Chapter 547: Feigned Attack, Secret Move

"Heh, you don't really think my ki wave was stopped by your power, do you?" Robert scoffed as he watched the ki wave explode. He had sensed that Alexander had finally played his trump card and thus let go of his control over the ki wave, causing it to stop instead of directly hitting Alexander.

Now that Alexander had tapped into the power of another dimension, and appeared to be controlled by it, Robert decided to test the strength of this dimensional power with the ki wave.

"A change has occurred, and that dimensional power is strong!" Baron Mordo said gravely, watching the explosion's light with a hint of suppression in his voice.

"Indeed, this power is quite strong, and I currently have no way to counter it..." Although Martian Manhunter wasn't directly affected by the explosion due to the distance between dimensions, he could still sense the formidable aura of Alexander after being corrupted by the dimensional power.

More importantly, Alexander's combat skills were not strong, and he had poor control over his power. However, the dimensional entity that replaced him certainly didn't have such weaknesses.

Surviving in a harsh dimension, even if not as bad as hell, is tough. Any strong being that survives there must have formidable skills and various techniques, unlike Alexander, who lived over a thousand years without honing his combat abilities.

Alexander's situation was due to Earth's environment and his personality. Besides this fight with Robert, he either surrendered or played dead, escaping when evenly matched and crushing his opponents only when having an advantage. It was no wonder he hadn't developed combat skills.

Realizing that Alexander had been replaced, Martian Manhunter began to worry for Robert. Even though Robert's ki wave caught Alexander off guard, it was clear that inflicting significant damage or eliminating him in one blow was impossible.

"I'll contact him! Let me leave this space first!" Kara understood Martian Manhunter's concern. She immediately turned to Baron Mordo. If she wasn't worried that forcibly breaking through the mirror dimension would cause it to collapse and let Alexander escape to harm Earth, she would have already left.

With a buzzing sound, Baron Mordo carefully opened a fire portal. Kara zipped through it in a flash and returned just as quickly, bringing along Clark, who had been acting as Superman.

Seeing Clark arrive so quickly surprised Baron Mordo and the others, but considering his reputation as a god among men, his quick arrival seemed less shocking.

Martian Manhunter, however, knew the real reason. He was aware of Clark's concern for Robert and Kara, much more than Peter Parker and others knew.

"Are Saiyans not his match?" Clark asked in a hurry. He didn't know the situation in the mirror dimension and couldn't accurately gauge the enemy's strength. When the explosion's light faded, Alexander looked quite battered.

It wasn't that Alexander, empowered by the dimensional force, wasn't a match for Robert. The ki wave had been concentrated for too long and its explosion range was extremely compressed by Robert, causing severe damage in the confined space.

But after being injured, Alexander seemed dazed, with a monstrous, vacant expression anyone could understand.

"What's going on?" Robert and the others were puzzled by Alexander's odd behavior. If it weren't for Alexander's injuries not healing, Robert might have suspected he was feigning stupidity to recover.

"Something's wrong..." As Alexander stood there in a daze, Robert and the more mentally powerful Martian Manhunter sensed an anomaly. Clark soon noticed it too, as two distinct mental forces were clashing.

"Is he regaining control of his body? His combat skills are poor, but his willpower is unexpectedly strong..." Robert remarked, seeing Alexander's change.

"It's the will to survive! Because I don't want to die!" Alexander suddenly raised his head, his red eyes fixed on Robert. "Honestly, I should thank you! If it weren't for your terrifying attack injuring me and enraging him, I wouldn't have had the chance to reclaim my body!"

"But this body isn't what I want. I only desire this power, not this monstrous form! It's all because of you! If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have been forced to use this power!"

As Alexander spoke, his aura became more ferocious and violent. His eyes turned even redder, making his terrifying appearance and regenerating flesh even more horrifying.

But this terror didn't scare Robert.

"Life's ups and downs were too much, so you went mad? Trying to threaten me? You think you're worthy?!" Robert sneered, suddenly appearing before Alexander. As Alexander's red eyes saw Robert's beastly gaze, he froze for a moment. Then, a massive fist sent Alexander flying.

With a bang, Alexander's partially healed wounds tore open, flooding him with pain and clearing his mind a bit.

However, Alexander was now much stronger. Even injured, his power had increased significantly. The transformation brought by the dimensional power wasn't in vain.

In the air, Alexander managed to halt his flight, punching against Robert's incoming fist. This was the first time in the prolonged battle that Alexander blocked one of Robert's attacks. If Robert hadn't activated his berserker mode, he might have been sent flying.

"Hahahaha! You are nothing! I see now, your power is no match for mine! I'll repay every insult you've given me..." Alexander yelled in excitement, having forgotten that one shouldn't be distracted in battle.

With a bang, Alexander's jaw took a heavy blow, scattering what seemed to be teeth. His head spun from the punch, disoriented.

Worse, Robert's attacks were even faster now, throwing Alexander back into the original predicament of being unable to keep up.

Alexander's body was repeatedly sent flying in the mirror dimension. Enraged, his power surged, healing his body faster but making him look even more grotesque.

If vampires were considered gentlemen before transformation, they became terrifying after. Now, Alexander looked worse than a combined vampire and werewolf, which explained his earlier shock at his appearance.

Abandoning some capabilities granted others. Forced to give up his looks, Alexander's growing grotesque form enhanced his power.

Again, Alexander blocked Robert's fist. This time, he used the momentum to retreat, widening the gap to avoid Robert's relentless assault.

"Good, you're improving!" Robert praised. Given Alexander's previous performance, this move was impressive, surpassing William and Marcus's combat skills.

But it still wasn't enough to defeat Robert. Unless Alexander mastered every bit of his power, which was impossible.

Alexander never fully controlled his original power, let alone his newly gained, much greater power.

"Arrogant! I refuse to believe your skills can solve everything!" Alexander scoffed, accumulating energy from a distance. A pale red glow shot from his hand towards Robert.

Aware he couldn't surpass Robert in a short time, Alexander planned to leverage his superior power. If necessary, he'd destroy the mirror dimension to his advantage.

With new power and surviving two near-death encounters, Alexander wanted revenge. If unsuccessful, he'd escape, slowly mastering his new strength.

Alexander knew he couldn't appear before people in his monstrous form. He couldn't endure their stares or enjoy life as before. But compared to the fear of death, he'd have to accept it.

Facing the approaching pale red glow, Robert launched a ki wave to counter it. He had to admit Alexander's power now surpassed his. In a pure energy clash, Robert was outmatched.

However, energy alone wouldn't defeat Robert. Alexander's skills and tactics were still lacking.

Robert remained composed, releasing his ki wave. The pale red light pressed towards him, seemingly putting Robert at a disadvantage.

Seeing this, Alexander smirked. He now aimed to kill Robert within the mirror dimension.

Suddenly, a ki wave struck Alexander from behind, piercing his chest and halting his power.

The energy he had been using to press against Robert rebounded, blasting Alexander.

_________________________

[Check out my Patreon for +200 additional chapters in all my fanfics! $5 for all!!] 

[w w w . p a t r e o n .com / INNIT]

[+50 PowerStones = +1 Chapter]