Code Zulu Alpha: Nerd in the Apocalypse!

I've only been gone for a few minutes but it was safe to say that Nikolas looked like he ran a marathon. His sweat was dripping down from his body—after the majority had already soaked his clothes but not only that, his speed had slowed considerably and he was hard of breathing.

However, those were not the things that mainly caught my attention because like I said earlier, Nikolas just looked like he ran a marathon, not participated in a boxing match.

Nikolas' face was clear of any bruises or swelling and not even a small cut was present. He just looked like he did a 10-minute HIIT workout with Mr. Alvarez but the same couldn't be said from the latter.

From the other side of their human ring, Mr. Alvarez looked the same as earlier but his eyes were completely glued to his opponent. His lead shoulder was the only thing protecting his face but to my surprise, he looked like he didn't get hit either. Sure, his slicked-back hair looked a little frazzled but it didn't take long before I realized what was happening.

Nikolas was a solid fighter but if certain restrictions were placed, he could easily be led around like a puppy.

After he caught his breathing, he slowly inched closer before exploding in an instant—bridging the distance between him and Mr. Alvarez to mere inches—before sending in a rush of punches.

However, Mr. Alvarez just stepped in with his lead shoulder—without bothering to put up any guard—walking into each of Nikolas' punches but avoiding them within a fraction of a second.

This was gonna sound weird for some people but Mr. Alvarez's head game was too fucking high level.

Nikolas' punches would either miss completely, brush off to side of his opponent's temple, or in some cases, slip off and get redirected by Mr. Alvarez's shoulder.

It was as if Mr. Alvarez could read a second into the future because none of the punches Nikolas threw managed to land cleanly—or even barely.

I was actually surprised by this high-level display because if we're talking about machismo shit, it would almost always involve giving the hardest punches while taking them head-on.

Mr. Alvarez's fighting style was similar to the boxing champ he shared the same last name with—Canelo Alvarez, a tinge of Joe Frazier, maybe also a smidge of Mayweather, but if I was gonna pick a single one, it would be none other than:

Nicolino Locche, The Untouchable.

Before the world ended, I've seen a lot of older clips from Locche though at first, it was accompanied by meme-like music because of the way he fights. It was almost comical from the way his opponents would almost always miss their mark—as if the whole fight was choreographed. But once I had a better understanding of the Hall of Famer, I realized how frightening—and incredibly frustrating to be on the other side of the ring.

And if I remember correctly, one of his opponents actually refused to fight him in the 10th round not only because of exhaustion from constantly hitting air but also frustration.

Granted we could say that I did the same thing while fighting Mauro but I would sneak in hits when I have the chance.

Mr. Alvarez on the other hand was in his own world, playing with his food as long as he fancied them. I know that he put down bodies from his matches but it was always from a single punch—when his opponent was completely tired and had no way of fighting back.

With that said, the two were still going at it for a while and Mr. Alvarez's face showed approval towards Nikolas' stamina and fighting spirit. Most of his opponents have probably retired much, much earlier but the one he was facing now was still firing on all cylinders even though he was close to running out of juice.

At one point, I thought Nikolas would opt to use more than just punches but he stuck to the restrictions placed on him before they started.

Slowly but surely, Nikolas lost the breath that he collected and Mr. Alvarez gave him this certain look as he finally took his own step forward.

I could see the way Mr. Alvarez's eyes changed as he took one final look at his opponent, and the veins on his arms just protruded before they disappeared from view.

'That's one fast one-two… '

The next thing we saw, Nikolas was on his ass but he was very much conscious. His chest was heaving up and down but he tensed when Mr. Alvarez walked up to him. He thought Mr. Alvarez would give him another blow but he offered his hand so that he could stand up.

Once Nikolas was helped up, he still looked a little pissed off but Mr. Alvarez had a huge smile on his face and he even patted his head—which made Nikolas frustrated a little more—for a job well done.

He could've done a lot more—or even won if he didn't adhere to Mr. Alvarez's restrictions but a loss was still a loss.

The crowd gave him cheers for lasting that long but despite his efforts, Mr. Alvarez still looked like a shredded middle-aged man, wearing only half of his suit, and sporting a slick haircut.

Well, it didn't take long before his gaze landed onto me, and he wore a bright smile as he beckoned me over.

I slowly made my way over to their ring and I greeted him with a simple bow, "Nice fight. I'm glad I watched you for a bit."

"Is that so? I hope you've rested enough."

"How about you?"

"I'm still warming up. Those guys barely counted as a workout."

"Same."

Mauro shouted from the viewing platforms, "THE FUCK DID YOU JUST SAY, YOU FUCKING EEL?!"

It didn't take long before Mauro got shushed by Elsa but Mr. Alvarez and I audibly shared a laugh. However, there was a few seconds of silence before Mr. Alvarez's expression turned solemn.

"Alright. I'll tell you the same thing I said to anyone that wanted to face me—"

"Only boxing?"

"Hah! Something like that. Well, I won't forbid you from using your whole arsenal but if you want to beat me, you'd have to beat me where I'm good at."

I chuckled as I scratched my head, "By limiting myself? Don't you want to fight me at my best too?"

Mr. Alvarez stifled a laugh, "Kid, I've watched you fight. You're at your best when you're holding your blade, you're already limiting yourself. But me? I'm old. You could definitely beat me if you start throwing kicks but how fun would it be—for me, to humor my request?"

"Hmmm~"

"I promise you this: If you follow my rules and you knock me down, I'll give you the win and everyone in my party here will leave with me. They're just here to, you know, remove all the distractions. Oh! I'll have to thank you for not interrupting my fight with your soldier earlier. I appreciate that. So, what's it gonna be?"

I looked at Mr. Alvarez for a brief moment before I answered, "Alright. Fine."

"Great—"

"But answer me this first."

"Hmm?"

"Who's your family's best fighter?"

Mr. Alvarez looked at me like I endorsed a pyramiding scheme to him, "Huh? Me? Is that even a question?"

"Aside from you."

"Oh! My wife, she's the only one that could get me on my knees—"

I chortled, "You motherfucker, in this human ring of yours, who's your golden goose?"

"Ah…"

Once I finally set all of the parameters right, Mr. Alvarez turned to his constituents before beckoning one of them to come closer.

"Oi… come over here for a sec…"

"..."

The guy he beckoned over was still wearing a full suit and he was slightly looking down on me because of his height. He was a couple of inches taller than me and he had a balanced physique—different compared to the rest of Mr. Alvarez's entourage. However, it eventually occurred to me that he had no intention whatsoever of throwing down because the reason I asked for him was to challenge him to a match first, so that his boss could rest a little, but there wasn't any desire in his eyes.

'Bummer… Everyone else looked like they wanted a piece of me…'

Mr. Alvarez then spoke behind me, bringing me back to reality, "So? What else do you want?"

I sighed as I shook my head, turning back to Mr. Alvarez, "I guess I won't let you take a rest, he doesn't want to fight me."

Mr. Alvarez's eyes suddenly showed delight, "Oh? You can tell? Good, good… Perhaps— No, that'll be for another day."

"Hmm?"

Mr. Alvarez completely ignored me, "Alright, boys… We're gonna start. There's a few more stragglers but keep them away. Here we go—"

He was still in mid-sentence when his demeanor completely changed, but the feeling I got from facing him was totally different from all of the people I've fought.

I felt like I was a little kid that was playing hero and monster with his dad. Like those times when I would just put on a cape and hold whatever stick or toy as a sword to defeat the monster that was my dad, who would just pretend to die when I gave him the final blow.

With that said, Mr. Alvarez's whole body looked like it was just too full of fucking openings, my body almost moved on its own. With the distance we have between us, I was fucking sure that I'd be able to smack his face but at the same time, just from watching him toy around with Nikolas, he'd be able to dodge it just as easily.

'Hmm...'

"What are you waiting for, kid? Move!"