"You're no Klarion… and even he could only touch me because I allowed him. So, what's your plan?" David asked mockingly, his tone sharp and calm all at once.
The man's grin faltered for a second before he barked an order, his voice echoing through the fog. His undead army—rotting bodies he had spent years gathering and binding to his will—lurched forward all at once, charging toward David in a grotesque wave. But before they could even get close, the man turned to flee, desperate to escape.
He didn't get far.
The moment he spun around, he slammed into something solid—David's chest. The impact knocked him backward, sending him sprawling onto the cold ground. At some point, David had moved directly into his path without making a sound. Behind him, every single undead creature lay in pieces, slaughtered faster than the man could blink.
"So… is that everything? I don't want to be rude," David said with a small shake of his head, his tone almost pitying. "But this is just sad."
The man roared in frustration and shot up, swinging his fist toward David with all his strength—only for it to stop midair, frozen just before contact
"So, you like to put your hands on kids?" David asked softly, his tone calm but filled with quiet menace. He relaxed his hand, preparing to deliver the slap, when suddenly he stopped mid-motion. His eyes lowered to his chest, where the skin had begun to rot, spreading outward in slow, decaying patches.
The man before him burst into laughter, his grin stretching unnaturally wide. "Haha! It finally happened!" he shouted, his voice trembling with manic glee. "To think you'd actually allow me to touch me! Now you'll become one of my undead—and once I control you, forget the Earth! The whole universe will be mine to rule!"
His triumphant laughter filled the forest, echoing between the trees—until a sudden flash of light cut through the fog. A magic blast struck him square in the chest, the force launching him backward like a rag doll. He crashed into a nearby tree, the sound of splintering wood echoing across the clearing as his laughter died in his throat.
"I was too late!" Zatara cried, rushing through the fog toward David's side. He pressed a hand over David's chest, his voice already rising in a rapid chant as he began casting a containment spell to halt the spreading curse. But as the magic flared to life, his words faltered.
Before his eyes, the dark rot that had begun to creep across David's skin was already receding. The corrupted flesh repaired itself as though his body had simply rejected the curse outright. Zatara's expression shifted from alarm to disbelief as he sensed David's system adapting—his very cells working in perfect coordination to counteract the magic.
"My immune system is as strong as me," David said with a calm smile, his tone almost teasing despite the situation.
Zatara let out a slow breath, the tension easing from his shoulders. Relief flickered across his face, though beneath it, there was still a trace of horror. Watching someone's body overpower magic itself wasn't something even a master of the arcane could easily comprehend… not even Superman could do this, since his weakness was magic and all… but David had a strong immune system that was as strong as him… just like Yujiro,
"That man is Eldon Peck, one of the strongest necromancers on Earth," Zatara said, his tone grim as his eyes followed Eldon struggling to stand. The necromancer's clothes were torn, his body trembling from the impact, yet he still managed to steady himself with that same twisted grin plastered across his face.
"What were you doing with those kids?" Zatara demanded. "You didn't need to go through the trouble of driving them all the way here on that bus. You wanted to sacrifice them, didn't you? For one of your twisted rituals… why?"
Eldon met his gaze and sneered, the hatred and arrogance in his expression unshaken. He said nothing, offering only a cold, mocking look that made his silence louder than any words could have. It was clear he wouldn't give Zatara the satisfaction of an answer—he didn't need to. His expression already told them everything…
A few seconds later
"I wanted to summon an extra-dimensional entity to kill you," Eldon confessed through gritted teeth, his voice trembling with pain. The deep red imprint of a hand across his face told the story well enough—David had already slapped him once, and that single blow had done more than just hurt. It had broken him on every level—physically, mentally, and even spiritually.
"It promised to kill you… and give me your powers… at a price," Eldon continued quickly, his words spilling out in panic as David's hand twitched, ready to strike again. He wasn't holding anything back now; the memory of that one slap was enough to make him tremble. The fear that filled his eyes was unmistakable—he had never experienced pain like that before, and the thought of enduring it again was worse than death itself.
"Was this person… Allura?" Zatara asked, his voice tightening as an uneasy look crossed his face. At the mention of that name, Eldon's eyes widened in shock that Zatara knew. That reaction alone was enough confirmation. Zatara's expression darkened, the color draining from his face.
Allura—the name alone carried weight. A powerful magical entity with two conflicting halves: one of light, the other of darkness. Good and Evil, both bound within the same being. Years ago, Zatara had been the reason Allura lost a decisive battle in her own dimension, and from that moment, her hatred for him had festered endlessly. Her vengeance was personal, her wrath unrelenting.
Her obsession had long since turned toward Zatara's daughter, seeking to destroy what he loved most. Yet every time she tried, Zatara managed to prevail, saved only by the faint light within her—the good half that, even in her rage, would momentarily break through to give him the chance to seal her away once more.
"She wanted to take over your body. With that, there would be nothing left capable of stopping her," Zatara said quietly, his tone heavy with concern.
"At least someone wants my body," David replied with a light, relaxed smile... Zatara blinked at him, speechless for a moment, before a small, unexpected laugh escaped his lips.
Zatara was about to respond, but the words froze in his throat when he saw Eldon suddenly move. Without warning, the necromancer plunged a dagger straight through his own chest.
"I'm guessing that's bad?" David asked casually, though his eyes narrowed when he saw the color drain from Zatara's face. A split second later, an overwhelming surge of energy burst from Eldon's body, shaking the ground beneath them.
"Y-yes… he's turning himself into a vessel for her to take over," Zatara said quickly, panic lacing his voice as he began to chant. He hurled a spell toward Eldon, but the surge of raw magic around the necromancer erupted like a barrier, shattering Zatara's spell and sending it flying back toward him.
Before it could strike, David calmly raised his palm. The reflected blast froze midair, stopping against infinity. No matter how much force it carried, it couldn't move forward—David was simply untouchable.
"You'll pay for this!" Eldon roared, his voice trembling with fury as his eyes burned with pure hatred. The energy around him pulsed wildly, cracking the ground and distorting the air. David merely gave a small shrug in response.
Still, beneath that calm exterior, he wasn't taking this lightly. He knew better than to underestimate what was coming. This wasn't the same as facing Klarion. Klarion had been reckless—a childish fool who relied too much on chaos and arrogance. But Allura? She might be far more experienced. Experience alone made her a different kind of threat entirely.
David extended his hand, and Blue activated above Eldon, pulling Eldon's body up into the air as though caught by an unseen force. With a sudden flash, David shot forward, closing the distance in an instant. The power of Infinity warped the space between them, preventing Eldon's body from ever truly touching him, yet David moving closer to Eldon sent the man backward, rising higher and higher through the sky.
"I can hold my breath for thirty minutes," David said with a faint grin, his voice calm despite the rush of wind. "Let's see how long I can hold it while doing this."
He drew in a deep breath as they tore through the clouds, breaking past the atmosphere. The air grew thinner, silence swallowing the world around them. Eldon followed, taking a deep breath as well. But just as they reached the edge of outer space, David suddenly exhaled—releasing that held breath all at once, catching Eldon completely off guard.
Suddenly, Eldon's lungs ruptured from the pressure, and he coughed up a mouthful of blood that drifted weightlessly in the void.