Whoosh!
A towering sand tornado rose before everyone's eyes.
Howling winds and choking dust raged violently, sweeping up countless cars and grinding them to pieces. The entire San Francisco Bridge shook precariously, on the verge of collapsing.
Yet strangely enough, the sand tornado did not harm Ben or Captain Shaw's group. Instead, it carried them away from the battlefield, placing them safely at a distance from the center of the fight.
"You freak, don't think you can beat us!" Kevin shouted, eyes wide as every muscle in his body tensed.
The flames he had just unleashed were smothered instantly by Sandbox, leaving not even a trace behind.
At this moment, Sandbox had fully transformed into a terrifying tornado. Its destructive power was staggering. Thick bridge cables were dragged inside, twisted violently, and torn apart, scattering as countless red fragments that rained down into the sea.
A green box floated steadily at the center of the tornado, perfectly protected.
That box was Sandbox's core and also his weakness. Like Goop's anti-gravity device, it allowed him to overcome Earth's gravity, freely alter his form, and move without restraint. Without it, he would collapse into a useless pile of sand, unable to move at all.
Lucian understood this better than anyone. In battle, he had to protect that box at all costs and never let it fall into enemy hands.
Staring at the terrifying sand tornado, Kevin raised his arm, which rapidly transformed into a dense mass of crystalline spikes. With a sharp motion, he fired them all forward in a furious barrage.
But the moment the spikes reached the edge of the tornado, they were torn apart by its violent force, shattering into countless green fragments that mixed into the storm, adding flecks of emerald to the swirling sand.
After effortlessly dismantling the attack, Sandbox directed the tornado straight toward Kevin.
The sheer force carved deep trenches into the ground as sand and dust roared through the sky, darkening the surroundings as if the end of the world had arrived.
"What a terrifying ability…" Zs'Skayr stood frozen, forgetting to flee for a moment.
Qyskaar clenched his teeth.
"This brat cannot be allowed to live. If we let him keep growing stronger, we'll all die by his hands sooner or later."
The two Ghostfreaks exchanged a glance and nodded in unison. Wrapped in chilling dark energy, they surged forward, charging straight at the sand tornado.
Meanwhile, Kevin was already locked in a brutal clash with Sandbox.
Whoosh!
A torrent of scorching flames burst from Kevin's hand, waves of fire rolling violently as they slammed into the sand tornado.
Yet not even a spark survived. The flames were snuffed out instantly, erased by the storm.
"Hahahaha! That's it?" A mouth formed on the surface of the sandstorm, mocking him openly. "That kind of firepower is pathetic!"
"Damn it! I refuse to believe I can't kill you!" Kevin roared, veins bulging as he charged forward. "You're nothing but a pile of living sand, and you dare provoke me? I'll burn you into a heap of black slag!"
"Come on," Sandbox replied, his voice deep and unwavering.
Kevin rushed in, swinging his fists wildly and smashing them into the sand tornado, sending clouds of dust flying everywhere.
Suddenly, a massive foot emerged from the storm, wrapped in violently churning sand. It slammed down hard onto Kevin, crushing him into the ground in an instant.
The high-speed sand was as sharp as blades, tearing across Kevin's back and drawing agonized screams from his throat.
His earlier fight with Feedback had already left him badly injured and nearly out of stamina. He was far from his peak, and now, under Sandbox's overwhelming assault, he had no strength left to resist.
Just as Sandbox completely suppressed Kevin, the two Ghostfreaks arrived.
"You brat, don't get too cocky!"
Zs'Skayr roared, tearing open the gash in his chest as an eerie purple beam burst forth, slamming straight toward Sandbox.
Qyskaar followed close behind, unleashing his strongest killing move as well, striking at Sandbox while he was still in tornado form.
However, the instant the two raging purple light dragons collided with the sand whirlwind, they were swallowed by countless surging grains of sand. Twisted apart and shattered, they dissolved into scattered points of purple light, blending into the towering sand vortex.
Qyskaar rushed in, black claws extended and wrapped in dense, chilling energy, slashing viciously at the storm.
"Hmph!"
A cold snort echoed from within the terrifying sand vortex.
Sandbox rapidly altered his form, sand assembling and reshaping at high speed, until he gradually took on the shape of a towering Desert War God.
Clad in golden sand armor and crowned with a golden diadem, he stood nearly fifteen meters tall, powerfully built, gripping a massive golden sand sword. A terrifying aura radiated from him, like a dormant beast ready to strike.
As for the anti-gravity device, Sandbox had already concealed it within his head, protecting it completely.
"So cool! Cuz's alien looks insanely strong!" Gwen's eyes lit up as she stared at the desert giant in the distance.
"Relax. When has Cuz ever let us down?" Ben grinned confidently.
Beep! Beep!
Suddenly, the Omnitrix on Ben's wrist emitted a strange sound as its color shifted from red to green.
Charged!
"Oh yeah! My lousy little watch finally finished charging!" Ben cheered, jumping in excitement.
He immediately pressed the Omnitrix, the hero selection screen popping up as he scanned through it rapidly.
"Eenie, meenie, miney, moe… which one should I pick?" Ben hesitated for a moment, then his eyes lit up. "Got it! You're the one!"
With that, he raised his hand and slammed it down on the Omnitrix.
...
On the battlefield, the towering Desert War God displayed overwhelming might, completely suppressing Kevin and the others.
With a casual motion, he formed a sand shackle, pinning Kevin firmly to the ground and locking him in place, making escape impossible for the time being.
"Damn it! You freak, let me go if you've got the guts!" Kevin roared, pounding the ground in fury.
If he were still at his peak, Sandbox wouldn't have been able to restrain him so easily. But his earlier fight with Feedback had drained him badly, and being blasted into the ocean had left him seriously injured.
Ignoring Kevin's enraged shouting, the Desert War God focused entirely on Zs'Skayr and Qyskaar.
These two Ectonurites could turn invisible and become intangible. They had to be dealt with first, or they might seize the chance to escape.
"Roar!"
The Desert War God let out a thunderous roar, swinging his golden sand sword. Brilliant afterimages slashed through the air, enveloping the two Ghostfreaks and forcing them back step by step.
"Damn it! Turning into a Conductoid was bad enough, and now this terrifying monster?!" Zs'Skayr snarled in misery.
He had thought that once Feedback was gone, Lucian would be easy to deal with. He never expected Lucian to turn into something like this.
To be honest, even he had no idea what kind of alien this was. He had never seen it before, not even heard of it.
Qyskaar, his body covered in sword marks, was driven back, terror filling his eyes.
"This… what is going on? I've already gone intangible. Why am I still being hit?!"
"There's something wrong with that sword!" Zs'Skayr growled, teeth clenched.
In truth, the sword itself wasn't special.
Sandbox could freely control the density of the fine sand making up his weapon, adjusting the gaps between the grains. By dispersing those gaps, the golden sand sword could still strike the Ghostfreaks.
Ghostfreak's intangibility worked by expanding the gaps between his own molecules to avoid physical attacks. Sandbox simply did the same with the sand grains in his sword, canceling out that effect.
As for invisibility, it was even less effective. Sandbox had already filled a hundred-meter radius with dense sand dust. By sensing the movement of the sand, he could clearly detect the Ghostfreaks' sinister aura and pinpoint their positions instantly.
In the distance, the mountains slowly took on a golden outline.
"No, it's almost dawn!" Zs'Skayr cried out in alarm…
...
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