Multiverse: Deathstroke

"What's about to happen next will be too gory. Share some Speed Force with me, and then just turn your head away."

Su Ming patted Barry, hinting that it was best for him not to watch. If either of them threw up within the Speed Force, they might end up tumbling into the Speed Force dimension.

Barry's eyes widened. Wasn't it gory enough already? The black blood flowing from the enemy had practically turned the desert into a black rainfall.

So he complied, transferring some Speed Force to Su Ming through physical contact before turning away.

Because of certain special circumstances, Su Ming's body had good compatibility with the Speed Force—it was like a battery for it.

This special energy could stay in his body for a few seconds.

That was more than enough time.

For an opponent like this, as long as it had a head, cutting it off should kill it. With the Speed Force on his side, even when dealing with a massive creature, it was just a matter of a few hundred extra slashes.

Knocking it down into the sand, trapping it—that was all just preliminary.

Since it seemed like the Cloak of Levitation wasn't compatible with the Speed Force, once Su Ming was powered by it, the cloak's flight speed didn't increase—something Su Ming had noticed earlier.

So, he needed to run on the ground himself to fully utilize the Speed Force.

Now that the Raven Reaper was trapped in the sand, its neck was at a perfect height.

"Ugh."

"Uh-oh."

With a flash of black-and-yellow lightning, the previously howling Reaper that had been stuck in the ground was dismembered into neat pieces, each almost exactly the length of the Duskblade.

Donna and Bobo looked visibly uncomfortable; it was indeed very gory. The yellow sand had turned into a black swamp, not to mention the white chunks of brain floating on top.

After chopping off the Raven Reaper's head, Su Ming realized he still had plenty of time—the Speed Force hadn't dissipated yet.

To be safe, he went ahead and chopped up the entire body that was exposed above ground.

Barry had lent him the Speed Force, and Su Ming intended to pay him back generously.

Now there weren't just ingredients for crispy roasted wings; he'd also chopped up pieces for finger-licking good fried chicken for Barry.

After hearing Su Ming's explanation, Barry looked at the neatly stacked chunks in the distance...

Barry's expression turned into a dead-eyed stare, like he had lost all hope. His sheer exhaustion reflected a deep inner exasperation.

Who would want to eat something dripping with black goo like this?!

And was this supposed to be the meal you promised me earlier?! Not everything is edible!

"So, what's next? Are we heading to the Amazon to help the Parliament of Trees?"

Barry didn't voice his thoughts—he just turned away, tired, wanting to distance himself from the chunks of meat.

Su Ming first pulled out his phone and spoke with Batman for a bit, asking him to send in the Blackhawk Squadron for cleanup. After all, even if they didn't eat the massive creature, its biological makeup could still be valuable for research.

So, Batman readily agreed and said the Blackhawk Squadron would arrive shortly.

Then Su Ming responded to Barry's question.

"We're not going to worry about the Green."

"Hmm? But that's the collective consciousness of all the plants on Earth, and it's been converted into a pillar of life..." Barry hesitated; he was more inclined towards tackling the other pillar.

Su Ming shrugged. "So if the trees and flowers are fighting, which side are we supposed to help?"

"Uh..."

"They're all plants. No matter which side is wiped out, it just diminishes the power of the Green. I think we should let Swamp Thing mediate over there—let them have a good talk. After all, flowers, grass, and trees are all family; there's no need for a death match."

Su Ming was more interested in heading directly to Olympus to set an ambush for Hecate. Ending the primary threat sooner would mean he could rest sooner, too.

Nth Metal might prevent exhaustion, but injuries still built up bloodlust. He needed time to relax, listen to music, and eat something.

Barry thought it over. Once again, Su Ming made a lot of sense. So they'd stick to this plan.

Swamp Thing resembled vines, which made it a perfect mediator between woody trees and herbaceous flowers—an ideal middleman.

Plus, Superman was over there, and his strength was certainly reliable.

"Shall I pick up the ladies and head to Olympus together then?"

"To the old Olympus—the one that 'First Born' destroyed. The new Olympus now is more like a resort; the magic pillar isn't there."

The last time Su Ming went to Olympus, he noticed that the current Olympus was more like a lone peak on the ocean, floating amidst vast waters.

It was covered in all kinds of modern equipment and structures, clearly built not too long ago.

And the old Mount Olympus was the highest peak in Greece, located on the northern shores of the Aegean Sea at the Thermaic Gulf, about 100 kilometers from Thessaloniki, the second-largest city in Greece. It comprised 52 peaks, with the highest being 'Mytikas,' meaning "The Place of Light," at an elevation of 2,917 meters.

That place should be sealed now, considering it had a pit leading directly to the Earth's core—where Diana had sealed the "First Born."

He was Zeus's eldest son, a bastard child with an unknown being, born under a curse, such that he didn't even have a proper name.

"First Born"—the first child—that was his name.

He was immensely strong, immortal, and essentially unkillable since he should never have existed in the first place.

From the moment of his birth, Zeus discarded him, and he was raised by beasts. Later, he led humans to rebel against Olympus, but lost to Zeus and was sealed under the Arctic ice.

A few years ago, some ignorant archaeologist dug him up, and though he had been trapped under the ice for thousands of years, he had grown even stronger.

He orchestrated a grand scheme, causing chaos worldwide and even involving the New Gods of New Genesis.

In the end, he launched an assault on Olympus, but Zeus was absent, having undergone reincarnation. Apollo temporarily took the role of chief god.

But First Born was too powerful—he casually tore off Apollo's head and used it as a flashlight, killing other gods as if they were insects.

Eventually, it was Diana who sealed him once again.

Their battlefield was at "The Place of Light," and the peak was first turned into a throne for piling corpses, then became a hollow "pillar" during the battle, making it uninhabitable.

Most of the other peaks were flattened, and the valleys were filled with rubble, along with the corpses of humans and gods.

The miasma and resentment from these events lingered long afterward.

In that battle, Ares died, Apollo died, Hercules died, Dionysus died, and many other minor, unnamed gods perished.

That was how Diana became the God of War, and Hera temporarily assumed the position of Olympus's ruler.

But their homeland was completely destroyed.

Hera turned to her brother-in-law Poseidon, who raised a new mountain range from the ocean as their new home.

To save face, they named the new high island "Olympus," as if they had always resided there.

Diana might have thought Su Ming didn't know this, but from his perspective as an observer, he knew far more.

Probably more than she did, as someone directly involved—but he just didn't say.

However, there was no time to worry about saving face for the Greek gods now. The final battlefield would be the original Olympus.