Thud!
A ghostly green light flashed, revealing a towering crystal figure—entirely emerald green, like a finely sculpted work of art—standing tall before the group.
"It's Diamondhead!" Ben shouted excitedly. Besides Four Arms, this was his favorite alien hero.
Kraab eyed Diamondhead with contempt. "Petrosapien, your power is even weaker than a Tetramand's. I suggest you hand over the Omnitrix willingly. Otherwise, don't blame us for being rough."
"My power may be a bit lower than Four Arms', but you should already know what I'm capable of," Diamondhead said evenly, a faint chill flickering in his eyes.
"So what? You just turn your body into a weapon. My steel armor isn't afraid of your crystal spikes. You'll never pierce my defense."
Kraab's tone brimmed with confidence, utterly dismissing Diamondhead as a threat.
"Then let's find out."
Diamondhead raised his arm, transforming it into a cluster of gleaming spikes. The razor-sharp crystals shimmered with a faint green light as he aimed them straight at Kraab.
"￥%&@@!"
Above them, SixSix shouted something unintelligible, lifting his blaster and taking aim at Diamondhead, ready to fire.
"Hold on," Kraab said coldly, raising a claw. "I want to see how this guy plans to break through my defense."
It had fought countless battles, even against Petrosapiens before. Their attacks had always been useless—barely sparking against its armor.
"Holy crap, did that crab get beaten stupid by Four Arms? It's just standing there letting Diamondhead attack?" Ben gawked, eyes wide.
Gwen propped her chin thoughtfully. "Maybe… it's trying to break Diamondhead's confidence first. That way, it won't have to waste much energy finishing the fight."
"Don't get it," Ben muttered, shrugging. To him, fighting was simple—you just went in swinging. Who needed tactics?
"Petrosapien, your species was wiped out long ago because you were too weak," Kraab sneered, clicking its claws. "Go ahead and attack. I'll let you strike once—see if you can scratch my impenetrable armor."
"Fine, then I won't hold back," Diamondhead said with a cold smile.
It seemed this overconfident crab still hadn't realized its situation. It thought it was facing a normal Petrosapien.
"Come on then!" Kraab said boldly, pounding its chest.
Diamondhead lifted his arm, which reshaped into a forest of sharp, glittering spikes. Like a torrential storm, they fired toward Kraab.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
The metallic clatter echoed as countless crystal spikes pierced Kraab's body in an instant, riddling it with holes like a giant metal porcupine.
Its earth-colored steel hide, once thought indestructible, crumbled beneath the hardened crystal spikes, splitting apart like soft tofu.
Kraab stared in disbelief at the shards embedded in its chest. "This… this can't be! Since when did the Petrosapiens become this strong?"
By all logic, the crystal spikes from a Petrosapien should have shattered on impact against its armor. But these crystals didn't break—they cut through effortlessly. Their hardness far exceeded what it had ever seen before.
Diamondhead snorted coldly. Of course, the arrogant crab had no idea his crystal body had been system-enhanced, its hardness increased by twenty-five percent beyond its original strength.
"%@&￥@!%@#￥￥!"
SixSix, seeing the crab riddled with spikes, exploded with rage. He dove beside Kraab and started firing wildly, clearly venting his fury at its arrogance.
Watching the chaotic scene, Diamondhead couldn't help but laugh.
"Enough talk—let's take him down together!"
Kraab, growing increasingly irritated, turned all its fury toward Diamondhead.
SixSix cursed under his breath, raised his blaster, and aimed it at Diamondhead.
Pulling the crystal spikes from his chest, Kraab revealed a pitted, charred surface full of blackened holes. Despite the damaged components and exposed wiring, it was still capable of fighting.
"You've angered me, Petrosapien!"
Kraab raised its claws, firing a searing scarlet laser between them. The scorching beam tore through the air, racing straight toward Diamondhead.
Diamondhead slammed a palm into the ground, summoning a thick crystal barrier that rose up instantly, blocking the laser with a brilliant flash.
With a burst of red flame, SixSix ignited his jetpack, rocketing high into the air. Drawing his twin pistols, he squeezed the triggers.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
A storm of blood-red energy bullets rained down, filling the sky and bombarding the ground where Diamondhead stood.
Diamondhead swept his hand outward, forming a massive crystal slope that shimmered with green light, covering himself completely.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Deafening explosions rocked the area. The violent red energy blasts unleashed immense force, shaking the ground and carving deep craters into it.
Grandpa Max quickly led Ben and Gwen out of the danger zone.
"Cuz won't be hurt, right?" Gwen asked, glancing back at the smoke-choked battlefield where nothing could be seen.
"Relax," Ben said with a confident grin. "Diamondhead's body's built different. This kind of attack won't even scratch him."
Grandpa nodded. "Ben's right. That level of damage can't hurt Lucian. But those explosions are too strong for us to handle. Once this barrage ends, we'll go back and support him."
"Alright then," Gwen murmured, lowering her gaze.
...
After some time, SixSix stopped firing—his ammo clearly spent.
The thick white smoke began to fade, slowly revealing the scene inside.
The charred battlefield was riddled with craters and fractures like a shattered web. Standing tall amid the destruction, Diamondhead looked like an unbreakable legend—his crystal body gleaming faintly through the haze.
The crystal barrier around him, however, was covered in cracks, trembling under its own weight but still intact.
If not for the Omnitrix's enhancements, it would've shattered long ago. In the original design, Petrosapien crystals were notoriously brittle—one bombardment like that and they'd usually collapse.
Dismissing the barrier, Diamondhead fixed his golden eyes on the two enemies ahead, his gaze sharp with battle intent.
He lifted his arm, reshaping it into a barrage of crystal blades that erupted outward in a thunderous volley, streaking straight toward SixSix.
"%@#%@!"
SixSix didn't dare take the hit head-on. He dodged sharply aside, then dove down toward Diamondhead at full speed.
Raising the cannon on his wrist, he fired several red missiles that screamed through the air, followed closely by a swipe of his left hand—summoning a crimson light blade that lunged after the missiles like a viper.
Diamondhead countered immediately, launching a hail of crystal spears that intercepted the missiles midair. They exploded prematurely in a burst of smoke and fire, filling the air with thick black clouds.
Ssshh!
In the next instant, SixSix burst through the smoke, thrusting his crimson blade forward. In a flash of red light, it slashed straight toward Diamondhead's throat...