Chapter 15: Are You Really Fourteen?
The faint glow on the golden apple's surface had yet to fade, and a strange warmth still lingered on Luka's fingertips when the familiar sound of air tearing apart reached his ears.
It was the distinctive sound of Diana flying, more urgent than any time she had rushed back to the training ground before.
Luka's heart tightened, and his grip on the golden apple instinctively tightened.
The greedy desire stirred by the magic hadn't completely subsided yet, and a brutal thought instantly surfaced.
Hide this thing. Keep it for himself.
On Viltrum during the civil war, any item of value belonged to the strongest. What you seized with your own hands was yours. This was a survival rule ingrained in his bones.
But the moment the thought arose, he forcefully suppressed it.
He glanced at the lingering wisps of black smoke dissipating on the street corner, then recalled Diana's patient guidance these past days, teaching him to control his powers.
Earth wasn't Viltrum. Theft and violence wouldn't solve every problem. On the contrary, it would completely shatter the fragile stability he had just found.
Besides, Diana carried the Lasso of Truth at her waist. Lying over an apple of uncertain value wasn't worth it.
He took a deep breath, relaxed his slightly trembling fingers, and stood still, waiting.
The crimson figure arrived in an instant. Diana landed in front of him, her eyes immediately locking onto the golden apple in his hand.
Her brows furrowed instantly, and the atmosphere around her grew heavy as she spoke in a deep voice.
"Eris, the Goddess of Discord. She was here, wasn't she?"
Luka nodded.
"A bald woman with green eyes showed me this apple. I briefly lost control, broke her spine, and she vanished into black smoke."
He deliberately omitted the details, focusing only on the core events.
Hearing this, Diana sighed helplessly, her eyes reflecting both understanding and concern.
"It seems we still have a long way to go before you can completely overcome your habitual desire for killing and destruction."
Her gaze shifted to the lingering traces of black smoke at the street corner.
"You destroyed her mortal avatar, not her true form."
A trace of irritation appeared in Luka's eyes.
He had killed her, but hadn't finished the job.
Even though she had provoked him first, it was clear she wasn't the type to reason with.
He held up the golden apple in his hand.
"This thing... is it a treasure?"
The overwhelming desire it had stirred within him earlier instinctively told him this apple was no ordinary object.
"Golden Apples themselves aren't particularly rare in the God Realm. The gods under Zeus often consume them to prolong their lives and maintain the vitality of their souls."
"But Eris's apple is different. It's her personal divine artifact." Her tone turned serious. "Beyond its basic effects, it can awaken the deepest desires within any living being, fueling jealousy and conflict. It has triggered numerous divine conflicts and mortal wars throughout history."
Diana paused, then added, "More importantly, Eris won't perish just because her mortal avatar was destroyed. When she revives in the God Realm, the malevolent magic within this Golden Apple will reactivate simultaneously."
Luka's heart jolted, and his grip on the apple instantly loosened.
So this wasn't a treasure worth fighting over, but a ticking time bomb ready to detonate again at any moment.
As for the Golden Apple's life-prolonging properties, they held little appeal for the long-lived Viltrumites.
That intense possessive desire from before was just an illusion induced by magic.
Diana gazed at the golden apple, a legendary artifact from mythology, and felt a sudden headache coming on.
By principle, she should advise Luka to hand it over to the Justice League for safekeeping.
However, the current Justice League seemed ill-equipped to handle the wrath of an enraged God seeking vengeance.
Having been established only two years prior, the Justice League had yet to recruit many members. Currently, only she and Shazam were heroes with magical affiliations within the entire alliance.
Shazam often came across as immature and unreliable in his words and actions.
Batman had even mentioned that Fawcett City, Shazam's home, had experienced several incidents involving lost magical artifacts due to Shazam's occasional carelessness.
Though none of these incidents had escalated into major disasters, entrusting a magical artifact with the potential to trigger World War III to Shazam's care was clearly a terrible idea.
As for Diana herself...
While she was indeed closely connected to the magical side, her abilities primarily stemmed from the divine blessings of her bloodline and the artifacts bestowed upon her by the Gods.
She did possess some magical abilities, but they were mostly minor, entertainment-oriented spells.
These were no match for the Goddess of Discord Eris, let alone capable of suppressing the Golden Apple, which had the power to ignite wars in the God Realm.
How did this kid even defeat the Goddess of Discord?
"Perhaps you should hand it over to the Justice League. This isn't something you should be involved in..."
"No, I can't give it to the Justice League."
Luka opened his eyes and cut her off without hesitation.
"Ms. Prince, you were silent for a full three seconds just now. If you truly believed the Justice League currently has the capability to handle this apple, you would have said so immediately."
Luka gazed thoughtfully at the pure golden light radiating from the apple's surface under the sunlight. "We need to understand why this happened in the first place."
"The Goddess of Discord wouldn't casually pull out such a valuable artifact just to influence some random passerby. She used the golden apple on me because, in her eyes, I was worth that effort."
The concern on Diana's face gradually transformed into surprise as Luka explained his reasoning.
"In other words, in the eyes of the gods, or those magic users, there must be something special about me."
Diana felt somewhat embarrassed. She was a demigod too, but at this moment, she couldn't come up with any effective advice.
"I've already offended the Goddess of Discord. Whether I want to or not, handing this Golden Apple over to the Justice League means exposing a group of superpowered individuals to her malevolent gaze."
"This isn't something you can simply brush aside with a heroic 'it's our responsibility,' Ms. Prince."
Luka didn't need to elaborate further. The implications were clear.
The consequences of Superman or the Flash being influenced by the Goddess of Discord's magic were unimaginable.
Moreover, the Justice League still struggled to maintain public trust.
Even with their vast resources, a single moment of influence on just one or two heroes could lead to a catastrophic public relations crisis.
"Wow."
Diana crossed her arms, studying him anew. She hadn't been particularly curious about Luka's background before. Deep down, she had treated his request as just another routine matter for the Justice League.
"You and Shazam are truly polar opposites. Are you really only fourteen, like Bruce said?"
Luka smiled and tucked the golden apple into his inner pocket.
"If my thinking were limited to my apparent age, I would only become another conqueror of Viltrum, both now and in the future."
Diana was taken aback.
Conqueror? Who?
But Luka had already taken to the skies.
He had originally planned to stroll through the city today and buy some fruit, but this whole mess had soured his mood.
"Wait, what's your plan now?"
Diana couldn't shake the feeling that this kid lacked respect for adults. Gritting her teeth, she followed him into the air.
"The Justice League must have a list, right? Don't you proactively gather information and monitor global anomalies or dangerous individuals?"
"The Justice League doesn't have a professional for this. We can take the initiative to find one. By the way, Ms. Prince, do you really not know any Earth magic users?"