Diamondhead stared down at Zombozo, who was rolling on the ground clutching his hands and screaming. "You really chose a fitting name for yourself, Joker. It suits you perfectly. How did your brain come up with the brilliant idea to fight me hand-to-hand?"
His crystalline voice carried a sharp edge of mockery. "If you wanted to meet me head-on, you'd need to be made of titanium alloy or something equally dense. But you? You're just soft flesh and bone."
"IT HURTS! IT HURTS SO MUCH!"
Zombozo desperately fought through the agony, wiping away the tears streaming down his face as he scrambled backward, putting as much distance as possible between himself and Diamondhead. The fear in his movements was palpable.
"Boss, are you alright?"
"Do you need our help?"
Seeing their supposedly invincible leader reduced to this pathetic state, the Circus Freak Trio's confidence evaporated instantly. Acid Breath, Frightwig, and Thumbskull approached submissively, their voices meek.
"No, no need! I was just... careless. I can handle this guy myself!"
Zombozo forced bravado into his voice. After all, he was a boss-level villain, how could he lose face in front of his own henchmen?
Whoosh!
Suddenly, an axe materialized in his hands as if by magic, a sharp mountain axe that gleamed in the moonlight. A twisted smile spread across his face. "Hahaha! If I can't touch you with my hands, I'll use an axe instead! I'll chop you down like firewood, you crystalline freak!"
"You're going to scare me with a toy?"
Diamondhead sneered, his yellow eyes gleaming with contempt. "That's adorable."
His mockery hit Zombozo like a slap across the face, turning the clown's complexion beet red with rage!
"I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!!"
Zombozo's expression twisted with madness. He raised the mountain axe high, the blade catching the cold moonlight as it swung down toward Diamondhead's crystalline body!
CLANG!
PING! PING! PING!!
Every collision sent jarring vibrations through the axe blade and back into Zombozo's arms. Diamondhead's body swayed slightly with each impact, completely unharmed, while the recoil made Zombozo's palms go numb. His grip on the axe handle weakened with each successive blow, he could barely hold on!
No matter how many times he attacked, no matter what angle he tried, Diamondhead stood there with an expression of calm superiority, as invincible as an ancient war god!!
"I don't believe it! I WON'T STOP UNTIL I CUT THROUGH YOU!!"
Zombozo roared hoarsely, launching himself into the air. Combining his weight with his full strength, he brought the axe down from above in a devastating overhead chop. The blade generated bursts of cold light, and the sheer force created visible cracks in the surrounding buildings!
"It's useless."
Those two simple words from Diamondhead made Zombozo's heart skip a beat, inexplicable fear flooding through him.
Diamondhead casually raised his right arm and positioned it in front of him, not even bothering to dodge. He completely disregarded Zombozo's most powerful attack!
PING!!
Another crisp metallic ring echoed through the night!
The impact was so tremendous that the top half of the axe blade shattered, flying off into the darkness while the bottom half remained in Zombozo's trembling hands. The massive recoil launched him backward, sending him tumbling through the air until he crashed near Thumbskull's position!
Diamondhead's knees bent slightly from the force of the blow.
He didn't take a single step backward.
"C-catch him! Catch the boss!"
Thumbskull and the others panicked, using Frightwig's prehensile hair and their combined strength to finally catch the airborne Zombozo. In the end, it was Thumbskull who managed to secure him in a clumsy embrace.
"Forget about me! Look at that diamond freak, is he injured?!"
Zombozo didn't care about his own safety at all. His eyes locked desperately onto Diamondhead, burning with an almost manic intensity.
He needed to know.
Just how vast was the gap between them?!
Was there any chance of winning?!
"Hiss..."
Diamondhead drew in a sharp breath through his teeth, turning his arm over and frowning as he examined the limb that had blocked the axe.
"Hahaha! You're suffering now, aren't you?! Your arm must be torn to pieces!!"
Zombozo's eyes filled with twisted bloodshot veins, his face contorting into an excited, maniacal grin. His voice dripped with savage mockery.
"A-Asher, are you okay?"
Ben's eyes cracked open slightly, trying his best not to look at Zombozo. Even defeated and pathetic, the clown still terrified him. Instead, he focused on Diamondhead with genuine worry.
"I've never been hurt this badly before!"
Diamondhead suddenly looked up, turning his arm to display it in the moonlight. On the crystalline surface, illuminated clearly for all to see, was a shallow white mark, about as deep as the impression you'd get from pressing your fingernail hard against your skin.
He looked genuinely upset.
What kind of nobody could actually injure him now?
At the very least, you'd need to be at SixSix or Kraab's level to have any right to damage him!
"Haha... hahaha..."
After seeing that mark, Zombozo immediately burst out laughing. But just as he was about to unleash a torrent of sarcastic remarks, his expression darkened completely.
A white mark.
A white mark?!
After a few seconds, the mark became even lighter.
Get him to a hospital immediately, or the wound will heal on its own!!
For a brief moment, Zombozo genuinely thought Diamondhead was mocking him with some kind of high-level emotional manipulation.
But looking at the alien's genuinely annoyed expression...
He wasn't pretending at all!!
Damn it!
In that instant, Diamondhead moved!
He displayed speed worthy of a Peak Warrior, closing the distance to the stunned Zombozo in a flash. His fist cocked back like a coiled spring, elbow bent, crystalline knuckles clenched, and then he delivered a perfect spinning punch that connected squarely with Zombozo's torso from the side!
"PFFFFT!!"
Zombozo's mouth flew open instantly, spitting out a small cloud of white foam. His body folded like a collapsed lawn chair, and with a deafening CRASH!! he was sent flying directly into a nearby building!
The structure couldn't withstand the impact. Zombozo's body smashed through the wall, and the entire building collapsed on top of him with a thunderous roar. Countless broken bricks and splintered wood buried him completely, creating what looked like a premade coffin.
From Diamondhead's movement to Zombozo's flight, the entire sequence took less than ten seconds.
Diamondhead remained frozen in his forward-leaning punch position, standing right beside the utterly stunned Circus Freak Trio.
"T-the boss got sent flying with one punch..."
Frightwig's face drained of all color, cold sweat pouring down her pale features. Her entire body trembled as fear took root deep in her heart.
"W-we need to rescue the boss!!"
Acid Breath scrambled toward the pile of rubble, frantically clawing at the debris.
"Stop."
Diamondhead's single word froze them all in place.
"Let me remind you of something," he said, his voice carrying an edge of dark promise. "If you don't rescue your boss right now, I'll let you all go to prison with a relatively peaceful death. But if you fight me again..."
He paused, letting the silence stretch.
"...then be prepared to die right here."
His eyes locked onto each of them in turn. "If you dare to dig Zombozo out, we will fight again. And you need to understand something very clearly, you'll be doing it with the determination to die on this spot."
The sheer dominance radiating from Diamondhead's words hit like a physical force. The three villains stood paralyzed, their bodies refusing to move as they felt the genuine killing intent emanating from the crystalline warrior!
Surrender now.
While they still could.
Seeing the effectiveness of his psychological warfare, Diamondhead allowed himself a satisfied expression. When dealing with scum like this, you had to be violent enough to break their spirit!
He wasn't a friendly neighborhood hero like Ben, someone who'd crack jokes and give villains second chances.
No.
He preferred to operate more like Batman.
The three Circus Freaks were on the verge of surrendering when,
CRASH!!
A figure suddenly burst from the ruins in an explosion of wood and brick! The debris scattered in all directions, some pieces flying directly at Diamondhead, only to be casually swatted down by his crystalline palm!
It was Zombozo.
Blood trickled from a cut on his temple, his magic top hat had vanished entirely, leaving only his embarrassing ring of red hair around his otherwise bald head. He looked absolutely pathetic!
But his eyes burned with manic fury!
"Tch."
Diamondhead sighed, his yellow eyes turning cold as ice. "Why come back out? If you'd just stayed buried and played dead until the authorities arrived, you might've had a chance to escape later. But now that you've revealed yourself, I can't exactly turn a blind eye, can I?"
It was almost disappointing how predictable this was.
He'd just finished delivering such a threatening monologue, too.
But then,
WHOOSH!
Zombozo spun on his heel and ran, sprinting at full speed back toward the circus tent!
This completely blindsided Diamondhead, and even the three Circus Freaks stared in blank confusion at their boss's retreating back.
Wait...
Thumbskull's mind slowly processed what just happened. "Boss... did you run in the wrong direction?! Diamondhead is behind you!"
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