Chapter 33: Crystal Storm

Diamondhead.

The Petrosapiens were silicon-based life forms, their bodies composed of incredibly durable crystalline structures that gleamed with an ethereal light green luminescence. These crystals bore a superficial resemblance to terrestrial diamonds, but they were far more sophisticated—living mineral formations that could be manipulated at the molecular level with nothing more than focused thought.

There was no doubt that Diamondhead's body was extraordinarily resilient. To him, steel might as well have been tissue paper, and concrete was no more substantial than wet sand.

"I didn't expect to get Diamondhead," Ben mused, his voice carrying the distinctive harmonic resonance of his crystalline form. "Actually, I think Heatblast would have been more suitable for dealing with the current situation."

The situation had been so critical moments before that Ben hadn't had time to check which alien transformation the Omnitrix had selected. If he'd been able to choose, his first preference would definitely have been Heatblast. Burn these abominations to ash and see how well their regenerative abilities worked then!

"But Diamondhead isn't a bad option either," he admitted, examining his transformed hands with satisfaction.

Ben flexed his crystalline fingers and clenched his fists, feeling raw power coursing through every facet of his new body. This was entirely expected—after all, Diamondhead had a glorious combat record that included single-handedly defeating Vilgax and overpowering him in direct confrontation.

At this moment, Ben's emerald eyes blazed with fighting spirit as the hideous faces of the surrounding monsters were reflected in his multifaceted pupils like images in a broken mirror.

"Come on then, monsters!" he challenged, stretching his crystalline limbs as he prepared for battle.

The massive spider creature looming before him no longer seemed like an insurmountable threat. Ben raised his right arm and concentrated, causing his fingertips to merge and reshape themselves. The green crystals flowed like liquid light, transforming his entire forearm into a razor-sharp blade.

The Petrosapien physiology granted him the ability to manipulate molecular recombination and alter his body's structure at will. In essence, his own form was a living, universal arsenal capable of producing any weapon he could imagine.

The spider monster's claws had just been shattered, and the combination of pain and rage caused it to emit a horrible, keening roar that echoed through the building like the cry of some primordial beast. It stood as tall as a small hill, and even motionless, its massive bulk created an oppressive atmosphere that would have left most people gasping for breath.

Now, driven to fury, the creature's mutated limbs writhed around its form like serpentine armor plating. The bio-mechanical integration had created something that appeared as indestructible as medieval plate mail, but with the organic fluidity of living tissue.

As it moved, the various segments of its exoskeleton collided with each other, producing a sound like clashing metal that reverberated through the air with ominous intensity.

The monster wanted nothing more than to tear the crystalline warrior before it into a thousand glittering fragments.

The blade flashed with blinding brilliance!

Ben raised his transformed arm high, the crystal sword pointing skyward like an executioner's blade, then brought it down in a movement as graceful and deadly as a swallow diving through the air.

For a moment, the spider monster seemed completely unaware of what had happened. Its massive body continued moving forward, but something was wrong—it was losing its balance. The images captured by its compound eyes began to show a strange discontinuity, as if the entire world had been cut in half.

Then a crack appeared down the center of its body.

Luminescent green ichor erupted from the wound like a geyser, coating the entire inner wall of the building in alien gore and flowing down into the central atrium in thick, viscous streams.

The enormous spider monster that had seemed as unstoppable as a tank was instantly bisected by Ben's crystal blade. Its reinforced exoskeleton, which had been stronger than steel plating, proved more fragile than wet cardboard when faced with Diamondhead's monomolecular edge.

The creature no longer possessed the strength to maintain its grip on the wall. Its spider legs, which had been embedded like steel spears in the concrete, buckled and gave way as its severed halves plummeted toward the ground dozens of meters below.

The entire building seemed to shake three times when the massive corpse impacted the floor.

Ben retracted his blade with casual indifference and turned his sharp gaze toward the lizard monsters that were still lurking in the shadows, surrounding him with predatory intent. Now it was their turn to experience fear.

These creatures, who were supposed to obey Dr. Animo's commands without question, felt terror creeping into their mutated hearts for the first time since their transformation.

On one hand, Dr. Animo's departure had weakened the effect of his control device on the monsters. On the other hand, the overwhelming power displayed by Diamondhead forced them to confront their most basic biological instincts—the primal fear of death that no amount of genetic manipulation could completely erase.

They began to retreat, their muscular limbs trembling with barely suppressed terror as they moved backward with exaggerated caution. Their coarse hair, interspersed with patches of scales, stood on end in obvious distress, and they released low, threatening growls that couldn't quite mask their underlying panic.

Ben reconfigured his feet, allowing the crystalline structure to better grip the wall surface with microscopic projections. Every step he took forward caused the monsters to take a corresponding step backward, their retreat as coordinated as a military withdrawal.

Their thick tails were curled defensively beneath them as they waited for the first among their number to be overcome by terror and begin fleeing. When that happened, they would all scatter like leaves in a hurricane.

No one wanted to be the first to run—not because they possessed any sense of honor or loyalty, but because they understood with animal cunning that the first to flee would inevitably attract all of Ben's attention and firepower.

But the alternative—staying to fight—would result in nothing less than complete annihilation.

Murderous intent blazed in Ben's crystalline eyes as he prepared to end this standoff.

Suddenly, he moved.

The building wall beneath his feet cracked and crumbled under the force of his launch! He dove toward the monsters like a living missile, but his body began to spin with increasing velocity as he fell.

Sharp, gleaming blades erupted from his back and arms as his form rotated. His body spun so rapidly that the crystal edges became nothing more than a blur of lethal motion, creating a whirlwind of death that no living thing could survive.

The sounds of flesh being rent and bone being shattered filled the air in a horrific symphony!

Ben had transformed himself into a mobile meat grinder, carving a bloody path through the clustered monsters. The rotating blades generated a tearing hurricane that swept up every lizard creature in his path, pulling them into the deadly vortex of crystalline destruction.

The blades moved faster than the eye could follow, dismembering the creatures with surgical precision. Some were decapitated, others were cut cleanly in half, and the unlucky ones were reduced to nothing more than organic paste.

In the span of a few heartbeats, the monsters caught in his attack were torn apart like paper dolls in a blender. Throughout the Oscorp Building, a rain of blood and shredded tissue fell like crimson snow, flooding the floor of the central hall with the remains of Dr. Animo's creations.

BOOM!

Ben crashed to the ground like an avenging angel, his crystal form gleaming despite being coated in alien gore.

"If I remove the head and destroy the central nervous system, they can't regenerate from that," he observed clinically, examining the scattered body parts and fragments of flesh that littered the area.

It appeared that Dr. Animo's genetic modifications hadn't enhanced the regenerative capabilities of these particular monsters beyond their baseline lizard heritage. Decapitation and dismemberment were still effective countermeasures.

Ben looked up at the remaining creatures clinging to the walls above and casually shook the sticky ichor from his arm-blades with a sound like wind chimes in a gentle breeze.

Next, it was time to eliminate every last one of these abominations.

When the surviving lizard monsters witnessed this display of overwhelming force, their primitive brains could no longer process anything beyond the immediate need to escape from this crystalline angel of death.

However...

"Want to run?" Ben's voice carried a note of dark amusement.

These creatures had been hunting him for what felt like hours, and he'd finally waited for the Omnitrix's cooldown period to expire. There was no way he was going to let them escape now.

He retracted his arm-blades and, without even bothering to look at the lizard monsters that were desperately attempting to smash through the building's outer walls, delivered a devastating punch to the floor beneath his feet.

The next moment, with his fist as the epicenter, crystalline structures began spreading throughout the entire building like living ice!

In less than thirty seconds, the Oscorp Building had been transformed into an indestructible diamond fortress, its walls now composed of the same material as Ben's alien form. The green-tinted crystal gleamed with internal light, making the structure appear almost magical in its alien beauty.

The lizard monsters threw themselves against the crystallized walls with desperate fury, but succeeded only in bloodying their heads against surfaces harder than military-grade armor plating.

Ben sneered as he raised both arms high above his head. His palms began to dissolve and reshape themselves, forming thorn-like projection systems that gleamed with menacing intent. The crystalline formations were aimed at the trapped monsters like the barrels of some exotic weapon system.

"Time to experience the power of the Crystal Gatling Formation!" Ben declared, his voice echoing through the transformed building with ominous promise.

The hunt was about to become an execution.

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