If the combat power of the League's superheroes could be quantified, a 200% increase wouldn't just double their strength—it would be astronomical. For example, at his best, Superman's speed was only slightly less than the Flash's. What would happen if his state were doubled?
Superman vanished from everyone's sight, only Barry barely able to keep up with his movements. As his fist appeared again, Doomsday's roar of shock and fury echoed through the sky. The monstrous curved bone spurs on its jaw, sharp as fangs, snapped like deadwood and flew out, embedding into the ground.
Hal was stunned. "What did you do to him? This boost is too exaggerated!"
The Man of Steel gripped Doomsday's thick neck. The sharp bone spurs that could once pierce his steel-like skin were now harmless. Despite Doomsday's howls and struggles, Superman remained unmoved. His eyes glowed a dangerous red as he soared into the sky, taking Doomsday with him.
"Bring me that monster's head!" Diana shouted, tossing her sword.
Without turning, Clark caught the Amazonian sword effortlessly. In a blink, he pierced the troposphere, stratosphere, and exosphere, ascending into the dark expanse of space. Against the dim cosmic backdrop, his cape fluttered, and the Kryptonian's figure was bathed in the sun's golden light. He turned the sword hilt slightly, the blade reflecting a cold gleam.
"I think it's time to end this," Superman said softly. Though his words couldn't travel in the vacuum, Doomsday, as a mindless killing machine, felt his fierce resolve and saw the cold, burning determination in his eyes.
"What do you think?"
The sword, forged by Hephaestus, one of the twelve Olympian gods and god of fire and forge, could split atoms. And now, this genuine divine artifact was in the hands of Earth's mightiest hero, enhanced with epic-level buffs from both Golden Eagle and World's Greatest Detective.
Its blade was incomparably beautiful, incredibly swift, and carried the dazzling sparks of the sun, cutting with an unstoppable force.
This was the last thing Doomsday saw.
The world grew silent.
Or rather, the universe had always been silent. The chaos was only within Clark's heart, burdened with the unceasing cries and screams that weighed heavier than Metropolis's darkest nights.
Superman hovered quietly outside the atmosphere, holding Doomsday's head in one hand, Hephaestus's sword slowly lowering in the other. His silhouette appeared lonely.
If disaster is inevitable...can this still be called a triumph?
"Hal, Barry, protect the citizens of Metropolis," Batman ordered.
"Got it."
The fractured ground wasn't entirely due to Doomsday. It was also the result of human actions. Metropolis's S.T.A.R. Labs and the Cadmus Project both extended hundreds of layers underground. These weren't the only unbelievably complex subterranean structures in the city. Metropolis, like Gotham, was a semi-coastal city not located on stable geological ground. The seismic disturbances caused by Doomsday were merely the final straw breaking the camel's back.
At Cadmus, underground laboratories initiated defense protocols immediately. But nature's power was nearly limitless. The earthquake waves tore through the underground's overlapping steel and concrete layers like paper, splitting the entire Cadmus lab complex in two.
Even the usually composed Lex Luthor hadn't foreseen such an event. His underground research and the prisoners held there, the massive losses, were unbearable even for him.
In the collapsing labs, an ocular stem slowly lit up with a cold blue glow.
"Time... Lords..."
Its voice, mechanical yet tinged with madness, echoed.
"Exterminate! Exterminate!"
"Clark succeeded!" Baia exclaimed as she received the mission completion notification the moment the battle ended. Simultaneously, Superman was transported back to their initial battleground with Doomsday, one hand holding the sword and the other holding the head. Wasting no time, Superman dropped Doomsday's head and flew into Metropolis to assist the citizens.
The earthquake caused by the ground fissures toppled buildings like toy blocks. For a coastal city, an earthquake and a tsunami often go hand in hand.
"Don't worry," a new voice came over the comms. "Arthur sent me to help you."
Baia didn't recognize this female voice; it was Mera, Aquaman's wife, who had the power to control water. With her around, they didn't need to worry about the tsunami.
Batman said, "Barry, I need you to clear an area for the injured. Swallow will be there too."
Bruce knew Baia's abilities weren't without cost. Last time, she slept for over twenty hours and had a splitting headache after saving Nora. It was his... daughter against tens of thousands of lives.
They needed her.
Baia had no objections. Superman, flying overhead, seemed to have quickly adjusted his emotions. Despite the sorrow still etched on his face, he paused to thank Baia.
As Baia healed the injured, she checked her system notifications.
Host has achieved the hidden mission [Legends Never Fall], successfully assisting the Justice League in defeating Doomsday, and has received the skill card [Absolute Adaptation].
[Absolute Adaptation]: Using this card grants a new passive skill [Whisper], which allows the user to gain 30% of the healing effect applied to others, along with a slight recovery of mental energy. This skill is upgradable.
Baia felt a surge of energy. With this, she could heal more people without exhausting her mental energy. She immediately used the card, adding a new skill to her repertoire—no, two new skills.
There was another greyed-out skill in her skill list, named [Swallow], matching her codename.
[Swallow]: Restores 0.5% health per second to friendly and neutral targets within a 500-meter radius of the host.
It required 50 skill points to unlock. Baia felt a pang of frustration; she hadn't felt this stingy about skill points in a long time.
Thanks to Superman, Baia had finally achieved the title of Best Support, but she still needed 40 points. She needed them now more than ever.
But there was no time to fret.
Around Swallow, the atmosphere was chaotic. The earthquake had stopped, but the sky was still dark. Among the injured was even a little girl in pajamas. The piercing sirens of ambulances sounded like heavenly music to the citizens, who clung to each other, crying.
Her uniform was dark, but it seemed to glow among the crowd.
Some lightly injured citizens formed impromptu rescue teams with the Metropolis police to help transport the wounded. Despite the timely warning, the casualties were still horrifyingly high, so those brought to Swallow were in critical condition.
Even those with severe bleeding were sent to the hospital if possible.
Metropolis had six hospitals, two of which were incapacitated. All medical personnel from those two had merged with the teams of the remaining hospitals to help save lives. The bridge connecting Metropolis to Gotham was open, with private car owners and ambulances transporting less severely injured citizens to Gotham's hospitals.
In the darkness, cries were everywhere.
But the flow of vehicle lights on the bridge, weak yet resilient, ignited the torch of hope.
"Why?" Baia wondered. "Why am I always a step behind?"
"Why can't I save everyone?"
Even the sky seemed unkind, with drizzling rain starting to fall.
The people brought to Baia were those in the most desperate need of her healing—those who could die at any moment. As she saved one, another would forever close their eyes.
Baia felt a surge of unfamiliar anger, sadness, and fear welling up inside her.
She stood here, wielding supreme authority.
Deciding who could live, and who would die.
This power, she didn't want it at all. She didn't want to make such choices.
If only... she could escape from all of this, wouldn't that be wonderful? Why did it have to be her?
"Go save her, save her," a white-haired old man pushed Baia with hands covered in blood, pointing towards a young girl who lay unconscious.
"My goodness, are you alright?" An anxious female voice woke Baia from her daze. Even amidst extreme emotions, Baia continued to mechanically use her skills, until a golden-haired female doctor shook her awake.
"I'm Angela Ziegler, a field medic," she said. "I know what you're thinking, but right now all you can do is not think about anything and just do your best."
"You're not alone, little medic."
An angelic kiss wiped away Baia's tears.
"I — we, will be here, fighting alongside you until the end."
Wearing a nurse's uniform, Jenny appeared at some point in Metropolis, with a Gotham City Hospital badge on her chest. She went back and forth, delivering water to the injured and the doctors. She ran over to ask Baia quietly if she was thirsty.
Baia: "Everything will be alright, won't it?"
Ziegler smiled. "I swear."
A golden light pierced through the overcast sky, the radiant glow of the Lasso of Truth illuminating the heavens. Wonder Woman, brushing aside the lightning, dispelled the gloom, revealing a brilliant starry sky beneath the clouds.
A hint of dawn broke on the horizon, light piercing through the darkness, as the sun rose slowly from the edge of the steel forest.
The day had dawned.