BEN 10: THE ONE WHO DEFIES GODS
CHAPTER 10: A RUPTURE ON THE EARTH'S SURFACE
It's been long since I last updated this. My apologies to Ben 10 X Arifureta readers.
Sandworms. A rust bucket. And a baddest Bad Ben. With the black coat blown by the powerful winds that carry the sand from the desert, I slowly approach the colossal sandworms that are dancing in this place where there is nothing but sand nearby.
Cracking my knuckles, I wear a proud smirk… and raise my left wrist.
"Grr!... HUMUNGOUSAUR!"
As I charge at the sandworms, the ground under my feet begins to tremble. No, not because of my footsteps. This is something else. I stop my movement and look around… only to see the ground bulges.
"Oh, shit!"
I open my hands and reach out to brace myself as much more creatures jump out of the bulges and head their way toward me. Clenching my hands, I roll to the side and leap into the air to dodge a sandworm… then pull back my fist to punch the head of the closet sandworm while I am in the air. Then I land in the desert again and stomp on the ground, creating a small quake. It is enough to push back all the sandworms above the ground near me.
I don't think regular Thunderclap will do anything to the sandworms of this size. I am surrounded by at least 20 worms.
At that moment, my eyes catch a human figure lying on the sand. Wait? A human in the desert?
"Oh, no, please don't die. Please don't die. Damn… XLR8!"
I know manipulating fiction on sand will be a pain in the rear. But I rush toward the seemingly unconscious person leaving clouds of dust behind me. Quickly picking up the man, I realize that the sandworms are jumping on me.
"Not so fast…"
The sandworms attack the spot where I was. But I had already moved on. Leaving clouds of sand behind to confuse the giant monsters, I run back to where the rust bucket is parked.
Thankfully, the man isn't dead yet. However… his face is locked in a painful grimace, sweat beaded down his forehead, and his breath comes in short, shallow gasps. He looks so feverish that steam is rising off his body. His blood vessels are all straining against his skin, as if they are being pushed out from the inside. Furthermore, blood is dripping from his eyes and nose.
Damn, just what the hell happened to this guy?
Knock, knock, knock.
No sooner have I knocked on the door with my bio-metallic knuckles than it opens.
"Tennyson-kun—"
"Take care of this guy. Talk later," I rap and put down the man on the truck. Then again, I run back toward the sandworms to take care of the business I left off.
Not gonna lie, these guys are seriously huge.
"Come forth, Atomix, your turn!"
As I slap the Omnitrix symbol on my torso, rays of green light are unleashed and the Omnitrix rewrites my genetic codes again to transform me into Atomix.
"Nuclear power 20%..." creating an energy ball in my hands, I pour my energy into the ball… My body begins to hover in the air.
All the sandworms around me jump on me to assault.
"HAA-MEE-NA HAA-MEE-NA HAA-MEE-NA! Nuclear Winner!"
I release it into the air, resulting in an explosion that blows up the heads of all the sandworms.
Mission clear! Respect 69+
I fly back to the rust bucket and knock on the car door again. It opens just after my call.
"Uh, how is he?"
The person who appears at the door is Tio. Inside the truck, Shirasaki is seen attempting to use her healing magic on the suffering man… But it doesn't work out.
"What happened to him?"
"It seems he digested some poisonous material," Tio explains as no one else is able to. "It causes a mana overload inside his body. Unless we cure him quickly, his organs and blood vessels will rupture because of mana…"
Crap, never knew that mana can cause harm to the human body like that.
"Shirasaki, can you do it?"
She looks down at the man with a pitying look. He seems to be suffering from great pain and strain on his body. Now I look at him carefully, he looks quite young. In his late 20s at most. He wears some traditional getup I've never seen before. It's probably the attire from wherever he came from.
Alright, it's decided.
The past me would never go to that extent for some stranger. But somehow… my heart is now willing to save him. I am not the kind of person who listens to his heart… But this time, dunno why but I lack the strength to resist the will of my heart.
"Shirasaki, please back away. I will take it from now on…"
She gives me a look and steps back uneasily. I approach the sick man and kneel next to him on the floor to examine his condition.
Think, Ben. Think. You have the whole arsenal of 70+ alien forms of different abilities. What can you do for this man?
Mana… Energy… I need to…
"... You need to reduce the mana strain in his body," Ruby suggests.
… Reduce the energy in an organic lifeform. Gotcha…
I tap the faceplate of the Omnitrix to find the right alien for the job. The choice is green with antennae, it has psychic powers… and it must be well fed.
A flash of green light covers the insides of the vehicle, temporarily blinding my teammates around.
Deejay Emcee!
"Thanks for the tip, Ruby."
She gives me a genuine smile and a small nod.
I've never used energy manipulation in this form. I am counting on you, Omnitrix.
Deejay Emcee. Let me introduce him again!
A member of pugnavores — Deejay Emcee is one of the rare aliens with psychic abilities. In this form, I can read minds, feed on the definable emotions of other living beings, and can use psychic abilities — like teleportation (A well-fed pugnavore can travel between the two edges of a galaxy in a second; object creation; and the energy manipulation.
His appearance is similar to humans… except for his green skin and a pair of antennae sticking out of the head. His energy manipulation is also different from Crystalsapien's (Chromastone) and Conductoid's (Feedback) energy manipulations. He doesn't need to touch to control energy.
Checking on his body, I finally get a grasp of the mana flow but it's really out of control. Excessive mana causes the mana flow to overload and affects his organs including blood vessels.
Concentrating my mind on the mana I am manipulating via psychic powers, I hold out my hands over his body as if I were using some magic spells.
Then I flip one hand and open it. Various kinds of energy from my surroundings swirl around me and gather on my palm, forming an energy sphere. But in a blink, when the sphere vanishes, residing in my palm is a small red pill.
"It's prepared..." I mutter, remove an invisible energy ball from the man's body, and turn it into a form of chemical energy. Then I put it into the red pill in my other hand.
As soon as the excess mana is removed, the man's breathing begins to turn normal. He doesn't regain his consciousness yet.
Alright, now I need to suppress the symptoms of the disease.
"I'm done here, so please heal him, Shirasaki-san."
"Hai, leave it to me!"
As I step down, Shirasaki stands just next to the unconscious man.
As she begins casting her magic, the bright light covers the entire vehicle. After she has healed the patient, he groans and opens his eyes. Seems that he has finally regained his consciousness.
His eyes look around slowly, wondering where he is. And then his gaze stops on Shirasaki.
"A goddess? I see, you've come to take me..." he mumbles to himself.
He reaches out a shaky hand toward her. I can't help but laugh... internally. Alright, I've decided to pull a joke on this...
"Yeah, man... Welcome from hell," I jokingly say, gaining his attention.
His gaze turns toward me... who is a green man with a pair of antennae on his head? He flinches at my appearance. Well, my appearance right now is questionable. Seriously, I just want to know what he is thinking after seeing my form.
"... So I died before fulfilling my purpose..."
He sighs. His purpose... I wonder. Traveling alone in the middle of a desert.
Shirasaki gently elbows me for taking my jokes too far.
"Ahem, you are not dead, mister," she says with a smile and holds up her staff. "I am actually a priestess. Your sickness was cured by this person," she explains, pointing at me. "And I replenished your health. So you are alive."
"Uh, Goddess, thank you so much. Sir monster, too..."
A new achievement obtained! Saved a person in the middle of the desert! Gained the title — Sir Monster.
"I am not a monster. I am an alien, a person who comes from the stars."
"So you are a god?"
A god of stars?
Jokes aside...
"Just what the hell are you doing in the desert, huh?"
"I thought both me and the dukedom were doomed, but it seems God hasn't abandoned me yet," he mutters quickly.
Oh, yeah, now I am pissed...
"Dukedom? What's that?"
"Kingdom is a country governed by a King. So dukedom must be a nation governed by a Duke!" Shea eagerly answers.
"I know that much!"
The man cringes at my impatient glare. So he speaks up.
"Do you need water?" I ask.
"Uh, please."
I raise my hand and open my palm... And much to the man's surprise, the refrigerator (which he doesn't know what it is) suddenly opens and a bottle of water flies out of it... shakily toward me and lands in my palm.
His jaw drops, astonished.
"You... really are a god."
Oh, no, what the heck is he thinking? He is a resident of the world of magic.
"Cut it out. Just drink this."
I gently throw the bottle toward him. He catches it... And... examines the bottle from all sides.
"How... do you open this thing, sir?"
I figured that much. I was an idiot to just give him a plastic bottle forgetting he couldn't open it.
I open the lid and give it back to him.
As he drinks the water as if there is no tomorrow, I shoot a glance at my gang.
"Uh... What's for dinner?"
"You are really showing him hospitality, Master," Tio comments.
I can't deny it. Living in Japan for a while will certainly mold you into a polite and hospitable person.
"This water... It tastes different from the one I usually drink."
Hmm... I don't know man. It's the water I produced by absorbing the moisture in the air and tuning the ratio between acidic and basic properties — making it pH 7 water! The whole process is the work of Water Hazard.
"It lacks impurities." I whistled.
"Oh, okay..."
Wait, are you not interested in my well-produced water?
"First, let me thank you for saving my life. Had I died back there..." he mutters. "Ankaji would have been finished. My name is Bize Feuward Zengen. I'm the son of Ankaji's duke, Lanzwi Feuward Zengen."
Ankaji? Damn, I am every bit clueless about it.
"So your name is Bize…" Myu says. "If you have any problem, Papa will help you. He is a good man."
She is promoting my reputation. Such a good daughter…
"Ahem, you said "Ankaju would have been finished," right? What happened to… Ankaju?"
"Can you guys really help me?"
He isn't doubting us. More like… He's worrying if that would burden us.
"Don't worry," Ruby says. "He doesn't look like it… But Benny is pretty capable."
"Yeah, yeah, I agree with Ruby in that aspect!" Shirasaki says.
He nods at us and begins to explain.
"Then… Please hear me out. The thing is…"
Four days ago, many people in Ankaji succumbed to a fever of unknown cause. It had come out of nowhere and struck 20,000 of the city's 270,000 people on the first day alone. Of those 20,000, 3,000 had symptoms so severe they'd lost consciousness. Doctors worked around the clock to try and figure out what the cause was, but it eluded them. All they could do was delay the symptoms.
As the days passed, more and more victims appeared. Worse, many of the doctors fell prey to it as well. Soon, there weren't enough doctors left to look after all the patients. Finally, casualties started appearing. The remaining doctors were unable to siphon all of the patients' mana, and those who went without treatment for too long died. The city despaired. No one had heard of a disease that killed within two days of symptoms first appearing.
On a hunch, one of the city's pharmacists cast Appraise Liquid on the city's water supply.
Upon doing so, he discovered the wells had been tainted with a poison that made its victims' mana go berserk. Fearing the worst, they quickly assembled an investigation team to examine the oasis. As they'd expected, the oasis too had been poisoned.
For desert cities like Ankaji, oases were their lifeline. They were guarded twenty-four-seven, and maintaining them was the city's highest priority. It would have been nigh impossible for an intruder to sneak past the guards and poison the oasis.
The investigation team couldn't fathom who'd done such a thing, or why. However, they had bigger problems to worry about. This meant that the only drinkable water in the city was whatever they'd gathered before the oasis had been poisoned. Plus, they still had no idea how to save the people already infected.
Actually, that wasn't strictly true. They knew of one way that might save those already infected.
A mineral, known as stillstone. It is a special mineral that can silence mana near it. It grows in small quantities inside the Grand Gruen Volcano to the north and is extremely valuable. Magical researchers often use it as a safeguard against accidents. By crushing it into a powder, they can feed it to the patients and calm their rampaging mana.
However, the distance between the city and the volcano is great. A round trip would take one month at the least. And all of the adventurers skilled enough to delve into the Grand Gruen Volcano have already been knocked out by fever. Most adventurers don't even possess the strength to make it past the eternal sandstorm that raged around the volcano.
Besides, even if they had capable adventurers left, they didn't have enough water to outfit them for the journey there. Their only remaining option was to ask the kingdom for help.
After his explanation,
"Sorry, I didn't quite catch that. Can you summarize it into 20 words or something short?" I nonchalantly speak.
Bize's jaw drops in astonishment. "Huh?"
"You don't have mercy with your words, master…" Tio whispers with a gentle seductive voice.
"In short, their town has poison problems," Ruby explains with a monotonous voice. "Water poisoning to be exact. The oasis they had been using began to contain poison. Without that oasis, they don't have any other water source that can provide the whole town with water. Therefore, they decided to ask the kingdom for help."
"Aw, thanks," I cup my chin and think for a while. "What's with that 'Great Gruen Volcano?'"
"Minerals that can cure the sick grow there. But no one can reach out at this time," Bize answers.
"Father, Mother, and even my sister were infected on the first day. We used what little stillstone we had left to cure them, but they still haven't fully recovered from the ordeal. They're definitely in no state to travel. This is why I left Ankaji with my guard yesterday to head to the capital. Since I hadn't shown any symptoms, I thought I hadn't been infected... but I guess they were just delayed for me. I guess how long it takes for symptoms to appear varies from person to person. I had been so preoccupied with the events happening in the city that the possibility had never even occurred to me. I should have taken some stillstone too, just in case. Every second wasted is another precious Ankaji life gone... I can't believe I was so foolish!"
Talk as much as you want, I will think of an idea to save those people.
Though I can cure them through Deejay Emcee's abilities, I am not sure Shirasaki can heal that number of people.
"So… you came out alone into the desert?" Ruby asks.
"No… my guards died protecting me from those monsters…"
It's a miracle he's still alive.
"I think…" Tio speaks up, "the sandworms couldn't attack him because of the excessive mana in his body. The poison would also affect them if they ate him."
"I would, that is to say, the dukedom of Ankaji would like to formally submit a request to you. Please, lend me your strength." Bize bows his head low at me.
Silence falls inside the car. I cross my arms, thinking about how I can heal those people. A part of my heart is telling me Alien X can handle it. But no, I don't think Bellicus and Serena will accept the idea of healing tens of thousands of worthless mortals.
The others on my team — Shirasaki, Shea, Ruby, and Tio apparently leave the final decision whether to help the dukedom of Ankaji or not. Their eyes are all on me in silence. I feel hot under pressure. I also want to help… but…
At the time, Myu pulls my coat, asking… "Daddy, we're going to help him, right?"
"Of course."
My daughter's asking, no one's gonna change my answer.
"We're gonna help them. Bize, give me directions to your town. Be quick."
After canceling my transformation, I walk to the driver's seat and drop myself onto it, leaning against the backrest. Bize is petrified due to the mixed emotions of surprise and happiness.
"You are not Sir Monster," he mutters, still processing what just happened. "That doesn't matter. Thank you so much. For helping us… But…"
"Doubting our power, are you?" With a kick on the lever, the engine of the Rust Bucket roars proudly and loudly. "We are a party of gold-rank adventurers. Just trust us, man."
Didn't know that the "Gold-rank adventurer" thing would be useful that way. Good job, Ilwa Chang!
"No, no, I have no doubt you could easily procure the stillstone that I need. However, we also need to solve my city's water problem."
I look up at his reflection in the rearview mirror.
"Uh, haha, don't worry about it. It's nothing I cannot handle…"
I chuckle at the idea. We have Ruby who has powerful water magic. And me… Water Hazard can produce tons of gallons of water without breaking a sweat.
I kick the lever once more again, catching Bize in surprise. "What… what is that sound? Where does it come from?"
"We are inside a magic vehicle called the Great Machine Dragon," Tio answers, giggling.
"What?! We are inside a dragon?!" He exclaims.
That's what you are surprised at?! Idiot.
"Bize, just come over here and sit beside me. I need directions to drive this thing to your place."
He obediently sits on the seat to instruct me to the destination.
"Oops, I know it's a little late but I am Ben Tennyson. Nice to meet you."
-(BREAK)-
After a short drive, the walls of Ankaji shimmered into view. The walls and buildings were all built from the same milky-white material, a stark contrast to the color of the sand that surrounded them. I also notice the pillars of light that jutted from the walls at regular intervals. The pillars of light curve into each other and converge high in the sky, creating a dome that covered the city.
Whenever anything hits the dome, ripples spread from the point of impact, as if someone throws a stone into a pond. It makes for a wondrous sight.
The dome itself is a magical sight to behold.
Rumbling loudly, the proud Rust Bucket has approached the gates of the town. There are some guards nearby… but they are too surprised to react to our arrival. Showing off a result of a mechanical age to the men from a medieval age, I couldn't feel cheekier.
I slow down and finally stop the vehicle just before the gates. The guards walk toward us with caution.
The window glass on the driver's side slides down… revealing me and Bize next to me. This is also a surprising view for the investigating guards.
"Good Afternoon…" Bize awkwardly greets. The guards snap and immediately show respect to him.
"Young Master Zengen! Are you back?" The one who looks the oldest asks, approaching the window on my side.
"Yeah, I also called help."
"As expected of Young Master!"
As the guards continue to congratulate their foreseen victory, I drive the Rust Bucket past them into the town.
Past the gates is the entire city in all its splendor.
"Wow…" I can't help but utter at the sight.
A large oasis lies to the east, sparkling in the early afternoon sun. Great big palm trees grow all around it. It is, like, a view of miracles to see the oasis and the green trees altogether in the middle of the desert. Small canals branch out from the oasis, crisscrossing the rest of the city.
It is, like, a water town in the middle of a desert. I can even see some boats in the oasis. Though, it seems the boats are unused for a while.
Just more and more wonders add to our short sightseeing trip. More trees dot the streets, and there are entire squares that have been converted into gardens. To the north is the city's agricultural district.
To the west is the royal palace. Unlike the milky-white stone that seems to be favored in the rest of the city, the palace is made of pure white marble. It sets it apart from the rest of the city, which likely has been the intention of the architect. The palace is surrounded by crude rectangular buildings on all sides… which I suppose are other administrative buildings.
Despite all those features… it feels…
"But... it feels empty," Myu said quietly.
She is right. Despite its magnificent appearance, an air of gloom hangs over the city. The streets are practically empty with a majority of the city's population infected with a mysterious disease. After all what happened, it's not unexpected.
"I wish I could have shown you what the city looked like before the plague struck. At any rate, my apologies, but we have no time to waste. I promise I'll show you around the city once this crisis has been averted. For now, though, we must make for the palace. I need to report to my father."
"We are following your orders, Bize," I smile at him. "So don't hesitate to ask us for anything you need."
He gives me a nod and afterward gives me directions to the palace.
And so after a short drive, at the palace:
"Father!"
"Bize! What happened... Wait, what in Ehit's name is that!?"
I secretly gulped down my chuckle at the mention of Ehit.
The "father" of Bize, Lanzwi Feuward Zengen, is also the duke of Ankaji region. Judging from his behavior and speech, he is also nowhere near "good health." Despite his illness, the old duke must have forced himself to work for the sake of his dukedom. Like father, like son.
Atop it all, I am just glad to encounter good governors who are loyal to their people.
"Oh, sorry, Lord Lanzwi. I am an adventurer who met Young Master Bize in the desert."
I introduced myself. A reaction from him is expected.
"It… Talked. The four-armed monster talked!"
Though Bize was cured from mana excessiveness, and healed already, he was in no condition to walk a long way up into the palace so I gave a hand… I mean, four arms to carry him all the way up to the throne room where the lord was in.
Well, it's better than Shirasaki piggy-backing him. It'd be so weird if she did.
Lord Lanzwi takes a glance at the five girls past me and gives me a weird look. Four pretty girls and one child.
While I can't read what he is thinking (since I am Four Arms) I guess he thinks one of the four ladies is my wife — then the child is my daughter. His best assumption must be Shea being Myu's mother.
Oh, shit, the heck am I thinking!
I put down Bize on the floor and cancel my transformation just before the Lord. Since I have seen these two are good-enough people, I don't have to hide myself.
"... You are… Actually human?"
"Yeah, and as I said, I am Ben Tennyson, a gold-rank adventurer. I have taken up the Young Master's request."
"Oh… Oh…"
Shirasaki interrupts us. "First, I think you need to take a rest."
"I…" the lord looks at her uneasily. "... Will be fine."
He walks toward the throne and drops himself onto it. Then a butler comes in and gives the lord a bottle of powder I don't know.
"Please help yourself, sir."
This must be some sort of edible medicine—
"See?" Bize whispers, though with a worried look. "It's stillstone powder."
"... I see."
But that little amount of still stone powder isn't really helping the lord's condition.
I let out a sigh and walked up to him.
"Please sit tight, sir," I give him an assuring smile. "I will cure you once and for all."
For patients like this duke who still has spare energy, I can cure them just by reducing the mana tension. Then we don't specifically need to replenish their health because they have spare energy to act — unlike Bize.
"Can you really… Cure those patients?" The duke asks. I raise an eyebrow at his question, for not questioning whether I could cure him or not, but inquiring if I could cure those patients.
"While I am confident I can," I pause and look around to see Bize and the lord's butler who are intently listening to me. "I can't say I would heal them all the same way. I mean… I am pretty sure I can make a healthy person out of you. But some patients have extra work for the physicians."
"I understand. As long as you can…"
He leans back against the backrest.
"Alright, just close your eyes and relax," I remind him, though it's not really necessary.
With a flash of green light, I assume the form of Deejay Emcee again to take over the role of the doctor.
The butler looks a little shocked at my new appearance. But he regains his composure quite quickly.
"Hey, man, sorry to ask you, but I want you to bring a healing potion here if you have one."
The butler himself doesn't seem to be fully healthy. Not a concern, I will heal him after the lord.
Lanzwi weakly opens his eyes and stares at me. All I can do right now is respond to his look with a smile.
Then I remove the excess mana from his body and transfer it into the same red pill. Then I change the nature of the poison and remove it as a form of energy. The process seems pretty stupid overall for others.
"I… Feel lighter. My body feels lighter. I'm actually cured!"
The Lord says with a delighted tone and quickly gets up from his throne to walk up to me and grab my hand.
"... Thanks, Sir Tennyson. You are my savior! Now I have no doubt you can help my people be healthy again!"
I feel a little uncomfortable as I become fed up with compliments.
"Lord Lanzwi, now you should let Bize handle your share of work and take a rest. And…" I tilt my head to see the butler. "Are you okay, man?"
"... I am fine," he quietly replies.
When I look back at Lanzwi, he nods. He also thinks his butler needs treatment.
"Please help him, Sir Tennyson."
As the butler is standing next to the duke, I reach out my hands and remove the excess mana, freeing him from suffering.
"Now… We need to make a source of pure water… For the people who just recovered to consume…"
I cup my chin again to think out an idea… Considering we need to build a lake or pool to contain the water, we need a large space.
"Lord Lanzwi… We need a wide space," I ask the Lord without hesitation.
"Huh? Oh yes, there's one in the agricultural district..."
Agricultural district, huh… This can provide us with a stone to shoot down two birds. The water left can be used for agriculture.
"We are going there, guys."
Bize is the one who is assigned with the task to show us the way again.
In the agricultural district…
We find a plain and clean field wide enough to make a temporary solution to the drinking water problem.
"Everyone… Please step back."
Then I transform into Armodrillo and kneel on the field with my hands touching the ground.
Transmutation + Geokinesis. There is no better combination at the time.
"Here we go…"
Digging several feet into the ground, my transmutation skill enables me to build the walls of the pool. Then…
Diamond Head!
I coat the walls with crystals so that they won't be eroded by the water. As a final touch, I cover the bottom floor with a thin crystal layer. After the construction, the resulting fracture looks like a rectangular reservoir. It is at least 200 Square-meters wide.
Bize blankly stares at the finished pool, astonished by my work.
"Alright, this should do it… Ruby, please."
She gives me a nod and hovers in the air, floating toward the reservoir. I also smack the Omnitrix symbol on my torso to change my shape again.
"WATER HAZARD!"
Ruby can only produce a limited amount of water because her magic needs a lot of mana. She still helps me a lot that way. So I need to create a lot of water for my share.
Absorbing what little moisture in the air, I start creating water out of nowhere and release it through the pores in my palms into the reservoir.
Bize can't catch a break. He is just more and more astounded by the capabilities of our party.
"... You guys… Are seriously amazing. As expected of the god's messengers…"
Thankfully, I am now demoted to the level of a messenger of God.
Ruby also casts her magic and unleashes a lot of water into the crystal reservoir… Until she can't do it anymore.
"Take a rest. I will handle it from now on."
She quietly nods and lands on the bank.
After some time, the reservoir is now filled with water.
"Ahem… Bize…"
I feel a little tired after producing a lot of water. But Bize is still intimidated by my new appearance.
"... Yeah?"
"You can drink this water or use it for other purposes. But I suggest you warm it up or use cleaning methods beforehand."
"... I can't thank you enough…"
I cancel my transformation and walk away.
"... Where are the patients placed?"
The makeshift hospitals that accommodate the patients are set up near the palace. Lanzwi is waiting for us at the gates, with his guards and attendants.
Lanzwi is also amazed when Bize reports to him. But we have no time for chatter.
"Now then…" again I have to transform into Deejay Emcee.
I finished the job as fast as I could. Then Shirasaki takes over the healing job.
"Shea… Help her with it."
"Roger, Bennison!"
Now then it's the matter of still stone.
Although I could calm the conditions of most patients (including Bize and his father), many of them still needed the help of still stone because I could not completely clean the root of the poison. I am totally worn out even so. It's a matter of time before the poison will become effective again since it is still in their bodies.
So only a sufficient amount of still stone will completely kill the poison from its roots.
Medicine, huh… I am really bad with potions… I am not an alchemist after all.
I turn toward the physicians who are also just recovered.
"I have some questions…"
I asked them for the reports on the amount of still stone needed to cure all the patients.
"Bize… Where is the oasis located?"
"... Uh, I will show you the way."
Sorry, man, you are tour-guide today. And so he led us to the east… Where the great oasis exists.
The oasis is filled with pure blue water… It's so clear that it's hard to believe it's poisoned.
"If I heard it right, you guys have an investigation team to examine what happened to this water, right?"
"Yeah…"
I raise my left wrist and tap the Omnitrix to transform again. Bize jumps back as a reflex when I am engulfed in green light for a split second. He isn't used to my form changes yet.
I am Water Hazard again.
"... Sorry. Yeah, we have an investigation team. They examined the water, and the rivers split from it, and even the nearby wells. They also investigated the underground reservoirs."
"And? What's the result?"
"... Yeah, the underground reservoirs were the only places that hadn't been poisoned. Basically, we examined everything within a few meters of the oasis. Though we haven't explored the bottom of it yet."
"Understandable…" so there must be something in the water. "I will examine it. Thanks."
"Will you?" Bize asks.
"Some interesting stuff, why not?"
I walk up to the water and absorb a small amount through the pores in my palm. Hmm… Hydrokinesis probably allows me to sense the contents of water.
It certainly contains foreign chemicals… No, magical particles to be exact.
"I am diving in."
"But Sir Tennyson—"
I leap into the air, transforming into Big Chill in the process.
The water is polluted and still contains poison. It means I shouldn't breathe in the water. That's why I chose Big Chill — who doesn't need to breathe.
I dived deep into the oasis and swam around for some time to see the contents of the water.
And then I find a portion of water that has a different obvious color from the rest of the water body.
"That is… A slime?"
A purple-colored creature of a large undefined aqueous body swirls in the lake.
It's… Huge!
I turn intangible and swim toward the creature… I am sure — this slime or whatever it is… It is the foreign object in this oasis.
I open my wings and freeze its body together with some water surrounding it. After completely isolating the creature in ice, I transform into Jetray.
Jetray has a little more strength to lift this body of ice. It might be so heavy…
I lift the frozen creature from below and raise it above the water.
"Whoa… What the hell is that thing?" Bize gasps in horror.
I throw the iced statue onto the bank near Ruby, Tio, Myu, and Bize.
"If I am not wrong… this is the monster that's polluting the oasis."
"A monster— Wait, is that a Bachulum?"
Don't think much of it. Bachulum ~ slime.
"Dunno… But I'm sure this isn't a part of your oasis."
"Y-yeah…"
I give a nod to Tio. She returns me a nod and turns toward the frozen monster. Then she waves her fan, creating torrents of flames… It quickly burns down the monster to ash.
Man, my party is full of scary people…
I transformed into Water Hazard again to test the water. It's still polluted. But I don't think I can do anything anymore — I am exhausted.
"The water… It's still polluted. But I don't think the underground veins are damaged so the fresh water should return to normal in a few days… Since it doesn't contain poison that makes your mana berserk anymore."
Now then…
"Myu…" she is in Tio's arms.
I gently pat her head. "... Please remain here with Tio, okay?"
"Where are you going, daddy?"
"... I need to get to the volcano and collect the still stones. While we are at it, it's possible to produce medicine against the poison."
"But master…" Tio gives me a worried look.
"Don't worry. We'll be fine…" I give her an assuring smile.
"Good luck, master…"
"Tell Shirasaki about this, too."
She silently nods at me.
"Alright, Ruby."
Ruby will be my partner for today's expedition.
"... Let's go, Benny."
"Mm."
I ignore the young master's words of gratitude and immediately leave the grounds with Ruby in tow.
-(TRANSITION)-
A volcano is a rupture on the earth's surface.
There are more than one reasons why I headed to the Great Gruen Volcano. Not just about the medicine to cure the sick. While we're at it, I also plan to obtain the age of God magic or some artifact from the labyrinth. It's one of the seven labyrinths I have to visit before defeating the God Ehit after all.
It wasn't long until the sight of a very, very big hill came into our vision.
The Grand Gruen Volcano. It is located approximately 100 kilometers north of Ankaji. It is around 5 kilometers in diameter at its base, and rises to a modest height of 3000 meters. It isn't conical like most volcanoes, but shaped more like a dome. Its summit is flat, however, unlike most domes. Its slope is so gentle that it is more similar to a hill than a mountain. A really, really big hill.
Carrying Ruby in my arms in a princess-carry style, I fly toward the volcano… As Big Chill. It didn't take long for us to reach the volcano…
"Benny…"
"What's it, Ruby?"
"You took me with you because you wanted to spend some quality time with me alone, right?"
Damn, it'd be really freaky to even smile in Big Chill form. This guy has his mouth designed only to scare people. I want to laugh off her words as a joke, knowing she isn't kidding.
Though I am tired, carrying a little girl in your arms as you hover in the air is somewhat a good experience. It's kinda refreshing… And that fragrance Ruby is giving off… She's probably using perfume.
"Perhaps…" I reply nonchalantly, resisting to not let out any emotion of mine.
"Benny…"
"What's it again?"
"Please let me drink your blood to replenish my mana."
I roll my green eyes and look down at her.
"When we are on the ground again…"
"Thanks, Benny."
END OF CHAPTER (10).
Demanding some reviews! Please write reviews on this story so that I can improve it further!
Deejay Emcee. Pugnavore. As you know, this alien is an overrated form of the author — Chris Chronos. If you have any thoughts on Deejay Emcee, feel free to share.
Christopher Paradox Chronos.