The expressions on everyone's faces in the hall turned grim upon hearing the Despair Demon claim he would destroy the Justice League.
But the monster before them, with its towering, mountain-like musculature and ferocious aura that made it hard to breathe, was accompanied by a cold, elite guard armed with glowing energy weapons. It appeared to be a formidable foe.
"How did you find this place?"
Batman, facing a grave threat, subtly reached for a Batarang on his back.
The Justice League had dealt with their fair share of villains. Excluding the threats David had helped the League eliminate, none of the villains they'd encountered, big or small, had ever managed to locate the League's headquarters.
Even the newer members had only been informed of the headquarters' location that very morning.
Had Cyborg leaked the location when sending messages?
It seemed this group possessed a considerable level of technology.
"It wasn't me." "It wasn't me either."
Firestorm and Element Girl quickly waved their hands in explanation as Batman's gaze flickered with suspicion.
Hawkgirl frowned, gripping her mace tightly, a flicker of unease hidden in her eyes.
On her very first day joining the Justice League, such an incident had occurred, leaving her feeling exposed.
"Your weak minds are like open books, with no protection. I can read your thoughts at will. Before me, you have no secrets."
David frowned in surprise as the Despair Demon's gaze swept over Clark, and then it smiled again, pointing a finger at Batman.
"Take your identity, for example, the Earthling named Bruce Wayne, which you try so hard to hide."
Beneath Batman's mask, his expression changed drastically, his eyes flashing with dangerous coldness.
"Bruce Wayne? Gotham's playboy billionaire?"
Aside from David and Clark, the others exclaimed in shock, their eyes turning towards the man who seemed enveloped in darkness.
Was it true? Could the brooding, silent Batman, who seemed incapable of smiling, really be that frivolous, prodigal playboy?
"That makes sense. Possessing the Batmobile, Batwing, and Bat-Mech, who else in Gotham could afford such expensive toys besides Bruce Wayne?"
Hal Jordan's eyelids twitched, and he quickly activated his mental defenses.
"I can't believe I never thought of such a logical answer before."
"Transcendent, Superman, why aren't you surprised at all?"
As the two sides confronted each other, the atmosphere grew tense. Cyborg, intently watching the opponent's every move, couldn't suppress his curiosity and asked.
"Did you already know?"
"Damn it, I knew anyone with X-ray vision wouldn't be able to resist peeking at other people's secrets."
Hal Jordan grumbled playfully, a hint of jealousy in his tone for some reason.
"I'm sure my underwear has been seen by others countless times."
"No..."
Clark had just begun to speak when Batman, his identity exposed and his face grim, suddenly attacked, firing a sharp Batarang towards the Despair Demon's face.
The Despair Demon casually caught the Batarang and was about to mock the attack, which was slower than a turtle, when—
Hiss!
The Batarang suddenly emitted a thick, irritating smoke, obscuring its vision and making it cough twice.
"Attack!"
Batman commanded in a low voice.
He opened his wrist communicator, summoning the Fenrir Mech.
Not long before, after an engagement with Psionic Pirates, he had added a degree of remote control functionality to the mech.
"Good opportunity, taste my nuclear fire!"
Firestorm raised his hands, unleashing pillars of fire with terrifying heat from his palms. Element Girl, seizing the moment when the opponent couldn't see clearly, crouched and swept her leg, one of her legs transforming into a long vine whip that lashed out fiercely.
Hal Jordan's Lantern Ring glowed, condensing a green fist that whistled through the air. Cyborg's mechanical hand reconfigured into an ultrasonic cannon. Arthur, like a warrior hunting whales, leaped forward and hurled his trident.
Everyone launched their attacks.
The next second, the smoke was blown away by the wave of fire.
All attacks had landed, but the Despair Demon remained completely unharmed, standing in its spot.
Element Girl's vine whip struck what felt like two alloy steel pillars weighing tens of thousands of tons, not budging it in the slightest.
The fist condensed by Green Lantern power shattered into light points like glass hitting a bronze wall. Cyborg's sonic cannon and Firestorm's nuclear fire dissipated upon impact with its chest.
"Here you go!"
Arthur's trident was caught by the Despair Demon and thrown back at him with even greater speed than it had arrived.
Arthur retreated in terror, realizing he couldn't dodge in time.
Just as danger peaked, a figure suddenly appeared before him. As the tip of the halberd was about to pierce his face, he firmly grasped the trident, which moved like a swift bolt of lightning.
"Be careful."
Handing the trident to Arthur behind him, David reminded everyone.
"Too weak.
Is this the Justice League that the natives of this planet believe can save them from disaster?"
With an expression as if he had been bitten by a few mosquitoes, the Despair Demon sneered.
Everyone's hearts were filled with dread.
Clark was also shocked, wondering if he could have so casually caught the attacks if he had been standing there moments ago.
Among those present, only David's expression remained normal.
"The Despair Demon, one of the most powerful and troublesome enemies the Justice League has ever encountered."
This was because he knew the strength of the being before him and that it wouldn't be so easily defeated.
"He possesses immense strength, on par with Superman, and has defeated Superman multiple times. His mental power is no less than that of the Martian Manhunter, perhaps even stronger.
On one occasion, he forced the Martian Manhunter to use his most powerful ability, a Maya Vana that could only be used once in a lifetime, creating a perfectly realistic illusion world in the Despair Demon's mind, making him believe he had destroyed the Justice League, thus saving everyone."
"Little bug, you tricked the monarch of Kalanor just now, feeling quite pleased with yourself?"
The Despair Demon looked at Batman, who had caused him a slight bit of trouble earlier, and his third eye flashed.
It was as if a heavy hammer had shattered his skull and blasted directly into his head. Batman cried out in pain, unable to withstand the tsunami-like mental shock. Blood flowed from his nostrils as he clutched his head and fainted.
David's expression instantly turned grim.
While he could grab a physical trident, he couldn't help block mental assaults.
"Batman!"
Seeing his teammate fall to the ground, unconscious and his fate unknown, Hal Jordan angrily raised his hand to form a missile and fired it. The Despair Demon caught the tail of the smoking missile, redirected it, and fired it back into the sky. The dome of the Justice League Hall shattered.
The hall trembled, and dust filled the air.
Whoosh whoosh whoosh!
The Despair Demon raised a hand, and the guards beneath him raised their laser guns. Powerful laser beams shot out, shattering the hard marble walls at their impact points.
Hal Jordan and the others scrambled to dodge in a frenzy.
Clark flashed in front of the unconscious Batman, using his body to shield him from the laser fire.
"You want to conquer this planet?
You're not enough!"
Hovering in the air, a few dozen centimeters off the ground, David unleashed terrifying cosmic energy rays from his eyes.
The scorching heat washed over them. The Despair Demon raised his arms to block, but was pushed back by the surging, powerful force, his legs plowing two deep ruts into the ground.
"Hmm?"
The loyal guards beside him raised their guns to shoot at David, intending to rescue their emperor.
Diana swung the Lasso of Truth, knocking several of them away. They crashed heavily against the hall walls, creating several spiderweb-like cracks. However, the Kalanorians' physiques far surpassed those of Earthlings.
They got up and glared at Diana angrily.
"Attack together!"
The guards combined their mental powers and launched a mental assault at Diana. Diana staggered back as if struck by a heavy blow, her mind buzzing.
Diana's powerful mental defenses surprised the guards.
Every Kalanorian possessed psychic abilities. They had been selected from countless Kalanorians to serve as the guards for their supreme monarch, possessing extraordinary strength, yet even their combined efforts couldn't take down this woman in one go.
The Despair Demon flashed, evading David's rays. The wild energy beams violently carved deep trenches into the ground, turning the earth into lava and filling the hall with the smell of sulfur.
Despite his imposing stature, the Despair Demon's speed was almost instantaneous. He grinned, materialized in the air, and punched the air, sending a heavy blow towards David's head.
"Since awakening my abilities, there has been nothing I desired that I haven't achieved, and conquering this planet is no exception!"
David threw a punch, and the two fists, one large and one small, collided.
A blast of air erupted, exploding like a fuel-air bomb. The powerful, tangible white shockwave slammed everyone in the room against the walls.
The guards at the entrance were also blown away.
Bang!
Sliding down from the wall, Hal Jordan groaned in pain, feeling as if all his bones were about to shatter.
The two figures at the center of the hall were sent flying backward.
Whoosh!
Leaning back and flying backward for over ten meters in the air, David stabilized himself. However, the Despair Demon was different. His massive body smashed through the main doors of the Justice League Hall. Amidst the shattered wooden fragments, he continued his momentum, almost flying hundreds of meters before nearly crashing off a sea cliff.
Having flown off the cliff, with the sea below, the Despair Demon's expression turned ugly as he stabilized himself. He looked back into the hall and touched his slightly aching fist.
He could also fly.
The group quickly exited the hall, which was unsuitable for using their abilities and engaging in prolonged battles with powerful enemies, and emerged outside.
"You're stronger than I thought, Transcendent!"
Despair Demon's expression was sinister.
"It seems that guy called Flash wanting you to have the ability to fight me wasn't just a pipe dream."
"Flash? What did you do to him!"
Hal Jordan, clutching his chest, his pupils contracted, angrily questioned. He thought Flash had fallen into this monster's hands and that he might have tortured Barry after finding the League's headquarters.
"Calm down."
Clark stepped in front of him, gazing at Despair Demon with a solemn expression.
"This guy was able to shake David in a head-on struggle, making him retreat. We need to be careful when facing him."
He suspected that he himself would be in danger facing him, let alone Hal Jordan.
"A bunch of trash."
However, Despair Demon acted as if he only heard the buzzing of mosquitos. He looked at his subordinates and snorted coldly.
"Emperor!"
The dozen or so guards, who had just scrambled to their feet in a sorry state, were in excruciating pain. The rampant mental power had turned their brains into a mush, and they all collapsed.
This brutal and savage scene caused everyone's expressions to change drastically.
"They're your subordinates, you lunatic."
Clark's eyes widened. He never expected this monster to be so cruel.
"I don't need trash under my command."
Despair Demon's eyes didn't even flicker.
"It's because they saw you in a sorry state!"
David chuckled mockingly. He raised his hand to manipulate gravity, and a towering surge of seawater behind Despair Demon shot straight up, like a deep blue curtain connecting heaven and earth. The shadow of the great tide enveloped Despair Demon, making him turn his head. His eyes widened.
Boom!
Ten million tons of immense seawater slammed down heavily, shattering the sea cliff that had endured tens of thousands of years of wind and rain.
Despair Demon let out a low growl, punched through the tsunami, and appeared in the sky. He looked down and said to David, "The power of your body exceeds my expectations, and you have other not-weak abilities. I admit I underestimated you a little."
A hint of annoyance appeared on Diana's brow. Ever since Despair Demon appeared, he had only looked directly at David and spoke to him as if others didn't exist, which was extremely irritating.
"Hasn't he heard of the Green Lantern Corps' might!"
Hal Jordan gritted his teeth in hatred. From Despair Demon's initial declaration of conquering Earth and then referring to Earthlings as "Earthlings" repeatedly, it wasn't hard to guess that this guy was an alien invader from outer space.
"But..."
"You talk too much!"
The two locked eyes across the distance, sparks flying. As Despair Demon was about to say more, Hawkgirl flapped her formidable wings and surged forward first, like a valiant female warrior. She soared into the sky and swung her mace towards his head.
His arrogant attitude also ignited the anger of the others. Diana and the others also took action. She leaped high, swinging the Sword of Vulcan at Despair Demon.
Boom!
A circular shockwave exploded in his palm. Despair Demon accurately caught the handle of the descending mace with one hand.
Flapping his strong, powerful wings, Hawkgirl exerted all her strength to press down, but she couldn't advance even a centimeter further. Despair Demon's body was like a ten-thousand-meter-high mountain pinned in mid-air, unmovable.
Only then did Hawkgirl, who had only seen David in the news, gain a deeper understanding of his strength. The guy who was sent flying hundreds of meters by David's punch was now facing her full-power attack so casually!
"Let go."
With a flick of his single arm, Despair Demon, like an adult bullying a child, flung her away. He easily snatched her Nth metal warhammer from Hawkgirl and then tossed it aside casually.
The mace whistled, breaking the sound barrier, and hurtled towards Diana, who had leaped up to attack. The air waves rippled layer upon layer. The mace whistled as if it were shattering space.
Her hair stood on end, Diana's pupils contracted. She hurriedly raised her sword to block. With a resounding clang of metal against metal, the mace struck her and sent her flying.
"I need the highest intensity element you can think of, Professor. This is my first day joining the League."
Firestorm flew into the sky. With the help of Professor Martin Stein in his mind, he gritted his teeth and quickly transformed the thin surrounding air into a high-density alloy shackle with his hands, encasing Despair Demon's imposing and powerful body.
With surging earth waves under her feet, Element Girl transformed her legs into an earth wave to support her flight into the sky. She then activated her density control ability, transforming her body into the highest density rock. Her fist, capable of sinking warships, smashed towards Despair Demon like a meteorite piercing through the air.
"Too weak."
The Despair Demon casually spread his arms, and the sound of grating metal deformation echoed. A simple movement tore apart the alloy cage he was in. He then punched the Element Girl's incoming fist, shattering her arm with overwhelming force. Debris flew outward.
The Element Girl cried out, clutching her broken arm as she was sent flying backward, crashing into Diana on the ground. Diana quickly threw out the Lasso of Truth, catching her, and shot an angry glare at the Despair Demon. The others' faces also changed drastically.
Was this newcomer, who had only joined the League today, about to lose an arm?
"I'm fine, I can absorb elements to restore my body." The Element Girl was helped to her feet, her face pale. She quickly told everyone not to worry.
"You have two souls in your body?
Interesting. Your mental connection can shake atoms. Let me help you."
The Despair Demon looked at Firestorm, who was attacking from the other side with nuclear flames. He raised a hand, and a psychic shockwave struck them both.
Amidst screams, as if their minds were being ripped in half, a fierce burst of flame erupted. Firestorm transformed into two people: a young man and a middle-aged university professor. They fell unconscious.
"Monster! Having such a brutal ruler is a disaster for any race!
Since you've come to Earth, don't even think about leaving."
Clark quickly caught the two and, filled with indignation, unleashed his heat vision at the Despair Demon.
"Boring. You're all too weak."
Dodging the attack with a sidestep, the Despair Demon seemed to have lost interest in playing. His third eye flared brightly, and a mental shockwave of invisible matter shot out, instantly hitting Clark. Clark's eyes rolled back, and he fell unconscious from the sky.
"Superman!"
Green Lantern exclaimed in disbelief, quickly conjuring a giant baseball glove to catch them.
"I truly admire you. How are you able to tolerate such a group of weak teammates?"
Everyone's hearts pounded with fear. They couldn't believe that the second strongest member of the League, Superman, had been defeated in a single blow. The terrifying power displayed by the Despair Demon stunned everyone present.
He looked at David on the ground, his face cold, and mockingly clapped his hands.
-----------
Machine Translation by: https:// randomtranslator.com/
Read 777+ original & fanfic translations in English, Español, Português, Deutsch, Français, or Русский at: https:// randomtranslator.com/
Join our Discord: https:// discord.gg/NSWvfN7vua
-----------