Chapter 64: Tyranny part 4
Diana surged forward like a divine storm given form, her lightning-wreathed spear crackling with celestial fury as she charged Kalibak. Each step thundered against the battlefield, her golden armor gleaming against the hellish backdrop of war. Twisting sharply to her left, she channeled the full force of her momentum into a devastating arc, aiming to carve Kalibak's monstrous face in two.
"BANG!"
A deafening shockwave erupted as Kalibak's colossal hand shot up, seizing the blade mid-swing. Sparks of divine lightning crackled around his fingers, the sheer power of Diana's strike causing his entire arm to tremble. His smirk flickered, momentarily betrayed by a flicker of unease. The raw force behind the blow sent his feet skidding backward, deep trenches forming beneath him as he was forcibly driven into the earth.
The very ground seemed to groan beneath the strain as Kalibak's massive frame slammed into the crater's edge, embedding him waist-deep in the ruined battlefield. His red eyes burned with fury, his lips curling into a snarl.
"ENOUGH!"
His voice bellowed like a war god's decree, shaking the very fabric of the battlefield. With a monstrous display of strength, he wrenched the spear from Diana's grasp, using it as leverage to swing her through the air like a mere plaything.
The world blurred around her.
And then—
"BOOM!"
The impact sent shockwaves rolling outward, shattering the ground beneath her in a violent explosion of dust and debris. Diana's body cratered into the earth, spiderweb cracks splintering from the point of impact. A cloud of dust engulfed the battlefield, swallowing her whole.
Kalibak exhaled, his chest heaving with exertion as he loomed over her fallen form. A sneer of triumph twisted his lips as he raised one massive foot, preparing to bring it crashing down upon her skull and end the fight in one brutal stomp.
But Diana was far from finished.
Pain seared through her limbs, but she reached for the hilt at her waist, her fingers curling around the grip of her blade. Divine power surged through her veins, the storm answering her unyielding will.
With a single, precise motion, she unsheathed her blade and slashed upward.
"WENG!"
A blinding arc of pure lightning energy roared through the battlefield, its shape extending far beyond the length of her sword. The divine blade sang through the air, carving an abyssal canyon in its wake.
For a moment, everything stood still.
Kalibak's expression froze. His enormous body trembled, his mouth parting in silent shock. His eyes, once filled with arrogance, rolled lifelessly upward.
Then, with eerie slowness, his torso slid apart.
A grotesque schlrrk sound filled the air as his bisected body separated from bow to stern. Steam and divine lightning crackled through the exposed wound, his steaming organs spilling out in thick, wet slaps onto the cracked earth below. His colossal form finally collapsed in a lifeless heap, one of Darkseid's most feared warlords undone by the fury of an Amazon.
Diana exhaled sharply, the storm simmering around her as her blade crackled in her grip. The battle had been won, but she had no time to revel in victory.
As she turned, ready to confront Granny Goodness and her captive, she felt it.
The air itself shifted.
A presence so immense, so absolute, that the battlefield seemed to bow beneath its weight.
Diana's breath hitched as she looked up—
And saw him.
A figure of unshakable authority. A shadow of divine tyranny.
Darkseid.
The warlord stood at the battlefield's edge, the broken world bending to his presence. His monolithic frame exuded a quiet, terrifying power. His body, unmoving, unbothered, seemed carved from an immovable force, his jagged stone-like skin glowing faintly with the simmering embers of raw destruction.
Twin pools of molten red burned in his sockets, locking onto Diana with a cold, merciless intensity that made even her warrior's heart stammer.
His voice, deep and final, rang through the battlefield like the toll of a funeral bell.
"You killed my son."
There was no rage in his words—no howling fury, no uncontrolled wrath.
Just certainty.
Diana moved instantly. With a battle cry, she swung her blade, divine lightning coiling around its length, the sheer force of the strike aimed to carve into Darkseid's throat.
But before the blade could meet flesh—
"CRACK!"
Darkseid's hand shot out, his massive fingers clamping around her forearm like a vice.
The attack stopped dead.
Then, with terrifying ease, his fingers clenched.
"CRUNCH!"
The sickening sound of bones turning to dust filled the air, sharp and absolute.
Pain, unlike anything Diana had felt before, exploded through her body.
"AHHH!"
A raw, primal scream tore from her throat as white-hot agony shot through her limb. The strength drained from her fingers, her sword slipping from her grasp and clattering uselessly onto the ruined earth.
But she would not fall.
Through gritted teeth, she reached deep into herself, summoning the divine fury that Olympus had blessed her with.
The sky answered her call.
"BZZZZT!"
A titanic bolt of godly lightning split the heavens apart. A massive column of divine wrath, blazing blue and thick as a mountain, descended upon Darkseid's form.
The battlefield shook violently under the force of Olympus' fury.
"BOOM!"
The impact sent shockwaves rippling outward, the sheer magnitude of the blast shattering the ground in every direction. A blinding light swallowed the battlefield, momentarily turning night into day.
Darkseid was hurled backward, his monolithic form sent careening through the air. The sheer force of the divine strike, the combined might of gods, had finally moved the unmoving.
Diana collapsed onto one knee, her entire body trembling, sweat and blood mingling on her skin as she clutched her ruined arm.
The pain was unbearable.
But she forced herself to remain focused.
Darkseid was not defeated.
[Outside the Fortress of Solitude!]
The frozen winds howled through the Arctic tundra, carrying with them the scent of ozone and burning crystal. What was once a sanctuary of peace, a monument to Krypton's lost legacy, now stood battered and scarred. The Fortress of Solitude, Superman's sacred refuge, was on the brink of destruction.
"BANG! BANG! BANG!"
The ground trembled with each impact. The towering Kryptonian gates, once thought unbreakable, groaned under the relentless assault of Darkseid's army.
Outside, a swarm of Parademons filled the sky, their grotesque forms blotting out the Northern Lights. Their piercing shrieks sent ripples through the icy expanse as they tore through the air with their clawed wings, their beady red eyes locked onto the fortress like vultures awaiting a feast.
At the vanguard stood a ruthless Amazonian warrior, her gleaming armor etched with the sigils of Apokolips. She was no mere foot soldier, this was a champion of Darkseid, forged in battle and steeped in cruelty. Her long, raven-black hair whipped in the frozen winds as her piercing gaze fell upon the crystalline gates.
Her lips curled into a sneer of contempt.
"I want this gate OPEN! Bring me the Kryptonian!"
Her voice was a thunderclap of authority, cutting through the howling winds.
The Parademons responded instantly, hurling themselves at the walls like rabid beasts. Their claws raked against the Kryptonian metal, their weapons pulsing with raw energy as they unleashed a hailstorm of destruction.
"KZZZZT! BOOOM! KRAK-THOOM!"
Explosions ripped across the fortress's walls, sending shards of crystalline debris flying in all directions. Deep fractures spread across the once-pristine surface, glowing weakly in protest as the ancient structure fought to hold itself together.
Inside, alarms blared.
A red warning light flashed across the fortress's halls as automated defenses roared to life.
In the control chamber, Cyborg's fingers danced frantically across the glowing Kryptonian console. His cybernetic eye flickered with warning symbols as his systems scrambled to deploy countermeasures.
"Come on, come on!" he muttered, his voice tight with urgency.
"WHOOSH!"
From the fortress's depths, a squadron of Kryptonian drones launched into action.
Sleek and silver, their metallic bodies glowed with a pulsating red light as they took flight, their targeting systems locking onto the invading forces.
"BEW! BEW! BEW!"
Bright streaks of crimson energy lanced through the air, shredding through the first wave of Parademons. Dozens of invaders were obliterated in an instant, their burning husks spiraling out of the sky before smashing into the frozen wasteland below.
But for every Parademon struck down, ten more took its place.
"CRASH!"
A devastating blow struck one of the drones, sending it careening into the fortress walls before erupting in a ball of fire. The smoke barely had time to clear before another drone was ripped apart midair, its remains crashing into the frozen tundra in a mess of twisted metal and sparks.
Only fourteen drones remained.
And they were losing ground fast.
The Apokoliptian warrior grinned savagely as she watched the battlefield unfold in her favor. She lifted her hand, signaling the next phase of the siege.
From the skies above, a warship descended, its jagged, monstrous form silhouetted against the aurora borealis. Its engines rumbled like an earthquake as it hovered over the battlefield, casting a shadow of impending doom over the fortress.
Then, with an ear-splitting KZZZZT!, the ship's main cannon unleashed a concentrated energy blast directly at the gates.
"BOOOOOM!"
The world seemed to shatter.
The Kryptonian gate, the final barrier protecting the fortress, was obliterated in a fiery explosion, reduced to nothing but dust and ruin.
A wave of heat and concussive force tore through the entrance, blasting shards of molten crystal in every direction. The once-pristine hallways of the Fortress of Solitude were now open to invasion.
And Superman, Earth's last hope, remained motionless, unaware that the tide of war had finally reached him.
William cut through the sky, his body a blur of motion as he soared over the vast expanse of the ocean, the chill winds rushing past him. Below, the frozen landscape of the Arctic stretched endlessly, but ahead, a darker, more sinister sight awaited.
The telltale signs of invasion.
In the distance, a vast fleet of Parademon vessels filled the skies like a swarm of locusts. Smaller craft weaved in and out, pouring endless waves of Parademons into the cold, barren wasteland of the Arctic. Their grotesque, monstrous forms bathed in the eerie glow of energy cannons, seeking to overrun the land and carry out the will of Darkseid.
William's eyes narrowed as he surveyed the battlefield from above. The presence of the invaders was unmistakable, a thick aura of death and violence, swirling like a storm of darkness. He could feel their life forces, their energy pulsing through the very air.
A smile tugged at his lips.
"This is going to be fun."
Just as he was about to close in on the fleet, a sharp tremor in the atmosphere caught his attention.
The larger ship, its sleek, monstrous design unmistakable as a warship of Apokolips, locked its sights onto him.
In an instant, it began to open fire.
"BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!"
Explosions rained down around him, the earth-shattering blasts echoing in the distance as the ship unleashed its devastating firepower. The projectiles impacted the ground around William with deafening force, sending up massive plumes of dirt, rock, and debris. The ground shook beneath him, but his form remained unscathed.
The dust and smoke billowed around him, but William simply grinned. The explosions obscured his vision, but he didn't need sight to fight.
"I can still feel their life force."
His hands flared with energy as he focused on the Parademons surrounding him. His senses honed to a razor's edge, he could feel their every movement, their every tremble.
With a flash of intent, William vanished from his spot in the sky.
"WHOOSH!"
He reappeared on the ground, materializing in the midst of a cluster of Parademons who had only just noticed his presence. The air shuddered with his arrival, their red eyes flicking toward him in surprise, but it was too late.
In the blink of an eye, William formed a blade of ki in his hand, its edge crackling with energy, like a perfect extension of his will. With a swift motion, he slashed horizontally through the air, his body following the arc of the attack.
"SSSSHHH!"
The blade of ki passed through the air with a sound like thunder, cutting clean through the ranks of Parademons who had gathered around him. The attack moved with such speed and force that the soldiers barely had time to react before they were cleaved in two. The blade passed through bodies and armor alike, the smell of burning flesh and sizzling energy hanging in the air like a grotesque cloud.
The Parademons closest to him were ripped apart as their bodies were torn through with surgical precision.
As he finished the sweeping motion, William extended his hands outward, his fingers crackling with raw ki energy.
"WA-HAH!"
A wave of energy erupted from his palms, sweeping across the battlefield. The wave smashed through the remnants of his ki-blade's arc, blasting the pieces of the Parademons' bodies away in all directions.
The air was filled with shrapnel and gore, the blood of the Parademons painting the surrounding armies in their own life force.
For a moment, the world around William was silent, save for the sickening thuds of Parademon limbs and organs falling to the ground like discarded trash. The air itself seemed to shudder in the aftermath of the destruction.
William's gaze shifted to the surrounding invaders, their remaining comrades now too terrified to make a move. The field was painted red, the land itself soaking in the blood of their fallen.
And he was just getting started.
The battlefield was chaotic, the air thick with the sounds of war—the shrieks of Parademons, the heavy rumble of weapons charging, and the distant explosions of the ongoing invasion. William hovered in midair, his eyes scanning the overwhelming sea of enemies before him. Then, a sudden buzz echoed in his mind, like the hum of an approaching storm.
[System quest received - Destroy Darkseid's armies before they can capture Superman]
[0/1000000 Parademons remaining]
A smirk spread across William's face as the notification appeared, the numbers counting down ominously. His pulse quickened, and a surge of energy coursed through him. He could feel the weight of the mission, the gravity of protecting Superman, the last bastion of hope for Earth, but he was far from intimidated.
"LET'S GO!"
He shouted, his voice a battle cry that cut through the chaos, charging forward with a primal ferocity. His body surged like a comet, cutting through the air with unmatched speed. His mind, sharpened by countless battles, was already planning his next move. The Parademons around him were a mere blur, their fates sealed before they even realized he was upon them.
Weaving his hands, William began to channel his energy with deadly precision, his palms glowing with raw power. His first clone manifested, its form shimmering into existence in front of him, like a mirage made solid. The Willpower Clone wielded a staff of pure energy, a mirror of his own weapon, as it charged forward to meet the oncoming horde.
But William's work didn't stop there. He summoned another wave, this time, the Fear Clones, creatures born of his darkest intentions. They manifested with an eerie siphoning of light, their twisted, monstrous forms crawling from the very air around him. They bore serrated hooks and barbed blades, their weapons designed for torment, not quick death. Each clone was a terror unto itself, its very presence frightening the Parademons into hesitation. Their eyes glinted with malicious intent, and every swing of their weapons sent a wave of panic through the ranks of Darkseid's forces.
The Willpower Clones formed a wave of disciplined soldiers, each of them with focused precision, advancing in an organized, unrelenting assault. They held their staffs high, channeling pure energy to strike down any Parademon in their path.
The Fear Clones, on the other hand, tore through the opposite side of the battlefield, their horrific appearances and erratic movements causing chaos among the enemy ranks. The clashing of weapons and the screams of Parademons echoed as they tried to fight back, but the sheer presence of the clones was a psychological weapon in itself.
Meanwhile, William shot forward at blinding speed, his body a blur as he weaved between the fray, dodging blasts and eviscerating any Parademon that dared to cross his path. His ki-infused strikes tore through the air, each attack sending explosive waves of energy in all directions. His hands glowed with concentrated power as he carved through the chaos, his focus unwavering.
"BANG! BANG! BANG!"
Energy blasts collided with his aura, but they were absorbed by his indomitable will, exploding harmlessly around him as he continued his relentless assault. Clones surrounded him, the battlefield now a battlefield of clones, energy, and carnage.
William's clones surged like a tidal wave, their sheer numbers overwhelming the Parademons, each one fighting with his will, his fear, and his power. The army of Darkseid seemed to be swallowed whole by the sheer force of William's willpower and the terror he had created.
[Quest Progress: 500/1000000 Parademons remaining]
The numbers ticked down rapidly, but the battle was far from over.
William's eyes glowed brighter as he teleported behind a cluster of Parademons, his hands crackling with ki. The moment his feet touched the ground, his clones swarmed around him, forming a protective circle as William stepped forward, ready to face the next wave. His entire being seemed to pulse with energy, his very soul burning with the desire to protect what remained of this world.
This battle would be the last stand for many, but for William, it was just another moment to prove his resolve. His clones, a mix of pure will and nightmarish fear, cut through the Parademon ranks, each one driven by his desires and his deepest fears. Darkseid's army would not succeed, not today.