Adrian held Rachel and Wonder Woman close, positioning himself as a shield between them and Clark, Barry, and the others as the shockwave surged forward.
A deafening boom tore through the air.
The tremor raced toward the House of Secrets, reducing glass and structural debris inside to fine dust in an instant. A blinding radiance, infused with magic and fire, flooded the space.
Hellfire followed, consuming everything in its path and crashing into Adrian's back with overwhelming force.
The flames scorched him, yet Adrian only frowned.
This kind of magic and fire would have been fatal to Clark and Wonder Woman. For Adrian, however, it was not entirely beyond resistance.
Barry, who had been pushed away moments earlier, hit the ground hard.
Though Adrian had shielded him from the worst of the blast, the fall still left Barry wincing. He rubbed his sore back and extended his arm, only to watch it blur under the relentless assault of flames and hellish energy.
It felt as though sensation was slipping away.
The numbness spread quickly, from his arm to the rest of his body, reaching his legs and even his neck. A growing sense of detachment settled over him.
Clark felt it too.
He stared at his own arm, alarmed. "Are we… are we being erased?"
"You could say that," Adrian replied, still supporting Rachel and Wonder Woman. "Their war has reached this place. No one is beyond its reach. That sense of separation from reality will only intensify."
After a brief pause, Adrian turned to Clark. "I will deal with them next. Your job is to get everyone out of here."
Then he looked at Barry. "You are responsible for protecting Rachel and Wonder Woman. Get them to safety."
"No."
Wonder Woman, weakened yet resolute, reached out and grasped Adrian's arm. There was a trace of desperation in her voice.
"You cannot fight them. If you go, you will not come back. I will not allow it."
She understood clearly that Adrian's chances of survival were nearly nonexistent.
"If you insist… then I will go with you."
Her voice trembled. If there was no other path, she would choose to face the end beside him, fighting until the final moment.
"Alright."
Adrian's answer caught her off guard.
He released her, allowing her to stand.
Determined not to appear weak, she forced herself upright despite the agony. Her legs trembled, and pain surged through her injured back, a wound left from her clash with Black Canary.
Still, she stood firm.
Just as she prepared to speak, her vision went dark. Her body gave out.
Adrian had gently struck the back of her head, rendering her unconscious.
He caught her before she fell and handed her to Barry, who stood frozen in disbelief. After a brief pause, Barry accepted her silently.
Adrian then passed Rachel to Clark.
"Adrian…"
Clark hesitated, his expression conflicted. "You should not have done that to Wonder Woman."
"She is stubborn. Once she decides something, she rarely changes her mind. This was the simplest way to deal with that flaw," Adrian said evenly.
"It is not the way she would have chosen," Clark replied, clenching his fists.
"You always decide everything yourself," Clark continued, his voice tightening with frustration. "You never ask what others want. Even now, you are just telling me to stay here."
Adrian met his gaze without flinching. "Can your current body handle anything else? This is not about ignoring your opinion. Right now, you would only slow us down."
"Take them and leave safely."
His eyes lingered briefly on Rachel. A trace of regret crossed his face, regret that he had not spoken to her properly after leaving the mental world. There had not even been a proper farewell.
He dismissed the thought quickly.
Outside, the battle between Trickster and Trigon raged across the Hell Mountains. Hellfire and magic clashed violently, shaking the air itself.
Dark mist gathered, forming a colossal figure.
Trigon's towering body rose like a skyscraper, crimson eyes burning with malevolence. His curved horns stretched skyward, and his presence warped the space around him.
Yet even with such overwhelming power, Trickster's relentless attacks forced him into difficult positions.
"You still will not surrender, Four Eyes?" Trickster taunted.
Trigon's roar answered, his voice echoing like thunder. "You are the one who will fall, little demon!"
"No."
Adrian's voice cut through the chaos.
Both turned as he stepped onto the battlefield. His cape snapped in the violent winds as he crossed his arms.
"Both of you should be destroyed."
Before the words fully left his lips, heat vision erupted from his eyes, streaking toward them with explosive force.
Back inside the House of Secrets, within the Justice Society's space, Oliver suddenly appeared.
The group stared at him in stunned silence.
"You… you were dead," Clark said, disbelief clear on his face.
"I was. Now I can speak as a ghost. There is no time to explain," Oliver replied. "Doctor Fate has a plan to get us out of here."
He turned to Billy Batson. "But it depends on his power."
Billy, still in his younger form, stiffened. "Me? You are not going to possess me again, are you?"
"No."
Oliver explained the plan quickly. Despite its uncertainty, Clark remained silent. His attention shifted to Barry.
The decision rested with Billy.
Billy looked at Clark holding Rachel, then at Barry supporting Wonder Woman. Fear flickered across his face, but he nodded.
"I am… a little scared. What if I mess it up?"
"I will guide you," Oliver said calmly. "We go to the battlefield, wait for Doctor Fate's signal, and when the lightning comes, you say the word. Together, we send them away."
"Alright… I hope this works."
Clark placed a reassuring hand on Billy's shoulder. "I will not let anything happen to you."
Billy took a breath and followed Oliver out.
Moments later, Rachel stirred.
"You are awake?" Clark said, relief flooding his voice.
Barry straightened, hope returning.
"What is happening?" Rachel asked, rubbing her forehead as she looked outside.
Flames rolled across the landscape. Magic tore at reality itself.
Within that chaos, she felt something familiar.
"Trigon…" she whispered.
Memories resurfaced, fragments of her past, her connection to him.
Clark explained everything, from Adrian's actions to the current battle.
Rachel listened silently, her expression growing more serious with each word.
When Clark mentioned Adrian staying behind to fight, she stood abruptly and moved toward the exit.
Clark stepped in her path. "You cannot go."
"I cannot stay," Rachel replied firmly. "If someone is going to sacrifice themselves for me, it cannot be Adrian. He has always protected me. This time, I will protect him."
"We all want you safe," Clark insisted.
"I know my importance," she said, meeting his eyes. "That is why I will not disappear so easily."
She took another step forward, then added with quiet resolve, "And do not make me fight you, brother."
Clark hesitated, then stepped aside.
He understood her determination. It matched Adrian's.
As Rachel left, Clark turned his attention back to Barry and Wonder Woman. He had to protect those who remained.
Trigon's power was beyond anything they had faced. Even with Adrian and the others, victory seemed unlikely.
But Rachel possessed something unique, a power tied directly to Trigon himself.
Perhaps, in this impossible battle, she could make the difference Adrian needed.