Unforeseen circumstances called for drastic actions, and Alec had decades' worth of experience to draw from.
Insanely agile for a man of his shape, Victor pushed Alex into the defenses with three well-timed blows, each targeting him.
By the time the third strike attempted to pierce his skull, Alec went for a counter, accustomed to the perceived trajectory of each blow.
He tried drawing on the green energy in his Dantian but quickly realized it was all exhausted from using Blood Jasmine.
Forced to rely on his raw physical body, Alec swiped his hand upward, applying gentle force underneath Victor's wrist, causing Victor's blow to miss his face by an inch.
An unseen blow impacted Alex's chest, causing him to tumble backward. Victor preyed on his lapse in judgment and stole the momentum of the deadly exchange, landing two blows—one across Alec's chest and the other across his face, spilling blue blood across the white floor.
Victor's eyebrows raised in confusion at the sight of blue blood. Alec used this distraction to reach into his inner pockets, searching for another enderstone to recharge his internal energy reserves.
Noticing Alec's subtle actions, Victor tapped the ground, covering the distance between them in the blink of an eye. His brick-sized fist slammed towards Alec's face, hoping to turn it to mush against the white surface.
Alec gave up absorbing energy from the enderstone and smacked the ground, generating enough kinetic energy to propel himself backward.
Victor's fist slammed into the tiles, tearing a magnificent hole right through them like a toothpick through wet paper. In the process, the grain-like enderstone slipped out of Alec's fingers and slid across the tiled floor behind Victor.
"Shit!"
Victor threw a massive kick at a speed barely perceived by Alec's senses. Still on the floor, Alec pushed his arms outwards, slamming two palms into Victor's foot, hoping it would be enough to disrupt the man's balance.
But it did nothing.
Quick on his feet, Alec used the slippery tiled floor to twirl his body, generating enough momentum to whip Victor's other leg that was still planted on the ground. Finally, it phased the man, causing him to stumble backward a few steps.
Alec lost sight of the enderstone, which was his only hope of matching Victor's physical prowess. His eyes scanned his surroundings as he leapt up. He couldn't see a plant in sight, which meant he couldn't draw on his ability to manipulate plants in the environment. But something else caught his eye—a large butcher's knife on the edge of one of the counters.
He dashed to reach for it when a thick arm wrapped around his hand and flung him backward, slamming him into the cabinets. Victor swore he heard the crack of Alec's spine amidst the splintering wood. Air rushed out of his lungs.
Biting back the flash of pain, he slipped a large splintered piece of wood underneath his jacket.
Victor grabbed Alec by the shoulders and lifted him up before throwing him across the counter.
Alec slammed against the island at the center of the kitchen, sending a bunch of pots and pans clattering against the hard floor. The clank of pans and pots pierced both of their ears.
Alec grabbed the butcher's knife, and a loud belated roar reached his ears as blood spurted into the air—warm crimson droplets showering onto him.
Victor had a large splinter sticking out of his neck, and a growl strewn across his face. In awe, Alex watched as the rotund man grabbed the splinter and pulled it out.
Victor stood tall, drenched in blood from head to toe, and the wound around his neck slowly closed.
Fear, an emotion that threatened to grasp the reins of Alec's rationale, spilled into his heart. He instantly regained control and leapt over the counter, expertly slashing the butcher's knife downward. Victor grabbed a random pot around him and swung upwards, clashing with Alex's knife.
Sparks flew, and Alec was thrown back to where he came from, crashing into another set of cupboards that were pulverized upon impact.
Alec thought to use the butcher's knife, but it was already bent beyond repair. And that's when another blow came from nowhere. On instinct, he pulled the pan next to him and placed it in front of his chest. Victor's fist tore right through the center of the pan.
Alec had shifted his body to the side, making the most of the situation. He used the pan as a point of leverage, wound around the man with his insane agility, and used it to toss the man over his shoulder, slamming him into the ground with a thud. Quickly, he reached for the bent knife and stabbed Victor's bare throat. Blood splattered across everything. The man still had strength and reached out towards Alec, who simply pulled out the bent knife and stabbed him again and again.
Slowly, Victor's strength receded,and the man finally stopped breathing. Alec took the knife out of his throat and continued to stab him in the skull, finishing it off by plunging it into his heart for good measure.
All the adrenaline that rushed through his entire body ceased, and he fell back, chest heaving up and down like gigantic waves during a stormy night at sea. However, he didn't have time to rest. Gazing at his watch, he realized it was only five past seven. He still had another thirty minutes before family members started noticing his coworker's absence.
He retraced his steps around the kitchen until he found the little grain-sized enderstone nestled between the corners where the left and right cooking counters met. Quickly, he picked it up and absorbed all the energy from the enderstone into himself. His empty Dantian was filled to the brim once more.
He channeled some energy from his soul and gathered the green energy to the center of his palm once more. The Blood Jasmine bloomed again, this time absorbing all the traces of blood in the surrounding area.
Alec ran around the place, making sure there were no other people who had managed to fight off the effects of Blood Jasmine. Relief washed over him when all those who needed to die were accounted for. He ran back to the stairwell and climbed it to the first floor.
Slamming the door shut behind him, he made sure the green energy in his Dantian was more than enough for what lay ahead. Otherwise, he would be one of the many victims of this fire.
He reached into his Dantian and circulated the green energy throughout his entire body, giving it a subtle green glow that enhanced its durability and heat resistance. Similarly, he poured as much energy from his soul, melding it perfectly with the green energy.
A hard carapace made from bark-like material covered him in seconds. Just before it covered his fingers and jacket, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a coin-sized bomb with a five-second timer. He threw it down the stairwell and made a run for it.
Instantly, his figure blurred across the hallway to an open window that led to the next building. Alec's feet pattered across the floor as he ran. Beyond the window was a flight of stairs leading upwards to the top of the building next door.
Five.
Four
Three.
Two.
One.
Lightly tapping the ground, his figure zipped through the window, and an explosion rang out behind him. Massive amounts of heat gushed out, slamming into him.
Alec's hands never touched the railing of the stairs outside the window. Instead, weightlessness overcame him as he tumbled onto the hard ground. Quickly, he regained his bearings and gazed around.
The room he was in was unfamiliar. Most of all, it was extremely dark. His enhanced vision couldn't make out a single shape, and the little light that poured in from behind him drowned in the endless abyss of darkness surrounding him. He turned back to the source of the light and saw belching flames that never quite made it to the same space he was in. Caution tingled in his mind as he surveyed his surroundings.
"Zero-Zero-One has made it back, splendid," a gruff voice reached Alec's ears.
And that was the last sound he heard before his vision darkened.
Men and women dressed in black robes with a bright red diamond emblem sewn onto the center of their chests walked down a flight of stairs as the lights came on. Alec lay in the center of a pure white square made from glass, unconscious.
The people dressed in black splintered off, each walking towards a set of computers built into the walls surrounding them.
Screens lit up, spewing various types of data in strings of purple, green, and red. Holograms leapt out of the screens, some displaying bits and pieces of double helixes floating in front of them. Everyone did what they were meant to do without question, a testament to the countless times they had performed these routines.
"How are his vitals?"