"Bang!"
Batman's body was struck by Adrian's overwhelming strength and sent flying backward uncontrollably.
The air screamed around him as his body tore through it.
A deafening crash echoed through the Tower of Fate as Batman slammed violently into the wall. The seemingly indestructible structure caved inward from the impact, spiderweb-like cracks spreading across its surface as shattered stone exploded outward.
"Ugh!"
Batman groaned in pain, clutching his chest.
The area Adrian had struck felt as though every bone had shattered. The force had traveled straight through his body, sending agony surging along his spine and into his brain like the impact of a speeding truck.
"Thud!"
Batman dropped to one knee.
One hand braced against the ground while the other gripped his chest tightly. His breathing had become ragged.
His supporting hand trembled faintly.
A single punch, not even delivered with Adrian's full strength, had nearly rendered him incapable of standing.
"Cough, cough!"
Batman coughed heavily before withdrawing his shaking hand and replacing it with a clenched fist.
"How is it, Bruce?" Adrian asked coldly. "Can you still stand? That was nothing more than a casual punch. If you can't even rise after that, I have to admit, I'll be disappointed."
"I didn't come here simply to hit you once."
Stepping across the shattered debris, Adrian stopped in front of Batman and looked down at him.
Batman slowly rose to his feet.
"If this is how you want to settle things, Adrian..."
A strange smile appeared beneath the cowl.
"...then it's time for my teammates to act."
Before Adrian could react, Batman pulled a small vial filled with green liquid from his utility belt.
"The time has come."
After uttering the code phrase, he swallowed the potion in one motion.
Adrian watched without moving to stop him.
"Hm? Super Serum?"
A faint sneer crossed his face.
"A wise decision, Bruce. If your chances of victory were previously zero point one percent, now they've increased to zero point two percent."
He shook his head.
"How ironic. You're using a serum I created in order to fight me."
"You're still as arrogant as ever," Batman replied, exhaling slowly while enduring the pain in his chest. "Whether it's zero point one percent or zero point two percent doesn't matter. All I know is that your arrogance ends today."
As he spoke, Constantine, Klarion the Witch Boy, and Doctor Fate moved to stand beside him.
Constantine glanced toward Adrian before turning to Doctor Fate.
"Doctor, where's Rose?"
Danger was already closing in. If he died here, his daughter would remain his greatest concern.
"Zatanna has taken her away," Doctor Fate replied. "She is safe."
Batman stared at the three men discussing family matters in the middle of a battle and felt an unusual sense of helplessness.
"Enough talking," Batman said. "Take the serum."
"Not my style, mate," Constantine replied immediately. "I've got no intention of swallowing that stuff."
"Nor do I," Doctor Fate said. "However, if battle is unavoidable..."
He slowly raised his hand.
The entire room instantly began to change.
Walls shifted.
Floors twisted.
The entire structure of the Tower of Fate came alive.
Hallways rotated. Gravity distorted. Ceilings became floors, while walls transformed into pathways.
Like an enchanted castle reshaping itself, the Tower of Fate underwent a complete spatial reconstruction.
Within seconds, everyone had been separated.
An enormous three-dimensional maze had formed.
Unlike an ordinary maze, this one extended in every direction. Up, down, left, and right no longer possessed any meaning. Gravity itself had become unstable, allowing anyone within the maze to walk along walls or upside down as though they possessed Spider-Man's abilities.
Standing amidst the ever-shifting labyrinth, Doctor Fate looked toward Adrian.
"If battle cannot be avoided, then this shall be the battlefield."
Adrian frowned.
"A maze?"
Activating his Super Vision, his gaze pierced through countless layers of stone.
He quickly located Batman and the others.
"Interesting."
A faint smile touched his lips.
"Let's see how long you can continue playing hide-and-seek."
The next instant, Adrian vanished.
Using Super Speed, he appeared near Batman almost instantly.
Elsewhere within the maze, Shazam stared at the seemingly bottomless abyss beneath his feet before looking upward at the endless stairways stretching into the distance.
"So this is what home field advantage looks like?" he muttered.
Wonder Woman stood beside him, her expression grave.
"Whatever it is, it won't be enough to stop us."
Scanning their surroundings, she continued, "We came here not only to rescue Rachel, but also to eliminate these cowards once and for all."
"Bang!"
Batman had barely landed in an open section of the maze when a violent gust of wind exploded toward him.
Adrian appeared in front of him as though teleporting.
His fist shot forward.
Reacting instinctively, Batman crossed his arms in front of his chest.
Boom!
The impact sent him sliding backward across the ground.
His arms immediately went numb.
Pain surged through his hands.
Even after taking the Super Serum, he had barely managed to block the attack. Without it, his arm would have shattered instantly.
"You think the Super Serum can reverse the situation?" Adrian asked as he flexed his wrist.
Another punch followed immediately.
Batman reacted with speed far beyond human limitations.
He narrowly evaded the attack.
While dodging, he launched a counterattack, driving a punch toward Adrian's exposed side.
The air exploded.
Adrian casually caught Batman's fist with one hand.
Without hesitation, Batman twisted his body and drove his elbow toward Adrian's chest.
The two exchanged blows at incredible speed.
Within seconds, several rounds had already passed.
Ultimately, Batman retreated after barely escaping Adrian's final strike.
"For someone who relies on skill rather than brute force, those last attacks were disappointing," Batman said while stepping backward.
"Is that so?"
Adrian remained completely unconcerned.
"The serum has enhanced you beyond my expectations, but this is your limit."
He stared at Batman coldly.
"Consider everything up until now a gesture of respect for your temporary strength."
The next second, darkness erupted around Adrian.
Black energy, like living lightning, enveloped his body.
The surrounding walls trembled under the pressure.
Boom!
Adrian shot forward like a black meteor.
His speed surpassed perception itself.
The maze floor exploded beneath him as marble slabs were blasted skyward and reduced to dust by the shockwave.
Batman's pupils contracted.
The black flash had already reached him.
The pressure alone shattered nearby debris into countless fragments.
Yet Batman did not blink.
He had seen Adrian.
Boom!
The wall behind Batman exploded.
He narrowly avoided the attack, slipping past Adrian by inches.
Moments later, Batman landed atop a protruding wall high above the battlefield.
His breathing was heavy.
His right arm hung limply at his side.
Blood dripped steadily from his fingertips.
Although he had escaped the fatal blow, his arm had been severely damaged.
Even moving it caused intense pain.
Thump! Thump!
His heart pounded violently.
The Super Serum was placing enormous strain on his body.
While it granted him the power to challenge Adrian temporarily, he could not maintain it for long.
He needed to end the battle quickly.
But how could he defeat an opponent with godlike abilities?
His arm was nearly useless.
How could he continue fighting?
Batman clenched his remaining fist and tracked Adrian's movements carefully.
Across the battlefield, Adrian stood amidst the ruins.
Black Death Rays began gathering within his eyes.
Using his Super Dynamic Vision, capable of perceiving even a thousandth of a second, he instantly locked onto Batman.
At the same time, Batman moved.
If his fists could no longer fight, then he would use his legs.
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
To conserve energy and avoid becoming an easy target for Heat Vision, Batman stayed close to the ground.
Each step shattered stone beneath his feet.
Leaning forward, he dashed across the battlefield with terrifying speed.
The surrounding air transformed into a violent gale.
Boom!
Adrian's Heat Vision erupted.
Batman moved like a streak of light.
Because Heat Vision required a moment of activation, the attack missed.
Whoosh!
The air split apart.
Batman appeared directly in front of Adrian.
"That speed..."
Adrian's eyes narrowed.
He raised both arms.
Boom!
The collision generated a thunderous explosion.
Batman launched himself forward like a spear.
His legs became deadly weapons as he poured every ounce of strength into a single strike.
This attack came at the cost of his own life.
Green light flickered across Batman's body.
His body had already exceeded its limits.
An ordinary human would have exploded after unleashing such power through the Super Serum.
Yet Batman endured.
Crack! Crack!
His leg armor began to split apart under the overwhelming force.
Fragments broke away continuously.
Boom!
The collision resembled two bombs detonating simultaneously.
A deafening roar echoed throughout the maze.
Shockwaves rippled outward, shattering the air itself.
Batman was thrown away instantly.
Dust and smoke filled the battlefield.
Entire sections of the maze had already been reduced to ruins.
Adrian lowered his arms and looked toward the smoke.
At that level of impact, Batman's legs should have been destroyed.
Yet Batman slowly rose.
Adrian's expression darkened.
He can still fight?
Even as an enemy, Batman's determination was something Adrian recognized and respected.
He shook his head.
But this battle ends here.
Batman had already pushed the Super Serum to its absolute limit.
His speed had reached its peak.
His leg armor had shattered completely.
"Behind you."
Adrian detected Batman's next attack instantly.
Like a thunderbolt, Adrian intercepted him.
His fist tore through the air.
Bang!
Batman was sent flying.
A sonic boom erupted.
The world itself seemed to invert as debris rose into the air.
Boom!
Batman's body shot upward in a straight line.
He smashed through multiple levels of the maze, hurtling toward its highest reaches.
Adrian pursued immediately.
The two rocketed upward through the labyrinth, exchanging blows as shattered stone rained down around them.
Massive boulders collapsed from above, only to be pulverized by the shockwaves generated by their clash.
Boom!
Batman hurled an explosive Batarang downward.
Using the resulting explosion, he kicked off a nearby wall and sprinted across it.
Within Doctor Fate's maze, he moved like Spider-Man himself.
Adrian was faster.
He instantly appeared ahead of Batman.
In both strength and speed, Adrian completely overwhelmed him.
One punch shattered the upper half of the maze.
At the same time, Heat Vision erupted.
Rumble!
The towering labyrinth was sliced cleanly in half.
The upper section collapsed.
Countless tons of debris crashed downward.
The entire space shook violently.
It resembled a natural disaster.
Batman found himself directly beneath the collapsing structure.
He desperately avoided the falling rubble.
But Adrian appeared before him.
With a single punch, Adrian drove Batman downward.
Crash!
Batman and half of the collapsing maze slammed into the ground together, producing an earth-shattering impact.
===
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