I didn’t sense him…

    The metallic particles making up the hand were shattered into countless fragments, scattering with a deafening crash around the lab.

   Its remnants rained down in defeat, the once might fist easily obliterated with one punch from Alex. 

   With one punch, Alex had easily obliterated the mighty fist that once stood in his path, and its remnants rained down in defeat.

   However, his eyes still blazed with anger, his gaze shifting to the red robot, which still carried his sister's face.  

   Without wasting any time, he launched himself into the air once more, dashing towards the robot at rapid speed.

   The speed at which he moved left blurs in its wake, and the robot, still preparing for another attack, had no time to react to the assault. 

   In the blink of an eye, he closed in on the robot, tightly grabbing unto its head.

   The red lines on the robot's body started flickering erratically, sensing the imminent danger, but it was already too late to counter it.

Swish!

   Alex swiftly twisted his hands, uprooting the robot's head from its neck in an instant.

Blitz!

   Its headless body suddenly started spasming, sparks of electricity crackling around his severed neck.

   For a brief moment, it struggled to maintain control on the situation, but it soon went still, the last remains of its life fading away. 

   Its lifeless body began to fall, however, Alex wasn't done with it. He quickly dug his claws into its metal back, holding it steady with his grip. 

Swoosh!

   He swiftly leapt through the air again, propelling himself to the side, while dragging the robot's limp form along with him.

   He also held the head he ripped off the robot in his other hand, making sure not even a single speck come in contact with it. 

   After the robot earlier attack, this lab was now a desolate wasteland, its size over ten times wider than before. 

   But with his speed, as well the aid of a series of quick kicks, Alex was able to easily weave through the falling debris, reaching a massive hole left at the far end of the room. 

   He swiftly leapt into it, pulling the body  of the robot along as he entered the hole.

  He appeared in another lab, however, this one was also filled with thick cracks on the floors and ceilings, already stripped of most of their particles.

   With how wrecked the place was, it was even a miracle that it still hadn't collapsed.

   Alex briefly glanced around his surroundings, before flinging the robot to the ground.

   He slowly crouched down in front it, staring at the pair of lifeless red eyes with a weird expression.

Swish!

   He brandished his claws once more, and suddenly stabbed his right hand deep into the robot's chest.

   After probing for a few seconds, his hands made contact a strange medium-sized ball lying dormant within its chest and he pulled it out without delay. 

Twik!

   The robot's chest tore apart, as Alex pulled out his hand, revealing a dark silver ball thrumming weakly with red lights.

   'It really… is her heart.' Alex mumbled inwardly, feeling the faint dying pulse of the organ within the ball.

   He subconsciously gripped the ball even tighter, images of Quira's heart floating in front of Port'hov flashing through his mind.

    'How dare he… do this to you…?' He thought, gnashing his teeth with his eyes glowing even fiercer.

   Using his claws, he peeled away the metal, revealing a thick red organ pulsing weakly in his palms.

Drip!

   Dark blood oozed from the heart, trickling down and dripping into the ground. 

   There were some strange thin wires connecting it to the silver plates, however, they had already been severed by Alex's earlier actions.

   The beat of the heart rapidly grew fainter and fainter, until it finally went still, its warmth fading away. 

   Alex's gaze trembled slightly as he stared at the lifeless heart, but he remained silent, only holding it within his palm.

   He slowly turned to the side, his eyes narrowing into a slight frown.

   'His heart has stopped… to think he died just like that.' Alex thought, his sharpened senses easily detected the scent of Port'hov's dead body, as well as the foul stench of three chimera feasting on his flesh.

   He could even hear their excited growls, and every little movements they made, as though he were right there, witnessing the scene unfold.

Whoosh!

   Suddenly, he vanished from where he stood, leaving a strong gust of wind, which lightly swept through the ruined lab.

*

Whoosh!

   Alex abruptly appeared beside Port'hov's dead body, his speed creating a strong gust of wind.

  He was still holding onto Quira's heart, cupping it gently within his right palm.

   In his other hand was also the head he uprooted from the robot, which he handled carefully like an egg. 

   Even though his sister was long dead, it felt wrong to just leave pieces of her body lying around the laboratory.

   While it was already too late to save her… he wanted to at least made sure her remains weren't desecrated anymore.

   Even if it was the last thing he would ever do, he would make sure to honour her memory, so she can rest peacefully in the afterlife.

  Meanwhile, the chimeras felt a sudden wave of wind wash over their bodies, and they shivered in fear, subconsciously halting their feast.

   All three of them turned towards Alex at the same time, each with a piece of Port'hov's flesh hanging from their mouth.

Growl!!

   They growled furiously at the intruder, flashing their sharp fangs and claws at Alex.

   However, Alex simply clicked his tongue at their little act, staring at them with his eyes full of pity.

   He indeed pitied these creatures, who were stripped bare of their humanity, and left as a wild beast with little intelligence of their own.

   It really was a cruel fate, but seeing as they were devouring the person who put them in that state, it could be said that they had taken their pound of flesh.

   Apart from that, they also served to remind him of how terribly he could have ended up if that experiment went sideways.

Growl!!

  One of the chimeras suddenly lunged at the small heart in his hand, growling crazily with drool leaking from its lips.

   Its wrinkled grey wings spread out from his back in excitement, with its red ears fluttered uncontrollably as he dashed towards Alex at rapid speed.

   Alex's expression immediately twisted into a deep frown, and his eyes lit up in anger at the beast actions.

   'Do you think this is something you can eat?!' He thought, letting out a low growl.

Swoosh!

   However, before he could make his move, the chimera suddenly froze in its tracks, its eyes widening in pain.

Thud!

  Alex's eyes narrowed in surprise, and he watched as the crazed beast dropped dead to the ground, blood oozing out of its head. 

   Just as it hit the floor, a blonde haired man appeared in his vision, with one of his fingers pointed at the where the beast previously stood.

   His eyes shone with a bright yellow glow, and his lips curled into a light smile as he stared at Alex.

   "Hey there, Alexander." He muttered, the yellow glow in his eyes slowly dimming back to its normal grey colour.

   "Lee'on…" Alex muttered, his brows furrowing into a slight frown.

   'I didn't sense him… not at all.' He thought, the frown on his face deepening even more.