Boom!
Under the impact of the Electric Punch, the mist scattered, revealing Hex's figure!
He hastily waved his staff, unleashing a powerful gust of wind that sent Zack flying!
Zack landed in a backflip, his expression calm. "Wow! So you still have a physical body even in mist form. That makes you easier to deal with! Heeh~"
He had originally thought Hex's mist form was like a Logia-type Devil Fruit ability.
"You are just a demonic summon of someone, while I am the master of mystic arts!! Don't get cocky!"
Hex cursed, waving his staff repeatedly, sending out blasts of wind that struck toward Zack like invisible demonic palms!
Zack quickly raised his arms and braced his stance, resisting the fierce gusts!
Ben accelerated and rushed in behind Zack, supporting him from the back.
The two of them stood firm, braving the wind together!
"Hahaha! If I can keep them pinned down with this storm, I'll find an opening to get the grimoire back!" Hex muttered excitedly, convinced he'd found the key to breaking the stalemate.
He seemed to be suppressing Zack and his companion with a relentless kiting strategy.
A tense deadlock formed between the three.
"Ben, let go of me!"
Zack suddenly shouted, his voice booming against the roar of the wind.
"You have a plan?" Ben got excited and immediately retreated with the grimoire.
Whoosh~
The strong wind swept Zack up, carrying his body into the air!
"Huh??"
Ben's eyes widened as he watched. "I thought Zack was about to go god mode, but he just got blown away?"
"Bahaha, I'm going to win!"
Hex laughed, excitedly waving his staff, using the wind to hurl Zack farther and farther.
Zack's figure flew back, but his eyes stayed sharp. He raised one finger, steady like a gun barrel, aiming directly at Hex high above.
It was time to swat that fly down.
Swoosh!!!
As Zack flicked his finger, an armor-piercing bullet of electricity shot forward, blasting straight toward Hex in the sky!
"What?!"
Hex's eyes widened in shock, his body twitching instinctively as he tried to dodge.
The electric bullet shot into the mist and exploded directly on Hex's main body!
Boom!
His form shuddered and fell awkwardly to the ground.
Meanwhile, Zack performed a graceful backflip, landing lightly on his feet once again.
He raised his hand and blew away the smoke rising from his finger. "Now… game over."
Boom boom boom!!
The instant Hex hit the ground, Zack's feet sparked with electricity, and he charged forward at blinding speed!
Seeing this, Ben didn't even think about using XLR8 to steal the victory—he was honestly too afraid of being caught in the crossfire.
"Don't—don't come any closer!!"
Hex frantically swung his staff, unleashing wave after wave of magical blasts!
But each burst of energy fizzled out the moment it struck Zack, vanishing in an instant…
Zack's figure only grew brighter with electricity as he rushed forward even faster.
Not only did Hex's magic fail to stop him—it only fueled Zack's power further!
"Heh~ Just one hit, and you'll be knocked out!"
Zack closed in on Hex, stopped his charge, and swung a heavy fist straight at him!
Bang!
Hex quickly raised his enchanted staff, blocking the strike just in time.
His cloak spread outward, twisting into blood-red tendrils that tightly wrapped around Zack's punching arm.
Only like this… He barely managed to hold back Zack's attack!
"Bye-bye."
Zack smiled faintly as he spoke, and in the same instant, his tail crackled with electricity before whipping forward like an iron rod, slamming into Hex's body.
"Why… why is his tail a weapon too… urg.."
Hex's eyes rolled back, and he collapsed to the ground with a heavy thud.
The sorcerer was down!
"Alright, mission accomplished. We can leave once the police arrive!" Ben clapped his hands together, then tilted his head curiously. "Eh..? Hey, Zack, why are you stripping his clothes?"
Zack was calmly removing Hex's robes and taking the staff.
"It's too dangerous to leave these things with him," Zack said matter-of-factly. "It's more reasonable for us to keep them."
"That makes some sense… Hey, shouldn't we give them to the police?"
Ben tilted his head, a bit confused.
"Ben," Zack looked at him seriously and said firmly, "With great power comes great responsibility! We, as heroes, have to work even harder, so we'll keep these things!"
Saying that, he also picked up the Akamida Spell Grimoire.
When the police cars arrived at the scene…
Hex hugged his chest, curled up, shivering from the cold. "Can someone give me some clothes? Accho! I only have my underwear left!!"
How could anyone treat a lonely old man like this…
......
Inside the Rustbucket.
Zack put down the staff, the cloak, and even the Grimoire. "Grandpa, that's how it is. Let us keep these things!"
"Keep them then." Grandpa Max wasn't too strict about it. "If we don't, people like Hex will just come to rob the museum again!"
On that point, he was right.
"Umm, Zack..? I'm super interested in the Grimoire… can you.."
Gwen leaned over, her eyes burning as she stared at the ancient book.
"Oh, alright, they're all yours." Zack's face lit up, and he readily handed all the items to Gwen.
He was hoping Gwen could master magic early.
This way, he might be able to increase his template progress!
"Thank you, Zack!"
Gwen excitedly raised her hands and gave Zack a big hug. "I don't know how to thank you."
"Cough, cough—it's nothing."
Zack was slightly out of breath from the hug, reassuring her: "As long as you like it."
"Zack's muscles are really solid…"
Gwen's face turned slightly red as she lowered her arms, silently praising his build again.
Hmm, she had taken the opportunity to grope him a little,,
Who said girls aren't attracted to strong bodies?
After that, Gwen buried herself in the Grimoire, studying obscure spells and continuously practicing with the staff, practically forgetting to eat and sleep.
But Zack didn't gain any template progress from this.
After a peaceful night, everyone went to bed.
It wasn't until the middle of the night…
A cold wind swept through, brushing past Zack's body.
His nose twitched slightly, and he slowly opened his eyes to see faint red lights flickering inside the Rustbucket.
"What's going on?"
Zack slowly turned his head, looking toward the living area of the old camper.
Gwen was wearing the cloak. Its tentacle-like ends held the Grimoire and the staff tightly, and her body was glowing with a faint red light!
"Hmm?"
Sensing something, Gwen turned to look at Zack. She gave him an apologetic yet somewhat sweet smile.
"Sorry, Zack, did I disturb your sleep? … I studied all night, and I think I've figured out how to use these things now! And I discovered that I'm actually quite talented in this area!"
"Damn…"
Zack took a deep breath. "What time is it, and you're still studying? Gwen… you're truly a workaholic!!"
No wonder Gwen was better at using the Omnitrix than Ben in some episodes.
Her learning ability was excellent!
Ding! The host defeated Hex, took all of Hex's treasures, and helped Gwen become a magician in advance. Progress +1!
Template progress is now 21/100. Acquired: Waterhazard and Armodrillo!
Zack heard a crisp notification in his mind—thanks to Gwen, he had gained more progress!
He immediately grinned from ear to ear, got out of bed, and helped Gwen tidy up the items.
Afterward, the two of them leaned against the upper bunk and fell asleep peacefully.