Alkanphel was glad to be rid of the aggravating, arrogant former Zoalord. Signaling mentally to Hamilcal, Alkanphel was mildly surprised to see Yentsui teleporting in beside his second Zoalord. Yentsui was in human form, and Alkanphel remembered that for some reason Yentsui preferred to be called Rienzi in that form.

"Hamilcal, thank you for coming so promptly," Alkanphel acknowledged his Second. "Why have you come though, Rienzi?"

"I came to assist you, my Lord Alkanphel. Since I was not able to aid you in battle, I thought that I could assist with this. However, if you feel that my assistance would be superfluous in this endeavor, I will leave."

"No Rienzi, you may aid me in this," Alkanphel said calmly, knowing that the task would go much more swiftly with the three of them. "Come, help me with this one."

Alkanphel took hold of the Proto-Zoalord’s head and shoulder area, Yentsui took his arms, and Hamilcal took the Proto-Zoalord’s feet.

-Where shall we take him, Lord Alkanphel?- Yentsui asked.

-Gyou developed a Proto-Zoalord?- Yentsui seemed surprised by that.

-Oh, yes,- Alkanphel himself, though, was just amused. -Reholt thought that he would somehow be able to develop his very own loyal Zoalord without my knowledge.-

The three Zoalords and their cargo teleported to Chronos’ base in the Mediterranean, and Alkanphel released the dead Proto-Zoalord into the care of Hamilcal and Yentsui. Now that the dead Proto-Zoalord had been dealt with, at least for the moment, there was the matter of Kenji Murakami to be dealt with. Teleporting in front of the group of Zoanoids that were transporting the boy, Alkanphel placed a hand on the container and teleported all of them back to the Dead Sea facility.

Giving the Zoanoids orders to bring the young Zoalord-to-be into Hamilcal’s private laboratory, Alkanphel considered whether there were any other pressing matters that required his attention. Since the Relic had been all but destroyed, Chronos no longer had a way to escape this planet as Alkanphel had intended. Perhaps there was a way to rectify that situation, however.

Teleporting back to the remains of Mt. Minakami a last time, Alkanphel retrieved a small piece of the Relic. The Relic itself had been a living vessel, so there might still be the chance of replicating it with Chronos’ superior technology. Considering the small fragment of the Relic that he held, Alkanphel teleported back to the Dead Sea facility. After a short mental exchange with Hamilcal, Alkanphel teleported to the development division.

XxXxX

Laying the fragment of the Relic on a pedestal, Alkanphel then teleported to Hamilcal’s private laboratory. The two Proto-Zoalords were waiting for him there, as was Hamilcal. The dead Proto-Zoalord was lying on a dissection table, and Kenji Murakami was back inside a processing-tank where he belonged. Alkanphel was interested to note that the boy’s body somewhat resembled that of the dead Proto-Zoalord.

It had perhaps been intentional on Reholt’s part, Alkanphel was not sure. Nor did he care all that much at the moment. What the Supreme Zoalord was most interested in was the development of his new Twelfth Zoalord. The matter of Kenji Murakami could be dealt with in more detail later. With a mental signal to Hamilcal, their work on the dead Proto-Zoalord began.

XxXxX

After five straight days of work it was finally done, the Proto-Zoalord once named Masaki Murakami was now his new Twelfth Zoalord: Imakarum Mirabilis. Alkanphel was at the moment still sifting through the man’s memories. The most prominent in the Supreme Zoalord’s mind, however, were those that dealt with the boy Kenji Murakami. He would not have guessed that the boy was related to the former Proto-Zoalord.

Much less that the boy was the now-Mirabilis’ offspring. Now at least he knew what had provided a great deal of motivation for Imakarum to attack Reholt when the man had known that he was dying. If one of his children had been taken from him by some force, as unlikely as that scenario was, Alkanphel knew that there were very few things that would be able to stop him from rescuing them.

Teleporting back into Hamilcal’s private laboratory, Alkanphel laid a hand on the processing-tank that held Imakarum’s son. When Imakarum had seen his son’s Zoalord body, the first thing he had done was to say that it was the wrong color. Only Alkanphel himself had known what Imakarum had meant by saying that. After all, the boy’s favorite color was blue, not white or purple.

Alkanphel had told Imakarum that he would see to correcting the mistake, and his new Twelfth Zoalord had thanked him and then teleported back to his quarters to rest. Alkanphel had indeed seen to the problem of the boy’s coloring. The young Zoalord was now a pale sky-blue, and a dark royal blue on the parts that were not covered by his over-armor. Alkanphel looked over the thirty Zoacrystals that pulsed inside the boy’s body.

He had to give Reholt credit for one thing, at least: the man was very thorough. The boy would make a very strong Zoalord, once his development was complete of course. The new Control Zoacrystal was also integrating well with the boy’s physiology. Alkanphel was satisfied.