BEN 10: RISING OF THE SHIELD HERO
CHAPTER 22: CAL MIRA 2
Sorry for not updating a new chapter for a whole week.
I published five chapters for my new story – Ben 10: The One Who Defies Gods (Ben 10 X Arifureta). If it interests you, please check it out.
Author's note after the chapter.
Following the Queen's suggestion, Rex, Aria, Filo, and I arrived at Cal Mira island, together with Melty Melromarc, the crown princess of the Kingdom. For now, we have no idea where Melty is, but we have left for the wilderness to slay the monsters and level up ourselves.
Rex and others just ascended to phase two so I decided to leave myself out of this training… because I am at least 30 levels ahead of them. You can't blame me – I practically brought the extinction of monsters in the nearby forests of the capital of Melromarc.
"Yeah... King of Claymore!"
Rex lets out a battle cry as he jumps into the air, spinning rapidly: his big fat sword destroying the surrounding slime monsters.
"Sixth Sense Blast: War Cry!"
Aria also yells something and shoots plasma blasts at the monsters using two pistols.
"Rider... Rocket Drill Kick!"
Filo also cries out her move names and leaps into the air before shooting at the monsters and kicking them with her clawed legs.
I am currently flying in the air as Big Chill to examine their battle capability. With me around, their exp points won't improve efficiently. So I decided to leave myself out of this battle. I am at Level 71 anyway.
"Hey, you guys. Why are you shouting your attack names?"
"It's more fun that way, hahaha," as always, Rex can give off a nostalgic aura.
But...
What are you? An anime character?
Japanese superheroes and anime characters like to shout their attack names.
"Aw, nice. If it's Okay for you, feel free to do so."
Hmm, it's not my place to have a say. I say my alien names out loud.
"Ben," Aria calls out to me. "Isn't it time to meet up with L'Arc and Therese?"
I look up at the sky to guess what time it is.
"Hmm, where are we meeting up?" At the time a light bulb lightens up in my head. "Rex, please take care of them. I will go find their whereabouts."
"Okay!" (Rex)
I turn invisible and unfold my wings for faster flight and fly through the air to search for the duo.
Five minutes later...
There you are...
L'Arc and Therese are slaying monsters in the depths of the wilderness. Both are surprisingly skilled. I didn't know what L'Arc's weapon was. It is a scythe.
L'Arc spins around, waving his weapon and pulling the enemy closer while Therese hastily cast a spell that can annihilate the monsters in no time.
Wait... this island is... a place where monsters are abundant.
And strong...
Again, L'Arc is forced to dodge the tackle of a raging monster. But he retains his balance and swings his weapon, striking the monster perfectly. Therese casts a defensive spell to protect L'Arc and herself from a group of smaller monsters that have come for them. As the monsters are pushed away, both Therese and L'Arc go on the offensive and begin to destroy the enemies in a blink.
Wow... their skill is impressive.
I tap the Omnitrix insignia to communicate with Rex.
"Hello, Ben? Have you found them?" (Rex)
"Yeah, I will send you coordinates. Just fly here."
"Roger. —"
And then Rex hangs up.
I descend to the ground and transform back to human before suddenly appearing in front of the duo.
"Monster– oh, is that you, kiddo?" L'Arc says excitedly.
"My team is coming. Let us join the fun!" I give him a thumb-up.
"Thanks for coming here, Ben Tennyson," Therese says.
"Just call me Ben."
I mentally command the Omnitrix to activate the ID Mask.
A minute later,
Rex with his big fat sword on his shoulder and Aria riding Filo arrive at the spot.
"Wow, I didn't expect you to use such a big sword," L'Arc comments.
Rex swings his sword and makes an awesome pose.
"Claymore Hero! Orange Devil!" He shouts.
L'Arc bursts out laughing at that. "Orange Devil? Hahaha..."
"You are laughing too much again, L'Arc."
L'Arc notices the rifle Aria is holding onto.
"What's that weapon?"
"Hmm," I intervene and answer. "It is a device that let you channel your mana easier."
"Oh... you made that, kiddo?"
"Well... yeah."
L'Arc holds onto my shoulders. "You sure do interesting things, shield kiddo."
"Ha... this way our party looks balanced," Rex comments. "But we shouldn't waste any more time. The sun is gonna set soon."
"Oh... sorry," L'Arc apologizes.
And so we begin our hunt.
"Wow... such a big monster..."
It is like a mutated bear... but its level is 67.
The monster pulls back his hand to strike Aria down.
"I'm not letting you!" I yell and project an Air Strike Shield before Aria.
Air Strike Shield + Gourmand Shield!
Suddenly the outer surface of the Air Strike Shield turns mint green with a mouth-like opening. The mouth opens and three tongues escape the shield, wrapping around the mutated bear.
"Now!"
Rex leaps into the air and swings his big fat sword... slicing the monster into two halves.
"Oh... my, good cooperation, kiddo," L'Arc comments, blocking the attack of a bear monster with his scythe. Aria enters his battle and shoots multiple plasma bullets at the monster, exploding its head.
At the same time, Therese casts a defensive energy spell to shield herself and Filo from a tiger monster.
Shit... I know monsters are abundant here but... three at the same time...
"Filo!" Therese calls out.
Filo nods and leaps into the air, casting her wind magic to propel and then deliver a kick right into the chest of the monster.
The bipedal tiger monster roars and swings its hand in hope of striking Filo but I charge in and block its attack in time.
Its hand bounces off the unbreakable diamond shield.
"Now!"
Filo jumps and kicks the tiger monster in the torso.
"Filo did it, Master!"
"Yeah, you sure did. It settles it." I turn towards the L'Arc duo and hold out my right hand.
"Your cooperation is awesome," L'Arc compliments, grabbing my hand and beginning to shake it in a manner.
"It's all dark. Let's call it a day, Ben, and everyone," Therese says.
"Mhmm."
After that, we go to a beachside bar.
"Hey, dude, you don't drink?" Rex calls out to me.
Well, yeah, I don't. I am only 16 after all. And I am not interested in Alcohol.
Moping on the roof, I stare into the sky of this world for no reason, my head is clouded by thoughts.
"No, I don't drink– wait, you drink? Rex!"
I didn't expect it coming.
When I look at the Orange Devil, he is already out cold leaning on the table. He can't handle alcohol or something… I suppose.
Filo is dancing to the music played by the local instrumentalists. The spear dude is watching her dance.
The blue knight also didn't drink for a similar reason as me… but she accidentally drank a sip and now… well, she is also out cold on the same table Rex is leaning on.
I chuckle and look up at the sky again.
Oh my gosh, my team is chaotic… I am so embarrassed, gotta look away.
I jump down the roof on the other side of the bar where people are drinking and having fun. The beach is such a lonely place without anyone having fun around.
I sigh and sit down on the warm sand, sightseeing the tide changes of the sea waves.
"Uh… I still have a job," I mutter to myself, bringing out Therese's crystal bag.
-(BREAK)-
Therese stares at the crafted bracelet in genuine astonishment.
I sigh… it wasn't a wise move. I mean, I used the strange crystals that I mined from the bottom of the sea (via Diamondhead's crystallokinesis) and create a strap only using crystals… The strap is like a metal strap yet it's semi-transparent and shining by reflecting the sunlight. Even with Diamondhead's crystallokinesis, it took a toll on my brain… lmao.
Once a creation is settled… It's time for a review. I breathe in and out secretly feeling nervous as I watch Therese and L'Arc examine the bracelet I gave to them.
"Thank you. This… This is brilliant." she finally comments and it is a compliment.
Ah… A cute girl just complimented me. It is ecstatic.
Tears start flowing down her cheek.
"The jewel… It's filled with joy. I have no idea you are such a master craftsman."
"D-do you have to cry about it?" L'Arc asks with a worried voice.
"Don't you get it, L'Arc? This masterpiece is like a whole new world opening up to me."
"I-I see."
L'Arc earned a scolding from Therese.
"We are a team today again, huh?" Rex says, holding out a fist.
"Yes, glad to team up again, Orange Devil!" L'Arc responds by hitting Rex's fist with his, in a buddy manner.
"Let's go–"
"Here's the reward!" Well, I wasn't expecting that. I was thinking of refusing any reward or ignoring it if they didn't give me. But Therese thrusts an open pocket filled with gold coins.
"Oh, you don't need to give me… Uh, this much." Though I had to use all my willpower to make the details of the bracelet.
Even with my Diamondhead Crystal Cheat, I have never held onto this much money. Hahaha… Ecstasy–
Wait, is it morally wrong? No… Impossible.
"Is it not enough? I figure..." Therese wants to pay more.
I mentally scream and give the bag to my secretary – Aria.
"No, it's more than enough. I am just surprised. I did a jewel thing for the first time and earned this much so... I am a little... hyped."
"Aw, you are weird," Therese slips... "Oh sorry, I didn't mean it."
"Don't mind," I shrug in a carefree manner. "Let's go."
We go to the nearby island on a boat... and Aria rides Filo who can swim in her filolial form.
"Your party is pretty level-high. Therese is 52 and I am 56."
Now L'Arc brings it up, I forgot the true reason for the trip.
I raise my eyebrows. "Hmm, I am level 76. Filo is 47, Aria is 44 and Rex is 50."
"76!? Wow, you are king..."
The second day in a team with L'Arc and Therese.
"Guys, I heard this island is more dangerous. Do we need to make a strategy beforehand?"
Rex questions, transforming his arm into a claymore.
I don't honestly know why L'Arc and Therese ask when they see a man's arm turning into a sword.
"No, not my style. We can strategize in the battle..." L'Arc says, swinging his scythe.
"We... improvise..." I give Rex a thumb-up to cheer him up.
Rex is a good guy with a carefree personality but when he becomes serious, he does everything carefully.
"Ha, if you say so."
After some moments into the forest, we find a group of penguin/eagle-like monsters with mutated wings... standing bipedal on the ground and seemingly unable to fly.
"I'll go first!" The one who charged towards the army of small monsters is L'Arc.
"Right back at ya!" Rex jumps into the air, and lands in the back of the monsters.
"Just another exciting day," I smirk, transforming my shield into the unbreakable diamond shield.
L'Arc and Rex swing their respective weapons and kill the monsters that come into contact with one shot. As I defend Aria from the monsters, she takes out her pistols and slays the monsters in the range.
Filo lands between L'Arc and Rex thus joining the battle.
"Alrighty! I order you, the power of jewels far and wide, heed my call and come to me..."
I tilt my head and see the blue-haired girl start chanting.
"... My name is Therese Alexanderite. My friends, be the force that destroys my targets. Bejeweled Ruby Blaze!"
Her right hand where the bracelet is on becomes engulfed in blue flames. As she waves her hand and unleashes the torrent of blue flame, I grab Aria and sidestep to dodge the flames.
The flames fly through the air towards the largest monster and burn it to ash in seconds.
It's powerful but a pain to cast the spell.
"Oh my, it's so powerful!" Rex exclaims.
"The boss is down but there are still monsters!" I warn them.
Aria brings out her rifle and blasts at the further monsters without moving a bit from her original spot.
I move between Therese and a monster charging at her and block its attack with my shield.
"Defying the logic of the world! FREEZE!"
I chant random words and mentally command the shield to unleash Big Chill's Ice Breath ability which turns the monster into an ice sculpture in no time.
"Thanks..." (Therese)
"Don't mention it. We are comrades after all," I shrug and again jump into the battle.
And... I somehow got to level 80.
In some minutes, the battle is over and this group of monsters is totally wiped out.
"It was fun..." Rex cheer us up... I am feeling a little exhausted. Aria isn't even fazed, yeah, she was just standing there and shooting plasma bullets from afar. Filo? She is as eager as always.
"Master, master! I found their nest!"
"Nest?" I asked.
"Come see this..."
Rex, L'Arc, and I walk towards the bush Filo is pointing at and stick our heads into the bush to see what is on the other side.
The nest of the bird monsters!?
Wait, wasn't the monster Therese slew the boss? Aw, man, this bird is larger and bulkier and even more intimidating.
"Hmm... let's do it!" (Me)
"Just the boss wouldn't be a big deal, but all these tiny ones will be a pain..." L'Arc said.
"Worry not, my soldier," I jokingly reply, changing my shield into a sonorosian shield and getting up.
"Ready!?" When I look back at them, they all nod...
I get out of the bush and enter the nest of the monsters.
"I am the one who stands atop of the sound. SONIC TRIGGER!"
Again, I chant random words and throw my shield at the tiny monsters.
The shield floats in the air and begins to unleash low-frequency waves that arouse the brain of the monsters and cause them to approach the disc at high speed.
"Now! Therese!"
"I order you, the power of jewels far and wide, heed my call and come to me... Bejeweled Ruby Blaze!"
The powerful blue flames engulf the gathered monsters and reduce them to nothing.
"Aria, cover blasts. Rex, L'Arc, Filo! You guys are going!"
"Yes, Master!"
Rex brings out his big fat sword in a blink and leaps into the air like a ninja while L'Arc runs towards the boss monster. Filo, on the other hand, flies through the air and lands between the boss and the tiny ones behind the boss to keep them occupied.
Aria holds up her rifle and aims at the smaller monsters behind the boss. Her precision is so accurate and reliable.
Rex and L'Arc on the other hand begin to battle the boss.
"Therese... let's grant them some support."
"Ok, Ben," and then she starts chanting.
"Defying the natural laws of the world, CYCLONE JOKER!"
The shield turns into the Terraspin shield with holes in the surface. Strong, devastating gales escape the openings of the shield and blow the tiny monsters that try to disturb the Generator and the Scythe Prince.
Another powerful torrent of flames wipes out the remaining tiny monsters in front of the boss. At the time, Filo has taken care of the others and joined the boss battle.
"Wow, this is fun..."
"Told ya," Rex says out loud while he is swinging his blade several times.
Finally, the monster is finished with a powerful swing of L'Arc's scythe.
...
"Ha... I am all used up..." Rex gasps as he leans on my back.
"I am gonna believe he is the real orange devil," L'Arc compliments. "The way you use your sword... and all, they all prove you are not some rookie."
"Yeah, I was an adventurer when I was younger. I retired to work for a demi-human village."
"Are you not an adventurer now...?" Therese questions curiously.
"Uh, no, I am governing the village I just mentioned. I just took some days for fun with this guy..." he hugs my neck from behind in a friendly manner.
"He isn't a permanent member of our party," I explain. "But he always joins the fun times. By the way, thank you, guys. You two helped us a lot."
Rex and the rest of my party just ascended so their level-up is truly a crucial part. Yes, I can handle those monsters alone... but my people need fun times, too, isn't that true?
"Wanna team up again tomorrow, then?" Rex asks weakly.
Their expressions shortly change and then they quickly retain their composure.
"We will take it as it comes from here. See yah, shield kiddo and everyone." (L'Arc)
"Thanks for today." (Therese)
As they walk away from us, Aria narrows her eyes, staring intently at their backs.
I think... I understand why Aria is conscious around that duo.
If we get those guys in our party... we can handle the waves easier...
"Anyway, care for fun on the beach?" Rex asks.
"Take a rest for tonight, Rex. You were so excited you used up all your energy, right?" Aria bluntly rejects his idea.
"I wanna go to the beach, Master!" Filo grabs my arm and begs.
I sigh and look away from my chaotic party.
"Tomorrow. Let's go to the beach tomorrow," I mutter. "We can take a day off."
"Yayyy! Filo is happy!"
"Yeah, yeah. For now, we should get back to the inn and have something for dinner..."
Tomorrow...
I have been sensing that Aria will show off her swimsuit to me hence I've been avoiding her all this morning.
My beach outfit is simple. A white T-shirt and black short pants.
I see Rex in the distance. He wears a light-orange t-shirt and swimming pants.
"Hey, dude, what are you doing?" I walk towards Rex who is leaning against a tree.. what is he doing, you ask? I know he is people-watching. My dude is mature enough to not watch some girls in bikinis–
"Look, Ben. See? That girl looks cute!"
Or perhaps I was wrong.
"Oh, yeah, she is."
The girl he pointed at is coming towards where we are sitting... wait, did Rex anger her?
The girl is a blonde in a sky-blue swimsuit which is similar to a bikini. Her body curves are– wait, she is wearing some kind of mask. So I can't see her face.
"H-hi?" Rex nervously greets the girl.
As we nervously look up at the pretty girl, she removes her mask and reveals her face–
Wait...
"Aria!?" I exclaim out of surprise.
"Huh? I thought your chest was flat–" Rex's comment is interrupted by a slap from Aria.
Thanks, Rex. Your sacrifice will never be a waste.
"Ha, Rex, she must be using some kind of pads–"
*slap*
"These are natural..." she says, pouting.
"Hahaha... you two teenagers have fun by yourselves. I'll go grab some coconut drinks..."
Rex gets up from the ground and walks towards the beach.
"Rex, no, don't leave me alone here with this girl!"
As my steps follow Rex's, Aria grabs my arm.
"Where do you think you are going, Sir Ben?"
"Ha... haha, I guess I will have some coconut drinks–"
She spins me around and forces me to look at her.
"Say some compliments about my swimsuit."
AHHHHHH...
"Master!"
Hu... thanks to a wet Filo who runs towards us, I can escape the grasp of the blonde girl.
Thanks for saving me... otherwise I think she's gonna force a kiss on me...
Aria shoots a glare at the filolial girl in the swimsuit.
"Hey, Filo. You are all wet. Are you having fun?"
Filo's swimsuit is a childish one. I can't have my daughter being eyed by others on the beach. Hope there's no pedo around.
"Yeah, Filo is having fun, master! Um, are you two flirting?"
"Nope," I hastily deny.
"Uh, okay. I found an island."
"An island?" I widen my eyes. "Don't tell me you swam across the ocean."
"No, no, I found another island with a red glow on the seafloor."
On the seafloor? Red glow... wait, don't tell me...
"... There was a big brick building, too!"
I cup my chin and begin to think...
"Alright, lead me to the island you saw, Filo."
"Sir Ben!" Aria tries to interrupt but I hold up a hand to stop her.
"You can stay here," I say with a "hmph."
I activate the ID Mask and walk towards the sea with Filo.
"Let's go! Master!"
I give her a thumb-up, transforming into Ripjaws under the mask.
And then we two dive into the sea.
I see many old buildings which have long been destroyed by the sea tides underwater, on the floor of the sea.
I look around the island and quickly spot something artificial. It looks like a building.
She is swimming fine underwater as if flying through the air.
On the other hand, Ripjaws.
Ripjaws is a humanoid fish alien. Ripjaws shares many traits with Earth's aquatic life, such as an alligator, an eel, an anglerfish, and a shark. He can change between a fishtail with triangular lines or legs at will and has a phosphorescent light on his head.
About 7 minutes later, we arrive in front of a temple... which is half-destroyed. The stone double door still works... and when we open the door, the water flows out of the chamber inside into the ocean.
The surface of the water breaks soon after the entrance, and it looks like we can climb into the temple to get out of the water.
"What?!"
It is... a dragon hourglass…
To make matters even more mysterious, the top portion seems to be nearly empty.
Hold on, I didn't know about this.
Crap...
"If there is an hourglass, there will be a wave and... the next one is coming..."
02: 00: 21: 23
This doesn't look good at all. I better warn all the heroes and get all the help we need to save the island.
"What's it, Master?"
I quickly register myself at the hourglass to defend Cal Mira.
"The upcoming wave is in 2 days, Filo."
-(TRANSITION)-
"Filo, Aria, please tell Rex that I am going to visit the Queen. The next wave of this island is in two days. Okay?"
And then I transform into Jetray and fly through the air to find out the whereabouts of the Queen.
When I meet Andreas, he says the Queen has already left for Cal Mira – to make a surprise party for the Heroes on the island.
So I have to fly around the sea to look for the ships of Melromarc, one of which carries the Queen.
And somehow... I managed to find the ships and have an audience with Queen Mirellia.
"Okay, I understand the situation. But as you see... it will take at least two days to arrive Cal Mira."
"It's not a problem then. I think I can use my secret arts and nail it..."
The Queen sighs. "Please try to cooperate with the other heroes as a team, okay? But we will try to arrive at Cal Mira as soon as possible."
I look around and see some Shieldfreeden envoys.
"Will everything be alright? I mean, you just left Shieldfreeden. You might not have enough soldiers."
"Ahem… Sir Hero…" The Queen gives me an assuring smile. "I trust you. I am giving a backup. The rest is your responsibility."
"You can't just stop bossing me around, huh?..."
The Queen walks out of the chamber onto the deck.
"Well, a good queen needs a good knight…"
-(SKIP)-
"There's a dragon hourglass in the underwater temple?"
Well, it's not entirely unexpected.
I called an emergency meeting of the heroes as soon as I arrived back in Cal Mira.
"But that…"
"If you don't believe me, I'll take you there right now," it is hell to convince them. Did these guys think they were gonna have a vacation in Cal Mira? Seriously…
"I'm not calling you a liar." (Motoyasu)
"At the bottom of the ocean? I remember a really rare quest like that in my game," Itsuki says.
I roll my eyes. "Keep your f–king games out of this."
"So what do you want to do? Ignore it?"
I want to punch him…
"You guys can evacuate the people on the island. I will handle it alone."
"It's a good chance to put our new powers to the test. I'm not against it."
"Me neither. It'll be a good challenge if Tennyson is telling the truth."
I laugh dryly. "If you haven't practiced enough, keep in mind that you can die in this wave," I bluntly clarify.
Ren is awfully quiet the whole meeting.
When he is gonna leave the room, I grab his armor…
"Don't touch me. I didn't come here to make friends with you all. If you three think you can handle it on your own, then I'm going to leave the islands."
"Let me go!"
He is acting strange. Actually, I was gonna threaten them into fighting off the monsters or saving people. But the way Ren's acting isn't like… he doesn't want to fight or he's… afraid of monsters. Yes, even Motoyasu and Itsuki didn't say much and agreed quickly. Ren is the most reasonable person of the three heroes.
Or else… someone has already blackmailed Ren before I do?
Ren starts violently writhing and tries to throw me off.
"Motoyasu! Itsuki! Make Tennyson stop this! I'm not going to let you force me to fight!"
Wait… you don't say…
If he isn't afraid of fighting or monsters… there is one thing left.
"Hey, Ren… by chance… you don't know how to swim?"
"What? No! That's not it! Fine. If you want me to come so badly, I will. I'll do it for you. Be grateful."
Jackpot, right at the spot.
Well, anyway, that settles it.
"Thank you, everyone."
The heroes look at me with dumbfounded expressions.
"I was gonna threaten you guys if you don't do the job."
The heroes froze. And then they look at each other… widening their eyes in shock.
Now is… if the wave happens in the sea, the three heroes are good as dead. We need fishing ship level at least.
They haven't registered for the job but anyway…
"You guys, you don't need to come with me. Evacuate the people of the island. Also, I have called the help."
"Help?" Motoyasu asks.
I whistle and walk out of the room without answering.
35 hours later,
I stand on the shore, looking around into the sight of the sea with my arms folded. The problem is… where the wave will ravage. While it isn't a problem for me, it can trouble the evacuation.
"Sir Ben!" Melty suddenly appears out of nowhere, with Filo.
"Oh, Melty, haven't seen you in a while."
"Um…"
I suddenly capture the Generator in the corner of my eye.
"Hey, Rex!"
"Dude…" he was walking to and fro on the shore until I called out to him. "Done preparations?"
"Almost. I need to assign my clones to scout, haha. How is the evacuation?"
He rubs the back of his head. "Hard to say, but… I suggested they take them to the center. At least, it's land – so heroes can probably handle it."
"Thanks, I can trust them on land… ha."
I notice that Melty might have something to tell you.
"Oh, sorry, Melty. I've got things on my plate to think so… I kinda ignored you."
"Uh, it's okay. I just want to tell you that I will also help in the wave."
There is a moment of silence.
"Is that OK? I mean, you are the crown princess of Melromarc."
She smiles wryly at me.
"I can use better magic than yours."
THE END OF CHAPTER (22).
After writing a Bad Ben, I kinda want to make a poll which Ben (among my stories) is more interesting. Ben Prime is kinda bland while he's not in battle or saving people.
Diamondhead has an ability called crystallokinesis. Manipulating specific kinds of crystals. But the molecular structures are different from one to one. Diamond is composed of carbon but Petrosapiens are made of silicon.
I still can't understand how this works but I didn't consider giving Therese an extra Petrosapien crystal because I believe the crystal itself doesn't give crystallokinesis. Kevin can absorb a Petrosapien's skin. But until he becomes a full one or a part Petrosapien, he can't use crystallokinesis. In some sense, it is a biological ability rather than a magic ability.
Christopher Paradox Chronos