The dust hadn't even settled yet when Frank rose stiff and outstretched from the pile of debris that buried him beneath. He growls in annoyance, metal coils hissing alongside, as he rips off the already damaged suit he wears. Baring a muscular, defined, and pale, hardened body. Blue steam simmers around him, his aura cold and blue.
The building floor where they stood began to form veins of cracks. The whole building grew fragile.
"Hannibal Max? I assume Zypno failed his task. Heh, what a pleasure to finally meet you."
Frank said as he popped his knuckles, approaching the General.
Hannibal approaches as well, leaving behind a clone that is tending to Zephyr, Zion, and Zoey. He stretches and his bones crack, anticipating a battle.
"Oh? And who might you be?"
"I am simply known as Frank. A name my creator gave me."
Frank continues his pace. His coils start warming up.
"Creator, hmm? I see, I guess I won't have any guilt killing a monster like you."
Hannibal starts forming clones. The build-up turns into a gang following the main Hannibal as they encircle Frank.
"I am human, Hannibal."
"No, you're not. You're a monster! Whoever created you deserves a place in hell for bringing you into the Living World."
The Hannibals point at the surrounded Frank.
"I am human. I… was human. I was… Saved. Saved from the agony of death, my creator saved me from the depths of hell, brought me back, and now I am his weapon. His mightiest creation. I am his loyalest. I serve only Him. That's right, Hannibal. I was saved."
"Him?"
"Yes. Him. Saved by Him. He who inherited the will of the Gods that turned the world into what it came to be. He who once made the great cities bow before his might. He who gave me the gift of Zystem. He who will now do it once more and save us all!"
"Right. Save the boring stuff for later. Let's fight!"
BANG!
Frank dealt the first blow. His flying and blazing fist went straight with a force towards Hannibal. But it has no effect on the General.
Hannibal was able to fabricate himself and let the clone take the blow. It popped out from existence as the real General steps back and anticipates more projectile punches from Frank.
Relentlessly, Frank steps into Hannibal's personal space and proceeds to show his undead heavyweight punching skills as the flying limb attaches onto him again. It quickly detaches from him and renders the General a bit distracted as Hannibal dodges and weaves through, trying to find an opening.
It is a two-on-one combat. An unfair melee against two titanic Zystem users, but the General is determined to come out on top. Hannibal didn't flinch.
When the moment arrived, he instantly sent an uppercut towards Frank's squared jaw. The piercings and other metal adornments he was wearing flew off, clattering on the cracked floor.
For the first time since his arrival, Frank felt pain. His head snapped back for a quick second. When he recovered, there were two Hannibals in front of him. He thought he was still dizzy from the strike.
But it was no disorientation. Hannibal did make a clone to help him pummel the poor enemy underling. Every time Frank gets punched in the face, the Hannibals multiply. Every stumble Frank makes, an additional Hannibal appears from each of the Hannibals that already exist.
It was like bacteria. Mimicking a similar multiplication method from the microorganisms. It felt inevitable. To Frank, it was unstoppable.
But nothing is unstoppable to an immovable force like Frank. He sneaked a smirk as his mouth pooled blood. He never felt so alive for a long time.
His coils heat up, hissing once again. A spark from it ignites, a dark blue fire engulfing his head. Frank wears the flame with such horror that the fire did not even melt his flesh.
"Advanced Skill. Deathspark!"
An electric circle forms, with its center featuring a symbol of a skull. It burned through the floors and left its mark before unleashing a thunderous barrage of lightning, which destroyed the ceiling and foundations of the room.
KRA-KOOM!
One by one, the Hannibal clones disintegrate as they let out a burst of golden vapor. Frank's power cracks the floor, and the whole building rumbles. A sign that it is near collapse.
The vapor fogs the vicinity, initially blinding Frank. He huffs heavily, exhausted from all the beatings he received. His coils overheated. Usually, it doesn't, but because he had a hundred targets, he has to recharge.
But suddenly, the real Hannibal Max appears, flying straight at Frank with fist at the ready.
The enemy underling didn't have a chance to avoid him as he only saw Hannibal's silver and gold eyes.
The General, burned and crisp, sent a powerful hook towards Frank's already bruised face. Then another one before Frank could even regain his footing.
Frank went down with an impact, and Hannibal immediately jumped on top of him. Mercilessly, Hannibal sends Frank his regard. The General made sure his face was pulpy beyond regeneration before ending him once and for all.
"Let's see if your creator can save you from this!"
The fruity goodness of the squishing flesh radiates audibly. Frank's blazing headpiece was extinguished. The floor cracks, the tiles shatter, and the cement underneath is about to give in.
Suddenly, a swarm of Zenos came crashing down from the exposed ceiling. Hannibal stood in surprise as he watched the horde rain down on him like a forceful tidal wave. The Zenos flooded the whole floor until the building finally collapsed.
In the midst of all this, the clone that was carrying Zoey, Zion, and Zephyr attempted to flee, but the Zenos grabbed his limbs and chomped them off, dropping his human baggage. The three unconscious Zoldiers, however, were ignored and sank between the rotting flesh of the Zenos while they feasted on the clone before it popped out of existence.
The building where they all stood produced a thick plume of dust. The wild growls of the Zenos can be heard behind the destruction as the smoke settles. There, they carried the three Zoldiers out and brought them to their master, Zypno.
"You forgot to properly end the great Zypno, you old bastard!"
Zypno proudly proclaims, maniacally laughs as he gathers his swarm towards him, carrying the unconscious bodies of Zoey, Zion, and Zephyr.
Zypno raised his arms joyfully.
"My minions! Feast on their–"
BOOM
Before the Zenos could deliver them to Zypno, a titanic figure standing as tall as the building that collapsed before them suddenly appeared. A giant Hannibal made of other normal-sized Hannibals disgustingly melding onto each other's skin stood tall and mighty.
Rubble and debris everywhere, a scene of unholy demolition.
At the mouth of this humongous clone is Hannibal, limbs attached to vein-like symbiotes of skin and flesh, controlling the giant amalgamation.
"Advanced skill. Maximalgamation!"
Frozen in place, a desperate Zypno attempts to make his horde climb and overwhelm the giant.
But instead, Hannibal raised his foot and launched it down towards Zypno.
"Try and survive this!"
The Hannibals spoke in unison. It echoed and bellowed. Zypno tried to escape with the wave of Zenos pulling him out. But Hannibal stomped them like insects, flesh splattered everywhere, skin flattened, sticky residue of meat underneath the giant foot, and blood almost flooded the surrounding area.
Zypno is surely dead this time. His remains are unrecognizable from the rest of the squashed corpses.
Once the controller died, the remaining Zenos reverted into feral monsters. Without their master, they became mindless. The ones that were carrying the three Zoldiers quickly came to their senses and smelled the fresh meat.
Hannibal moved in immediately, flicking the Zenos one by one, swatting them like flies. Then he scooped up the three before cradling them in his hand.
And for good measure, he stomped hard again to take care of the few remaining Zenos. The land shook as Hannibal kicked his feet on the earth, like a child jumping in a puddle.
The advanced power move comes with a cost.
As the swarm dies and the smoke clears, the giant begins to deflate. The twisted fusion of Hannibals slowly dissolves into a golden smoke, one by one, starting from the giant feet.
The bulk of the giant molted off, and the giant cradling hand gently placed the three Zoldiers down.
At last, in the mouth of its giant head, the true Hannibal remained.
But he was not the towering masculine figure he once was. The effects of his powers show. His skin hung loose and stretched from the strain, and his muscles looked torn and shrunken. Hannibal is, for now, a fragile shell.
But the temporary effect of his power couldn't have been worse. Frank emerged, regenerated, and ready for another round.
"Zypno, you have served the creator well."
Frank whispered.
Then, his coils instantaneously burst out a series of lightning beams through him. It ignited his head like matchsticks. A violent blue fire crackled and consumed his skull, but the expressionless Frank stood unbothered.
"I will end this now, Hannibal. It was a pleasure meeting you."