POTENTIAL: THIRTY-SIX

**ALEX POV**

I was about to approach Jasper when a thick glass wall appeared in front of me, blocking the only way towards where Quinnie actually was. It seemed to be their security measure in case someone attempted to infiltrate the area.

I glanced at Jasper, who had just stood up. He was holding some kind of gadget, and it looked like he was the one who created the glass wall. Jasper cleaned himself and elegantly stood up again.

"What a power you have there, Alex. Would you mind me giving it a test?" Jasper pressed something on the gadget, and two flamethrowers appeared above me. I quickly stepped back to distance myself while it charged. In an instant, it unleashed a deadly fire. I managed to shield myself, but I still felt the heat.

I couldn't wait for this to end. I needed to end this myself. I destroyed the flamethrowers, stopping the flames. Jasper was still on the other side of the wall, patiently watching as those flames engulfed me.

"Is that all you've got, Jasper?" I challenged him, and he responded with a malicious smile.

"You're asking for it." Jasper pressed something again on the gadget, and four Gatling guns emerged, pointing directly at me. Seriously? The guns started firing, but they did not affect me. While the guns continued firing, I focused on creating an energy orb, giant enough to shatter the glass wall.

After a short while, the guns stopped, and coincidentally, my energy orb was ready. As the smoke cleared, I released the energy orb I was holding. It launched toward the glass wall and exploded upon impact, shattering the window glasses. Even the wall had cracks. Thick smoke filled the hallway, making it hard to see what was before me.

I released a shockwave to clear the smoke and saw Jasper still standing on the other side of the broken glass wall. I thought he would be thrown back, but it seemed he was at the right distance to avoid the impact of that explosion.

"Impressive, Alex." I flicked my hand, and the gadget he held flew away from his grasp. It crashed and broke as it hit the wall. I began walking, but Jasper didn't leave his position, as if he had no plan to escape and was ready to face whatever I would do to him. I started questioning why he didn't leave. I had already given him the time he needed to escape, but he seemed to have no plan.

I stopped in front of him. I stared at him while he looked back at me. I felt uneasy in our current situation and couldn't figure out why. Suddenly, complete silence enveloped the area. Only the machines' sounds and the clock's faint ticking could be heard.

Wait? A clock?

I quickly removed Jasper's coat, and I was shocked to see a countdown timer attached to a bomb. "Shit," I cursed when I realized there were only five seconds left. I intended to remove it from him, but it was already too late.

"Let's die together, Alex," Jasper announced, and the bomb suddenly exploded. I didn't manage to run, but I protected myself. However, I couldn't escape the impact of the explosion, and I was thrown back. My ears were ringing from the force and the proximity to the bomb.

I found myself struggling and wincing at the elevator shaft, as my back collided with the wall. The pain was so intense that I could barely stand. But I had no choice. If I let this pain win, many people would die if that demonic Quinnie became immortal.

So, even though I was writhing in pain, I forced myself to stand. I held onto the wall behind me, almost stumbling. After a few minutes, my strength returned. I took a deep breath and headed towards the elevator door.

Since the door was slightly elevated, I needed to climb it. It wasn't too high, but due to my body's pain, it became challenging. But in the end, I managed to open the door.

When I looked at the blast site, I saw the damaged wall, broken glass tubes, and cracked surfaces. Even the floor didn't escape the damage. But what caught my attention were the scattered blood and body parts of Jasper.

I just shook my head as I realized Jasper's foolishness. I knew he had a huge debt to Quinnie, but he shouldn't have turned himself into a suicide bomber. It seemed like he was just being used in the process. All I could do was pity him. I had no ability to bring him back to life. The only thing I could do now was to do what was right and correct the wrongs.

I continued walking into the laboratory. Only now did I realize that many rooms contained blood donors inside glass tubes. I estimated that I had passed six rooms based on what I passed.

I ignored them and continued. At every door I passed, I examined it. But they were all empty. I paused when I saw a sign above me. There were two arrows on it. One pointed straight, labeled "Fire Exit," while the other pointed to the right, labeled "Laboratory." I was about to take the laboratory route when a thought crossed my mind.

If they knew that I was here, surely they wouldn't be in the laboratory because they knew I would go there.

A smile crossed my face at the thought. They almost fooled me. I immediately knelt down and touched the hallway floor. I closed my eyes and released an energy wave. A smile escaped my lips when I figured out their whereabouts.

"Gotcha."

I decided to eavesdrop on their conversation, hoping to gather some information.

"Test No. 34, failed."

"How many more antigens do we have?"

"I never knew that putting an antigen into someone could be this difficult."

"Her antibodies are too strong. But don't worry, Dr. Erick. This will be successful."

Dr. Erick? Quinnie's best friend? The clone maker?

"Doctor! It looks like this is it!"

"Really? What's her vital signs?"

"Stable. But there's still a reaction, Doc."

They are getting closer. I must stop them.

I quickly stood up and headed towards the door on my left. I didn't hesitate to enter. There were no guards, so it was fine. As soon as I opened the door, an alarm sounded. The whole place turned red as red lights flashed. I entered, and a curtain immediately dropped. The curtain prevented me from seeing what was happening behind it.

"Prepare for evacuation!" I heard Dr. Erick's order. I gestured with my hand as I pulled back the curtain. The people behind it were shocked to see me. Their eyes widened as if they had seen a ghost. Using my ability, I pointed three empty syringes at them.

"Seriously? Are you going to kill us with those?" one of the doctors insulted, smiling at me. It seemed like they were underestimating me.

"This may not be able to kill you, but it can paralyze your body."

"Really? How will you do that?" I pierced his right hand, and he couldn't move it immediately. He was shocked, unable to believe what happened to his hand. "What did you do?"

"You're a doctor, right? Why don't you find it out?"

"Son of a bitch!" He was about to attack, but I preemptively stabbed his left leg, almost making him fall. Thankfully, he held onto the curtain.

"You were severing his nerves," Dr. Erick interjected.

"He knows. Are you really a doctor?"

"Don't you dare question my profession, child! And you? What are you?" the angry doctor shouted, desperately clinging to the curtain.

"I'm just a lowly Medical Technology student. Fortunately, we have already finished our phlebotomy training."

"Nerve damage is one of the possible complications in phlebotomy. How smart," praised Dr. Erick. Tsk! If he thought he could sway me with compliments, he was wrong. He couldn't escape the fact that he contributed to making this woman immortal.

"Why bother saving her life? Do you know what she's doing?" I looked at them, but they kept their heads down. Silence meant yes. "For Pete's sake! You're fools! You're helping this murderer!"

"Business is business," replied the damn doctor.

"Business! Damn you!" In my intense anger, I couldn't help but release a shockwave. They were all pushed against the wall, writhing in pain.

I approached Quinnie, who was lying unconscious. She was silently sleeping. This is how demons sleep. I noticed a red tube connected to her body. If I'm not mistaken, this blood came from them. This had to stop.

I removed each life-support system connected to her. The machines started going crazy. All of them made rapid and noisy sounds. I just watched her ECG gradually go down—the heart rate, the oxygen saturation, and the blood pressure.

"Am I the only one, or is the ground really shaking?" the nurse exclaimed. I felt the ground and confirmed that it was indeed moving. It couldn't be an earthquake because it was happening repeatedly. It was like a giant was walking. My eyes widened when I realized what was happening.

"Let's get out of here!" I ordered them.

"What's happening?" Dr. Erick asked.

"Just go!"

The nurse and Dr. Erick quickly assisted the paralyzed doctor to walk. Quinnie's ECG became flat, telling me that she was dead. I was about to leave, but I thought of the antigens. They had to be destroyed. I held out my hand and focused on the vials of antigen. In an instant, I released a destructive shockwave that destroyed them. Fluids from the vials spilled all over the floor.

I quickly ran out and caught up with the doctors. They hadn't gone far due to the doctor's limping walk. A strong tremor shook the earth, causing us to stop. It was already here. Wait, the core!

"I need to go back! Leave now! Don't wait for me!" I ordered them, and they quickly left. I ran back to the room and burst through the door. I was surprised to see two tentacles slowly wrapping around the glass tube containing the monster's core.

I immediately turned a pole used for dextrose into a sharp weapon and heated it. The metal turned orange, and I sent it flying toward the tentacles. The metal tore through the tentacles, causing the glass tube to drop. However, before it could hit the floor, I stopped it.

I quickly left the room when I had the glass tube in my hands. I still had my makeshift weapon in case the monster attacked again. After a while, I saw the doctors waiting near the elevator. As expected, there was a hole that wasn't too big. There was enough space on the side for us to stand.

We entered the elevator individually and pressed the button to go up. The elevator rose with the tremors caused by the monster. I hoped nothing would happen to us here. The three of them were terrified by what had just happened. It seemed they hadn't anticipated this monster would add to their problems. Luckily for them, it didn't attack while performing the procedure, or else they would be doomed. Perhaps this monster was hungry.

It didn't take long for us to reach the top. We quickly exited the elevator and took the path outside. We were approaching Quinnie's room, so I couldn't help but look at it. There were no signs of Sky and the others, as expected.

An ear-piercing scream escaped from the nurse's throat, catching my attention. I looked at what she was staring at and saw several large tentacles blocking our way.

"What is that thing?" Dr. Erick asked in fear.

"The owner of what you stole."