Payback Joke

Casper gasped in shock, and his eyes also widened when he heard what Alex said.

Almost instantly, he was thrown back to the conversation he'd had with Alex a couple of nights ago, a conversation he had initially dismissed as inconsequential. Now, it dawned upon him that Alex had already set his resolve on eliminating the others.

It was natural that he bore hatred towards the others, but something was definitely off.

'Was he always been like this...? How did he change so much?'

Compared to the usual Xander who was always aloof and uncomplaining, no matter what the others do to him, the Xander now is the same but different at the same time. Most of the changes can be seen in his facial expressions.

Not a hint of meekness in them, only resoluteness and confidence.

Scheming is never his trait, it was almost as if he had changed into a different person.

"Wait- But Malik has already gotten the Meso-Serum!" Casper exclaimed.

Even though he doesn't fully approve of what Alex is doing, he is more worried about the fact that Malik might be strong enough to take the beast down. If he really did that and survived, knowing his personality, he would blame the two and do the unthinkable.

However, Alex didn't react much, he seemed confident judging from his nasty grin.

"Leave it to me..."

In an instant, he made a dash towards the Type-2 Beast.

Reaching the charging Type-2 Beast that was heading to the base, attracted by the others' banter, Alex quickly whistled to gain back its attention. Catching his whistle, the beast turned towards him before it growled menacingly, the prey that it was looking for was now in sight.

Meanwhile, the others heard a weird growling sound in the distance.

"Hey, check the rear" Malik instructed with a casual tone. "I thought I heard a growl just now"

Nodding his head in understanding, the man to his left wore his helmet before going around the hill formations to check the back. However, he abruptly stopped in his tracks, his body froze and his gaze fixed onward.

Looking at this, Malik frowned, "What are you-"

Before he could finish his sentence, a loud crashing sound resounded in his ears.

Crash!

Malik had his eyes opened wide when he caught sight of Alex.

However, he was even more surprised to find the edge of the hill formations behind Alex exploded as a burly azure-furred beast crashed through like an absolute tank, unleashing a thunderous roar that trembled their eardrums.

Due to its trajectory, it headbutted the man and sent him flying away like a ragdoll.

"Hey, Malik!"

"Huh...? Xander you motherfucker! Why did you bring this damn beast here?!"

"Why you say? It's a gift for you, of course. Go and handle this one"

Roar!!

Finding more prey that could fill its belly to last the winter, the Type-2 Beast was fueled with rigorous excitement. Malik and the other guy beside him were still stunned in their spots at the sight of the monstrous beast.

On the other hand, acting like a delivery truck, Alex already sprinted away to safety.

"Damn it, Xander! You won't get away with this!"

As Malik bellowed in anger, the beast swung its massive arm with all its might.

It puts its entire weight on that swing, aiming to crush the two that were standing before it. Rolling to the side, Malik narrowly evaded the attack. In contrast, the other squad member could only react in time to activate his energy shield.

Crash!

But that proved to be futile, the energy shield stood no chance and shattered.

"Graarggh!"

One hit is all it takes for the squad member out of the fight, he vomited a mouthful of blood, creating a daunting arc in the air as his helmet cracked. Compared to the beast's insane strength, his feeble body is fragile.

Just like that, Malik was left alone to fend off this beast.

Bam!

Dashing hot from the side, he landed a drop kick onto the beast and sent it stumbling back.

However, that didn't inflict too much damage on the beast.

Swoosh!

Surprisingly, the beast displayed remarkable agility, launching a relentless onslaught against Malik. With each of its ferocious strikes, a billow of snowy dust exploded into the surroundings, marking the spot where Malik narrowly avoided its attacks.

Despite doing well so far, a mistake is bound to happen.

Avoiding a vicious strike that pounded the ground, Malik inadvertently ran into a cloud of snowy dust, momentarily obstructing his vision. In that crucial moment, an immense hand burst forth, connecting solidly with Malik's sides, sending him hurtling through the air.

Even the bony sound of the impact clearly indicates that something is broken.

Unlike the other two who instantly went unconscious from a hit from the beast, Malik managed to climb back to his feet with a crimson thread of blood trickling down the corner of his mouth thanks to his superior physique.

"Xander! I'll forgive you if you help me right now!"

In a desperate attempt to survive, he decided to plead for Alex's help.

Casting his eyes to the distant side, Malik spotted Alex perched on a rock, watching this fight transpire with evident enthusiasm. He was even cheering, offering a wide grin and two enthusiastic thumbs-up gestures in support.

"What are you saying? I'm sure someone like you is enough to deal with this"

"This is really not a joke! I might actually die!"

But this comment made the grin on Alex's face stretched wider.

"Why are you complaining now? You also left me to die as a joke, so man up and handle this"

"Fine! I'm sorry! Help me or else I'm going to die!"

Just as he decided to apologize to make Alex come and help him, the ground around him suddenly turned darker. Malik gazed upward belatedly, and his eyes widened as he realized the beast was intent on crushing him.

Hurtling through the air, the beast did a powerful swing with both arms.

Crash!!

Not having too many options, Malik raised and crossed his arms to block the attack.

A subtle wind blasted the surroundings, pushing the snow around them as he fell to one knee under the beast's brute strength. He could feel the force permeating through his entire arms bringing about excruciating pain.

"Wow~ You're doing good, Malik! I know you can beat it!"

It was thanks to already receiving the Meso-Serum that Malik has this much strength.

Considering that the beast could even tilt the wrecked battleship like earlier, the strength that Malik has is simply monstrous. Even with the Aura spell, in terms of strength, Alex wouldn't be able to compete against him.

But then again, he doesn't have any intention of competing against Malik directly.

'I'll have the beast do it for me...' Alex grinned evilly.

Malike grunted in pain, he was able to block the beast's attack but he could feel the bones in his arms fracturing. Subconsciously, he realized that if this kept going, he would inadvertently die without a doubt.

At that moment, his flight of fight response was triggered.

Gritting his teeth in anger, he pushes the beast back and stands back up again. It was a fearsome feat, even the beast was surprised to find that its entire body weighing down on Malik was able to be pushed back.

Following that, he parried the beast's claws, digging into his environmental suit to the side.

In an instant, he then clenched his fist and activated his gloves.

Bam!

Upon landing a punch on the beast's head, a rippling blue shockwave was created.

Obviously, the gloves he equipped are a weapon.

Malik's punch, empowered by his gloves caused the beast to stagger backward. In this small window that he has, he shot a furious glare at Alex, his teeth clenched in vexation. He hadn't anticipated that the very person who acted like a meek runt dared to thwart him like this.

Even if he wanted to dash at Alex right now, he wouldn't be able to outpace the beast.

"Come help, you fucker! I can still forgive this!"

"Hmm... Let me think for a second"

Recognizing that there was a chance that Alex would come to his aid, Malik couldn't help but conceal a sly grin beneath his savage expression. Inwardly, he vowed, 'The moment you step in to help me, I'll let that beast maul you to death. No matter what, this will end just as it did before, you being in the loser's spot!'

It was then Alex suddenly stood up and nodded his head, coming to a decision.

"Alright, I think I went too far"

"Yes, that's right! I'll forgive you, so come here and help me"

Upon coming to that decision, Alex darted toward the Type-2 Beast that recovered from the punch earlier. A grin slowly crossed Malik's face as he prepared himself to make a dash out, leaving Alex behind to fight the beast.

Just when Alex rushes past him, he quickly makes a run in the opposite direction.

"I don't know how you managed to lure that beast to me, but how dare you scheme against me when you're only a loser! Now suffer as you become its food instead of me! See you later!"

Malik savored the moment with immense laughter.

Casting a glance over his shoulder, Malik witnessed the beast's attention was now fixed on Alex. In that heart-pounding moment, he is certain that Alex's life has been forfeited. If he was no match for the beast, then the odds of Alex surviving its onslaught appeared impossibly slim in his eyes.

But it was then his eyes flared open seeing Alex jump over the beast skillfully.

Avoiding the attack from the beast, he then reaches out his finger to touch the beast.

For a brief second, Malik who was still sprinting away could see a faint bluish light traveling from Alex's index finger into the beast's body. However, following that, Alex pointed his plasma pistol right at the beast.

'It's empty you moron, what a jo-'

Stopping his thoughts in the middle was a loud banging sound.

Malik was shocked when the supposed empty plasma pistol fired a bullet, creating a forceful gush of wind and hitting the beast right on the head. Due to the force of the bullet, it managed to hurt the beast and sent it flying away.

Caught off guard, Malik leaped to the side as the beast almost crashed into him.

"I know you're going to do that..."

Upon hearing Alex's words from the distance, Malik gulped harshly as he reverted his eyes back to the beast that was now bulging with veins, furious that its prey managed to hurt it and left a deep scratch on its face.

On top of that, a sizzling blue energy is emanating from its body, a foreign energy.

'Now, let's see you fend off against a pissed of Type-2 Beast that is also enhanced with the Aura spell, Malik... If I had to guess, much less surviving, I don't think you would last for ten seconds'

Alex grinned, he would be a fool if he actually decided to help Malik.