HISD Chapter 44 A Doomsday With Intelligence
The colossal ancient sea beast Karathen, towering two thousand meters high, was torn apart and slain by three crimson beams of destructive energy. The bone-spiked monster roared toward the heavens, arcs of lightning bursting from its body and surging outward in all directions, forming a vast sphere of electrical annihilation.
But this time, the lightning sphere was different. Beyond being larger and stronger, it carried something fundamentally new.
Crackling!
Mixed into the storm were fine, spore-like particles. As they spread outward, vast portions of the sea beast's body dissolved instantly into nothingness.
The vanishing flesh and blood transformed into a torrent of invisible life energy, surging back into the bone-spiked monster. The faint crack on its chest exoskeleton sealed up at once, restoring it fully to its peak state.
"What is that?!"
Poseidon, god of the seas, trembled all over, momentarily forgetting even the death of Karathen. He felt it clearly—hidden within that destructive lightning was another, deeper substance.
If you called it a virus, then it was the most terrifying virus imaginable.
If you called it an energy, then it was the strangest and most powerful apocalyptic energy ever conceived.
Even more dreadful than the Tears of Extinction, this substance made the divine blood within Poseidon's veins quake with primal fear. Without a doubt, it was something that could kill him—kill even an immortal god.
Abandoning his sacred trident, Poseidon dissolved much of his body into seawater and fled at full speed.
But the bone-spiked monster had already locked onto him. Twin beams of crimson heat vision, infused with that spore-like corruption, cut through the deep like razors, closing in fast.
"No, no! Please…!"
For the first time, Poseidon begged. He knew escape was hopeless. He could already see it in his mind—the beams piercing him, the spores devouring his flesh and power, his divine form dissolving into nothing, becoming food for the beast.
In that moment, the old god of the seas truly regretted everything.
Why had he provoked it?
Slicing!
The red light tore through the ocean, but in the instant before it struck him, Poseidon froze in disbelief.
The beams had stopped.
At the very last second, they veered upward, tearing open the deep, the shallows, the sea's surface, and even the storm clouds above. Shafts of golden sunlight spilled down, illuminating the ravaged ocean.
The monster stood there holding the trident, as if it were nothing but a toy. The violent red glow in its eyes dimmed, its terrifying face expressionless.
Far away, Poseidon kept fleeing, pale and shaking. His garments clung wet against him, though he wasn't sure if it was seawater or something else. He dared a glance back at the monster—at something that looked far more like a god than he ever did.
Why had it stopped?
It was almost like it had heard his plea.
But that couldn't be. This was supposed to be a mindless beast, a being of pure destruction.
Poseidon remembered suddenly—that sigh he'd heard earlier during the battle. Could it be that this creature, this god-killer, this embodiment of destruction… possessed intelligence?
He didn't dare think further. He fled, vanishing into the sea.
…
On a storm-battered island, Atlanna trembled as she clutched her innocent, smiling infant.
She could scarcely believe her eyes. Karathen, the ancient lord of the oceans, slain in an instant. And the great sea god himself, fleeing for his life without even his weapon.
This… this…
The bone-spiked monster was so overwhelmingly powerful that the would-be queen of Atlantis couldn't even summon the thought of resisting. No mortal, no god, could stand against it.
Boom!
The sea erupted, and the three-meter-tall monster leapt out with a great splash, landing heavily on the island. Casually, it tossed the trident onto the ground, its golden radiance fading.
The lost relic of Atlantis—the very weapon said to command the Seven Kingdoms of the deep—lay discarded like a piece of junk.
Atlanna's legs went weak. Before those seething red eyes, she nearly collapsed, holding only her child tight. The baby still smiled with pure innocence, blissfully unaware that the destroyer of worlds loomed right before him.
But then, something strange happened.
The monster tore its gaze away from them. It turned, staring at the descending sunlight.
As it looked, the violent red glow in its eyes faded further. Its breathing steadied, each exhale forming a storm. The destructive lightning sank back into its body. On its face appeared, impossibly, a trace of confusion… and even contentment.
"As I thought…"
"If I deliberately let some of the destructive urge out—let it vent through destroying things—it helps me keep control over Doomsday's will. Helps me keep control over this form."
Yi Meng, within the Doomsday body, thought with clarity.
But it was only a temporary fix. He had to destroy. If he couldn't vent the urge, he would lose control again. And Doomsday's hunger to destroy never ceased—it only grew.
"To perfectly invade this DC dream, to fully master this Doomsday incarnation… it's going to be a long, brutal process."
He felt helpless, yet resolved. The only hope was that this world contained enough powerful beings to endure him venting his destruction.
That was why he had spared Poseidon. Old gods were rare prey—rare creatures that could withstand a Doomsday's assault. Killing him now would only waste the chance.
Yi Meng recalled what he knew of this universe.
The Martian Manhunter, the Green Lantern Corps, Darkseid, the Old and New Gods…
"Hopefully, you'll be enough to satisfy me—at least until I make this dream-body truly mine and become the Doomsday Superman."
A fiery red glow flickered faintly in his eyes.
And then—
Yi Meng froze. He 'saw' something.
A woman was descending.
Tall and graceful, her figure flawless. Her pale skin glowed with sacred light, her eyes concealed by a white silk blindfold. She wore a spotless white robe, her burgundy hair spilling in waves down her back and over her bare feet. She was as holy as an angel, yet as alluring as a succubus.
Behind her unfurled a pair of wings—vast, shimmering, burning with golden fire.
Yi Meng instantly realized—she was not of this dream. She had not entered the DC world itself.
She had come from outside. From reality. Tracing his slumbering body, she had entered the depths of his subconscious…
…
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