Pale skin, crisscrossed with cracks like a shattered rag doll, its body looked utterly broken.
A single purple eye was embedded in the center of its head.
An icy aura radiated from it, dragging the surrounding temperature sharply downward.
"Ghostfreak!" Ben cried out.
This thing was his nightmare. When Qyskaar escaped before, it had nearly cost him his life.
But both Qyskaar and Zs'Skayr had already been wiped out by Lucian.
Ghostfreak looked down at itself. A layer of outer skin wrapped around its body, shielding it from sunlight.
If that outer layer were torn away, it could unleash Zs'Skayr's full peak power.
The next time it transformed, the skin would regenerate—most likely the Omnitrix's automatic repair function at work.
Grandpa Max's expression turned serious as he stared at the faint, drifting figure of Ghostfreak.
"Lucian, go knock those guards out. Then pass through the wall and open the door from the inside. I'll go in personally and take the mask."
"Got it."
Ghostfreak's voice was hoarse. Its form blurred, fading until it vanished on the spot.
At the main gate.
Five or six burly guards paced near the entrance, electric batons in hand. They were rough-looking men with hard eyes and thick, muscular builds—clearly used to fighting.
"Hah, what's gotten into the boss? Sending this many of us to guard a stupid mask?" A skinny man scoffed, blowing out a ring of smoke.
"Who knows. Probably rich and bored." A fat man shrugged. "Whatever. As long as we're getting paid. After work tonight, I'm stuffing myself."
"Heh… Club tonight. Young models. Don't ditch, brothers." A flamboyant man licked his lips.
"Mike, with your looks, you could go be one of the models yourself!"
"Yeah, how about you treat us tonight? Keep it in the family, right?"
Mike's face flushed between red and pale at their filthy jokes. "Screw off!"
"Hey, Mike, we're all brothers here. Don't be shy." The skinny man stepped forward and clapped a hand on Mike's shoulder. "How about this? Spend one night with me and I'll give you ten grand. Fair enough?"
Mike trembled with anger, on the verge of snapping.
Then a wave of cold aura enveloped him.
His eyes flickered—and suddenly glowed with an eerie purple light.
The skinny man didn't notice a thing. Seeing Mike lower his head, he burst out laughing.
"Hey, if you don't say anything, I'll take that as a yes!"
Even chicken gets boring if you eat it every day. A little change now and then isn't bad.
The corners of Mike's lips lifted slightly as he rasped,
"Sure. But…"
"Before that, you all need to get some sleep."
Before the skinny man could react, Mike snapped on his stun baton and drove it straight into his abdomen.
Zzzzt!
Purple electricity crackled, flashing against the gate in a strange glow.
"Mike, what the hell are you doing?!"
"Oh my God, have you lost your mind? Mike, stop!"
"Look at what you've done!"
"I can't believe Mike's actually hitting someone!"
"Mike, if you don't stop, I swear I'll use force!"
Seeing things spiral out of control, the others rushed forward, trying to pull Mike away from the skinny man.
"A bunch of filthy vermin."
Mockery glinted in Mike's purple-lit eyes.
He slowly raised the stun baton and pointed it at the rest of them.
Zzzzt…
Amid sharp bursts of electricity, the guards dropped one after another, collapsing in disarray as the current knocked them unconscious.
Mike shut his eyes and fell forward onto the ground.
A pale figure slipped out of his body—Ghostfreak—letting out a rasping, chilling laugh.
"Using someone else's body to beat people… that's a rush…"
Invisible slime secreted from Ghostfreak's form, and it faded into a translucent shadow.
The tightly shut door in front of it might as well have been air. Ghostfreak passed straight through without resistance.
Once inside, Ghostfreak solidified into its true form, turned around, and unlocked the door from within.
"Nice work, Lucian," Grandpa Max said as he stepped inside.
Ben and Gwen followed close behind.
The room was dim and oppressive, completely empty.
Aside from a few surveying machines and some documents scattered across a desk, there was nothing of note.
Rooms of all sizes branched off in every direction, forming a tangled maze.
At this rate, who knew how long it would take to find the mask.
In the murky light, Ghostfreak floated in midair. He turned his head and rasped,
"Ben, turn into Wildmutt. Scan the surroundings."
As a Vulpimancer, Wildmutt's senses were extraordinarily sharp. Its hearing and sense of smell were incredibly acute, forming red thermal images in its mind.
Though it had no eyes, it perceived the world far more clearly than sight ever could.
"Good idea. Ben, listen to your Cuz." Grandpa Max nodded.
"Here comes the big doggy." Gwen stuck out her tongue.
"Haha! When it counts, the hero steps up!" Ben puffed out his chest proudly. "Relax, I've got this."
Thud!
A burst of eerie green light flashed.
"Rrrgh…"
Wildmutt landed on all fours and sniffed the air.
Suddenly, as if locking onto something, it kicked off with its hind legs and shot forward like a slippery eel.
The others lit up with excitement and hurried after it.
Soon, Wildmutt led them to the last door at the end of the corridor.
Ghostfreak's purple eye gleamed as he activated his telekinesis.
Bang!
A powerful psychic wave blasted the door apart instantly.
"That's amazing…" Gwen stared in shock. The door had been solid and reinforced, yet it was destroyed so easily.
Wildmutt growled low and rushed inside.
The others followed.
In the center of the room sat a safe, its rotating combination lock gleaming with a cold silver sheen.
There was nothing else.
"The mask should be inside," Grandpa Max muttered, frowning. "But how do we open it?"
Wildmutt let out a roar, raising both arms, ready to smash it apart.
"Wait." Ghostfreak grabbed Wildmutt and pulled it back.
"No need for brute force. I'll handle it."
A sinister smile curled across Ghostfreak's face.
Wildmutt spread its hands helplessly.
Ghostfreak slipped into a spectral state, widening the gaps between his molecules as he passed straight through the cold steel of the safe.
A few seconds later, he drifted back out, holding a mask in his hands.
"The Mask of Ah Puch!" Grandpa Max stepped forward, eyes shining with excitement.
"Um… I have a question." Gwen raised her hand shyly. "How could Cuz carry the mask and still pass through the safe?"
"Rrr." Wildmutt nodded, just as confused.
Ghostfreak's hollow voice echoed through the room.
"My invisibility slime doesn't just affect me. It can affect other objects as well."
"Not just a mask. Even a person. I could hold them and pass through any solid object."
Grandpa Max carefully cradled the Mask of Ah Puch, running his fingers over its surface.
"With the Mask of Ah Puch, we can locate the Divine Sword. We leave immediately to find the Sword of Ek Chuaj!"
Whoosh!
A steel cable suddenly shot in, hooking onto the Mask of Ah Puch. It snapped back just as fast, yanking the mask clean out of Grandpa Max's hands.
Grandpa Max froze for a split second. Then fury flared in his eyes as he spun around.
The newcomer wore samurai armor and a golden mask. His eyes were hollow, his face utterly expressionless…
...
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