"What ad copy?" Ishiyama didn't understand.
Gwen grabbed Ben and yanked him into a corner. "Don't you get it yet? Ishiyama has no idea he's just a game character. This is his world."
Ben nodded, then suddenly spotted a wooden box floating beside Ishiyama.
"A Treasure Chest!" Ben immediately ran over and smashed it open with one punch.
The next moment, a beam of white light shot out of the chest straight toward Gwen.
A bow instantly appeared in Gwen's hands, and a quiver of sharp arrows hung across her back, turning her into an archer.
"Thanks for the Divine Bow," Gwen said with a smile.
"Oh, man! That's so unfair!" Ben looked like he was about to cry.
Just then, the wooden door beside them opened.
Ben curiously stepped closer, and delight immediately appeared in his eyes.
"Who cares about that lousy bow? I just found an Omnitrix vault! Haha!"
Inside the room stood a majestic green pillar of light. Countless Alien Hero cards floated inside it like gleaming coins, shining brilliantly.
Without another word, Ben rushed forward and reached for the Alien Hero cards.
"Careful, it could be a trap!" Ishiyama warned.
But it was already too late.
Ben had already touched the green pillar of light.
Zzt!
In the next second, a thick crimson laser shot out with lightning speed and pierced straight through Ishiyama's chest.
A flash of golden light appeared, and Ishiyama revived in another spot, looking somewhat displeased.
"It was all her fault!" Ben argued, pointing at the innocent Gwen.
"Idiot." Gwen was speechless.
"It's fine. As long as we can eliminate evil, a little sacrifice means nothing," Ishiyama said in consolation, then continued forward.
Soon, the group arrived at a maze.
In the center of the maze stood a strange statue.
It was enormous, like a fat cat sitting cross-legged, but with a pair of buffalo-like horns on its head, one of them broken, and a string of prayer beads hanging around its neck.
Its blood-red eyes shone with a fierce light.
Ishiyama said, "This is the Kappa Maze. It leads straight to Level 13, the Extreme Dojo, but only if we solve its riddle first."
As soon as he finished speaking, the fat cat statue began to talk.
"The name of the wrestler's weapon appears plain to the eye. Rearrange the characters, and courtesy offends no one."
After hearing the riddle, everyone frowned. For the moment, none of them could figure it out.
"What is that even supposed to mean?" Gwen said, resting her chin on her hand.
"I don't know, but I do know Ishiyama would definitely appreciate Cannonbolt!" Ben said as he ran over to the blue stone pillar nearby.
At the base of the pillar was a green card bearing Cannonbolt's image.
But before Ben could get close, the blue stone pillar suddenly seemed to melt and rapidly change shape.
In the space of a breath, it turned into a gray-blue dragon.
Before anyone could react, the vicious dragon coiled itself around Gwen and Ishiyama.
As for Lucian, the moment he saw the pillar transform, he immediately turned into Big Chill and entered his intangible state, making himself immune to the dragon's coils.
At that moment, the gray-blue dragon stared with golden eyes, its whole body radiating an evil aura. It wrapped itself tightly around Ishiyama and Gwen while coldly watching Ben.
"Boy, tell me what Upgrade's Totem means, or your friends die," the Shape-Shifting Demon threatened.
"Let them go, evil bastard!" Ben gritted out.
"Don't say anything." Ishiyama tried to break free, but it was useless.
"That's right, Ben. We absolutely can't let the Shape-Shifting Demon slip into the real world," Gwen hurriedly said.
"The real world?" The dragon froze for a moment, then sneered. "Another world for me to rule with cruelty!"
"In your dreams. I'll show you what Cannonbolt can do!"
As he spoke, Ben absorbed the Cannonbolt card beside him. A flash of green light followed, and he transformed into the chubby Cannonbolt.
"Cannonbolt, slam!"
As he shouted, Cannonbolt curled into an iron ball, spun at high speed, and smashed toward the dragon.
The Shape-Shifting Demon immediately released Ishiyama and Gwen and slipped away like a crafty loach, reappearing in the corner.
Just as Cannonbolt was about to slam into Gwen, Big Chill flashed forward and pulled her away at once, while Ishiyama used his Blink skill to escape Cannonbolt's attack range.
"Evil bastard, don't think you can run!" Cannonbolt was about to press the attack.
The Shape-Shifting Demon gave a cold snort. "My minions are more than enough to deal with you. I'm going to find Upgrade's Totem!"
With that, the Shape-Shifting Demon twisted its body and shot out of the maze at top speed, disappearing from sight.
"After him." Big Chill's gaze sharpened.
But in the next second, countless ninjas wearing ghost-face masks burst up from beneath the maze.
They looked savage, like fearless zombies, and charged at the group without a care for their lives.
Big Chill exhaled a stream of freezing air, turning more than a dozen ninjas into ice statues, then crushed them to pieces with a single kick.
Cannonbolt spun at high speed, unleashing explosive force. Like a terrifying human cannonball, he blasted enemies apart.
"Wrestler Gwen, fire the Divine Bow!" Ishiyama shouted.
Gwen pulled several arrows from her back and set them on the bowstring.
She drew the bow full, like a perfect moon.
Swish!
Three sharp arrows wrapped in golden light instantly killed several ninjas. Their power was astonishing.
Ishiyama was no less fierce. He swung his giant palms, and with brutal force sent dozens of ninjas flying apart.
A moment later, every ghost-face ninja had been wiped out.
"Is that it?" Cannonbolt scratched his head.
The moment he said it, violent tremors came from underground.
Four beams of light shot up from beneath the maze.
Blue, green, yellow, and red.
The four surging lights gradually outlined four towering figures. Their evil aura soared to the heavens, and their presence was terrifying.
Ishiyama's expression changed.
"This is bad. The Four Demon Generals under the Shape-Shifting Demon are here!"
"The Four Demon Generals?" Cannonbolt scratched his head. "I don't think I've heard of them. Are they hidden game characters?"
"This isn't a game!" Ishiyama stressed again, staring fixedly at the four towering figures opposite them.
"The Four Demon Generals under the Shape-Shifting Demon are the Water Demon, Wind Demon, Earth Demon, and Fire Demon!"