Chapter 160: 'Redemption' Meets Transcendent (4k6)
"What happened?"
Cyborg's eyelids twitched.
He had never seen the Transcendent like this before. While he had always been cool and decisive, this was the first time he had acted with such ruthlessness.
The attack range directly covered several miles, leveling everything!
Bruce Wayne remained silent, a vague suspicion dawning on him.
If someone could influence the minds of the entire city of Metropolis, they likely possessed mind-reading abilities. For superheroes, their real identities were a highly sensitive matter.
Boom!
At the bottom of a pit over ten meters deep.
The Psionic Pirate was forced to his knees by the terrifying force, blood seeping from his lips. The Medusa mask, emitting psionic energy, formed a barrier that was now covered in cracks.
Gravity was a force related to spacetime, and ordinary force fields or energy shields couldn't resist it. However, the equally wondrous power of the mind was an exception.
Merely blocking the immense gravity descending from the sky prevented him from maintaining his mental invisibility.
"Still not dead!"
David watched the Psionic Pirate's figure, now exposed to the sunlight, and casually summoned lightning to strike him.
Crack!
"I surrender..."
The Psionic Pirate's psionic barrier, like a glass pane on the verge of shattering, exploded.
He frantically tried to re-establish a barrier, hoping to save his life by surrendering.
But David's expression was cold and unmoved, the mountain-like gravity continuing to bear down.
It wasn't an exaggeration to say he rarely harbored such strong killing intent towards anyone.
"You think I'll let you live after knowing all those things you shouldn't have?"
Crack, crack, crack!
"No..."
The mental shield that had formed cracked in an instant. The Psionic Pirate listened to the sound of his barrier breaking, like a death knell. His heart trembled, and the fear of death washed over him like a tide, leaving him breathless.
"Batman, Cyborg, are you just going to stand by and watch the Transcendent commit murder? Does the Justice League have privileges that supersede the law!"
No one in the world had the right to kill a criminal who was willing to surrender and hadn't been tried.
He hoped Batman and Cyborg would stop David.
The young Cyborg's face showed struggle as he remained silent.
The Justice League did not have the authority to try criminals. By rights, he should stop David.
But he remembered that when David killed Kalibak, he hadn't intervened. Instead, he had been thrilled that the Transcendent had helped avenge his father. He felt he had no right to stop the Transcendent.
Batman frowned, making no move.
"You are too dangerous. If you are allowed to live, what happened today might happen again, putting many people in danger."
His initial act had affected an entire city, driving millions into madness and chaos. The number of people who died today was likely even greater than on the day Brainiac attacked.
The League had no means to restrain this individual.
"I know who you are, Dav..."
The Psionic Pirate's eyes were fierce, like a cornered beast. He roared, attempting to reveal David's identity, but it was too late.
Boom!
The overwhelming force pressed down, instantly crushing him into a pulp.
Cyborg averted his gaze from the gruesome sight.
"Huh? What's going on?"
Clark awoke in mid-air and was startled to see the ground below, which looked as if a large portion had been scooped out.
"David? I was controlled."
His expression changed as he suddenly realized what might have happened.
"Don't worry, you didn't hurt anyone."
Seeing Clark's face filled with concern, David understood his thoughts. He reached out and plucked the mask the Psionic Pirate had been wearing from the ground, examining it.
Previously, this mask would glow whenever that fellow used his abilities, and it had remained intact under the extreme gravity field. This mask was likely an artifact with special properties, possibly worthy of his collection.
"Wear me, and I will give you everything you desire.
Immortality, wealth, power. I will help you rule this world."
The mask flickered with a faint light, emitting waves of seductive thoughts, like a demon luring one to ruin.
"Too bad..."
Removing the mask from mid-air, David frowned.
"I don't need conscious things in my collection."
It was too dangerous to keep it at home. What if his parents found out and were tempted by the psychic defenses of the Lantern Ring? It would be better to throw it into Themyscira's treasury for the Amazons to guard, just like the Mother Box before it.
"I'll leave the rest to you guys."
The culprit who drove millions in Metropolis insane had been apprehended. David turned and flew away.
He had completed the most difficult part and had no interest in dealing with the remaining odds and ends.
"Did the Transcendent do this?"
Flash, who wanted to know what had happened, rushed over and happened to see David leaving.
"He solved the crisis again, but he dumped this mess on us."
Cyborg felt a slight headache looking at the city blocks that had vanished within a radius of several miles. How would they explain this to the Metropolis city government? At least a hundred thousand people had lost their homes and property.
"I think they'll be grateful to some extent."
Flash scratched his head.
Regardless, the Transcendent had saved Metropolis. Without him, who knew what the situation would have been. Even Superman had been controlled.
Compared to millions, or even more, dying in the chaos, they should be able to accept this outcome.
"Let's hope so."
Batman said, clearly not optimistic about the outcome. His gaze drifted to another figure in the sky.
"Are you feeling better? Superman."
Looking at the corpse at the bottom of the giant crater, Clark's mind cleared. "I'm fine."
He was just a little scared. His identity had been known to criminals, and his parents had been exposed along with him. He had also been controlled. Fortunately, no one had been injured.
"Thanks to David, otherwise... today might have been the day I regretted the most."
He covered his forehead, his expression complex.
After David left, Clark, Batman, Cyborg, and other members of the Justice League who had rushed back after hearing the news, worked together to resolve the city's riots and prevent more injuries.
When the citizens of Metropolis recovered, they saw a city covered in scars and ruins.
Everyone felt a sense of relief at having survived, and the things they had done while losing their minds felt like a terrifying nightmare.
The series of problems related to family, finances, and law that arose during the great riot troubled millions of citizens in the following days. However, the Justice League could not help, and could only leave it to the city government and citizens to resolve themselves.
The citizens of Metropolis had never hated a person as much as they did today. The shadow left by the Psionic Pirate was almost comparable to Brainiac, who had once turned Metropolis into a city in a bottle. The damage and impact caused even surpassed his.
At the same time, they were also extremely grateful to the Transcendent who had saved them.
However, some citizens, having lost their homes and shops, became homeless with their wives and children, wandering the streets. They were filled with dissatisfaction towards the Transcendent. But this dissatisfaction did not last long.
When a house-sized piece of gold descended from the sky and landed in the plaza in front of the city hall, with a note stating it was for post-disaster repair and compensation, the dissatisfaction of those citizens immediately vanished, and they shut their mouths. They all received generous compensation, far exceeding their previous losses, and began to praise the Transcendent with radiant faces!
In their mouths, the Transcendent, who had previously disregarded the lives of the citizens, immediately became a decisive, wise, benevolent, and kind great hero.
"David, how did you do it?"
Back home, Clark asked in disbelief.
"Where did you get the money?
Even Bruce, the richest in the Justice League, couldn't produce such a piece of gold."
The huge piece of gold, converted to money, was worth tens of billions of dollars, almost equivalent to the accumulation of generations of the Wayne family over two hundred years. When Batman saw that dreamlike piece of gold, he was silent for a long time.
"If you had learned more extracurricular knowledge about mineralogy, you wouldn't be asking this question."
Under the starry night sky, on the second floor of the warehouse, David leaned against the wall with his arms crossed.
"Over ninety-nine percent of gold resources are in the Earth's crust. That piece of gold was extracted by me from the mantle and squeezed into shape.
If you want some, I can give you a piece ten times larger tomorrow."
In fact, as the king of a super-technological kingdom like Atlantis, he could mobilize resources and wealth exceeding any political leader on Earth. However, he was too lazy to make a trip to Atlantis, so he took a piece of gold from the Earth's core as a readily available material.
"This time, it's not like your usual style," Clark said, stunned for a moment, then asked.
He actually paid attention to some discordant voices online.
"That piece of gold is nothing to me."
David looked towards the house.
"But it can reduce the annoying noise directed at me.
Mom and Dad often pay attention to comments about us online, and sometimes being famous isn't a good thing."
As parents, Jonathan and Martha would feel upset seeing comments criticizing him.
Alright, Clark scratched his head, understanding the reason for his brother's actions.
...
"That church did indeed release news about 'Redemption'."
In the Justice League hall, Cyborg solemnly waved his hand, projecting dozens of different news reports from across the country.
"I thought it would be sooner.
This news from a month ago, released half a month after the Metropolis chaos, suggests they lacked the confidence to compete with our Transcendent for headlines."
Hal Jordan sat with his arms crossed, a teasing smile on his face as he addressed David.
A long time ago, Batman had already briefed the members who weren't present about the potential crisis 'Redemption' might cause.
Flash looked perplexed, also harboring doubts.
The events in Yasir nation had occurred long before the Black Adam incident, but it wasn't until well after the Metropolis riots that an organization called the First Redemption Church released the information.
"The mask you sent back to Themyscira, my mother examined it. She couldn't trace its origins. It seems unrelated to the gods, just a powerful magic item of ancient origin. We don't know who created it," Diana whispered to David during the meeting.
"The temptation ability on it was inherent from its creation and cannot be removed," David nodded, acknowledging the information.
It was a shame that the mask, which amplified psychic power, also possessed a potent temptation ability. Clark mentioned that the Psionic Pirate wanted to create a new world, and it was likely his mind, influenced by the mask, that led to such nonsensical plans.
Although the mask was merely a magical artifact, it shouldn't be underestimated. The DC world never lacked mages more powerful than gods, like the Wizard who created Shazam's power.
"The source of magic is even older and more powerful than the gods. Magic existed even before the multiverse was born, and the gods themselves were born from magic."
"Even though the news was released late, once it came out, it dominated the headlines in countries worldwide." Cyborg's eyes held suspicion.
"Undoubtedly, there's a powerful force behind this," Batman, aware that capital could influence even governments, stated.
He noted that the materials for his Fenrir Armor were classified military secrets from the country with the strongest military power on Earth, and not a single gram was supposed to leak.
"Almost the entire world knows about him now." Arthur gazed at the projected blue figure, his voice heavy.
"This includes many who are already devout Catholics. How much strength will this provide him?" Everyone present, except for David, wore expressions of deep thought, including Clark.
After dealing with Brainiac, Black Adam, and the Psionic Pirate, he felt his own strength was insufficient to handle all the crises on this planet.
"An individual's strength is minuscule, but when the power of millions, even billions, converges, we might not be able to resist." Clark looked at David with concern.
Despite his usual detachment, David had become the League's primary choice for dealing with major crises. If 'Redemption' became a world-threatening criminal, David would be the first to face him.
"He hasn't done anything further, why is everyone so tense?" David, who had been specifically summoned to the Justice Hall, asked, confused.
They had already discussed this last time. Was it an overreaction to call an all-hands meeting again just because of one action by the other party?
He maintained his opinion: 'Redemption's' abilities couldn't be limitless; at most, it was a DC-enhanced version of 'Sword Fight.'
"In fact, their next move might have already revealed it to us." Batman, who handled the League's information and acted as its brain, exchanged a look with Cyborg. After a moment of silence, he turned to David.
"Is the Psionic Pirate's mask with you?"
"What do you mean?" David's eyebrows shot up.
"This is a statement just published on the First Redemption Church's official website." Cyborg waved his hand, and a piece of website information was projected in the center of the round table.
"They claim the Psionic Pirate's mask is a weapon created by the devil, meant to lead people astray and bring disaster, and they request the League to hand it over to the church for safekeeping."
Everyone present turned their gaze to David, knowing he had taken the mask.
Scanning the two lines of text, David showed a hint of surprise.
"The mask does indeed tempt people to fall and bring disaster. I experimented with it. If someone's mental power isn't strong enough, the mask simply ignores them. Perhaps only those with the potential to bring disaster are susceptible to its allure."
He looked at everyone, who seemed somewhat concerned about the matter, and raised an eyebrow.
"Are you suggesting I hand the mask over to them?"
A devil's weapon? He preferred to trust the judgment of Hippolyta, Zeus's former lover. The mask was just a magical artifact, unrelated to gods or demons. This church's statement was likely a fabricated excuse to get him to hand over the mask.
After all, the opposite of God is the devil, and other aspects just happened to align.
"No!"
Batman shook his head firmly in refusal.
"Absolutely not."
Clark and the others looked at Batman, whose reaction was somewhat intense, with confusion.
"A mask that can enhance psychic power and distort people's minds, and a church that constantly strives to absorb followers, what does that make you think of?" He tapped his knuckles on the table.
Clark and the others' expressions changed.
For a church that absorbed followers, that mask was practically a god-sent artifact.
"With that mask, the First Redemption Church could unify the world in faith within a few years at the latest."
"The First Redemption Church conversing with and making requests to the Justice League – what an attention-grabbing piece of news. But after their high-profile appearance worldwide, they didn't seize this news hot spot."
Cyborg, who understood the internet best, considered this an extremely abnormal point. In internet slang, they could have clearly used this statement to piggyback on the Justice League's popularity, but they didn't. Was it because they didn't want too many people to know?
"If nothing unexpected happens, the Redemption Church will likely send a message soon."
David, who hadn't paid much attention to the matter initially, thought that it unexpectedly involved him in the end. He pondered for a moment and then said with a smile.
The First Redemption Church wouldn't be foolish enough to think that simply issuing a statement on their official website would make him hand over the mask containing dangerous power. There would inevitably be substantive actions to follow immediately.
Just as he finished speaking.
Ding!
A new message notification sounded in the hall, causing everyone's expressions to become strange.
Cyborg, who had always been responsible for handling the League's official affairs, projected the message.
A new official email, signed by the First Redemption Church.
"Transcendent, 'Redemption' invites you to meet on a grassland next to the territory of Yasir in Africa."
Cyborg swallowed and, along with the others present, looked at David nervously.
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