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Chapter 331: Slaughter
This sudden turn of events, while a good thing, left all the human heroes and soldiers at a complete loss.
The feeling was a bit strange. It was as if the enemy, confident of victory, was already pushing the crystal, and your side had already taken your hands off the keyboard, preparing for death. But then, a meteorite suddenly fell from the sky and wiped out the enemy, a completely random act of fate.
What was this? A deus ex machina?
The humans were dumbfounded, but the Apokolips army, on the receiving end of this deus ex machina, was even more stunned.
They... just got blown up like that?
You have to understand, these weren't just some random grunts. They were bio-weapons meticulously cultivated by Apokolips! They were undoubtedly the leaders of this battle, the vanguard of their entire force.
And now they were gone, just like that?
Beyond their shock at the terrifying destructive power of the light ray that had blasted out from that gate and the instant annihilation of their ace, the remaining Apokolips troops now faced a very real problem, one that could be summed up in a single question.
The army was coiled and ready to strike, but should they charge, or not?
"Hmm... did I use a bit too much force?"
Orin Vale stopped the Spacium energy output, staring at the vortex that had already collapsed and vanished before him, and couldn't help but fall into contemplation.
To be honest, he had used less than 20% of his output. He hadn't expected this thing to be of such poor quality; it had actually been stretched to its breaking point and burst from a single blast.
Kaizan, who had witnessed this from the front row, was now trembling with fear.
Needless to say, Apokolips was formidable. As a partner of Apokolips who had received a vast amount of their knowledge, it was impossible for Kaizan not to know the extent of Apokolips's strength.
And yet, that monster, which seemed to have come from Apokolips, so fierce and so mighty...
Honestly, the moment that thing had appeared, he had felt a tinge of regret. He began to think that he might have been duped by the people of Apokolips. He had obediently opened a gate for them, but they might not honor their promise to spare his nation after they came through.
Perhaps the first thing that monster would have done upon arrival was to annihilate his tiny, insignificant nation.
However, that thought had barely flashed through his mind...
And the monster was already gone.
At that moment, with a loud crash from above, the ceiling was smashed open, creating a hole. Power Girl, with Huntress in tow, descended through the hole, making a grand entrance amidst a cloud of billowing dust.
"Alright, you fools! Since you dared to do this to me, you must have been prepared for retribution... huh?"
After landing, she looked around in a daze. She saw Kaizan floating beside Orin Vale, the clones scattered in pieces all over the floor, and the researchers who were trembling so hard they didn't dare to breathe.
The entire scene silently conveyed an atmosphere of "it's already over."
Power Girl pondered for a moment.
"We're late, aren't we?"
"It's fine. This guy is the mastermind. You can ask him if you have any questions," Orin Vale said, casually tossing Kaizan to them.
Without a word, Helena dragged Kaizan to the back for some Talk Therapy. With Batman's ancestral Talk Therapy, results were visible in minutes, instantly turning a person into a Question-Answering Alien on the spot.
Meanwhile, Karen's gaze quickly fell upon the debris of the device Orin Vale had blown apart.
Having also studied the relevant field for quite some time, Karen's pupils contracted as she immediately recognized what it was.
"This is a Quantum Tunnel?" she asked, looking up in surprise. "These people were researching a Quantum Tunnel here?"
"It would seem so. It just operated successfully, using the molecular code collected from your body as a navigation beacon. And it seemed quite stable, too," Orin Vale said.
Karen was astonished. "The Quantum Tunnel was successful? Doesn't that mean..."
"Most likely your hometown, yes. Uh... but the quality of this thing doesn't seem to be very good. A big guy came out of it just now, and I casually gave it a blast of my ray, and the whole thing just exploded."
Beside them, Kaizan squinted his eyes.
*What the hell do you mean, 'the quality wasn't very good'? Do you have any damn clue how powerful your 'casual ray' is?*
"But at least it worked," Karen said. "That means it's technically feasible. If it worked once, it can work again."
"Actually, I don't want to rain on your parade, but it seems that won't work," Orin Vale said.
"Huh?"
Karen tilted her head, casting a questioning glance at him.
"My bracelet, it actually has a similar function for traversing space," Orin Vale explained, gesturing to his bracelet. "It's just that some of its functions are currently limited—perhaps because it's a prototype, or maybe because I'm not using it correctly. In short, right now it can only open a space barrier where space is weak. And to travel to other worlds, it needs a traceable signal..."
"Doesn't that sound like exactly what we need right now?" Karen's eyes lit up.
"Yeah, that's why I already tried before you arrived," Orin Vale said. "I tried to trace the signal on the other side of the Quantum Tunnel to reopen the path to that world... But unfortunately, it seems I can't do it."
"Huh? Why not?"
"Who knows."
Orin Vale shrugged, turning his head to cast a meaningful look at where the vortex had disappeared.
"But if I had to guess... it seems someone on the other side used a rather mature space technology to block that path."
Earth-2.
The Apokoliptian Army had retreated.
It was a completely unexpected turn of events for the entire front line and the people of the world. The invaders had come with overwhelming force, only to leave just as abruptly. This victory came so suddenly that, while worth celebrating, it was also utterly baffling.
"Seal the channel! No teleportation of any kind is permitted! Do not let anything from that other world come through, do you understand!?"
The commander leading that detachment had issued the command immediately upon retreating.
Space technology was a specialty of Apokolips, so this was a relatively familiar task. The engineers hurried off to work, scrambling to complete the order.
The commander let out a long sigh of relief.
Damn it, that scared the hell out of me.
It was almost funny, but they were the ones who had initially helped establish that Quantum Tunnel. The Apokolips army invading Earth-2 had tried to track the disappearance of Power Girl and Huntress, discovering that they seemed to have gone to another Earth within the Multiverse.
But due to various factors, they couldn't just follow with their army, nor could they pinpoint the exact location. They could only send messages in that general direction. After persisting for some time, the messages were intercepted by Kazan Gamora on the other side, which led to the subsequent series of events.
Honestly, at first, Apokolips was full of confidence, thinking that once they found the way, they could smoothly march their vast army over and present the neighboring Earth to the supreme Darkseid as a gift.
But they never, ever expected the other side to be so terrifying, opening a gate only to be met with a horrifying light ray that tore through the very sky.
The moment the commander saw that scene, he almost questioned his very existence.
Could the intelligence be wrong? Was the other side not a parallel world Earth at all, but the realm of the Gods?
"What happened?"
An authoritative voice sounded from behind the commander.
The commander shivered, turned around, and stammered, "L-Lord Slaughter, my apologies. But the situation has changed..."
"I can see that."
The person called Slaughter floated in mid-air, his body hidden in shadow, but his eyes gleamed with a crimson light.
"You retreated. The great Darkseid has no need for defeated generals. You'd better have a very good explanation."
The commander's heart sank. He hurriedly said, "Of-of course, Lord Slaughter! This was a complete accident! We were on the verge of victory, but then a massive Quantum Tunnel suddenly opened out of nowhere. The other side might be another world! You can't imagine the scene, but there is undoubtedly a terrifying existence over there..."
"Oh? Another Earth? Interesting... The great Darkseid will be very pleased with this new discovery."
The figure slowly floated down from the shadow. He was clad in heavy black armor, his face obscured by a black helmet and a steel mask, with a deep black cape flowing behind him.
And on the chest of that armor was an "S," as crimson as blood.
"Tell me the details."
(end of chapter)
This sudden turn of events, while a good thing, left all the human heroes and soldiers at a complete loss.
The feeling was a bit strange. It was as if the enemy, confident of victory, was already pushing the crystal, and your side had already taken your hands off the keyboard, preparing for death. But then, a meteorite suddenly fell from the sky and wiped out the enemy, a completely random act of fate.
What was this? A deus ex machina?
The humans were dumbfounded, but the Apokolips army, on the receiving end of this deus ex machina, was even more stunned.
They... just got blown up like that?
You have to understand, these weren't just some random grunts. They were bio-weapons meticulously cultivated by Apokolips! They were undoubtedly the leaders of this battle, the vanguard of their entire force.
And now they were gone, just like that?
Beyond their shock at the terrifying destructive power of the light ray that had blasted out from that gate and the instant annihilation of their ace, the remaining Apokolips troops now faced a very real problem, one that could be summed up in a single question.
The army was coiled and ready to strike, but should they charge, or not?
"Hmm... did I use a bit too much force?"
Orin Vale stopped the Spacium energy output, staring at the vortex that had already collapsed and vanished before him, and couldn't help but fall into contemplation.
To be honest, he had used less than 20% of his output. He hadn't expected this thing to be of such poor quality; it had actually been stretched to its breaking point and burst from a single blast.
Kaizan, who had witnessed this from the front row, was now trembling with fear.
Needless to say, Apokolips was formidable. As a partner of Apokolips who had received a vast amount of their knowledge, it was impossible for Kaizan not to know the extent of Apokolips's strength.
And yet, that monster, which seemed to have come from Apokolips, so fierce and so mighty...
Honestly, the moment that thing had appeared, he had felt a tinge of regret. He began to think that he might have been duped by the people of Apokolips. He had obediently opened a gate for them, but they might not honor their promise to spare his nation after they came through.
Perhaps the first thing that monster would have done upon arrival was to annihilate his tiny, insignificant nation.
However, that thought had barely flashed through his mind...
And the monster was already gone.
At that moment, with a loud crash from above, the ceiling was smashed open, creating a hole. Power Girl, with Huntress in tow, descended through the hole, making a grand entrance amidst a cloud of billowing dust.
"Alright, you fools! Since you dared to do this to me, you must have been prepared for retribution... huh?"
After landing, she looked around in a daze. She saw Kaizan floating beside Orin Vale, the clones scattered in pieces all over the floor, and the researchers who were trembling so hard they didn't dare to breathe.
The entire scene silently conveyed an atmosphere of "it's already over."
Power Girl pondered for a moment.
"We're late, aren't we?"
"It's fine. This guy is the mastermind. You can ask him if you have any questions," Orin Vale said, casually tossing Kaizan to them.
Without a word, Helena dragged Kaizan to the back for some Talk Therapy. With Batman's ancestral Talk Therapy, results were visible in minutes, instantly turning a person into a Question-Answering Alien on the spot.
Meanwhile, Karen's gaze quickly fell upon the debris of the device Orin Vale had blown apart.
Having also studied the relevant field for quite some time, Karen's pupils contracted as she immediately recognized what it was.
"This is a Quantum Tunnel?" she asked, looking up in surprise. "These people were researching a Quantum Tunnel here?"
"It would seem so. It just operated successfully, using the molecular code collected from your body as a navigation beacon. And it seemed quite stable, too," Orin Vale said.
Karen was astonished. "The Quantum Tunnel was successful? Doesn't that mean..."
"Most likely your hometown, yes. Uh... but the quality of this thing doesn't seem to be very good. A big guy came out of it just now, and I casually gave it a blast of my ray, and the whole thing just exploded."
Beside them, Kaizan squinted his eyes.
*What the hell do you mean, 'the quality wasn't very good'? Do you have any damn clue how powerful your 'casual ray' is?*
"But at least it worked," Karen said. "That means it's technically feasible. If it worked once, it can work again."
"Actually, I don't want to rain on your parade, but it seems that won't work," Orin Vale said.
"Huh?"
Karen tilted her head, casting a questioning glance at him.
"My bracelet, it actually has a similar function for traversing space," Orin Vale explained, gesturing to his bracelet. "It's just that some of its functions are currently limited—perhaps because it's a prototype, or maybe because I'm not using it correctly. In short, right now it can only open a space barrier where space is weak. And to travel to other worlds, it needs a traceable signal..."
"Doesn't that sound like exactly what we need right now?" Karen's eyes lit up.
"Yeah, that's why I already tried before you arrived," Orin Vale said. "I tried to trace the signal on the other side of the Quantum Tunnel to reopen the path to that world... But unfortunately, it seems I can't do it."
"Huh? Why not?"
"Who knows."
Orin Vale shrugged, turning his head to cast a meaningful look at where the vortex had disappeared.
"But if I had to guess... it seems someone on the other side used a rather mature space technology to block that path."
Earth-2.
The Apokoliptian Army had retreated.
It was a completely unexpected turn of events for the entire front line and the people of the world. The invaders had come with overwhelming force, only to leave just as abruptly. This victory came so suddenly that, while worth celebrating, it was also utterly baffling.
"Seal the channel! No teleportation of any kind is permitted! Do not let anything from that other world come through, do you understand!?"
The commander leading that detachment had issued the command immediately upon retreating.
Space technology was a specialty of Apokolips, so this was a relatively familiar task. The engineers hurried off to work, scrambling to complete the order.
The commander let out a long sigh of relief.
Damn it, that scared the hell out of me.
It was almost funny, but they were the ones who had initially helped establish that Quantum Tunnel. The Apokolips army invading Earth-2 had tried to track the disappearance of Power Girl and Huntress, discovering that they seemed to have gone to another Earth within the Multiverse.
But due to various factors, they couldn't just follow with their army, nor could they pinpoint the exact location. They could only send messages in that general direction. After persisting for some time, the messages were intercepted by Kazan Gamora on the other side, which led to the subsequent series of events.
Honestly, at first, Apokolips was full of confidence, thinking that once they found the way, they could smoothly march their vast army over and present the neighboring Earth to the supreme Darkseid as a gift.
But they never, ever expected the other side to be so terrifying, opening a gate only to be met with a horrifying light ray that tore through the very sky.
The moment the commander saw that scene, he almost questioned his very existence.
Could the intelligence be wrong? Was the other side not a parallel world Earth at all, but the realm of the Gods?
"What happened?"
An authoritative voice sounded from behind the commander.
The commander shivered, turned around, and stammered, "L-Lord Slaughter, my apologies. But the situation has changed..."
"I can see that."
The person called Slaughter floated in mid-air, his body hidden in shadow, but his eyes gleamed with a crimson light.
"You retreated. The great Darkseid has no need for defeated generals. You'd better have a very good explanation."
The commander's heart sank. He hurriedly said, "Of-of course, Lord Slaughter! This was a complete accident! We were on the verge of victory, but then a massive Quantum Tunnel suddenly opened out of nowhere. The other side might be another world! You can't imagine the scene, but there is undoubtedly a terrifying existence over there..."
"Oh? Another Earth? Interesting... The great Darkseid will be very pleased with this new discovery."
The figure slowly floated down from the shadow. He was clad in heavy black armor, his face obscured by a black helmet and a steel mask, with a deep black cape flowing behind him.
And on the chest of that armor was an "S," as crimson as blood.
"Tell me the details."
(end of chapter)
