Chapter 192 Do You Also Enjoy a Battle Between Man and God?
Different multiverses have different rules.
Take the DC Multiverse, for instance. Like Marvel, it is immensely vast, home to numerous multiversal-level deities, and its sheer scale is astonishing.
But it also has many differences from the Marvel Multiverse. The most fundamental one is that in the DC World, the practice of universe designation isn't prevalent.
Back in the Marvel Multiverse, Du Wa had gone to great lengths just to get a universe designation for his own universe. His only goal was to join the sequence of the orthodox Marvel universes, to break free from the trajectory of an "unorthodox path" or a mere "backdrop," so as to lay a solid foundation for his future schemes.
Things were different in the DC World. In the normal multiverse, the public universe designations only went up to number 52.
However, the number of universes in the normal multiverse far exceeded 52, meaning many universes had no designation at all.
For example, the Animated Universe, the Dark Knight Trilogy universe, and others all truly existed but lacked their own designations and were not recognized as part of the 52 universes.
The universe Du Wa had now arrived in was precisely one of these worlds without a designation.
He didn't mind that this universe had no designation. In fact, it was better this way, meaning he could be more low-key and quickly establish a foothold here.
This way, he wouldn't be targeted the moment he appeared by some bored individuals who wanted to investigate just what this newly emerged Concept was.
Du Wa feared no challenge beneath the multiversal level, but having just crossed over from another multiverse, he couldn't instantly expand his conceptual mass back to its previous peak. If he were to face an opponent at the Single Entity Omnipotent Tier, his situation would be quite troublesome.
But it would only be trouble.
He might suffer a small loss, but no one could kill him. To put it bluntly, not even a multiversal-level deity descending personally to kill Du Wa could succeed.
Unless that being was ferocious enough to chase Du Wa all the way to the Marvel Multiverse and erase every single Xenomorph in every universe, only then could they truly kill Du Wa.
But if things really escalated to that point, a major collision between the main worlds of two multiverses would likely trigger a great war between the two multiverses. An event on the scale of the Justice League vs. The Avengers would seem trivial in comparison. After all, no pantheon of gods native to a massive world would sit back and watch a multiversal god from an otherworld do as they pleased.
"So this is the parallel world you were so fixated on? It doesn't seem any different from our world. Even many of the cosmic rules are remarkably similar."
Thanoseid followed closely behind Du Wa, arriving here. As his body landed, it triggered an earthquake, and with a rumble, the ground caved in beneath him.
This was only because Du Wa had forced him to deliberately suppress his own strength. Otherwise, he would have long since blasted the planet under his feet with a beam of energy.
Thanoseid was, after all, a top-tier deity from Universe 9602. Even after being forcibly dragged to the DC World by Du Wa, he still possessed his most basic divine power and retained his ability to rapidly interpret cosmic information.
The Super-Soldier was far behind. He still needed to use super vision and super hearing to understand this world.
"It's practically identical. There's no difference at all. The same 21st century, but the technology level here seems a bit more primitive."
The Super-Soldier retracted his gaze and looked at Du Wa with hatred. "I don't even see enough superheroes on this planet. This universe is far inferior to ours. You clearly have the power to conquer our universe, so why go through all this trouble to come to a place like this? What is your conspiracy?"
"Because this place is the future. This universe hasn't reached its golden age yet, and even if it did, it probably wouldn't be that strong. Your Universe 9602, the hybrid universe, is the special one. It was the first time the two multiverses merged," Du Wa said.
Thanoseid grinned menacingly. "According to you, half of myself has a variant in this universe, right? I can't wait to find that guy and crush his head."
"Oh? How spirited. It seems you've completely adapted to your current identity and plan to perform meritorious service for Du Wa," the Super-Soldier sneered, staring coldly at Thanoseid.
In his eyes, neither Du Wa nor Thanoseid was any good.
Thanoseid scoffed, "Aren't you the same? Powerless to resist, only able to act as a cold thinking machine, following his orders? Besides, do you really need me to spell it out for you? If I kill that Darkseid fellow, I'll have the opportunity to seize his divine power and enhance my own strength. One day, I will be free of Du Wa. And you? What do you have? Are you going to kill your parallel universe self? You useless piece of trash, get lost!"
Thanoseid swung his hand, and the Super-Soldier was sent flying like a cannonball, piercing through a mountain with a loud boom.
"It's good that you two can be so passionate with each other. I hope you'll be just as passionate when you fight the natives here."
Du Wa glanced into the distance. Some passing vehicles had heard the commotion and were heading in this direction. He immediately lifted his foot and vanished from the spot in an instant.
By the time a group of curious citizens drove over, they were astonished to see the cave that had appeared in the mountainside and began pulling out their recording devices.
This news briefly made the papers in many cities, but it ultimately didn't cause much of a stir.
Only a very small number of people took notice.
"A strange loud noise in Montana, and a bizarre tunnel that pierced through a mountain?"
A certain billionaire was reading the day's newspaper. Normally, he would choose a more efficient way to obtain information—through a supercomputer and his butler—but using a newspaper to maintain his public persona was also a rare means of relaxation.
"Why are you so focused on these things? Speaking of which, you've been recording supernatural events around the world recently. Perhaps you should share what's on your mind. I may be old, but at least I'm not like Scarecrow or Two-Face, who only cause you trouble."
The faithful old butler, Alfred, placed a freshly brewed cup of coffee in front of Bruce. "This is the finest coffee. The temperature is just right. It would be a shame not to drink it while it's hot."
As he casually moved the coffee, the fabric of his clothes tightened, making the muscles on his arm even more defined.
Alfred was also an army veteran and was quite a capable fighter.
Even Bruce Wayne didn't know just how capable he was. In fact, he hoped Alfred would never have the opportunity to fight personally, as that would mean Alfred was always in a safe environment, which was a good thing.
"Superhumans have always existed throughout human history. The law that applies to most people is difficult to enforce on these individuals." Bruce picked up his coffee, savoring the rare moment of quiet contemplation.
Alfred smiled faintly. "Isn't that normal? When ordinary people get arrested for fighting, it's not even a warm-up for superhumans. They don't think they should have to pay a price for hitting their opponents with a force that could kill an ordinary person, especially when it causes no damage to their opponent."
One of the great benefits of a modern technological society was that people could now make more frequent and scientific observations of various rare but real phenomena from history.
This gave the impression that the total number of superhumans was constantly increasing.
This rule clearly didn't apply in the Marvel Multiverse, because they had mutants. No one knew which teenager might awaken their X-Gene overnight and become a superhuman.
"So, sir, are you planning to send someone to inspect the strange cave in Montana? Or will you go yourself?"
"I'll go personally if I have the time. Look here. Near the mountain, there are two deep pits, as if made by something with an astonishing mass, but there are no other tracks around."
Bruce pointed to a picture in the newspaper and simultaneously opened the computer in front of him, using a Wayne Enterprises satellite to take a precise image.
"Do you know what this means, Alfred?"
"It means a big fellow appeared here but then vanished into thin air. Perhaps spatial movement or the ability of flight. But I assume our satellite didn't manage to capture the footage from that moment," Alfred said.
Clearly, Bruce strongly agreed with his old butler's viewpoint.
He folded the newspaper. If one looked closely, they would be astonished to see that each of his folds was perfectly aligned, as if measured with a ruler.
This revealed Bruce's terrifyingly precise muscle control ability.
Alfred smiled and put the newspaper away, ensuring no one else would get a chance to see it and discover any clues.
This was the job of a loyal old butler—to take care of such things effortlessly and mitigate all kinds of risk as much as possible.
"For now, file this event. Search for any suspicious individuals, but that's not my main objective. Superman is!"
Bruce headed straight for the Batcave. He was about to begin a new round of training.
To defeat Superman, to prove that humanity is stronger, that humanity has the ability to handle Earth's affairs and should not let an extraterrestrial decide.
To quell a disaster by causing even greater destruction, to save a portion of the population at the cost of more civilian deaths—it was simply too cruel.
"Defeating Superman will be difficult, even if you have that strange stone." Alfred had been trying to dissuade Batman from this risky venture. "LexCorp gave you that stone. There must be a conspiracy."
"I know they have their own agenda. They just want to provoke a war between man and god. But on one point, Lex Luthor and I see eye to eye: human affairs should be resolved by humans, and Earth's fate should not be decided by an extraterrestrial. The battle between Superman and Zod was just..."
Bruce said no more. He took off his shirt, revealing muscles as if carved by a knife. Countless scars covered his body, their shapes shifting slightly with each exercise, like ghoulish faces in the darkness.
Batman was once again challenging the limits of his body.
He was, after all, a mortal. Though he had the ability to develop various drugs, serums, and other technological enhancements, he had never done so, insisting on fighting as a pure human.
An ordinary person could not withstand such a training regimen; it was tantamount to walking on the edge of a complete physical and mental collapse. But for Bruce, it was an excellent method of improvement.
Everything was geared toward the primary objective of defeating Superman.
Bruce Wayne could hardly wait to personally tear away the facade of invincibility surrounding Superman, to smash him to the ground. Perhaps then, he would ask, "Do you bleed?"
...
"It's confirmed. This is the DCEU, the DC Extended Universe. In other words, the film world."
Du Wa had completely confirmed his location and also understood why it had no designation.
Batman had already started building files on all the world's superhumans and was preparing for a battle with Superman.
To be honest, the level of dominance displayed by DCEU Batman wasn't particularly strong.
But that didn't matter. Du Wa just wanted to develop in peace, earnestly bringing more people under his control.
"If Carl Burbank were here, he'd probably have rushed out at the first opportunity to spread the word of the Alien Cult everywhere..."
The thought suddenly popped into Du Wa's head, and he let out a soft chuckle.
Gradually, as the world's elite circles focused all their attention on Superman and Batman, they all successively learned of Batman's intention to challenge Superman—it wasn't exactly a secret.
Furthermore, Lex Luthor, that big-mouthed instigator who feared no chaos, was fanning the flames everywhere, making it seem like Doomsday was upon them. This was despite the fact that many knew Lex Luthor's real goal was to gain access to General Zod's starship and the opportunity to study General Zod's corpse.
These were all things happening out in the open. Anyone with any talent was just as interested in the Kryptonian's corpse as they were in Superman.
Everyone was also filled with curiosity about whether Batman, this "strongest pure human," could defeat Superman.
Under these circumstances, the scale of the Xenomorphs began to expand rapidly. The first to suffer were some animals, which disappeared without a sound.
Next were the dregs of society, those living without hope, trapped in struggle and despair—especially those who lacked strong willpower and couldn't overcome their endless pursuit of low-level dopamine.
"It's like a new cycle. I did the same thing in Earth-1543681, and I quickly swept across the entire world. No human or divine being could stop my advance."
Du Wa stood before a drafty window, looking out at the empty street below.
Even though he was now a deity, he was an incredibly young one, not yet weathered by billions or tens of billions of years of experience. He still retained some of the quirks from his time as an ordinary person.
For example, drinking boiled water.
The boiling water, the rising steam, all brought Du Wa a sense of pleasure.
And when he was pleased, and didn't deliberately restrain himself, many Xenomorphs passively shared in Du Wa's pleasant mood.
"What marvelous creatures. I've only been observing them for a few hours, and I'm already captivated by them."
A figure walked in. "What surprises me more is that the master of these beings shares my quirk, also waiting for a great battle between man and God."
(end of chapter)