Chapter 182: The Forever Knights' Castle Has Blown Up Yet Again
Brainstorm. A Cerebrocrustacean from the storm-swept world of Encephalon IV.
The transformation settled, leaving Klein encased in a reddish-brown, crab-like exoskeleton supported by six articulated legs and a pair of massive, snapping pincers. The most striking feature, however, was his disproportionately large head. The thick cranial plating could split open on command, exposing a pulsating, hyper-intelligent pink brain capable of discharging devastating bio-electric storms.
He didn't possess vocal cords in the traditional sense. Instead, he projected his voice directly into the minds of those around him, riding on precise telepathic sound waves. It matched his species perfectly: possessing an intellect that ranked among the highest in the known universe, paired with an ego that was exceptionally arrogant and insufferably conceited.
With a sharp mechanical click, Brainstorm's cranial plates slid apart. The exposed pink tissue flared with blinding light. A crackling torrent of pink bio-electricity erupted from his exposed brain, tearing through the air and striking the massive alien dragon dead center.
The beast possessed incredibly thick hide and dense muscle, allowing it to take the localized electromagnetic cannon blast head-on. Still, the sheer voltage was too much. The dragon let out a choked roar, its massive frame collapsing to the dirt as violent spasms wrecked its nervous system.
Seizing the opening, Humungousaur let out a deafening bellow. His muscles bulged as he instantly expanded to his maximum twenty-meter height. The ground quaked as the Vaxasaurian threw his immense weight forward, pinning the twitching dragon firmly against the earth.
Gwen's eyes glowed with bright pink mana. She thrust her hands forward, channeling her Anodite energy to conjure thick, glowing purple half-rings. The magical constructs slammed down over the dragon's limbs, anchoring deep into the soil and locking the beast in place.
The dragon thrashed, its claws tearing deep gouges into the dirt, but it simply couldn't break free from the combined might of a giant alien and raw mana restraints.
Brainstorm scuttled forward on his six legs, his pincers clicking rhythmically. Using a localized bio-electric field, he levitated himself effortlessly until he hovered right beside the dragon's thick neck.
"A standard Universal Translator. A mere Level 3 technological artifact," Brainstorm's posh, condescending voice echoed directly into everyone's minds. "For a being possessing my staggering, ultra-high IQ, bypassing this is absolute child's play."
With supreme confidence, Brainstorm extended a pincer. Tiny arcs of electricity danced from his claws, delicately rewiring the damaged circuitry embedded in the collar around the beast's neck. Within seconds, a soft chime indicated the device was operational.
"There we are. You are now free to articulate whatever primitive thoughts cross your mind," Brainstorm declared, lowering himself back to the ground.
The dragon blinked, its reptilian eyes widening. "You... you can understand what I'm saying?" it rumbled, the mechanical voice box translating its guttural growls into perfect English.
"Uh—obviously," Brainstorm scoffed.
Seeing the situation de-escalating, Humungousaur stepped off the beast's back. Gwen relaxed her posture, letting the glowing purple mana rings dissipate into the air.
A searing red laser beam suddenly cut through the clearing, striking the dragon squarely in the shoulder.
"Agh! You damned knights!" the dragon roared, writhing in sudden agony.
Squire panicked, his eyes darting to the man beside him. "Sir! What are you doing?!"
Connor stood firm, the barrel of his laser cannon smoking. He didn't even look at his subordinate. His eyes were locked on the beast with fanatical hatred. "The most glorious, sacred mission of the Forever Knights is dragon slaying. Are you a Forever Knight or not, boy?"
Squire froze. His hands, which had twitched upward to stop Connor, hovered uselessly in the air. His face twisted in a mess of uncertainty and conflicting loyalties.
Kevin, however, suffered no such hesitation.
Before Connor could charge another shot, a heavy fist slammed into his jaw with the force of a freight train. Connor's eyes rolled back, and he crumpled to the dirt like a sack of bricks. The laser cannon clattered uselessly into the grass. Kevin stood over him, shaking out his knuckles with a dark scowl.
Enraged by the cowardly shot, the dragon snapped its jaws, lunging forward to tear the unconscious Connor to shreds.
Humungousaur immediately stepped into its path, holding out his massive hands to block the strike.
"These despicable knights!" the dragon bellowed, spittle flying from its fangs. "They attacked me without provocation the very second I landed on this miserable planet! They shattered my translator and locked me in a dark, damp cellar! For a whole thousand years!"
Humungousaur frowned, his giant brow furrowing. "Look, I get it. But... this was just a misunderstanding. We can talk this out—"
A brilliant flash of blue light interrupted him.
Where the giant crab had stood, Klein now leaned casually against a nearby tree, his hands stuffed into his pockets. "Alright, Ben. Let him go. We're staying out of this."
Humungousaur froze, glancing back at his cousin. He remained silent for a few agonizing seconds before slowly lowering his arms and stepping aside.
"Cousin, why?" Ben asked, genuine confusion in his voice.
A flash of green light washed over the giant, leaving a teenage boy in a green jacket standing in his place.
Klein looked at Ben, his expression flat and unreadable. "Ben, you throw an absolute tantrum when your mom grounds you in your room for a week. Now imagine being locked in a cage in the dark for a thousand years. A lot of things in this universe can't be brushed off with a simple 'my bad, it was a misunderstanding.' The Forever Knights made their bed. They have to take responsibility for their actions."
Ben opened his mouth to argue, but the words died in his throat. He looked down at the dirt, his jaw tightening as he actually processed Klein's logic.
With the path clear, the dragon didn't hesitate. It lunged. Its massive jaws snapped shut over Connor. A sickening crunch echoed through the clearing, and the fanatical knight met his end right then and there.
Blood dripping from its maw, the dragon turned its burning gaze toward the trembling Squire. It raised a massive claw, preparing to crush the boy.
"Enough," Klein's voice cut through the air. It wasn't loud, but it carried a heavy weight. "He didn't know about any of this. Every debt has its debtor. If you want revenge, go seek it against the Forever Knights who actually imprisoned you."
The dragon paused. It looked down at the terrified Squire, who was curled into a tight ball, waiting for death. Slowly, the beast lowered its claw. It turned its massive, scaled head toward Klein.
"I owe you a favor," the dragon rumbled.
With a powerful thrust of its hind legs, the beast launched itself into the air. Its leathery wings snapped open, catching the wind as it soared high into the clouds.
"Let's go. Let's follow and see how this plays out," Klein said, already turning his back on the scene and walking toward Kevin's muscle car.
Seeing Klein approaching, Kevin didn't waste a second. He slid over the hood, dropped into the driver's seat, and fired up the engine. The V8 roared to life.
Ben and Gwen exchanged a complicated look before hurrying after them.
As the green muscle car kicked up dust and sped down the dirt road, Squire slowly pushed himself off the ground. He stared at the spot where Connor had died, his fists clenching until his knuckles turned white. Gritting his teeth, he sprinted toward a parked armored vehicle, throwing himself into the driver's seat to follow the trail.
...
The Forever Knights' castle.
Flames licked the ancient stone walls. The dragon hovered above the courtyard, unleashing torrents of scorching fire upon the battlements. Below, dozens of knights scrambled like ants, firing desperate volleys from their high-tech laser rifles. The air was thick with the smell of burning stone, ozone, and panic.
A mile away, parked safely on a grassy hill overlooking the carnage, Kevin leaned against the steering wheel.
"Should we go down there and help, Boss?" Kevin asked, glancing over his shoulder at Klein, who was lounging comfortably in the back seat.
Klein didn't even open his eyes. He just shook his head slowly. "This is his own business. Whether he has the capability to tear that place down is his own problem... Why? Do you suddenly enjoy killing people? Even I wouldn't let my hands get stained with unnecessary blood for no reason."
"No, no, definitely not..." Kevin waved his hands frantically, eager to clarify that he had absolutely zero interest in a random massacre.
The group sat in the car, watching the siege unfold like a late-night movie. For over an hour, the dragon relentlessly bombarded the fortress. Towers crumbled, walls collapsed, and the Forever Knights suffered heavy casualties.
However, an entire army equipped with alien-grade laser artillery was no joke. Eventually, the sheer volume of concentrated firepower became too much. The dragon, battered and sporting several scorch marks across its scales, let out a frustrated roar and banked away, retreating into the horizon.
Gwen leaned forward, her eyes tracking the retreating speck in the sky. "Where is he going now?"
"6200 Boros Avenue. Right at the intersection of Highway 12 and Highway 408."
The voice didn't come from inside the car.
The group turned to see Squire walking up the grassy hill, his armor covered in soot and dirt. He stopped a few feet from the bumper, his expression grim. "The knights found a massive piece of machinery at the exact site where they captured the dragon centuries ago. They sent it to a secure lab to reverse-engineer it and develop dragon-slaying tools. It wasn't until the dragon flew over the Atlantic today that they finally realized the machinery was directly connected to him."
Klein rolled down the window, resting his elbow on the frame. He looked at the young knight with mild amusement. "And you're just handing over classified intel to us? Just like that?"
Squire shook his head, his eyes reflecting the burning castle in the distance. "I've made up my mind. The Forever Knights are wrong. Everything they stand for is built on a lie. I'm quitting."
Klein stared at him for a second, then gave a lazy shrug. "Suit yourself."
He tapped the roof of the car. Kevin shifted gears, and the tires spun against the grass as they drove off, leaving the disillusioned knight behind.
...
6200 Boros Avenue. The intersection of Highway 12 and Highway 408.
An enormous, heavily fortified warehouse sat isolated in the industrial district.
The reinforced ceiling exploded outward in a shower of molten metal and concrete. The dragon descended through the gaping hole, its heavy claws slamming onto the concrete floor.
"My ship... according to the tracker, it should be right here," the dragon muttered, its massive head swiveling as it scanned the dimly lit interior.
It stomped deeper into the facility, brushing aside heavy steel crates as if they were cardboard. At the very back of the warehouse sat a colossal object, draped entirely in a massive red tarp.
The dragon reached out and gripped the fabric in its teeth, ripping it away with a sharp tug.
Beneath the tarp rested a giant, teardrop-shaped spaceship. Its sleek, metallic hull gleamed faintly under the emergency lights, completely untouched by the passage of time.
"The condition is far better than I imagined," the dragon breathed, a deep rumble of relief vibrating in its chest. It felt like this was the second piece of good news it had received all day. The first, of course, was finally running into some reasonable, intelligent beings on this remote, backwater mudball of a planet.
"So, you're leaving?"
The familiar voice echoed through the cavernous warehouse.
The dragon turned its massive head. Standing just inside the shadows of the blasted doorway was Klein, with Ben, Gwen, and Kevin flanking him.
"That's right," the dragon replied, lowering its head respectfully. "I am deeply grateful for your assistance today. I am a cartographer. One of the best in the galaxy, in fact. If you ever find yourselves needing to map the stars, you can come find me anytime. And I will do my absolute best to repay this debt, whatever favor you might need."
Klein smirked, shoving his hands into his pockets. "Whatever. Just as long as you don't wet yourself in fear the next time you see me."
The dragon blinked, clearly confused by the teasing remark. Having been locked in a dark cellar for a millennium, it had absolutely no idea who Klein was, nor the terrifying reputation that followed the wielder of the Another Omnitrix across the cosmos. It decided not to dwell on the strange comment.
"A thousand years..." the dragon murmured, its gaze drifting up toward the hole in the roof, looking at the distant stars. "I was forced away from my home. My family. My child... they might already know how to fly by now. Goodbye, humans. I truly hope we meet again."
With heavy, purposeful steps, the dragon boarded the teardrop vessel. The ship hummed to life, a low vibration that shook the concrete floor. A blinding, dazzling light erupted from its thrusters as the massive ship lifted off, tearing through the remaining structure of the ceiling and shooting up into the cosmic void, leaving nothing but a trail of light in its wake.
Ben stood in silence, watching the sky long after the ship had vanished.
"Cousin... you know what?"
Klein glanced sideways. "Hmm?"
Ben let out a slow breath, his shoulders dropping. "Maybe you're right. People really do have to be responsible for what they do. That dragon was locked in a cage for a thousand years for absolutely no reason. I just... I hope everything goes well for him up there."
...
Meanwhile, back at the Forever Knights' castle (version who-knows-what-point-zero).
Forever King Patrick had just returned from a highly important trip. His armored transport came to a slow, grinding halt.
He stepped out of the vehicle. He looked at the smoldering, blasted, entirely blown-up ruins of his majestic fortress.
He stood there for a very, very long time.
"..."
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