Light like a sunrise lit up the faces of the driver and the girl inside the car.
The light rising from the horizon was so intense and dazzling that the night itself was illuminated.
Then the atmosphere shook. Massive air currents swept through the sky, clearing away clouds large and small.
Next, like a receding tide, the airflow rapidly reversed direction. In the end, wave after wave of violent dust ripples formed in the sky, roaring as they swept wildly across the world.
The wind howled. The car was blown onto its side. When the gale eased slightly, the people inside crawled out.
They saw golden flames in the distance shooting into the sky like a pillar holding up the heavens, forming a mushroom shape high above.
Ring after ring of smoke surrounded it, while sparks drifted through the air.
If one spoke of a catastrophe between heaven and earth, this was it.
Even from over a hundred kilometers away, ordinary living beings could still sense that pure, terrifying destructive power, making people shake before it.
At ground zero of the explosion, the foundation of the nuclear power plant had somehow remained intact.
But now the place had become a sea of fire.
Within flames hot enough to melt steel into liquid in an instant, a silver-white barrier faded away. The white-haired woman inside was no longer there.
Inside the barrier, a hole had appeared in the ground.
The white-haired woman was hiding in the sewer below. Looking up through the hole, she could see flames of extreme heat sweeping past like world-burning fire.
The surrounding rock quickly turned red, giving off bluish smoke. Then chunks of scorched earth and stone broke apart and fell.
Fortunately, the flames gradually died out. However, the scorching air remained a harsh test for any living thing.
The white-haired woman did not rush out. Only after the temperature above had dropped to a bearable level did she return to the surface.
The surface was a complete mess.
As far as the eye could see, there was black scorched earth everywhere. Fires of various sizes burned across it, and thick smoke carrying sparks rose from all directions.
In this red-and-black world that looked like the end of days, the metal monument that had once held the Mother Box had completely melted. But the white-haired woman saw Alex and his clone.
Alex was already holding a Mother Box in each hand, while the clone was fighting Vera.
Like Alex, the clone's muscles had expanded. Its body was covered in sharp lines, and a blood-red aura burst from it.
The clone possessed eighty percent of Alex's strength and all of his talents.
Although its base strength was lower than Alex's and it lacked divine equipment, with Divine Output at two hundred percent plus its other abilities, whether it could defeat Vera remained unknown. But keeping her occupied was more than enough.
And after the temporary upgrade earlier, Alex's Heat Vision and Bio-Force Field had both reached maximum level and could not improve any further.
The clone perfectly inherited those abilities. With a level-five Bio-Force Field, even if it stood still and took Vera's full-power attack, it might not be knocked down.
Moreover, the Super Regeneration ability could affect not only the body but also the Bio-Force Field.
A level-five Bio-Force Field allowed both Alex and the clone to achieve their original goal of attacking while standing still.
For a time, the clone could not defeat Vera, but Vera also could not break free from its interference.
The white-haired woman looked at the Mother Boxes in Alex's hands. Her expression grew serious. Gripping her staff, she strode toward him.
Alex's eyes lit up, and Heat Vision shot out.
The white-haired woman quickly spun her staff, deflecting the two high-temperature beams away.
Alex was not using his full strength. The temperature of the Heat Vision was only around a thousand degrees. After simply stopping his opponent for a moment, he swung both arms and threw the two Mother Boxes high into the sky one after another.
"What are you doing?"
Vera suddenly looked up.
Then she saw Diana in the sky above. Diana threw out the Lasso of Truth and caught one Mother Box.
Holding the other one herself, she pulled on the glowing lasso and brought the second Mother Box into her hands as well.
As soon as Diana had both Mother Boxes, she flew toward Themyscira.
"No way!"
In an instant, Vera understood what Alex was planning.
From the very beginning, Alex had intended to hand the two Mother Boxes over to Diana after obtaining them and have her move them elsewhere.
This invasion event had never required Alex and Vera to determine a winner.
The only requirement was to choose one of the three major factions, Apokolips, the Justice League, or the Free Forces, and ensure that the faction they joined ultimately obtained all three Mother Boxes.
Therefore, as long as Themyscira obtained all three Mother Boxes, Alex would fulfill the event's requirements.
After realizing this, Vera immediately kicked out a Vacuum Slash Wave to force the clone back, then shot into the sky.
The green-skinned Vera's eyes began to glow. Then two golden beams erupted from her pupils.
The bright flames shot directly toward Diana in midair.
Diana had learned to fly during the Wishstone incident years ago. She could even use the Lasso of Truth to catch lightning and move with it.
But her flying speed could not compare with Superman, Alex, Vera, or the other Homelanders.
The two golden beams shot forward and caught up with Diana in the blink of an eye. Just as they were about to hit her, a figure suddenly appeared beside her.
Alex!
Using Teleportation, he instantly arrived next to Diana and reached out to block Vera's Heat Vision.
Diana glanced back at Alex. Knowing the opportunity could not be missed, she tightened her grip on the two Mother Boxes and used the fierce winds at high altitude to leave even faster.
Alex smiled.
His eyes suddenly shone with dazzling light.
Level-five Heat Vision blasted out. Vera's beams were immediately pushed back.
Alex stopped holding back. With a wave of his hand, a black book appeared before him.
The book's black cover gave off a terrifying, sinister presence. Thick black energy rose from it, and blood-red sparks drifted around it.
A divine artifact, the Darkhold.
Alex opened the Darkhold. The pages flipped until they stopped on one page.
He pressed his hand against the page and activated the corresponding spell.
The light around Vera suddenly dimmed. Clumps of writhing black smoke rose up and rapidly formed figures around her that resembled ancient demon gods.
The figures packed together, surrounding Vera from all sides. Then they connected into one mass, forming a black prison that sealed her inside.
Dark Magic!
Dark Heavenly Prison!
Inside this black prison was a space from another dimension.
In that separate dimension, not a trace of light existed.
Anyone trapped inside would lose all sensory responses, along with all sense of space, distance, and time.
No sounds could be heard.
Nothing could be seen.
The only thing accompanying you would be an almost eternal silence.
After using Dark Heavenly Prison to restrain Vera, both Alex and his clone turned to look at the white-haired woman.