Menacing Pyramid
Inside what had been once a crater was now some kind of structure resembling an octagonal pyramid with eight sides made out of ice with enchantments woven into it like snowflakes on top of each other covering its entire surface from end to end up to its highest point, forming an eerie pyramid shape towering above everything else within its vicinity like a snow-covered mountain peak. Its structure had no visible entrance or exit points, it was completely incorporeal as if made out of magic itself; it looked like it would disappear into thin air if one stepped inside without permission.
Alexander's first instinct was to run away from this place at once because his danger sense was going off like a broken Geiger counter. Not to mention the unnaturally low temperatures around the place. Even though he stood far away from the structure itself, even on the edge of the crater it was still freezing cold, as if the place was in the middle of a tundra.
Alexander stopped moving after he felt like something was watching him from within the pyramid; he could not shake away that feeling even now as he was slowly backing away. However, his curiosity was still the stronger instinct for him, so he spread out his consciousness once again, only to find that it seemed to be freezing up. He quickly retracted it back.
'Can a consciousness be frozen?' He wondered silently but decided not to dwell on it for now since the feeling of being watched disappeared, and the pyramid seemed to become dormant. It was still incorporeal. He tried checking it out by throwing a stone at it, but it simply passed through it. Interestingly enough, when it reached the space the pyramid was supposed to exist within, the stone slowed down and moved as if it was passing through a viscous liquid.
"Shit's getting weirder with every hour now. Gotta leave now." He decided not to dwell on anything right now because he knew that he probably won't find any answers in a short amount of time.
'This thing definitely caught a lot of attent-' His train of thought was rudely interrupted by a powerful aura appearing within his perception. His danger sense went off wildly.
Alexander drew his sword and barely managed to raise it when a scary clawed hand lunged straight at his chest! He summoned every single bit of his strength, even mobilizing his blood qi, but the strike he blocked still sent him flying into a nearby building.
He crashed into one of its walls hard enough that his bones felt like they cracked from impact; then he blacked out for a moment after which he slowly regained consciousness. He gasped for breath and coughed violently due to inhaling dust and dirt mixed with fragments of brickwork. Thankfully, he didn't suffer any serious damage except for some bruises from the impact against the wall.
'Now that was a strong punch...' He grimaced and wiped off the blood that trickled from his nose and mouth. "As if I don't have enough problems already," he muttered darkly as he climbed unsteadily to his feet.
His body ached terribly, but he forced himself to ignore the pain. In fact, ignoring the pain helped him focus better than normal, allowing him to assess the situation properly instead of letting fear cloud his judgment.
In front of him was another demonized person. However, this one looked a bit different compared to the others. Its muscles were very developed and defined as if it was a professional bodybuilder. This demon was clad in a tight leather suit with spikes protruding everywhere, making it look rather menacing despite its size.
It raised a fist and charged at Alexander who readied himself defensively. With a loud roar, the creature punched directly at his face.
Alexander instantly understood that if it hit him in full force with its fists like that, he wouldn't be able to block it with his current abilities. If that happened, there might be a good chance that he'd die from blunt trauma injuries. So he immediately sidestepped the blow and slashed at the demon's leg.
Tink!
Alexander's sword landed square on the demon's knee joint, and broke in two! It was only now that Alexander noticed the deep claw marks on the half of the sword that remained in his hands. That must've been why his sword shattered when hitting the demon's arm earlier. He cursed mentally and clutched what remained of the ruined weapon.
"Gahh!" The demon roared in anger and took several steps back, swinging both arms forward simultaneously to throw Alexander off balance.
However, Alexander easily avoided the attack by stepping backward and raising his sword to parry the incoming blows. After blocking four consecutive attacks from the demon, the length of the sword that remained was too short.
'Damn it!' He threw away what was left of his sword and got into a defensive stance. He waited for the next attack patiently until the demon came charging at him. Alexander was expecting another flurry of punches from the demon, but surprisingly, it kept advancing. It lowered its shoulder and ran straight at Alexander.
'Shit! It is going to ram me!'
Without hesitation, Alexander jumped backwards and rolled along the ground dodging the demon's charge. Once he finished rolling, he sprang upward, striking at the demon's exposed side. Pa!
The demon grunted in surprise and stumbled slightly from Alexander's attack. Alexander grabbed hold of its wrist and twisted its elbow upwards. Then he brought down a chopping strike right on its elbow joint!
Crack!
The demon screamed in agony and fell to the floor clutching its injured limb. Blood spurted forth from the wound, splattering onto Alexander's clothes and skin. Alexander ignored the pain and focused on disarming the demon.
As long as its arms were broken, he would be relatively safe!
However, the demon was having none of that. Without giving him any opening to disarm it, the creature lashed out at Alexander with its remaining arm. Alexander narrowly dodged the attack with a backhand slash of his own. Upon contact, the bones in his arm vibrated painfully, sending electric shocks throughout his entire body.
'Just how strong is this thing?'