bookbashuk Chapter 464 The Black Death Emperor Descends! William Hand's Awakening!
Chapter 464 The Black Death Emperor Descends! William Hand's Awakening!
Chapter 464 The Black Death Emperor Descends! William Hand's Awakening! (6000 words, I wrote too much, sob)
Deep in the universe.
Outside the Night Owl's owl-shaped spaceship.
Starro, the conqueror of the universe, floated in space, his body so enormous that it was several times larger than when he first met Night Owl.
Surrounding him were countless tiny starfish, enough to trigger trypophobia, like a meteorite belt trapped by gravity around a star.
These are the clones Starro created during this period. At this moment, Starro's mental power is probably several times stronger than it was at the beginning.
However, just as an ordinary person can gain weight and go from being a 100-pound fat person, maintaining such a strong physique and such strong mental strength is also a huge burden for Staro himself.
On this point, he never revealed a single word to Night Owl.
At this moment, a large number of starfish turned their bodies to face one side.
Countless starfish with eyes stared at a woman flying in outer space. This would be an incredibly creepy scene for ordinary people, but Greer remained calm.
"You know why I'm here to see you, Staro," she said loudly to Staro via telepathy.
"You owe me a favor. It was through my connections that you were able to reach an agreement with Night Owl."
Greer said, "And now it's time to give it back to me."
The starfish didn't speak. Soon, his voice echoed in Greer's mind.
"I will never admit to helping you afterward, and besides, I helped 'you'."
"Of course," Greer said.
"it is good."
The very next second, Greer felt an immense mental force surge into her body, this immense mental force flowing continuously through her mental connection with Batman…
Towards being absorbed!
"In exchange."
The starfish said, "I helped you, so you have to help me too."
Of those millions of tiny starfish, one flew into Greer's hand.
"Your clone will appear in the Batman universe."
Greer promised the starfish.
"Um."
Then they didn't say another word to each other and quickly parted ways.
The cosmic starfish "Conqueror" Starro possesses the ability to regenerate; as long as one of his clones survives, Starro can revive his consciousness from that clone.
Whether it was Greer or Starro, they never intended to go down the same path as either Night Owl or Batman. They were cunning and ruthless villains, and for them, hedging their bets and working for both sides at the same time was a skill that seemed like a genetic instinct.
The claim that Starro owed Greer a favor and then helped her is nothing more than a small fig leaf for them to cover up their lack of betrayal.
……
……
……
Squeak squeak squeak squeak...
A rat poked its head out of the sewer.
It stared blankly at the city that had become ruins, feeling as if it had just woken from a long dream.
Then he was spotted by Robin Hound of the Laughing Bat, and the greedy beast used both hands and feet to grab the rat from the ground.
Even though these Robin Hounds were once innocent children in the world of Laughter, they have been infused with Barbatos' dark energy, making them immune to all fatal damage except for the Tenth Metal, and giving them superhuman speed in walking, sitting, and lying down.
They swarmed forward and quickly devoured the poor mouse, eliciting a few chuckles from the laughing bats nearby.
Even within the Dark Knights, the Batman Who Laughs was considered a recluse, and this wasn't just because he was the de facto ruler of the Dark Knights; a more important reason was...
Not far away, in front of a huge screen, the four members of the Dark Knights were all intently watching the scene on the screen.
Some of them were expressionless, some had complex expressions, and some were simply calculating data, but none of them resembled the Laughing Bat...
My heart was completely unmoved.
The Bat of Laughter felt empty inside; he felt neither sentimentality nor sorrow, nor even anger, only utter darkness.
He reached out and patted Robin's head, still smiling.
"That's a great idea, Anti-Monitor Batman. Ugh, I find it a bit disgusting."
He said this in a low voice, then turned around and went straight back to his room.
The killing machine wanted to ask him why he didn't keep watching, but he reached out his hand and ultimately didn't dare to ask.
The Bat Who Laughs didn't seem displeased at all, but just by standing there, even a mechanical killing machine would feel fear.
……
……
……
Apokolips.
"Your Majesty Darkseid."
Apokolips's chief scientist and chief of staff, Disadard, bowed to Darkseid, who was seated in the main seat: "Apokolips's propulsion engines are ready and can begin interstellar migration at any time."
"Um."
Darkseid nodded.
"If Batman fails, we will migrate into Night Owl's universe," Darkseid said.
"No matter what the outcome of the war, we will be the final winners."
Darkseid remained expressionless, his eyes reflecting the flames of Apokolips' massive engines shooting into the sky.
"Whether it's the anti-surveillance agents or Batman..."
"They will all be crushed before Darkseid."
……
……
……
"I demand that you merge with my heart."
The Anti-Monitor knocked Batman to the ground with a single punch. Even though three SS-class Batmen had simultaneously taken over Chen Tao's body, he still couldn't withstand the Anti-Monitor's immense strength.
The anti-surveillance agent grabbed Chen Tao's arm with one hand and pulled hard, making a teeth-grinding crunching sound.
He... seemed to want to break my shoulder. Why didn't he just kill me?
Why did he always want me to become the anti-surveillance Batman?
The intense pain gnawed at Chen Tao's nerves, but it did not affect his thinking.
He was surprised that he had such a strong will to think despite the pain, but he quickly put that surprise out of his mind.
If... if Barbatos wants me to merge with the heart, then what is the purpose of the Anti-Monitor?
He was so confident that he could...
As he pondered, he calmly arranged his actions, and everything appeared to be in an orderly manner.
The Superman Supreme, already sucked into the Origin Wall, was quickly charged with some of the yellow sunlight power from a yellow solar energy cell previously placed on him. This seemed to be able to distract some of the Anti-Monitor's energy, and then he could…
Oh!
The Anti-Monitor grabbed the bone spurs protruding from Batman's body with his bare hands, broke them off, and then used them as blades to forcefully stab the joint between Batman's shoulder and arm.
With a soft crack, an arm was quickly torn off, and blood gushed out.
Chen Tao frowned slightly. It's alright.
Although he can synchronize with Broken Bat to become immune to such injuries, his overall physical strength will also decrease due to synchronizing with such a low-level Batman.
He had to maintain the physical strength to withstand beatings from the anti-surveillance agents and be ready to retaliate at any time.
Since he has the Crimson of All Beings to heal his injuries, he would rather be injured than give the other party the opportunity to kill him directly.
He was dragging his feet because he was waiting for an opportunity, not because he wanted to be beaten up for nothing.
Even with the enhancements of Batman like the Destroyer, a body as hard as iron sand cannot match the power of a purely solidified flesh when unleashing its full potential.
If the Anti-Monitor suddenly strikes, the weakened Batman, whose body has been disintegrated, might not have time to react...
puff!
Chen Tao was slightly lost in thought.
What happened? He looked down and saw the anti-surveillance agent's fist pierce through his chest!
No… something’s not right. The anti-surveillance agent’s attitude is strange; it’s completely contradictory. He was just holding back, so how come he suddenly…
Chen Tao looked up and saw the anti-surveillance agent with his head down.
He had initially seemed rather talkative, constantly trying to persuade himself to act according to his orders, but at this moment, despite still having the same face as in Crisis on Infinite Earths, he suddenly fell silent.
wrong!
A sudden alarm bell rang in Chen Tao's mind. The ion shark behind him roared angrily. Chen Tao desperately kicked the anti-monitor in the chest, and in an instant, dark red Bat Speed Force flowed through his body.
With a flick of his wrist, Chen Tao unleashed a green static light wave of stasis force that struck the Anti-Monitor head-on. Although this technique, stolen from the Turtleman, could not surpass the Turtleman's own level because Chen Tao had not truly mastered stasis force, it was still able to combine with the Speed Force to slow down the Anti-Monitor.
The world slowed down again, arcs of red, bat-shaped lightning coursing across the Anti-Monitor's body, forcefully rewinding his movements like a videotape.
Chen Tao landed on the ground, and the next moment he was trampled under the feet of the anti-surveillance agent!
boom!!!!
The ground exploded in an instant, and the entire planet Quad trembled as the Anti-Monitor kicked it.
"No!"
Chen Tao raised his intact arm, and then the arm that had been broken off by the anti-surveillance agent flew back.
In an instant, the Crimson of All Beings reattached the arm, and at that moment, a burst of black light suddenly erupted from Chen Tao's body!
On Earth.
William Hand was panting heavily.
He knew this moment would eventually come, but he didn't expect it to come so soon.
At this moment, he was standing in the conference room of the Justice League headquarters. In the huge room, he was the only conscious person. Not far away, the unconscious Flash, Barry Allen, was being helped by him to lean against the sofa.
His mentor, Bane, must be in the Black Corruption, not only to confront Anton A. Cain, but also to help him channel the power of the Black Death Emperor.
William held a revolver to his head, and on the screen in front of him, the outside world was being shown.
Batman had discussed this moment with him many times, as Superman Supreme was pinned inside the Source Wall by the Anti-Monitor. The Black Death, which he could summon, was practically the strongest ally Batman could muster.
William was well aware of his potential and what he was capable of achieving.
He is now hiding in an infinitely shrunk Earth, stored inside Batman's body, and Batman is protecting him very well.
Batman discussed this issue with him, and Bane would assist him in the Corruption Black, preserving his sanity as much as possible.
I……
I will never become a monster.
Even if I die, I will be able to maintain my mind.
William Hand felt his hands trembling.
He jabbed his temple hard, and from Batman's perspective, the world was shaking, and the Anti-Monitor tore off his arm.
William took one last look at the outside world.
The world is in a state of shock and horror because of the sudden disappearance of the sun.
The public only knows that they are facing anti-surveillance agents, and they know that they are being protected, but they don't know exactly how they are being protected.
They were afraid, they were bewildered, just like William Hand at this very moment.
But do you know what makes William Hand the only one different from them?
The public will always know that Batman can protect them, and they can always rely on someone stronger.
But William Hand knew that Batman... he needed help.
If Batman, who is relied upon by others, also needs to rely on someone, then who can he rely on?
"This...this is also my world..."
William Hand looked at his hands.
Huh, that's strange, it's stopped shaking.
So he aimed the revolver at himself again.
He slowly raised his head and smiled. If anyone could see him, they would notice that in the pitch-black midnight outside the window, William Hand's young face was beaming with a smile as bright as a clear sky.
"...You are the morning sun, William..."
"...Life? Life is not something meaningful, William."
"But as long as you're alive, you can find interesting things, just like how you discovered flowers, and I discovered you..."
"...That's right, I'm telling you, go for it, and always keep your word. That's our way of the... cough, the way of the Lantern Knight!"
"...What's there to be afraid of? Don't be afraid of the Black Death Emperor. Listen to me, you're destined to become a pirate... I mean, the Lantern King's man!"
"...Become a righteous Shinigami, Gotenks! Okay, that sounds a bit strange, but anyway, you'll be an exceptionally powerful Shinigami, understand?"
"Peter Parker once said, 'With great power comes great responsibility!' Yes, that comic book character."
"...Waaaaah, our passionate bond, this is youth!!!"
"Rise again, my love! Awoooooo!"
William closed his eyes.
Batman... he's a weird uncle who's sometimes serious and sometimes neurotic, and he loves to say strange things.
Unlike Master Bain, who always maintained a serious demeanor.
I understand now, I've come to my senses...
"Today... I will be Batman's support."
"Because I am William Hand, the Black Lantern!"
boom!
Beyond Earth.
The Anti-Monitor's gaze coldly observes William Hand's heroic act through Batman's body.
"It's no use," he said.
Although his voice still sounded somewhat similar to the incessant chatter he had used in front of Chen Tao, if you listened carefully…
There seemed to be a hoarse voice, somewhat similar to his original voice but not quite, singing a duet with him in a low voice.
The Anti-Monitor turned his head and saw that in the distant outer space, the protective force he had meticulously set up for the entire Earth, including Batman, was torn open by some enormous force in an instant.
With a silent roar, space shattered, and a pair of giant skeletal hands suddenly appeared as if from behind a canvas, tearing a huge gash in the space.
Behind that opening was a pitch-black world, where the Black Death Emperor's towering, enormous skull face looked down at the Anti-Monitor and Batman, who were as small as ants.
The Anti-Monitor didn't say anything, and the next moment, he charged straight at Batman.
He doesn't need to deal with the Black Death Emperor. He just needs to solve the root of the problem first.
And this problem can be solved quickly.
brush!
Chen Tao retreated rapidly. What he should do now is wait for the right opportunity, and let the Black Death Emperor and the Anti-Monitor fight each other first, instead of continuing to fight the Anti-Monitor and letting the Black Death Emperor bring both of them into the attack range.
"William..." His heart was filled with complex emotions. He knew very well that it was risky to let William come into contact with the power of the Black Death Emperor, let alone let him commit suicide and trigger the Darkest Night. Even though he had confirmed through experiments that he could restart the timeline to help William counter the influence of the Black Death Emperor, the fact that he had committed suicide once and had become the host of the Black Death Emperor was unchangeable.
In the comic "Darkest Night," the Black Death Emperor can even turn characters who died in the DC reboot into Black Lantern Corpses without infection. The time reboot can have some impact on a high-ranking being like the Black Death Emperor, but it is limited.
Although Chen Tao had mentally prepared himself for William Hand to eventually become the host of the Black Death Emperor many times, he still felt somewhat heavy-hearted after it actually happened.
If he could have done better, if he had done even a little better, perhaps William wouldn't have had to face these things so soon. And not just William, but also Barry; if the war goes badly, he might still need him…
Chen Tao shook his head and refocused his attention on the battlefield before him.
He knew very well that William Hand, who had become Black Lantern... or rather, Black Lantern Demon, was still in his hands, and the Black Death Emperor would not give up on that.
Although he and the Anti-Monitor also have a conflict over the world, it is at most a dispute between two beasts who want to monopolize a prey. His conflict with himself is far more acute than that.
Once the Black Death Emperor starts taking him seriously, things won't be so fun anymore, so he'll have to...
"What?"
Chen Tao discovers that the Earth, which has been protected by being placed in a bottle, has suddenly become completely out of control.
The bottle had been shrunk to a size not much larger than a cell by Brainiac's shrinking ray, but suddenly it flew out of his body and rapidly enlarged to the size of a plate, the size Brainiac would usually hang in his spaceship. All of this was completely beyond Chen Tao's control!
Chen Tao suddenly looked at the counter-surveillance agent who was manipulating all of this, as if a bucket of cold water had been poured over his head and onto the soles of his feet.
Damn it, does he think he's the only one collecting intelligence on others? Does he think the counter-surveillance agents never consider what kind of opponent they're facing?
If the other party had already considered the issue of Superman, how could he not have thought about what other tricks he might have up his sleeve?
In an instant, William Hand, who had just transformed into a black-light corpse, was captured from the bottled Earth by the Anti-Monitor.
A blank look appeared on his dark blue face, then when he saw the white light of the Anti-Life Equation flashing in the Anti-Monitor's hand, despair filled his eyes. The next moment, a resolute determination flashed in his eyes.
The Anti-Monitor had long considered using the Anti-Life Equation to control him. If he weren't already a voter of the Black Death Emperor, he would have long since become a vegetable, just like Wonder Woman and many members of the Justice League.
Even so, he is completely immobilized and at the mercy of the anti-monitors, but that does not mean that William Hand... has no power to fight back.
Batman always taught him to be brave.
"No! You can't disconnect Bane from you using the Decaying Black!" Chen Tao lunged forward. "I never told you to do that!"
"Doing that would allow the Black Death Emperor to completely..."
William gritted his teeth, a savage grin spreading across his face: "To allow the Black Death Emperor to unleash his full power..."
"You did a great job, you really did a great job."
The next moment, William Hand heard the anti-monitor's resonant voice in his ears.
The anti-monitor had suddenly become taciturn, as if two consciousnesses were vying for dominance within him, but this did not affect his speed or mobility in the slightest. The two voices spoke at the same time, but they said exactly the same words.
"That was really well done."
The Black Death Emperor roared from not far away. His voice was not very clear due to the barrier of the universe, but he had already realized what the Anti-Monitor was going to do.
"stop!"
His upper body strained to protrude out of the spatial rift, then stretched out his huge bone claws to attack the anti-monitor below, but the huge spatial rift began to close the next moment. The force was so great that it squeezed the huge skeleton's body and deformed it.
"Wha...what happened?"
William Hand was horrified to find the deathly aura on his face dissipating. This was impossible; the Anti-Monitor couldn't have so easily dispelled the Black Death Emperor unless something had gone wrong with the Black Death Emperor's host...
William realized it was true. He... he seemed to be coming back to life.
The reality of his death was altered, and if he hadn't died, the Black Death Emperor would have had no host. Without a host, he couldn't invade the world. Even if the Black Death Emperor was incredibly powerful, he was still in another dimension. He couldn't come here, and he couldn't attack the Anti-Monitor. The Anti-Monitor didn't need to fight him at all.
"I am God," the Anti-Monitor said.
I'm sorry.
Chen Tao gritted his teeth.
He really needs to wake up the Flash.
(End of this chapter)