Thud.
The wordless ripple through the crowd echoed louder than any outburst.
Marcus froze for just a breath. Then, slowly, a smirk curled at the corner of his mouth—cold, sharp, proud.
This was the Supreme he remembered.
Not a meek figure seeking approval or compromise.
But the arrogant, domineering force of nature who didn't care for politics or permission.
The Supreme who stood at the top because he chose to—and dared anyone to challenge it.
Yes. This was the kind of leader Marcus would follow into war.
---
Beside him, Victor and Amelia remained stone-faced, but their minds raced.
Alex's words had just carved a chasm in the middle of the hall—a definitive line in the sand.
It was no longer just posturing or a verbal jab.
This was the kind of insult that could ignite war between Supremes.
And their clan… could they truly stand against the Originals?
Could they weather the storm that was sure to come?
That question weighed heavy, like a mountain pressing against their spines.
But even as the future trembled, neither elder flinched.
They had made their choice the moment they knelt before Alex.
---
Thud.
The mocking smirks that had crept across the faces of the gathered vampires were wiped away in an instant—cut off as if by a guillotine.
What replaced them wasn't amusement.
It was shock.
Wide eyes. Paled faces. Jaws slowly dropping.
Had they really heard what they thought they'd heard?
Had this mortal Supreme—this human—just insulted Niklaus to his face?
No one—no one—dared speak to Niklaus like that.
Even the most arrogant Supremes, the oldest purebloods, tread carefully when dealing with him.
Because Niklaus wasn't just powerful.
He was unstable. Violent. Utterly unpredictable.
And now…
All eyes shifted to the "Strongest Supreme."
To Niklaus, who hadn't been publicly humiliated in centuries.
His face darkened. His smirk disappeared.
What remained twisted into something ugly and murderous.
The air in the hall thickened, the tension so heavy it was almost physical—like a storm pressing down before it broke.
---
"Heh."
Niklaus chuckled, low and lethal.
The sound didn't hold amusement—it was more like a warning before a kill.
His eyes locked onto Alex, narrowing into a cold, predatory gleam.
"Do you know what happened to the last person who spoke to me like that?"
---
Whoosh—
BAM!
Before the sentence could even finish, a thunderous sonic crack tore through the air.
A blur of motion. A gust of wind.
By the time anyone registered what had happened, Alex was already standing in front of Niklaus.
"Wha—?!"
Niklaus's eyes flew open in disbelief.
That speed—! It wasn't teleportation, but it may as well have been.
He barely had time to raise a hand before—
SNAP.
A sickening crack echoed through the chamber as Alex grabbed his wrist and twisted hard.
Niklaus howled as the bones in his forearm shattered.
And then—
THUD!
The marble floor buckled slightly under the impact as Niklaus was slammed into the ground.
Alex's boot came down without hesitation, planting itself squarely on Niklaus' chest.
One motion.
One strike.
And the "Strongest Supreme" lay sprawled beneath his foot like a beaten mutt.
---
Silence.
The entire grand hall fell into an abyss of stunned quiet.
You could hear the flicker of candle flames. The soft drip of wine falling from a trembling goblet.
Dozens—no, hundreds—of immortal eyes stared, frozen.
Disbelief cracked the silence like thin ice underfoot.
Alex had…
He had one-shotted Niklaus.
The Niklaus—the infamous hybrid feared across continents. The warrior who'd fought werewolf alphas and torn ancient vampires in half.
Now laid low in a heartbeat, like trash swept off the table.
---
"Impossible!"
"He crushed Niklaus like it was nothing!"
"That's… That's not normal—"
Chaos erupted.
A collective cry of disbelief surged through the crowd.
---
Edward Cullen, who had only hours ago dared mock Alex, felt a chill crawl up his spine.
That was Niklaus. Niklaus.
And Alex had treated him like an insect.
Edward's heart pounded erratically, a reflex buried deep despite his undead physiology.
He'd taunted that man.
Mocked him.
If Alex had been offended enough to retaliate then, Edward wouldn't even be here now.
He turned toward Alice, whose expression remained pale and unreadable.
Instinctively, he activated his mind-reading ability.
"This is just the beginning," her thought echoed silently, tinged with dread.
Just the beginning?!
The blood in Edward's veins turned ice cold.
---
"So, Niklaus… you were right."
Alex's voice was calm, almost casual—as if they weren't in the middle of a political earthquake.
"Someone like you—who I can crush under my foot—doesn't deserve to stand beside me."
Each word was a nail driven into the coffin of Niklaus' pride.
---
"You… bastard!"
Niklaus spat from the floor, his fury blazing like wildfire. His teeth bared, muscles straining—
"I'll—"
CRUNCH.
Alex's foot came down again, this time harder.
Niklaus' neck twisted with a gruesome snap, his body going limp.
Gasps rang through the chamber.
---
At the Mikaelson table, Elijah and Rebekah both shot to their feet.
Their expressions were masks of fury and disbelief, but they didn't move.
Niklaus was immortal. A hybrid.
A broken neck wouldn't kill him.
But it didn't matter.
The humiliation had already been delivered.
Before all.
---
"Supreme Alex."
Elijah's voice was frosty, polite in tone but cold enough to burn.
"My brother's behavior was unacceptable. I apologize for his rudeness."
He paused, visibly restraining his fury.
"But now that you've made your point… may I have him back?"
---
Alex blinked, brow slightly raised.
That… wasn't the reaction he expected.
He'd just killed Niklaus—at least, that's what anyone else would think.
Shouldn't Elijah be flying at him in rage? Screaming? Retaliating?
But Elijah stood composed, calm as ever.
And that's when it clicked.
Niklaus wasn't like the others.
He wasn't a pureblood vampire.
He was something more.
---
A hybrid.
And hybrids… didn't stay dead..
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