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Chapter 187: Pure Scientific Evil III
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Ian also knows that the Crime Syndicate sent the Outsider to create a passage through the two universes for the Syndicate to invade.
So he had to wonder, what would the Outsider feel when he finds out his universe is no more?
Ian wondered, how he should set about destroying a universe. He certainly didn't want to use a paradox because he can not control it.
Still, he didn't dwell on that for long and started doing something he was planning on doing anyway. He thought about visiting another universe for a while now, and now that he did...
The people of Earth 3 experienced a very odd happening this day as something akin to a meteor fell right on Metropolis City.
It was fast and strong enough to eradicate the entire city before anyone can react. Almost everyone within turned to nothing but ashes.
The residents of Earth 3 were very much used to bad things happening. Hell, they thrived in such environments, but this... This threatened to cause the extinction of humanity.
"Hmm, I never really realized just how little I care or do I care at all?" Ian murmured, watching all the destruction he caused.
He was starting to realize just how similar he is to Dr. Manhattan. He was human, but the Manhattan project turned him into what he is today.
He turned into a blue construct, or better yet, a higher consciousness as Dr. Manhattan's current body is nothing but a toy for him. Destroying it means nothing.
Dr. Manhattan was once very human. After his transformation, Dr. Manhattan began to experience time in a non-linear, "quantum" fashion and was aware of and experiencing all the moments of his life simultaneously.
He was not omniscient, as he remained reliant on his intellect and sensory experiences to reach conclusions, but his range of sensory data had been abruptly extended.
This was in proportion to a lessening of his emotional capacities. This often led him to arrive at conclusions greatly different from those available to normal humans.
He had increasing difficulty acting in, what those around him considered, the present moment, leading to many accusations and even the public perception that he was emotionless and uninterested in human affairs.
He did nothing to prevent the assassination of John F. Kennedy, even though he was aware it was going to happen when he met the president.
His lack of sentiment was more a matter of radically altered priorities, owing to a colossal, unbridgeable gap of perception between him and the rest of humanity.
Ian felt the same. He felt like his perception is getting broader and broader by the day, but he didn't feel like that was what made him distant from humanity, instead, it was natural.
He felt at his core that he was very different and that he couldn't be the same especially as he started to get a better understanding of himself.
And now as he exterminated what he assumes to be millions of people, it felt like just another Tuesday. The fact that this universe is inherently evil didn't make him feel any better because he didn't feel bad about it at all.
"Who are you?!" Rubbles flew everywhere as someone fell from the sky, breaking the ground beneath him in the process. Adorned in a dark uniform was none other than Superman, an evil Superman.
Superman sized Ian up and down, seeming unconcerned about the destruction around as if the fall of the city he rules is of no consequence for him.
He eyed Ian, noticing him wearing very casual clothes, a white long-sleeved shirt, white pants, and simple white shoes. Very simple like he's on a vacation.
So much to Ian's surprise, Superman didn't give him time to respond, and instead added, "Do you want to join the Crime Syndicate? You could've just asked instead of doing this. The people of this city were very good slaves."
"Yeah, this world is odd." Ian's lips twitched. This world was more fucked up than he expected.
"This world? You're with him???!" Instantly, Superman jumped back a few hundred meters, seemingly in fright.
And so, Ian confirmed a hypothesis of his, "So someone tried to destroy this universe before me? That's why I saw so much destruction just about everywhere..."
Ian even sensed cracks in space while waiting on Neptune, and he felt the presence of fear throughout what he assumed to be the galaxy, and perhaps even more.
"You..." The reality of the situation was that Superman was trying to stall for time, waiting for his fellow Crime Syndicate members to arrive.
However, he was facing Ian here, and the latter deemed that this Superman is a bit weaker than Prime Earth's Superman.
Moreover, all Ian really needed was the Forever Force, but he didn't mind adding The Trident of Neptune to the equation, "You finally became well behaved huh?"
The Trident that always tried to escape before no longer sought that. Ian basically took perfect control of it, meaning... All of the oceans were his now.
A staff in one hand, and a Trident in the other, looking very frightening to Superman, but most of that fear came from Ian's bright yellow eyes... The Rose of fear.
At that moment, Ian was activating three Death Roses at the same time. The Rose of Forever, Fear, Magic.
He used the Forever Force to move fast, a bit too fast beyond time. He used Magic to reinforce the Trident and His Staff, and he used the emotion of fear for the same thing.
The third Petal tattoo was formed, therefore he could finally use three Death Roses at the same time, and the result was... Astonishing.
With one step, Ian was suddenly above Superman, and with one thrust, Ian created a hole so big it almost reached the core of the Earth.
The Trident's thrust seemed to crack space, causing chaos in anything on its way, and the result was an empty deep hole.
It was but an experiment for Ian, testing just how destructive a casual attack of his has become.
Strangely, Superman was still alive, albeit barely. Only half of his body was eradicated. The other half was being devoured by Ian's staff.
'Hm, It did make the first Vessel a bit stronger, but barely.' Ian noted as he turned his attention to the newly arrived heroes or villains in this world.
His eyes traversed the surrounding, capturing everything about them, especially Diana. It was very interesting to see other versions of people he knows.
He especially focused on their fear and tension though some had anger in them. Ian had no interest in speaking to them as he swung his staff, launching away the remains of Superman's dry body.
And soon, all that was left were dry bodies... Ian devoured them all, treating them more as experimental subjects for his Staff.
"Rose Of Divinity," Ian stated as he released his divinity, something he rarely uses. He mostly used it before to redirect attacks away from him just to keep the attacker alive.
However, since perfecting his divinity, its usage expanded to something as unfathomable as redirecting the moon's trajectory into the Earth.
He then enjoyed the show from Neptune while contemplating how to destroy the entire universe.
"We are different, but also the same... I dare to say that you might be more destructive than I. I like Puzzles, but I never enjoyed figuring out the puzzle that is myself. Everything else on the other hand... Just like you."
Yeah, Dr. Manhattan is way too dangerous. It feels like he can see through him, and understand him more than he understands himself, but that's also what Ian wants, to find the answers no matter the method.