DC: Chapter 132/133

Chapter 132

The Last Day.

Still in Manhattan, still at the Four Seasons.

The city remained vibrant, bustling with traffic, the rivers flowing endlessly. Beneath the quiet, there was a constant noise, flashing lights and restless energy. It carried the liveliness of a world-class metropolis and the vanity and impatience that came with it.

This world was lively, prosperous, and impulsive. It had always been this way.

The streets—Eight Avenue, Ninth Avenue—crisscrossed, filled with people of different races, constantly clashing over trivial issues like discrimination and money.

Yet, behind their everyday struggles, a demon monarch stood poised to destroy the Earth. And still, the city remained the same, unaware. No news. No sense of impending doom.

Looking at it now, humanity seemed so… pitiful.

Bardi stood at the window of the presidential suite, the cold wind tugging at the hem of his coat. His coat billowed in the breeze, sunlight casting a glow over his indifferent expression. His skin, smooth and pale like sculpted jade, reflected the light, and his towering figure surveyed the entire city with an unshaken gaze.

His eyes were cold, devoid of emotion.

The city's skyline, shifting and uneven, resembled a sprawling, jagged ink painting, a steel jungle rising from the earth, breathtaking in its scale.

He had taken in the entire city with a single glance.

A long silence.

Knock, knock, knock…

There was a knock at the door.

After the seventh knock with no response, Mike simply turned the golden door handle and pushed open the heavy, dark-toned wooden door.

He carried a black suitcase and placed it on the floor of the living room.

Originally, he intended to set it on the table, but the once-delicate glass table had been twisted and crumpled like a piece of paper, shoved into a corner along with an expensive sofa and chairs, as if someone had been experimenting or venting their emotions.

Zatara's handiwork.

"Boss, what you wanted."

Mike said as he set the suitcase down on the soft carpet.

His gaze flickered toward Bardi's back. In the sunlight, Bardi's figure seemed to emit a soft radiance, his frame illuminated, as though he were an ancient gemstone, freshly unearthed, gleaming with an immortal light.

But something about it felt off.

Mike couldn't shake the strange feeling growing inside him.

Why… under the bright sun, does it feel like a storm is coming?

The atmosphere was heavy—oppressive, almost suffocating.

Sunlight was shining down… and yet…

It was as if a dark shadow loomed over the city, unseen by all.

Bardi was always indifferent, but this, this was something different.

Looking at Bardi's back, for the first time, Mike felt as though something immense weighed upon his boss's shoulders.

He hesitated, contemplating the thought for a moment, then dismissed it.

Everyone has something they must face. Maybe the boss has an enemy to deal with, just as he himself had to handle the boss's many bizarre assignments.

Bardi had always carried things alone. He had always liked looking at the sun. But Mike never really understood why.

With that, he left the suite.

At that moment.

A black dot appeared in the sky above Manhattan.

The blue sky stretched endlessly, the winter sun casting its soft warmth. And yet, this black dot stood out—a speck, no larger than an ant, striking and small.

But no one noticed it.

Bardi's eyes locked onto it instantly. His pupils flashed, and in the next moment, his vision had already pierced through the towering skyscrapers, staring directly at the approaching figure.

The black dot moved beyond the speed of sound, yet there was no sonic boom, no shockwave.

It raced toward the Four Seasons Hotel at extreme speed, a black cloak fluttering wildly behind it.

Then, just outside the suite window, the figure stopped in midair.

A petite silhouette, cloak billowing, body suspended in front of Bardi.

Raven.

Her pale face gleamed under the sunlight, her dark purple lips pressed into a tight line.

She nodded to Bardi.

Her expression was tense, her complexion even paler than usual.

Once again, she was about to face her father.

Trigon.

A weight pressed on her chest, her emotions restless, heavy. The sunlight fell upon her small frame, but her black cloak, caught in the wind, seemed to swallow the warmth, wrapping around her trembling body.

Her obsidian-black eyes held an unspoken fear—deep, solemn, and uncertain. Her entire body felt stiff, as if trapped in a suffocating stillness.

Bardi turned and walked back into the suite, Raven following.

He picked up the suitcase Mike had delivered, opened it, and inside, neatly arranged in rows, were three hundred and eighty golden solar capsules.

Each one rushed into production from the reactor, made as fast as possible.

If he couldn't survive this battle, the future would be meaningless.

Bardi picked up one of the solar capsules between his fingers. His expression was solemn.

"Each of these is enough to replenish my body's energy."

Raven nodded, signaling her understanding.

When Bardi is unable to take the solar capsules himself, Raven will feed them to him.

During the battle against Trigon, when his consciousness is drawn into the spiritual realm, Raven will be the one handling everything in the outside world.

It was a desperate plan.

Life and death would be entirely out of his control.

And the only person he could trust… was Raven.

Bardi had never been willing to entrust his life to anyone. But at this moment, he had no choice. He was still too weak.

He acknowledged his weakness, and with it came both anger and helplessness.

To be facing Trigon now, this was nothing short of a catastrophe.

Whether it was the magical world, Raven, or himself, they all sought to grasp this final lifeline.

Zatara had already taught him everything he knew, every spell that could be of any use. He had even revealed the deepest secrets of his own lineage.

He had placed the entire hope of Earth's magical world in Bardi's hands.

Raven had transmitted everything she knew about Azarath, the nature and power of Trigon, and the destruction of her home directly into Bardi's mind.

This was a true demon, a being of destruction and darkness, forever shrouded in chaos.

A creature of unpredictable temperament and reckless actions.

If Trigon were the type of being that could be reasoned with, Bardi wouldn't be so eager for battle. He would have waited, hidden himself away, grown stronger, and eventually killed him when the time was right.

But Trigon was a true demon—erratic, violent, utterly beyond negotiation.

A god does not negotiate with ants.

This left only one option—battle.

And likely, a battle with no chance of survival.

Trigon's power was suffocating.

And what they were fighting against was merely a projection.

Even so, just his projection was enough to destroy an entire planet.

How could that not be terrifying?

Bardi's expression was cold, his gaze deep and unwavering. But behind his eyes, his will burned with an unbreakable determination.

He removed his white trench coat, letting it fall to the ground.

Then, he pulled off his shirt, exposing a chest crisscrossed with scars, battle-worn, yet sculpted with impossibly sharp muscle lines. His physique was as solid and unyielding as a mountain's peak.

The sun poured in from behind him, stretching his towering shadow across the floor, its vast form dwarfing Raven's delicate frame.

"Focus!"

Bardi's voice boomed because he had noticed something.

Raven's state of mind was off.

She was uneasy, her thoughts clouded by the weight of what was to come.

Facing her father again was reawakening all the fears and memories of her past.

Her body was stiff, her movements faltering.

She was freezing up.

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Chapter 133

Four Seasons Hotel, Presidential Suite.

Sunlight streamed in through the windowsill, casting a glow on Bardi's broad back and shoulders. He stood shirtless—tall and lean

Faint knife scars marked his skin, adding a silent, chilling edge to the flawless lines of his body.

A cold wind blew into the room, rustling the curtains layer by layer, filling the space with a silent, lonely beauty.

Bardi's shadow loomed over Raven, vast and unmoving, like a mountain towering above her small frame.

She pulled her cloak tighter around herself.

Her mind was unfocused.

But she had done everything that needed to be done.

Over the past week, Bardi had brought her all the finest foods the Earth had to offer. It had been the happiest time she had ever known.

Every day, after indulging in expensive and exquisitely crafted meals, she would return to her work—establishing communication with Azarath.

It felt almost like the routine of a nine-to-five office worker: finishing the day's tasks, then sitting down in a restaurant to chat with Bardi over a good meal.

Sometimes, she wished these days could last forever.

That she wouldn't have to face Trigon.

But in the end, the connection was made.

It hadn't been difficult. She had only been away from Azarath for about three weeks. She could still trace the coordinates clearly and return there.

What had taken effort was suppressing the Earth's energy signature, concealing it to delay Trigon's arrival.

Now, with only two hours remaining, there was no longer a need to keep the seal in place.

And as the seal lifted, so did the flood of emotions trapped within it.

The memory of her mother. Her teachers. The destruction of Azarath. The overwhelming waves of regret, despair, and sorrow crashed into her, nearly crushing her beneath their weight.

She was only seventeen.

A seventeen-year-old girl.

Forced to watch as her own father slaughtered an entire planet.

Her mother, her teachers, the people who had cared for her the most ripped apart before her eyes, their blood staining the ground.

A nightmare, burned into her soul.

Like a corridor of hell, forever etched in her heart.

Like a lost lamb, she had wandered to Earth, confused and alone.

If Bardi had not appeared, she would have still been running, still fleeing from her father's relentless pursuit, hiding from planet to planet, forever chased by the shadow of fear.

Her body trembled. She shrank further into her cloak, eyes unfocused, gaze lowered and vacant.

Bardi's shadow completely engulfed her, making her seem even smaller, like a fragile bird shivering in the cold rain of winter.

Suddenly.

A long chocolate bar appeared in front of her.

Wrapped in gold foil, its packaging bore a small raven logo—its wings spread, beak open in laughter, eyes squinted in an exaggeratedly goofy expression.

Raven's unfocused gaze slowly shifted, fixing on the chocolate. Bit by bit, her eyes regained clarity.

Bardi watched her silently.

People who had suffered, who had endured unbearable pain, could recognize and understand each other.

Because they knew what it was like to be consumed by despair, like a swarm of ants gnawing at the heart, suffocating, trembling, afraid, spiraling deeper into the darkness.

To step into that darkness was to risk madness, to lose oneself completely.

But sometimes.

There was a fine line between hope and despair.

If you could just reach for it, just grasp it, there was still a chance to pull yourself back.

Bardi had learned to see that line. To recognize the moment when someone needed to be pulled back from the edge.

Right now, that moment lay in something as simple as a bar of chocolate.

Raven suddenly burst into tears.

Her body shook as sobs wracked her frame. Tears streamed down her face, hitting the floor with a soft hiss. The plush carpet beneath her corroded on contact, dissolving into a pit as acrid, black smoke curled into the air.

Then, her forehead split open.

A second pair of eyes appeared.

Four eyes, all brimming with tears, overflowing with acidic sorrow that burned holes into the floor, releasing thick, toxic fumes.

"I started a chocolate company for you," Bardi said lightly. "Raven Chocolate Company. When you come back, there'll be as much chocolate as you want."

He still held the chocolate out to her.

He had noticed that Raven seemed to like chocolate. He wasn't sure if it was because it had been the first food she'd tasted on Earth, or because it was bittersweet, like her own life.

Bitterness, representing pain.

But in the end, it always longed for sweetness.

Raven took the chocolate. Tears continued to fall as she stared at the logo—the silly-looking raven, squinting as it laughed at the sky.

She choked on a sob, her voice hoarse and unsteady.

"This… this raven is so ugly…!"

"Really? I like it," Bardi said with a small breath of relief. "It looks funny."

To be able to say such words meant that Raven had recovered.

Three days ago, Bardi had sensed the gradual loosening of her seal. With it came a surge of emotions, and at such a critical moment, he couldn't afford anything to go wrong.

He knew that her last encounter with Trigon had left an indelible scar on her mind.

A seventeen-year-old girl, forced to face her own father as he slaughtered her mother, her teachers, and countless others in Azarath.

The pain and despair of that moment had even been transmitted into his own mind.

To say it had no effect on him would be a lie. All of it had been sealed away by Raven herself, and now, with the seal lifted, it was collapsing all at once.

Of course, this was inevitable.

She had been raised in a world of order and kindness, taught to value compassion.

Had she grown up in a demonic environment, she might not have thought twice about the destruction of entire planets. She could have been just another demon like Trigon.

Bardi was fortunate that she had broken down in front of him, allowing him who had prepared for this to handle it.

He had accounted for everything, including Raven's fragile mental state. It had unfolded exactly as he expected.

Such a delicate girl.

There was no trace of demonic cruelty in her.

And perhaps it was precisely because of this that Bardi was willing to cooperate with her, to place even a small amount of trust in her.

Raven wiped her tears and swallowed the chocolate Bardi had handed her. A bittersweet taste lingered in her mouth.

She choked for a moment before finally calming down. The soft carpet beneath her had already been burned through with holes, thick black smoke rising from the acidic tears.

Her four eyes met Bardi's, and for a moment, the overlapping pairs created a dizzying illusion.

She hesitated, her lips parting as if to say something—

"Let's start," Bardi said suddenly, cutting off whatever she was about to say.

Raven's expression froze. She wiped the remaining tears from her face, her pale complexion hardening into determination.

"Turn around," she said.

Bardi frowned slightly.

Logically, there was no need for him to turn his back for her to inscribe the magic circle.

Her request felt… strange.

For a brief moment, suspicion flickered through his mind.

Then he understood.

She simply didn't want him to see her demonic form.

Just like a girl embarrassed about her appearance.

And in truth, that was exactly it, she thought her demonic side was too hideous and didn't want Bardi to witness it.

The moment Bardi turned around, a suffocating sense of death engulfed him.

His body tensed instinctively, goosebumps rising across his skin. A cold shiver crawled up his spine, as if his brain itself were being suffocated.

This was Raven's full magical power—and it was lethal.

Her face contorted, veins bulging beneath her skin. Her teeth, now sharp and needle-like, bared in a monstrous snarl. Her four eyes burned with an eerie glow, her entire presence twisted into something terrifying.

Her cloak surged violently despite the still air, revealing her thin, delicate body beneath.

Dark energy poured from her like a black hole, flooding the room with an overwhelming evil aura. A howling wind rushed through the space, thick with the scent of something unholy.

The atmosphere was thick with rage, sorrow, frustration, turmoil, despair, arrogance, hatred, jealousy, inferiority, emptiness, greed, anxiety, and pain—all the evils of the world, swirling together.

A normal person would have gone insane instantly.

Her body pulsed with dark energy, her power seeping into every corner of the room.

Above her head, a faint translucent raven emerged, gradually growing clearer.

Her entire form was now shrouded in shadows. Her ten fingers, nails blood-red, dripped with dark ichor.

Bardi felt the sharp sting of needles piercing into his back. Every cell in his body screamed to flee.

The overwhelming negative emotions surging through the room clawed at his mind, stirring a violent, bloodthirsty urge within him, an instinct to kill, destroy, and indulge in carnage.

But his will was unshakable. Like an immovable stone, he crushed the rising desires beneath his own iron resolve.

"My blood will enter your body. It will be painful—endure it."

"I will inscribe the magic circle on you with my demon blood."

"You will take on my presence—my essence. Trigon will seek to claim me… to control me."

"I will be inside you, fighting alongside you."

"Alright."

…

Above Manhattan, beneath the bright winter sun, a massive storm of dark clouds suddenly churned into existence.

Thick and oppressive, the darkness rolled across the sky, unsettling those below. A maddening energy twisted through the air, its mere presence pushing emotions toward the brink of hysteria.

The clouds swirled, slowly forming a vortex.

Something evil was descending.

Something that would corrupt the world itself.