The damp air in the underground chamber clung to the skin.
From the heavy soil above, droplets of water dripped steadily, splashing onto the cracked stage below and scattering into brief, glittering bursts before vanishing.
Zombozo stood atop the Psyclown machine, his bloated belly jutting forward as he looked at his two opponents with a mocking grin.
"Interesting," he sneered. "Two freakish little brats. Fine, come at me together."
He waved his hand lazily, daring them to attack.
Big Chill exhaled sharply, unleashing a wave of freezing air that surged toward Zombozo.
Crack… crack…
Frost rapidly spread across the clown's body. In mere seconds, he was encased in thick layers of ice, transformed into a solid, lifeless sculpture.
His grotesque face was frozen mid-expression beneath the transparent shell, every twisted feature perfectly visible.
"Awesome! Cuz, that was amazing!" Ghostfreak shouted, awe flashing in his single purple eye.
Just one breath—and the enemy was frozen solid. To Ben, that was beyond cool.
Big Chill, however, shook his head. "It's not over. Don't let your guard down."
Back in town, Zombozo had absorbed only half the joy of the townspeople, and even then, he'd fought Four Arms to a standstill. Though he lost, the boost from the absorbed joy was enough to prove how dangerous it was.
Now, after devouring the happiness of the entire town, his power had reached its peak. There was no way he'd go down that easily.
Sure enough, the moment Big Chill spoke, the ice began to crack. Fissures spread rapidly across the surface, the frozen statue trembling violently.
Boom!
With a shattering roar, Zombozo flexed his massive arms and burst free, shards of ice scattering across the muddy ground.
"Hahahaha! That's it?!" he cackled wildly, his laughter echoing through the cavern. "Pathetic! I was actually hoping this would be fun!"
"Freak! Let a real superhero show you how it's done!"
Ghostfreak growled, his body turning transparent as he faded into the shadows.
"That same old trick again?" Zombozo scoffed, flipping his palm to conjure a gleaming, ornate music box. "I'm getting tired of this act."
His eyes darted back and forth, sharp and cunning, his expression brimming with confidence.
Big Chill snorted coldly and shifted into his spectral form. His blue wings spread wide as he shot forward, cutting through the air like a frozen blade.
Unlike Ghostfreak, Big Chill's spectral state remained faintly visible—but his concealment was far more advanced. He could phase his body into another dimension, making him untouchable without specific spatial powers.
Ghostfreak, on the other hand, expanded his molecular structure, allowing attacks to pass through him. It granted him invisibility but also made him easier to disrupt.
Both forms had their strengths. Their one shared ability—moving freely through solid matter—let them glide effortlessly even underground.
Big Chill's form shimmered as he approached, reduced to a ghostly blue silhouette surrounded by an icy aura. He streaked straight toward Zombozo, silent and deadly.
Zombozo had been fiddling with the music box, preparing to expose Ghostfreak's position, when Big Chill lunged unexpectedly—vanishing into near-nothingness mid-flight.
"Wha—!"
Caught off guard, Zombozo panicked. He hurled the ornate music box directly at the incoming specter.
Boom!
Just as it neared Big Chill's face, the music box burst open, releasing a blinding wave of fiery light.
The explosion roared through the cavern, a searing torrent of heat so intense it seemed to burn the air itself. Flames engulfed Big Chill's body in an instant.
In Zombozo's crazed eyes, two tiny reflections of fire danced, flickering like twin furnaces.
Watching the alien engulfed by flames, he threw back his head and laughed, revealing rows of stained yellow teeth.
"Hahahaha! You little punk! Thought Zombozo was an easy target? How's that for a lesson in pain?"
Gradually, the blazing inferno began to fade...
A slender blue silhouette floated motionless in midair, completely unharmed. Its expression was calm and distant, as if untouched by the mortal world.
"This… this is impossible!" Zombozo stammered, eyes bulging in disbelief. "I packed that music box with concentrated explosives, and you're not even singed!"
The scene before him shattered everything he thought he understood. His entire worldview was on the verge of collapse.
"Wrong," Big Chill said, lazily wagging a clawed finger. "It's not that I'm unscathed—I didn't even move."
Though surrounded by the blinding blast, it had been safely phased into another dimension. Not a trace of heat had touched it, nor had the tremendous shockwave shifted its form in the slightest.
Such was the wonder of dimensional space.
Before the terrified eyes of the clown, Big Chill spread its vast wings. With a blur of motion, its form sliced straight through Zombozo's body.
Crack…
A chilling sound rang out as frost began spreading from within him—crystalline ice forming outward from his stomach, radiating an intense cold that rapidly spread across his body.
Just as the freezing reached his head, a sharp glint flashed in Big Chill's eyes. It dropped out of its phased state and swung its fist.
The blow landed squarely against Zombozo's face.
"AAAH!"
Zombozo screamed, his body flung through the air like a kite with its string cut. He crashed into the rocky wall with a deafening impact, sending dust and debris cascading down.
The pipe connecting him to the Psyclown snapped violently, throwing the entire machine off balance. Thick white smoke began to pour out.
Without the Psyclown to sustain him, Zombozo could no longer convert human joy into power. The stolen energy within him began to surge out uncontrollably, turning back into pure happiness that shot skyward—returning to its rightful owners in the town.
The mighty power that had filled him melted away like frost under the sun, vanishing rapidly.
[Ding~ Alien Hacker Mission Triggered]
[Completely destroy Zombozo's Psyclown to save the souls of the town's residents]
[Complete the mission to unlock a random Alien Hero]
The series of system prompts echoed in Lucian's mind.
Big Chill's eyes narrowed. With a flap of its wings, it soared above the Psyclown, then exhaled a torrent of freezing mist. Within seconds, the entire machine froze into a massive block of glittering ice.
"Game over," it said flatly, snapping its fingers.
Snap!
The frozen Psyclown shattered in an instant, exploding into a storm of frost and shards that scattered like falling snow over the muddy ground.
[Mission Complete: Psyclown Destroyed. Random Alien Hero Chest Obtained. Can be opened anytime.]
Big Chill nodded slightly, then turned its gaze toward the fallen Zombozo.
The clown lay covered in dirt and bruises, barely managing to push himself up on trembling legs. He glared upward, his eyes burning with venom and hatred.
"You little brat… you're dead!"
Snarling, Zombozo pulled a blood-red mask from his coat and wound his arm back to throw it.
But before he could, a chilling voice spoke from the shadows.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you~"
Ghostfreak materialized beside him, his hand snapping around Zombozo's arm like a vice.
With his power drained, the clown could do nothing. No matter how he struggled, Ghostfreak's grip didn't budge.
The alien tore the mask from his grasp and flung it aside.
Leaning in close, its single purple eye gleamed as it rasped, "You like scaring people, huh? Then let me show you something really fun~"
The words had barely left its mouth before Ghostfreak ripped open the fissure across its chest—unleashing a mass of black-and-white tentacles that writhed violently in the air...