(A/N):
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The towering crystal arena stood silently beneath the moonlight.
Inside...
Diamondhead looked around one last time.
The battle was over.
Venomira had vanished without another word, leaving behind only shattered crystal formations and poisoned craters as proof that a High-Ranking Devil had stood here only moments ago.
Diamondhead glanced down at the Omnitrix embedded in his chest.
"...Time to get everyone out of suspense."
He pressed the Omnitrix symbol.
Click.
The green core flashed.
The crystalline plates covering his body dissolved into streams of emerald light as his massive form rapidly shrank.
Within seconds...
Ben stood in his human form once again.
Without pausing, he flipped the Omnitrix dial upward.
Click!
The familiar holographic display emerged.
Alien silhouettes rotated rapidly before his eyes.
Heatblast...
Ghostfreak...
Big Chuck...
Ripjaws...
Pesky Dust...
Then...
The crystalline figure appeared once more.
Ben smiled faintly.
"Diamondhead."
He slammed the dial down.
SLAM!
A pillar of radiant green light engulfed him.
Crystal rapidly spread across his body.
His arms lengthened.
Emerald crystal covered every inch of him.
Jagged crystal spikes emerged from his shoulders as the transformation completed.
"DIAMONDHEAD!"
His deep crystalline voice echoed throughout the enclosed arena.
This time...
It wasn't for battle.
It was simply because Diamondhead was the fastest way to dismantle what he himself had created.
He walked toward the towering crystal wall.
Both of his forearms shifted.
CRACK!
The ends of his arms transformed into razor-sharp crystalline blades.
Diamondhead raised them.
Then...
Swung both arms in a perfect cross.
SHHHKKKK!!
The crystal wall parted cleanly.
The enormous section slowly slid aside with a deep rumble.
RUMBLE...
A wide opening appeared.
Moonlight poured into the arena.
Outside...
Everyone waiting instinctively turned toward the opening.
Captain Yami stood with his arms folded, his cigarette glowing faintly in the darkness.
Charlotte had unconsciously stepped closer the moment the wall began moving.
Dorothy floated quietly beside her.
Fuegoleon, Nozel, Jack, Rill, Kaiser and the other captains remained alert until they confirmed the danger had truly passed.
Behind them stood the villagers of Hage.
Father Orsi clasped both hands together in prayer.
Sister Lily watched anxiously.
Asta and Yuno stood at the very front.
The orphan children peeked nervously from behind them.
Heavy footsteps echoed from inside.
Clack...
Clack...
Clack...
Diamondhead slowly emerged through the opening.
The emerald crystal body reflected the moonlight brilliantly.
For a brief moment...
Silence filled the entire village.
Then—
Father Orsi let out a long breath.
"Thank the heavens..."
"He is safe."
Sister Lily smiled warmly.
"I'm glad you're alright, Ben."
Asta immediately grinned from ear to ear.
"I knew you'd win!"
Without thinking, he rushed forward and punched Diamondhead's crystal arm.
TINK!
"Agh!"
Asta immediately grabbed his fist, hopping around in pain.
"It still hurts!"
Magna burst into laughter.
"You never learn!"
Even Luck chuckled.
Yuno simply looked at Diamondhead before giving a small nod.
"Welcome back."
The orphan children couldn't hold themselves back any longer.
"Big Brother!"
"You're so shiny!"
"Can we touch the crystals?"
Before anyone could stop them, Nash carefully poked Diamondhead's arm.
Tink.
His eyes widened.
"It's cold!"
Aruru gently hugged Diamondhead's crystal leg.
"So pretty..."
Soon the rest of the children surrounded him, touching the emerald crystals with wide-eyed fascination.
Nero fluttered down and landed comfortably on top of Diamondhead's head, chirping happily as if confirming that everything was finally over.
Charlotte finally walked forward.
She carefully examined Diamondhead from head to toe.
Although his crystal body hid any injuries, she was clearly checking whether he had been seriously hurt.
"...Are you alright?"
Diamondhead gave a reassuring nod.
"I'm fine."
Charlotte quietly exhaled in relief.
Only then did the tension leave her shoulders.
Dorothy floated over with her usual sleepy smile.
"So..."
She tilted her head.
"Did the devil bride finally leave?"
Diamondhead let out a helpless chuckle.
"...For now."
Yami took one last drag from his cigarette before looking past Diamondhead at the devastated battlefield inside the crystal enclosure.
The countless craters...
The melted earth...
The shattered crystal formations...
Even someone like Yami couldn't help letting out a low whistle.
"...You two really made a mess."
Diamondhead looked back at the battlefield before shrugging.
"She wasn't exactly an easy opponent."
Yami smirked.
"I noticed."
He turned toward the other captains.
"Looks like the village is safe."
The captains gradually relaxed their stances.
Around them, the villagers finally erupted into cheers.
The fear that had gripped Hage Village throughout the battle disappeared in an instant.
Their king had returned.
Safe. Victorious.
And standing before them once again.
Diamondhead looked around at the smiling faces gathered before him.
The villagers.
The Magic Knight Captains.
Father Orsi.
Sister Lily.
Asta.
Yuno.
The children.
After everything that had happened that night...
Seeing everyone safe was enough.
Diamondhead reached toward the Omnitrix embedded in the center of his crystalline chest.
Click.
The familiar green light spread across his body.
The emerald crystal dissolved into countless particles of light.
His towering frame rapidly shrank.
The jagged crystals disappeared.
Within moments...
Ben stood there once again in his royal attire.
The villagers erupted into cheers.
"His Majesty!"
"Long live the King!"
"The King protected us again!"
Ben simply smiled and raised a hand, signaling everyone to calm down.
The cheering gradually subsided.
He looked first toward Father Orsi before smiling warmly.
"I'm sorry for interrupting your birthday celebration."
Father Orsi immediately shook his head.
"Ben..."
"The fact that everyone is alive is already the greatest birthday gift I could ever receive."
Ben chuckled hearing him.
"Even so..."
He turned toward the gathered villagers.
"The danger has been dealt with."
"There is no reason to let one troublesome devil ruin Father Orsi's special day."
He clapped his hands once.
"So..."
A small smile appeared on his face.
"Continue the celebration."
For a brief second...
Everyone simply stared at him.
Then—
The children cheered louder than anyone.
"YAY!"
"Birthday party!"
"Let's eat!"
Nash immediately grabbed Asta's hand and dragged him toward the tables.
"Brother Asta!"
"The food will disappear!"
"W-Wait!"
Magna laughed loudly.
"I like these kids."
Even the tense atmosphere among the captains gradually faded.
Yami stretched lazily.
"Good. I was getting hungry."
Jack snorted hearing him.
"You were hungry during the fight."
"No."
Yami corrected.
"I was hungry before the fight."
Dorothy quietly floated toward the dessert table.
Charlotte simply shook her head before following Ben.
The music slowly resumed.
Laughter once again echoed throughout Hage Village.
For the rest of the night...
There was no mention of devils.
No discussion about poison.
No talk of battles.
Only family.
Friends.
And the birthday celebration of the man who had raised three boys that would one day change the kingdom.
Three Weeks Later...
The Royal Capital....
Clover Kingdom....
Morning sunlight streamed through the enormous stained-glass windows of the royal palace.
The throne room stood in complete silence.
Rows of Royal Knights stood at perfect attention on either side of the crimson carpet.
Ministers.
Royal advisors.
Magic Knight representatives.
All waited quietly.
At the end of the hall...
Upon the royal throne...
Sat King Benjamin.
The golden crown rested upon his head.
Nero perched comfortably on one shoulder, occasionally chirping while observing everyone in the hall.
Ben calmly read through several reports stacked upon the armrest of his throne.
During the past three weeks...
The kingdom had returned to normal.
The reconstruction of Hage Village had already been completed.
The investigation into Venomira had produced almost nothing.
It was as if the High-Ranking Devil had simply appeared...
Only to satisfy her curiosity.
No further devil sightings had been reported.
Yet...
That peace was beginning to crack.
A Royal Knight hurried into the throne room before kneeling respectfully.
"Your Majesty."
Ben looked up.
"Report."
The knight bowed his head.
"Scouts stationed along the northern frontier have submitted multiple urgent reports."
Ben's expression became serious.
"Continue."
"The border shared with the Spade Kingdom has become increasingly unstable."
Several ministers immediately exchanged uneasy glances.
The knight continued.
"Over the last two weeks..."
"Spade patrols have nearly tripled."
"There have also been multiple sightings of unusually large mana signatures near the border."
A map was quickly unrolled before the throne.
The Royal Knight pointed toward several marked locations.
"Our border forts have reported frequent reconnaissance by unknown mages."
"They never cross into our territory..."
"But they continue observing our defenses."
Ben quietly studied the map.
"What about civilians? No casualties. No direct attacks."
"But..."
The knight hesitated.
"Our intelligence division believes they are preparing for something."
Silence filled the throne room.
Charlotte, who stood among the captains, folded her arms.
"The Spade Kingdom has never increased troop movements without reason."
Fuegoleon nodded.
"Especially not simultaneously across multiple border sectors."
Nozel's expression hardened.
"It appears they're testing our response times."
Yami leaned against one of the pillars with his usual relaxed posture, though his sharp eyes remained fixed on the map.
"They're measuring us."
"Trying to see how quickly we reinforce each position."
The Royal Knight nodded.
"Our analysts reached the same conclusion."
Ben rested one elbow on the throne's armrest.
His fingers tapped lightly against the polished wood.
Once. Twice. Three times.
The room remained completely silent as everyone waited for their king's decision.
Ben's calm gaze remained fixed on the northern border.
The Spade Kingdom...
A nation that had remained quiet for years.
Now...
Something was stirring beyond its frozen frontiers.
And from everything Ben knew about the future...
He had a strong suspicion that this was merely the beginning of a storm that would soon engulf the entire continent.
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(Author's POV)
(A/N)Thanks for reading the chapter!
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