BEN 10: THE ONE WHO DEFIES GODS

CHAPTER 4: RASCAL DOES NOT DREAM OF THE WORTHLESS BUNNY GIRL

"A new DNA sample obtained!"

I look down at the Omnitrix that announces it just captured a new DNA sample. That means… I take a glance at Shea who is curiously staring at my left wrist where the voice came from.

"What is that thing, Bennison?"

Noooo! You can't just call me Bennison!

Oh, whatever.

"An ancient artifact," I mumble, explaining the Omnitrix half-heartedly. "It allows me to… uh, never mind. I want to keep this a secret from anyone other than Ruby."

The rabbit girl we encountered was expelled from her village but now her family is in danger so she wants help from us.

"Um, if you say so…" (Shea)

"You can tell us how you foresaw our arrival after this. Now take us to your family. We will think of strategy after that," I try to change the subject.

"You are being uncharacteristically kind today." (Ruby)

I laugh dryly at her comment. "Family is my one weakness. Saving someone's family won't hurt, huh? Especially because she is someone you know."

Ruby's face is expressionless as always. "I will follow wherever you go, Benny. So don't worry about me. Your choices are my choices."

"That's too much," I respond awkwardly. I'm gonna lecture her about my trust issues later.

Shea's village is a forest surrounded by nothing but trees and strings. Rabbitman, much similar to rabbits, are weak… And live in groups.

"Hey, I've got a question for you, Shea Haulia." (me)

"What's it? Feel free to ask, Benny~"

Shea guides us the way to the village and I as Four Arms carry them on my shoulders.

"Hey, Benny is Ruby's exclusive! Uh… are you an exhibitionist?"

If I weren't red, I would probably blush.

"Hell, no! This is traditional clothes, you know." (Shea)

I look at Ruby and laugh awkwardly…

Shea lady, your traditional clothes must be seriously upgraded or fixed for good.

"Ay, wait... those monsters... are they wyverns?" I ask Shea.

"No, they are Hyveria," she answers.

My four eyes notice something that's gonna happen although I don't have precognition abilities.

"Ruby, take care of Shea."

"As you wish, Benny."

I put down the duo on the ground and transform into–

"ASTRODACTYL! Rawr!"

As the jetpack pushes me into the air, I execute energy whips in seconds.

A hyveria monster descends to the ground at high speed to catch a small rabbit girl who runs out of the wilderness.

But... as the monster reaches the girl, suddenly two green energy strings wrap around his neck and then pull him away... back into the sky.

Hyveria – although they look like a dragon or wyvern, their snouts are long and similar to a beak, with powerful jaws. They also resemble Pterosaurs and are even similar to Astrodactyl. Though they are three or four times bigger.

In seconds, the Hyveria falls onto the ground again... but his head is gone.

Let me~ introduce Astrodactyl of Terradino.

Astrodactyl resembles a cross between a Pterodactyl and a glider. He has a large yellow beak-like mouth, green eyes, red skin, black and green clothing on his shoulders and waist, green braces around his wrists and ankles, and small, yellow, retractable wings that resemble a glider in appearance which are connected to a 'jetpack'-like structure on his back.

This will not be pleasant but...

I create an energy ball from my internalized star power and fire it at another monster that is coming for me.

While the energy isn't enough to demolish his body, his head is destroyed as a whole.

Hmph.

I descend to the ground as I see Ruby and Shea meet with the rabbitmen who came out of the wilderness.

"Hey, is everything okay here?"

Before anyone can answer my question, Ruby points at the sky.

"Benny, three hyveria are still there."

"Oh, I forgot," I tilt my head and witness three flying monsters still wandering in the air over us.

I shoot towards the nearest monster at immeasurable speeds while creating an energy ball in my mouth, which is powered by my internalized star… And then fire green energy at it. While the energy wasn't enough to demolish the entirety of his body, his head was reduced to ash by the half-power star energy beam.

Oh… they aren't as tough as they look. It works in my favor.

No, wait, Astrodactyl can literally shoot out stars. What do you expect?

But I barely dodge the bite of another monster as it attempts to attack me from behind.

"Rawr!" I squawk and fire another powerful beam at the nearest monster and kill it instantly.

"Alright, you are next!"

This time, I won't waste time and energy anymore. Just a star beam is enough.

And then I descend to where Ruby and the rabbit men should be meeting.

"Ahhh don't come near me! Talking monster!" (Random Rabbitwoman)

"Wa- hahaha, I'll eat you!" (Astrodactyl)

I land on the outskirts of the forest and play around with the rabbitmen... a bit.

"Benny..."

"What's up, Ruby?"

"You shouldn't scare them away. Don't fool around."

Oh, no, mom is calling me.

Hai, Sumimasen.

"Sorry," I mutter to her and smack the Omnitrix insignia on my left arm to regain my human form.

"Huh? A human?"

"Wait, he wasn't going to attack us."

"Come to think of it..."

"... he saved us from hyveria! It's our Hero!"

I wasn't killing monsters to be called a hero.

But "HERO" isn't a title you give yourself. It's a title given to you by someone you help... intentionally or not, a hero stands for someone who helps people. As long as you are helped by one, you can call that one a hero.

"Villain" is no less, the same. You just sit in place and do nothing evil, no one will title you a villain.

"Ahh... haha..." I laugh awkwardly as the crowd surrounds me. "I am just a humble adventurer, no hero... hahaha."

I can't just outright say I am a villain!

It's awkward as hell. Heck, I don't even know what an adventurer is.

"Thanks for saving my daughter! No, not just my daughter, you also saved my people. I can't thank you enough."

A middle-aged rabbitman with a headband takes a step forward out of the crowd and talks.

And me here... I am not someone who used to smile this much... tsk, my facial muscles are probably left stiff after this.

"Haha... don't mention it. I just wanted to slay those monsters... hahaha."

Now come on. Blame me... take away my hero title. I am showing off my fangs–

"Don't lower yourself, sir Hero," the rabbitman responds with a smile.

AHHHHH... Who the heck is Sir Hero?

Wait, where is Ruby now?

I spin around and my eyes hastily look for Ruby but I am still stuck in the center of the crowd.

Oh, there she is! Ruby seems to be talking to the girl she saved.

Whatever. I need to get out of this first before I become hero king or something stupid like that.

"Alright, everyone. Please calm down. I am not a summoned hero or anything."

"He is a hero summoned to this world to fight demons," Ruby suddenly speaks up, which causes a big stir among the crowd.

Damn Ruby, you traitor!

"Stop chattering!"

My yell silences the whole crowd at once, showing visible anger on my face.

"I am not important here, okay? Just because I killed some monsters, I am not special. With enough practice, everyone here can do it!"

I earn myself silent stares I can't just getaway.

"Now, where are the monsters that trouble you guys? I will help you a bit. And I will train the heck out of you."

I bark and glare at the middle-aged man who supposed is the village head – according to Haulia's words, anyway.

The man responds with fear in his words. "M-my name is Cam Haulia. I'm Shea's father and the chieftain of the Haulia tribe. You have my deepest gratitude for saving both my daughter and the rest of my tribe. And I've heard that you're even going to assist us in our escape... As both a father and a chieftain, I simply cannot thank you enough, Sir Hero."

"Drop the Hero part, okay? Don't call me a hero. Honestly… I hate them…" I whisper the last part, well, no one heard me anyway.

And so we have to face the monsters nearby as the most basic resolve to the problems the tribe is facing.

"Beastman aren't able to manipulate mana," Shea explains about herself on the way. "But for some reason, I can, and on top of that, I can use specialized magic that only monsters can use!"

"I don't know what it is but is that powerful?" (me)

"Yes, it's called Future Sight and it lets me see possible futures. Like, if you made this choice, this would happen, kind of stuff. That's why I knew you two would appear!"

"It's a truly interesting ability," I comment. "If you can make use of it in the fight, it will have great advantages on your side."

After some minutes, Shea asks. "Are you truly a summoned hero as Ruby said?"

Hmm… even if I lie, Ruby will definitely take the cat out of the bag.

"It's a shame… but yeah, I am a "hero" who is summoned to this world. Ah… it's an embarrassing thing to say."

Cam Haulia sends me a curious glance. "How is it embarrassing, Sir Hero– uh, my apologies, boy."

"You can call me Ben."

"Hmm, then, Ben. It's a thing you should take pride in."

I raise an eyebrow at his comment. "No, at least not for me. Say, beastmen aren't… like… stronger than humans?"

"In some aspects, yeah," Ruby answers.

"Even though you guys have physical strength, you can't keep up with humans because of their magic. It is your weakness. If you embrace the weakness and find something suitable to make up for that weakness. Strengths and weaknesses, perfectly balanced: as all things should be."

"Sorry but I don't follow your words, Ben," Cam says. "People believed my daughter's abilities caused problems for them and… well, some beastmen died because of her fate or so they said. So the rest of our tribe leaves the village and Verbergen and we have been living in the wild, since then."

"How do you think of me? I mean, you witnessed my astrodactyl form, right?"

Cam rubs his chin. "It's… weird, if I have to be honest, Ben," then he tilts his head to look at my reaction. He must be acting extremely cautious not to hurt my feelings.

"Go on. I don't mind. I just want to hear your honest opinion."

"It was scary… until you revealed that you were actually human. And it's intimidating."

I don't doubt that my alien forms are intimidating, LOL.

"Sure they are intimidating. But they are so powerful I can use them to face the monsters, even the most dangerous ones in the depths of the dungeon. Each of them possesses weaknesses. Like, one of them can't stay long on the land, another can't live with a breathing apparatus. And another one can't stand properly on the ground without tools."

Then I wear an encouraging smile for Cam. "They are useless unless I find a way to overcome their weakness or… just make use of them in certain situations."

"Sorry but…" (Cam)

"You guys have to find out what your weakness is. I prefer it if you do it yourselves. I will help you to overcome the weaknesses."

Oh crap… now I went and said it!

"Thanks, Ben." (Cam)

"Yay, Benny is super-reliable!" Shea attempts to cling onto my back but Ruby takes her away from me.

"Oh…" I don't know how to respond to her way of showing "gratitude." But okay. "Anyway…"

"ROARRRR!"

A sudden roar appears out of nowhere and startles me a bit. Shit, I let my guard down.

"Hey!" I give a scolding to Cam and Shea. "Don't just run away. You need to watch how we do this if you want to be strong."

Currently, Ruby is blocking the assaults of whatever monster it is with her wind magic.

The monster is a large brown boar-like quadrupedal creature with giant canine teeth that extend outside of its snouty mouth.

I tap the faceplate and the hologram begins to rotate until I release it when I find the right species for the job. As the faceplate slides down to the side, the core of the Omnitrix pops up. I slam the core down to transform into the said species.

"Yo…"

Shea and Cam widen their eyes in awe. Although Ruby doesn't show her emotions, I am sure she didn't predict this!

"HAULIAN! I will think of a good name for this later," I declare with a smug.

Ladies and gentlemen! This is the first time I transform into a species of this world. Welcome to the arsenal, Haulian of Oryctolagusapien cuniculus!

[A/N: the scientific name – Oryctolagusapien cuniculus – is something I came up with, by combining the Latin/ scientific name of Rabbit and Sapien (refers to sentient species), mentioned once in my other story, Ben 10: Rising of the Shield Hero.]

Being a rabbitman, Haulian somewhat taller and bulkier than my human self although the Haulia rabbitmen aren't really taller than my human form. He possesses a pair of movable erect white bunny ears thus lacking human ears, but because of the bunny ears, he also has a better hearing ability. His eyes resemble the ones of my human self, being green. His face slightly resembles my human self, again, and possesses a furry ball as the tail. My hair is black, contradicting the color of the ears.

The Omnitrix symbol lies on my left arm. The outfit includes a jumpsuit with half-white, half-black coloration. For some reason, there are large springs wrapped around my legs down from the knees.

"Wh-what! Sir– I mean, Ben!" Cam Haulia gasps, looking at me in the Rabbitman form.

"Wow, you've become one of my kind," Shea says excitedly.

This way, I can find out the weakness and strengths of rabbitmen faster.

"Ben, come on quickly!" Ruby calls out.

"Hmm, coming!"

Putting strain on the leg muscles, I leap high into the air and land right behind the monster.

Compared to Kickin' Hawk and Rath who are my best hand-to-hand (in Kickin' Hawk's case, it's foot-to-head) fighters without any super abilities, Haulian is considerably weak. Without a proper jumping enhancement, the abovementioned two aliens can easily jump higher than Haulian, but with a proper procedure, the jumps will be helpful in dodging the attacks whether it is ranged or not.

So the strength…

As the monster charges at me, I hold its canines and can rival its strength while it is standing on four and I am on two. But it doesn't apply to other haulia beastmen… since Haulian is the peak and healthiest form of the species.

Pushing him with my left hand, I punch him right in the face…

"Hey, Cam…" I suddenly remember that Cam has a spear with him. "Give me that!"

"Huh? What!?"

"Your weapon! I will show you how this works!"

"Oh, OK," Cam throws the weapon at me, which I catch by jumping into the air.

And then I land before the monster like a victorious warrior, with the spear thrust into the ground.

The monster recovers from the punch and charges towards me. At the time, I kick the bottom of the spear with enough force, causing it to spin and strike the jaws of the monster as I hastily grasp the other end of the weapon.

""Wow…"" I earn myself praise and applause but in fact…

Shoot, I took a gamble to make myself look cool. I've never learned such a spear-kicking attack.

"Benny, he is up," Ruby warns me in her usual nonchalant manner.

"OK!" I let out a battle cry – more like a rabbit scream, and thrust the spear forward, into the gaping mouth of the approaching monster.

Aw… man… this is gory. You don't want to see this view.

"Hahaha, now you are screwed! Did everyone see that?! My finisher–"

When I spin around and look at my gang, Ruby is unfazed by the sight, but Shea and Cam look like they are gonna vomit anytime soon.

"Ha… never mind."

I have decided! I'm gonna these pathetic useless rabbits!

It's not like I am worried about them or anything. I am sure the meat of worthless rabbits is bad as well and unhealthy for monsters! So I am… doing this for monsters!

Imperfect Tsundere mode off.

I turn towards the monster again and smack the Omnitrix insignia to convert my DNA into –

"UPCHUCK!" and begin to eat the remains of the monster, of course, this time I will make sure to leave the drops.

"Isn't monster meat… like poisonous to… humans?" Cam asks.

"I am not human right now, you see," I nonchalantly answer.

In fact, I ate a lot of monsters, of course not raw, in the dungeon but nothing happened to me. Well… Maybe I secretly have a poison resistance ability.

"Benny," Ruby calls my name, walking towards where I am feasting.

"Whaddup?" I mumble to her, swallowing the big piece through my non-existent throat.

"Why do you shout your transformation names? It's embarrassing, isn't it?"

Haha, it's embarrassing, of course. Tell that to the Japanese anime characters who chant the name of their attacks and moves. The only alien forms of mine, who name the special moves, are Rath, Echo Echo, and Atomix.

"Yeah. It has become a habit. When I was young, I shouted the names to strike fear into my… opponents," I answer, detransforming.

And now? My opponents always were unintelligent monsters that were basically mutated animals. Heck, I even talked to the monsters during battling them. Oh my, how embarrassing, just kill me already.

"Hmm…" she wears a slight smug uncharacteristically. "So even my heartless Benny has cute points, huh?"

Standing on her toes, her face comes closer to mine.

I give up! Time out! I don't want a girl to make advances on me. AHHH~~ Time out, time out!

Shit, why the heck am I blushing hard? Where is the stone-hearted Bad Ben now of all times!?

"Hey!" Thankfully, we were interrupted by Shea who shouted towards us. "Why are you two flirting!?"

Thanks for saving me, Shea. You are my hero. You have my respect–

But Ruby doesn't care.

She suddenly grabs my head and presents a gentle kiss on my… on my… left cheek.

"This is a reward for your hard work," she nonchalantly mutters.

"ROARRRR!"

We are interrupted by the roar of a monster again.

This time, it is louder… and… when the owner of the roar is revealed, the monster… is much larger than the previous one.

Ruby glares at the monster and then beats the crap out of it.

I sigh and silently stuff the boar monster drops into the inventory pocket dimension.

I have been distancing myself from Ruby. Is that the right thing to do?

I mean, it's near impossible but what if Ruby took an interest in me?

Avoiding the inevitable outcome will just hurt her feelings more and more...

But wait, I am Bad Ben. A selfish individual. I never cared about the feelings of someone else.

Why should I...

Damnnn! She is just a little girl. Snap out of–

For the love of Alien X, she is a 300-old hag...

The most annoying thing in my life is my own indecisiveness and emotional conflicts.

Even if I ignore her feelings...

What do I feel about Ruby?

Sure, I don't dislike having her around though she mocks me occasionally. She has a great character and as much as I hate to admit it, in many cases, she and I are two sides of the same coin.

Needless to say, we are an oddly compatible duo – her one-in-the-world "gift" and my omnitrix aliens that defy the natural law of the world. We share a mutual trust. The relationship between us two is... comrades? Or something similar.

Maybe she is a kuudere in love with me. Hahahaha...

I internally laugh out loud like a crazy man.

Comrades... Mutual Trust...

Ruby. Wavy Blonde Hair. Vampire Girl. Tiny Girl with a body of 12-14 year-old. Kuudere.

I TOTALLY WANT TO PROTECT THIS LITTLE GIRL or I think so. I mean, even the anime fans often say: WE MUST PROTECT THIS WAIFU'S SMILE.

(Waifu: Japanese accent of "WIFE." Again, I am not Japanese.)

Ha... maybe I will fall in love with her. Maybe not.

Jeez, Ruby, if you really are in love with me,... let me see you try to make me fall in love with you.

Come at me with all you've got!

RUBY-SAMA: LOVE IS WAR. Cast: Bad Ben, Ruby.

-(TRANSITION)-

It was a peaceful day in Bellwood, New York.

That noon, I left the rust bucket to patrol around the town.

Bellwood has some kind of villain magnet. They couldn't just stop recurring in my summer vacation road trip.

"XLR8!"

I ran on the roads of Bellwood at the slowest speed I could imagine until I was caught in some kind of green energy ball.

And a man in a black jumpsuit with green patterns appeared before me with a victorious smile. He wears a green ring with a strange symbol and a mask with half of his face exposed down his nose.

Suddenly, I was detransformed. And the green energy ball disappeared, dropping me onto the road.

And then the exact clone of the abovementioned green man appeared before me and large green scissors came out of nowhere.

And cut off my left wrist...

Subsequently, a big green foot stepped onto me.

"Ha, I stepped in, loser."

WINNER: GREEN LANTERN

"AHHHHHHHH!"

Screaming, I open my eyes wide and find out that I fell asleep, leaning against a tree. It was one heck of a nightmare. Who the heck is the Green Lantern guy anyway?

After a moment, I notice Ruby sitting right in front of me, intently staring into my eyes.

"Ruby... what are you doing here?"

"Watching you sleep," she replies. "Did you have a nightmare?"

I sigh. "Yeah. A random green guy defeated me for some reason in my dream."

Shit, I wish it was a true story. Ben Tennysons are so arrogant, I don't mind if a random green guy defeats a Ben Tennyson without a proper reason.

If that Ben were me? Oh, I will thank that guy in advance for killing me. I've got a whole lot of bullshit like cursed immortality so I doubt it.

"There, there," she pulls me into her chest and pats my head, much like nursing a child. "Nothing to fear."

"Haha," I laugh dryly. "Of course. With you here beside me, I fear nothing. Hahaha..."

Hey, the glorious me! You are exaggerating a lot.

Wait, if I become her boyfriend, will I have to serve my blood to her every night?

AHHHHHH! I don't have a vampire fetish!

"Ahem..." a masculine cough cuts off my thoughts.

It was Cam Haulia.

"We prepared a feast for all, Ben and Ruby."

"Oh,... thanks," I respond to his invitation, escaping Ruby's grip.

An hour later,

"OK, everyone. Nice to meet you all here. We will begin our training shortly. Thank you."

Preparations were simple. A wooden stand for each person. I tried researching their biology and decided to teach them how to kick properly.

"Before exercise, we have to relax our muscles."

While the rabbitmen start exercising, I take out my status plate.

I didn't ask why but Ruby volunteered to teach Shea personally.

Status Plate... I haven't checked my stats for nearly a month. I don't care... really. But... uh, shit, maybe I care. I curiously wait for the stats to appear on the plate.

Name - Benjamin Kirby Tennyson

Age - 17

Gender - Male

Level - 2

Class - Transmutation Artist (Synergist) || Unknown Disturbance Found || Error

Strength - 12 || Unknown || Error

Vitality - 12 || Unknown || Error

Resistance - 12 || Unknown || Error

Magic - 320 || Unknown || Error

Magic Resistance - 320 || Unknown || Error

Skills

• Transmutation

• Cyclone Joker

• Blaster Mastery

• Master Swordsmanship

• Rising of the Shield Hero

• Great Bow of Dawn

• Heat Metal

• Lightning Sonic

• Thunder Mach

• Rabbit Tank

• Luna Trigger

• Magic Edition

• Language Comprehension

What!? I am still on Level 2! Wait, isn't it the level I reached when I practiced with Meld in the training ground? So I didn't improve at all.

Many abilities are still showing "error" for some reason. And I've got a bunch of extra skills – possibly from magic learning. Magic Rewrite a.k.a. Magic Edition is a type of spell that's unique to me, which allows me to create or edit the magic spells efficiently.

Wait, WTF is Cyclone Joker? Oddly, I see some Kamen Rider elements here. Cyclone Joker, Heat Metal, Luna Trigger, Lightning Sonic, Thunder Mach, and Rabbit Tank. Ha, what a joke. All these spells are created by overwriting the already-existing spells.

"Benny-boy."

I was startled by a voice that came out of nowhere.

"Oh, it is you, Ruby. Don't startle me."

"You are only level 2?"

"Y-yeah. What's with that?"

She faces her back at me and begins to walk away.

"Nothing. I'm just impressed," she replies with a monotonous voice.

It might be something embarrassing so I won't ask her for the details.

"How is Shea? Is she doing well?"

I ask, throwing the status plate into the inventory.

"Her skills have developed," she says. Her expressionless face makes it difficult to read her. "Yet she can't still defeat me."

"You are a powerful mage and she uses a club."

"Hmm..." and then she walks away.

I turn towards the exercising rabbitmen.

"Alright, everyone. Let's practice kicking," I order them and transform into Haulian.

"You have to make good use of your muscles in the legs... and–"

And so the session continues.

-(SKIP)-

Ten days later,...

That evening, I help them hunt down the nearby monsters and animals.

"No! You can't just run away. You have to defeat it! Slay it! Imagine this as a life-or-death situation! If you hesitate to kill, you will be killed by the monsters!"

"Never show your weakness to the opponents. You have to overwhelm them even if you are weak. If not, you are good as dead."

"Hey, you. Yes, you. What are you doing with that flower? Start training– no, no, no, don't just make a crowd around the flower and FUCKING SLACK OFF! Move, move, you need to kill the monsters!"

"No, the way you grip the spear can cause muscle pain and it puts a strain on your hand and shoulder. Here, look. Grip onto the rod-like this."

"Cam Haulia, everyone else jumped higher than you. Try it again, Haulia!"

"Don't use your fists unless you lack weapons and equipment. Your fists aren't built to punch. So give attention to using a weapon. Fists are the last resort."

"Now, I will form 5-men groups among you guys who will have to hunt for dinner. Go with the group."

Uh... I am totally exhausted after several sessions of lectures. At last, I assign them to hunt animals for dinner.

Letting out a sigh, I sit down on the ground and lean against the tree. My energy is worth spending. But WHY ARE THEY SO DAMN WEAK? Seriously, what kinda man is the God who created this world? I don't disagree he is evil.

But why am I doing all that for them, you ask? Dunno, to be honest. Perhaps the teacher energy that resides in my body suddenly overflows.

Ha... let's not sit and mope around. I get up from the ground and walk towards where Shea and Ruby are dueling each other.

Ruby has taken a special liking to Shea and is teaching her more about how to use magic. Though she was a beastman, Shea has mana and can control it directly so it shouldn't be a problem.

Boom! Bang! Snap! Crackle! Pop! Bam!

What! What just happened!?

I run towards where the sound effects came from with all my strength.

Thunderous sounds echo throughout the trees. The area looks like a war zone. Massive trees with thick trunks lie strewn about like reed stalks, some charred, others frozen, others just twisted horrifically, and huge craters dot the ground as if a meteor shower has struck the earth.

AHHHH! Ehit has abandoned his children and is gonna destroy the world.

Heck no…

When I examine the situation carefully,...

Two girls have been responsible for all of this destruction. And said destruction is still continuing.

"Teyaaaaaah!"

There is a spirited yell, and suddenly a tree at least one meter in diameter flies through the air. It soars toward its target at tremendous speed, fast enough that a casual observer might miss that it is bent at the middle. Velocity and mass grant a deadly amount of force to the tree, and it obliterates any obstacles in its path forward.

"Crimson Javelin."

This nigh-unstoppable force is met with a flaming spear that burned all it touched to ash. Despite the significant mass it possesses, the tree is burned to ash almost instantly. For a moment it is converted into a blazing fireball, before the last of the wood finally burns away and the flames vanish.

"It's not over yet!"

The impact of the Crimson Javelin and the huge tree creates shockwaves large enough to blow away the fog for a few seconds. In that brief window of time, a faint silhouette can be seen dashing through the woods. An instant later, another log hurtles down from the heavens like a meteor. However, its intended target backsteps in time to avoid the thunderous impact while preparing another flaming spear.

It truly is quite a view to watch.

But before she can unleash it, the silhouette runs up to the tree trunk impaled into the ground and gives it an earth-shattering kick. The force of it blows the tree apart, and splinters of wood shoots toward the girl with unimaginable speed.

"Ah! Blazing Barrier."

The barrage of splinters is cut short by a flaming wall that suddenly appeared in midair. Not a single sliver of wood makes it through to her. However...

"Now I've got you!"

"Ah!"

The time it has taken her to cast that spell had been enough for the shadow to get behind her. The girl who has kicked the tree has hidden her presence right after, and then she has used the fog to slip behind her quarry. She holds in her hands a massive hammer that must have weighed more than the girl herself, but she swings it down with the ease one would swing a flyswatter.

Wait, should I intervene!?

"Wind Wall."

Oh, thanks.

The hammer hits the ground with tremendous force. Stone pellets fly in every direction as the rock below is pulverized. However, this barrage of stone is deflected by the barrier of wind the other girl has erected. Additionally, she uses the swirling eddies to whisk herself to a safe distance as well. The girl with the hammer stiffens momentarily, the consequence of using such a huge skill, and her opponent takes advantage of that opening.

Damn… It's exciting to even watch their battle.

"Crystal Coffin."

"Fweh!? W-Wait—"

Realizing her folly, she quickly tries to call for a ceasefire, but naturally, her opponent isn't going to listen. Thinking quickly, she drops her hammer and tries to jump back, but the ice magic has already frozen her feet and is crawling up her legs... Before long, everything but her head is encased in a tomb of ice.

Well…

"I-It's so cold! Please let me out… Ruby."

"...I win," Ruby nonchalantly responds to a begging Shea.

Of course, the two girls that had been fighting so ferociously were Yue and Shea.

At the time, applause is heard, startling the two girls.

The culprit behind the applause is me who walks out of the forest.

"It was exciting to even watch you guys fighting. Good job, Ruby."

I pat her head before turning towards Shea to review her fighting style.

"You have become much stronger..."

"Yes, I was finally able to hit Ruby! A glorious victory!

As always her outfit doesn't leave much to the imagination. Though it is now more durable and can contain her... breasts and perfectly cover her private parts... GRR! She is a beast in many ways. I can just look at Ruby's naked body all day long and won't feel a thing.

"She specializes in strengthening her body, on a monstrous level, too," Ruby explains.

"Good," I reply, my eyes intentionally avoiding Shea's sweaty, seductive body.

"So will you take me with you on your journey, Bennison?"

Please stop calling me Bennison–

Wait, what? It is new... I shoot a glance at Ruby.

"I promised her to take her with us if she defeats me in a duel."

I widen my eyes in surprise.

"Give us a second."

I grab Ruby and take her somewhere private.

"Oh, Ben, are you finally making a move on me?"

"I don't know what you mean. Anyway, are you serious about taking her with us?"

"I have a feeling you will accept her if she asks," Ruby replies. "You will regret if you don't. Her body is really desirable..."

"Wait a minute. For what reason are you taking her with you?" I whisper.

"Hmm? If well trained, she can easily overpower many monsters. She is totally... a tank."

Oh, thanks. I was gonna nosebleed.

"Guys, what are you two talking about?" Shea shouts at us from a distance.

"Hmm, stuff. About training. Ah hahah..."

Suddenly, I sense a massive bloodlust... a group of bloodlusted–

Rabbitmen?

When I tilt my head at the training ground, a group of bloodlusted rabbitmen are seen to have just come back. No mistake, they are Haulian Tribe rabbitmen.

But something's definitely different about them.

"Shea... where is Boss?" Cam Haulia asks. His voice sounds like a mafia small-timer.

And who the hell is "BOSS?"

"Oh, guys, what happened to you?!" I ask, stepping out of the forest and examining them in surprise.

"There you are, Boss. We hunted down all those monsters you wanted."

Oops... I look at the pile of several mint green rhinoceros-like monsters in horror.

"O-oh... y-you sure... did," damn the bloodlust is too intense. This glorious Bad Ben can't compete...

"F-father, your speech is... well, everything is different," Shea comments.

"Isn't this too much?" I question.

"A whole lot of them came after us, and they had the nerve to try and kill us... so we cut them all down..."

Everyone... wh-what in the real hell has happened?

The bloodlust is too powerful, every monster in the area will probably leave.

A woman holds up her knife that shines reflecting the sunlight. "They were so annoying, but their screams were such a pleasure..."

"Benny, what did you teach my people?" Shea says.

Crap, what did I teach them?

They are even scarier than me. Wait, that means... they surpassed their teacher in a sense?

"Um... haha," I laugh awkwardly at Shea. "I wonder what I taught them..."

"How to fight," Ruby suddenly answers with an expressionless face.

"Anyway... I am not eating dinner with you guys today again..." I declare to the rabbitmen.

Cam Haulia holds up his knife, even looks like he's threatening me. "Why, Boss?"

"I-I... am gonna eat this all monster meat."

There isn't a thing Bad Ben fears.

And what Bad Ben fears ... is... a group of bloodlusted Haulia Rabbitman.

"Guys! Tomorrow, we are moving back to the original village," I declare.

"Why?" The woman with a knife asks. "It's more fun here. We can kill as many monsters as we want."

Nope. You are a monster yourself.

AHHHH... I am so evil that I turned the whole tribe of innocent people into monsters.

And? Anyway...

"No!" I courageous announces. I can be stabbed anytime soon. "You all have to be safe. When you go out hunting, there will be kids and only a few people are left in the village. Then... what if a very dangerous and scary monster rampages your village?"

"Hmm... fair point, Boss," much to my surprise, Cam Haulia and his fellows take the bait. "Alright, we are leaving tomorrow. And Boss is eating dinner with us tonight."

"Wait, I said I wouldn't–"

Next day,

We departed for the Verbergen, a Beastman nation.

I doubt Verbergen will accept these bloodlusted monsters.

Well, while I don't really find a reason to interfere with their "political" affair, I will have a few words with the superiors to accept the Haulia tribe again.

"I don't know the Sea of Trees or the Grand Tree but… there are a lot of monsters there, right?"

I don't really have any interest in other than killing monsters. Helping people… not my style. And now I don't know why I am helping them out.

My heart is twisted, and I know that. I don't understand my own heart and desires.

"The Grand Tree is considered holy ground, so people usually don't approach it, but it's not exactly forbidden land or anything, so it's possible we might run into people from Verbergen or other outlying settlements there. Since we're all wanted, we'd rather avoid being found by anyone."

Cam Haulia warns me.

He has returned to his normal self, which relieves my worries.

Suddenly I sense a sound.

There is a faint hiss, and the sound of multiple somethings being ejected can be heard. A second later,

Thud. Thud. Thud. "Kiiiiiiiiiii!?"

What's that?

Three monsters of unknown appearance can be heard falling to the ground, screaming in pain. A moment later, three four-armed monkeys suddenly burst out of the fog, each of them about sixty centimeters tall.

Arachnichimps? No, impossible.

Ruby brings her hand up against one of them and whispers her spell's name.

"Wind Blade."

A sharp blade of wind flies through the air, cutting one of the monkeys in half. The two halves fall to the ground, the monkey dead before it even has time to scream.

It is… gory again…

The remaining two split up and try to pincer the group. One of them heads for a nearby kid, while the other bares its claws at Shea.

And before I can do anything, an adult rabbitman jumps into the air and kicks the monkey, sending it flying. As for Shea, she has already destroyed the monkey when I look at her.

Shea smiles at me holding up a thumb-up.

Cam alerts me that we are surrounded by now.

The rabbitmen's ears all twitch nervously as they try to figure out how many there were.

When they discover the identity of their opponents, the rabbitmen all grimace. Shea takes it a step further, and her face is completely pale.

Judging from Shea's reaction… it is definitely something worse than monsters.

Ruby uncharacteristically frowns, and I hold up my Omnitrix in a ready stance.

The culprit walks out of the forest.

"You there... Why are there humans in your midst! State your race and clan!"

A burly beastman, with a striped tail and a pair of tiger ears, appears.

The tiger beastman is looking incredulously at Cam as if he were some kind of race traitor.

There is a dangerous-looking two-handed sword in his hands. The couple dozen beastmen surrounding us are all glaring at the rabbitmen, clear outraged.

Shit, crappy discrimination again. As someone from a universe of symbiotic species, I am somewhat angry with the situation.

Regardless, the Haulia rabbitmen aren't scared a bit.

Cam begins to speak calmly. "We are…"

"A white-haired... rabbit girl? You must be the Haulia tribe in the reports. You're a disgrace to all beastmen. You tricked your fellow beastmen for years, hiding that despicable demon girl, and now you're even bringing humans into our midst!? Traitors! I won't listen to any of your excuses! You're all going to be executed here! Everyone, cha—"

"Let me tell you something, tigerbrain whose name I don't know and I don't care about!"

The rabbitmen step aside to make a path for Rath who has challenged the Tigerman.

Rath's anger has risen up his throat. Rath walks towards the tigerbrain and glares at him, without a single speck of fear.

"What are you–" The tigerbrain gasps.

Rath grabs and throws him into a nearby tree with ease. And then Rath charges at the tigerbrain before he can recover and leaps into the air.

"Polaris PILEDRIVER!"

This is one of Rath's iconic moves.

Seriously Rath doesn't know why but Rath can't control his anger. And Rath desires to beat the shit out of the tigerbrain.

"Rath doesn't care if you are a tiger! Rath doesn't care how powerful you guys are. And he doesn't care who you are," Rath declares angrily, pointing his index finger at the surrounding beastmen. "If you hurt Rath's friends,... if you badmouth his friends, Rath will beat the shit out of you."

And then Rath stomps again onto the tigerbrain, who is even bulkier than Rath himself.

"Ouch…"

Lemme tell ya somethin' whoever is reading this story!

Rath is the strongest being in the universe. No one is stronger than Rath. If you say you are stronger than Rath, he will beat the crap out of you!

Rath is about nine feet tall. He resembles an orange and white bipedal tiger with one black claw coming out of each wrist and no tail. He is also muscular and has green eyes and black stripes on his shoulders, head, legs, and upper body as well as a white jaw, neck, chest, stomach, hands, and feet. The Omnitrix is located in the center of his chest.

"What… what are you?" the Tigerbrain asks weakly.

"Glad you asked. Rath is the boss of the Haulia tribe of Rabbitmen. If you hurt his people, Rath will never forgive you."

Rath isn't anything like a beastman. No… Rath is more like a talking animal–

Who the heck is calling Rath a talking animal? Rath will beat the crap out of him.

"So... you are also a disgrace to our kind..."

"Too bad," Rath says lifting the tigerbrain in the air. "Rath isn't your kin, tigerbrain." And then Rath throws him... right into the bush where a beastman is hiding to ambush Rath and his people.

"Now leave quietly, will you?"

The green light blinds all the beings in the area before revealing Rath's human self...

Me. Benjamin Kirby Tennyson.

"A... a human?"

The enemy beastmen begin to murmur in disbelief. The tigerman and his disciple get out of the bush.

"Identify yourself, human!"

"I believe I have already answered a smiliar question," I declare, unfazed.

The tigerman then realizes... that...

"You are... yet why are you protecting them!?"

"Because I am not a good human," I respond reluctantly. "I am a monster, I am evil. I am everything else... but I'm not a good human."

"Monster... you aren't making sense. What are you after?"

"State one or two reasons why I should tell you about my intentions."

There is a moment of silence.

"You sided with the unworthy Haulia tribe–"

Suddenly, a giant fist bigger than his face appears in front of him and punches him in the guts, sending him flying.

"You've... made a humungous mistake."

The surrounding enemy beastmen hold their weapons up and point towards me who has become Humungosaur.

"You are nothing more than a hypocrite who encouraged the genocide of the Haulia tribe, tigerbrain."

"Ha..." the tigerman struggles to get up from the ground. "You... truly... a... monster..."

"I am evil. I show no mercy. I don't hesitate to kill," I declare without any sign of hesitation in my words. "Last time someone did genocide, I beat them to death."

"I don't follow your words at all... I am doing this to protect my people. It's my responsibility. You don't... you don't understand..."

Tigerman can now stand up from ground.

"That's why you are a tigerbrain."

"Hmph..." the tigerman gestures at his people. "You, relay the message to the elders as fast as you can. The guests are here."

According to Cam's words, humans aren't allowed in Verbergen and any human who invades the territory gets executed without question.

"Ben... you don't need to do this far for us," Cam says.

"This much is the least I can do," I reply, detransforming. "I am taking your daughter with me anyway."

"My daughter..."

Hey, mister. Why are you suddenly grinning? It's creepy.

Wait, he is happy because I am taking his daughter... that means...

"Cam, I think you are misunderstanding something..."

"No, I don't. I know my daughter is so beautiful... but I don't mind getting married to you."

Oh crap. I suddenly became a lucky harem protagonist.

And you, SHEA! WHY ARE YOU FLUSTERING?!

Ruby now has her in an arm lock for potential flirting with me.

"Sorry. I am sorry! Forgive me!"

Uh... what a troublesome fellow.

Just two weeks ago, she was a worthless bunny girl.

And now... she has changed into a finer warrior girl.

My monologues are interrupted by the announcement of the Omnitrix.

"Seven new DNA samples obtained!"

I smirk wryly as I look down at the Omnitrix.

And so we get to the elders of the Verbergen.

The retinue of unfamiliar beastmen appears as the fog disappears.

Standing in the center of the beastmen is an elderly man with long, flowing blond hair and a pair of striking blue eyes that speaks of long accumulated wisdom. But his body is so frail that it seems a strong gust would blow him away. Though his majestic face is creased with wrinkles, they only serve to highlight his noble appearance.

The most distinctive part of his appearance however is his long, tapered ears.

So... he is an elf, huh?

"Hmm, so you are the human that's been causing a ruckus in our forest. What's your name?"

"Ben Tennyson."

In fact, I planned to throw insults and accusations... but I changed my mind. I shouldn't cause problems for Haulia Tribe.

Thus... for now, I will hide my fangs.

"I am Ulfric Heipyst. have the honor of representing Verbergen as one of its elder. So please tell me the reason why you invaded the territory of the Verbergen."

"Ulfric Heipyst!" I declare, pointing at him. This causes the rest of beastmen to protest and murmur... but the elder holds out a hand to calm them before their anger boils over.

"I accuse you of attempted genocide!"

"Hmm..."

Before the elder can respond, the beastmen burst out opposing me.

"You mere human..."

"Attempted Genocide huh..."

"Don't say nonsense..."

The elder again calms down his people.

"May I know the reason why you say so?"

"Haulia tribe..." I say, pointing at the group of Haulia rabbitmen. "You expelled the whole tribe because they protected their own kind, isn't it true?"

"I can't deny. However, I did it for my country."

"The Haulia people had to run away from monsters and imperial soldiers all the time and faced many problems. Their lives were endangered."

"That's because they wanted to protect someone whom they shouldn't."

I glare at Ulfric. "If the Haulia tribe were to go extinct, it would be genocide regardless of whether it is intentional or not. Just because she is an irregular..."

I smack the Omnitrix faceplate mentally commanding it to transform into Haulian. "... it's not mine to say. But... executing people because of a traditional bullshit? Don't give me that crap."

The beastmen stare at me in awe.

"It's just an excuse to murder people. She doesn't want to be that way. She WAS born that way. She doesn't have a choice."

"What's your point?"

Another green light engulfs the area. Then it dies down to reveal my unnamed tigerman form.

Again, this makes quite a stir in the crowd.

"Fear... why do you murder innocent kids just because they ARE better than you? Because you FEAR they will overwhelm you, huh? And put all the blame on the innocent kids with words like "fate goes bruh". Sorry but I don't take such bullshit. And I don't care if you don't listen to me."

Then again...

"BUT... I will be watching you. I am the boss and the master who taught the Haulia tribe how to hunt and how to become strong. If you hurt even one of them... you will be sorry. Now I am taking your cursed kid with me."

I say, reverting back to human form before transforming again into Jetray.

"Ruby, Shea..." I call out to them.

"... Thanks... Benny..." Shea is blushing for some reason.

Well... maybe I shouldshow her some affection... every once in a while.

"Shut up!" Crap... I planned to show affection but it slipped.

"Hmm..." Shea will probably think I am being mean on her.

"Hurry, get on," I say, lowering my body. "I will give you a piggyback ride."

"Huh? Are you serious?"

"Of course, I am."

"Ben, you cheater," Ruby mutters and flies into the air on her own ability.

"Uh, anyway," I laugh dryly and ready my wings, without caring about my surroundings.

Shea gets onto my back and wraps her arms around my non-existent neck.

"Ready? Hold tightly onto me..."

This soft sensation... Grr... giving Ruby a piggyback ride never gave me this sensation. Because Ruby is... well, flat.

Tsk... breasts. Thankfully, I am an Alien now. I will not fall for a pair of Earthling boobs.

"Passenger Shea, Jetray will now take off~"

"Hoo ray~"

Okay, skip a couple of frames.

"Twenty new DNA samples obtained!"

"So this is the Great Tree, huh?" I wonder out loud.

The great tree... is a GIANT tree. I suspect the tree is as tall as Way Big. Regardless, the tree has long been dead. It is a mystery how it is still standing without rotting away.

No wonder this is the holy ground of Verbergen in a sense.

I wonder what kind of challenges will be waiting for us beyond the entrance.

THE END OF CHAPTER (4).

I planned to rewrite the Masked Rider Omnix as a crossover parody where Bad Ben (After leaving this world) becomes a Kamen Rider. Also, I want to troll some anime characters in the story.

Magic Rewrite isn't an actual skill. Rather it is the embodiment of the curse on Ben's soul.

Thanks for reading.

Next Chapter: My Female Version Can't Be This Cute.

Christopher Paradox Chronos.