DC: Chapter 120/121

Chapter 120

The magical reaction from the alley had erupted suddenly, like the emergence of an ancient, malevolent giant standing ominously over Manhattan, its sinister grin casting a shadow over the city.

For a brief, chilling moment, it felt as though the bustling night had ground to a halt beneath the oppressive aura. The sensation pressed down like a suffocating blanket of dread.

The magic surged toward Bardi like a scorching flame, triggering an intense surge of adrenaline. His muscles tensed, his eyes locked onto the alley, every fiber of his being ready for battle.

And then—

The torrent of power began to retreat.

The overwhelming wave of magical energy reversed as if time itself were rewinding. The force that had surged outward like an explosion now retracted, folding in on itself, shrinking moment by moment. It was like watching a nuclear blast rewind to the silent instant before detonation.

In mere seconds, the magic vanished entirely.

The streetlights overhead flickered with a faint zzzzt before sputtering out with a dying whine. One by one, the lights along the street went dark, plunging the block into shadow.

From nearby buildings, voices rose in confusion and frustration.

Bardi's body relaxed, his muscles unclenching as the adrenaline receded. His heart, which had hammered wildly in his chest, began to slow. Yet he maintained a combat-ready stance, his senses sharp and wary.

He narrowed his eyes and moved toward the alley.

The dim surroundings posed no challenge to his enhanced vision. Every detail stood out in sharp relief: filthy pavement slick with dark, stagnant water; trash piled against the walls, buzzing with disturbed flies; and the faint, lingering tension in the air where the magic had been.

Near the back of the alley, against the wall, sat a girl.

Her small frame slumped against the cold brick. Thin legs stretched out in front of her, encased in gray-white tights, stained with dirt and sewage. The damp fabric clung to her skin, accentuating the slender curve of her legs, no wonder those drunken predators had targeted her.

She wore a dark, skintight leotard beneath a black cloak. The hood of the cloak was pulled low over her face, hiding her features. Beneath the hood, a faint red glow pulsed like a distant ember.

Bardi's heart skipped.

"Raven."

He recognized her instantly, and a wave of surprise passed through him.

At first, he had assumed she was just another reckless high school girl, one of those teenagers who partied too hard, dabbled in drugs, and ended up in alleys like this. The kind of person he had no interest in saving.

But this was Raven. A future member of the Teen Titans.

That realization unsettled him.

In this world, superheroes hadn't yet made their grand entrance. The Justice League didn't exist, and the Teen Titans were still just a concept from the comics he remembered. Raven's presence here disrupted his understanding of the timeline.

But then again, this was reality, not a comic book. Deviations were inevitable.

He adjusted his mindset and continued forward.

His boots splashed softly through the stagnant puddles as he neared the girl. Her body remained limp beneath the cloak, legs splayed on the cold pavement.

Drawing closer, he could see her more clearly. The cloak was soaked and clung to her petite figure. Her legs, wrapped in damp tights, shivered faintly in the chill night air.

The hood of her cloak was tilted downward, casting her face in shadow.

Bardi reached out. His skin still tingled with the memory of the magical surge, but he forced his hand to remain steady as he gently tilted her chin upward.

Her skin was pale and cold to the touch.

As he lifted her face, the hood shifted, revealing her eyes.

Two pairs of crimson-red orbs stared back at him.

She had no pupils, just four glowing red eyes, swirling with an eerie, hypnotic light. The double set of eyes created a strange, disorienting illusion, as though she existed slightly out of sync with reality.

The red glow bathed Bardi's face, reflecting off his sharp features. His expression remained calm and curious as he examined her.

"Four eyes," he murmured softly. "Beautiful."

His admiration had nothing to do with aesthetics or attraction.

What he found captivating was the power behind those eyes, the infernal magic inherited from her demonic father, Trigon.

Raven's bloodline carried unimaginable potential. In the comics, she had been corrupted more than once. Each time, her blackened heart had unlocked a power vast enough to threaten entire worlds.

Even her father, Trigon, coveted her, longing to make his own daughter his general, a tool to help him conquer the multiverse.

Trigon was one of the most powerful, malevolent, and tyrannical demons across all dimensions.

Bardi didn't know what form Trigon took in this real world. The comics painted him as a nearly unstoppable force of evil. And if that power carried over into reality, then if Trigon were to appear right now, he could crush Bardi with a mere flick of his finger.

The sheer difference in power was staggering.

To use Raven for his own purposes meant potentially inviting the wrath of a multiversal demon.

The thought made Bardi's muscles tense. It was undeniably dangerous to get involved. The gap between his strength and Trigon's was immeasurable.

Still...

Raven's red pupils trembled at the sound of Bardi's quiet admiration. The crimson glow gradually faded from her four eyes. Her eyelids fluttered closed for a moment, and when she opened them again, the two extra eyes had vanished. Her gaze now held only a pair of dark irises, slowly focusing in the dim light.

In the silence of the alley, their eyes met.

Two wary souls locked in a wordless exchange.

Raven spoke first. Her voice was soft, low, and somber, tinged with the weight of exhaustion. It was the voice of someone unaccustomed to speaking, or perhaps simply weary of doing so.

"Your soul... your will... they're different."

Her words were less a statement and more an observation, uttered with a dull curiosity.

Before Bardi could respond, twin beams of headlights swept into the alley.

The harsh light illuminated the scene, casting long shadows along the wet pavement.

Without a word, Bardi moved. He bent down and slid his arms beneath Raven, one under her knees, the other supporting her back and lifted her effortlessly into a bridal carry.

Her body was light, almost too light.

Raven didn't resist. She simply tilted her head to the side, gazing at his profile as he carried her toward the car.

Her lips parted slightly.

"Please... help me."


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Chapter 121

In the alley.

Suddenly, the air tightened, and with a "boom," Zatara appeared in the darkness. He wore a black tuxedo, his figure lean, and his expression stern.

Moments ago, he had sensed the presence of a demon, an extraordinarily powerful one. The sheer pressure of its aura was overwhelming, standing at the pinnacle of this world. It was stronger than any demon that had ever appeared on Earth, terrifyingly so.

For a brief moment, the presence alone felt capable of obliterating New York, killing tens of millions in an instant.

Yet, that aura vanished within seconds.

This disappearance unsettled him even more.

The demon… was hiding.

His face remained grim as a sharp, icy glint appeared in his eyes.

"Is this... the calamity of my death?"

Zatara narrowed his eyes. In the darkness, a faint mystical glow shrouded his gaze as he began to trace the residual energy left behind in the area.

...

Fifth Avenue, New York.

A steady stream of vehicles moved like shadows across the avenue.

Inside a spacious black SUV with leather seats, Bardi and Raven sat side by side in the back. Mike, sitting in the driver's seat, glanced at them occasionally through the rearview mirror.

The entire situation felt surreal to him. Ever since his boss had granted him superpowers, the world had taken on new, bewildering dimensions. And now, there was a girl claiming to be the daughter of a demon, one who intended to use her to bind and destroy this world.

Even dreams didn't get this strange.

But what really left Mike speechless was that his boss believed her.

The car remained silent as the city lights flashed past the windows.

Raven sat pale and silent. She had said a lot already.

Bardi's gaze was thoughtful. After a moment, he spoke in a low voice, "I believe you."

Raven had just finished recounting her past, a tale with subtle differences from the one Bardi remembered from the comics.

Her mother had been deceived by a cult into summoning a demon from the far reaches of the universe. This demon had formed a connection with her mother, resulting in Raven's birth.

Only after giving birth did her mother realize the true nature of the being she had summoned. Horrified, she fled with Raven to the Azarath Sanctuary, a haven dedicated to peace and purity, hoping to suppress Raven's inherited demonic powers.

But the demon, Trigon, tracked them down.

He destroyed the entire sanctuary. In a final act of desperation, Raven's mother and the sanctuary's elders combined their strength to send her to Earth, sacrificing their lives in the process.

For two weeks now, Raven had been on Earth, searching for individuals capable of helping her seal Trigon's projection. If she failed, the demon would use her as a conduit to invade Earth, just as he'd done with countless other worlds.

Then she met Bardi and sensed the anomaly within his soul. His will seemed disconnected from his genetic destiny, a peculiarity she couldn't explain but instinctively trusted.

Raven sat with her pale hands clasped, wrapped in a dark cloak. Her body language radiated exhaustion and caution; she couldn't even allow herself to feel fear or sorrow. Strong emotions would crack the seal on her powers, exposing Earth to Trigon's tracking.

"But… I don't think I have the power to fight such a powerful demon." Bardi's eyes remained fixed on Raven's face. Despite her youth—just sixteen or seventeen—her skin was bloodless, her expression drained from years of self-repression.

He understood his own strength. It wasn't nearly enough to contend with a being capable of annihilating an entire planet.

"He's only sending a projection, not his true body." Raven's voice was low, almost devoid of emotion. Her petite figure seemed to shrink further beneath her cloak. "As long as we can sever and seal the projection, Trigon won't be able to use me to invade Earth. But when my powers leaked just now, I shortened our time. Within a week, he'll lock onto my location."

She hesitated and added, "And when that happens, Earth will become his next target."

Mike's grip tightened on the steering wheel. Through the rearview mirror, he cast another glance at the girl cloaked in mystery. Demons invading Earth in a week? It sounded like something from a bad movie, but Bardi's serious expression kept his skepticism in check.

Bardi remained silent. From what he knew about Trigon, Raven's fear wasn't exaggerated. In the comics, the Teen Titans defeated Trigon but that scenario seemed far too idealistic to apply here.

"What are the odds of success?" Bardi asked, his brow furrowed.

"Fifty percent," Raven answered mechanically. Her pale face revealed no confidence. "Your soul is… unique. It transcends the genetic potential of your body. I don't know why. But if you can endure Trigon's spiritual onslaught long enough, I can use the red crystal to seal his projection."

Her lips tightened. "If we fail, we'll die like my mother and the sanctuary elders did."

Bardi leaned back into the seat, his thoughts heavy.

He had always avoided confrontations with overwhelming forces. His style was to manipulate events from the shadows, laying traps and gathering resources until he became strong enough to act with certainty.

But now, fate had forced his hand.

And the opponent was Trigon, a near-omnipotent demon lord whose power dwarfed anything Bardi had ever faced.

This moment was far too dangerous. To face Trigon's projection, to resist the soul-crushing power of that demonic force, Bardi knew it might consume him entirely.

But if he succeeded, Raven would help him confront Jor-El and secure the Codex of Life. With that, his path to conquering the multiverse would become far smoother.

As long as he could integrate the Codex of Life, he wouldn't need to spend years to transform into a Golden Superman. That kind of power—transcendent, nearly invincible was worth risking everything for.

"Maybe... you can help me with something first. It'll still be part of dealing with your father, so it works for both of us."

Bardi's eyes flickered with calculation. He hoped Raven would assist him first, helping to patch the genetic defects limiting his potential. If he could secure the Codex of Life beforehand, his strength would grow significantly, making the battle against Trigon's projection more manageable.

Right now, getting involved in Raven's battle against Trigon was like walking into a death trap without sufficient preparation.

"I don't have time," Raven said flatly. Her voice was calm, almost devoid of emotion. "I'll need several days to open a passage to the Azarath Sanctuary and catch Trigon's projection off guard. There's no time for detours."

She had no idea what Bardi was planning, but she understood one thing: time was running out.

The urgency left no room for distractions. Extracting the Codex of Life, if possible would take far longer than a week. Even if they defeated Jor-El immediately, there wouldn't be enough time to harness the Codex before Trigon's projection arrived.

Bardi fell silent, turning his head to gaze out the car window. He knew she was right. There was no room to delay.

Outside, pedestrians moved along the sidewalks, unaware of the cosmic threat looming over them. Cars passed in streaks of color, headlights flashing across the night.

This was an opportunity and a potential death sentence.

Bardi had spent years meticulously preparing, laying traps and contingency plans across Earth. Now, despite all his careful maneuvering, he was forced into a direct confrontation with overwhelming power. His life hung in the balance, yet he had no choice but to gamble everything.

He rolled down the window, letting the night wind whip through his hair.

A simmering anger stirred within him. This world was suffused with gods, demons, and monsters, beings that wielded power beyond imagination. And despite all his schemes, despite his relentless pursuit of strength, he was still so weak that Jor-El alone could crush him like an insect.

That weakness gnawed at him. The helplessness he felt in the face of these cosmic forces burned through his veins like acid.

He craved power, power vast enough to shatter gods, demons, anyone who stood in his path.

His expression hardened. The cold glint in his eyes reflected his determination. "If I survive this, one day, I'll make your father my servant."

Raven's eyes widened slightly. Her body trembled for a moment as she processed his words.

She stared at Bardi in disbelief. The mere projection of Trigon was enough to destroy a planet, and this man was talking about turning him into a servant. It sounded like the delusional bravado of a man too proud to accept his own limitations.

Still, something about his tone unsettled her.

She dismissed the thought, attributing his defiance to wounded pride.