CHAPTER 9

Alex immediately understood that he had cut an illusion and soon sensed the danger, so he rolled on the ground to dodge. Seconds later a blue lightning bolt struck the place where he was standing before.

Seeing Loki who had appeared behind his back, Alex furrowed his eyebrows because even with his Observation Haki he couldn't distinguish Loki's illusions and that was problematic.

Despite the difficulty, Alex did not panic. He quickly thought of a solution, but nothing was coming to his mind and another lightning bolt from Loki brought him out of his train of thought.

Alex was helpless against Loki, as he appeared and disappeared as if teleporting and shooting lightning from all directions. Fortunately, Alex's Observation Haki was in the advanced stage, and although with difficulty, it allowed him to dodge or he would have been dead by now.

The fighting style that Loki was showing was very strange for Alex because, in none of the movies he had seen, Loki had adopted this way of fighting, in fact, Alex thought that if he had fought this way he would not have been defeated.

He did not know if in the comics this was Loki's fighting style, as he had never read them, his knowledge came from the movies and he did not know how correct it was. The point was that because of this he was in a dangerous situation.

Seeing that he could not close the distance, Alex tried to use the same strategy as Loki. He coated his sword with Armament Haki and with a strong swing a sharp crescent of Haki shot out and destroyed the Loki in front of him.

Unfortunately, it was another illusion, but Alex expected that, so he began to watch where it would reappear and when it did, another slash shot out. Soon, it became a long-distance battle, with Alex slashing illusions and Loki firing lightning bolts, which Alex was dodging by the skin of his teeth.

The battle had fallen into a stalemate, but Alex was at a disadvantage, as using his Haki in this manner drained his energy and Loki seemed to suffer no apparent changes.

Out of nowhere, a number of Chitauri soldiers and giant mechanical turtles surrounded Alex and this time he was worried because although defeating these new opponents was not difficult, the number was a problem, and considering that there was also Loki, who by himself was a threat, Alex did not take the risk and escaped from the place.

Alex knew that these enemies were not real, but he was, he would not seek death just for a better reward. He was sure that with the amount of enemies he had defeated he would receive something good, he didn't have to overexert himself.

However, to Alex's misfortune, Loki and the other enemies pursued him. Energy bolts were flying left and right all around him, putting Alex in a difficult position.

Being in such a difficult situation, Alex extended his Observation Haki looking for where the Avengers were because although they were not real, he believed that, if he took the battle to them, their pressure would decrease.

He quickly found Thor and the Hulk. Without delay, he ran towards them, and just as he had thought, when the enemies saw them they began to attack them and Alex was able to escape.

In a secluded alleyway, Alex was catching his breath after escaping the siege of Loki and his army. As he recovered, he was also thinking about what he should do.

Somehow he didn't see a way to defeat Loki, but he also didn't know how long this simulation would last and that worried him, as he knew the enemies would actively seek him out, thanks to the mission setup.

After several minutes of searching for a solution, the only thing he could think of was to close the portal, but Loki had the scepter in his hand, so he could not do it and when he was trying to figure out what to do, he saw Ironman under a missile heading towards the city.

At that moment he remembered, it was a nuclear bomb and it revealed the end of the battle. Alex breathed a sigh of relief because the mission would soon be over, but he still wanted to fish in troubled waters.

He moved at great speed toward the Stark building eliminating all the enemies that crossed his path, he arrived without difficulty at the top of the building, more specifically to where Loki should be after being hit by the Hulk.

His plan was to finish off the wounded Loki due to the plot of the movie and when he arrived he smiled with joy because there he saw Loki lying on the ground unable to move. Without hesitation, he ran towards him to give him the coup de grace.

Ryūkansen-Arashi (Alex)

After a jump, he spun 360° vertically and struck Loki who could not resist, however, before Alex could enjoy his victory, the Loki on the ground had disappeared, surprising Alex.

He immediately extended his Observation Haki to find the real one, but could not locate it. Worried, he checked every corner of the place, as he didn't want to receive a sneak attack, but he had no luck and a message appeared in front of him.

[The mission is over. The participant's score is ranked A. The reward will be delivered when leaving the cube].

Then Alex disappeared. Seconds later he appeared in the place where the cube was, but the cube was no longer there, however, the place was surrounded by people who at first glance could tell that they were up to no good.

As Alex watched the people around him, a message appeared on the flaming screen in the sky that caught everyone's attention.

[Alex completed the mission of a red cube and receives Tony Stark's personal portable lab.]

Alex was surprised at his reward, but the people around him upon seeing the message put on sinister smiles, which gave a glimpse of their intentions. Unlike the rewards that were given to the rookies, the cube rewards could be stolen and that was what these characters wanted to do.

They didn't know what Tony Stark's personal portable lab was, but they were convinced that as a red cube reward, it must be amazing. Suddenly in front of Alex appeared a small metal cube that looked like a steel ingot.

Alex unceremoniously picked it up and put it in his inventory. Everyone present who saw the metal cube appear sensed that it was the reward, so they licked their lips as if seeing a juicy piece of meat.

Boy, you should give us that. (Pirate)

Alex looked at the man who had spoken to him and evaluated him. After surrounding him with his Observation Haki, he shook his head in disappointment because he was an insignificant character.

The pirate who spoke upon seeing that Alex did not respond became enraged and ordered everyone present to attack. Alex could only sigh in disappointment and took his battojutsu stance.

Idiots who don't value their lives, Ryūkansen (Alex).

Taking a horizontal 360° turn he cut down all those who had approached. The pirate could not hide his surprise because in one blow Alex had defeated more than 10 of his subordinates and fear flooded his eyes.

You should get out of here if you value your life. (Alex)

The pirate looked at Alex's murderous eyes and his legs trembled. It wasn't just him, his subordinates were the same. Despite outnumbering him, they could tell that Alex was not afraid of them and after witnessing Alex's attack, they did not dare to move.

Alex ignored the pirates, sheathed his sword, and walked towards them. They in fear did not dare to stop him. After Alex had left, the pirates' tension evaporated and they fell limply to the ground trembling.

Captain, I think we escaped death. (Pirate subordinate)

Yes (Pirate captain)

Alex did not hear what the pirates had said, but if he heard them he would only scoff because he could not believe they were such idiots to believe they could defeat a person who completed the mission of a red cube, they were just delusional.