CHAPTER 52 : Canonroll
The blue torches flickered in the darkness of the labyrinth.
Their ghostly flames cast distorted shadows across the damp stone walls. Zayn walked alone, hands in his pockets, carefully watching every intersection.
The silence felt wrong.
Too wrong.
Then a hand suddenly grabbed his arm.
Zayn spun instantly.
His fist was already moving when he recognized the face in front of him.
"Idiot."
Blanche.
Her silver hair was messy, and her usually calm eyes were filled with tension.
Without giving him time to respond, she pulled him toward a crack in the wall.
"Hey!"
"Shut up."
She pressed him against the stone and pointed down the corridor.
"Look."
Zayn narrowed his eyes.
A figure stood at the far end of the hallway.
A bald boy.
Black sunglasses.
Arms crossed.
Motionless.
Like a statue.
But that wasn't what drew attention.
His forearms were covered in glowing circles.
Dozens.
Maybe hundreds.
Like cannon muzzles embedded directly into his flesh.
Blanche swallowed.
"Jackson Ironhail."
"That guy?"
"Yes."
"He looks ridiculous."
"Don't underestimate him."
Her expression hardened.
"His bullets pass through everything."
"Everything?"
"Absolutely everything."
Stone.
Metal.
Armor.
Human bodies.
Nothing stops them.
Not even the walls of the labyrinth.
Zayn silently studied the boy.
Then Jackson slowly turned his head.
As if he had known they were there the entire time.
"You can come out now."
His voice was calm.
Almost bored.
"I know you're there, Zayn Al-Kage."
Blanche tightened her grip on Zayn's arm.
"Don't move."
But Zayn was already standing.
"What are you doing?"
"Going to say hello."
"Do you want to die?"
"Not today."
He stepped out from the crevice.
Alone.
Into the center of the corridor.
Facing Jackson.
Several seconds passed.
Then Jackson slowly removed his sunglasses.
His gray eyes were empty of emotion.
"You've got courage."
A faint glow began spreading across his arms.
"Too bad it won't save you."
The glowing circles opened.
Cannons emerged.
Dozens.
Then hundreds.
The entire corridor trembled.
BOOM.
BOOM.
BOOM.
The explosions erupted like thunder.
A storm of projectiles burst forward.
Thousands.
Zayn immediately dove to the ground.
The bullets tore through the walls behind him.
Without slowing down.
Without changing direction.
As if matter didn't exist.
Entire sections of the labyrinth exploded.
Stone fragments flew everywhere.
"ZAYN!"
Blanche screamed.
"RUN!"
But Zayn didn't run.
He rolled behind a pillar.
The pillar was instantly pierced.
He leaped sideways.
The wall behind him exploded apart.
Jackson adjusted his aim with terrifying precision.
"Why are you running?"
he asked calmly.
"Aren't you supposed to be a hero?"
Zayn gritted his teeth.
Then his eyes dropped to his wrist.
Borealis.
The green runes glowed softly.
Fully charged.
A grin spread across his face.
"You want to see a hero?"
He placed his hand on the artifact.
"Then watch carefully."
A brilliant green light exploded outward.
The entire labyrinth was illuminated.
---
The transformation began.
Zayn's body vanished beneath layers of black stone.
Massive plates of volcanic rock erupted around him as though an entire mountain was being forged around his body.
His arms expanded.
His shoulders widened.
His back became covered in enormous mineral armor.
Glowing cracks appeared between the layers of stone, radiating molten orange light like rivers of magma.
His face disappeared.
Replaced by a heavily armored stone mask.
Two blazing eyes opened in the darkness.
Red.
Burning.
Terrifying.
His body continued to grow.
Larger.
Heavier.
More powerful.
Until he resembled a living fortress.
A colossal beast made of volcanic rock and living metal.
Then the armor shifted.
The plates began locking together.
His limbs folded inward.
The stone shell sealed itself.
Transforming him into an unstoppable rolling titan.
Canonroll.
A siege weapon brought to life.
A living avalanche.
A monster weighing several tons.
Nearly indestructible.
Relentless.
Jackson froze.
"What... what is that thing?"
He fired immediately.
Thousands of projectiles slammed into Canonroll.
BOOM.
BOOM.
BOOM.
The impacts shook the corridor.
Sparks exploded everywhere.
Yet the armor remained intact.
Not a single crack.
Not a scratch.
Nothing.
The bullets that could pierce stone and steel bounced harmlessly away.
Canonroll's glowing red eyes burned brighter.
Then he charged.
The ground trembled.
The walls shook violently.
The giant monster rolled forward at terrifying speed.
Every rotation crushed stone beneath his immense weight.
Jackson stepped backward.
For the first time since the battle began.
He was afraid.
"Impossible..."
Canonroll smashed into a wall.
Rebounded.
Then struck another.
Faster.
Harder.
Each impact accelerated him further.
He became impossible to track.
A living cannonball of destruction.
Then he hit.
The collision was catastrophic.
Jackson was launched across the corridor like a missile.
The air exploded from his lungs.
His cannons flickered.
Then died.
But Canonroll didn't stop.
He bounced off the wall.
Turned.
And struck again.
This time Jackson collapsed completely.
Unable to stand.
Silence returned.
Only the grinding of stone echoed beneath the weight of the colossal Primal.
Then green light appeared once more.
The mountain vanished.
Zayn returned to his human form.
Breathing heavily.
His knees scraped.
But victorious.
He smiled.
"I got him."
Blanche slowly emerged from her hiding place.
She looked at Jackson.
Then at Zayn.
"You're completely insane."
"Thank you."
"That wasn't a compliment."
Despite herself, a faint smile appeared at the corner of her lips.
Their journey through the labyrinth was far from over.
But for now...
Canonroll had earned his first true victory.