In the gloomy, dim sky, a rolling thunder rumbled faintly.
Although it was noon, the sky was completely covered by a black firmament.
A suppressive and somber aura completely shrouded the small town.
The moment Eric turned around, he saw a shadow spread from outside and enter.
It then transformed into a human figure, appearing before him.
Eric frowned, looking at Devourer of Heaven who had suddenly appeared before him.
"It seems you've made thorough preparations to be so bold as to appear before me."
Eric's lips curled into a sneer, "Good, I was just about to look for you; it saves me time."
"Eric Kent, you showed a flaw, just for an instant."
Devourer of Heaven's eyes flickered with dark red light, "Everything I've done—threatening you, intimidating you, harming you and your family, your friends—my purpose was to fuel the darkness and confusion within you. Just a trace, a single trace is enough! I now have great expectations for you, because you have been chosen by me to embrace darkness."
"Just now, your mind showed a flaw, and that's enough!"
Saying this, it transformed into black smoke, and with a "poof," it passed through Eric's chest.
Wonder Woman had just reacted, roaring as she swung the Vulcan Sword at Devourer of Heaven, but she was still a step too late, and Devourer of Heaven occupied Eric's body!
"Ugh!"
Eric's body tensed, and he let out a muffled groan.
A dark, black glow emanated from within his body, and the black light surrounding him exuded a strange aura.
Wonder Woman swore she had never seen such a dark aura.
Eric's body flew into mid-air, his arms spread wide, and black light, accompanied by strong winds, continuously swirled around him; the air was cut, and everything in the barn shook violently.
On the other side, Pat, who was fighting Bruce Gordon (Devourer of Heaven's first master) in a hallucination in the storage room, lay on the ground, panting, looking at the opponent, and shaking his head.
"I did not stop the Justice Society from acting against you back then. I regret it, I will reflect, but I know that dwelling in past pain will only make the beliefs I currently hold meaningless."
Saying this, he suddenly stood up and charged towards Bruce Gordon.
The moment he touched the other's body, Bruce Gordon's body turned into dust and disappeared.
Pat, still panting, stood in the storage room, looking around blankly.
Meanwhile, Courtney upstairs had finally overcome her inner demons.
Staring at Henry, who was yelling at her, Courtney clenched her right hand.
"I know you're not Henry, and I deeply regret not being able to save you. However, I now understand that this world isn't just black and white. Eric's actions back then weren't necessarily wrong, and you weren't necessarily right."
Saying this, she raised her fist and punched Henry squarely in the face.
Although she no longer had the Star Scepter, she still had her fists.
Bang!
Her fist struck Henry's right cheek with a loud thud.
Henry immediately grunted and fell to the floor, then vanished into a puff of smoke.
Courtney, astonished, raised her hand and looked at her fist.
Was she that powerful?!
Had she shattered Devourer of Heaven's illusion just by using her fist?
Just as she was doubting if her power was so great, she suddenly felt a violent tremor from the floor above.
Slightly unsteady, she immediately grabbed the railing and looked down.
What she saw made her eyes widen in disbelief!
Downstairs.
Clark, Wonder Woman, Courtney, and Pat stood before Eric, who was floating in mid-air, radiating black light.
Bang!
With a loud crash, Eric fell to the ground.
He propped himself up with his limbs and slowly raised his head.
What met everyone's eyes was Eric's expressionless face.
Then, his eyes turned crimson, and he slowly extended his hand, grabbing the Star Scepter in front of him.
The moment he grasped the Star Scepter, the red in his eyes intensified, and the left half of his face turned dark black.
Holding the Star Scepter, he slowly stood up amidst everyone's astonished gazes.
Loosening his joints, Eric stretched out his hand, sensing the aura within the space.
His voice was hoarse and echoed, like the demonic whispers from a distant hell.
"I now control the power of darkness and the power of light! I will unite this world!"
Eric stretched out his hands, looked up, and embraced the sky, letting out a unsettling laugh.
"No, he's not Eric, he—he's Devourer of Heaven!"
Pat, his eyes filled with terror, took a step back.
He knew how terrifying Eric's body was; if Devourer of Heaven controlled Eric's body, then no one would be able to stop him!
If he wanted to destroy the world, it would be effortless!
Hearing that Eric's body was possessed, Courtney's eyes showed an expression of disbelief.
Why did it have to be Eric?
Even if it were herself, it would be better than Eric!
As for Clark, he was completely stunned!
In his opinion, Eric was the one person who absolutely would not be possessed by Devourer of Heaven.
He believed that even if he himself were possessed, Devourer of Heaven could not possibly conquer Eric.
In a sense, Eric was his pillar of spirit.
He refused to believe that the pillar would collapse!
Bang!
As the few of them were still in shock, the barn door suddenly burst open, and Lex Luthor stood outside.
He was greatly surprised after seeing Eric's abnormal appearance.
Walking quickly to Clark's side, he asked the others, "What happened? Why did Eric turn out like this?"
He had come to discuss the prison riot from last night with Eric, but he didn't expect to see such an incredible scene the moment he entered.
"He's possessed by Devourer of Heaven! Devourer of Heaven wants to destroy this world!"
Pat said nervously, "None of us are his match!"
"Then what do we do?"
Lex asked urgently, looking at Eric, whose left half of his face had turned pitch black.
"Kill the host, or make Devourer of Heaven come out of his body, but I think the latter is almost impossible to achieve!"
Pat replied to Lex.
"No, killing the host, that's what the Justice Society used to do; I won't do that!"
Clark gritted his teeth, "We can't hurt Eric. I'll get the Star Scepter; I'll stop all of this!"
No sooner had Clark finished speaking than Eric instantly moved in front of Clark, grabbing him by the neck.
Bang!
He threw him directly.
Clark's body slammed heavily into the second-floor staircase, shattering it completely.
"!"
Lex's eyes showed a look of shock!
He hadn't even seen how Eric had gotten in front of him!
Was this speed really something a human could achieve?!
Ignoring Lex's shock, Eric swung a slap, directly sending Lex flying.
With a bang, Lex's body slammed heavily onto the ground.
After dealing with Lex at the fastest speed, Eric's eyes shot out Heat Vision, blasting Wonder Woman out of the barn.
After repelling the three with one strike, Eric gripped the Star Scepter in his hand and said to Pat and Courtney, who were retreating, "You can't imagine what I possess? The Star Scepter is a conduit for mental enlightenment, the power of creation itself. Only one person can control it, only one person can, and that is Eric Kent, which is me! This body is truly magnificent! I will be omnipotent!"
Saying this, he flung the Star Scepter, and a golden beam of light shot out from it, striking Pat's shoulder and sending him flying.
"Pat!"
Seeing her stepfather sent flying, Courtney turned her head, her eyes burning with anger, and gritted her teeth, grabbing the Staff from "Devourer of Heaven's" hand.
"No, not one person, but two!"
Saying this, she gripped the Star Scepter, fighting with Eric (Devourer of Heaven) for control of the Staff.
The suddenly bright starlight spread outwards from Courtney's hand where it touched the Star Scepter.
At the same time, the end of the Star Scepter held by Eric also emitted an incredibly bright beam of light.
The two struggled for control of the Star Scepter.
Eric's eyes emitted Heat Vision, preparing to aim and fire at Courtney.
The next second, Clark suddenly activated his super speed, moving behind Eric and seizing him by the neck.
Sizzle!
His sudden exertion of force caused Eric's Heat Vision to deflect, grazing Courtney's body and piercing through the barn wall.
Clark held Eric by the neck, and Courtney grabbed the Star Scepter, preventing Eric from freeing his hands.
The three of them were locked in a struggle!
"Hoo-ah!"
Wonder Woman roared and charged directly at Eric.
Bang!
Eric was directly slammed to the ground, and Clark and Courtney were also instantly knocked flying.
Eric immediately rolled to his feet and had just flown into the air when Wonder Woman grabbed his legs, yanked him down, and slammed him directly to the ground.
Because he was temporarily unable to fully control Eric's body, Devourer of Heaven could not exert his full strength, and was pressed down by Wonder Woman on his shoulders, completely unable to get up.
Wonder Woman, leading the charge, held Eric's head down, preventing him from rising.
"Courtney! Clark! Hold him down!"
Wonder Woman roared at the two.
The two, who had gotten up from the ground, immediately came over and pressed down on Eric's neck and arms, forcing his face tightly against the ground.
"Ugh ah ah ah ah!"
Eric, whose eyes were emitting crimson Heat Vision, roared furiously.
Clark, gritting his teeth, simply pressed Eric's face deeper into the dirt, preventing his Heat Vision from firing.
Outside the group of four, Lex awoke from the intense pain, clutching his chest as he stood up, staggering towards them.
Ignoring the pain in his body, he bent down and picked up the Star Scepter.
At this moment, outside, there was already lightning and thunder, and a black rift appeared in the pitch-black sky. Boundless shadows poured out from within, gradually beginning to engulf the entire town.
Lex looked at the gradually approaching shadows, not bothering to wipe the blood from his face.
"Clark, you must kill Eric!"
Lex said, panting, as he handed the Star Scepter to Clark.
"If, as you say, you can't stop him, the town will be destroyed, followed by the entire world. I respect Eric; he's my best friend, but I believe that if he regained his sanity, he wouldn't want to see his body possessed by a demon!"
Courtney and Wonder Woman were startled when they heard Lex say he wanted to kill Eric!
"No! Clark, we've already subdued Eric, you can't do that!"
Diana pressed down on Eric with all her might, giving Clark a pleading look, "He's your brother, you can't do that!"
"We have no choice! It's either the entire world or Eric, whose body is possessed by a demon. Clark, you'll know what to choose!"
Lex gasped, shouting at Clark.
Clark, trembling, took the Star Scepter from Lex's hand, pressing one hand on Eric, and slowly lowered his head, shaking.
A moment later, he raised his head, his eyes filled with determination.
"Eric once asked me, if a train is about to hit ten people, and I can avoid hitting ten people by switching the tracks, but the cost is that one person will be hit. Now, Eric is that one person. To ask me to sacrifice Eric to save the world, I'm sorry, I can't do it!"
"He is my brother, my family, and no matter what, I will not give up on him! Even if the whole world gives up on him!"
Clark's eyes blazed with a fierce fire.
"The cost of that is the destruction of the entire world!" Lex roared at him.
"The train track problem, I now know my answer. I will save one person, and I will save ten people! I won't let any of this happen!"
Clark handed the Star Scepter to Courtney, preparing to awaken Eric.
Bang!
An invisible wave was generated, an explosion of air, instantly knocking Clark and the others away.
Eric stood up, instantly moved beside Courtney, snatched the Star Scepter, and casually sent her flying.
He then used the Star Scepter to knock out Lex, who looked exceptionally displeased.
"You only had one chance, but you've lost it!"
"Devourer of Heaven" said with a cold laugh.
He walked two steps forward, gripping the Star Scepter, and suddenly felt something was wrong with his body.
His consciousness, which was occupying Eric's body, was losing control.
"Is that so? You seem unable to realize you're finished."
Suddenly, Eric's voice came from within his body.
"What?"
Devourer of Heaven, who was occupying Eric's body, immediately realized something was wrong.
Then, a powerful consciousness squeezed his existential space.
A tremendous pain tore at Devourer of Heaven, his soul seemingly being violently pulled out of Eric's body.
"Ugh ah!"
The next second, his body was directly pulled out from within Eric.
Bang!
The moment his body heavily hit the ground, Eric grabbed him by the neck.
"Pfft!"
At the same time, the Star Scepter in Eric's hand pierced Devourer of Heaven's heart.
Eric looked coldly at Devourer of Heaven, whose eyes showed an expression of disbelief.
"Did you think I wouldn't be prepared? From the first time you appeared in the tutoring classroom, to the riot at the police station, I knew your goal was nothing more than to destabilize my mind, to make me afraid, to make me doubt. Your goal has always been me! Not the Star Scepter!"
"As long as I casually showed a little flaw, you thought you could take advantage. I'm sorry, that was just a trap I deliberately set. You didn't even detect my sealed consciousness, so how dare you think you completely occupied my body?"
Eric had only allowed Devourer of Heaven to occupy his body just now as a casual act of cooperation with the other party's performance.
His spirit was so vast that no one could control his consciousness!
-------------------------------
I've already uploaded 40 chapters of this story on Patreon!
If you enjoy it, come check out the latest chapters in advance.
[patreon.com/TripleCrown07]
Thank you so much for your support!!!
"And If you're enjoying it, drop a Power Stone for me!"