Chapter 612: Wisdom and Power (2)
The Immortal Demon-Angel
The battle was raging with unprecedented ferocity. The Demon-Angel seemed to be immortal; no matter what damage it sustained, it recovered instantly. Its head was severed four times by Diana, and each time a new one grew back. What was more perplexing was that its energy was continually increasing, now nearly double what it was at the start.
"J'onn, do you sense anything?"
The Martian Manhunter nodded gravely. "Its mind is highly chaotic, more than one consciousness. If I'm not mistaken, it's likely the product of ancient alchemy magic."
Diana said sternly, "I just want to know its weakness."
"Apologies. I'm Martian."
Martians don't know Earth magic. That's a valid point.
Diana was speechless.
"If only Luke were here, he'd definitely have a solution."
The thought only briefly crossed her mind before she dismissed it. She was Wonder Woman, a mighty warrior with the title of Valkyrie; she couldn't rely on a man.
"Clark, cover me."
Diana swung her Lasso of Truth, binding the Demon-Angel's body. Clark flew in at super-speed, slamming into the Demon-Angel's back like a meteor from above.
Boom!
A deep crater formed in the ground, followed by a deafening explosion. Clark gritted his teeth, using his body to shield against the energy attack, pinning the creature firmly to the ground.
Diana rushed forward. A flash of the sword, and the head flew off. She then relentlessly hacked, chopping the Demon-Angel's body into twelve pieces.
Clark took a deep breath and exhaled bone-chilling ice breath. The ground quickly frosted over, and the twelve body segments were encased in solid ice.
Having done all this, the two retreated simultaneously.
Sure enough, just like before, black and white light beams erupted from the severed body segments. The three heroes did not stop it. Instead, they quietly observed, allowing it to repair and return to its original form, piece by piece.
"Did you see that? Its belly?"
Diana replied, "The energy there is clearly higher than in other parts. It starts healing from the abdomen every time."
J'onn suggested, "Perhaps we can dig out its core in the abdomen."
"It sounds cruel, but it's the only way."
The three launched a synchronized attack. Clark and J'onn used brute force to restrict the Demon-Angel's body, while Diana carved out a circular hole in its abdomen.
Once its stomach was gone, the Demon-Angel's mobility rapidly declined, like an old car running out of gas.
Diana raised the Sword of Hephaestus, slicing and dicing the abdominal muscle tissue into countless fragments. Suddenly, a strange clanging sound rang out.
The sword had apparently hit something.
Diana immediately stopped. From the shredded muscle tissue, she pulled out a white crystal sphere the size of a peanut.
J'onn asked curiously, "What is this?"
Diana didn't speak. She searched again and found an identical black crystal sphere.
Two crystal spheres, one black and one white. As they were removed, the Demon-Angel stopped moving and rapidly turned into stone.
Clark couldn't help but exclaim,
"Two crystal spheres can create a monster like that? Magic is incredible."
Diana shook her head, looking around.
"It's not that simple."
"Did you notice that the Colosseum seems to have gotten bigger?"
The surrounding barrier, which had been close by, had somehow moved far into the distance without them realizing it.
"It's expanded by nearly ten times."
"When did that happen?"
"Just now, when the Demon-Angel petrified."
Just then, the two crystal spheres suddenly flew into the air. One shimmered with light, transforming into a four-winged angel radiating holiness. The other emitted black and red light, and amidst a terrifying roar, a demon of the abyss with two horns and a flaming longsword stepped out.
Diana took a deep breath. "I really regret not switching shifts with Linda right now."
J'onn sighed quietly.
"Me too."
Luke's Calculation
In the Fourth Layer of the Rock of Eternity.
The concept of time here had become blurry. Carter Hall and Hasshett only remembered being ordered around like mules by Luke, running back and forth hundreds of times—one moment left, the next right. If not for the overwhelming power Linda had displayed, the two would have quit long ago.
Seven hours had passed in the outside world, but only three clock increments had passed within the Void.
This time disparity created a very strange sensation. The five senses and thoughts were out of sync. It was like trying to lift your left hand and step with your left foot, or vice versa—the sensory error couldn't be quantified in reality, leaving only a vague feeling of disconnect.
After hundreds of trials, Luke confirmed one thing: The Void was a continuously rotating and contracting circle. There was no change in vector; what was changing was space itself.
Time and space are abstract concepts. The space a normal person perceives is a state of relative motion, operating according to specific rules, which is why direction and distance exist.
Once those rules change, direction and distance change with them. It's like binary and decimal in mathematics; the same number yields completely different results under different rules.
What Luke needed to do was find and adapt to that underlying rule.
In the dimly lit Void, the sweaty Carter Hall and Hasshett lay on the ground like exhausted fish, not wanting to move. Barry and Linda sat nearby, holding pages of manuscript covered in bizarre symbols. They alternately scratched their heads and quietly roared in frustration.
Both were rare geniuses—one a Kryptonian, the other with the Speed Force. When they first grouped up, they confidently followed Luke. Now, they looked like this.
"I can't do it."
Barry put down his paper. "I can't understand any of it."
Linda slammed her fist onto the ground.
Boom!
Her fist sank deep into the ground, and spiderweb cracks spread around the impact site.
Hasshett turned his head. Seeing the girl's frustrated expression, he curled his lip in disdain. He'd initially thought she was a formidable character, but now she seemed unimpressive. He and Carter Hall had held out for half a day before giving up, and the girl was collapsing after only three hours.
Her mental fortitude was truly poor. However, he glanced at Luke not far away. The latter had gone through hundreds of failures yet remained completely focused. An incredible individual.
Linda walked up to Luke and curiously looked at the symbols on his paper. The more she looked, the more her head spun, as if dozens of flies were buzzing in her ear.
"What exactly are you writing here?"
"A method of calculation."
"Math?"
"Not mathematics. It's a unit used to record the method of spatial operation."
Linda's head felt like it was going to explode. She understood every word Luke said, but combining them left her completely blank.
"Where did you learn all this?"
"A Mother Box."
"What Mother Box?"
"The black cube in the Experiment Center. You must have seen it."
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