On Themyscira, the Amazons had all turned into stone statues. The gates of the Underworld opened, and countless legions of the dead poured out. Evil spirits circled in the sky, letting out terrifying roars, creating a scene of grim and eerie horror.
When Diana returned to Themyscira, this was the scene that greeted her.
The once beautiful paradise was no more, looking almost like the Underworld itself.
Slaying the undead along the way, she entered the depths of Themyscira with a grief-stricken roar, her shield raised. She wanted to find the source of the chaos, rescue her kin who had been turned to stone by magic, and find her mother, whose fate was unknown.
"My great master, to congratulate you on your escape, I have brought you a gift."
Before the gates of the Underworld, Hades, King of the Underworld, having broken free, immediately drew his sword and summoned an endless army of the dead, beginning his conquest of the mortal world. Faust bowed and stepped forward.
He waved his hand, and the stone statue of Hippolyta floated in from outside.
"The Queen of the Amazons, my brother's lover."
Hades smiled playfully.
"Brave and skilled Queen, why do you not move?"
He reached out and tapped her, and Hippolyta was instantly freed from petrification, but only from the neck up.
Seeing Hades effortlessly break his magic, Faust was shocked, and his eyes lit up with fervor.
"As expected of the legendary Hades, King of the Underworld, one of the strongest gods on Mount Olympus, mentioned alongside Sky Father Zeus and Poseidon, King of the Sea."
"Hades!"
Upon seeing Hades step onto the mortal realm, Hippolyta, whose body below the neck was still immobile, looked up in terror and glanced at Faust.
"You actually released him. You madman."
"It's been many years, Hippolyta."
Hades surveyed his surroundings, his gaze piercing through the rock, taking in the dreamlike beauty of Themyscira. He stroked his chin and chuckled softly, a cold glint of hatred appearing in his eyes.
"My brother treated you and his daughter so well, creating such a beautiful place for you to live, while I was cast down from Mount Olympus, forced to endure millennia of desolate and poisonous fire and the River Styx."
"That is what you deserved, Hades."
Hippolyta glared at him angrily.
"Don't forget the utterly shameless and despicable things you've done in the past!"
Hades scoffed at the Amazon Queen's rebuke and was about to say something.
"Master."
A voice suddenly came from beside the obsidian stone. Faust rubbed his hands and stepped forward.
"Do you remember what you promised me?"
"Ah, yes, I almost forgot."
Hades patted his forehead, a smile playing on his lips.
"I promised you that if you helped me escape, I would grant you the Ultimate Magical Truth."
Upon hearing these words, Faust's face flushed, and he was almost overcome with excitement.
The Gods were born from magic. Magic's embodiment bestowed magic upon humanity, and from that, the Gods came to be. Every deity was a favorite of magic.
And the man before him was even more extraordinary. He knew an ancient, hidden history that involved the scandals of the Gods, and the man before him had almost had a special relationship with the embodiment of magic's origin.
"No matter what he promised you, don't you dare think you'll get it. The one standing before you is a cunning and heartless wolf by nature."
Hippolyta sneered.
"He betrayed the Gods and his own kin without batting an eye. You're just a mere mortal. Do you expect him to keep his word to you?"
As she spoke, she let out a few cold laughs.
"Master?"
Hearing her words, Faust, who had been blinded by the desire for the Ultimate Magical Truth, began to panic and hesitate, fearing that the King of the Underworld before him might indeed not keep his promise.
He also clearly understood why Hades had been cast into Hell.
"Kin, weren't the Titans my kin as well?"
Hades glanced at her.
"Between two groups of kin, I was also in a difficult position."
"Faust, step forward. I shall give you what you desire." He extended a finger, at the tip of which pulsed a mysterious magical light, as if containing boundless galaxies.
Driven by an intense craving for the Magical Truth, Faust swallowed and stepped forward uncontrollably, failing to notice the cold glint that flashed in Hades' eyes.
Just as Hades' fingertip was about to unleash divine power, turning this foolish mortal who dared to make demands of him into a dried husk, an anxious shout suddenly echoed from outside the cave.
"Mother!"
On the island, Diana, her sword slashing through undead soldiers like cutting grass, desperately called out for her mother, wanting to know where she was.
"Mother?"
Hades' gaze pierced through the cave, sweeping over Diana, who was girded with the Lasso of Truth, wielding the Sword of Vulcan, and clad in divine artifacts. A dark gleam flashed in his eyes, and he halted his action.
"You haven't done enough, Faust."
The ultimate magical truth was within reach, and Faust's eyes were bloodshot.
"Master, how can you bestow upon me the ultimate truth?"
"On this island, Hippolyta isn't the only one who warrants my attention, yet you've only brought me her."
"I understand, Master. I will capture her for you right away."
"Not just her, others have arrived as well."
Hades stood with his hands behind his back, gazing toward the sky, a faint smile playing on his lips.
"Even now, the name of hero still resonates in the mortal world? It reminds me of my brother's demigod sons. I wonder how this group compares to them."
"I'll help you, Diana."
Clark shouted, descending rapidly. He landed like a cannonball, shaking the ground and scattering dozens of undead soldiers. His scorching Heat Vision sliced through the undead ranks.
He felt no psychological burden in attacking those already dead.
"David, a powerful sorcerer has broken into Themyscira. He seems to be heading towards the center of the earth, a forbidden place even Mother doesn't allow me to tread. I don't know what's there."
Seeing Clark, Diana turned her gaze to the sky, spotting a familiar figure. She urgently sought help.
"But all of this now must be related to whatever is underground. Mother might be there too."
"I see it."
High above, David looked down into the earth. He saw the petrified Hippolyta, the sorcerer in disguise that Clark had mentioned, and another person.
This person was tall, clad in armor, exuding a cold, sinister aura mixed with a sense of dominance.
"This must be Hades, escaped from the Underworld!"
His eyes flashed with dawning comprehension.
"Roar!"
A terrifying roar echoed from underground. The undead soldiers drew their bows and loosed a volley of arrows towards David in the sky. David glanced at them.
The arrow rain fell harmlessly to the ground.
A massive gravity field enveloped the entirety of Themyscira.
Voom!
Terrifying gravity descended, instantly crushing hundreds of thousands of undead soldiers into dust under a force like a falling mountain.
Clark and Diana stopped in their tracks. Their enemies before them were wiped out.
Reaching into the ground and grasping through the air, David intended to break through the surface and rescue Hippolyta.
He had once slain the God of War, and his strength now was several times greater than it was then. However, he didn't believe he could easily deal with this King of the Underworld.
"Among the gods of Mount Olympus, aside from Sky Father Zeus, this ruler of the Underworld is likely the strongest."
With Hippolyta in Hades's hands, he was inevitably restricted.
But in the underground cave, just as Hippolyta had flown a short distance, Hades unhurriedly pointed a finger. A sinister, grey-green divine power flashed.
The terrified Hippolyta plummeted to the ground, her feet rooting as if she were connected to the entire Underworld.
Applying force again, a power that could lift an island, yet Hippolyta remained utterly still. David frowned slightly.
"Relying solely on gravity manipulation to counter Hades's divine power is somewhat like a fairy tale."
"Mortal, you carry an aura I detest, and more than one."
At the bottom of the cave, Hades spoke, his expression one of disgust. His voice echoed in David's ears.
The Six God Power left by Shazam, apart from Solomon's wisdom and Atlas's endurance, consisted of either Zeus's own power or that of his sons. Hades naturally wouldn't like it.
"Like a venomous snake that has harbored resentment for millennia, eager to take revenge on its enemies and this world. You don't seem likable either."
David slowly opened his mouth. His voice was not loud, but he knew Hades could hear him.
"How dare you, mortal!"
Hades was enraged by his words. He swung his hand, and a grey-green divine power condensed into a bident, appearing to bring finality to all things, exuding an aura of death and ill omen. It instantly pierced the cave ceiling and shot towards David.
David dodged by tilting his head.
The bident landed on a medium-sized island a dozen miles away. Centered on its impact point, all vegetation on the island withered into ash, and living creatures collapsed into desiccated corpses.
An island that had been lush and green just moments before became a barren wasteland devoid of life in an instant.
David turned his gaze away, his expression grave.
"The power of this King of the Underworld is truly terrifying!"
Although Shazam's power was said to contain Zeus's divine might, it was only logical to assume that Zeus would not simply give all of his power, the power of a god-king, to others.
Captain Marvel, who inherited Shazam's power, rarely defeated Superman in a standard fight. If Captain Marvel truly possessed Zeus's power, wouldn't that imply Superman could easily defeat Zeus?
However, in reality, when a standard Superman clashed with Zeus, the situation was reversed.
"Daughter of Olympus, let me see what skills you possess."
Faust, impatient, floated out from underground. His palms shot out powerful magic missiles like a rapid-fire cannon. In a series of bombardments, the two were forced to retreat and dodge.
He wanted to quickly take down the daughter of Zeus, so he could go to Hades and claim credit, obtaining the ultimate truth.
"You stay here, Hippolyta.
Wait for me to deal with them, then I'll come talk to you about what my heartless brother did to me."
After glancing at Hippolyta, Hades also turned and left the Underworld passage. With a flash, he appeared in the sky, about ten meters away from David.
"When I'm most bored in Hell, I like to burn people into charcoal."
He opened his mouth, spitting out scorching, venomous hellfire. A normal person would feel fear just by looking at it, as if the flames contained a peculiar magic capable of burning and tormenting the soul.
Dark clouds churned in the sky. David reached out and grabbed a bolt of lightning striking down from the heavens, firing the Thunder Spear towards Hades' open mouth.
But in the next second, it was swallowed by flames.
David hastily dodged, but the torrent of fire from Hades' mouth, like a persistent phantom, swept across the sky, evaporating the clouds. The blood-red inferno dyed half the sky and chased after him, burning him.
"As expected, it's the taste of my brother's divine power. It brings back memories, but it's a shame it's too weak."
Hades laughed heartily. His pupils turned emerald green and slit, like those of some monstrous creature.
...
"What is that?"
Just now, a chilling gray-green light shot towards a distant island. Firestorm looked back and immediately saw a terrifying sight.
The entire island had transformed into a vast, silent graveyard, as terrifying as the Bible's description of God's wrath and heavenly fire burning cities.
"That's coming from the source of the Corpse Army,"
Element Girl said, her expression a little panicked. She felt as if a giant abyssal monster had opened its maw in that direction, waiting for them to walk into their doom.
"Good news. Superman just sent a message saying he, Transcendent, and Wonder Woman have arrived there. We just need to contain these dead skeletons here and prevent them from plaguing the peaceful mortal world."
Looking at the attacks flying from the distant battlefield, Green Lantern, hovering in the air, swallowed hard.
Bang bang bang!
Hawkgirl, her face cold, flapped her wings like a merciless war goddess. Wielding her Nth Metal War Hammer, she cleaved through the zombie hordes wherever she went, sending limbs and severed parts flying.
"Last time I couldn't defend the sun with you all. I didn't expect my first mission with the League to be facing something so disgusting and terrifying!"
Stepping on the seawater, their bodies like desiccated corpses, their heads like skulls revealing terrifying gums, the Army of the Dead, wielding weapons and accompanied by a nauseating stench of decay, lunged at them with bared teeth and claws.
Element Girl's face was slightly pale, and she quickly unleashed fire attacks with both hands.
"Last time I heard Transcendent and the others fought a big battle with the Alien Invaders on Mercury. It's a shame I missed it,"
Firestorm said regretfully, also attacking with his nuclear flames. His tone was as if he had missed a grand and exciting party, but he sounded a bit excited now.
"But thankfully, I didn't miss something this big. I can contribute."
Despair Demon's surprise attack on the League headquarters was a factor. The three newcomers had all taken leave, missing the incident when H'el attacked.
Ever since the nuclear reactor explosion, Ronnie Raymond and Martin Stein had become one entity and had never been separated. The last time Despair Demon attacked, he disrupted their mental connection, separating them.
"After that day, we unexpectedly discovered that we could be temporarily separated. Professor Martin was really fed up and forced me to take a long leave.
Seriously, I had just joined the League then, and I took leave.
To be clear, I wasn't scared off by enemies like Despair Demon."
While attacking, Firestorm complained and explained.
"Alright, alright, I'll stop talking. I know I'm not the one without a body."
Immediately after, Martin Stein seemed to ramble and complain about something else. He surrendered and shut his mouth.
His fist turned into a stone hammer, knocking away a charging undead soldier. Element Girl's emotions stirred slightly.
The reason she took leave was related to her family. During the previous battle with Despair Demon, she lost an arm. Although it could be healed, it had still terrified her father.
When she was a street hero before, Element Girl, with her abilities, easily solved cases and defeated villains, so she had never been injured.
On her first day joining the League, she lost an arm. Her billionaire father, who loved her dearly, absolutely refused to let her continue participating in the Justice League.
After several days, she finally managed to temporarily convince her father.
"Hawkgirl, why did you take leave?"
Firestorm asked curiously.
It was unusual for all three newcomers to take leave at the same time.
"Stop chatting and focus on the fight!"
In the next second, Batman flew over with a serious expression, blasting away a group of undead soldiers. He stopped the somewhat talkative Firestorm, knowing the situation was not optimistic. He looked grimly in the direction of Themyscira.
"King of the Underworld Hades..."
Recalling what Superman had just said.
"Transcendent, I wonder if you can protect this world again this time."
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