HISD Chapter 40 DC Earth's New God; Doomsday
Ten thousand meters beneath the sea, deeper still past the massive trenches.
There lay the undersea kingdom of Atlantis.
The violent underwater explosions had carried shockwaves so far that even this ancient hidden civilization felt their buildings tremble.
Atlanteans exchanged uneasy looks.
"What happened outside?"
"It must be the land dwellers. Are they insane? Did they start another war?"
"Or maybe it's one of their test detonations. They're always dumping their dangerous toys into the ocean!"
…
Above the surface, thunder rumbled across the heavens. Storm clouds gathered, about to unleash torrential rain.
The air was suffocatingly heavy.
In the central command deck of an aircraft carrier, not a single soldier dared to breathe loudly. All eyes were locked onto scanners and radar displays.
Even the middle-aged commanding officer held his breath. Sweat poured down his brow, soaking through his uniform.
From the earpiece came an urgent voice from the mainland command:
"Captain, did you kill it? This channel is linked directly to the top-level council chamber…"
"We… we definitely hit it."
The commander's Adam's apple bobbed as he swallowed dryly.
With the sheer tonnage of those blasts—comparable to, if not greater than, tactical nukes—there was no way anything could have survived.
No target, no fortress, no military unit could withstand that. And this was just a living creature.
Even if it was from another world…
"Radar confirms. No target detected," a soldier suddenly reported.
"Same here."
"Nothing on my side either!"
Relief burst through the room. Officers and soldiers embraced, cheering.
"Thank God."
The commander murmured as he gripped the comms mic tight, ready to report the good news.
But then—
A trembling voice shattered the moment:
"I—I have a reading. Possible target. Twenty kilometers out."
The command deck fell into dead silence.
"Radar… must be broken, right?" someone whispered, clinging to desperate hope.
"Sir, look…"
Another soldier pointed with a shaking hand toward the cabin window.
The commander's pupils shrank. On the distant horizon, twin beams of crimson light pierced the sea's surface. The glow of destruction itself surged closer.
"…I'm sorry."
The officer's voice cracked. He almost dropped the mic, bitter resignation on his lips.
The next instant, those blazing red beams of energy cut across twenty kilometers in a heartbeat, piercing the entire aircraft carrier, then sweeping outward like scythes. Countless warships and escaping fighter jets were sliced in half in midair.
Brilliant fire blossomed across the endless ocean.
…
The signal cut into static. One after another, all channels went dead.
At the global council summit, silence reigned. No one could think. Their minds recoiled against reality, fear pouring out of their hearts into the world itself.
Finally—
A trembling middle-aged man rose to his feet, clutching the table to keep from collapsing.
"Ladies and gentlemen…"
Across the globe, nations that received the battle reports convened emergency meetings of their own.
"Gentlemen."
"My friends."
"My brothers."
…
One by one, leaders admitted through gritted teeth:
"We must face a cruel truth."
"With our current technology and weapons, we cannot kill it. We cannot even wound it!"
"If it wished… in a month—no, a week—it could rule this planet."
"If it chose to destroy this world, it would take even less time."
"It—no, He—may decide the very fate of our civilization."
…
This day would be remembered on DC Earth as the Dark Day.
The spiked monster's sheer might was an unstoppable calamity, heralding the end of the world.
From this day forward, bunker construction and off-world colonization industries would soar. Humanity's last hope turned to a frenzy of prayers for a superhero who could slay the monster and save the world.
Of course, Yi Meng, in his Doomsday form, knew none of this.
Weren't they the ones who struck first?
He was only passing through. He retaliated only because they forced him.
If he destroyed them, then he was ready to be destroyed in turn.
At the very least, Doomsday Yi Meng had already accepted that fate.
…
Far out in the ocean's heart—
Twin crimson beams swept across fleets, then split into three, lancing skyward. Golden-red rays punched through thick storm clouds, becoming pillars of destruction connecting sea and heavens, visible even from distant continents.
Beneath the waves, at the eye of a roaring maelstrom, the spiked monster crackled with lightning. Its mouth and eyes spewed endless beams of annihilation.
Then—sunlight. A single ray pierced the storm, brushing against its gray-white spikes.
For a fleeting moment, humanity returned to its monstrous face. Confusion. Relief.
Then it plunged into the sea, only to rise again moments later clutching a shattered Kryptonian pod, leaping toward the distant horizon.
…
Deep within the ocean, on a deserted island.
The ground quaked violently, sending flocks of birds screeching skyward.
Boom!
The small Kryptonian ship was tossed aside. The three-meter-tall spiked monster sat down on the shore, basking blankly in the sun. Each breath blasted scorching wind across the island.
Click.
The damaged Kryptonian pod's hatch creaked open. Inside lay a swaddled infant, finally awake.
Blue eyes blinked up at the towering beast.
For a long moment, monster and child stared at one another.
Then the baby's lips trembled—
"Waaaah!"
The infant burst into tears.
"You must be starving. After all, it's been over a day without food."
"Even if you're destined to be Superman, right now you're just a baby."
Yi Meng thought this, and then paused. His thoughts suddenly felt clearer. His destructive urge dulled slightly.
Was this because he had vented part of Doomsday's will, releasing it instead of suppressing it?
Or because he had finally accepted his dream incarnation as Doomsday, no longer resisting but beginning to merge with it?
Either way—it was a good sign.
It meant Doomsday's destructive instinct could be restrained.
It meant Yi Meng had taken a step forward on the path to becoming Doomsday Superman.
But—where could he find food?
Food fit for an infant?
The being just hailed as Earth's New God, the doomsday of the world, now found himself stumped by the simplest of problems.
…
North America, a small coastal town.
At a lighthouse home where a family of three lived peacefully—
Boom!
Four Atlantean soldiers clad in sleek powered armor burst through the walls, filling the home with violent clashes and explosions.
Moments later—
Two of them emerged, dragging a white-haired woman in a dress, bound in heavy chains.
"Thomas! Take care of our son, Arthur!"
Her silver trident clattered to the floor as she was dragged away, sorrow in her eyes as she looked back toward the young man inside, who clutched a baby in his arms. The Atlanteans hauled her straight into the sea.
"Atlanna!"
The lighthouse keeper cried out, clutching his child, but saw only the vast ocean. He fell to his knees in despair.
Beneath the waves, the Atlantean soldiers dragged Atlanna swiftly through the currents.
Tears welled in her eyes. She knew she was being taken back to Atlantis, to once again be used as a royal broodmare.
But then—
The shallow sea above suddenly split. Twin bone spikes crashed down like spears through fish, skewering the Atlantean warriors and their armored suits in an instant!
Too fast.
They never had a chance to react. Moving at several times the speed of sound underwater, they were killed instantly.
Atlanna looked up in terror as a colossal figure descended into the sea, like a fallen god warped by destruction. It cast the soldiers aside effortlessly, eyes burning with crimson annihilation.
Meeting its gaze was like glimpsing the end of the universe itself—the shadow of doomsday.
…
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