As Joker watched expectantly, the demon wearing the mask began to tremble uncontrollably. A dark force arose from the demon's body, but when it reached a certain point on the demon's head, the dark force seemed to recede slightly...
"It seems that the mask's power really isn't very effective!" Joker observed the demon's changes closely and murmured with a flicker in his eyes.
Although the demon and General Ica had each claimed their own dimensions to be the most powerful, it now seemed that the hell dimension might have the upper hand...
After all, Joker had glimpsed the vastness of the dark power within the mask, but even such a mask couldn't completely devour and control the demon's original power; it only suppressed it...
But General Ica's own power was much greater than the demon's! Otherwise, the demon wouldn't have been captured by a few shadow warriors.
"Eh? Who won this?" After a while, the demon suddenly stopped moving, and the fluctuations of power on its body ceased, making Joker curiously ask with a smile.
"Swish!" Just then, a huge claw reached for Joker's head, seemingly about to crush it on the spot!
"Tsks!" However, facing such a life-and-death crisis, Joker chuckled without a hint of panic and said, "Little Ica, you're not being good, huh? What, do you want to leave me? That would make me very sad..."
"I have him under control now. This proves that our dark dimension is superior!" General Ica, controlling the demon, stopped his claw just in front of Joker. Ultimately, he didn't dare to attack because, after spending so much time with Joker, he still hadn't figured out the true extent of this terrifying man's abilities. Given his past actions, General Ica finally submitted under Joker's dominance.
"Why not try? Maybe you could kill me?" Joker looked at General Ica expectantly and said, "Honestly, I was just a little scared, almost died..."
"I won't try. I'm worried if I kill you, once you go to hell, you'll become an even more terrifying demon..." After a moment of silence, General Ica admitted that although he controlled this demon, their strengths weren't on the same level. He somewhat understood that in terms of dimensional strength, his dark dimension indeed couldn't compare to the hell dimension.
And after Joker acquired the mask and power from the dark dimension, he could possess power far beyond his own. So, if Joker truly died and fell into the hell dimension, he might become an even more horrifying existence...
"So, you really have him under control?" Joker sighed in disappointment, then examined the demon's body and asked.
"I have. No matter what, he can't struggle anymore. This is the power of the dark dimension; he's no different from those shadow warriors now!" General Ica said with certainty.
"Oh?" Joker's eyes brightened, and he eagerly asked, "What if this demon devours other hell demons and continues to increase his strength? Can you still control him?"
"You mean?" General Ica paused, hesitantly looking at Joker.
"Yes, Gotham is my and the little bat's territory; how can we allow other creatures to cause trouble? It would be good to feed this demon and see how powerful it can truly become..." A new plan formed in Joker's mind.
"There shouldn't be a problem. The essence of his hell power hasn't been devoured by the dark force, only his consciousness has become a servant. As long as I... you give the orders, it should be fine." General Ica replied after a moment of silence.
"Snap!" Hearing this, Joker nodded, removed the mask from the demon's face, and the demon remained motionless.
"Little Ica, to be honest, I'm going to miss you!" Joker put on Ica's mask again, his voice carrying a twisted sense of reluctance.
"Huh?" General Ica was somewhat puzzled. If he's reluctant, then keep wearing it; he couldn't defy Joker anyway.
"Go, devour your companions. But you seem quite weak; let the shadow warriors help you." Joker didn't respond to General Ica's internal question but waved his hand, and the shadow demon disappeared with the warriors, turning Gotham into a new hunting ground...
"How did he do it? He's controlling a demon? And nurturing it? Isn't he afraid of playing with fire?" A few days later, Batman frowned. He had noticed the shadow demon, but it was too late. The demon's power was now beyond that of shadow warriors or ordinary demons.
Batman tried using heavy firepower, but even laser weapons posed no threat to the shadow demon. After Batman increased the power, the demon vanished in a flash. Whenever another demon appeared, the shadow demon would reappear, continuing to devour its peers and enhance its strength.
"Master, a decision must be made!" Alfred's reminding voice made Batman frown because he had yet to test whether his contingency plan for Robert would work effectively.
"Can we lure Superman to Gotham? If the two appear together, they should be wary of each other. Though I don't know who's stronger..." Batman asked about the feasibility after a moment of silence.
If he had decided to seek external help, it couldn't be someone completely uncontrollable. Conversely, if external forces could check each other, that would be better for Batman.
Indeed, even knowing Robert's identity, Batman didn't know Clark's Superman identity. Not just because of the stark difference between Clark and Superman, but also because Superman and Robert appeared differently in Batman's eyes, with completely different abilities and styles.
Robert had interacted with Batman, who understood him better, while Superman was relatively unfamiliar, giving Batman a sense of distance. Even Batman had to admit, Superman seemed more like a god than a human. Upon seeing the demons, Batman even suspected Superman might be a character from mythology...
"It's difficult. Superman's movements aren't fixed. He seems to appear wherever there's danger, but he has never come to Gotham, not even passed by..." Alfred quickly analyzed.
"It seems Superman thinks with you in Gotham, there's no need for a new superhero."
"Superhero? Huh." Batman muttered ambiguously. Even suspecting Superman was a mythological figure, Batman didn't have much fondness for him, as he didn't believe in selfless gods. Superman's actions must have an unknown purpose!
In this regard, Batman found Robert slightly more likable. At least, to him, Robert seemed more human. And as a human, weaknesses can always be found!
"Let's try. And contact Robert too. We can't let this demon keep devouring; I'm afraid it will eventually lose control..." After a moment, Batman decided to contact Robert.
However, the first message Robert received was from Diana, asking him to come over. There was a strange demon she couldn't track and wondered if Robert could help, given his unique sensing abilities.
"Kara, I'll be back. Continue with Peter Parker and the others against the demons. We probably don't need the demon curse anymore. Recently, demons have been appearing more frequently. I've found an interesting demon, going to check it out..." Robert, who was guiding Peter Parker and others against demons, lit up at the news of a strange demon. Thinking he hadn't seen Diana in a while, he hurriedly called out to Kara and vanished in a flash.
"Interesting demon?" Kara frowned, looking where Robert disappeared, then noticed the looks from Susan Storm and Lorna, and proudly said, "What are you looking at? Your powers are improving so slowly. Why not focus more on fighting demons? Now that Robert's gone, I'm your instructor..."
"Tch, pretending to be a tiger!" Susan Storm just smiled faintly at Kara's words, but Lorna muttered discontentedly.
"Pretending? Even disregarding certain aspects, in terms of sheer strength, some people are no match for me. Want to give it a try?" Kara's eyes narrowed as she teased Lorna. Without Robert holding her back, she wouldn't let Lorna challenge her!
"Forget it, I won't stoop to your level!" Lorna shrank back. She thought she could compete with Kara after her second talisman enhancement, but from their encounters with demons, Lorna realized the gap between herself and Kara, though she was still somewhat stubborn.
Except for matters regarding Robert, Kara could usually suppress Lorna just by unleashing her own aura.
"Huh? Why did Diana start fighting already? Did she find that strange demon?" Elsewhere, Robert flew towards Europe and sensed Diana's aura. Fearing the demon might be dealt with by Diana, he hurriedly sped towards her direction.
"Poof!" As Robert approached, he saw Diana, full of battle intent, plunge the Sword of the Fire God into the demon's head, turning it to dust.
"Sparing the demon under the sword... Huh?" Robert instinctively called out, but soon his gaze shifted to Diana's left, and he launched a Ki Blast.
"Roar!" As the Ki Blast hit, a blurred figure emerged, roaring. But before it could finish, the Ki Blast sent it flying away.
After a few rolls, the figure vanished again, undetectable by Robert's vision, hearing, or even Ki sensing and telepathy...
"You're here? That was quick. Then why haven't you come to see me for so long?" Diana sheathed the Sword of the Fire God, a smile playing on her lips as she looked at Robert with a half-smile.
"I've been busy since returning, especially recently. They say some dimensional breach occurred, and demons keep popping up. Unfortunately, none are very powerful..." Robert landed in front of Diana, spreading his hands, and asked, "So, was that the strange demon you mentioned? How did it disappear?"
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