Apocalypse Baby

"Gotcha."

Kato's voice dripped with satisfaction as he twisted the katana deeper into Alex's back.

He had been waiting for this moment.

While Akio had kept Alex's attention, Kato had used stealth to vanish from sight—moving like a shadow, silent and unseen.

By the time Alex realized what was happening, it was already too late.

Steel pierced flesh.

The blade drove clean through his chest, the cold metal gleaming as it emerged from the other side.

Alex's body tensed.

His breath hitched.

Then he felt pain. Sharp and unforgiving.

Kato yanked the sword free with a sickening squelch, and Alex stumbled forward, blood splattering onto the ground.

He coughed violently, crimson dripping from his lips.

Kato burst into laughter, running a hand through his hair in disbelief.

"And here I thought you were something special…"

He sneered, tilting his head. "Turns out you're just a fraud."

He took a step forward, raising his katana and pointing it at Alex's weakened form.

"Any last words?"

Alex grinned, the edges of his mouth curling up despite the blood trickling down his chin.

His breathing was ragged, his body screaming in pain—but his eyes held no fear.

Instead, they gleamed with something far more dangerous.

Amusement.

With a strained groan, he muttered:

"You... you really are an idiot."

Alex's words hung in the air for only a moment.

Then—his entire body blurred.

A flicker.

A distortion in space.

And in the next second… he was different.

The Alex standing before Kato now was calm, collected, and completely unharmed.

He stood tall, hands tucked casually in his shorts, the same cocky grin plastered across his face.

But the gaping wound in his chest? Gone.

Like it had never even happened.

Kato's eyes widened, his grip on the katana tightening.

What… just happened?

His instincts screamed at him.

This wasn't the same Alex.

Or rather… it wasn't the same version of him.

Kato's voice came out sharp and demanding:

"What did you do?"

Alex didn't answer.

Instead, he turned his gaze toward his previous location where his clone now lay, writhing in pain, its body broken and moments from death.

A flicker of acknowledgment passed through Alex's eyes.

"You did well."

With a quiet mutter, he dismissed the clone, releasing it from its suffering.

And as the copy vanished into nothingness, its memories, its pain, its experience, everything merged back into him.

Alex exhaled.

He lifted his head, his lips curling into a smirk.

"Oh, so that's what happened."

Kato's frown deepened. His heart pounded. His palms were slick with sweat.

"What the hell are you talking about?"

Something was off.

The Alex standing in front of him now felt different from the one he had just fought, like he was an entirely different person.

But how?

Kato clenched his jaw.

No.

He was overthinking it.

He tightened his grip on his katana, forcing confidence into his voice.

"You bastard. I don't know what trick you pulled to get rid of your injury, and I don't care. I beat you once, and I'll do it again."

Alex snorted.

"Beat me?"

He tilted his head, amusement flickering in his eyes.

"You mean my clone?"

"What?"

Kato's stomach dropped.

Then Alex dropped the truth:

"Idiot… The person you've been fighting? The one you sacrificed two people just to take down? That wasn't me."

Alex let his words sink in before delivering the final blow:

"It was a clone. A weak version of me… running at only 20% of my strength."

Kato froze.

For a moment, his mind went blank.

Then his body moved on instinct, stepping back as the weight of Alex's words crashed down on him.

There's no way.

His breathing hitched, but then a memory surfaced.

Onigi's words.

"Whatever you're thinking now is an illusion. You will gain nothing from this."

Kato's eyes widened.

His pulse pounded in his ears.

No.

It couldn't be.

But the truth was undeniable.

Alex wasn't lying.

A shiver ran down his spine as the realization sank in.

So this is what Onigi meant.

Kato staggered back again, gripping his katana so tightly his knuckles turned white.

He didn't want to accept it.

He had gone all out.

Pushed himself to the limit.

Sacrificed two people.

And barely won.

Only to find out…

He had been fighting a weaker clone.

Alex watched Kato's stunned reaction, his grin widening.

"How does it feel," Alex asked, his voice laced with amusement, "hearing the truth?"

Kato's hands trembled.

He clenched his teeth, shaking his head violently.

"No… No, there's no way. You have to be lying!"

Kato refused to believe it.

His ego wouldn't allow it.

20%?

Had they really been that weak? Had he wasted all his strength on just a fraction of his real opponent?

His hands trembled, but he tightened his grip on his katana.

No. It wasn't possible.

Then Alex started walking forward.

Step by step.

His movements were slow, deliberate, like a predator playing with its prey.

With a sharp flick of his wrist, Alex unsheathed his sword.

"You were so arrogant earlier when you called me a fraud," Alex said casually.

Kato's breath hitched.

This wasn't the same person.

"Stay back!" he barked, stepping away, raising his sword like it could protect him.

Alex didn't stop.

He tilted his head, smirking.

"In a sense, you were right."

Kato swallowed hard.

"But since the original is here now…" Alex's smirk widened, his voice dripping with amusement. "What are you going to do about it?"

Kato gritted his teeth.

He wouldn't cower.

He wouldn't run.

Alex was bluffing. He had to be.

Fueled by desperation, Kato tightened his grip and prepared to lunge but...

He never got the chance.

A blur.

Then sharp impact.
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Before Kato could even react, Alex's foot slammed into his chest.

A sickening crack echoed as Kato's body launched backward, tumbling across the ground like a ragdoll.

The air was knocked from his lungs.

He hit the ground hard.

Pain exploded in his ribs.

His vision blurred as he gasped for breath, his chest caving under the force.

What… the hell… was that?!

Wheezing, Kato clutched at his ribs, his fingers trembling.

It felt like a battering ram had slammed into his chest.

Kato gasped for air, his body screaming in pain.

His mind raced.

It wasn't that Alex's clone had been weak.

No.

It was that Alex—the real Alex—was just too strong.

He then heard footsteps.

Slow and steady. Getting closer.

A chill ran down Kato's spine.

His instincts screamed at him to flee.

His legs tensed.

He tried to turn, to sprint away, but then...

"Petrify."

The word was like a command from Death itself.

Kato's entire body locked up.

He couldn't move. Not even a twitch.

Panic surged through him.

His heart pounded.

"Wait... please don't kill me!" he pleaded, his voice shaking.

The sound of metal scraping against stone sent a shiver through his paralyzed body.

Alex was dragging his sword.

Each step closer felt like a countdown to the end.

"If you had a beef with Dorion, you should've taken it up with Dorion."

Kato's breath hitched.

"I know that now… please! I'm sorry!"

Alex kept walking.

Unfazed. Unforgiving.

"A little too late for sorry," Alex said coolly. "You tried to kill me. Multiple times."

Kato strained against the invisible force holding him still.

"I didn't know… I've learned now! I should've never messed with you... Please!"

His voice cracked with desperation.

His body was frozen in place, his heartbeat thundering in his ears.

Then Alex's voice cut through the tension like a blade—

"But I've killed two… and I hate even numbers. So I wanna make it odd."

Kato's stomach dropped.

"What?! That doesn't even—"

Before he could finish, a fistful of his hair was yanked back.

Pain exploded across his scalp as Alex wrenched his head upward.

Kato's eyes widened in terror.

Alex loomed over him, eyes cold, a smirk playing on his lips.

"Oh? Doubting me, are you?"

"No... I'm not—"

"Shut it."

Alex's grip tightened.

"If there's anyone who deserves to die, it's a hundred percent you."

Kato's breathing grew ragged.

He knew there was no way out.

"You started this," Alex continued, his voice sharp, almost amused. "Riled up those two to join you... then used one as a decoy just to land a fatal hit."

Kato's mind reeled.

"No... I.."

He tried to form an excuse, an argument, anything.

But nothing came.

The weight pressing down on him, and the crushing, unbearable force only grew stronger with his fear.

He couldn't move.

He couldn't fight back.

His vision blurred as pure dread consumed him.

Then Alex's voice, final and unwavering:

"Enough. You deserve to die."

Kato screamed.

"Wait...NO..."

But there was no escape.

Alex's hand ignited, dark flames bursting to life around his fingers as he activated [Black Flames].

The fire surged forward, latching onto Kato.

The moment it touched him, the black inferno devoured him whole.

Kato's eyes bulged.

"AAAAAARGHHHHH!!"

He collapsed, thrashing, his body rolling as the flames ate away at him.

The air filled with the sharp, sickening scent of burning flesh.

Kato's screams pierced the battlefield.

Unlike Akio whose berserk state had numbed him from pain, Kato felt everything.

Every inch of him burned.

Every nerve in his body screamed in agony.

Minutes passed.

His wails weakened.

His movements slowed.

Then there was silence and a familiar sound rang in Alex's ears.

Ding!

[You have killed Kato.]

[You have received 5,500 Nightmare Points.]

[You have received 120 Stat Points.]

Then..

Apocalypse Baby Kicking In…

[You have received an additional 5,500 Nightmare Points.]

[You have received an additional 120 Stat Points.]

{Total Nightmare Points: 44,400}

{Stat Points: 1,740}

Alex grinned.

He hadn't expected much, but the sheer amount of points was insane.

Here hunting players for Nightmare Points was way more lucrative than taking down monsters.

Still… he preferred the latter.

Then he heard footsteps.

"I see you don't need my help."

Alex said as he rose to his feet.

Behind him stood Freya, her shoulder injured.

Her face was pale.

And in the distance was Xeno.

Or what was left of him?

The archer who had tried to kill her was dead on his knees.

His body was riddled with daggers.

One buried deep in his skull.

His lifeless eyes wide open as if, even in death, he couldn't believe he had lost.