Chương 49: Episode 46: The Return

A radiant green beam burst from the Regeneration Pillar—one of the towering Celestial Pillars of Avangard. It shot straight into the sky with a sound like a god sneezing through a megaphone. BOOM! The heavens trembled as the beam exploded into a brilliant bloom of emerald light, sending a shockwave racing across the battlefield like a tidal wave of color and power. Everyone below froze. Eyes widened. Mouths dropped. Even the nightmarish monsters paused, blinking, confused.

"Wait… what?" someone muttered—or maybe it was a monster. Hard to tell. The shockwave rippled across Avangard, planet-wide. Mountains shook. Trees bent like rubber. Celestianites who'd been knocked out twice now stood up, dusting themselves off like it was just a nap. The nightmares didn't die, but even they shuffled awkwardly, looking around like, "Uh… yeah, I'm outta here for a sec." And then, there was Jocabed. Stepping forward, staring skyward. She whispered, "Ohhh… shhhhiit…"

The golden clouds above erupted like the grand finale of a heavenly fireworks show. Lightning fizzled. Thunder packed up its gear. Even the wind seemed to say, "Yo… okay, that's beautiful." Power clenched his fists, feeling destiny sparking in his bones.

"Alright, this is it, everyone…" Krane and Overbrawl flanked him, their gazes locked on the glowing sky. Krane's usual cool smirk was gone, replaced by that rare, wide-eyed intensity. Overbrawl just shrugged, flexing his chaotic muscles, like,"Guess we're vibin' with cosmic fireworks today." Far above, Duke perched in the wobbling golden building—one that looked like it had skipped leg day—and his shadow fell across the cratered battlefield. At first, he looked inspired, jaw tight, ready to spring…

then his eyes darted down.

"…We better get ready," he muttered, "…like… now." POP! Somewhere on the golden ground, Incarceration's eyes snapped open. Just the eyes. The rest? Still very much in pieces. His head rested on the ground like a dropped bowling ball, crimson gaze blinking twice, surveying the scene.

"Huh," he muttered.

"I seem to be… detached." The Celestianites tensed. Spears raised. Elements flared. Weapons drawn.

"Ohhh boy," muttered Archie, voice squeaky with equal parts dread and amusement.

"Here we go again…" Incarceration's head rolled forward with cartoonish determination. Thump. Thump. Thump. Rocks bounced, a Lunaranite dropped their lunch in sheer panic, and finally—click—his head snapped back onto his shoulders with a satisfying DING! He stood, limbs jerking like a marionette in a chaotic puppet show. Bones popped. Back cracked. Legs did a funky little dance before he stabilized. Then he threw finger guns to nobody in particular.

"Ahhh. Feels good to be not-dead," he said with smug satisfaction. Then… a pause. Brow furrowed.

"…Why am I looking at my own butt?" He slowly twisted his head, realizing it was on backwards. Not heroic. Not intimidating. Just cursed action-figure vibes. Overbrawl tilted his head.

"…Uhhh, is that supposed to happen?" Incarceration groaned.

"Hold on—let me just…" He twisted his head 270 degrees, making a wind-up noise followed by a POP.

"Much better. Alright! Now… what did I miss?"

"HEY!" Krane shouted, pointing like he was about to throw hands with just his index finger. His face was red, furious.

"THAT'S MY WATCH! RIGHT THERE—ON YOUR ARM!" All eyes flicked to the busted, glitching mechanical watch, sparking like it had survived a microwave apocalypse.

"This?" Incarceration squinted at it, crimson eyes gleaming.

"This is just… junk." He flicked it off, tossing it to the ground like a cheap knockoff. Clink. Crunch. The already damaged watch fractured further. He turned back to the crew, who were grouped like nervous middle schoolers about to face the ultimate science test.

"Ahhh, what's this?" he purred.

"I thought you'd all be dead by now. Guess the rumors are true—kids really do outlive the adults these days."

"You're a full-grown man who should be retired by now!" William shouted, zooming in like a chaotic wind tornado.

"You're ancient!" Deadpan blink. Incarceration: "Ugh. I know, right? Back pain alone…" But then a vibration sliced through the air. A presence. Something rocketing in at insane speed. Everyone's heads snapped to the horizon. There—cutting through the sky like a missile of pure rage—Dreadixz. Screaming. Teeth clenched. Duke leapt from the shattered building above, landing with a thunderous BOOM beside Krane and Overbrawl. The ground trembled under his boots. Together, they watched. Dreadixz drew closer. Closer.

Closer. A blur now, arm drawn back for a devastating punch. And then—BANG! Incarceration raised his arm, blocking the strike with a bone-shattering impact. A shockwave tore outward like a hurricane, ripping across the battlefield. Dirt, debris, and air screamed away. The Celestianites ducked instinctively. Incarceration? Still standing. From behind his raised arm, he peeked at Dreadixz—foreheads nearly touching.

"How dare you come back… after I tossed you in the GARBAGE." He grabbed Dreadixz's arm and twisted.

"ARRGHHHHHHHHHHH!" Dreadixz roared, crashing to the ground with a sickening THUD.

"YOU BETRAYED ME! YOU LEFT ME—""OH, WILL YOU JUST SHUT UP?!" Incarceration snapped, slamming a foot into Dreadixz's chest with a gut-wrenching THUD.

"THAT'S ENOUGH!" The silence that followed was deafening. Every Celestianite froze. Every element's glow flickered in suspended tension. Javier—the quiet one. The sweetheart. The cinnamon roll. The dude who apologized when people bumped into him. He had just yelled. Loud. Krane, Overbrawl, Duke, Dreadixz… even Incarceration turned to look at him with stunned expressions. Incarceration narrowed his crimson eyes, dark energy starting to pulse behind them. His voice dropped low and venomous.

"…What did you just say?"

"I SAID—ENOUGH!" Javier's voice roared again, louder than before, shaking the tension in the air like lightning in a bottle.

"I DON'T CARE WHO STARTED WHAT! I DON'T CARE WHO'S ANGRY OR WHO GOT BETRAYED! THE WORLD IS FALLING APART, AND I'M DONE LISTENING TO YOU GUYS WHINE AND FIGHT!" He reached behind his hoodie and drew a sleek, gleaming white katana, the blade forged from pure Celestian steel. He flicked a hidden black switch on the hilt—click—and the weapon hummed with power.

"You've got two options," Javier growled.

"Deactivate the Celestial Pillars… or I'll make you. By. Any. Means. Necessary." Silence. Incarceration blinked. Everyone gasped. Even the villains looked like they'd seen a ghost. Overbrawl fainted. Again.

"WHAT IS WITH THE FAINTING?!!" Krane shouted, catching him like it was déjà vu.

"GET SOME IRON OR SOMETHING!" Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. Prince stood up, electricity crackling in his hair.

"You better listen—Javi kick your creepy ancient butt to next year!" Archie's fists ignited with blazing orange fire. He grinned.

"What's it gonna be?" Incarceration's expression hardened. He slowly turned to Javier, locking eyes with the boy who had just stood up to him. Red energy cracked like glass across his face, spiderwebbing from his eyes. A sinister crimson light pulsed from his fists. He stepped forward, the ground beneath him sizzling with dark energy.

"… You," he growled, voice heavy with rage, "have chosen death… my son." In a burst of light blue energy, Javier materialized in front of him like a streak of midnight lightning. His katana sliced across Incarceration's cheek, and darkness swallowed everything. Incarceration's eyes snapped open—but instead of the battlefield, he found himself inside a vast, swirling domain of deep, ominous blue.

Shadows flickered in his vision—phantoms of Javier flashing in and out—while he prowled the space, eyes glowing fierce electric blue. Without warning, Javier streaked past, slashing him with his crackling sword. The force sent Incarceration flying through the air. He flipped backward, fists crackling with power, then charged down at Javier. But Javier slid aside, fluid and untouchable. In one swift motion, he grabbed Incarceration's leg mid-charge, slamming him into the ground.

The impact unleashed a shockwave that rippled across the battlefield. Dirt and debris flew like a wild storm. Incarceration tumbled, flipped, and slid across the earth, barely regaining footing before Javier was already speeding toward him—earth layers levitating behind him like a chasing shadow. The katana gleamed. With a blur, Javier slashed past him, each strike a sharp flash of blue electricity.

Incarceration scrambled to catch his bearings, eyes darting as Javier closed in, finally cutting a fierce strike across his face. He skidded across the ground, fists clenched tight, dark nightmare energy swirling like a storm within him. Javier vanished—reappearing behind him in a furious barrage. The strikes came at impossible speed, relentless, unstoppable. Incarceration dodged furiously, but one slash broke through, embedding itself in his arm. A shockwave tore through the land.

Javier's eyes flared brilliant blue. Then—hundredfold. Clones of Javier erupted behind him, electrical katanas drawn, charging with deadly precision. Incarceration narrowed his eyes, spinning and slashing through them in a whirlwind of crimson fury. He blasted himself into the air, cutting down clone after clone—but Javier was relentless. With a brutal strike from behind, he slammed Incarceration back to the ground.

Rolling and tumbling, Incarceration struggled for control, but Javier manipulated the very air itself—compressing it, crushing him like a weight too heavy to bear. Pinned beneath the invisible force, he looked like he was drowning in solid matter. Then, a snap of Javier's fingers: a blue streak of light slashed across his eyes, carving an X-shaped scar glowing icy cold. Javier plunged his katana into the earth. The ground cracked—once, twice—shaking violently.

Ten massive layers of earth lifted behind him, levitating like an unstoppable tidal wave. With a commanding throw, he sent his sword flying at Incarceration, ordering the earth layers to follow. Incarceration burst from the ground, fists hammering the layers away in crimson explosions. Rocks flew like missiles. He struck the last one—but failed to notice Javier's sword slicing through the air—severing his limbs cleanly, sending them spinning in a grotesque ballet.

Before he could react, Javier surged forward, katana blazing with blue energy, grabbing the weapon mid-flight. Gravity bent to his command as he hurled Incarceration crashing through a massive rock—glitching, warping, transforming into a monstrous arm. Javier skidded to a halt, katana stabbed into the ground, eyes blazing electric blue.

"RAHHHHHHH!!!!" His roar thundered louder than a storm. He charged like a living blue comet, pure energy streaking toward his enemy, ready to impale. Incarceration's eyes flared crimson.

"RAH!" His fists ignited in crimson nightmare flames. The collision exploded—apocalyptic force, shattering the ground, ripping through the domain Javier had created. Shockwaves obliterated everything—Celestian warriors, fake Lunarites, monstrous beasts—turning the battlefield into a hellscape. The sky bled red, the land trembled violently, cracking and rupturing under raw power. Buildings crumbled. The sky glitched. The ground split.

Javier hurtled through the clouds, unconscious, crashing like a meteor, tumbling violently across the ground.

"JAVI!" Keyler's shout cut through the chaos. Sprinting toward him, eyes blazing, he dodged the storm of flames and destruction. Amid the howling wind and burning crimson nightmare, Incarceration stood unshaken—the one and only Insane X, clenched fists radiating power. The sky trembled, clouds flashing red and gold, twisting into a deep blood-red inferno. Through swirling smoke and dust, Starla stood firm, eyes locked on him, pushing herself up with a mix of worry and steely determination.

sidestepped and raised his arm to block the incoming strike. The magma exploded outward in a thunderous BOOM. Grabbing Guerven's arm like a ragdoll, he threw him aside with brutal ease. Jaylen was about to launch a punch when Incarceration snapped his fingers sharply — a clear warning. Jaylen froze mid-step.

"You know," Incarceration said, voice dripping with sinister amusement, "when I say I love kids, I mean it…" Daysni, from across the devastation, rolled her eyes and shouted, "Yeah! You've told us that way too many times!!!"

"It's because you don't understand," Incarceration growled darkly.

"When I say I love kids, I mean I love their fear. They're so easy to scare, even the bravest ones. I've terrified newborns, toddlers, kids, pre-teens, teens, young adults — all of them! Don? The easiest of them all. His fear of embarrassment, his social anxiety? Perfect tools for me. That's why I love kids — they're so damn fun to mess with." Red nightmare energy crackled wildly around him as he turned his gaze upward, toward the Celestial Pillars where the Power Gems hovered.

Duke's eyes widened in horror, understanding instantly what was about to happen.

"Don't do—" Duke yelled. But before he could finish, Incarceration's thunderous snap echoed through the sky, shaking everything to its core. Jaylen screamed, "Stop him now!" but it was already too late. The Power Gems floated above Incarceration's head, glowing fiercely as they orbited him. His red eyes swept over the scattered group, and a cruel chuckle escaped him.

"Oh, what's the matter? Just a little villain having fun, right, Dreadixz?" Dreadixz, standing beside him, smirked knowingly. Though betrayed, they shared one purpose: Don had to be erased. Permanently. No matter the cost. Jocabed unsheathed her snowflake shurikens, but slowly, she let them fall — she knew they were useless.

"Are they doing what I think they're doing?" she whispered. The Power Gems circled the two villains as they began to levitate. Incarceration crossed his arms, rising steadily into the crimson sky, while Dreadixz grinned like he'd just hit the jackpot, surveying the terrified teens below. The nightmare energy intensified, crackling like wild lightning around Incarceration. His smirk deepened as he ascended higher and higher.

"Kids, this is what real power looks like," he sneered.

"I'll have a new name soon, sorry if 'Incarceration' sounds boring." The energy reached a fever pitch, shaking the ground beneath them all. Then, in a blinding flash, Incarceration roared at the top of his lungs: " RAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!" Five shockwaves erupted from Insane X's body, each one blazing a deep, blood-crimson red. A massive scarlet streak burst from him, shooting straight up into the sky like a fiery spear.

Simultaneously, Dreadixz unleashed his own cosmic fury—a colossal galaxy-colored streak tearing through the heavens, screaming and crackling with wild energy. Ten shockwaves in total shook the air and ground, throwing everyone off balance. Teeth clenched, hands digging into the earth, they watched those blazing streaks pierce the darkening sky. With a synchronized swipe of their arms, Insane X and Dreadixz revealed their true forms. Suddenly, the sky blackened.

Insane X floated ominously in his full, terrifying glory. Four powerful arms stretched out, and twelve glowing red eyes pierced the gloom. A massive X-shaped scar marked his forehead, burning with fierce intensity. The same blazing red X adorned his jet-black chest, pulsing with dark energy. Huge ripped dragon wings, blood-red and ragged, unfurled behind him. Eight muscular black spider legs emerged from his back, flexing with raw power.

His teeth were sharp and menacing, claws razor-sharp—deadly weapons forged from the depths of nightmare itself. The darkness in the sky wasn't just from Insane X's terror—it was because Dreadixz loomed nearby, a colossal galactic dragon the size of a small galaxy. His skin was pure black, shimmering with countless twinkling lunar stars. His eyes burned bright nova blue, glowing with cosmic power. Blue and violet energies swirled violently around him, a spiraling galaxy swirling beneath his massive form.

His glowing nova-colored horns and razor-sharp black claws looked like they were forged by the stars themselves. The galactic dragon's piercing gaze locked onto the team, while Insane X hovered high beside him, exuding dread and raw power. Olsen clenched his teeth, Prince tilted his head in curiosity, Archie's arms burst into flames as sweat dripped down his face, and Demaurion glared with pure hatred.

"YES!!" Insane X's voice thundered like a storm crashing through mountains.

"I CALL THIS FORM— INSANE X: LORD OF NIGHTMARES!!!" A jagged, glowing red spear glitch-formed in his massive hand. Gripping it tight, he pointed it down at the group below, a wicked grin spreading across his many-eyed face.

"YOU REALLY THOUGHT YOU COULD BE HEROES OF AVANGARD AGAINST THIS? THINK AGAIN!" His gaze snapped to outer space, eyes sharpening as his grin widened. Two streaks of light—one violet, one pure white—clashed fiercely in the darkness near the moon. Turning back to the stunned crowd below, his twelve eyes absorbing every detail, he snarled: "I guess it's time to go kick some cosmic ass…" With a burst of energy, he shot upward, tearing through the atmosphere in a blazing red streak.

Behind him, Dreadixz floated in space, struggling to catch up to Don and Dark Don's fierce battle. Starla's voice cut through the chaos one last time, dripping with fury and fierce hope.

"HE'LL KICK YOUR ASSES!" They were gone. Starla collapsed to her knees, eyes fixed on the fading sky. Jaylen stood beside her, silently watching. Then he turned to Duke, who stood with Krane and Overbrawl.

"Please… kick their asses Don."