After a long, sleepless night spent analyzing an enormous amount of material, Alex finally began to piece together the full picture — the connection between Khan Maykr, her race, and the mysterious link between the Maykrs, the Eridians, and Pandora itself.
The first thing he understood was that Khan Maykr had conducted a grand experiment, the scale of which was almost impossible to grasp. She hadn't created the Eridians merely to fulfill a mission and then destroy them, as originally believed. No. The goal was far more ambitious.
From her personal records stored in the archives, Alex learned that Khan Maykr had followed the path of the Creator himself. After Davoth fell and was sealed away, and the All-Father vanished, she became the sole ruler — the sovereign of the Maykrs. The heavens belonged to her, and soon she even subjugated Hell. But power intoxicated her. It wasn't enough. She craved more — dominion over all existence.
Thus began her experiments in creating new races and beings capable of embodying absolute power. The Eridians were merely one link in that chain — neither the first nor the last. And the Destroyer… was only a prototype of the Icon of Sin, which Khan Maykr desperately tried to recreate.
Creating a new race was easy. But creating an Icon of Sin... that was something else entirely. The Icon was the very essence of Davoth's rage, pain, and torment when, sealed in Jekkad, he realized his own creations had betrayed him. Consumed by wrath, Davoth gave birth to the Icons of Sin — beings that brought ruin to everything he had once created.
Alex remembered: there were three such beings. The first Icon of Sin was nearly destroyed in Davoth's war against the Maykrs. Only its head remained — and that was later finished off by the Doom Slayer, back when he was still known as Doomguy.
The second Icon was captured by the Maykrs after the war. Khan Maykr used it to erase worlds from existence, sending demons to harvest souls. That Icon too was destroyed by the Doom Slayer.
The third — the most powerful one, containing nearly all of Davoth's fury — was defeated later. Alex and the Slayer destroyed it together.
And yet, Alex now understood: Khan Maykr had wanted to create more Icons of Sin. The reason was simple — greed. Only one Icon could exist in a universe at a time, and even that one couldn't be fully controlled. So Khan Maykr developed a ritual of domination — it required a soul that had endured unbearable suffering. Even then, control was temporary: after the destruction of a world, the Icon would be put back to sleep until the next awakening.
If Khan Maykr could have fully controlled even a single Icon of Sin, she wouldn't have needed to send armies of demons. One Icon alone could erase an entire universe. But since control was unstable, she only used it for the final blow — when a world was already on the brink of ruin.
Thus began countless experiments. Khan Maykr created new races — like the Eridians — to assist her in producing the Icons. Alex found records of dozens of such attempts. Ten universes. Ten races. Ten failures. Ten uncontrollable Icons of Sin that devoured all life. After each failure, Khan Maykr simply abandoned the universe, leaving it to die.
Each universe in her records was marked only by a digital code — no names, no symbols, no history. Only the other Maykrs who assisted her bothered to give those races names.
But the more Alex read, the stronger his sense of conspiracy grew. It couldn't be a coincidence that ten out of ten Icons of Sin had gone rogue. Once — maybe. Twice — coincidence. But ten times? That was a pattern. Someone had interfered.
Alex paused for a moment, thinking: "Samur?"
The most loyal servant of the All-Father. After the All-Father's fall, he hid his life sphere in Hell — next to Davoth's essence — and vanished. That was what allowed Khan Maykr to seize power. Samur appeared again only when the Slayer emerged — a candidate for carrying part of Davoth's essence, his complete opposite.
Alex tapped his finger against the table, deep in thought. If ten experiments had all ended the same way… then someone wanted them to.
"Can you stop tapping?" a sleepy voice muttered. "I just fell asleep."
Alex looked down. Maya, curled up on his lap, had pressed herself against him, her nose buried in his neck.
"Sorry," he said softly with a faint smile, running his fingers through her blue hair. "Force of habit."
Alex quietly looked around — a rare silence hung in the air, something almost unheard of for their group. Brick, Mordecai, Salvador, Axton, and Zer0 were scattered around the room, each asleep where they had dropped — some on the floor, others sitting up with their backs against the wall.
Lilith had sprawled across an armchair, her legs dangling over the armrest. Moxxi, of course, had claimed the only couch, lounging on it like the queen of the room. Angel had fallen asleep with her head resting on the table, and beside her, Tannis had dozed off face-first into an open notebook. Maya, naturally, had taken the most comfortable spot — asleep on Alex's lap.
After making sure everyone was sound asleep, Alex sat back, lost in thought. It surprised him slightly that no one seemed particularly troubled by the revelation that their entire universe had been part of a massive experiment. Their logic was simple enough: since both the Eridians and the Maykrs were creations of the same hand — and all of them were now dead — what was there to worry about?
But Alex couldn't sleep. Something kept gnawing at him, the feeling that he was missing a crucial piece. He recalled an ancient phrase carved into one of the Vault tablets: "The answer lies where you least expect it."
Those words wouldn't leave his mind. Davoth… he wasn't just a monster. He was a being capable of calculating universes, playing them like a chess match. That was how he orchestrated his own resurrection — moving pieces across the board long before anyone realized it. He had influenced Khan Maykr, pushing her toward specific decisions, like a director guiding his actors.
The reason? Davoth was searching for a being with the potential of a destroyer. When he found one — in Doomguy — the next phase of the game began. The Slayer's arrival in Argent D'Nur, the demonic invasion, Samur's ritual — all of it was part of a perfectly calculated sequence, the ultimate goal being Davoth's awakening.
And yet even he had miscalculated — the Slayer's potential was far greater than anyone had imagined.
But one question wouldn't let Alex rest — why had Davoth interfered with the creation of the Icons of Sin that Khan Maykr had been working on?
"You're still staring at those damn writings?" came Lilith's lazy voice from behind him. "You've been looking for a catch all night where there isn't one. How the hell can a dead bitch do anything?"
Alex turned his head. Lilith stretched, opening her eyes, and gave him a tired look.
"I'm not thinking about Khan Maykr," he said calmly. "I couldn't care less about that wretch. What bothers me is the one who created her."
"Wasn't the one who made that bitch dead?" Tannis lifted her head, yawning and stretching. "You said your friend killed that... what's his name... Dachert? Dakok? Dabok? Dahaka?"
"Davoth," Alex corrected dryly. "And he wasn't just a god. He was the Creator. He made an entire universe. And I don't like that I'm still finding traces of that bastard in ten others. Most of all — I don't understand why."
"Who cares," Brick muttered, pushing himself up from the floor and stretching. "Dead means done. Doesn't matter what kind of god he was. Everything he made died with him. So chill out and relax. No apocalypse coming — the guy who wanted one's already rotting in Hell. Though honestly, that's a shame. I wouldn't mind smashing a few demons."
"You'd fight anything that moves," Lilith snorted. "But you're right about one thing — thinking about the past is a waste of time. Take me, for example — my new boyfriend's the Demon King, married to goddesses. So yeah, life's full of surprises."
She walked up to Alex, wrapped her arms around his neck, and softly kissed his cheek.
"Don't forget he's not only yours," Maya murmured sleepily, cracking one eye open to look at Lilith.
Lilith just waved her off, rolled her eyes, and sat down beside Alex. The noise stirred the others — Moxxi was the first to wake, followed by Angel, and then the rest of the group. Yawning and blinking, they all stretched in turn, trying to shake off sleep.
Seeing everyone slowly waking up, Alex decided to brew some coffee. Soon, the rich aroma of fresh coffee filled the room, and it was as if everyone suddenly found new energy. The chatter died down — each of them savoring the simple, rare peace of the moment.
Alex also silently took a sip and decided not to think about anything for now. Sometimes it's good to just let your mind rest. Still, somewhere deep in his thoughts lingered one idea — to send all the data he'd gathered, including his theories about Davoth's interference, to VEGA. Let Doom Slayer handle it — after all, Davoth was his personal enemy.
"Let William deal with this himself," Alex thought, rubbing his chin. "Let him hunt down and destroy the defective Icons of Sin. I've got enough problems of my own."
He was already planning his next steps: first, deal with the Destroyer, and then head to Helios to settle things with Jack. It had been two days since he'd promised Jack to "show him Hell." And judging by the fact that all Hyperion forces had been withdrawn from Pandora, Handsome Jack's fear of Alex's promised retribution outweighed his common sense.
"When are you planning to deal with that Destroyer?" Lilith asked, yawning and tossing her legs across Alex's lap.
"First coffee, then the Destroyer," he replied lazily. "Even if you don't touch the cage, it won't break for at least a thousand years… maybe more. And honestly, I'm too lazy to come back in a couple thousand years."
"You're serious right now?" Maya raised an eyebrow. "You actually plan to wait a few thousand years?"
"What's wrong with that?" Alex smirked. "Time's a weird thing. Somewhere a thousand years, somewhere a month, somewhere a year — it flows differently everywhere. And that includes you too."
"Yeah, sure," Lilith muttered. "In a thousand years, there won't be anything left of me."
"I'd argue that," Alex said with a faint smile.
"What do you mean?" Angel asked, watching him intently.
"If you haven't figured it out yet," Alex smirked and looked around at them, "Sirens are semi-divine beings. If you're not killed and don't pass on your power, you'll live a very long time. Long enough to call it a kind of immortality."
"You mean to say that Lilith, Maya, and Angel… are immortal?" Tannis practically shoved her nose into Alex's face, her eyes burning with curiosity.
"That's exactly what I'm saying," he replied calmly, pushing her head back. "Sirens carry a divine spark. If left alone, you stop aging after a certain point. Your soul feeds off that spark, keeping your mind from deteriorating or crumbling like normal long-livers. Basically, you're lucky."
"Oh, this is too much," Brick groaned, covering his face with his hands. "Immortality, gods, demigods… can't we talk about something simpler this early in the morning? Like who we're gonna punch today?"
Alex stifled a smile, watching Brick struggle with the flood of information — it looked like the man's brain might start smoking from overload any moment.
Yesterday, he'd offered everyone a job — and of course, no one refused. The pay was more than generous, and the missions were well within the team's capabilities. Brick and Salvador were thrilled — the chance to fight and get paid for it sounded perfect. Zer0 agreed for the challenge and the training. Axton — because he was a mercenary, and as long as the money flowed, he'd work.
Mordecai didn't even hesitate: as soon as Alex mentioned that the contract included the opportunity to sample rare types of alcohol he'd never even heard of, the decision was instant.
As for Tannis, Alex invited her to the Guild's research center — where she could conduct the craziest experiments imaginable, including dissections of creatures unknown even to Eridian scientists.
Moxxi, of course, asked for help opening a bar in Alex's world — and he agreed without hesitation. After helping Erina, Alice, and Hisako open a restaurant near the Guild, Moxxi's bar would be the perfect place for everyone to unwind after a mission.
Angel was planning to go on a journey — Alex didn't object. Lilith and Maya were already discussing which girls' group they'd join to explore other worlds. There were plenty of plans. And everyone had their own reason to move forward.
After sitting a little longer, Alex planned to go after the Destroyer. Finishing his coffee, he stretched and was about to leave to kill the creature. Naturally, Brick and Salvador did not want to miss such an opportunity — to fight such a dangerous, legendary beast.
No matter how many times Alex repeated that the Destroyer was built to destroy worlds, Brick and Salvador only kept repeating the same thing — it bleeds, so it can be killed, and that's enough.
So Alex had to resort to a secret weapon. Before Brick and Salvador could properly arm themselves, Alex pulled a child's rubber hammer out of his inventory and gave each of the two reckless bruisers a light whack on the head so they'd stop getting underfoot.
Alex really didn't want Brick and Salvador to suddenly tumble down from the sky into the middle of the fight — shouting, cursing, and with machine guns blazing. While the two of them snored on the floor, cuddled up and drooling, Alex summoned Yamato and opened a portal to the Destroyer's Gorge — the place that leads straight to the entrance of the monster's cage.
Before leaving he didn't forget to say: if the guys wanted, they could connect to the stream — he'd already handed phones to Lilith, Maya, Moxxi, and Angel so they could join the family chat and hang out with everyone.
Stepping through the portal, which snapped shut behind him, Alex found himself above a chasm dropping straight down to the Destroyer's Vault. He stepped forward and fell into the deep abyss. Walking slowly along a narrow path, Alex lit a cigarette and looked around until he reached a huge arch.
Two statues of Sirens holding Vault keys stood at the entrance. Entering, Alex found himself in a spacious ancient chamber built by the Eridians. At the far end of the hall a passage led to the doors of the Destroyer's cage.
Getting closer, Alex peered down — where the descent began. Without hesitation he stepped forward and landed on a stone platform. There was nothing here but a single socket — for the one key capable of opening the Destroyer's Vault.
Alex looked up to the sky, to the moon Elips. He already knew that when the mechanism was activated, a beam of energy would strike the center of the platform — and the Destroyer would gain freedom. He walked to the edge and considered where to fight: let the monster come out, or meet it right inside the cage.
Taking another drag on his cigarette, Alex couldn't find a clear answer. If he fought inside the cage, the shockwave could rip Pandora's core apart — hardly a good idea. But a battle on the surface carried its own risks.
Tapping his chin with a finger, Alex made up his mind — he would pull the Destroyer to the surface. And if things went too badly, he'd launch the beast into space and finish it off on an uninhabited planet.
He took one more drag; a familiar spark of excitement lit his eyes.
"Dias," Alex said, activating the spell.
The spell let him split the ground and dig tunnels. But now he used it differently — to tear the earth apart, to literally break the Destroyer's cage. From the platform where Alex stood a deep fissure ran to the horizon, plunging toward Pandora's core. When the rift reached it, a bright purple light shot up from the depths, and the planet trembled.
Alex smirked — symbolically, the world was named after the girl who opened the box from which all of humanity's troubles emerged. And now, Pandora itself seemed like that very box, with disaster sleeping inside, waiting for someone to lift the lid.
When the light faded and the trembling subsided, Alex expected to see a slimy tentacled monster. But what emerged from the fissure made him raise an eyebrow. A creature burst forth, partially resembling an Icon of Sin — with bat-like wings and bony protrusions along its back.
Alex even chuckled: "A pathetic Cthulhu knockoff."
But this was the Destroyer — or rather, a defective version of an Icon of Sin. The creature rose into the sky, ignoring Alex. He clicked his tongue, extended his hand, and clenched his fist. Instantly, the Destroyer froze in midair, unable to move. Alex pulled his hand toward himself — and the beast, like a meteor, crashed down onto the platform with a thunderous impact.
The ground cracked with giant fissures, triggering another earthquake. Dust rose in a thick column, but Alex swept it away with a flick of his hand. Tentacles shot out from the Destroyer's back — piercing only the residual image of Alex.
Meanwhile, he was already above his opponent's head.
Alex clenched his fist and struck. His blow hit the Destroyer's head with such force that the ground trembled again, and the cracks spread even further. Landing, Alex smoothly turned, dodging the attacking tentacles, twisting his body or stepping back to avoid the strikes.
Meanwhile, the Destroyer rose to its full height — not a scratch on it. Unsurprising, considering it was born from the divine spark of the All-Father, destined to become a new Icon of Sin — a bringer of destruction to worlds.
The Destroyer vanished from its place and reappeared right next to Alex. A massive fist shot forward, but Alex intercepted it at the last moment and, using its momentum, flipped the creature over himself. Its enormous body slammed into a cliff, shaking the surrounding area.
Alex studied his opponent closely. He was amazed by the sheer speed of such a behemoth. If he hadn't known who he was fighting, he would have thought it was a Mahoraga — only a far more dangerous version.
The Destroyer climbed out of the cliff and disappeared again from its spot. In the next instant, it appeared beside Alex, this time with an even stronger strike.
It raised its hand overhead and brought it down like a chopping blade. Alex lifted his arm to block the blow. At the point of impact, a roar echoed, the ground cracked beneath their feet, and fissures spread further.
After blocking the first strike, the Destroyer almost immediately launched a second. Alex managed to intercept it, but the shockwave from the collision caused even more destruction to the surroundings.
Grabbing the Destroyer's hands with a firm grip, Alex leapt and kicked the creature in the chest with both legs. The strike was so powerful that the Destroyer's hands remained in Alex's grasp, while the creature itself flew away, breaking through sound barriers one after another. Shockwave explosions thundered across the area until the Destroyer smashed into another cliff, shattering it into pieces.
Alex remained standing on the platform, holding the charred remains of the creature's hands. They disintegrated into ash instantly.
"Interesting… I didn't even do anything, and its limbs turned to ash as soon as they separated from the body," Alex said, watching the wind carry the ashes away.
A rumble echoed from a distance. Alex turned his head — the cliff into which the Destroyer had crashed had shattered into pieces. He smirked, and in that same instant vanished from his spot with such a jerk that the platform beneath him crumbled completely, and the entire canyon collapsed along with it.
At tremendous speed, Alex shot toward the Destroyer, controlling his power carefully so as not to obliterate the planet with a single strike. The Destroyer sensed Alex's approach and, bracing itself against the cliff with hands and feet, pushed off, charging toward him.
Seeing the creature flying at him, Alex grinned, twisted in midair, and delivered a kick. The Destroyer countered with a powerful punch. Their attacks collided in the center, generating an explosive shockwave that split the valley in two, forming a deep chasm.
Alex instantly twisted in midair.
"Chi Yu. Halberd Mode — White Crescent Tiger," he said, delivering a sharp kick.
His leg traced an arc through the air, leaving a deep slash across the Destroyer's chest. In response, it unleashed a crushing punch. Alex blocked it, then struck the beast's chest with a kick. The impact sent both of them flying in opposite directions.
Twisting midair, Alex managed to slow himself before crashing into a cliff. Meanwhile, the Destroyer plowed through another mountain with its body.
As soon as Alex looked up, he saw the Destroyer had already pushed off the destroyed cliff and was barreling toward him at insane speed.
Pushing off the stone surface with his hands, Alex dodged the Destroyer as it flew like a meteor and slammed into another cliff. The ground shook.
Before he could catch his breath, Alex felt the surface beneath his feet tremble — a massive chunk of rock he was standing on lifted into the air. The Destroyer ripped the boulder from the ground and hurled it skyward — with Alex still on it.
Standing on the flying boulder, watching the Destroyer below, Alex smirked. He stopped the boulder in midair, crouched, and looked down:
"Hm… interesting move. So you're not just a beast."
Of course, the Destroyer couldn't hear him from that distance. In the next instant, it vanished again and appeared right on the flying boulder.
Clasping its hands like a massive club, it brought them down, aiming to smash the platform along with Alex. Alex stepped aside, dodging the blow. The boulder cracked, and both began to fall.
In midair, Alex struck the Destroyer's head with a kick. It managed to raise its hand to block, but the force was so immense that the creature's arm was obliterated.
The Destroyer's chest inflated sharply, and it let out a deafening roar. The shockwave sent Alex flying backward.
Rebounding, Alex twisted in midair and drove his fingers into space itself, slowing his descent. He hadn't expected the Destroyer to be this strong.
Squinting slightly, he noticed a chunk of rock flying past him. Alex caught it with one hand and squeezed. Under his fingers, the stone compressed until it transformed into pure diamond.
He hurled the diamond, and as it gained speed, it ignited the air around it. Piercing through space, the diamond struck the Destroyer with tremendous force. The creature barely withstood the blow but managed to halt the projectile, though with visible effort.
"Hmm… Either the Destroyer is getting stronger at an alarming rate, or it's just adapting incredibly fast," Alex said, lighting a cigarette without taking his eyes off the opponent.
Alex pushed off from the very fabric of space, vanishing from the spot where he had stood, and in the next instant reappeared in front of the Destroyer. His fist rose, trailing a streak of superheated air. The strike hit the creature's chest, a flash of flame illuminating the valley. The second fist — to the face, even faster, even harder.
With each blow, the air rang, the ground cracked, and rocks turned to dust from the shockwaves. Over and over, Alex tore into the enemy's defenses, unleashing a relentless barrage. After a dozen crushing hits, the Destroyer counterattacked — their fists collided, sending blinding flashes across the valley.
Alex didn't rush to unleash his full power. He could feel the Destroyer adapting with each passing second — becoming faster, sharper, stronger.
Damn… what exactly are you, creature created by Khan Maykr? — flashed through his mind.
The Destroyer's behavior reminded him of one ancient being — Mahoraga. Perhaps that bitch Khan Maykr really had tried to recreate it… and failed.
Alex slightly increased the force of his strikes — and his suspicion was confirmed. The Destroyer wasn't just adapting — it was mimicking. Repeating movements as if learning to fight.
At that moment, Alex squinted, catching the enemy's hand.
"Eight Trigrams… Vacuum Palm," he said calmly.
The palm strike tore through the air. A trail of energy pierced through the Destroyer's back; flesh split, revealing bones and organs. Blood spurted from its mouth and eyes, but Alex only smirked.
"Haven't fought seriously in a while," he whispered, straightening his fingers. "Let's continue."
He crouched.
"Hurricane Leaf."
A sharp pivot — and his foot smashed the support from under the Destroyer. It collapsed, breaking the ground beneath it. Alex instantly braced himself with his palms on the earth, tucking his legs.
"Ascending Lotus."
A lightning-fast surge upward — and two strikes to the chest launched the Destroyer into the sky like a cannonball. The air roared, breaking the sound barrier. Alex followed, overtaking it in midair. He pulled a ribbon from his pocket and wrapped it around the enemy's body.
"Reverse Lotus."
He sharply yanked the ribbon toward him — and kicked the Destroyer in the chest. The crunch of bones echoed through the air. Blood burst from the monster's back, the ribcage cracked, and the spine bent at an unnatural angle. The Destroyer roared so fiercely that clouds scattered in the sky as if from an explosion.
But Alex didn't stop. The Destroyer tried to push him away with a sonic pulse — Alex dodged, instantly appearing behind it, locking the enemy in iron clamps.
"Forward Lotus. Full power," he said with a wide grin.
The world shook. The air flared with blinding light, and Alex's strike slammed down with the force of a hurricane, tearing through space and turning the valley into a crater.
Alex spun with the Destroyer, rotating so fast that the air around them ignited. The whirlwind of flames grew, forming a massive tornado, ripping rocks and sand from the ground. On the final turn, Alex leaped away, releasing his opponent, and the Destroyer plummeted like a meteor — its body slammed into the ground with a roar, sending a massive wave of dust and stones skyward.
Hovering in the air, directly above the impact site, Alex formed his hand in front of him, shaping it into the face of a tiger.
"Noon Tiger," he said calmly, but there was power in his voice.
The air before him compressed, then tore downward, forming a massive tiger woven entirely from pure shockwave. The creature of air slammed into the Destroyer with monstrous force. The ground shook, the sky flared with white light, and everything around erupted in a roar of destruction. When the smoke cleared, a massive crater yawned in the center of the valley. At its heart lay only the mangled body of the Destroyer: a twisted torso, protruding bones, and the remnants of a head from which thick purple blood oozed. Everything else had been reduced to ash.
Alex landed softly nearby, pulled a cigarette from his pocket, and lit it. Taking the first drag, he exhaled the smoke into the sky with a grin.
"Might Guy would probably be proud of me," he said with a smirk, taking another drag.
Meanwhile, the girls from his family, watching the broadcast, were thrilled: finally, instead of the usual chaos and endless search for answers, Alex had put on a true spectacle. Even they were surprised at how long the enemy had withstood his attacks.
Lilith, Maya, Moxxi, Angel, Tannis, and the others watched the battle, unable to look away, unable to believe their eyes. The scale of the fight was unimaginable. The rocky valley had been turned into a scorched wasteland: only fragments of the mountains remained, the ground was riddled with cracks, and the place where Alex and the Destroyer had clashed had become a deep ravine, as if the planet itself had trembled at their power.
Such a sight was not something you saw every day. And while the spectators were filled with awe, Lilith, on the other hand, clenched her fists in worry. She feared that Alex, carried away, might go too far — and destroy Pandora along with the Destroyer.
Similar thoughts crossed the minds of the other girls who knew Alex too well. Whenever he found an interesting opponent, the fight inevitably turned into a catastrophe.
To be continued…
(Actually, I still have plans for the Destroyer. But you'll find out about that in the next chapter. But I've left some hints in this chapter so you can guess what I've planned for the Destroyer. Whoever guesses correctly will get a hug.)
Early access to chapters on my patreon: p*treon.com/GreedHunter