"This guy... who is he?"
In the ruins, Mera stood on the surface, her expression incredibly serious. The recognition of the Golden Trident had not only granted her the title of co-ruler of the Seven Seas but also an appropriate power boost.
Under these circumstances, she still felt an unprecedented pressure from the figure above Gotham.
This was simply unbelievable.
Not even Lothar had given her this feeling before.
"No, that's not right."
'He's not father.'
Mid-air, a stunned Lothar immediately dismissed his earlier thought. No one knew the power fluctuations of his adoptive father, Thanos, better than him. The energy signature emanating from the figure above Gotham, after stepping through the bronze portal, was entirely different from the Thanos he knew.
"Another powerful one?" Unlike Mera's grave concern, the currently exhilarated Clark had only one thought: he seemed to have found another opponent who could make him fight at full strength.
"Dark... seid..."
"Damn... it..."
In the ruins of Metropolis Plaza, Olympian divine power pulsed within Diana's heart and lungs, rapidly mending the severe injuries in the demigoddess's body. Having seen some information about Darkseid on Themyscira, her face was incredibly pale.
"Dia... Diana..."
The dying Barry Allen clung to his last breath under Diana's divine power. His pallid face clearly showed the plight of the world's only speedster.
"Master Bruce's worst-case scenario has come true..."
With a sigh, Alfred, who had truly inherited Bruce Wayne's "teachings," slowly emerged from beneath the ground in his armor, his expression complex.
Superman gone rogue, Darkseid arriving, Bruce dead. All three predictions had come true.
"Your Highness Lothar, it's the power of the Mother Boxes."
"I see it."
Thousands of miles from the Metropolis ruins, Lothar squinted, his gaze fixed on the three Mother Boxes behind Darkseid. They were his only hope of returning home. He had been too caught up fighting Clark earlier, otherwise Steppenwolf would never have gotten the third Mother Box.
"Wait! Lothar! What are you doing?!"
"Don't charge—"
Whoosh!
Mera, sensing something was wrong, didn't even have time to warn Lothar about Darkseid's power before he vanished from her sight.
Boom!!!
Dazzling silver energy waves erupted under the dim sky. All of Apokolips's soldiers blocking Lothar's path were annihilated, turning into dust on Earth.
In a single strike, countless perished. The Apokoliptian forces in the dim sky were instantly cleared, leaving a vacuum!
"Hmm?"
"Is that the multiversal outsider?"
Turning like a seasoned veteran, Darkseid raised a hand to halt his subordinate Steppenwolf's movements. He immediately exposed Lothar's identity as an outsider and, with a wave of his hand, annihilated the energy wave hurtling towards him.
There was no sign of anger at Lothar's actions.
"Step aside."
"Is the battle with the Kryptonian over?" Darkseid asked calmly, his presence overwhelming.
????
"You've been monitoring me?"
Lothar frowned. He hadn't felt any sense of being watched. Darkseid didn't answer. Lothar took it as an affirmation.
"Your Highness Lothar, Woz cannot scan Darkseid. The power simulation model cannot be established."
Woz spoke incredulously. Since its creation, this was the first time it had encountered an entity that it couldn't even build a combat simulation model for.
"Is the scan complete?" As if he had heard Woz's voice, Darkseid spoke calmly.
"What—"
A sudden surge of pain made Lothar's pupils contract violently. A mouthful of blood suddenly spurted from his throat. A power he couldn't resist acted upon him, his muscles instantly tearing, his body bleeding profusely...
"No! Lothar!" Mera, chasing closely behind Lothar, activated her power as Queen of the Seas. A waterspout rose out of nowhere, vowing to stop Darkseid's next move.
"Atlantean power, a descendant of the first Atlantean King?"
Familiar power, unfamiliar person.
Darkseid's keen eyesight easily saw through Mera, hidden behind the waterspout.
Too weak.
Darkseid didn't even find it interesting enough for a direct attack. His Omega Beams shot out, poised to pierce Mera's chest—
Clang!
The Golden Trident suddenly appeared, granting Mera a sliver of hope.
Thud!
Thud!
The waterspout, losing its power source, suddenly vanished. Mera and Lothar both plummeted from the sky, simultaneously crashing to the ground.
"Cough, cough..."
"Lothar? Lothar!"
"Lothar, are you alright?!"
The now dim Golden Trident lay on the ground, unnoticed. Mera endured the stabbing pain in her chest and went to Lothar's side. His blood-soaked body shocked her to the core.
"Move!"
A bloodstained hand pushed Mera away.
Lothar tilted his head back, took out a nutrient fluid from his bracelet-space, and poured it into his mouth. His torn muscles began to heal rapidly under the medicine's effect.
Lothar's chest heaved, his face pale. For that brief moment, he had truly felt death.
A long-lost excitement continuously stimulated every cell in Lothar's body. His red tail, which usually wrapped around his waist, unconsciously began to sway from side to side.
Whoosh!
"Lothar!"
An overwhelming barrage of energy blasts appeared behind Lothar. This was an inspiration he had gotten from Hela. Hela could stack a large number of weapons together; he could instantly condense a large number of energy blasts to bombard enemies.
The overwhelming silver blasts were far denser than Hela's Unlimited Blade Works had been. Lothar, going all out, condensed so many blasts that they almost turned the dim sky into daytime!
Unlimited Blade Works: Hela Limited Edition Modified—Unlimited Firepower: Lothar Limited Edition!
"Disappear."
Boom boom boom boom!!!!
Lothar gasped. The next second, a figure walked out from the raging explosion... stepping through the void, he walked step by step until he was not far from Lothar.
"Not bad power, but it's not enough."
Omega Beams, one of the fundamental powers that made Darkseid so formidable, suddenly shot out from the eyes of the Lord of Apokolips!
Boom!!!
Lothar unleashed an energy wave instantly to counter!
"Warning! Warning! Your Highness Lothar, your energy levels are constantly dropping!"
"Warning! Warning! Your Highness Lothar, your energy levels are constantly dropping!"
"Warning! Warning..."
"Shut up, Woz!"
Lothar gritted his teeth, veins throbbing on his forehead. He roared and again increased his energy output, but he still couldn't stop his backward momentum.
"Ahhhhh!!!!!"
The incredibly powerful Omega Beams ultimately overwhelmed Lothar. In Mera's eyes, Lothar's chest, located on the left, was instantly pierced by Darkseid's Omega Beam!
"Lothar!!!!!"
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