A bicycle courier named Michael Allen vanished, replaced by a Parasite Demon born from the fusion of two life forms. Its purplish-red skin was reminiscent of a flayed human, its emaciated body like a fiend, and its mouth sported terrifying, bone-white fangs.
It lunged at the terrified crowd scattering around them, snatching people like chicks. In an instant, it drained their life energy.
Bang!
Two desiccated corpses, their faces twisted in terror and appearing thousands of years old, were tossed to the ground.
The Parasite Demon leaped greedily towards others, rampaging through the streets like a fierce tiger into a flock of sheep, or a long-starved gourmand feasting without restraint. Everyone here was a walking meatball in its eyes.
One by one, lives were extinguished. The streets filled with terrified screams, everyone wishing their parents had given them two more legs.
"Run!"
"Help, someone save us!"
"Too slow, I need more energy!"
Its withered body swelled slightly. After draining dozens of people, the endless hunger still tormented the Parasite Demon. It punched downwards, shattering the hard asphalt and yanking out a thick power cable from beneath the street.
Screech!
A cable as thick as a grown man's thigh was torn apart by sheer, terrifying force.
The Parasite Demon grabbed a section in each hand, wantonly absorbing the entire city's electricity.
Bang bang bang!
After tossing a few foolish robbers to the police station's doorstep, Clark abruptly looked towards the Ninth Avenue in Metropolis on the other side of the city. He heard the cries for help from the masses in his ears and, in the blink of an eye, crossed half the city, appearing above the street block.
Having drained half the city's electricity, the Parasite Demon's appearance changed drastically. Its body swelled as if inflated, reaching nearly three meters tall, with explosive muscles rippling. At first glance, it exuded an overwhelming aura of power. Electricity crackled all over its body, and it looked towards the sky like a predator smelling its prey.
"What are you?"
With dozens of desiccated corpses littering the street, Clark stared at this monster that seemed to have appeared from nowhere, as disgusting and ugly as a failed experiment in nuclear radiation. He threw a punch, filled with disgust and rage.
Bang!
"Superman?
I smell something delicious on you."
The Parasite Demon licked its lips with its thick tongue, cracked the ground beneath its feet, and shot out like a cannonball, trading a punch with Clark. It was blasted into a jewelry store nearby, smashing through several rows of counters. Its burly body lunged forward again as if feeling no pain, its voice low.
"So delicious, like a chocolate energy bar the size of the Eiffel Tower!
Did you come specifically to save me?"
"Save you?"
This monster actually had considerable intelligence. Hearing its inexplicable words, Clark grew even angrier. His body tore through the air, and in an instant, he was in front of the Parasite Demon, grabbing its neck to fly it out of the city.
"I've come to deal with you!"
It hadn't even bled after taking his punch. To avoid accidentally harming others in the city during a fight, Clark wanted to change the battlefield.
But the moment his palm touched the Parasite Demon's body, a terrifying suction began to absorb the energy within him. Clark's strength plummeted like water from an opened floodgate. Following that, the Parasite Demon released a fearsome high-voltage current, causing him to groan in pain.
"I'm truly touched. People say you're more helpful than the Transcendent.
You can be called for any difficulty, even if a kitten is stuck in a tree. It's true."
The Parasite Demon gripped his head with its two large hands, squeezing as if it were an apple. Its energy absorption ability was at full throttle. Its voice, like that of a non-human monster, uttered a sinister smile from the corner of its mouth.
"How did you know I was starving to death?"
With its two large hands clamped onto his head, feeling the ominous sensation in his body, Clark, who was rapidly weakening, widened his eyes. Forgetting to hold back, his fist, like a battleship's main cannon, slammed heavily into the Parasite Demon's chest and abdomen, causing its eyes to bulge and its back to arch. Its body was lifted, almost flying off the ground.
But with the next punch, the Parasite Demon merely grunted. His fist felt like it hit a high-density rubber tire, having no effect.
With yet another punch, he was already too weak to budge the Parasite Demon's monstrous body, which had expanded to four or five meters tall.
As their strengths ebbed and flowed, Clark's subsequent attacks appeared soft and powerless. After a flurry of blows, he looked at the scene before him in panic.
Where did this monster capable of absorbing his power come from?
"It's like David, able to absorb energy.
But this monster's ability is more terrifying; it can forcibly absorb unreleased energy from others!"
It had almost drained him in just a few seconds!
"This is great.
The emptiness and hunger are leaving me, and I can think rationally again."
The Parasite Demon, holding Clark in one hand, released him with the other, excitedly clenching his fist. It was no longer 'weak,' and the gnawing hunger was also receding. It enjoyed the pleasure of eating and indulgence, its human side temporarily overriding its beastly nature.
"Fate is truly wondrous. Not long ago, in 'my' memories, 'I' was a courier ordered around by everyone. Yet now, the hero who protects the entire city is in my hands, as powerless as a newborn mouse."
"Let go of me!"
Weakened, Clark glared with furious eyes, gritting his teeth and mustering the remaining strength within his body. His Heat Vision unexpectedly blasted into the Parasite Demon's face.
Blinding brilliance, a searing pain in its eyes, the Parasite Demon instinctively let go. Its massive body recoiled, staggering backward.
"I must get off the ground."
I have a feeling that once the energy inside me is drained, that monster will start draining my life, and I'll turn into a dried corpse like those poor citizens who died tragically."
A flicker of panic crossed Clark's eyes. He turned, intending to fly into the sky to deal with the monster.
From the monster's previous attacks, he could tell that this guy couldn't fly and was quite slow. He wanted to use this advantage.
The monster's abilities were truly bizarre and terrifying, forcing him to avoid close contact.
But suddenly, a tall figure flashed before him in an instant, as if teleporting through space, blocking his path upwards.
"Where do you think you're going, Superman?
I can sense that you still have at least ten percent energy left within you, as well as your life. Hand them over to me!"
The Parasite Demon's eyes lit up with a magma-like red glow.
"This... this is!"
Clark choked. What a familiar scene and ability.
Boom!
In the next second, the citizens who had fled dozens of meters away during the fight watched in horror as the blue and red figure was blasted down from the sky by two searing beams as thick as water pipes, creating a crater ten meters deep in the ground.
The monster flew to the bottom of the crater, grabbed him with a palm the size of a car door, and greedily drained Superman's energy, followed by his life.
Like the citizens who had suffered before, Superman's strong body rapidly shriveled, becoming gaunt and near death, held in the Parasite Demon's grasp.
"Your energy is actually recovering rapidly? Are you absorbing sunlight?
Superman, you've given me another surprise!"
The Parasite Demon laughed maniacally.
A rechargeable super energy source that could recover. As long as Superman was around, he would have an inexhaustible supply of energy.
Moreover, by absorbing Superman's energy, he could gain his abilities.
"I can't bear to eat you completely now!"
With his consciousness dimming and on the verge of death, Clark, before losing consciousness, used his last bit of strength to look at the ring on his hand and sent a distress signal to the League and David with his mind.
"Metropolis is in danger!"
The next second, Clark's head lolled to the side, and he lost consciousness.
"Countless feasts, I'm going to dig in!"
The Parasite Demon licked his lips as he looked at the surrounding crowd. Through his super vision, he could clearly see millions of walking energy meatballs in this city, as well as Gotham, Coast City, and cities and countries thousands of miles away.
With super speed, his movements were no longer so sluggish. In one second, he could easily drain the life energy of tens of thousands of people.
Before him lay a super self-service restaurant called Earth, where he didn't have to pay, helping him fight the constant weakness he felt.
"Monster, let go of Superman!"
Just as the Parasite Demon was about to act, a figure appeared on the street with yellow lightning, kicking up smoke from the friction between his feet and the road. He stopped abruptly, facing him with a ready stance.
Then, several figures quickly flew in from the sky.
Batman, Cyborg, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, and Arthur, brought by Cyborg.
As the intelligent brain of the Justice League, Cyborg was constantly monitoring disasters happening around the world online.
Metropolis, near the Justice League, was a particularly important focus.
When the network detected Superman falling into a disadvantage, he urgently notified the League members at the base, and they quickly mobilized to provide support, but they still arrived a step too late.
"Let him go!"
Anger flashed in Cyborg's eyes. He raised his arm, and his mechanical arm transformed into an ultrasonic energy cannon, blasting into the Parasite Demon's chest. However, the monster didn't even flinch, absorbing the energy, which shocked Cyborg.
"The Justice League?
Superheroes I usually only see in the news.
Today, they're appearing before me one after another."
Completely unconcerned by Cyborg's attack, the Parasite Demon's gaze swept over everyone, a flicker of desire in his eyes.
Each of these superheroes contained unique life energy within them, and he could 'smell' their deliciousness.
"Lobster meat, jelly, mint, truffle..."
He scanned Aquaman, Green Lantern, Flash, Wonder Woman, and Cyborg one by one. Only when he saw Batman, who controlled the Fenrir Mech powered by electricity, did he show a hint of disdain, like a gourmet seeing a stall selling inferior snacks.
"Prioritize rescuing Superman, and do not make physical contact with him!"
Batman reminded him in a deep voice.
"Even Superman couldn't resist his absorption for more than a few seconds.
If he touches us, our lives might be in danger!"
As he spoke, he controlled the mech and swooped down, throwing a punch.
"Understood!"
The others nodded solemnly and attacked the Parasite Demon with their respective abilities.
Flash picked up a street sign and swung it, Green Lantern used his ring's power to form a giant fist and smashed it towards Parasite Demon, Arthur leaped high with his trident, thrusting it forward, Diana swung the Lasso of Truth like a cowgirl trying to lasso a horse, aiming it at Parasite Demon.
A fierce battle was about to erupt!
...
"Jonathan, come take a look.
Is it the circuit breaker? Why did the power suddenly go out at home."
Smallville, on the farm.
David sipped his black tea, sitting on a lounge chair, gazing at the few cows leisurely grazing on the green grass in the distance. His mother Martha's voice calling for Jonathan came from inside the house, but he paid it no mind.
[Template Fusion at 98%]
"Graviton's template is almost fully fused."
After resolving 'Redemption,' thwarting the Redemption Church's conspiracy, and once again saving the world to make headlines, his template fusion rate had surged in just two days, and the surge wasn't over yet.
"Maybe I won't have to wait until tomorrow; I might get a new template today?"
A new template meant greater strength, and David was in a very good mood.
Even with several templates stacked on his divine powers, he could now easily defeat Clark. There was practically no one on Earth who could surpass him.
But he hadn't forgotten about Darkseid. Who knew when that Dark Lord from Apokolips would arrive on Earth in his spaceship, crossing the galaxy.
"And Brainiac, he wields the universe's most advanced technological weapons; he can't be underestimated either."
Moreover, sometimes the DC universe wasn't just Earth in danger. It was possible that the entire universe or even multiverse could suddenly face destruction. Even Darkseid couldn't stay out of it; this had happened more than once or twice in the comics.
Thinking of those terrifying crises that often involved the survival of the universe, his gaze sharpened.
"It's still not enough.
Perhaps when I can transcend time, transcend the birth and death of the universe, and protect my family, that will be when I can truly relax."
As he was thinking, the Green Lantern ring on his hand suddenly lit up, sending a distress signal from Clark.
"Hm? Metropolis is in danger?"
David sat up abruptly.
Immediately, the ring began to quickly play a combat video, which was footage of Clark fighting Parasite Demon.
The purplish-red skin, the massive size gained from absorbing energy, and the ability to gain the opponent's powers by absorbing their energy instantly made him think of a classic supervillain of the Kryptonian son.
"—It's Parasite Demon?"
Swish!
"Shazam!"
A bolt of lightning struck, and the figure on the lounge chair vanished. David rapidly rushed towards Metropolis.
Parasite Demon was originally a delivery man who became a monster infected by an alien parasite, constantly absorbing others' life and power to alleviate his own endless hunger. He could temporarily gain the abilities, experience, and even memories of others by absorbing their energy.
"Among the many villains Clark should have faced, he is one of the few who has repeatedly defeated Superman head-on, and even has a record of killing Superman."
Parasite Demon's power didn't make David fearful, but the possibility of him killing Superman made him a little anxious.
In the blink of an eye, with a gust of wind, David, with a cold expression, arrived above the street where the battle had occurred in Metropolis.
Not only Clark was here, but Batman and several others were also present. The Justice League was almost complete, but they had already been defeated.
"Help!"
Several blocks were in chaos, citizens fleeing in terror. The streets looked as if they had been bombarded by missiles. Several buildings and rows of shops nearby had suffered damage. Fire hydrants had been blown up, their leaking water spraying towards the sky. Cars were crushed into metal pancakes, and some places were still burning.
"Clark!"
David flew to Clark's side. Clark's appearance had drastically changed, his cheeks sunken, his face pale and weak. A hint of killing intent welled up in David's eyes.
Clark had been thrown aside by Parasite Demon, who had been about to fight Batman and the others. He was too weak to move.
"Be careful, he..."
Clark gritted out the warning.
"I understand."
David raised his hand, stood up, and looked at Parasite Demon, who was rampaging and smashing things, and the others.
Batman's Fenrir Armor had been drained of energy, reduced to a pile of scrap metal. It had been thrown into the twenty-third floor of a nearby building. He laboriously manually opened the cockpit, slid down with the Bat-grapple, and warned David with a grim expression.
"Don't let him touch you."
Diana and Green Lantern had both been drained of their energy and were discarded on the side of the road in a state resembling dried husks.
Parasite Demon craved their special life energy and wanted to taste them again, so he hadn't killed them. Now, only Flash, who was running around him and attacking him non-stop, hadn't had his energy drained.
Bang!
After failing to catch him several times, Parasite Demon slammed his palms down in anger. The glass on both sides of the street shattered, and the shockwave sent Flash flying.
"Ah, my ears!"
Seeing Barry Allen about to crash heavily into a wall and break his bones, David caught him from a distance and gently placed him aside. However, he couldn't do anything about the damage to his eardrums. Flash clutched his painfully ringing ears and cried out, temporarily losing his combat ability.
His expression turned grim, and as his mood soured, the sky changed, and thunder roared, creating a terrifying scene.
"It's you, Transcendent?"
A gust of wind blew through the street. Parasite Demon turned his head and saw David. He remembered that 'he' had been blamed that morning for breaking a customer's Transcendent figurine. Ferocity flashed in his eyes.
"I wonder what your life energy tastes like!"
-----------
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
-----------