In the Emperor Building, the sun shone brightly, casting radiant colors, and the sky above Metropolis gleamed magnificently.
Jenny's awakening brought Bardi a rare sense of happiness and ease.
So much so that now, he stole half a day of leisure, standing atop the Emperor Building, watching the blazing sun, the shifting clouds, softly humming a tune.
Bardi stood tall, dressed in a white trench coat. The wind tugged at his coat as he smiled into the sunlight, fingers lightly brushing the air as if playing an invisible piano.
There was still about a month and a half left.
The Kryptonians connected to him—Zod, Faora, Hael—would arrive on this planet.
At that time, there would likely be another battle.
Another planet-shaking war.
Last time, Bardi had lost to the entire ruling class of Krypton. The entire upper echelon stood against him, leaving him unable to save the civilians who had loved and supported him.
But now, Bardi hummed softly, looking forward to their arrival.
To end all entanglements with Krypton.
It is always joyful to reunite with old acquaintances. Bardi was no exception. He smiled under the sunlight, his mood at ease.
The sun burned fiercely, its heat scorching the air, causing it to ripple and distort.
The sunlight refracted off the nearby Emperor Building, breaking into a magnificent, multicolored display of rainbow hues.
However, this ordinary temperature of more than forty-five degrees Celsius would cause a normal person to break out in sweat.
Such was the case with Luthor. His brain was highly developed, but his body remained that of a regular human—at best, the peak of normal human capacity.
As a result, he still sweated profusely. Beads of sweat formed densely on his bald head, reflecting faint rainbows. His white suit clung tightly to his body, soaked and uncomfortable.
He stood behind Bardi, kneeling without permission to rise.
"Luthor, how many years have you been with me?"
Bardi clasped his hands behind his back, head tilted toward the sun. The solar energy was absorbed into his skin, causing a radiant glow that was almost blinding.
"Ten years, Your Majesty."
Sweat poured down Luthor's bald head. His suit was already soaked through.
His expression was grim and uncertain. He didn't know where he had gone wrong, but Bardi's momentum now felt overwhelming, leaving him breathless and drenched in sweat.
"Remember how cute you were when you first started following me?"
Bardi smiled faintly. He still recalled Luthor's little schemes, the petty tricks he had tried. Ultimately, they amounted to nothing.
All of it had merely fed Luthor's inner ambition. Following Bardi to Metropolis had exposed him to a greater world, deepening his desire to obtain more.
This was something Bardi had allowed intentionally, hoping Luthor would achieve something great.
But in the end, it was a disappointment.
Bardi stood above Luthor, and Luthor lost something—perhaps the will to fight for his life. Despite his intelligence, it wasn't the kind of intelligence Bardi needed.
"In front of Your Majesty, they were just cheap tricks."
Luthor's face darkened.
No one recalls the past without a reason.
Except the elderly recounting their glories.
Or the dead, whose memories are shared in mourning.
Now, clearly, Bardi was reminding him of his former foolishness.
"And now."
Bardi said indifferently.
"Luthor, you disappoint me."
Luthor's expression fell completely. His suit, drenched in sweat, clung uncomfortably. Despite the sweltering midday heat, a chill climbed his spine and seeped into his heart.
The truly intelligent understood everything Bardi was saying without the need for elaboration.
Barmulodi, understood.
"Your Majesty, this is all I can do."
Even so, Luthor struggled to the end.
He had once considered using kryptonite to ambush Bardi with Batman's help.
Even if he had kryptonite fragments now, he couldn't move. Bardi's figure, standing with his hands behind his back, loomed like a mountain, weighing down on his heart.
It radiated a mountain's pressure, like the Himalayas pressing down, leaving him so hopeless he couldn't even move.
And Luthor knew, this was just a sliver of Bardi's true deterrence.
At this moment, all intelligence was useless.
"One month."
"Luthor, one month."
Bardi's voice turned cold. His form seemed even more imposing, and the magnetic field radiating from his body weighed down like a meteorite falling from the heavens.
For an ordinary human, even minimal exposure to this magnetic field would cause dizziness, nausea, and hormonal disruption.
If not for Bardi's restraint, his body's magnetic field would distort a radius of several hundred meters, collapsing inward like a swirling vortex.
Even now, Luthor's face flushed red, his bald head glistening with sweat, his breathing labored, and his chest felt like it was being crushed. He teetered on the edge of vomiting and unconsciousness. It was as if an armored vehicle had slammed into him, disrupting every internal system at once, compressing his organs to the brink of rupture.
"I'll give you a chance. Stay in the Doomsday Cell Lab for a month."
"Go study the Doomsday cells."
"In one month, the gene serum you develop will be injected into your own body."
"Whether your life ends in a violent explosion or rises to new strength..."
"That depends on your research."
Bardi turned around. His face glowed under the sunlight.
He smiled.
"Luthor, this is your last chance to create a Doomsday powerful enough to kill me. Only then can you survive."
This was Luthor's final value.
Whether he succeeded or not, his life was already hanging by a thread.
So, he must use his last vision.
Luthor's body suddenly relaxed. His flushed face heaved a breath of relief. His bloodshot eyes widened as sweat soaked every inch of his skin. Even his eyelashes were dotted with beads of sweat.
Bardi had released his suppression.
His body regained its composure for a brief moment. But upon hearing Bardi's final words, his heart sank once again.
Doomsday cells.
It was an impossible task. Without a creature possessing infinite power that defied physical laws, it was nothing more than a luxury fantasy.
Such a creature, even more irrational than the one before him, was nearly impossible to create or study.
Only a god with dominion over creation could forge such a being.
Luthor never believed in gods. But in this moment, his heart felt heavy.
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Luthor bowed his head in silence.
A flicker of brilliance passed through his eyes.
This would be his final chance to survive.
To gamble everything on researching Doomsday.
(To be continued.)
***
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