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Chapter 803: Rebirth Failed
Nekron was buried in white light.
A dozen or so White Lanterns gathered around, their eyes filled with pleasant surprise.
"Did we succeed?" Max asked in a deep voice, retracting his white light as he looked at the suddenly motionless Black Lantern zombies all around.
Tony glanced at him. "Wishful thinking."
With a whoosh, Nekron appeared in the same spot again, his expression stiff.
Without needing a signal from Tony, the group immediately raised their White Lantern Rings and blasted Nekron once more.
Nekron swept his cold, fierce gaze over them, and his entire body was once again devoured by the white light.
Nekron defeated: +2.
In the distance, a group of superheroes watched this scene with uneasy expressions.
"Can't Nekron be killed?"
"If Death itself cannot be killed..."
"No, there must be a way to put him down for good!"
Under the watch of a crowd of superheroes with changing expressions, and under the gazes of countless peeping, unknown beings, they could only watch as Nekron was taken down for the second time.
But it seemed this still wasn't enough to kill Nekron. The darkness was still gathering, the aura of Death was still coalescing, and a blurry humanoid form seemed to be taking shape again.
It seemed that the White Lanterns could kill Nekron, but they couldn't destroy him.
Tony shot the Life Entity a cold glance and cursed, "What are you still waiting for! Where's your power of Rebirth?"
The Life Entity flapped its wings, scattering points of light like a field of stars. It was a magnificent sight, but for some reason, many people sensed hesitation from it...
"If I were to end Nekron directly, you would go mad. Because you are closely watching one of the undead."
The Life Entity ignored the third resurrection of Nekron, its ethereal and gentle voice echoing out.
Tony fell silent. Then, he raised his hand, extended his middle finger, and once again blasted Nekron to pieces before he could even speak.
Nekron defeated: +3.
If Nekron possessed complete and rich emotions, he would probably wish he were truly dead.
At least that would be more comfortable than being killed over and over again by these bastard White Lanterns with no dignity.
At this moment, the countless undead throughout the Multiverse came to a halt, causing the living who had been suffering from the assault of the zombies to weep with joy.
But, there were still zombies that could move.
One of them was an old-looking fellow. With hollow, bloodthirsty eyes, he flew erratically all the way to Earth.
Along the way, the white light that was lethal to him began to slowly fade, consciously letting him enter Earth's atmosphere.
Tony looked up. Under everyone's gaze, he silently watched the figure approach him.
"Old Bartender..."
Tony murmured in a low voice.
Wanda gave Tony a worried look. She opened her glowing white lips as if to say something, but in the end, she said nothing, merely letting out a soft sigh.
She knew better than anyone what this ordinary-looking old man meant to Tony.
Even now, Wanda could clearly recall her first meeting with the Old Bartender. He was an old man with a mischievous smile, carefully tending to a lawn, which at one point made Wanda think he was a professional groundskeeper.
The Life Entity moved. It flapped its wings slowly, streaking across the sky like a brilliant meteor.
"Make your choice, Tony. Though I don't know why you know so much about me, you understand what I'm talking about."
The Life Entity said, "Choose Resurrection, or Rebirth!"
Resurrection is the power of Nekron.
While Rebirth is the power of the Life Entity.
Both have the ability to affect the existential state of the living, but their methods are completely different.
And right now, the Old Bartender's state is that of "Resurrection"—he is a slave to Nekron.
Countless gazes turned over, and many superheroes were confused. They couldn't make sense of the current situation... What was that white bird talking about?
A rare look of conflict appeared on Tony's face.
Just then, Nekron stepped out of the extremely compressed darkness. The aura of Death on his body had been depleted multiple times and was extremely faint. He tried to retrieve his scythe, but the weapon was instantly destroyed by a single flap of the Life Entity's wing.
"Death is the final destination for all living things, Tony. That includes you. I am your destination..."
Nekron mumbled, while simultaneously and frantically drawing the energy needed to sustain his existence from countless zombies and even more distant places.
In a faraway region, the goddess Death sat on a rock, on the verge of cursing out loud.
"What are you hesitating for! Hurry up and kill Nekron!!"
Suddenly, the concepts of existence and energy within her—not even reaching the level of a demigod—were viciously drained away again. This deity of Death's aura grew faint, and she fell into a state of near erasure.
It was almost laughable. Death was actually about to die.
Her bone-white skull faintly showed a tendency to turn green.
Death was so furious with Nekron that her face was literally turning green. She felt utterly blameless.
On Earth, Nekron's aura suddenly flared up a little, successfully attracting Tony's attention. Then, before Nekron could even roar, a dozen streams of white light surged forward, and Nekron was once again annihilated.
Nekron defeated: +4.
"Rebirth! I choose Rebirth! He can't be overcome by Nekron's power. No one has that right!"
Tony took a deep breath.
The Life Entity fell silent for a moment, then spread its wings wide. A pillar of white light, far more concentrated than ever before, ruthlessly struck the zombie.
"Old Bartender from Earth, be reborn!"
The Life Entity's gentle voice spoke softly as a formidable power crossed timelines and transcended the distances of space, swiftly sweeping through the countless space-times and existing lives of the Multiverse, searching for something.
At that moment, the power of the Life Entity silenced countless ancient beings. Certain improper thoughts quietly dissipated.
The Life Entity... too powerful, too bizarre.
But, even one as mighty as the Life Entity, after sweeping across the Multiverse, suddenly retracted its power. It paused for a moment before saying to Tony, "Rebirth failed. The life form in question is resisting rebirth."
Tony's eyebrows rose, a muscle in his cheek twitching as he hardened his heart. "Then use Forced Rebirth! At the very least, we have to pull him away from Nekron's grasp. If that doesn't work, we'll revive him first and then let him kill himself."
This was the terrible idea Tony had come up with.
The Old Bartender had long since lost all attachment to the world. Embracing death was a choice he made himself.
The Life Entity spoke again. "Forced Rebirth failed. This life form is in a state of being voluntarily offline. My current power cannot reach his slumbering soul."
Tony's expression changed. An extremely bad feeling welled up in his heart.
There seemed to be only one place that could snatch someone away from the Life Entity.
"The Netherworld?"
Tony's throat felt dry.
"How the hell did he get to the Netherworld?"
"Dammit, I wouldn't believe it if you beat me to death! That unreliable old coot actually had what it takes to get into the Netherworld?! At this rate, the Netherworld Realm would have to roll out the red carpet to invite me!"
Tony cursed, a flicker of unease in his eyes.
(end of chapter)
Nekron was buried in white light.
A dozen or so White Lanterns gathered around, their eyes filled with pleasant surprise.
"Did we succeed?" Max asked in a deep voice, retracting his white light as he looked at the suddenly motionless Black Lantern zombies all around.
Tony glanced at him. "Wishful thinking."
With a whoosh, Nekron appeared in the same spot again, his expression stiff.
Without needing a signal from Tony, the group immediately raised their White Lantern Rings and blasted Nekron once more.
Nekron swept his cold, fierce gaze over them, and his entire body was once again devoured by the white light.
Nekron defeated: +2.
In the distance, a group of superheroes watched this scene with uneasy expressions.
"Can't Nekron be killed?"
"If Death itself cannot be killed..."
"No, there must be a way to put him down for good!"
Under the watch of a crowd of superheroes with changing expressions, and under the gazes of countless peeping, unknown beings, they could only watch as Nekron was taken down for the second time.
But it seemed this still wasn't enough to kill Nekron. The darkness was still gathering, the aura of Death was still coalescing, and a blurry humanoid form seemed to be taking shape again.
It seemed that the White Lanterns could kill Nekron, but they couldn't destroy him.
Tony shot the Life Entity a cold glance and cursed, "What are you still waiting for! Where's your power of Rebirth?"
The Life Entity flapped its wings, scattering points of light like a field of stars. It was a magnificent sight, but for some reason, many people sensed hesitation from it...
"If I were to end Nekron directly, you would go mad. Because you are closely watching one of the undead."
The Life Entity ignored the third resurrection of Nekron, its ethereal and gentle voice echoing out.
Tony fell silent. Then, he raised his hand, extended his middle finger, and once again blasted Nekron to pieces before he could even speak.
Nekron defeated: +3.
If Nekron possessed complete and rich emotions, he would probably wish he were truly dead.
At least that would be more comfortable than being killed over and over again by these bastard White Lanterns with no dignity.
At this moment, the countless undead throughout the Multiverse came to a halt, causing the living who had been suffering from the assault of the zombies to weep with joy.
But, there were still zombies that could move.
One of them was an old-looking fellow. With hollow, bloodthirsty eyes, he flew erratically all the way to Earth.
Along the way, the white light that was lethal to him began to slowly fade, consciously letting him enter Earth's atmosphere.
Tony looked up. Under everyone's gaze, he silently watched the figure approach him.
"Old Bartender..."
Tony murmured in a low voice.
Wanda gave Tony a worried look. She opened her glowing white lips as if to say something, but in the end, she said nothing, merely letting out a soft sigh.
She knew better than anyone what this ordinary-looking old man meant to Tony.
Even now, Wanda could clearly recall her first meeting with the Old Bartender. He was an old man with a mischievous smile, carefully tending to a lawn, which at one point made Wanda think he was a professional groundskeeper.
The Life Entity moved. It flapped its wings slowly, streaking across the sky like a brilliant meteor.
"Make your choice, Tony. Though I don't know why you know so much about me, you understand what I'm talking about."
The Life Entity said, "Choose Resurrection, or Rebirth!"
Resurrection is the power of Nekron.
While Rebirth is the power of the Life Entity.
Both have the ability to affect the existential state of the living, but their methods are completely different.
And right now, the Old Bartender's state is that of "Resurrection"—he is a slave to Nekron.
Countless gazes turned over, and many superheroes were confused. They couldn't make sense of the current situation... What was that white bird talking about?
A rare look of conflict appeared on Tony's face.
Just then, Nekron stepped out of the extremely compressed darkness. The aura of Death on his body had been depleted multiple times and was extremely faint. He tried to retrieve his scythe, but the weapon was instantly destroyed by a single flap of the Life Entity's wing.
"Death is the final destination for all living things, Tony. That includes you. I am your destination..."
Nekron mumbled, while simultaneously and frantically drawing the energy needed to sustain his existence from countless zombies and even more distant places.
In a faraway region, the goddess Death sat on a rock, on the verge of cursing out loud.
"What are you hesitating for! Hurry up and kill Nekron!!"
Suddenly, the concepts of existence and energy within her—not even reaching the level of a demigod—were viciously drained away again. This deity of Death's aura grew faint, and she fell into a state of near erasure.
It was almost laughable. Death was actually about to die.
Her bone-white skull faintly showed a tendency to turn green.
Death was so furious with Nekron that her face was literally turning green. She felt utterly blameless.
On Earth, Nekron's aura suddenly flared up a little, successfully attracting Tony's attention. Then, before Nekron could even roar, a dozen streams of white light surged forward, and Nekron was once again annihilated.
Nekron defeated: +4.
"Rebirth! I choose Rebirth! He can't be overcome by Nekron's power. No one has that right!"
Tony took a deep breath.
The Life Entity fell silent for a moment, then spread its wings wide. A pillar of white light, far more concentrated than ever before, ruthlessly struck the zombie.
"Old Bartender from Earth, be reborn!"
The Life Entity's gentle voice spoke softly as a formidable power crossed timelines and transcended the distances of space, swiftly sweeping through the countless space-times and existing lives of the Multiverse, searching for something.
At that moment, the power of the Life Entity silenced countless ancient beings. Certain improper thoughts quietly dissipated.
The Life Entity... too powerful, too bizarre.
But, even one as mighty as the Life Entity, after sweeping across the Multiverse, suddenly retracted its power. It paused for a moment before saying to Tony, "Rebirth failed. The life form in question is resisting rebirth."
Tony's eyebrows rose, a muscle in his cheek twitching as he hardened his heart. "Then use Forced Rebirth! At the very least, we have to pull him away from Nekron's grasp. If that doesn't work, we'll revive him first and then let him kill himself."
This was the terrible idea Tony had come up with.
The Old Bartender had long since lost all attachment to the world. Embracing death was a choice he made himself.
The Life Entity spoke again. "Forced Rebirth failed. This life form is in a state of being voluntarily offline. My current power cannot reach his slumbering soul."
Tony's expression changed. An extremely bad feeling welled up in his heart.
There seemed to be only one place that could snatch someone away from the Life Entity.
"The Netherworld?"
Tony's throat felt dry.
"How the hell did he get to the Netherworld?"
"Dammit, I wouldn't believe it if you beat me to death! That unreliable old coot actually had what it takes to get into the Netherworld?! At this rate, the Netherworld Realm would have to roll out the red carpet to invite me!"
Tony cursed, a flicker of unease in his eyes.
(end of chapter)
