Chapter 614: Wisdom and Power (3)
A Reluctant Choice
The three heroes seemed to understand why the Angel and the Demon exhibited such signs of insanity—who could endure thousands of years of that torment?
"What do we do?"
Sensing the gravity of the situation, Diana whispered, "Do we finish them off, or go back?"
Clark shook his head. "Going back means failure. Luke certainly wouldn't want that."
J'onn said gravely, "That wizard, Shazam, has been concealing many things. You must have realized by now that the Colosseum is essentially a prison."
Clark and Diana exchanged a look, their expressions heavy.
Over dozens of battles, they had noticed details: the monster sculptures actually possessed self-awareness. The longer they were out of their petrified state, the clearer their minds became; some had even pleaded with their eyes.
They had been sealed here for at least five thousand years.
J'onn continued,
"I don't know the Wizard Shazam's intentions, but judging from the current situation, the best course of action is to leave immediately. If we continue, who knows what we'll encounter."
"We can't just leave like that."
Diana said, word by word, "At the very least, we fight until we're completely exhausted."
Clark also nodded. To give up now would be too embarrassing to face Luke.
Seeing their resolve, J'onn didn't press the issue. As a Martian, he was naturally wary of Earth's magic.
As time passed, the four-winged Angel and the Demon gradually calmed down, though their eyes were still filled with confusion.
Diana wouldn't give them time to fully recover. She threw the Lasso of Truth, binding the Demon's body. Clark struck from above, his right fist clenched.
Bang!
An invisible shockwave radiated outwards.
The Demon was hit by the punch and slammed hard onto the ground. Clark took the opportunity to straddle it, blasting it with heat vision while raining down punches. Every impact produced a resounding thud.
The Demon cried out in pain, its voice incredibly venomous.
"Humans! You! Humans! You will all die! I will eat you!"
Boom!
The hellfire surrounding its body exploded, blasting Clark off. The Demon raised its three-meter-long Flaming Greatsword.
"Die, Human!"
The blade plunged into the ground, and a ring of fire expanded outwards. Everywhere the fire reached, the ground melted, turning into bubbling lava.
The lava covered an area of nearly five kilometers.
The heroes' faces instantly changed. Fortunately, they were in the Rock of Eternity. If this were outside, that one strike could have killed tens of thousands of people.
"J'onn, keep an eye on the Angel! Don't let it join the fight!"
Diana leaped up. Her Sword of Hephaestus glowed with a faint red light—the unique radiance of an artifact.
The Demon turned its head and stared intently. It recognized the sword—a weapon of the Olympian Gods—and knew many demons had fallen to it.
"Human, I will cut off your head!"
The Flaming Greatsword swung upward, bringing with it a violent, hot gale.
Diana's hair was blown back, revealing sharp eyes. She raised her sword high and brought it down with all her strength.
Clang!
The sound of metal on metal exploded. A red shockwave rippled across the sky. The next second, a figure was sent flying straight back. J'onn's expression instantly changed, and he rushed forward to catch her.
Diana had lost that frontal clash. The Demon wasn't unscathed, though; its arm was numb, and it could barely grip the hilt. The Flaming Greatsword, forged from countless top-tier materials, now had a ten-centimeter chip in its blade.
"Human, state your name! You are worthy of becoming my trophy!"
Diana ignored it, glancing at Clark, who instantly understood. He blurred, appearing directly above the Demon, blasting it with heat vision. The Demon raised its left hand to block and swung its greatsword with its right.
The fiercely burning greatsword practically ignited the air.
Clark retreated half a step and inhaled forcefully, compressing the air in his lungs into a chilling ice blast.
The flames on the greatsword were extinguished by the freezing wind, and a layer of frost coated the blade.
The Demon's eyes shifted slightly. Suddenly, a sharp whistling sound reached its ears. The rapidly charging Diana swung the Sword of Hephaestus, striking the existing chip in the blade.
Crack!
The sword split, shattering into countless pieces of ice.
"Die!"
Diana hurled the Lasso of Truth, binding the Demon's body, then plunged her sword into its heart. She immediately pulled the sword out and swung it at the neck.
Blood erupted, taking a massive head with it.
J'onn twitched his mouth, his expression slightly complex. Among the six members of the Justice League, Diana was not the strongest, but she was undoubtedly the most warlike. Her combat awareness, instinct, experience, and skill far surpassed the others.
After the Demon fell, its body rapidly petrified. A black crystal sphere—the same one as before—separated from its brow.
Diana picked up the crystal sphere and carefully put it away. She had a feeling the sphere might have other uses.
With the Demon's death, only the four-winged Angel remained. During the fight, it had watched, its expression transitioning from initial confusion to coldness and then to hatred. The moment the Demon died, a barely perceptible flicker of satisfaction crossed its face.
Clearly, this four-winged Angel, who called itself Galileus, had regained many memories, and its sanity was slowly returning.
Clark whispered, "What do we do with this one? It doesn't seem to be attacking us."
J'onn suggested, "Perhaps we can talk to it. It should know something about the Rock of Eternity."
Diana was tempted. She was about to speak when an unfamiliar voice suddenly appeared in their minds.
"Can you tell me where this place is?"
The three heroes froze, exchanged looks, and then simultaneously turned their heads.
"Are you talking?"
"Yes."
The four-winged Angel looked at them emotionlessly. Its mind was now clear, but many of its memories were still fragmented. It only knew its name was Galileus and that it had been tasked by the Archangel Gabriel to go to Earth to punish heretics. Everything after that was forgotten.
"Strong ones from the human race, please answer my question."
Clark asked curiously, "You don't remember what happened before?"
Galileus repeated its earlier words. "Human, answer my question."
"..."
"What if we don't tell you?"
Diana stepped forward. "What will you do?"
Galileus raised its right hand.
"The will of the Gods cannot be defied."
A powerful light surged forward, blinding like the sun. Within the light, dense Holy Light Spears appeared, moving at incredible speed, like pure light itself.
Diana's face instantly changed. She instinctively raised her shield. Clark and J'onn quickly moved out of the way.
The area for a hundred meters was engulfed in the intense light.
Explosions followed one after another. The ground cratered, looking as if it had been plowed, leaving huge pits everywhere.
The shockwave continued for over ten seconds before stopping. The four-winged Angel, Galileus, lowered its right hand.
"First warning."
"Now, answer my questions. What is this place, and who are you?"
Diana climbed out of the crater, dusting herself off. Her face was impassive as she said,
"Are we still going to try and talk to it?"
Clark and J'onn fell silent, looking up at the sky, anger burning in their eyes.
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