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*****
Penance Stare!
The vortex of flames in Gwen's hollow eye sockets swirled frantically. The dark shadow meeting her gaze felt its soul ignite, suffering unbearable agony.
"Feel their pain, you mongrel!"
Gwen roared in fury. The suffering of those who had died because of the dark shadow now transformed into sharp blades piercing its soul, inflicting immense torture.
But even with its soul continuously ravaged by hellfire and the anguish of the dead, the dark shadow did not collapse. Instead, it gathered its own energy to mount a counterattack.
Chaotic dark energy clashed violently with blue hellfire. Entangled at the center, the opposing forces formed a tornado of black and blue, enveloping both combatants.
"Argh!"
The dark shadow screamed in pain. Its hard-won energy was depleting rapidly. What terrified it even more was that Gwen's energy seemed inexhaustible. No matter how much of its own power it expended, it couldn't suppress Gwen's hellfire. Its soul continued to burn.
At this rate, I'll die!
When the mysterious dark consciousness realized this, panic set in.
It had taken so much effort to absorb enough souls to recover even a fraction of its power...
Although unwilling, the entity was decisive.
Giving up this power now was better than dying here.
With that thought, it let out a roar. All the souls it had collected flew out of its body. Amid the chaos, carrying intense malice, they charged toward Gwen as if intending to tear her apart.
Bang! Bang!
The souls crashed into Gwen in a suicidal assault. Upon igniting with hellfire, they exploded violently, turning into pure bursts of energy that knocked Gwen back from the dark shadow.
The entangled tornado vanished. Gwen was knocked back repeatedly, attacked and cursed by the souls as if they were trying to drag her into hell.
Resentment, unwillingness, malice...
The negative energy formed by these emotions constantly impacted Gwen's mind, tearing at her heart.
The hellfire burning on her body dimmed, looking as if it might go out at any moment.
Watching this from outside the battlefield, Raven and Clark grew worried.
"Dad, is Gwen okay?" Clark couldn't help but ask.
"Don't worry. Don't underestimate Gwen," Mike said with confidence.
Sure enough, as soon as Mike finished speaking, Gwen suddenly raised her head.
"Get it straight! You idiots! I wasn't the one who hurt you!"
Following Gwen's low growl, the nearly extinguished hellfire on her body surged as if gasoline had been poured on it, shooting straight into the sky.
Boom!
As if igniting the very space around her, blue flames engulfed the souls throwing themselves at her. But interestingly, Gwen's fire didn't reduce them to ashes. Instead, it burned away all the chaotic energy and malice clinging to them, restoring their clarity.
She had actually used her power to purify them.
Seeing this, Mike's eyes lit up.
This must be a result of Gwen gaining Mephisto's power; her control over souls had improved, allowing her to purify them.
Phew!
Gwen let out a breath. Watching the dark shadow fleeing into the distance, nearly out of sight, she retracted the fiercely burning hellfire.
In the next second, she sprinted forward. As the Night Leopard appeared behind her with a roar, she leaped lightly onto it, driving the bike in pursuit of the dark shadow. The souls she had purified followed close behind like shadows, forming an army charging alongside Gwen toward the enemy.
The seemingly vast distance vanished in an instant under Gwen's terrifying speed.
Gwen had broken free faster than the shadow imagined.
When Gwen appeared behind the dark shadow with the vengeful spirits in tow, the entity finally screamed in terror.
"No!"
It shrieked as black chaotic energy emerged once more.
But this time...
Gwen sneered, clenched her fist, and pointed at the dark shadow. "Tear him apart!"
At her command, hellfire quietly appeared on the souls, protecting them like armor.
In the next second, they roared and charged at the dark shadow.
"No!"
Amidst despairing screams, the dark shadow was torn to shreds and burned to ash by the hellfire.
Phew!
Gwen exhaled softly. With a wave of her hand, the souls rushed toward her and vanished into her body.
A moment later, as Gwen dispelled her powers and flesh reappeared on her body, a blue tattoo surfaced on her back, resembling a phoenix burning with blue flames.
Her battle suit faded, and Gwen returned to her previous appearance, as if nothing had happened.
But...
The sea of flowers, once burying numerous bodies, was now a scene of devastation, looking as if it were about to disappear entirely.
Thick smoke, flames, overturned earth, and tourists still screaming and fleeing—it had become a disaster site.
Gwen smiled toward Mike in the distance and waved to the three of them.
Mike and the others turned and walked away immediately.
Why aren't you leaving? Why are you waving? Are you afraid no one will notice you?
Gwen pouted. A wisp of flame appeared in her hand as she rode the Night Leopard to catch up.
The family of five returned to the RV. After Mike opened a portal to send Gwen's Vibranium motorcycle home, he spent some time using his abilities to command those involved in the evil god ritual, including the sheriff, to turn themselves in. Then, before the swarm of reporters could arrive, he drove away.
Originally, Mike and the others wanted to resolve this quietly. They hadn't expected Mayor Morton to awaken the evil god directly, making the situation spiral out of control.
However, what Mike and the others didn't anticipate was that after this incident, due to the various murderous ritual cases in the town, it would become a holy land for mystery enthusiasts and thrill-seeking adventurers, allowing the town to prosper in a strange way.
Of course, that is a story for later.
Right now, Mike's family was preparing dinner.
After a busy day, the Kent family finally welcomed their happiest moment.
Under the gaze of four pairs of expectant eyes, Mike brought out plates of freshly cooked food.
"Eh? Clark? Why haven't you left yet? Don't you care about Hope? Aren't you going to Hank's house?"
Mike looked speechlessly at Clark sitting at the dining table, his expression feigning disgust.
Clark looked at the braised pork on the table—a huge basin enough for seven or eight people—and felt warm inside.
He knew Mike had made this specifically for him. His father was only saying that because Clark hadn't been home much lately.
"Hehe!"
Gwen snickered. Raven looked helplessly at Mike and pointed at the dishes on the table.
Most of the dishes were Clark's favorites, and the quantity was much larger than usual.
"Your actions have already exposed you."
Raven poked Mike with amusement.
Mike snorted lightly. "I made too much. If there's any left later, I'll find a pig to feed it to!"
"Um, Dad, you can just treat me like a pig."
"Pfft!"
Gwen couldn't help but laugh out loud.
Little Lamb tapped his bowl with his chopsticks, pointing at Clark and laughing, "Brother is a pig!"
The corners of Mike's mouth twitched up. Raven narrowed her eyes and said to Clark, "Are you implying we are all pigs?"
Gwen paused. Mike also looked at Clark with suspicion.
Clark scratched his head, revealed a harmless smile, and spread his hands. "I didn't say that."
"You smiled! That's exactly what you meant!"
Gwen pointed at Clark, angrily snatched two pieces of braised pork, and grumbled, "I'm going to eat all your braised pork!"
"Piggies! Everyone is a piggie!"
Little Lamb giggled foolishly.
"You silly little pig!"
Mike pinched Little Lamb's cheek and finally couldn't hold back his laughter.
He couldn't keep a straight face anymore.
"Hurry up and eat, it'll get cold."
Mike said with a smile.
Clark smiled, hurriedly poured red wine for Mike and Raven, and drinks for Gwen and Little Lamb. Laughing happily, they clinked their glasses together.
While Mike's family enjoyed their happy dinner, a poor soul was shivering in the cold wind with an empty stomach.
Stephen Strange.
With a messy beard and a face full of dust, it was hard to imagine he used to be a top neurosurgeon, a charismatic member of high society in the eyes of others.
He had become this way because of a car accident three months ago.
While driving at night, he took a phone call. In a moment of distraction, his car flew off a cliff. Although he was lucky enough to survive, his hands—once steady as machines—suffered severe permanent damage, making it impossible for him to ever operate again.
If God gave him another chance, he absolutely would not have taken that call.
Because he could no longer perform surgery, he was fired from the hospital. And since he had no habit of saving money, instead constantly maxing out credit cards to maintain his luxurious lifestyle, he instantly became a pauper.
Oh, if God gave him a second chance, he absolutely wouldn't spend money recklessly and would save most of what he earned.
afterward, he thought of many ways to heal his hands, but as a top surgeon, he rejected them one by one.
He knew those methods were impossible.
Just then, he accidentally discovered that a patient he had determined would never walk again was walking—healthy once more.
This discovery reignited his hope.
When he found the former patient and asked how he was cured, the man gave him only one name.
Kamar-Taj.
So, with renewed hope, he spent all his remaining assets on a plane ticket to the city the patient mentioned, searching for any trace of Kamar-Taj.
After experiencing being scammed, robbed, and nearly sold, he finally found Kamar-Taj.
No, more accurately, his search for Kamar-Taj attracted the attention of its people. While being beaten during a robbery, he was saved by someone from Kamar-Taj.
Filled with hope, he arrived at Kamar-Taj and met a woman with an elegant temperament...
Oh, allow him to interject here.
That woman was bald. She was the most beautiful, most temperamentally unique bald person he had ever seen.
Cough, getting off track. Back to the main point.
When he first saw her and the man who saved him introduced her as the Sorcerer Supreme, the Ancient One, he didn't care at all. All he could think about was that his hands could be saved.
But when he asked for a treatment plan, asking how to heal his hands, she gave him a long speech about spiritual energy, magic, and such.
As a firm man of science, how could he believe such absurd things?
He even felt that spending all his money to come to this Kamar-Taj was a complete mistake.
So, in his agitation, he spoke without thinking, showing great disrespect to the Sorcerer Supreme.
Then, the Ancient One gave him a small punishment, knocking his soul out of his body to let him experience it firsthand.
After that, she showed him other dimensions, completely shattering his worldview and arrogance.
What pained him was that after showing him a new world and giving him hope again, she had him thrown out of Kamar-Taj.
"No, you can't be this cruel! You showed me another world, only to shut me out!"
Stephen Strange huddled in front of Kamar-Taj's door, weakly banging on the closed gate, looking like a pitiful child locked out of his home.
"Open the door! I know you're in there!"
"Don't think just because you're quiet, I don't know you're watching me!"
"Please, open the door!"
He kept shouting in a low voice, but there was no movement from the gate.
Exhausted and hungry, he eventually fell asleep in a daze while shouting.
Suddenly, the closed door was pulled open. Stephen Strange, who had been leaning against it, tumbled inside.
He woke up with a start. Seeing the man who had saved him that morning looking at him speechlessly, he forced a smile and scrambled to his feet.
"How should I address you?"
"Mordo."
Dark-skinned Mordo smiled slightly. "Follow me."
Hearing this, a look of surprise and joy appeared on Stephen Strange's face, and he couldn't help but cheer, "Great!"
...
The next day, when playful raindrops tapped on the roof of the RV, waking Mike's family, the vehicle began to move again after a simple breakfast.
Clark had left after dinner yesterday, and they had finally decided to head home.
Of course, they were still traveling back, just taking a different route.
According to Mike's plan, they would arrive home exactly one day before Gwen's school started.
If they couldn't make it...
It didn't matter; he could just use a portal.
In any case, Gwen absolutely would not miss school.
Counting the days, Gwen let out a wail.
There was less than half a month left; she wasn't ready yet!
Gwen slumped weakly on the sofa, staring blankly at the rain outside.
"Sister, what's wrong?"
Little Lamb lay on the sofa, looking at Gwen curiously.
"I've contracted a disease where I lose all my strength as soon as I have to go to school."
(End of Chapter)