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Chapter 263 I Need to Borrow Your Power
The scene was too surreal. Everyone present was already quite worldly, but this was a situation they had truly never encountered before.
He traveled zero-point-three-five seconds into the future. He said it so casually that if you weren't paying close attention, you'd think it sounded as simple as getting up to pour a glass of water.
In fact, thinking about it carefully, the fact that he had circled the Earth several times in less than a second before this was also quite ridiculous. It was just that, compared to what he said next, it somehow seemed... fine, not so absurd after all.
"I feel like I've read a similar theory somewhere," Hal said, feigning deep thought. "The theory of relativity says that time changes with an object's motion. Theoretically, if you reach the speed of light, time will stand still, and faster-than-light speed will cause a time-space anomaly, achieving a time jump... Okay, I can't make this up anymore. Even my power ring thinks you're ridiculous."
"Honestly, I thought so too at first." Barry dusted himself off and stood up straight. "But Orin... oh, it was that Ultraman who told me it was no big deal. He said, 'Isn't it just traveling through time? A lot of things only look hard, but they're actually as simple as eating a popsicle.' At first, I thought he was exaggerating, but now I've found out... ha, he was right. It is pretty simple."
Everyone: "..."
Were those the words of a human?
Isn't it just traveling through time? How hard can it be?
If you want to jump forward a bit, you jump forward a bit. If you want to rewind, you rewind. As easy as a stroll in your own courtyard. So simple...
But on second thought, the one who said this was an unscientific existence to begin with. Applying this setting to that guy, it suddenly didn't seem so hard to accept.
"And I thought I was fast enough," Superman couldn't help but mutter.
To be honest, when Clark first discovered his super speed in his school days, he truly felt invincible for a time. The thought that he might be the fastest creature in the universe had certainly crossed his mind. But now, it seemed that was just a thought.
Of course, talk was talk; their conversation on the side didn't affect the action at hand. The group was still swarming Darkseid, locked in a fierce battle.
But the strength of this King of the New Gods was truly formidable. Even for the members of the Justice League, he was difficult to deal with.
Martian Manhunter launched a mental impact, but it was like crashing into a wall of bronze and iron. He only felt that the opponent's thoughts were a deep, dark abyss, completely unfathomable. At the same time, Kara flung out her Lasso of Lies, binding his arm. But with just a tug, Darkseid's brute force yanked her over, and she took a punch to the face that sent her flying.
Martian Manhunter activated his shape-shifting, transforming into a flexible green rubber rope, and joined the Lasso of Lies in binding Darkseid's entire body. But the New God let out a low roar, and a terrifying divine power erupted from him, forcefully tearing apart both the shape-shifted Martian Manhunter and the lasso.
At this moment, a blade descended from mid-air. Wonder Woman swung the Sword of Hephaestus, the blade crashing down with astonishing electrical light. Darkseid had just sent Martian Manhunter flying, and by the time he turned, it was a bit too late to react. He could only manage to cross his arms in a block.
The longsword, crackling with electricity, slammed into Darkseid, and his entire body was blasted with a dazzling electric light. His massive, heavy frame slid dozens of meters across the ground.
"The king of the Old Gods."
Darkseid seemed to sense the power of a God King from that strike. He narrowed his eyes, and lava seeped from their corners.
Diana let out a warrior's cry and charged forward again. With her sword in her right hand and the Lasso of Truth in her left, she dodged Darkseid's heavy punch. Pushing off with her feet, she leaped nimbly, her toes tapping on Darkseid's steel-like arm. Her figure flew over his head, and at the same time, her left hand whipped out the lasso, ensnaring his arm.
Ever since ascending to the throne of the God King, Diana's divine power and base stats had taken a massive leap. Combined with her own exquisite technique, her overall power had seen a massive leap. She used the lasso's restraint to pull Darkseid's arm, forcing it to choke his own throat. Landing on his back, she raised her sword, ready to hack at his head.
Such exquisite moves and extreme maneuvering—if it were a battle between opponents of similar power, this single move could have been enough to decide the outcome.
But her opponent was Darkseid.
The God of Apokolips let out a deep roar, and his divine power erupted once more. The restraining Lasso of Truth emitted a golden radiance, tightening under the drive of magic power, but it was ultimately no match for the divine power and was forcibly torn off. Diana was also thrown off balance by the unexpectedly immense arm strength, tumbling from his back to the ground.
"A divine race long abandoned by the era," Darkseid said grimly.
"Become the dust of history!"
His eyes flashed again, and a red glow erupted from them, tracing a winding curve through the air as it swept toward Wonder Woman!
But in the nick of time, a red-and-blue afterimage flashed over. Superman, at full burst speed, was so fast his form was elongated. He appeared in front of the fallen Wonder Woman, grabbed her, and pulled her behind him, using his own body to slam into Darkseid's ray.
"Ugh, ahhh!"
The intense energy blast's aftershock shattered the ground. Superman gritted his teeth and groaned in pain, kneeling on one knee. Black smoke rose from the spot on his back where he was hit.
"Kal!" Kara flew over in a hurry.
"I'm fine." Superman grimaced, forcing a smile. "That actually stung."
Darkseid's eyes widened.
*Stung a bit?*
That was the Omega, the Omega that struck fear into the Gods, that could erase anything!
And to you, it just "stung a bit"?
Darkseid was gradually beginning to realize that this place was not so simple.
It was different from most of the worlds he had conquered.
He had fired two Omega beams since landing. One was a complete miss, the other barely scratched him. To say there wasn't something wrong with this place would be a blatant lie.
But at this moment, Darkseid just found it a little interesting, an interest akin to an interstellar CEO thinking, "Human, you have successfully piqued my interest." The absurd possibility that he might actually meet his downfall here had not yet crossed his mind.
Clearly, he had yet to realize the gravity of the situation.
A powerful surge of energy swept over, triggering some deep-seated instinct for danger within the New God. It came with incredible speed, accompanied by a deafening roar like a surging azure wave, and blasted Darkseid, sending him flying sideways!
"Spacium Ray!"
Kara was the first to recognize this energy she was already all too familiar with and flew up excitedly.
"You're finally here!"
An afterimage wreathed in electricity dropped from the sky, and Orin Vale made a Gaia-style landing with a boom, kicking up a massive cloud of dust. Kara's figure flashed as she dashed over with superspeed.
"That one! That big, black, and particularly ugly brute!" She tugged on Orin Vale's arm. "He's the one who just hit me!"
Superman caught sight of Batman, who had appeared alongside Orin Vale, and exclaimed in pleasant surprise.
"Batman! You're here too?"
He looked as if he'd forgotten his super-brain at home and was overjoyed to see the Bat-brand external brain come online.
"We can catch up later."
Orin Vale's figure flickered, and he appeared before Superman, his expression solemn.
"This enemy is no ordinary one. To be safe, I have a plan."
Superman immediately straightened up. "Go on."
Orin Vale said gravely, "I need to borrow your power."
(end of chapter)
The scene was too surreal. Everyone present was already quite worldly, but this was a situation they had truly never encountered before.
He traveled zero-point-three-five seconds into the future. He said it so casually that if you weren't paying close attention, you'd think it sounded as simple as getting up to pour a glass of water.
In fact, thinking about it carefully, the fact that he had circled the Earth several times in less than a second before this was also quite ridiculous. It was just that, compared to what he said next, it somehow seemed... fine, not so absurd after all.
"I feel like I've read a similar theory somewhere," Hal said, feigning deep thought. "The theory of relativity says that time changes with an object's motion. Theoretically, if you reach the speed of light, time will stand still, and faster-than-light speed will cause a time-space anomaly, achieving a time jump... Okay, I can't make this up anymore. Even my power ring thinks you're ridiculous."
"Honestly, I thought so too at first." Barry dusted himself off and stood up straight. "But Orin... oh, it was that Ultraman who told me it was no big deal. He said, 'Isn't it just traveling through time? A lot of things only look hard, but they're actually as simple as eating a popsicle.' At first, I thought he was exaggerating, but now I've found out... ha, he was right. It is pretty simple."
Everyone: "..."
Were those the words of a human?
Isn't it just traveling through time? How hard can it be?
If you want to jump forward a bit, you jump forward a bit. If you want to rewind, you rewind. As easy as a stroll in your own courtyard. So simple...
But on second thought, the one who said this was an unscientific existence to begin with. Applying this setting to that guy, it suddenly didn't seem so hard to accept.
"And I thought I was fast enough," Superman couldn't help but mutter.
To be honest, when Clark first discovered his super speed in his school days, he truly felt invincible for a time. The thought that he might be the fastest creature in the universe had certainly crossed his mind. But now, it seemed that was just a thought.
Of course, talk was talk; their conversation on the side didn't affect the action at hand. The group was still swarming Darkseid, locked in a fierce battle.
But the strength of this King of the New Gods was truly formidable. Even for the members of the Justice League, he was difficult to deal with.
Martian Manhunter launched a mental impact, but it was like crashing into a wall of bronze and iron. He only felt that the opponent's thoughts were a deep, dark abyss, completely unfathomable. At the same time, Kara flung out her Lasso of Lies, binding his arm. But with just a tug, Darkseid's brute force yanked her over, and she took a punch to the face that sent her flying.
Martian Manhunter activated his shape-shifting, transforming into a flexible green rubber rope, and joined the Lasso of Lies in binding Darkseid's entire body. But the New God let out a low roar, and a terrifying divine power erupted from him, forcefully tearing apart both the shape-shifted Martian Manhunter and the lasso.
At this moment, a blade descended from mid-air. Wonder Woman swung the Sword of Hephaestus, the blade crashing down with astonishing electrical light. Darkseid had just sent Martian Manhunter flying, and by the time he turned, it was a bit too late to react. He could only manage to cross his arms in a block.
The longsword, crackling with electricity, slammed into Darkseid, and his entire body was blasted with a dazzling electric light. His massive, heavy frame slid dozens of meters across the ground.
"The king of the Old Gods."
Darkseid seemed to sense the power of a God King from that strike. He narrowed his eyes, and lava seeped from their corners.
Diana let out a warrior's cry and charged forward again. With her sword in her right hand and the Lasso of Truth in her left, she dodged Darkseid's heavy punch. Pushing off with her feet, she leaped nimbly, her toes tapping on Darkseid's steel-like arm. Her figure flew over his head, and at the same time, her left hand whipped out the lasso, ensnaring his arm.
Ever since ascending to the throne of the God King, Diana's divine power and base stats had taken a massive leap. Combined with her own exquisite technique, her overall power had seen a massive leap. She used the lasso's restraint to pull Darkseid's arm, forcing it to choke his own throat. Landing on his back, she raised her sword, ready to hack at his head.
Such exquisite moves and extreme maneuvering—if it were a battle between opponents of similar power, this single move could have been enough to decide the outcome.
But her opponent was Darkseid.
The God of Apokolips let out a deep roar, and his divine power erupted once more. The restraining Lasso of Truth emitted a golden radiance, tightening under the drive of magic power, but it was ultimately no match for the divine power and was forcibly torn off. Diana was also thrown off balance by the unexpectedly immense arm strength, tumbling from his back to the ground.
"A divine race long abandoned by the era," Darkseid said grimly.
"Become the dust of history!"
His eyes flashed again, and a red glow erupted from them, tracing a winding curve through the air as it swept toward Wonder Woman!
But in the nick of time, a red-and-blue afterimage flashed over. Superman, at full burst speed, was so fast his form was elongated. He appeared in front of the fallen Wonder Woman, grabbed her, and pulled her behind him, using his own body to slam into Darkseid's ray.
"Ugh, ahhh!"
The intense energy blast's aftershock shattered the ground. Superman gritted his teeth and groaned in pain, kneeling on one knee. Black smoke rose from the spot on his back where he was hit.
"Kal!" Kara flew over in a hurry.
"I'm fine." Superman grimaced, forcing a smile. "That actually stung."
Darkseid's eyes widened.
*Stung a bit?*
That was the Omega, the Omega that struck fear into the Gods, that could erase anything!
And to you, it just "stung a bit"?
Darkseid was gradually beginning to realize that this place was not so simple.
It was different from most of the worlds he had conquered.
He had fired two Omega beams since landing. One was a complete miss, the other barely scratched him. To say there wasn't something wrong with this place would be a blatant lie.
But at this moment, Darkseid just found it a little interesting, an interest akin to an interstellar CEO thinking, "Human, you have successfully piqued my interest." The absurd possibility that he might actually meet his downfall here had not yet crossed his mind.
Clearly, he had yet to realize the gravity of the situation.
A powerful surge of energy swept over, triggering some deep-seated instinct for danger within the New God. It came with incredible speed, accompanied by a deafening roar like a surging azure wave, and blasted Darkseid, sending him flying sideways!
"Spacium Ray!"
Kara was the first to recognize this energy she was already all too familiar with and flew up excitedly.
"You're finally here!"
An afterimage wreathed in electricity dropped from the sky, and Orin Vale made a Gaia-style landing with a boom, kicking up a massive cloud of dust. Kara's figure flashed as she dashed over with superspeed.
"That one! That big, black, and particularly ugly brute!" She tugged on Orin Vale's arm. "He's the one who just hit me!"
Superman caught sight of Batman, who had appeared alongside Orin Vale, and exclaimed in pleasant surprise.
"Batman! You're here too?"
He looked as if he'd forgotten his super-brain at home and was overjoyed to see the Bat-brand external brain come online.
"We can catch up later."
Orin Vale's figure flickered, and he appeared before Superman, his expression solemn.
"This enemy is no ordinary one. To be safe, I have a plan."
Superman immediately straightened up. "Go on."
Orin Vale said gravely, "I need to borrow your power."
(end of chapter)
