"Roar!"
"Roar!!"
The Wildmutt moved with lightning speed, darting past Phil and charging straight toward Lucian.
Upon sensing Phil's presence, Wildmutt paused for a moment, wanting to rescue him.
"Come on, don't you trust me?" Lucian waved his hand, refusing to let his plan be thrown off track.
"Roar~" After a brief hesitation, Wildmutt ran after him, escaping alongside Lucian.
He trusted Lucian!
"Phil, get out of the way!!" Grandpa Max shouted from behind, trying to catch up to the two ferocious beasts.
Phil stood frozen as the two savage creatures, claws and fangs bared, grew larger and larger in his eyes.
Suddenly, he pulled a device from his pocket. It was entirely silver, shaped somewhat like a key, with a red button on top.
Phil pressed it firmly. A strange audio signal burst from the device, creating invisible sound waves that spread in all directions.
"Roar~"
Both Vulpimancers—and even Wildmutt nearby—clutched their heads in agony, rolling on the ground as if enduring the cruelest torture.
"Sonic Pitch Whistle?" Grandpa Max rushed over, his brows deeply furrowed.
This device emitted a special frequency lethal to Vulpimancers, whose hearing was extremely sensitive. But if Phil already had the Sonic Pitch Whistle, why hadn't he handled the Vulpimancers sooner?
Noticing Grandpa Max's suspicious gaze, Phil grinned. "Things got urgent just now—that's when I remembered I had the Sonic Pitch Whistle."
Grandpa Max nodded slightly, though his expression shifted.
By the time they had dealt with the two Vulpimancers, it was around three in the morning. Everyone was utterly exhausted.
After Phil's persistent persuasion, Grandpa Max finally agreed to bring Lucian and the others to Phil's place to rest, deciding they'd plan once daylight came.
When they arrived, everyone froze in place.
Luxurious red carpets, gleaming crystal chandeliers, expensive tiger-skin sofas, and jade-carved tea sets—pure extravagance.
Phil, however, waved it off dismissively. "Max, this presidential suite is just a trifle. If you join me, you'll be world-famous tycoons soon enough."
Grandpa Max shook his head, refusing to be swayed.
Ben sat on the leather sofa, munching on an extravagant fruit platter. "Grandpa, you're too stubborn. Joining Uncle Phil would be awesome! We could fight bad guys and live happily ever after. What's not to love?"
"Don't assume everyone's as greedy as you," Gwen huffed, glaring at her cousin who'd been bought off with fruit.
"Exactly, Max! Ben's absolutely right." Phil pressed on, seizing the moment. "Ben's powers, your combat experience, and my talents—together, we'd be unstoppable. No alien could stand against us."
Lucian's mouth twitched slightly. "Talents," huh? That's quite the stretch.
After a long pause, Grandpa Max rubbed his forehead. "Just leave me alone for a bit."
With that, he walked out the door, leaving only his solitary figure behind.
Phil clenched his fist quietly, then turned with a bright smile. "Ben, you two stay here and have fun. I'll go convince Max to join my team."
"Go ahead, Uncle Phil." Ben was still happily eating, fruit juice dripping down his chin.
Gwen shook her head, opening her laptop to look over study materials.
Watching Grandpa Max and Phil walk away, Lucian felt a chill in his chest. That sly old fox was probably about to reveal his true intentions.
Not long ago at the meat processing plant, Lucian had deliberately lured the two Vulpimancers toward Phil—all to make him slip up.
With the Sonic Pitch Whistle, Phil could have handled the Vulpimancers entirely on his own. So what was his real purpose in bringing everyone there?
...
Presidential Suite, Back Garden.
Grandpa Max, his hair streaked with gray, sat at the edge of the flowerbed. His eyes were calm as still water, yet his brow remained deeply furrowed.
Memories surfaced of the days he had fought alongside Phil. The two had been inseparable, working in perfect sync. Together, they had defeated Vilgax and sent him into outer space.
Then the scene in his mind shifted—to the meat processing plant. Phil's look when he saw Ben's Omnitrix, and later, the sudden appearance of the Sonic Pitch Whistle—it was all far too suspicious.
A bad feeling crept into Grandpa Max's heart.
He sighed softly. "I hope it's not what I'm thinking…"
Suddenly, faint footsteps rustled nearby.
Grandpa Max's eyes hardened. His hand instinctively went to his waist as he sprang upright, ready to draw his gun.
"Old friend, your vigilance hasn't dulled a bit!" Phil greeted him with a sheepish grin, raising both hands.
"So it's you." Grandpa Max relaxed slightly and sat back down.
"Max, hear me out," Phil said casually, sitting beside him. "I sincerely want you and Ben to join me. Together, we could fight crime, eliminate evil, and restore the pride of the Plumbers!"
"No need to say more," Grandpa Max said, his face darkening. "Ben is still a kid. Don't drag him into this. And thank you for putting us up tonight. We'll be gone by morning."
"Max, are you sure you won't reconsider?" Phil asked with a faint, mocking smile, his hand subtly reaching behind his back.
Grandpa Max remained deep in thought, unaware of the movement—or perhaps, he simply didn't expect it.
Click!
Phil suddenly raised the Null Void Projector, aiming it straight at Grandpa Max.
"What?" Grandpa Max's eyes widened. "Phil, do you even know what you're doing?"
"You forced me into this, Max," Phil said with a cold smile.
"No wonder those aliens looked familiar—the Havoc Beast, the Vulpimancer… all creatures we once locked away in the Null Void!" Grandpa Max clenched his fists tightly. "You stole the Null Void Projector, released the aliens, then recaptured them for profit. Phil… you've really let me down!"
At this moment, the man before him felt like a stranger—driven by greed, without a shred of conscience left.
"Max, if I hadn't done this, I'd have been out of work long ago," Phil said with a sneer. "Ever since you took down Vilgax, no alien dares cause trouble on Earth. I only did this to keep my job."
"Put down the Null Void Projector. There's still a chance to fix this," Grandpa Max said gravely.
"Since you're so stubborn, I can't let you walk away," Phil said with feigned regret. "Don't worry, Max. I'll tell Ben you left final words—asking him to help me destroy alien monsters and make us both rich."
He pulled the trigger. A golden beam of light shot out, heading straight for the stunned Grandpa Max.
Bang!
A white silhouette suddenly appeared from the side, slamming into Phil and sending him flying.
The golden beam veered off course, streaking past Grandpa Max and vanishing into the night sky.
Ghostfreak, its single purple eye gleaming, glared at Phil sprawled in the flowerbed. Its voice rasped coldly, "Lucian was right. You've been lying to us all along."
"Ben, this isn't the way. We should be working together to fight those aliens!" Phil stood up, his body covered in scattered petals.
"I won't work with someone like you," Ghostfreak said, shaking its head, voice like ice.
"That's a shame!"
The words had barely left his lips when Phil raised the Null Void Projector again, firing another golden beam at the ground of the garden.
Hum!
A golden circle formed on the lawn, rippling with waves of energy.
"Screech!"
A grayish-white creature burst out from within the light.
It had wings sprouting from its back, razor-sharp fangs, and a tail made of writhing tendrils. Massive and menacing, it looked like a cross between a bat and an octopus.
...