"You've finally awakened," Tim said as he instantly reverted to his expressionless state, his worry disappearing from his face.
He walked up to Raven and proceeded with a series of questions: "Who are you? What are those demons chasing you? Why are they after you? What are their weaknesses? How can those demons be killed?"
Raven didn't respond to Tim. Instead, she rubbed her forehead and looked around with confusion.
"... Why am I here?" Raven murmured, now awake but exhausted. She only remembered using her last ounce of strength to transport herself to a "deserted island." But now, it seemed like she was on a shore?
"Hey! Can't you hear me talking?" Tim raised his voice.
At the sound, Raven snapped awake, realizing there were still people around.
She immediately jumped up from the ground, taking three steps back while warning loudly, "Don't come any closer to me!"
"If you don't want to die, then stay far away from me. Run as far as you can!" Raven's gaze remained vigilant as she scanned her surroundings, guarding against something and signaling Tim to keep his distance.
"If you're worried about the people chasing you, one of them is currently engaged with my friends in battle," Tim said solemnly. "Do you know someone named Jericho? He has taken over my friend's body. Do you know of any way to expel him from my friend's body?"
"You said your friends are fighting against the followers of the Church of Blood?" Raven's pupils contracted. She had done her best to remain hidden, moving only where there were no innocent bystanders.
Evading the Church of Blood's pursuit, she had fled from the eastern part of New Jersey to the western part of California, spanning the entire country, passing countless cities and wildernesses.
For the most part, she had traveled on foot. Whenever she used her powers, the Blood Cult's priests would pinpoint her location, and their followers would close in on her.
If she didn't use her powers, they could only sense her rough location.
What Raven never expected was that even though she had tried her best to avoid contact with others, innocent people had still been affected in the end.
This burdened her with deep self-blame.
"Where are they? The Blood Cult is not something regular people can face. They're in constant danger!" Raven's expression turned anxious.
"So, these cultists chasing you are from that Church of Blood? Are they studying how to turn people into demons? Who exactly are you? What's your connection to this Blood Cult?" Tim couldn't yet trust Raven, so naturally, he wouldn't tell her where Superboy had gone.
He just wanted to extract information from this mysterious girl as quickly as possible.
"I don't have time to explain these matters to you, and you shouldn't know either. What you should do now is tell me where your friends are. I can help them. Please believe me, I'm not a bad person," Raven said earnestly. She could sense emotional fluctuations from anyone, making Tim's skepticism as clear as day to her.
Ultimately, without saying a word, Tim silently pointed in a direction, unsure if he had come to believe Raven or if he simply had no other choice.
Raven instantly transformed into a black crow, speeding off in the direction indicated by Tim. In the blink of an eye, she disappeared into the sky.
Meanwhile, in an area dozens of kilometers away at sea.
A half-naked boy with eerie red glints in his eyes was engaged in a fierce battle with another person and a beast.
It was a considerably tall woman and a green python measuring over a hundred meters in length.
It was indeed Starfire and Beast Boy.
The Superboy under Jericho's control demonstrated overwhelming strength and a significantly aggressive fighting style.
Starfire's full-powered Starbolt struck Superboy, leaving only minor, almost negligible burns on his skin. The most significant achievement was merely destroying his clothes.
In contrast, when Superboy struck Starfire, whether with purely physical punches or the energy blasts from his heat vision, it inflicted severe injuries on her.
Starfire's abdomen was already charred black, her body covered in bruises and bloodstains. Several ribs in her human-like but slightly different ribcage were broken at least four times.
This was still the result of Beast Boy mostly shielding her from the damage. If not for Gar, Starfire's fate would have been much grimmer.
Even so, Beast Boy's condition wasn't much better than Starfire's.
More than half of his snake-like scales had been shattered by Superboy's attacks, his massive snake body covered in dents and green blood.
Even his fangs had been broken by Superboy.
Apart from the damage caused by Superboy, maintaining such a massive form also drained Beast Boy's stamina rapidly, and he wouldn't be able to hold on for much longer.
It wasn't that Starfire and Beast Boy wanted to confront Jericho to the death; they simply didn't have a chance to escape.
Not long after Raven arrived at the scene, she witnessed an immensely shocking scene.
Superboy flew to the tip of Beast Boy's tail, lifting the massive python's end with both hands. A burst of immense strength erupted, and he forcibly hoisted the hundred-plus-meter-long and over twenty-meter-wide python high into the air, soaring hundreds of meters above.
Starfire roared angrily as she charged at Superboy. She was too weak to release long-range Starbolts now, so she concentrated the little power she had left into her fists, relentlessly striking Superboy.
However, it was in vain. Jericho completely ignored Starfire's attacks. He continued to swing the python in the air, and Beast Boy's massive form cut through the air, emitting a deep, resounding roar.
Superboy's spinning speed grew faster and faster, until he finally flung Beast Boy violently towards the surface of the sea.
Boom!
A thunderous roar echoed, instantly creating towering waves. The seascape within dozens of kilometers turned tumultuous in the blink of an eye, and even ships that were relatively far from the scene experienced severe turbulence due to the sudden change in sea level.
"Gaah!"
The resounding caw of a crow echoed through the sky, immediately capturing everyone's attention.
Jericho turned his head towards the direction of the sound, only to see a black crow flying towards him at an unimaginable speed. In the blink of an eye, the crow entered his body.
Inside Superboy's soul space.
Yuri, who was trying to exit Conner's body, was entangled by the blood tendrils formed by the power of the Trigon. He found himself immobilized for the moment.
"Yuri!"
Conner exclaimed in anger and alarm, shouting towards Jericho, "Jericho! You want my body, not Yuri! Starfire and Gar can't stop you. Let them go!"
"Hahaha! Conner, you're saying this now? Have you gone insane?"
Jericho burst into laughter, only for his laughter to abruptly cease.
"What is entering now!?"
"The one who will eliminate you, Trigon's lapdog!"
An angry voice resounded as Raven suddenly appeared within the soul space, extending her hand towards Jericho.
A pitch-black surge of soul energy instantly emanated from her hand, forming a colossal palm that fiercely grasped towards Jericho.
°°°
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