"Mother Boxes, Your Highness Lothar."
"Two Mother Boxes have appeared in Gotham."
"Right there, on that gate."
Woz slid its finger across the light screen, and the ancient bronze gate floating above Gotham City came into Lothar's view.
Mysterious and ancient symbols were etched onto the gate, and his long-sought Mother Boxes were embedded within it.
Two of them.
"What's going on?"
Lothar instantly sat upright, pulling his gaze away from Mera's distant coronation. The Mother Boxes directly related to his ability to return home, making this a matter of utmost importance.
"Woz is currently organizing and analyzing the information. Please wait, Your Highness Lothar."
Flickers of data streamed across the blue robot cat's eyes. Moments later, a complete sequence of major events that had occurred in Gotham City unfolded before Lothar.
From Steppenwolf's appearance in Gotham to the winged monster army's assaults on humans and their rampant expansion, everything was laid out for Lothar to see.
"Darkseid... Woz, can you analyze Darkseid's power data from this video?"
With just a flick of his finger in the void, Diana, the Amazon demigoddess who had leaped high into the air, was gravely wounded and fell to the ground.
"Regrettably, no, Your Highness Lothar."
"Woz cannot build an accurate data model for evaluation."
"What about these two Mother Boxes then?"
"Can they be removed?"
If the phantom named Darkseid merely made Lothar intensely concerned, then the two Mother Boxes on the ancient bronze gate above Gotham made him "envious."
Opening the path home required three Mother Boxes. Now, two had appeared above Gotham. If he brought the one from the Atlantean sacred ground...
What had he been doing following Mera around for so long?
Was it not to ensure Mera wouldn't be captured by Steppenwolf while he was unaware of the other Mother Boxes' precise locations?
Now that he knew the locations of two Mother Boxes, there was clearly no need to keep following Mera. He could just force the information out of them and take them.
"Without physical scanning, Woz cannot make a deduction, Your Highness Lothar."
Understanding Lothar's urgency, Woz shook its head, its expression serious. It couldn't risk Lothar's life. That ancient bronze gate appeared to have been placed there personally by Darkseid, and Woz didn't know what limitations it might have.
"Then prepare for a physical scan."
Lothar made his decision, cutting off Woz's attempts to dissuade him. No one could block his way home.
No one.
Not even that mysterious Darkseid.
Lothar's gaze was resolute.
The next second, his figure vanished from the spot.
"From this moment, cease all preparations for war on the land."
"In the name of the new Queen of the Ocean."
At the coronation site, Mera, seated on the throne and holding the Golden Trident, issued her first command as the ruler of the Seven Seas.
'As expected...' King Nereus of Xebel watched, his eyes filled with bitterness.
The legitimacy of the Golden Trident was recognized by all Atlantean members. No matter how unwilling he was, he could not object. Unless he wanted to instigate a rebellion. But if he rebelled, how many would follow his command?
Nereus subtly surveyed his surroundings.
Everyone, in his eyes, harbored their own ulterior motives; no one was trustworthy.
The former alliances crumbled before the Golden Trident. The weapon used by the First Atlantean King to pacify the Seven Seas and even defeat powerful extraterrestrial enemies was an article of faith for the increasingly weakened Atlantean members of today.
A faith deeply rooted in their very bones.
"Father? Father."
Mera's call brought Nereus back to reality. His daughter, wearing the dazzling crown, made him feel both unfamiliar and a touch of relief. After all, Mera was still his daughter. Even if her political views ran contrary to his own.
"Mera, I—"
Thud!
On the immaculate, jade-like steps, a figure descended like lightning, interrupting the pleasantries Nereus had been about to utter. Splintered debris scattered over his disheveled black hair, and the coldness in his eyes sent a chill through Nereus.
"Lothar!"
"Why are you here?" Mera, on the throne, her face alight with surprise, hastily stood up and descended the steps.
She had wanted to invite Lothar to her coronation, but he had flatly refused, which had left her feeling regretful. It was Lothar who had transformed her thinking, yet he was ultimately to be absent from her coronation.
"Tell me the location of the Mother Box, Mera."
Lothar's words caused a sudden change in Nereus's expression.
"What? The Mother Box's location? What happened, Lothar?"
Lothar's sternness made Mera instinctively entertain a bad premonition.
"Nothing. I need it, that's all."
Having already seen two Mother Boxes above Gotham, Lothar had no reason to conceal his purpose anymore. He stated his intention simply and directly: I want it.
"???"
"I'm afraid that's not possible, Lothar. In fact, before you and Mera returned, the Mother Box kept in the Atlantean sacred ground was already stolen. All the guards watching it were killed, falling to the invader's blade."
Nereus coughed twice, telling the truth. He had originally planned to tell Mera this after her coronation.
"What did you say?"
Under Mera's bewildered gaze, Lothar's eyes grew colder.
"Wait, Lothar."
"You want the Mother Box, right?"
"If I heard correctly, you want the Mother Box?"
Mera quickly ran through the events in her mind and asked.
"Why?"
"The power of the Mother Box is very dan—"
Whoosh!
The explosive sonic boom sent the high-ranking leaders of the undersea world reeling, but only Mera, relying on the power of the Golden Trident, stood firm.
"Tell me the location of the Mother Box, now."
Lothar, who believed in seeing to believe, seized Nereus by the throat.
"Lothar!" Mera cried out in alarm.
"Shut up!" Lothar snapped back, turning suddenly.
"Tell me the location, now. Or you will die."
This cold Lothar was a stranger to Mera, especially his appearance as he clutched Nereus's neck.
"I... I understand... Understood..."
Nereus, breathing with increasing difficulty, nodded decisively. He didn't know what madness had come over this man his daughter brought back, but at the very least, he didn't think it glorious to die for an Atlantean sacred ground that had already been robbed.
When Lothar dragged Nereus to the chaotic ruins of the sacred ground, his expression instantly darkened.
"Your Highness Lothar, judging by the residual energy field, it seems Steppenwolf forced his way in."
Woz's tone was also off. It had miscalculated. Steppenwolf had clearly not obtained the Mother Box's location by capturing Mera. So how had Steppenwolf known?
"Not me! We absolutely would not betray the Mother Box's location, as long as the Mother Box was still there."
"Believe me, the invader with the axe seemed to know this place already; his objective was very clear."
Under the pressure of Lothar's gaze, the Atlantean high command shook their heads, indicating their innocence.
They had always followed the ancient precepts; otherwise, they wouldn't have so easily accepted Mera's queenship.
Moreover, the sacred ground where the Mother Boxes were kept rotated. Besides the assigned Mother Box guardians, no one could know the exact location. This was why Woz had kept Lothar watching Mera.
"Damn it."
Lothar casually tossed Nereus onto the ground, turning back to meet Mera's somewhat complex gaze.
"Lothar—"
Whoosh!
Before Mera could finish speaking, Lothar's figure had already vanished.
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