Confusion Demon

What was most horrifying, is that their two eyes were closed, and only the forehead one was wide open. Suddenly, everything felt blurry. The world around him seemed to shift, as though reality itself had changed. Everything became distorted. Colors faded to grey, sounds lost their clarity, smells became muted, and a bitter and cold taste appeared in his mouth.

At the same time, he felt fiery energy burn deep inside him. Alexander hurriedly bit his tongue to shake himself awake. The bitter and cold taste was replaced by the metallic taste of blood. Immediately after, his consciousness returned.

He looked back at the water dome, only to find one of the creatures already getting out of it. Its body was translucent and glowed softly. Its yellow pupil was still trained on Alexander. He could feel waves of malice rolling off this creature. It emanated an aura of hatred directed at Alexander.

Before Alexander could react further, another creature came out of the dome. It too had a similar glowing body and was equally hostile. Both of them moved toward him menacingly. He felt some kind of pressure pounding on his mind when he looked into those creatures' eyes.

"I guess you guys don't like visitors?" Alexander asked them coldly.

There was no response. The creatures just approached him menacingly, moving faster as they approached. One of the creatures lunged forward, reaching out with its hands. Instinctively, he dodged backward.

"Guess we fight then." Alexander exhaled as he spun on his leg and delivered a kick into one of the creatures' heads. There was a dull thud and the creature crumpled to the floor.

[Confusion Demon Level 1 Defeated]

[Accumulated Soul Force + 9]

'They are kind of weak... Or maybe it is me that is stronger now?'

The second creature lunged at Alexander's back immediately. He easily dodged it and punched it hard in the face, knocking it aside. Then he turned around, kicked the next creature in the groin, and sent it flying against the nearest wall. Finally, he used his foot to slam yet another creature into a pillar formed from stalactite and a stalagmite merging together.

[Accumulated Soul Force + 9]

[Accumulated Soul Force + 10]

[Accumulated Soul Force + 8]

Alexander felt his blood pumping as he dispatched these demons one after another. The exhilarating feeling of battle was so overwhelming, that he almost forgot about everything else. For him, at that moment, only fighting existed!

He trained in martial arts for his entire life after all. Ever since his father began to teach him, he could only spar against him. Recently, his uncle Nikolai was added to the mix but now was different. Now was the first time ever he could really go all out!

Punch! Kick! Dodge! Kick! He didn't even notice how he dispatched over a dozen of the confusion demons. When he looked at the dome, only a handful of them remained. The demons completely disregarded the deaths of their kind and kept advancing on Alexander, as if they knew only hatred for humanity in this life.

Finally, there were three left. Two of them were charging at Alexander simultaneously while the third stayed behind. It stared at Alexander with its single yellow eye, watching carefully for any sign of weakness.

In contrast to its companions, who were pure chaos incarnate, this demon was composed, calm, and collected. Yet somehow, it radiated fear, intimidation, and hostility.

"You want a piece of me?" Alexander chuckled, staring directly at the demon.

This creature charged at Alexander with incredible speed. It flew past Alexander, aiming straight at his throat. He quickly sidestepped it and struck it in the gut with a swift punch.

It grunted and doubled over in pain. Alexander followed up with a follow-up attack. A quick jab aimed right for its chin. Again, it managed to dodge but not fast enough. Another strike landed right on top of its nose, causing it to stumble backwards.

"Oh damn, I'm sorry! Didn't mean to hit your face." Alexander apologized and retracted his fist. "Now let me finish you off."

While the demon was recovering from the blow, Alexander rushed forward again. He jumped high in the air, landing a few feet away from where it stood. Using his momentum, he swung wildly with his right arm and slammed into the creature's exposed belly. But he felt nothing. His fist ran through the body of the demon and continued on its trajectory.

Unbelievable!

Even though the demon should have been destroyed, it still stood tall. Alexander couldn't believe what he was seeing. Had he missed?

He turned around to see the demon standing there, drilling him with his gaze. The veins around its forehead eye were bulging, like a sign of great exertion.

'Confusion demon... That weird feeling in my head... Its ability lies in illusion! That's why their bodies are so weak!' A flash of realization appeared in Alexander's eyes.

'Then... was my previous fight even real?'

That possibility terrified him deeply. What if he hadn't actually defeated anyone during this fight? Was he just imagining things?! What if he just was wasting energy by just punching the air like an idiot?

Without thinking much more about it, Alexander unleashed all of his rage and fury towards the demon. He attacked with full force, unleashing a flurry of punches and kicks. Every single strike landed solidly on the demon's body.

'If it is dead, then there will be no more problems. As long as I land a solid hit, I'm in the clear.'

He threw everything he had into his attacks without restraint or consideration for his own safety or wellbeing whatsoever! Even though this demon was clearly more powerful than any human opponent could be...this time was different! Not only did Alexander manage to land hits on its body where it mattered most...he even managed to connect with its head!

There was no way this thing could withstand such punishment! A part of Alexander felt like this would be enough to kill it; however...the demon didn't even flinch!

Alexander heard a noise from behind. When he turned his head around, the demon was standing there, with the same crazed look as it had before. When he looked at what he was hitting, he realized it was one of the stalagmite pillars that littered the cavern.

'Shit! This is going to be harder than I thought.' A dark expression appeared on Alexander's face. Against a demon with such an ability, how could he be confident in his own moves? 'But I still need to do something about this!'