Royal Palace...
With a flick of his flaming wrist, Heatblast summoned a burning slab of molten rock from beneath the earth outside the palace.
The ground cracked and hissed as it surged upward, flames licking its edges.
The chunk of scorched earth hovered outside the window like a summoned steed, its surface glowing a deep, red-hot hue.
"PERFECT RIDE FOR A NIGHT PATROL,"
Heatblast said, smirking as he leapt out of the window and landed on the floating platform.
Smirk~
WOOOSH!
With a roaring whoosh, the chunk surged forward like a comet streaking through the night sky.
A trail of fire and glowing embers followed in its wake, painting a vivid arc across the heavens.
It was a spectacle like no other—
A living comet blazing above Clover Kingdom.
Down below, citizens looked up in awe, gasping at the sight.
AWE!
"____"
"____"
"Look, look! A falling star!"
"Make a wish, quick!"
In one of the kingdom's orphanages, a group of children stood barefoot on the balcony, faces lit with wonder.
"I wish for a warm bed every night,"
Whispered one child.
"I wish I could be a magic knight,"
Said another with wide eyes.
"I just wish Mom were still alive,"
Murmured the smallest one, hugging his toy tightly.
They didn't know that the soaring comet wasn't a star, nor a heavenly omen—
It was their king, disguised and watching over them, carrying the weight of their hopes on his burning shoulders.
"____"
And above them all, Heatblast flew silently, casting flickers of firelight across rooftops and alleyways.
"SOMETIMES, IT'S GOOD TO BE A LEGEND—EVEN IF NO ONE KNOWS IT'S YOU."
High above the glowing rooftops of the Clover Kingdom,
Heatblast soared through the sky like a living meteor,
Fire trailed behind him as he took in the beauty of the peaceful night.
For a moment, the stress of politics, attacks, and royal duties melted away in the warm wind.
But just as he was relaxing, something caught his eye—
A shadowy figure was sneaking near a blind street performer who was finishing his act.
The man's hat lay before him, filled with coins and silver from kind passersby.
The pickpocket bent down, swiped the money swiftly, and began to walk away.
"____"
SIGH~
"REALLY? CAN'T EVEN LEAVE A BLIND MAN'S HAT ALONE?"
Heatblast muttered with a tired sigh.
With a blast of flame, he descended like a blazing angel of justice.
The ground cracked under his flaming feet as he landed.
With one fiery hand, he grabbed the thief by the collar, lifting him effortlessly into the air.
"YOU LIKE TAKING THINGS, HUH? HOW ABOUT A FREE RIDE INTO THE SKY?"
The thief screamed in terror as they rose higher into the night, flailing and begging for mercy.
"____"
AHHHHHH!
Citizens stopped in the streets, watching in awe and confusion.
"That's Flaming Monster!"
"He caught a thief!"
"That poor guy's gonna wet himself!"
True enough, by the time Heatblast descended, the thief was shaking, stripped of his own shirt as he tried to pat out embers on his sleeves.
The man collapsed, pleading and snivelling.
Just then, a squad of Silver Eagle magic knights arrived.
One of them called out to the thief,
"State your business!"
"HE STOLE FROM THAT PERFORMER,"
Heatblast said, pointing to the trembling pickpocket.
"IMPRISON HIM. RETURN WHAT HE STOLE."
The knights saluted.
"Understood!"
They quickly restrained the thief and retrieved the pouch of coins.
One of them handed it back to the blind street performer, who smiled and gave a deep, grateful bow.
"Thank you... Whoever you are,"
He said.
Heatblast gave a small nod.
And with that, he leapt back onto his molten platform, igniting it once more.
With a burst of flames, he ascended into the heavens, leaving behind a fiery streak across the sky.
To the people watching below, he was no longer just a king.
Their burning comet of justice.
As Heatblast vanished into the night sky once more, a soft ding echoed inside his mind.
[DING...]
[Thief stopped successfully. Public admiration increased.]
[Reward: +34 FP (Fame Points).]
[ Ding... ]
[ FP Bar: 227/500 ] --> [ New Alien: ??? ]
[ Ding... ]
"____"
"NOT BAD,"
Heatblast muttered with a grin.
Grin
"AT LEAST SOMEONE'S KEEPING SCORE."
He glided further toward the edges of the Clover Kingdom, following the winding tree lines of a nearby forest.
The air grew cooler, which he couldn't feel, and the stars blinked down like silent witnesses.
Suddenly, his eyes narrowed.
In the shadows of the forest, a group of people were moving strangely—
Their walk was stiff, mechanical, completely unnatural.
But it wasn't just that.
One of them—
A man in ragged noble robes—
Walked straight into a tree.
THUD.
"HUH?"
Heatblast stopped mid-flight, hovering silently like a torch in the night sky.
The man didn't grunt or react.
THUD. THUD.
Instead, he just stepped back... and walked into the tree again.
And again.
Then, as if some invisible wire pulled him sideways, he circled around the tree and rejoined the others, walking deeper into the forest—
Still with no sign of pain or awareness.
"____"
"YEP... SOMETHING'S DEFINITELY WRONG."
Heatblast's hand lit up, forming a small controlled flame in his palm.
He moved closer, silent and cautious, hiding behind the tree.
As he studied the group, he noticed something even more disturbing.
Their eyes were blank white.
Their faces were slack and pale.
Like lifeless dolls being forced to move.
And worse… he recognised one of them.
A noble from a family that had recently sent a letter to request additional guards.
"THESE GUYS… THEY'RE ALREADY DEAD… OR DAMN CLOSE."
"AND THEY'RE BEING CONTROLLED…"
A deep growl escaped his throat, his flames pulsing brighter in agitation.
Suddenly, one of the figures twitched and snapped its head toward his direction—directly at him.
Its white eyes locked with Heatblast's glow.
"YEAH, TIME TO LIGHT THINGS UP."
He raised his arm, igniting a massive fireball.
HEATBLAST hovered mid-air, the wind whipping around him, his flames pulsing violently.
Then—
RAAAAAARGHHHH!!
The first puppet let out a horrifying, inhuman roar—
A sound no living person should make—
And sprinted up the trees, leaping towards Heatblast with monstrous speed and hunger in its dead, pale face.
"WELL... GUESS TALKING IS OFF THE TABLE."
The creature lunged—and
BOOM!—
Heatblast blasted it mid-air with a searing fire beam, sending it crashing down into the forest floor, smoking and writhing.
But then,
The other 34 puppets burst through the treeline like a wave of zombies—
Sprinting, climbing, lunging, completely ignoring pain, logic, or even the flames around them.
"YOU WANNA BURN?"
FWOOSH!
Heatblast slammed his fists together, and a shockwave of flame exploded outward, setting the ground ablaze in a controlled ring of fire.
But they didn't stop.
Even as their bodies burned, they kept running, some with their limbs melting and bones cracking under the heat.
Their mouths hung open, drooling, faces empty of emotion except for the hunger to destroy.
One of them leapt high—
Too close.
"BAD MOVE."
Heatblast caught it by the throat mid-air and ignited his hand, incinerating it instantly.
Still, more kept coming.
"EITHER YOU GUYS CAN'T FEEL PAIN... OR YOU'RE ALREADY DEAD."
He launched into the air to get a better view.
From above, the pattern was clear—
A spell was directing them, not instinct.
They were coordinated, chasing him like programmed shadows.
[DING...]
[UNIDENTIFIED CURSED PUPPETRY SPELL DETECTED.
WARNING: PHYSICAL DESTRUCTION TEMPORARILY INEFFECTIVE ON TARGETS UNDER DEEP-CURSE STATE.]
"OF COURSE THEY'RE CURSED."
Heatblast muttered.
He changed tactics.
Raising both hands, he drew the heat from the air, then spun mid-flight and unleashed a Flame Tornado—
A swirling vortex of burning pressure that sucked up the charging puppets and disintegrated several instantly.
The last few standing began to twitch unnaturally, as if something behind the spell was reacting.
"SOMEONE'S WATCHING..."
Just then, the eyes of the last puppet glowed red for a second, and it let out a final screech before its body turned to ash.
[DING...]
[You have eliminated 35 cursed puppets.]
[Reward: +85 FP awarded.]
[ Ding... ]
[ FP Bar: 312/500 ] --> [ New Alien: ??? ]
[ Ding... ]
Heatblast landed, breathing heavily, the ground charred around him.
He looked down at the ash of the last puppet—
Ben, now back in his human form, stood over the charred, twitching remains of the last puppet, its body half-burned, the cursed flesh still trying to regenerate like a machine resisting death.
With a grim expression, he clicked the Omnitrix symbol, the familiar green glow swirling as his body shifted back to his usual self.
The scorched air still rippled with heat as he opened his magic communicator, the silver disk sparking faintly to life.
"Marx, this is Ben. Get the Wizard King. I need both of you in the forest. Now. It's urgent."
There was a slight pause, then the quick and sharp voice of Marx Francois responded:
"Copy that, Your Majesty. Wizard King Julius and I will teleport there within minutes. Stay safe until then."
**********************************************************************************************************************************************************
(Author's POV)
(A/N)Thanks for reading the chapter!
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