out how Alex survived the attack.
Realizing the answers would never come, he sighed. "You are right, it's a waste to know since you'll still die."
"…" Alex retracted his fist to attack again only for him to pause as his blood ran cold.
The muscular man kept his eyes on Alex as his eyes turned to golden slits and his canines became prominent.
Before he could say anything, the muscular man reached for Alex's throat.
Alex tried to dodge but it was useless as the movement was too fast in the first place.
As he gasped for air, trying to salvage the situation, Alex called inwardly.
"Nyx!'
'I'm about to die!'
Alex was unsure how to respond as he reached for his assailant's eye to blind them but his attempt was futile as the latter moved a few inches away from reach, a twisted smile on his visage as he watched him struggle.
"I thought you were a journalist, who knew you could dance so well!?"
Left with no choice, Alex desperately reached out for anything while making use of everything he had learned on Earth to stay alive for a few more seconds.
But even that wasn't enough as Alex's oxygen ran out and his brain began to shut down.
The muscular man enjoyed Alex's struggle, savoring the experience like a well-cooked meal while pushing him toward inevitable death.
Taking one last look at the assailant that ruined his chances at returning to his family, Alex cursed his bad luck.
As his world slowly turned dark, he heard a distant voice.
Boom!
Terrifying energy sent the assailant flying with Alex as the center of the force.
He tumbled a few times before crashing into a tree before he could regain himself.
With trembling arms, he grew confused at what happened.
Looking up, however, everything became clear.
"...Evil god." That was all he could muster at the sight before him.
A being shrouded in darkness with crescent moons where its eyes were supposed to be, possessing an aura that could only be described with one word… Terrifying.
What else would he call it?
But that being was precisely his target.
"Didn't they say he was a normal journalist!" He cried in terror as he turned to flee.
He could have blamed his senses for not picking up the danger on time but now wasn't the time to ponder on useless things.
There was no hope of surviving in a fight, so common sense told him to run without looking back.
However, it wasn't so easy to run.
Several dark tendrils shot out from the 'Evil god' and charged toward the muscular man.
If not for him leaping to the side at the last second, he would have turned into a skewer.
His heart palpitated at the tangible darkness that moved like tentacles.
"Ah… Ah.." That was all he could manage before madness took over.
With tears in his eyes, laughing aloud without a single care in the world, the muscular man transformed.
His canines became more pronounced, his beards grew until they became quite distinct with sideburns appearing.
His muscles resembled steel for a brief moment and his fingernails grew until they were almost a quarter meter in length.
He charged forward to fight back but his attempt was pathetic at best.
Several tendrils grabbed hold of him while others hovered over the poor guy's shadow.
Watching him struggle pointlessly, Alex.. no, Nyx waved his hand.
A shrill cry rang out and then… nothing.
The muscular man had dissipated into dust and his shadow assimilated with Alex's own.
With a regretful sigh, the darkness receded with the moon eyes disappearing, revealing Alex's figure once again.
However, he looked incomparably weak, and without support, he crashed to the ground with a dull thud.
Several minutes later, footsteps were heard again.
It sounded rushed with an underlying sense of urgency.
A moment later and a figure rushed out of the woods.
A woman with dark hair cut in a boyish fashion, wearing a leather suit with an additional leather jacket that reached her ankles.
Her breathing was uneven as she carried a metal contraption with a blade long enough to be called a longsword on her right hand.
Glancing at an unconscious Alex, she subsequently closed her eyes after which invisible energy rushed out of her body.
But just as quickly as the invisible energy left her body, it returned as perspiration peppered her forehead.
Her breathing got even worse as she turned wide-eyed.
It took several minutes before she finally calmed down at which point, she muttered in disbelief. "...What happened here?"