Subtly Alkanphel reached into the mind of the Proto-Zoalord, wanting to know just how and why this one was able to resist even with Reholt so close. What the Supreme Zoalord found there surprised him, but only for a short time. Hatred, after all, was an easy emotion to understand. Alkanphel knew now that even were Reholt to extend all of his mental powers with the goal of subduing the Proto-Zoalord attacking him, his former Twelfth would stand a chance of failing.

This Proto-Zoalord seemed to despise Reholt as well as Chronos itself, but his hatred of Reholt was what drove him now. Drove him to fight even when he knew, even as Alkanphel himself did now, that he was at the end of his lifespan. Alkanphel was very impressed by the Proto-Zoalord’s tenacity. Perhaps this one could also be used to serve Chronos’ ends.

It would require extensive reprocessing, to be sure, however it would perhaps provide Chronos with an able and determined warrior. Hearing the Proto-Zoalord’s scream, Alkanphel turned his attention back to the battle. Reholt had dealt the Proto-Zoalord a very serious wound. As the Proto-Zoalord grabbed Reholt’s remaining hand, removing it from his own midsection with a rather disgusting wet popping sound, Alkanphel was again impressed with the Proto-Zoalord’s strength.

Even from his position above the battle, Alkanphel could see pieces of the Proto-Zoalord’s entrails hanging out of the wound. It took a great deal of determination to ignore such a wound. And to keep fighting even when he had to know the futility of his situation; Alkanphel was very impressed indeed with this Proto-Zoalord.

His remaining children made another inquiry, asking him if he required their assistance. They had been doing so for some time, and as before Alkanphel gently refused them. He was rather interested to know how the battle between Reholt and the Proto-Zoalord would play out. If Reholt were to sense the presence of the remaining Overlords, it was likely to make him do something rather drastic.

And, even though this Proto-Zoalord was at the end of its life, Alkanphel still wanted to collect its body. Since this one was an experimental prototype it would not have been modified to dispose of itself once its lifesigns had terminated. And there was still a use within Chronos for any Zoaform who had demonstrated this much strength of body and will. Modifications would have to be made, but Alkanphel was certain that between himself and Hamilcal they would be able to remake this one.

Perhaps it would even be more expedient to remake this one into his Twelfth Zoalord. It would take less time than educating an untested child, and there was also the concern that Reholt had done something to ensure that Kenji Murakami would be loyal to him. As soon as he had that thought, however, Alkanphel dismissed it. Reholt was not one to be so cautious. Only the fact that the Mt. Minakami processing facility was understaffed had even allowed him to secret the boy away.

It was an interesting mental problem, though. As a child, Kenji Murakami’s mind would be more open, hence more malleable. It would be very easy for Alkanphel to mold the young human into his ideal Zoalord. However, the Proto-Zoalord fighting Reholt on the ground had fully proved himself to be strong enough to make a formidable Zoalord. There was only the fact that he despised Chronos to deal with.

There were benefits and costs to be considered on either side of the equation. However, Alkanphel had long since realized that this was the way of any worthwhile decision.

Alkanphel’s attention again came back to the battle, in time to watch as Reholt grabbed the Proto-Zoalord’s head in his single remaining hand and smashed the Proto-Zoalord’s forehead firmly into his knee. As Reholt tossed the dying Proto-Zoalord aside, Alkanphel saw the damage that had been done. The Proto-Zoalord’s Control Crystal had been shattered rather completely.

Pity, Alkanphel had hoped that the Proto-Zoalord would have been able to do at least a fair amount more damage than what he had done. Still, removing Reholt’s hand and – as Alkanphel had just noticed – one of his eyes, could not have been easy for such a relatively weak Zoaform. Signaling to his loyal Zoalords, Alkanphel ordered them to attack the Relic.

That was the only real reason that a Proto-Zoalord would have allied himself with a Guyver, after all. To either obtain the Relic for themselves, and in so doing destroy the facility, or to simply destroy Mt. Minakami itself. Either way, the Relic was not going to fall into the hands of this impetuous gnat. A blast of energy from off to his right, a blast that cleaved the black Guyver’s left arm off at the shoulder, alerted Alkanphel to the fact that his Zoalords had arrived.

Satisfied, Alkanphel lowered himself to the ground so that he could deal with Reholt. Grasping his former Twelfth Zoalord’s neck firmly, Alkanphel slammed Reholt into the far wall of the basement with enough force to cause the reinforced concrete to buckle in some places and shatter in others.

"Were you really so arrogant as to think that you, made as your were from a single part of my body, would ever be able to best me in single combat?" Alkanphel demanded.

"Stranger— things have— happened," Reholt managed to gag out, despite the crushing grip that Alkanphel maintained on his throat.

Disgusted with Reholt’s sheer lack of anything even resembling sense, Alkanphel threw him through the wall. Ripping him out of the body-sized crater in the wall, Alkanphel began to almost casually smash the back of Reholt’s head into the wall repeatedly. Taking hold of the protrusion on the left side of Reholt’s head, Alkanphel tore it off. Reholt screamed, but the heat from Alkanphel’s own body cauterized the wound even before he could start bleeding.

Grabbing Reholt’s face, Alkanphel threw him to the floor. Reholt’s body slammed into the floor of the basement with shattering force. Albeit most of that force damaged the floor rather than Reholt’s own body, but Alkanphel was not so concerned about that. He knew that there would be no way for Chronos to repair the damage that had been done to Mt. Minakami, knew it and did not care. This facility may have been the largest in the area, but it was by no means the only one.

Glancing over at the Relic, Alkanphel was surprised to note that there was a second Guyver standing atop the ancient spacecraft. Hamilcal’s reports had indeed stated that there were two Guyvers in this area, however since only one of them had appeared, Alkanphel had held out at least some hope that Reholt had managed to destroy the second Guyver. Apparently, his former Twelfth Zoalord was even weaker than he had at first suspected.