Alex knew he had to come up with a new strategy, something unexpected that would allow him to get past the beast's defences.
The huge creature was smart, it was learning, adapting, and Alex's usual tactics wouldn't work anymore.
He took a deep breath, focusing his thoughts. He needed to create a distraction, something to divert the beast's attention away from its ankles.
His mind raced as he quickly formulated a plan.
'Time to get creative!' He thought, a determined glint in his eyes.
Alex sprinted towards the beast, his body blazing with the crimson coloured Phoenix flames.
He darted from side to side, throwing off the beast's aim as it tried to swat him away.
He aimed for the beast's face, sending a concentrated blast of Phoenix flames towards its eyes!
Since the beast had targeted its defences towards its ankles, its only other weak point was now left unguarded.
The beast roared, shaking its head violently to dispel the blinding flames.
But no matter what it did, the flames never dissipated.
'That's Unquenchable blaze for you!' Alex thought, knowing immediately that the flames would never dissipate unless he willed them to, or there was no energy left in the atmosphere to sustain them.
This was the opening Alex needed. He quickly rolled to the side, positioning himself near one of the beast's ankles.
'Now!'
With the beast distracted by the flames burning away at its eyes, Alex concentrated the Phoenix flames into his right hand once more.
The flames intensified, burning hotter and hotter than ever before.
His hand became a glowing blade of pure fire and heat.
He lunged forward, striking at the weakened joint with all his might.
Alex replicated the movements he had taken when the Principal had tested his strength right after he had been revived.
Thankfully, his distraction was far more effective than he could have anticipated, allowing him plenty of time to prepare this all out attack.
The beast roared in agony once more, this time much louder as the burning hot red flames seared through the deformed scales.
They thought Alex was about to end this battle once and for all, saving the inhabitants of not only the military base, but the nearby cities too.
At first, Alex thought that the beast must be preparing another one of those sonic attacks, so he positioned himself well away from its mouth region.
But after a few seconds, no attack came.
Instead, something far wilder happened.
The flesh on the beast's back started to deform and wriggle, like there were worms under its skin.
A little creeped out, Alex was unsure whether to go near or not.
Swoosh!
But he was completely shocked when he saw the beast's back split open in two symmetrical areas, with a newly created pair of wings spreading out far and wide from them, covered in all sorts of blood and goo.
"What the fuck kind of situation is this!?!"
Alex realised just how much the battle had changed in just a matter of seconds.
Things were quickly becoming much worse than he could have hoped from this fight.
Originally he just wanted to test his newfound strength and talent against a worthy opponent.
But now things were quickly getting out of hand.
'If that thing takes off, then this whole planet is fucked!'
He realised the severity of the situation in an instant and decided to take immediate action.
He may have acted indifferent to the deaths of the thousands of awakened on the battlefield earlier that day, but this was different.
Those awakened knew the risks to their lives by coming here to fight the Floodgate, so they knew there was a chance they could die.
But there were still over a billion innocent civilians on this planet.
Alex couldn't just turn the other cheek while this beast went on a rampage and slaughtered every last one of them.
His personal morality wouldn't allow for that.
And since this was the case, he prepared himself for an intense fight with the beast, even if it meant a serious risk to his life.