It was noon.
The Rustbucket rolled into bustling New York and parked in front of a four-star hotel.
Grandpa Max, Zack, and the group entered the hotel and received the key card for the presidential suite.
Meanwhile, Ben was drawn to a Riot Sumo trial event taking place inside the hotel. He wanted to join in but was stopped at the entrance for not having an invitation.
"Damn it... just because they won't let me in, does that mean I can't get in?"
Ben raised his Omnitrix watch and gritted his teeth.
"Ben, if you keep messing around with that watch every day, when are you ever going to surpass me?" Zack gave him a casual glance and spoke nonchalantly.
"Huh?"
Ben froze for a second, then his competitive spirit kicked in. "Zack, I'm not seriously planning to use the busted watch like that! What I said earlier was just out of frustration!"
Zack, just wait until I surpass you.
Then I'll play with this watch every single day!
And so, thanks to Zack's planning, everyone made it to the suite smoothly and began enjoying themselves.
However, because there was an arcade directly across from the suite, it looked incredibly tempting.
Ben couldn't sit still and dragged Zack and the ever-reading Gween out of the hotel.
The three of them crossed the street and arrived at the entrance of the arcade.
Ben looked up at the grand arcade building. "Cool! Arcades in New York are way better than the ones back in the countryside where we live!"
"When did Bellwood become the countryside?"Gwen pouted, clearly unimpressed.
As the three entered the arcade, a mix of crashing sounds and angry shouting echoed from inside.
A group of punks with mohawk haircuts and leather jackets were there.
They were shoving and beating up a boy.
The black-haired boy was cornered against the wall. His face was bruised and swollen, but his eyes were still filled with defiance.
"Kevin, you're not getting away this time!"
"Don't let him near the arcade machine!"
"Heh, beat him up!!"
One by one, the punks closed in on Kevin, grinning menacingly as they surrounded him.
The people around watched the scene unfold.
They glanced at the beaten-up Kevin, then at the intimidating group of punks...
And not a single person stepped forward or even bothered to call the police.
"What a coincidence."
Zack narrowed his eyes as he observed the situation from the corner. We actually ran into Kevin here.
In the original story, it was this same arcade—and it was this same Kevin, surrounded by punks.
The only difference was that this time, they had arrived a bit late.
Kevin was already taking a beating.
"If no one else is going to do anything, I will..." Ben clenched his fist tightly, unable to stand by any longer, and turned to head toward a secluded area.
"Wait, Ben."
Zack suddenly reached out and stopped him.
"Zack, it's not like us to just stand around and watch someone get hurt," Ben said, confused by Zack's reaction.
"Pfft~ What I mean is—let me handle it!"
Zack took a deep breath and walked toward a more isolated corner.
Ben and Gwen instinctively moved to block the cameras.
Immediately after—
Zack twisted the Carnitrix dial, his expression firm. Ben, if you help Kevin, something bad might happen… Let me step in and handle it!
He knew Kevin too well—and he knew Kevin could absorb alien DNA.
That's why it was better for him to intervene!
Bang!!
As Zack slammed down on the Carnitrix, a flash of light erupted.
Ben glanced back—and immediately covered his mouth. "Blood—s-so much blood!!"
What he saw was...
A tall alien made entirely of blood, staring straight at him.
Ben suppressed his fear and didn't dare look again.
Gwen turned her head slightly, curious—but quickly looked away before she could catch a clear glimpse of Zack's transformation.
She wanted to look… but didn't have the nerve.
"Ben, this is the Sludgepuppy we ran into before," Zack said as he stared at his blood-soaked hands, revealing a fierce grin. "But in my hands... it's become a Blood Monster!"
"Zack, you're really terrible at naming things..." Ben muttered.
"In my opinion, why not call it Blood Demon?"
The moment he finished speaking—Zack strode forward, step by step, toward the punks. "Kekeke~~ Then we'll call it Blood Demon," he said with a slight smile, revealing two rows of sharp fangs on his grotesque face.
Unbelievable—even the corrupted Sludgepuppy has teeth...
In truth, the teeth were part of the Carnitrix's design.
"Ahhh! What the fuck is that! S-So terrifying!!"
"Mom! God! Someone save me!!"
"Don't look at me, please don't kill me…! I haven't even lost my virginity yet!"
At that moment, screams filled the arcade!
Everyone was using sheer volume to express the raw fear surging in their hearts.
Their screams were as loud as fans spotting their favorite celebrity—only this time, it was out of absolute terror.
"Hahaha, these people are so timid—they're terrified of us!"
"Hehe, maybe we're just too heroic?"
"Kevin, don't wet your pants in fear!"
The punks all wore proud, arrogant grins, looking down at Kevin with smug expressions.
"Hey... aren't you guys exaggerating a little too much?"
Kevin gritted his teeth through the pain and opened his eyes, glancing past the group of punks.
In that instant—
His eyes froze.
His lips trembled.
And his legs gave out as he uncontrollably dropped to his knees!
"Kneeling?"
The punk leader grinned viciously."Don't you think it's a little late to be begging?"
He reached out and placed a hand on Kevin's shoulder.
He must've thought he had some kind of Conqueror's Haki or something…
After all, he'd just made the unruly Kevin kneel!
Bang!
Another wet hand landed on the punk leader's shoulder.
"Whose nasty, wet hand is touching me—did you pee on yourself or something?!"
The punk leader cursed and turned his head to look—
Only to see a terrifying, blood-formed face staring back at him.
A suffocating, despair-inducing stench of blood emanated from the figure.
That blood-soaked hand remained firmly on the punk leader's shoulder.
As for the other punks...
They had all collapsed to the ground, as if they'd truly been hit by Conqueror's Haki.
The rest of the people in the arcade were now hiding under the machines, terrified of being noticed by Zack.
"Hey there. Let go of this boy."
Zack spoke slowly and clearly to the punk leader, enunciating every word.
"..."
The punk leader froze.
Then, without thinking—his eyes unfocused—he instinctively threw a punch at Zack's body!
Bang!
Zack didn't dodge at all, allowing the punch to land directly on his body.
The punk leader's hand sank into Zack's form as if it were a pool of sludge—completely swallowed by the blood-like mass.
With a heavy flick of his arm, Zack sent the punk leader flying, his body crashing to the ground ten meters away!
"You had the nerve to punch me after seeing me? You've got guts."
Zack calmly rubbed his hands together and walked over to where the punk leader had fallen.
His expression shifted slightly.
The punk's eyes had rolled back, and foam bubbled at the corners of his mouth—completely unconscious.
Most likely, he'd thrown that punch out of pure reflex… And after that, his brain simply shut down.
At this point, Zack had taken care of the entire group of low-level punks without even breaking a sweat.
Now, time to deal with Kevin.
Zack's expression grew complicated as he slowly turned to face Kevin—
Only to see Kevin rushing straight toward him, his steps quick and determined!