(A/N):
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The oppressive silence that had settled over Hage Village was shattered in an instant.
Ben's instincts screamed.
Every nerve in his body flared at once.
Someone was behind him.
There wasn't the slightest fluctuation of mana.
No footsteps. No killing intent.
Nothing his senses could detect.
Yet every instinct he had cultivated through countless battles roared the same warning.
Move!
Without a moment's hesitation, Ben threw himself sideways.
His body rolled across the grass, using the momentum to create as much distance as possible.
Almost simultaneously—A crimson streak flashed through the space where he had been standing barely a heartbeat earlier.
It wasn't a beam.
Nor was it a spell.
It resembled a single crimson thread, so thin that most people hadn't even noticed it until after Ben had moved.
The thread silently sliced through the wooden banquet table behind him.
"...."
There was no explosion.
No loud impact.
The thread simply disappeared.
For a second... Nothing happened.
Then—
Crack...
The table suddenly turned dark.
The polished wood rapidly lost its color.
Tiny black veins spread across its surface like a deadly disease.
The wood began to wrinkle.
Rot.
Decay.
Within only a few breaths, the sturdy banquet table collapsed into a pile of black dust that scattered across the ground.
The surrounding grass suffered the same fate.
Flowers withered instantly.
The soil turned pitch black.
Even the stones beneath it slowly crumbled into brittle fragments.
The horrifying scene unfolded before everyone's eyes.
"..."
"..."
"..."
Silence filled the orphanage.
Even the children were too frightened to speak.
Charlotte's pupils contracted.
"What..."
Dorothy's usually carefree smile had completely disappeared.
"...That wasn't a simple magic."
Nozel stared at the corrupted ground.
His mercury instinctively formed another defensive wall around the children.
Yami slowly unsheathed his katana.
"...That would've hit him."
Meanwhile, Ben completed his roll and immediately pushed himself back onto his feet.
His eyes never stopped scanning his surroundings.
Whoever attacked...
Had completely bypassed every captain's perception.
Even Julius had failed to notice until the attack had already been launched.
Then—
A delighted clap echoed through the barrier.
"Wonderful!"
The feminine voice laughed happily.
"Hehehehehe!"
"Your reflexes are every bit as incredible as the rumors claimed!"
The laughter sounded genuinely excited.
Like a researcher whose experiment had finally begun.
Ben slowly raised his head.
"Show yourself."
Another giggle answered him.
"Oh, don't be so impatient."
A ripple spread through the air.
About twenty meters away...
Space itself distorted.
Then a slender feminine figure slowly stepped out from seemingly nowhere.
She floated several feet above the ground.
Long violet hair flowed behind her like liquid poison.
Two elegant black horns curved backward from her forehead.
Her skin carried an unnatural pale tint, almost porcelain-like.
Large bat-like wings lazily unfolded behind her.
Her crimson eyes sparkled with childlike curiosity.
A smile rested upon her lips.
Beautiful. Yet horrifying.
Everything about her felt wrong.
Like beauty stitched together with madness.
She held a thin crimson needle between two fingers, twirling it absentmindedly.
"Oh..."
She tilted her head while looking directly at Ben.
"So this is the famous King Benjamin."
Her smile widened.
"I expected someone taller."
Several captains immediately stepped forward.
Fuegoleon's flames exploded outward.
"Devil."
The woman paid him absolutely no attention.
Her entire focus remained on Ben.
Almost obsessively.
She floated a little closer.
"My name..."
She placed a hand upon her chest before giving an elegant curtsy.
"...is Venomira."
"The Poison Devil."
Her smile became even brighter.
"Though..."
She giggled.
"I personally prefer Toxicologist of the Underworld."
She proudly lifted the crimson needle.
"Now..."
Her eyes glittered with excitement.
"About that little attack just now..."
She pointed toward the pile of black dust that had once been the table.
"I call it..."
'Rotting Poison.'
She sounded immensely proud.
"It doesn't simply poison living creatures."
"It poisons existence itself."
She floated around the decayed ground while speaking like a professor explaining a favorite subject.
"Wood begins to rot."
"Metal corrodes."
"Stone crumbles."
"Plants decay."
She bent down, picking up what had once been part of the table.
The moment she touched it...
It completely disintegrated into dust.
"Isn't it fascinating?"
Her eyes shone with genuine admiration.
"I spent almost two hundred years perfecting it."
She continued cheerfully.
"The toxin invades the target at a molecular level."
"It destroys structural integrity."
"It accelerates decomposition thousands of times over."
She pointed at the blackened patch of earth.
"If it had touched a human..."
She smiled sweetly.
"...your muscles would decay first."
"Then your bones."
"Eventually..."
She placed a finger against her lips.
"...even your soul begins to rot."
Several villagers turned pale.
Some instinctively covered the children's eyes.
Venomira seemed delighted by their reactions.
"Oh!"
She clapped excitedly.
"I almost forgot!"
She looked back toward Ben with sparkling eyes.
"You're supposed to be immune."
Her smile stretched unnaturally wide.
"So..."
She slowly raised another crimson needle between her fingers.
"...let's find out if the rumors are true."
The terrifying pressure erupting from her body intensified once again.
Around her—
The air itself began to hiss.
Countless microscopic droplets of crimson poison slowly floated around her like beautiful crimson stars.
Each one capable of killing an ordinary Magic Knight several times over.
And throughout the entire time...
Venomira never once looked at anyone else.
To her—
Everyone present was merely scenery.
Only Ben existed in her eyes.
Her newest...
Most fascinating experiment.
Ben's expression slowly darkened.
His eyes remained locked on the black patch of earth where the banquet table had stood only moments ago.
He replayed the attack in his mind.
The speed.
The angle.
The timing.
Then he reached a conclusion that made his heart sink.
"...She wasn't trying to kill me."
The realization hit him harder than the attack itself.
If Venomira had truly wanted him dead...
The crimson thread wouldn't have missed.
Not with that level of speed.
Not with her ability to appear behind him without even Julius sensing her presence.
That attack...
Had merely been a greeting.
A warning.
Or perhaps...
An invitation.
His jaw tightened.
"No..."
He corrected himself internally.
"She's playing."
To her...
This wasn't a battle.
It was the beginning of an experiment.
She wanted to observe him.
Study him.
Test him.
The attack had simply been designed to gauge his reflexes.
If she had aimed a few centimeters differently...
He would already be dead.
That single realization told Ben exactly how terrifying the Poison Devil truly was.
Across from him, Venomira tilted her head with an amused smile.
"You figured it out."
Her crimson eyes sparkled with excitement.
"I was wondering how long it would take."
She giggled softly.
"Hehehe..."
"If I wanted to kill you..."
She casually twirled another crimson needle between her fingers.
"...we wouldn't be having this conversation."
The captains' expressions became even grimmer.
Even Yami silently admitted it.
She wasn't bluffing.
The pressure she radiated alone proved that.
Ben slowly exhaled.
Then...
He lifted his left wrist.
The Omnitrix.
The familiar green device reflected the lantern light of the orphanage.
Venomira's eyes immediately lit up.
"Oh?"
"So that's the mysterious artifact everyone keeps talking about?"
Her smile widened.
"How fascinating."
Ben ignored her.
His thumb pressed against the Omnitrix.
Click.
The core immediately sprang upward.
A holographic interface emerged above it.
One after another...
Alien silhouettes began rotating.
Heatblast.
Diamondhead.
Four Arms.
Ghostfreak.
Each hologram flashed past as Ben rapidly turned the dial.
His eyes scanned them one after another.
"Too risky..."
"Not enough defense..."
"No..."
"Not this one..."
He continued rotating the dial.
Then—
His hand stopped.
A new silhouette appeared.
Short. Round. Massive.
Heavy.
Ben's eyes narrowed.
"...Perfect."
Without another moment's hesitation—
He slammed the Omnitrix core downward.
SLAM!
A brilliant emerald explosion erupted from the watch.
The intense green light engulfed Ben's entire body, forcing everyone nearby to shield their eyes.
Venomira watched with childlike excitement.
"Oh!"
"It's happening!"
She actually clapped.
"I've wanted to see this in person!"
Inside the emerald cocoon of light, Ben's body rapidly transformed.
His height began shrinking.
His shoulders became broader.
His torso expanded dramatically.
His arms thickened into stubby but incredibly powerful limbs.
His legs shortened.
His neck almost disappeared beneath layers of muscle and fat.
The royal robes vanished, replaced by black-and-white alien markings as the Omnitrix symbol settled proudly upon his chest.
The transformation completed with one final flash.
The light dispersed.
Standing where Ben had once been...
Was a short, enormously rotund alien with thick yellowish skin, a broad face, tiny eyes, and an immense belly that looked capable of withstanding a siege.
The alien threw both arms into the air dramatically.
Then shouted at the top of his lungs—
"BIG CHUCK!"
His booming voice echoed throughout the entire orphanage.
Several children blinked.
Nash tilted his head.
"...He got smaller."
Magna scratched his cheek.
"And rounder."
Asta stared for a second before bursting into laughter.
"Hahahaha!"
"Big Brother became... well..."
He looked at the alien's enormous stomach.
"...really BIG!"
Yuno quietly observed the transformation.
"...The name fits."
Even Yami raised an eyebrow.
"Never seen this one before."
Rill immediately pulled out his paintbrush.
"I want to draw him!"
Charlotte couldn't help smiling despite the dangerous situation.
Dorothy softly giggled.
"He's kind of adorable."
Nero, perched safely on Father Orsi's shoulder, chirped in obvious confusion.
Even she had never seen this transformation.
Meanwhile—
Venomira's crimson eyes practically sparkled.
She floated forward several meters, completely fascinated.
"Oh my..."
She slowly circled around Big Chuck.
Her smile grew wider with every passing second.
"This..."
She whispered almost reverently.
"...is even more interesting than I imagined."
She leaned closer.
Far closer than any sane opponent would.
Then sniffed the air around him.
"Hmm..."
Her smile became almost manic.
"So..."
She gently twirled another poison needle between her fingers.
"...let's begin the real experiment."
Around her...
Thousands of crimson poisonous droplets slowly materialized once more, filling the night sky like a sea of blood-red stars.
The battle had finally begun.
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(Author's POV)
(A/N)Thanks for reading the chapter!
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