Chapter 214: Zombies Unleashed!
New 52 Darkseid, arguably the most powerful of Darkseid's avatars in the entire Multiverse and the being who had enslaved the Dark Walker, had meticulously chosen the final moment to launch his surprise attack.
He did not choose to intervene while Du Wa and the Anti-Monitor were locked in the heat of battle. Instead, he waited until the outcome was decided to make his move for the Anti-Life Equation.
"The moment the Anti-Monitor dies, the Anti-Life Equation will no longer belong to you, the so-called victor. It is destined to belong to me."
New 52 Darkseid glanced at the Anti-Monitor's corpse, which was rapidly dissolving in the Anti-Life energy field. A disdainful smile crossed his face as he turned his gaze to the Anti-Life Equation being extracted by Du Wa, his eyes filled with deep longing.
He, or rather, the countless versions of him, had pursued this Equation for far, far too long—so long that he could no longer restrain himself.
"In this world, an ethereal fate may exist, but between you and me, there is no set destiny. What falls into my hands will be mine alone and will have nothing to do with you," Du Wa said, kicking the Anti-Monitor's body away.
This casual act made the eyes of everyone who witnessed it twitch.
The Anti-Monitor was, after all, an incredibly ancient being with all sorts of possibilities for future resurrection. Was this God of Xenomorphs really going to humiliate him like this?
"Either you know nothing, or you know everything and are still confident you can stop me."
Darkseid glanced at the Anti-Monitor's corpse.
Theoretically, the Anti-Monitor's rank had always seemed higher than his. Furthermore, his main body had been exploring the mysteries of the Source Wall for so many years and had faintly made some discoveries.
But unfortunately, no matter how powerful one was, as long as they were in the Multiverse, they would always be affected by the multiversal shifts caused by various events, their strength weakened time and time again.
But New 52 Darkseid clearly no longer cared about the Anti-Monitor. He frantically amplified his own power, unleashing the Omega Effect with unprecedented ferocity.
"Trying to use the Omega Effect to trigger a reaction from the Anti-Life Equation?" Du Wa slowly shook his head. He had long known New 52 Darkseid would use this move and was, naturally, prepared.
At this moment, the Thanoseid he controlled also began to activate the Omega Effect.
Two gods used the power of the Omega Effect simultaneously, vying for the Anti-Life Equation.
As two forms of superpower that were faintly connected, the Anti-Life Equation was indeed attracted by the Omega Effect, erupting with a strange fluctuation. But under the pull of two Omega Effects, it was locked in a stalemate.
"This is truly a spectacular tug-of-war. Whoever gets the Equation will instantly possess the strength to kill the other... My thanks to the Anti-Monitor. He developed the Equation to a fairly impressive degree." New 52 Darkseid was in an excellent mood, the smile on his face growing even more twisted.
Evidently, this Darkseid was extremely confident. Even knowing full well that Du Wa possessed many terrifying powers, he was still certain he could eliminate him.
The Dark Walker, at the cost of injury, forced back the Mephisto Xenomorph and began to run at high speed, appearing by Darkseid's side in an instant like a loyal Guard.
"This is a secret I have hidden for a long time. The renowned god of death has become my servant. I only released him for the fight over the Anti-Life Equation. If you hadn't appeared, this fellow would have been the sharp blade that killed the Anti-Monitor. Even a deity cannot escape his hunt."
Darkseid looked somewhat regretful. Without Du Wa, he was convinced he wouldn't have had to take this next step and could have had the Anti-Life Equation all to himself, slowly fusing it with the Omega Effect to create a brand-new power.
Unfortunately, there were no 'what ifs' in this world, and Fate wasn't a nanny who would lecture them at every turn.
*Swish!*
Several figures launched a siege against Darkseid, just as they had against the Anti-Monitor.
Du Wa's voice rang out: "I am different from you. Your type of god excels at channeling all power into yourself. I, on the other hand, am different. The more subordinates I have, the greater their potential, the stronger I become. The Anti-Monitor was a pig that I patiently fattened to a suitable size before slaughtering. You will be no exception. If you have any tricks up your sleeve, you'd best use them now, or you won't get another chance."
The Dark Walker immediately moved to block the powerful enemies for Darkseid, but alas, there were too many Xenomorphs for him to face. He was completely unable to fend off so many powerful foes.
Even Darkseid himself erupted with a massive amount of divine power that shook the Universe. The Omega Beams from his eyes surged forth continuously, blanketing the surrounding space-time and striking one Xenomorph after another. At the same time, however, he himself was already suffering attacks of an even higher intensity.
As far as the eye could see, figures radiating immense divine power were attacking him, as if he were fighting against the entire Universe.
But Darkseid was not the least bit flustered. He was still trying to use the portion of the Omega Effect he controlled to fight for the Anti-Life Equation. In the process, he was also rapidly deepening his understanding of the Equation, acquiring a massive amount of knowledge with every passing moment.
As time went on, the injuries on his body increased and worsened, but his state was clearly becoming more euphoric.
Roars shattered the cosmos, and countless beams of divine light pierced the Universe, stirring the energy of The Bleed from outside the Universe to begin pouring madly onto Earth-3.
Innumerable figures had already clashed hundreds of thousands of times in an instant, shattering rules, breaking the framework of the Universe, and destroying cosmic constants and parameters. The once-stable world became incomparably chaotic and disordered, as if it had entered the apocalypse.
The entire Universe 3 was uncontrollably heading towards destruction, but not a single god would step forward to stop it.
A confrontation of this level was impossible to stop unless a multiversal-level deity personally intervened. They could only sacrifice a universe and wait for the numerous gods on both sides to determine the outcome.
*Smack!*
Darkseid sent two Doomsdays flying with his Omega Beams, grabbed Superman's cape to fling him away, and simultaneously seized the Super-Soldier's head, lifting him up.
"You're a Superman too? Just like that fellow who calls himself Thanoseid, you're also a Superman mixed with something unfamiliar. It seems you come from the same Universe." Darkseid's divine words bored into the Super-Soldier's mind.
The Super-Soldier roared, his eyes turning red as he attempted to blast Darkseid's head with heat vision. But unfortunately, Darkseid pressed his fingers over his eyes in an instant, forcing all the heat vision back into his own head.
When Darkseid opened his hand and looked at the briefly dazed Super-Soldier, he sneered, ripped him in half, and let the corrosive blood that could harm even a deity rain down on his own body, creating a sizzling sound.
"This blood has become a high-level weapon capable of harming a deity. Truly remarkable. A pity that you and all your pets are about to die... I gave you some time, and you failed to seize it, allowing me to successfully decipher part of the Anti-Life Equation's computational process!"
Darkseid burst into laughter. He had weathered the most difficult stage—the stage where, upon revealing himself, he was bound to be besieged just like the Anti-Monitor!
Now that he had survived this briefest, yet most difficult period, victory belonged to him!
*Boom!*
Several figures blasted Darkseid, making him stagger and worsening his injuries. Layers of his divine power were battered to the point of collapse, but Darkseid no longer cared. He abruptly turned his head to look at the Dark Walker, who had been beaten by the Mephisto Xenomorph until he was missing limbs.
"What a terrifying being. Clearly one of the most powerful cosmic gods, yet he submits unconditionally to your rule. I have never seen a being of your type before... A new concept god? A concept god supported by a physical entity? In a way, as a fellow outsider, you are far more special than those from The Endless. This is true of your form of existence, and the same goes for your origin."
Darkseid impatiently grabbed the Dark Walker. His palm passed through the Dark Walker's broken body and pulled out a cluster of fine gene fragments.
That's right, it wasn't some collection of energy, but the core gene capable of carrying the power of a death god. This was a unique characteristic of the Dark Walker.
The god's movements were incredibly swift. In a flash, Darkseid extracted the gene of death from the Dark Walker and began a fusion-calculation with his own Omega Effect and the part of the Anti-Life Equation he held in his grasp.
He subconsciously glanced at Du Wa, only to discover with unease that Du Wa, occupying Thanoseid's body, was acting far too quietly.
"This guy... is waiting for me? No, how could he possibly know what I'm about to do? That's absolutely impossible."
The confident Darkseid sneered and swiftly proceeded with his plan, using the Omega Effect as a medium to fuse the gene of death with the Anti-Life Equation, creating a brand new weapon.
Du Wa suddenly spoke: "Not bad. Fusing two powers that are, in a sense, anti-life is indeed a good idea. Darkseid, I am very satisfied with your performance."
At that moment, all the Xenomorphs ceased their siege on Darkseid, like a group of high-speed machines grinding to a sudden halt.
Well, all except the Mephisto Xenomorph, which was still frantically beating the Dark Walker who had lost his death gene, delivering a crushing defeat.
After all, the most core gene in the Dark Walker's body had been extracted by Darkseid.
Darkseid's face turned grim. "You did this on purpose? What a crazed and conceited god, even more arrogant than I! You will die at my hands. No matter how special a concept god you are, you will surely die!"
"Give it a rest, Darkseid. We both know you won't kill me before you get what you want."
The coordinates to the Marvel Multiverse, and the method to travel there.
Darkseid desperately wanted this. No, it should be said that of the ancient gods imprisoned for endless eons in the World Within the Wall, aside from the Anti-Monitor and his two brothers, all the other gods were trying to find a way to escape this damned cage, searching for a method to cross the Source Wall.
The countless gods absorbed by the Source Wall were clear proof—they were all ancient existences who yearned to decipher the wall's mysteries, but they all failed, their fate worse than death.
After Dream, Darkseid was the second being to clearly know that Du Wa came from another vast world. Although, Darkseid didn't actually believe Du Wa's native multiverse could compare to the World Within the Wall here. It was most likely just a larger multiverse—a super-enhanced version of a minor multiverse like the DCEU Universe, the Arrowverse Multiverse, or the animated multiverses.
Even so, it was enough to attract Darkseid. A new world, new possibilities—it was enough to entice Darkseid into a crazed adventure.
"Other newborn concepts are either projections without a complete awareness of their native world, reflected into existence by this large world, or they are like The Endless, who brought their entire race to join this place... You know very well that I am different from those two types."
Du Wa's voice was received by Darkseid through the divine authority within Thanoseid's body.
"That's right. You possess the concept of your native world. You weren't born here or joined; you used some unknown means to stow away!" Darkseid sneered. "Thanoseid, and that strange Superman I just killed, are both mixed with something strange. I guess there's an intermediate world, a Universe formed from the mutual reflection and fusion of this Multiverse and yours!"
"Well said. You're the one who understands this best. Thanoseid was half... no, now it should be three-quarters your clone."
Du Wa nodded in appreciation, as if immensely gratified to see a play he had personally directed proceed smoothly. "Come on. You want to know my secret, you want to get the coordinates to another multiverse, and, like Thanoseid, have the chance to travel between two multiverses of equal scale, exploring endless mysteries and exhausting all the truth in the worlds... bring out the results of your research. I've been waiting for this."
"You madman, I'm starting to suspect you went to Prime Earth to observe my actions." Darkseid's expression was ugly. The joy of creating a new weapon and the fervor of about to obtain the coordinates to another multiverse vanished in an instant.
"Not at all. I don't yet have the ability to go to that place. But we might as well make a bold guess. Perhaps Fate gave me a preview of our destiny together?"
"Hmph, I hope you can last long enough. Even if you are a concept god, no matter how many conceptual clones you have, they're useless before me! It's all too late!"
Darkseid abruptly detonated the creation in his hands. This vicious monster, forged from the Anti-Life Equation and the gene of death, now became the most powerful weapon in his hands, about to be deployed against Du Wa.
He was convinced that this was a terrible curse that not even a concept god could avoid, the ultimate nemesis of all things in the world!
"This weapon of mine can infect beings of all forms, whether energy, concept, rules, or others. Why don't we call it Anti-Life..."
Before Darkseid could finish, Du Wa cut him off: "Zombie Virus. Let's just call this thing the Zombie Virus."
(end of chapter)