Chapter 157

Bardi propped himself up on his elbows.

His body felt impossibly heavy, as if filled with lead, and his blood flowed like molten iron. Even the simple act of lifting himself felt like a struggle. He was utterly drained, slightly breathless.

Yet, deep inside, he could sense a thriving vitality, contradicting the weakness on the surface.

The conflicting sensations made him deeply uncomfortable.

Raven lay on his chest, her pale face damp with sweat. Half of her face was pressed against him, making his chest feel sticky and weighed down. Though Raven was light, barely 90 pounds for someone as weak as Bardi, even her slight weight was enough to make breathing difficult.

A soft whimper escaped her lips as she stirred, her vision shifting from blurry to clear. The moment she saw Bardi struggling to sit up, a flash of worry crossed her eyes.

Quickly, she pushed herself up, revealing a red mark on the side of her face from where she had been resting against him. Moving to his side, she supported his back, using her own strength to help him sit up.

"Be careful, you're still weak," Raven said with concern.

She didn't even bother wiping the slick sweat from her face. Instead, she clutched his hand with her sticky fingers, her nervous gaze fixed on him.

Zatara had no doubts.

Bardi and Raven had clearly shared a deep bond before all of this, and after confronting Trigon together, it was only natural for that bond to deepen.

After all, the spiritual world was the core of one's soul. Without an intimate connection, surviving within it, let alone bringing someone back would be nearly impossible.

Zatara had no idea what they had experienced in that realm, but the closeness between them was undeniable.

"I'm glad you're back," he said, his expression complex.

A pang of guilt weighed on him.

When Raven had tried to save Bardi, Zatara had feared it would go terribly wrong—that Bardi might transform into a demon and become a danger to Earth.

Raven, too, was half-demon.

For a moment, Zatara had entertained the thought of eliminating them both, preventing any future threat before it could arise.

The idea had even filled him with a twisted sense of righteousness. Silently removing a danger to Earth, bearing the responsibility of their deaths alone, becoming an unsung guardian—there was a certain dark satisfaction in it.

But in the end, Raven had convinced him otherwise. Instead of acting, he had simply erected a vine barrier to contain them and allowed Raven to proceed with her rescue.

The truth was, he had done nothing.

He hadn't fought Trigon.

He hadn't destroyed Trigon.

He hadn't saved the Earth.

I have no right to harm the hero who did.

Zatara buried his inner turmoil, ashamed of the selfish thoughts that had once crossed his mind.

My own growth is far from complete.

Bardi, unaware of Zatara's struggle, was instead preoccupied with something entirely different—something that would soon shock him to his core.

"It's fine. Step back—I feel… strange."

He shook his head lightly. It felt as if there was a piece of iron lodged inside, leaving him dizzy and heavy.

Raven obediently stepped back, releasing his hand. She clutched her cloak tightly, the fabric wrinkling in her grasp. Her expression was tense, her dark purple lips pressed into a thin line. Her black-and-white eyes never left him, filled with silent worry.

"Hah..."

Bardi exhaled, summoning what little strength remained in his frail body. He braced himself, his legs trembling beneath him, and forced himself to stand.

Raven's heart clenched.

She wanted to rush forward and support him, but she held herself back, though the concern on her face never wavered.

As he steadied himself, his dazed vision began to clear, and oxygen flowed to his brain. Bit by bit, strength returned to his limbs.

Still, something felt wrong.

A strange power surged deep within him—foreign, yet undeniably his own.

He closed his eyes, slowed his breathing, and focused inward.

What was happening to his body?

Then—

His consciousness seemed to sink to the deepest recesses of his being, connecting to something hidden within his very genes.

A second gene chain.

Like a shadow, it existed alongside his original Kryptonian genes.

And suddenly—

A transformation began.

Bardi felt the surge of power explode within him.

Zatara and Raven could only watch in shock as his body changed before their eyes.

His muscles swelled, expanding outward, his frame growing taller and broader. His limbs thickened with dense muscle, his chest and arms hardening like forged iron.

His height surged to five meters.

Every inch of his upper body was packed with muscle—piled layer upon layer, like an impenetrable fortress of flesh. His abs formed perfect, rigid rows, his chest was vast and unyielding, and his back muscles flared like steel plating. His biceps and forearms swelled to monstrous proportions, their sheer bulk even more exaggerated than the Hulk's. Unlike the smooth lines of his previous transformations, this form radiated pure, overwhelming brute strength.

Thick, dark mist coiled around his muscles, exuding a terrifying aura.

His legs, as thick as an elephant's, were knotted with muscle so dense it seemed impossible for them to move—yet they did, carrying his colossal upper body with effortless power.

His face stretched to match his new proportions, his features hardening into a square, stone-like visage. Even without speaking, he radiated an oppressive, commanding presence.

And the transformation wasn't done.

A surge of black mist gathered at his waist, condensing into a pair of boxer shorts that wrapped around him.

More mist seeped outward, weaving itself into fabric—slowly constructing a massive black cloak that draped over his monstrous frame, flowing from his hood down to his feet.

The transformation completed.

Now, he stood—a five-meter-tall behemoth, his muscular body entirely concealed beneath a towering, abyssal cloak. Only his rigid jawline remained visible beneath the hood.

He looked like a living nightmare.

A grim reaper standing against the darkness, his presence so overwhelming that it made Zatara's skin crawl.

It was completely different from his previous transformation.

Before, even when he had grown to hundreds of meters in height to battle Trigon, his form had remained elegant—his physique, though powerful, had been perfectly proportioned, his movements fluid. Even when his strength had surged to its peak, there had been a cold beauty to him, a sense of otherworldly refinement.

Even after taking 380 solar capsules and undergoing an extreme power boost, his transformation had remained sleek, his body lined with white bone spurs, exuding a cruel, frozen majesty.

But this—

This was something else entirely.

It was monstrous.

It was brutal.

A walking mountain of muscle, exuding an aura so raw, so untamed, that it was overwhelming just to look at.

Bardi was stunned.

He extended a massive, muscular arm from beneath the cloak and raised his palm to his forehead, pushing back the hood.

His toughened face was fully revealed.

Reaching down, he ran his fingers across the cloak. The texture was rough, like thick linen—but it wasn't fabric.

It was energy.

A unique material formed from his own genetic information.

Every time he transformed, as long as he had sufficient energy, his body would automatically generate this black cloak to cover him—along with the boxer shorts.

He clenched his oversized hands, feeling the immense power surging through his muscles.

But there was something more.

A connection.

A strange fusion between his mental energy and his physical body.

Something he never had before.

His Kryptonian genes had never allowed for external energy manipulation.

But now—

Now, his spirit and his body were synchronizing.

It was a power unlike anything he had ever experienced.

"Magic…?"

Zatara's voice broke the silence—his shock evident.

"You have magic?! You're a magician now?! How?! How is this possible?!"

His mind reeled. This wasn't right.

Bardi should have transformed into a demon.

He should have needed Raven's blood to sustain his body.

But instead, he had gained magic?!

And what was with all these muscles?!

Had there ever been a magician this… jacked?!

Raven stood frozen, her mouth slightly open, her wide eyes filled with pure, unfiltered shock.

(To be continued.)

***

This book is complete. Support me on Patreon to read all advanced chapters: patreon.com/Blownleaves.