"Fuck!"
Oliver cursed vehemently, aiming at the raft that was now engulfed in a raging fire.
Seeing that extinguishing the fire was hopeless, he slumped onto the beach in dejection.
"A bit of a shame, isn't it?"
Just as Oliver was sinking into a state of despondent helplessness, he suddenly heard an unfamiliar voice behind him.
Startled, he turned to look back.
He saw a stranger standing behind him.
Judging by his appearance and demeanor, he looked more like a college student on a leisurely island vacation.
This was in stark contrast to Oliver's own 'savage' attire, suited for survival on a deserted island.
"Who… who are you?"
Oliver, startled and fearful, stood up to face Eric, who had suddenly appeared with a distinctly different aura, and stared at him with wary eyes.
He knew that terrorists were lurking on this island; these individuals with unknown motives were hiding there, plotting something nefarious.
Upon seeing Eric, who had appeared so strangely and whose identity was unknown, Oliver instinctively assumed he was one of those terrorists.
"A traveler, or rather, someone just passing through."
Eric sized up Oliver Queen, who was restless and constantly exuding a volatile energy.
"You… you're not those terrorists?"
Seeing that Eric had no intention of attacking him, Oliver's suspicion of Eric lessened somewhat.
"Sorry to disappoint you, but I have nothing in common with terrorists."
Eric shook his head, "Perhaps the only commonality is that neither of us particularly likes to follow the rules."
"You…"
Oliver stepped back a few paces, his eyes gleaming with caution. "I don't believe anyone would come to a place where not even a bird shits for tourism. If you said you were a shipwrecked person who drifted here, I'd be more inclined to believe you."
"Is that so?"
Eric looked at Oliver, who was somewhat cynical from being stranded on the deserted island for days, and smiled slightly.
"If a bird could fly, such a place wouldn't be able to trap him."
"You said you can fly?"
Oliver's face showed a look of astonishment, then he found it somewhat amusing.
"I'd rather believe aliens will land tomorrow than believe someone can fly."
"Ah!"
Before Oliver could finish speaking, he felt his tattered clothes being grabbed, and he was immediately thrown uncontrollably into the sky.
Even after prolonged training on the deserted island, which had developed his superhuman reflexes and Falcon-like vision, he still couldn't see how the other party had grabbed him and thrown him into the sky.
The whistling wind rushed past his ears, and the scenery of the deserted island gradually shrank in his vision.
After shrinking to a certain extent, he felt the scenery in his eyes begin to enlarge.
That meant he had stopped ascending and was now beginning to fall.
Compared to the state of ascending in the air, the rapid descent terrified him even more.
The whistling wind in his ears became even more piercing, and the sensation of weightlessness made his heart twitch incessantly.
His body was rapidly plummeting to the ground, and just as he thought he might be finished, he suddenly felt his body halt.
Bang!
Oliver Queen's body, infinitely close to the ground, crashed heavily into a pair of arms.
Eric caught Oliver just as he was about to hit the ground.
Like the classic Superman catching Louise, Eric caught Oliver in this manner.
Perhaps feeling that this posture too greatly diminished his straight-man image, Eric immediately changed his stance, grabbing the almost-tattered clothes on Oliver's back, and the two of them floated in the air.
"It seems that being able to fly isn't more difficult than aliens landing on Earth tomorrow, is it?"
Eric floated in the air, speaking to the still-shaken Oliver.
"You… you!"
After experiencing a terrifying, rollercoaster-like ride, Oliver gasped for air.
As his wildly pounding heart slowed down a bit, he looked at Eric with horrified eyes, "How… how did you do that?"
Although he felt some resentment towards the other party, a surge of wild joy then rose within him.
Since the person in front of him could fly, he had hope of escaping his current predicament.
"Okay, now I'll tell you my name, Oliver Queen? Have you heard that name? I'm the heir to Queen Consolidated in Star City. My father is Robert Queen. If you can take me out of here, I'll give you any wealth you desire. May I know your name? Are you from Star City?"
Overwhelmed with excitement, Oliver spoke a torrent of incoherent words.
"Sorry, I'm not from Star City, and I know very little about Queen Consolidated."
Eric said, making Oliver feel a bit disheartened.
"It doesn't matter, you can take me out of here, can't you? Even though I'm not quite sure how you do it."
Soon, Oliver regained his spirits.
Eric naturally refused the other party's suggestion to take him off the deserted island.
If Oliver Queen left the deserted island, wouldn't the future Green Arrow disappear?
Although he wasn't particularly interested in the theme of a hero's growth, Eric didn't believe he had such a broad mind to help others without any benefit to himself.
"Although I can fly, I can't yet carry a person across the boundless ocean."
Eric let go, allowing the other person's body to fall from the air.
Thud!
Oliver Queen's body crashed heavily onto the ground.
Fortunately, the ground was sandy, and the place where he fell wasn't too high from the ground, so he wasn't injured.
Of course, Eric could take someone from the deserted island in the middle of the ocean.
He just couldn't be bothered to do such a thing.
The reason he came to greet Oliver Queen was simply to see the future Green Arrow in such a sorry state.
And to get to know this billionaire. After all, Malcolm Merlyn was now under his control, and he needed to control him, not only by using violence to coerce him, but also by understanding Queen Consolidated and Oliver Queen.
Although he was quite disappointed that Eric couldn't take him away from there, Oliver still handed a ring to Eric.
He hoped Eric would take his token and find someone in Star City to rescue him.
"A ring?"
Eric, flying in the air, looked at the ancient-looking ring in his hand, which glowed with a dark green light, and murmured to himself.
"If I had this, I could control Queen Consolidated, right? What a pity…"
It was a pity that his focus was not on Star City.
However, this ring could serve as a fallback.
He put away the ring and accelerated his flight forward.
Boom!
A sonic boom erupted in the air, creating a conical air wave!
Breaking the sound barrier, Eric's speed instantly surpassed the speed of sound!
Accompanied by continuous sonic booms, several blooming conical clouds formed in the air.
"I received some news, not very good news."
In a detached apartment in Metropolis, Zatanna said to Wonder Woman.
This was an apartment exclusively for Zatanna.
Although it was somewhat simple and far from the city center, it was probably the best house she could afford to rent.
"I've already received all the bad news there is. I don't believe there's any news that could make me lose my composure now."
Wonder Woman picked up a glass of orange juice from the table and gulped it down.
"I have a friend, specifically someone from the magical community. He attended a conference, a magical conference at Wintersgate Manor."
Zatanna looked at the brightly colored oil painting hanging on the wall in front of her, and after a moment of silence, she said, "It seems they've determined that we are facing a crisis."
"Wintersgate, you say?"
Wonder Woman nodded, "I've had many dealings with him; he's an old fox."
Hearing Wonder Woman's assessment of Sir Winters, Zatanna asked with some surprise, "You know him?"
"Of course, I've dealt with him a long time ago."
"You said you're someone who traveled from the future. Can I ask you a question?"
"Are you trying to ask about your future? Sorry, I can't tell you, Little Zha."
Wonder Woman immediately refused Zatanna's request.
"Alright, I knew you'd say that. Destiny doesn't dictate life; I understand that. Anyway, back to the main topic: the result of the magic conference is that someone has set their sights on the magic world."
"Set their sights on it?"
"The occurrence of 'Slumber Day' gave certain entities an opportunity to exploit our world. Some ancient and powerful things, seemingly immune to magic, have entered our world. For some unknown reason, they have targeted mages and this world. Clearly, it is searching for something, or someone."
"Darkness is beginning to engulf the magical world."
Zatanna spoke the information she had learned, appearing worried.
"The downfall of magic?"
Wonder Woman's eyes gleamed with a strange light. "Then it's even more necessary for you people of the magical world to unite. But I imagine that will be very difficult, as mages are a group of creatures most prone to infighting."
"I probably can't help much with infighting and unity, after all…"
Zatanna's gaze shifted from the oil painting as she said, "I'm just a newcomer to the magical world."
"Is that so? I think you have a lot of talent."
Wonder Woman put down her cup. "That has nothing to do with whether you're new to the magical world or if you're a rookie. If you're good at using your magic, sister, the demons and mages in Wintersgate Manor probably won't be a match for you."
"Maybe, but right now I only care about one thing, Wonder Woman. That is, there's something wrong with the magic in this world."
Zatanna frowned, opened her notebook, and pulled up a few pictures to show Wonder Woman.
"Look at this body, it's gruesome. The torso is broken, and a tumor-like growth extends from the mouth and throat. Clearly, these people were victims of magical backlash."
"Magical backlash?"
Diana frowned, "You mean you can't use magic anymore."
"Yes, the risk is much greater."
.
-------------------------------
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!"