"I'm going to ask you just one more time," Albedo said slowly, each word with a hint of impatience, "Where is the entropy regulator?"
In the center of the hall, where the Chaotic vault once stood, now a crystalline, humanoid creature waited for an answer. Closer eyes could still make out details of a polymorpho organism in the alien's appearance, such as the absence of joints or the face composed only of glowing eyes. However, no reddish coloration or catarrhal appearance could be found in its structure, as well as no gravity generator could be seen swinging over the creature's head anymore.
Around Albedo, the soldier-knights were arranged in a semicircle with their weapons in position. Kevin, still sitting on the ground, slowly began to get to his feet, as he felt that the situation would develop badly at any moment. Sir William stood with a proud smile of victory. Behind him, Sir Gustav and Sir Alfred (the uncle with the bow, as Kevin says) were going through the gates of the vault room carrying the wounded Sir Edward. The first aid performed was enough to be able to get him back on his feet, but more intense care of his wounds will still be needed.
Sir William then replied:
"There is no entropy regulator."
"Don't you dare pull a prank on my face, Knight," Albedo said in a thick voice, completely different from the thin, distorted voice of the polymorphs.
"You have stayed so long on our premises and so far you have failed to understand the fundamentals of our Order, worm?" Sir William pointed the tip of his sword toward the alien, "Putting an end to disgusting creatures that endanger humanity, like you, is the cornerstone of our precepts!"
During Sir William's entire speech, Kevin moved very cautiously, seeking to get out of the middle of the impending confrontation. With the non-existence of the entropy regulator, the whole thing had become a battle of psychopaths. There was no point in staying there. He looked around and noticed that the soldiers' attention remained focused on the new Albedo. He thanked the universe for making villains so fond of long speeches and for henchmen rarely acting without a command.
Amid the silence of the crypt, a slow clapping was heard.
"Beautiful..." said Albedo. "Really touching..."
Albedo ceased the clapping. Then he said:
"Only I can't accept having wasted all this time for an unfounded hunt. Either you hand me an entropy regulator this very instant, or I'm going to terminate every one of you until someone brings me the device."
"Your threats do not frighten us, you alien scum," Sir William said, "We, the Order of the Forever Knights, are sworn to fight and die for our goals!"
"And who says I will simply kill you? There are much more effective ways to demonstrate your determination to achieve a goal."
Albedo took a step forward, and with that, all the soldiers around him moved one step in retreat. The alien's icy face twisted into what could be interpreted as a smile.
"Before you kill someone you can torture him."
He took another step forward and was met with another retreat from the soldiers.
"Make him scream in pain..."
Another step. Another retreat by the soldiers.
"Make him show the universe the insignificance of his species with every tear and plea for mercy?"
Another step. Another setback.
"Take for example his companion, Edward..."
One more step.
No retreat.
"Look at this..." Albedo stared into the eyes of anger that protruded through the holes in the helmets around him.
Sir William bore on his face the personification of anger. Without raising his voice, he said the command that everyone there longed to hear:
"Finish this bastard off."
The shots were fired without mercy. At first, Albedo allowed one or another laser to pass through his body. The gelatinous lump that was removed slowly returned to his body structure. However, the cadence of the shots did not slow down and he was losing more body than he could recover.
Suddenly the humanoid body spread out on the ground as an extensive circular patch, then compressed into a single point and launched itself into the air like a geyser. When it reached a height near the ceiling, it expanded again into a huge disk over several of the soldiers.
The knights began to shoot at the circular shape; however, the shots hit their target, but were not able to pass through the crystalline structure.
And then the disk came down.
Falling over a few dozen soldiers, a huge smoke of dust and debris rose into the air. The knights who were not hit coughed and tried to locate themselves in the mist that covered the place.
The smoke swirled rapidly at one point in the hall and then a scream was heard.
Sir William and the soldiers turned toward the sound, watching for the slightest movement.
Another shout accompanied by a thudding sound at an immediately opposite point in the hall.
Again the knights turned.
Two more shouts.
The fear deepened. One by one, the alien was charging at the remaining soldiers.
Although they tried to predict the next place the alien would advance, it was practically impossible with all the cloud of dust. The fact that the creature was moving randomly through the place at an absurd speed was also a very important variable.
Sir William heard a howl from a soldier who fell to the floor beside him, and within seconds a new groan from the other end of the hall. The screams were coming faster and faster. The knights, famous for being expert hunters, became the prey.
The smoke swirled and whirled, slowly settling to the ground. Gradually, Sir William was able to watch the creature move against the few remaining soldiers. Its speed of movement was impressive, appearing and appearing in different parts of the hall in a matter of moments, knocking the soldiers mercilessly to the ground.
The sword trembled in Sir William's hands. The sweat pouring down his face tore a path through the dust that settled on his face. He rested one hand on the emblem of the Eternal Knights on his chest and in his thoughts cried out for divine help.
"All right, where were we?" said Albedo from behind Sir William.
Sir spun his body on its heels, throwing his sword in a semicircular slash behind him, but it only struck the air, for the creature was already gone.
"Your rudeness in establishing a friendly dialogue is annoying..." said Albedo again behind the knight.
Sir William held the sword in both hands and again turned his body, delivering a blow to the alien's neck. The sword crashed against a crystalline surface and shattered, scattering fragments into the air.
Albedo stared at the knight with the icy stare of a glass statue.
Sir William saw behind the creature that the dust finally gave way, giving way to a desolate scene, with all his soldiers sprawled across the floor of the great hall.
"Come, knight, the device or life," Albedo said.
* * *
When the glass disc fell and raised over the hall the mist of dust, Kevin found there the opportunity he needed to finally escape. With wounds on his thigh, arms and back, as well as two broken ribs, he knew that to enter any confrontation now would be to sign his death certificate with his own blood.
It was frustrating to know that all the time allotted to this mission was just a waste. If he had to look at the situation with an optimistic eye, at least it was frustrating for both him and Albedo.
Kevin went through the doors of the vault room and returned to the room of the metal snake. Its steel carcass was still lying on the floor. He hid behind it when he noticed that the Sirs, accompanied by three soldiers, were still in the room. The knight with the shield, once attacked by Albedo, had one knee on the floor. His companions at his side held his arms and said:
"Come on, Edward, we have a long way to go yet" said the uncle with the bow.
"I know..." Sir Edward said softly. "I'm just asking for a few seconds to breathe..."
"Sir!" said one of the soldiers to Sir Alfred. "We've been trying to reach the castle staff and haven't heard back yet-"
"And they won't be able to," interrupted the knight-scum-father-of-George. "All communications are blocked here in the crypt." Sir Gustav turned to Sir Edward and said in a thoughtful tone of voice. "As soon as we reach the elevators, Edward, we'll send a call to the castle staff to get the medical wing ready."
"Thank you for your support, comrades..." Edward stood up slightly, trying to ignore the pain from his wounds and leaned on the arms of his colleagues. "We can go."
They were at the threshold of the next room when the sound of an impact against a metal structure echoed through the room, drawing the attention of the knights.
Kevin, from his hiding place, saw Sir William enter the room in a parabola through the air and strike the snake's metal carcass. Steel debris scattered from the crash site.
"William!" shouted the Sirs.
What the hell? thought Kevin.
Sir Gustav pointed with his head to one of the soldiers and ordered:
"You, come here, help Sir Alfred carry Sir Edward to the elevators." The knight slung his wounded colleague's arm over the soldier's shoulder. "I'll catch up with you soon! Go!"
The knights continued on their way. Sir Gustav, in turn, removed the mace strapped to his back and set off in the direction of his leader.
From inside the vault room, Albedo emerged walking calmly. Now, in a slightly less dusty environment, but still poorly lit, it was possible to see three small spheres orbiting each other in the center of the alien's chest.
Sir Gustav approached his fallen colleague and while helping him to get out of the snake's hardware, he asked:
"What happened in there?"
"The bastard became even stronger."
"And our soldiers?"
"All defeated."
"What a son of a-"
"And Sir Edward?" interrupted Sir William.
"Alfred and some soldiers are taking him to the elevators."
"Very well, let's buy them some time then."
"William, did he manage to get his hands on the-"
"No," Sir William cut in, hoping that the alien hadn't heard him.
Both standing up, the knights stared at the creature that lay still by the door. Sir Gustav kept his flat mace armed with electric beams, while Sir William took two daggers from his back and stood in defense.
Suddenly, the creature disappeared.
"Gustav, dodge!" shouted Sir William, leaping to the side.
Although the knight reacted quickly to the command, it was not fast enough, so fast that Albedo's misshapen hand like a glass spear went from side to side across his left shoulder. Gustav reacted with a groan of pain.
Sir William leaped toward the alien, drawing two semicircles with the blades of his daggers, but his attack pierced the creature's gelatinous body, causing it to land in a disconcerted manner.
The mace knight watched the glass spear that went through him liquefy and return to the alien's body. He then planted his feet on the ground and swung the mace toward his opponent's chest. As the weapon and its electric beams approached, the creature at first moved away from his chest and then retreated as a whole.
"Wow, do I see a weakness here?" smiled Sir Gustav.
Albedo replied, squinting his eyes in anger, and then disappeared into thin air.
Gustav had already learned his lesson: he was fighting an extremely cowardly opponent who did not hesitate to strike from behind. So, rather than dodging, he turned on his own axis and launched a blow with his mace that hit the massive surface of an object Gustav knew a lot about: Sir Edward's shield.
As soon as contact was made between the mace and shield surfaces, the defense mechanisms of the shield in Albedo's possession activated, launching a powerful shockwave in a counterattack that sent Sir Gustav and the damaged mace flying through the air until it crashed into the far wall of the circular room.
Kevin witnessed the confrontation without knowing why. Perhaps because of the excitement? Maybe to understand the movements of this new alien from Albedo? Maybe because it was always a satisfaction to watch villains blow each other away? Who knows? The point is that his moment as a spectator yielded him important information.
The young man noticed an important relationship between Albedo's gelatinous body and the spheres that walk around his body. Perhaps the alien no longer has the gravity generator on his head, but these objects perform a similar and more advanced function.
During the fight, the knights could not tell, but the orbs did not always remain inside Albedo's body. At several points, Kevin noticed them floating around the surroundings and bringing with them a new function not known in polymorphs: is the gelatinous matter capable of being absorbed by one orb and exiting the other? If so, the creature then exhibits an ability to teleport from one space to another and to project only part of its body, as at the time the shield came flying out of the vault room carried by an arm that seemed to belong to no body at all.
Another piece of information observed by Kevin, but which would need confirmation was the density modification that such orbs allowed the alien. At the moment the glass spear went through the knight's shoulder, one of the orbs was located where the hand should be. Perhaps the orb changes the gravity on the gelatinous particles and makes it solid and liquid when it suits it.
But what am I saying? Enough of analyzing alien abilities and let's get back to the confrontation!
Albedo lowered his shield and threw it on the ground. Small sparks came out of the object, signaling that the shield's internal mechanisms were completely inoperative. I don't know about you, but this shield has worked hard today, it can rest now with the feeling of accomplishment.
The alien lowered his gaze towards his chest and observed the blade of a dagger passing through him. Sir William stood on the other side, holding the handle of the weapon with one hand.
Albedo merely turned his head on the shaft of his neck, faced Sir William and said:
"What do you hope to do with this, knight?"
The knight moved the dagger in a quarter circle and removed one of the spheres from inside the creature's chest, throwing it toward the ground.
Look, didn't the tin-heads also draw their spheres?
Albedo, realizing what was about to happen, twisted wildly in search of a way to protect himself.
Sir William threw his second dagger toward the sphere that was bouncing on the ground. A gelatinous bubble coated the object and hardened like a pearl, preventing the dagger blade from damaging the device.
The leader of the knights gritted his teeth in frustration and then, unexpectedly, felt his body being covered by tentacles of crystalline matter.
His frustration turned to panic.
The knight's terrified screams echoed through the room, aware of what was coming next. He tried in vain to free himself from the gelatinous fabric, but it was like trying to hold back a water bubble. His fingers went through the material, and what little he managed to get away floated in the air for a few seconds and then returned towards his body.
Kevin was already near the exit of the room when he heard the knight's screams.
Not this again... he thought.
The young man turned his head toward the cries for help, when he heard a voice approaching from behind him:
"Are you still alive, vermin?" asked Sir Alfred with his bow in his left hand.
"Unfortunately for you I am, but relax, I'm no danger to you, it's just that ..." Kevin pointed with his thumb over his shoulder "Your boss is in a lot of trouble, you should run and help him."
"Who do you think you are to give me orders?"
Sir William's shouts intensified, interrupting Sir Alfred.
"Fine then," said Kevin. "If it's no trouble to you, I'll be going then."
"Don't you dare sneer at us, you alien scum! If you think you'll let us-"
More shouts from Sir William.
"Seriously, Uncle, go help your friend there," said Kevin.
The young man walked beside the knight and noticed that the knight's hand was shaking.
"Hey, uncle with the bow," said Kevin. "I think I know how this alien works, so if you need any help, I can help you."
"Not in a thousand years would I think of asking a worm like you for help!" Sir Alfred exploded.
Kevin stared into the knight's eyes, trembling with anger. He waved his hand "okay then," and limped off toward the elevators.
"Wait, scum!" said the knight in disbelief at the words that escaped him.
Kevin stopped and did not turn around.
"Speak up!" said Kevin.
"I need your knowledge as an inferior creature to be able to bring an end to this..."
"But that's a lot of arrogance, really!" This time, it was Kevin who exploded. "Your colleague is in there taking a beating, you have no idea how you can save him, you're scared shitless and you come to me for help calling me 'worm', 'scum' and 'inferior creature'! I want you and the entire Order of Forever Tinheads to go to hell!"
Kevin turned and stumbled on his way. He took about five steps when he heard Albedo's voice say
"Finally! The entropy regulator!"
The young Osmosian bowed his head and sighed. He remained focused on his thoughts for five seconds and then turned toward Sir Alfred and said:
"Okay, I'll help you, but you'll have to obey what I say without complaining, okay?"
"Yes..."
"And if you call me a worm, I'll break your face."
Inside the room, Sir William found himself with his chest and arms wrapped in portions of gelatinous material. Around his head, a huge bubble of crystalline tissue suffocated him, with half of Albedo's polymorpho body protruding above the bubble. In the alien's hands, a small shiny hexagonal device with nanocircuits designed into its surface. The object once lay within the insignia of the Forever Knights on the chest of Sir William's armor.
"I knew it wasn't a simple bluff," Albedo said. "Do you really think you were the first ones I tortured for information over the past few days?"
Sir William tried to keep the last shreds of air in his lungs, but the prolonged hypoxia was already turning his lips blue and his consciousness nearly gone.
"The next time you want to fight me," Albedo bent his body and stood upside down at the same level as the knight, "do your best to find out if you can stand up to me. Ask the Animal how many teeth I made him lose in our last encounter. Or the rude Vreedles and their nasty habit of crying at the first broken arm. No, no! Ask Vulcanus how hard it is to pull out those horned beards of his with the foot of a Vaxaurian..."
An arrow passed close to Albedo's head and stuck in the ceiling.
The villain turned back to where the arrow had come from and found Sir Alfred with his bow ready for another shot.
"I've been missing someone!" said Albedo. "It wouldn't be fair to finish off only three of your colleagues and leave you out, would it?"
Another arrow whizzed past the alien's face and into the ceiling.
"Well done! Then let's go."
Another shot.
"You bastard..."
Sir Alfred began to walk around the room and continuously shoot arrows. One by one the arrows were sticking to the ceiling.
"What a lousy aim you have, Knight!" quipped Albedo.
"And who says I'm aiming at you?"
Albedo frowned and looked up at the roof of the room. The arrows were stuck in small holes in the ceiling. Then in a single instant all the arrows detonated in small, controlled explosions. The alien tried to stiffen part of his body to protect himself, but realized it was unnecessary when he felt drops of water falling on him like rain.
Using the existing simulation mechanisms in all the rooms, Sir Alfred activated the devices used in storms, causing a rain to fall over the room. The floor slowly became wetter and wetter, forming a shallow mirror of water.
"Your strategy was not bad at all, Sir" Albedo received the rain itself like a plant that receives the morning sun, and slowly its body grew in size "Water is certainly not something a polymorpho does well. But for an evolved specimen like me, water is nothing more than an excellent dinner after a tiring day of confrontations like this one!"
"Well, let's not forget dessert then!" shouted Kevin from across the room.
The villain saw the Osmosian crouching with one knee on the floor and one hand resting on the damp ground. This same hand was coated in a metallic material and on it, a cylinder receptacle resembling a large pile was held up with the other hand.
Albedo looked behind the young man and saw Sir Gustav collapsed and parts of his mace smashed on the ground. It wasn't long enough for the alien to understand what was about to happen:
The creature launched from within itself the three spheres that departed floating across the room, each in a direction.
Sir William fell inertly to the floor after getting rid of the gelatinous material.
One of the spheres was already approaching the door when it felt a jolt and remained still in mid-air. An arrow with a sticky material at its tip stuck to the orb, while at the other end of the arrow an electric wire from the snake's carcass connected the wet ground and the orb floating in the air. The other two globes were also attached by the same mechanism, leaving Kevin to complete the plan.
Albedo even tried to project his body from one of the orbs, but it was not in time. The osmosian activated the electric core of Sir Gustav's mace on the back of his metallic hand and dissipated the electricity throughout the mirror of water formed by the rain. The electricity traveled across the room in moments and, using the electrical wires as bridges, electrocuted all three orbs at the same time, which fell inertly to the floor.
Before you get worried, the electricity was not high enough to cause damage to the knights there in the room, but for a fluid organism like Albedo, it was more than enough.
Kevin stands up from the ground and shakes his hand to clear the smoke coming off the metal. His hand felt stiff, as if the muscles in his fingers were all contracting at the same time.
I hope it's not permanent.... He thought.
The young man saw a small shiny hexagonal object lying near Sir William and did not hesitate to reach out to pick up the device.
A few centimeters before his hand reached the object, a sphere passed quickly past him, with a gelatinous hand coating it, and grabbed the entropy regulator, then ran out the door.
Kevin turned toward one of the globes that was still attached, but stubbornly trying to escape, and ran towards it. He jumped up and grabbed the newly freed orb still in mid-air and carried it out with him.
"What do you think you are doing?" Albedo's thick voice echoed from the orb.
"Didn't you help me get into the crypt? Well, you're going to help me out of it now!" said Kevin.
The sphere joined the others and they continued to walk through the rooms towards the elevators. The gelatinous material slowly began to sprout from the orbs, forming a formless crystalline patch that floated a few meters off the ground. Kevin kept a firm grip on the orb, even if it insisted on making jerky movements or tried to bump it against something in its path.
Upon reaching the elevators, Albedo burst through one of the doors and continued up the elevator shaft without stopping for a moment. He didn't even make any more effort to get the Osmosian off his trail.
He's in a hurry! Thought Kevin.
As they reached the floor corresponding to the entrance to the crypt in the castle, Albedo burst through the exit and transformed back into his human body.
Kevin fell to the ground beside him. As he raised his head, he noticed the entropy regulator lying a few inches away from him. He made an impulse and grabbed the device, then got up and ran with difficulty toward the castle courtyard. Albedo cursed a few vulgar slang words famous on Galvan Prime and set off after Kevin.
The Osmosian opened the courtyard door with his shoulder and was faced with a scene that would not be pleasant to see under normal conditions. After all the effort of the last few hours, it was certainly not the best surprise to wish for.
Another confrontation was taking place in the outer area of the castle: the Forever Knights on one side, seeking to protect their territory, and on the other side, a group of triangular ships thirsty for a blatant Omni energy signal that had appeared there in the last few hours.
Albedo stopped next to Kevin and observed the confrontational scene.
"I doubt you can guess who they are after," said Kevin.
For an instant the teenager saw fear in Albedo's eyes.