Shazam's resistance was unexpectedly firm.
Superman and Wonder Woman took turns trying, but they still couldn't break his determination.
Diana seemed to think of something and tried to trick Shazam into turning back into Billy Batson.
"You think I don't know what you're planning?"
Shazam spread his hands, his tone mocking.
"Zeus didn't just bless me with magic, but also strengthened my mind. The Wisdom of Solomon means I can hold my own in any argument with you."
"If I turned back into Billy, I really will be just a child, and it would be easy for you to persuade me."
"No matter what you think, I have already accepted the responsibility and the power from the Wizard. Even if you kick me out of the Justice League, I still need to protect the Wizard's legacy left there!"
"You think a kid cannot handle this, but would you really feel safe letting me guard the Rock of Eternity all alone? If evil sorcerers come knocking, I might not only lose the fight, but I might not even be able to reach out to you for help."
Under the Wisdom of Solomon's guidance, Shazam very cleverly threw the problem back at Superman and the others.
He used their own logic against them.
Diana grabbed her hair with both hands, feeling frustrated at the Wizard she had never even met.
"What kind of person picks a child as their successor?"
Superman lowered his head and thought for a moment.
"Is it possible for the Justice League to take over the Seven Deadly Sins sealed in the Rock of Eternity? That way, Shazam could be freed from that responsibility."
Diana sighed.
"That decision would just put the burden on the other sorcerer in the Justice League. I… are you sure you even have the authority to make that call?"
Batman's voice came from behind Superman without warning.
"Zatanna and the others cannot spare any time right now."
To prevent the God of War from repeatedly causing trouble in secret, Zatanna, who had just joined the Justice League, was currently working diligently to set up multi-dimensional monitoring magic circles.
Superman seemed to have just remembered this. He sat in his chair looking somewhat dejected, with his head drooping.
Batman suddenly turned his gaze toward Superman and then gave Viktor a slight nod.
Superman and Viktor understood, stood up, and followed Batman out of the conference room.
Diana looked at the three of them leaving, feeling confused and a bit absurd.
"What's going on? Why did Viktor suddenly seem to have such a good understanding with them?"
Firestorm paused for a second and pointed at himself.
"You're asking me?"
Aquaman's voice rang out gloomily.
"To be honest, back when the three of you used to exchange a single look and leave together, I often thought the exact same thing while watching from behind."
The three of them walked away from the meeting room.
After they reached the circular corridor, Batman finally took out a transparent glass case.
The box was lined with velvet, and the spy, Atomica, who was still unconscious and shrunken down, lay peacefully in the center.
Superman crossed his arms and rubbed his shoulders.
"The thought of putting a person inside my ear makes me feel weird."
Batman opened the glass box and used a ring-sized gravity device to pick up Atomica.
He gestured for Superman to crouch down slightly while he spoke calmly.
"I had Cyborg and Zatanna perform a hypnosis on Atomica. She'll believe she has been inside your body the entire time, but the powerful shockwaves during the fight with Emperor Viktor knocked her unconscious for a while."
He carefully placed the Atomica into Superman's ear, then looked at Viktor.
"Regarding what you mentioned earlier—about the possibility that the enemy still has people lying in ambush in our world..."
Batman admitted frankly to Viktor that he had no leads at the moment and wanted to know if he had any further thoughts.
Viktor genuinely hadn't expected Batman to be the kind of person who was actually willing to brainstorm with others.
Of course, this trait probably only applied within the Justice League.
If it were in Gotham, Batman would certainly refuse all outside help with his usual stubborn pride.
"I don't have the ability to remain conscious in the hyper-timestream for long, so my view of how events develop is pretty vague."
He blamed the hyper-timestream for all the extra information he knew.
As for whether Batman believed him or how much he believed, Viktor didn't care.
He simply mentioned the existence of the Outsider, but he didn't tell Batman that the Outsider was actually the reverse counterpart of Alfred.
However, Viktor did reveal some intelligence, such as the Secret Society of Super-Villains and the fact that the Outsider had been operating independently in the shadows.
Viktor's eyes narrowed slightly.
In that brief glance just now, the projection that originally showed Justice League members had clearly been mostly cleared by Batman, leaving only two or three people.
How did this guy rule out suspects and lock onto his targets?
Batman quickly stepped past him, his cape sweeping across Viktor's vision.
By the time the three of them returned to the conference room, Shazam's rebellious teenage act had vanished and was replaced by a face full of frantic urgency.
"The Rock of Eternity has been breached again. That place is like a sieve. Why does it feel like everyone can just walk in whenever they want now?"
Batman's brow furrowed.
"Did Zatanna and the others not help you reinforce the seals on the Rock of Eternity last time? There shouldn't be that many powerful sorcerers on Earth who can just release the Seven Deadly Sins at will."
Shazam's expression turned awkward. He realized there was something he had never told anyone.
"The Rock of Eternity doesn't only seal the Seven Deadly Sins… it also holds other things."
"What things?"
"The cosmic vault of magical forces, knowledge, and concepts... If any one of those origins is stolen or destroyed, the human world will lose that corresponding way of thinking and its creative inspiration."
As soon as he said those words, everyone's faces turned pale.
Diana started losing her temper again.
"So just which lunatic decided to leave so many important things... to be guarded by a kid?!"
Viktor suddenly fell into deep thought.
'What kind of person would want to take those things?'
...
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