Hum! In the Hell Dimension, a fiery portal appeared, and Robert, Kara, Thor, Hulk, Diana, and Kaecilius stepped through.
"Hm?" The arrival of Robert and his companions immediately drew the attention of many powerful entities in the Hell Dimension. After all, Robert had proven himself a significant threat to this realm in the past.
Robert's ability to teleport instantaneously was particularly problematic for the Hell Dimension's rulers. Even the strongest among them had no way to prevent his incursions. As a result, Robert had been able to wreak havoc in the Hell Dimension freely, unchallenged so long as he didn't endanger its core or harm the personal interests of its most powerful rulers.
Sensing their attention, Robert raised his hand in a disarming gesture and smiled. "Relax, I'm not here to pick a fight this time. And neither are they," he said, gesturing to his companions. "We won't touch anyone or interfere with the Hell Dimension. You can all rest easy."
Despite his words, the rulers of the Hell Dimension remained silent. Those who were monitoring Robert continued to do so, while others pretended he wasn't there. None of them trusted him.
Among the Hell Dimension's leaders, distrust was a given. Whether it was Robert, a new guardian of Earth, or someone like the Ancient One, who had been its protector for centuries, no one took the promises of the opposing side at face value. All were pragmatic, ruthless beings who would do whatever it took to achieve their goals.
"Kaecilius, close the portal," Robert instructed, shrugging off the Hell rulers' lack of response.
Shhkk! With a wave of his hand, Kaecilius closed the fiery portal. While the dimensional breach linking Earth to the Hell Dimension technically remained, it was now isolated enough that whatever happened in the Hell Dimension wouldn't affect Earth.
"Get ready! Pair up and keep a close eye on your Mother Box!" Robert said, his tone turning serious as he addressed Kara and the others.
"Got it." Kara, Thor, Diana, and Hulk all nodded solemnly, their respective powers beginning to surge in preparation.
"What are they doing? Wait… is that one of Apokolips' Mother Boxes?!" One of the Hell Dimension's rulers finally spoke up, noticing the strange devices in Robert's hands. It didn't take long for recognition to set in among the other rulers.
Indeed, the leaders of the Hell Dimension were familiar with the Mother Boxes. Some of them had even collaborated with Steppenwolf in the past, providing him with information about Earth and advising him on the optimal time to invade.
"So Steppenwolf failed," one Hell ruler mused, letting out a derisive chuckle. "I knew his methods wouldn't work against Earth—let alone against that Saiyan pest."
"And yet," another ruler countered, "even if he failed to conquer Earth, his invasion still caused trouble, didn't it? That alone is enough to disrupt the Saiyan's plans."
"True. And now that Steppenwolf has failed, it's only a matter of time before Apokolips' Darkseid takes direct action against Earth. Either way, we win. Let them tear each other apart—it'll only benefit us," the second ruler added with a smirk.
Many of the Hell Dimension's rulers nodded in agreement. Though they had assisted Steppenwolf in his invasion, their loyalty to him—or to Darkseid—was nonexistent. In fact, they harbored their own grievances against both Earth's guardians and Apokolips.
To the Hell Dimension, both Robert and Darkseid were existential threats. Robert's guardianship over Earth made it nearly impossible for Hell to expand its influence there, while Darkseid's transformation of countless lives into Parademons deprived Hell of the souls it would have otherwise claimed. Both were enemies, and the Hell rulers would happily see them destroy each other.
"I hope they both die," one ruler muttered, echoing the sentiments of many. "The Saiyan and Darkseid… neither of them are good for us."
However, before they could revel too long in their fantasies, one of the rulers suddenly froze in realization. "Wait! If Robert has defeated Steppenwolf and seized the Mother Boxes, then why has he come here? Don't tell me… he's planning to destroy them in our dimension?!"
Boom!
Before they could act on this thought, Robert crushed the Mother Box in his hand. A deafening explosion rang out as destructive energy radiated across the Hell Dimension, obliterating everything in its immediate vicinity.
While the affected area was minuscule compared to the Hell Dimension's vast expanse, the explosion still caused significant damage. Nearby creatures and weaker entities were annihilated on the spot, their remains scattered to the winds.
"Saiyan scum! Is this what you meant by not harming the Hell Dimension?!" one of the Hell rulers roared furiously as the dust settled.
Although they had never fully trusted Robert's assurances, they hadn't expected such blatant treachery. His actions felt like someone throwing a live grenade into their neighbor's house to avoid dealing with it themselves. Even for someone as powerful as Robert, this level of audacity was infuriating.
"See? No need to get so worked up," Robert replied nonchalantly, ignoring their outrage. His attention briefly turned to the two remaining Mother Boxes, confirming they were still intact. At least the Mother Boxes didn't chain-react when separated, and their individual explosions were manageable. If Darkseid ever tried using the boxes against Earth again, Robert now had a better understanding of their destructive potential.
"Besides, this area was destroyed by the Mother Box's energy—not by me," Robert added with a sly grin. "If you have a problem, why not take it up with Darkseid? That is, if you know where to find him."
"And since this region is already a wasteland, what difference does it make if I blow it up a couple more times? It's not like it'll cause any additional damage to the Hell Dimension."
Despite their anger, the Hell rulers fell silent. As much as they hated Robert's reasoning, it was sound. The affected area had already been reduced to ashes, and the explosions hadn't encroached on the core of the Hell Dimension. Eventually, the devastated land would recover, as it always did.
More importantly, none of them wanted to pick a fight with Robert. Even with his brazen actions, confronting him directly was far too risky. Better to endure a small loss than risk catastrophic consequences.
"That's better." Seeing the rulers back down, Robert nodded in satisfaction. Without wasting time, he destroyed the remaining two Mother Boxes.
Boom!Boom!
Two more devastating explosions rocked the Hell Dimension, but as expected, they caused no additional damage outside the already-obliterated area.
Meanwhile, on Apokolips, in an unknown region of the universe, Darkseid's eyes suddenly snapped open.
"The Mother Boxes have been destroyed? So Steppenwolf's plan has failed?" Darkseid muttered, his gaze shifting toward the distant Hell Dimension. "And they were destroyed there? Does this mean that neither Steppenwolf nor the boxes managed to harm Earth at all? Wait… no…"
Darkseid's voice trailed off as a peculiar sensation washed over him. As he pondered Steppenwolf and the Mother Boxes, fragmented memories began surfacing in his mind—memories that didn't align with his current understanding of events.
"What is this? Could it be that Steppenwolf… succeeded after all?"
After a moment, Darkseid shook his head, his tone laced with intrigue. "So Earth possesses such power? Someone there has the ability to reverse time without using the Time Stone? And they managed this without causing temporal fractures or parallel timelines? How terrifying. For a mere human to wield such cosmic power and bend the very rules of the universe… Steppenwolf's defeat is no longer surprising."
Darkseid's fragmented recollections revealed everything: the Mother Boxes' fusion, the opening of the Final Gate, and even Tony Stark's futile attack on him through the portal. Most importantly, he remembered Steppenwolf's ultimate sacrifice, only for Barry Allen to undo it by reversing time.
"Fascinating. Earth… so full of mysteries. If it holds such incredible power, then conquering it will yield unimaginable rewards," Darkseid mused, his momentary regret for Steppenwolf's death quickly replaced by renewed ambition.
"There's no need to rely on the Mother Boxes anymore. Since their destruction, the Final Gate is no longer an option. We'll proceed the way we always have—with brute force, as we've done with countless other worlds."
Darkseid rose from his throne, his immense figure casting a shadow over the endless ranks of Parademons gathered before him. Even Robert, who had seen eight Parademon production planets, would have been stunned by the sheer size of this army.
Among the hordes stood a number of elite Parademons, vastly different from the expendable ones Robert had encountered. These creatures were larger, brimming with energy, and radiated an aura of strength far surpassing their weaker counterparts.
Back in the Hell Dimension, Robert remained unaware of Darkseid's mobilization. After destroying the three Mother Boxes, he allowed himself a moment of relief. Just as he was about to instruct Kaecilius to open a portal back to Earth, something caught his attention.
His gaze turned to a nearby area, just beyond the blast zone of the Mother Box explosions. There, a faint but distinct energy signature was coalescing—a Hell Dimension ruler, approaching.
What puzzled Robert was the ruler's relative weakness. Compared to the mightiest beings in the Hell Dimension, this one was decidedly unimpressive, closer in strength to Kara and the others—
an Elder God-level entity at best.
Why would someone so comparatively weak dare to approach him? Did they intend to stop him? Surely they knew that even Kara could handle them with ease, let alone Robert himself…
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