The dagger roared through the air as it clashed against the chitlin of Pop’s shell. Both of them were sent though wall of their house, rolling on to the empty, stone street of the kingdom. Slimo stared at the dagger with shock. The dagger, which was once sharp and deadly, had been turned into a bent piece of metal. Slimo used the momentum of his initial assault to throw Pops into a random building.

Everyone started crowding around the new hole in their house as they watched Slimo prepare to fight the monster. Without realizing it, a new dagger had formed in his hand. It felt much more powerful than the one he had before. Slimo yelled over his shoulder at the people watching him.

"Stay out of this fight and get somewhere safe! I can’t protect you all if it comes down to it!"

Using the minor distraction, Pops shot towards Slimo. Three of his insect arms slashed down on his torso, aiming to maim it. There was no time to dodge, so Slimo braced for the impact of the attack. Luckily, Lee and Bart strengthened his armor to untold levels of power. All three of Pops’ claws scrapped off the surface, only leaving minor scratches in their wake.

Slimo threw a kick into the hardened body, sending it further away.

"On second thought... maybe I could use the extra support."

A strange clicking sound came from Pops’ mouth, sounding like an angry roar. Slimo grabbed his new dagger and surged forward to meet his opponent. However, Pops was much faster. He easily dodged Slimo’s assault and scurried around him to attack his back. Slimo used his legs to push himself sideways to dodge the sudden attack. The arms whizzed by his ear as he jumped away.

Pops stayed on him as he moved. Slimo was getting completely overwhelmed by the speed of the thing that was attacking him. Under normal circumstances, Slimo would have had ample time to prepare for a fight like this. However, he was given hardly a minute to come up with a plan when reading about his opponent’s power... but a minute was all someone like him needed.

He meticulously dodged every attack that was sent soaring his way, even throwing a jab with his new dagger into the arms as they passed by every now and then. Small drops of green blood started flowing from the fresh wounds Pops gained.

"As expected from the Prince of Paria Empire. You truly are marvelous, Slimo Kin. I wonder why you were never blessed with a Zalo of your own."

"You sure do talk a lot for a bug. We don’t have to fight, Pops. What is there to gain from the altercation? You gain nothing from killing any of us."

"Ah... but I do gain something."

"And what would that be?"

"Freedom."

Slimo looked at Pops confused but kept his guard up.

"I don’t believe I follow."

"By killing you all, or anyone I choose, I am simply allowing my mind to freely wander wherever it chooses. Who do you think is crazier: a man who acts according to every thought in his mind, free to do whatever he feels whenever he feels it, or a man who holds himself back, shackled by the mutable moral codes of an unjust society?"

"...are you stupid? If everyone were to do what you were doing, there would be no such thing as a society. Society requires order. What you are doing has no order at all. It is all random impulse."

Pops appeared to be gravely offended hearing Slimo’s words and charged him once more. Slimo continued leading him down the long, stone roads of the kingdom, getting closer and closer towards the main gate. It took him three minutes before he finally reached the destination he was looking for. On the front of a run-down store, a familiar sign was hung on its entrance:

Suber Charms!

Slimo grinned and ran inside. Pops ran after him, crashing into the store.

As pops looked around, Slimo was nowhere to be seen. The only person in the store was a short figure in colorful robes with fascinating patterns. There were glowing yellow eyes under the hood they were wearing.

"A customer!! Welcome to Suber Charms you ugly, disgusting bug creature thing! Is there anything I can help you find?"

Pops walked over to the figure and slammed two of his hands on the counter in front of them.

"Where’s that dark haired fellow that just ran in here?!"

The hooded figure looked at Pops confused.

"Dark hair... dark hair... OH! You mean the guy that’s latched on the ceiling above you right now?"

Pops’ eyes widened and he looked up, but it was too late. Slimo threw a large, indestructible helmet over Pops’ head before kicking it off and standing in front of him with a dark grin. Pops rubbed his head in pain and stared at Slimo incredulously.

"What the hell did you just do to me?"

"Brain cancer. We have a doctor, but you will have to stop this fighting if you want us to save you."

Instead of stopping, Pops did something that Slimo never expected. He deactivated his transformation, seemingly teleported next to him, and sent a kick flying right into his side. Slimo’s armor crumpled under the impact, and he was sent hurdling back towards his house after crashing through dozens of walls. Pops was in hot pursuit, holding on to his head as he flew after his prey.

"Release."

Pops had completely adapted to the disease he had been given instantly.

Slimo crashed in front of the large hole left in his house. Everyone was still crowded around it, looking at Slimo’s pathetic state. Before anyone could react, Pops sent a fist flying into Slimo’s stomach, causing the ground around him to shatter and crumple under the impact.

Suddenly, Pops appeared to grab on to something behind Slimo’s ear. Slimo desperately grabbed hold of his hand, screaming in pain.

Harold was the first of everyone to act, since he was the fastest. He sent a kick flying into the jaw or Pops, but to his shock, his attack did no damage. Not only that, but Pops had also managed to rip something from behind Slimo’s ear.

A shimmering, white rock soaked in blood started glowing in his hand. The crystal was so incredibly small that Jacob wondered how Pops knew it was hiding there.

"DON’T-"

crack

Pops shattered the crystal with little effort. Upon doing this, something strange happened to Slimo. Or rather, to his hair. It started turning from a dark black to a bright silver. Eventually, his entire head was full of thick, white hair. Pops started maniacally laughing while pinning Slimo down.

"Behold! Your Prince of Paria Empire!!"