Left with no other choice, Ben decided to become serious and slammed his hand on the Omnitrix.
VREEEEM!
A blinding blue flash surged outward as the transformation took hold.
When the light faded, standing where Benjamin had been was a yellow, ten foot tall alien with an armored, mechanical robotic-like body. His head was similar to a Greek Corinthian helmet with two ears on it, giving him the appearance of an armadillo. In addition to that, he had a gray tail and jackhammer parts on his elbows, wrists and hands, creating the impression that of a digging robot.
And lastly, there was the blue Omnitrix symbol on its chest.
"Alright big guy, let's see how tough you are when you're eating dust."
Armodrillo slammed both arms into the ground.
CRACK—!
The pavement beneath them erupted with a thunderous quake, splitting like dry earth under a jackhammer. Concrete shards exploded into the air as shockwaves rippled down the street. The werewolf stumbled, caught off-balance by the seismic assault, but only for a moment.
Somehow, the beast managed to recover its balance and in the same motion, launched a counterattack.
For a brief second, the claws on its right hand glowed ominously.
Then it swung.
With a roar, something flew toward Armodrillo at frightening speed.
"!?"
To him, it felt like a barrage of invisible lasers had erupted from every direction... no, more like a tornado made of wind blades.
The typhoon of cutting force tore through the street mercilessly. He watched in alarm as the attack shredded asphalt, splintered streetlights, and sliced clean through rows of trees lining the road like an industrial water jet gone berserk.
He barely managed to shield himself in time.
Raising both of his massive, drill-like arms, Armodrillo braced for impact, enduring the shockwave and concentrated burst of force head-on.
The ground shook beneath his feet. Sparks and fragments of concrete flew past.
When the storm finally settled, he slowly lowered his arms and what he saw made his breath catch.
One… two… three, four… five.
Five long, narrow gashes carved deep into the ground stretched for dozens of meters in different directions. Each cut was clean and deadly sharp, slicing at odd, almost chaotic angles like enormous claw marks etched into a steel vault door.
"…W-What… the hell was that?"
Before he could even fully process what had happened, the shadow werewolf took advantage of the opportunity and leaped towards him.
... Shit!
Armodrillo raised an arm to block as the werewolf slammed into him, sending both of them tumbling through a storefront window in a blast of glass and debris. The two figures crashed into the store's shelves, toppling merchandise in a storm of dust and sparks.
Dazed from the blow, he struggled to move but the werewolf was faster.
It pounced, driving him to the ground and pinning him with brute force, snapping its snarling jaws dangerously close to his face.
"Ugh, get off me!"
Armodrillo growled and twisted his body with a surge of mechanical strength. The floor cracked beneath him as he forced his massive arm between himself and the beast's snapping jaws, barely holding them at bay.
The werewolf snarled, gnashing its fangs just inches from his face. Saliva sprayed across Armodrillo's armor, hissing like acid on contact.
"You're stronger than you look! What are you anyway? A devil? A demonic beast? You know what, screw this..."
Frustrated, Armodrillo activated the jackhammer mechanisms embedded in his arms.
VREEEEEM—THOOM!!
The drills spun to life with a violent jolt and slammed point-blank into the werewolf's torso.
BOOM!!
The force launched the beast off of him and straight through the store's back wall in an explosion of debris and cracked tile. The impact left a ragged hole as wide as a delivery truck.
The mechanical-robotic alien quickly rolled to his feet.
"Not bad, huh? Try biting through that again."
But even as he spoke, the dust cloud behind the broken wall began to churn.
Crimson eyes gleamed once more in the haze.
"…Oh, you've gotta be kidding me."
Following the release of those words, five wind slashed flew towards him.
Sensing the danger, Armodrillo immediately leaped to the side, evading the incoming slashes by mere inches.
SHRRRIIIP!!... The five wind blades tore through the store like paper, slicing through support beams, shelves, and even the concrete floor in a straight, deadly line. The building groaned in protest as the entire right wall collapsed inward with a tremendous crash.
BOOM!!
Dust and debris erupted everywhere, momentarily obscuring Ben's vision. He coughed and raised a forearm to shield his optics.
"Cough! Cough! That same attack again, was it?"
As if on cue,
Thump! Thump! Thump!
Heavy footsteps echoed through the settling dust cloud. The werewolf emerged slowly, its black fur matted with blood and scorch marks, yet its body still moved with lethal grace. Bone twisted and popped back into place with disturbing ease as it regenerated on the move.
... Regeneration? It can regenerate?
His eyes narrowed.
Not only does it have overwhelming agility, it also has power and range along with regeneration. Most concerning was that slash attack. It probably has something to deal with magic. Given how the werewolf had effortlessly shredded the trees lining the road from dozens of meters away, attempting to run, throw something heavy, or use a shield would be suicide, especially in his current form.
Armodrillo quickly calculated the distance between himself and the shadowy beast.
It was roughly ten meters. If he sprinted at full speed, he could close the gap. But the werewolf was far faster than he was, and getting caught by one of those slashing attacks would be disastrous.
Simply put, he needed to create an opening.
... This guy is beginning to get on my nerves. I'll finish this off in one go!
With no time to waste, he charged.
THOOM!!
The concrete shattered beneath his feet as he lunged forward like a battering ram, drills primed and spinning. The werewolf responded in kind, letting out a sharp snarl before dashing in at blinding speed.
The two forces collided once more.
CLANG–!!
Armodrillo's jackhammer arms locked with the werewolf's glowing clawsand sparks flew in every direction. The shockwave from the impact shattered every window for a hundred meters around.
He twisted one of the drills and activated a deeper seismic burst.
VROOM-CRACK!!
A concentrated shockwave pulsed directly through their clash point. This time not into the ground, but into the werewolf itself.
The beast's eyes widened as the force erupted through its body. Bones cracked audibly. It flew backward once more, this time crashing into a delivery truck outside the store with enough force to flip it on its side.
Breathing hard, Armodrillo staggered slightly.
The Omnitrix blinked orange.
"…Crap! Already?"
His time in alien form was running out. And in the worst possible moment too.
Through the haze of crumpled steel and firelight, the hulking monstrosity rose againand snarled.
... Tsk. I really have to finish this fast.
Following that thought, he raised both jackhammer arms and smashed them into the floor again.
CRACK...BOOM!!
This time, the seismic pulse wasn't just a tremor, it was a localized quake! The ground beneath the werewolf erupted violently, sending chunks of concrete and flaming debris skyward. The shockwave rippled outward in all directions, causing nearby lampposts to crumple and nearby cars to bounce off their wheels before slamming back down with metallic groans.
Caught in the epicenter, the werewolf lost its footing and stumbled, snarling in pain and confusion as the street underneath it buckled like paper.
...Now!
Ben dashed forward with his arm cocked back and drills spinning at maximum velocity.
"Say goodnight, mutt!!"
The werewolf, still dazed from the seismic blast, failed to react on time.
THUD!!
His fist slammed directly into the beast's jaw with the force of a wrecking ball. A sonic shockwave tore through the air as the beast was launched skyward like a ragdoll, spinning uncontrollably before it smashed into the side of a nearby building, leaving a crater on impact.
Concrete rained from the sky as dust blanketed the area.
Then—
BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!
The Omnitrix flashed red.
"Ah, damn it—!"
A second later, a burst of light overtook his form.
FLASH!
Armodrillo vanished, replaced by a visibly exhausted human teenager, breathing hard and wiping soot from his face.
"...Well, that goes that."
Benjamin Tennyson dusted himself and looked toward the ruined building where the werewolf had crashed. Smoke billowed from the crater, and for a few tense seconds, there was no movement.
Maybe it was over.
After all, that thing had taken a full-powered blow to the head from Armodrillo. Not even most high-ranking Devils could walk away from that.
There was no way it survived.
CRACK—!
As if to mock his thoughts, a clawed hand burst through the rubble.
Ben's eyes widened.
"...No freaking way."
The werewolf slowly crawled from the wreckage. Its skull was brutally split open, flesh torn and oozing black blood, yet it was alive. Horrifyingly alive. Its grotesque, shattered head began knitting itself back together, bone snapping into place, skin stretching to cover ruined muscle. Its eyes, now fully exposed beneath the half-healed wreck of its face, burned with feral malevolence.
Ben took an instinctive step back.
Impossible. It's still moving? Even after that?!
The beast took one step forward, dragging itself out of the crater. This was seriously bad news. With the Omnitrix timed out, there was practically no possible way he would be able to defend himself against such a monstrosity.
Fearing the worst, he prepared himself for an inevitable clash. However, that didn't occur.
'It' stopped.
The werewolf tilted its head, as though hearing something only it could perceive. Its ears twitched.
It growled lowly… then turned away.
Ben blinked.
"Huh?"
In a blur, the creature leapt to a nearby rooftop. Within seconds, it had vanished into the darkening skyline, leaving behind only silence, shattered concrete, and the bitter stench of smoke.
Ben stood frozen for several seconds, staring into the empty space where the creature had just been.
Confusion swirled in his chest. The werewolf had clearly still been capable of fighting, its strength hadn't waned enough to justify a retreat, yet it had simply turned and vanished.
He did not understand.
Actually, if he were being honest with himself… he was relieved.
He didn't know why it had left, but he was grateful it did.
Finally, Benjamin Tennyson let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. A gust of wind blew through the shattered street, carrying with it the acrid scent of scorched asphalt, dust, and blood.
He wiped a line of sweat from his brow, then looked down at his trembling hands and smiled wryly.
"... Hah. That was certainly something. I really thought I was a goner for a second there."
Then his expression immediately turned serious. This entire event made no sense at all.
If that werewolf was tasked to kill him, why did it leave? Or was it possible that wasn't the original intention behind its presence?
He wiped a line of sweat from his brow, then looked down at his trembling hands and gave a wry smile.
"…Hah. That was something else. For a moment there, I really thought I was done for."
But the smile quickly faded as his expression hardened. The more he thought about it, the less any of it made sense.
If that werewolf had been sent to kill him… then why did it retreat? Or could it be that killing him wasn't the intention?