Bab 158: People Have Limits
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"God... God really exists?"
Several people stared in shock.
"Is it too late for me to go to church and pray every week now?"
The Flash stole a glance above, stammered a bit, and assuming a praying posture.
Batman frowned, unsure whether to doubt David's words or question something else.
David remained composed; he spoke the truth.
'In the DC world, God does indeed exist. Not only does He exist, but He possesses omniscient and omnipotent and supreme power.'
In the entire multiverse, there is no being more powerful than God. However, He rarely appears in front of people, and even many of the angels He created have never truly seen Him, only hearing His voice.
'There was even a rebellion by an angelic legion, reaching the highest level of heaven, only to find an empty God's throne.'
"If I were a god,
I don't think I'd be interested in carefully arranging the fate of every mortal."
Batman eased his frown and spoke, causing a hint of resentment to appear on Cyborg's face, who fell into silence.
"Similarly, if God is as powerful as described in the Bible..."
He looked at the projected image of Jarod Dale.
"Then if He wants to redeem someone, He probably doesn't need the power of angels."
The implication of Batman's words was that he didn't believe Jared to be an angel sent by God to Earth.
"He's most likely just a powerful metahuman."
David, who had little interest in Jarod's identity, agreed with this viewpoint.
God rarely appears, he rarely intervenes in the affairs of the universe, let alone caring about a small group of suffering people on Earth.
"In fact, in some classified military files, I found some terrifying things about him."
Cyborg raised his head.
A photo was displayed, showing a vast expanse of scorched earth emitting heat.
From the remnants of fortress-like walls and the distant burnt-out wreckage of armored vehicles, one could barely discern that this was a military base.
"What is this...?"
Looking at the scorched ground as if after a war, The Flash, puzzled, wondered if this place had been carpet-bombed by artillery shells?
"This happened two days ago in a small African country called Nyasir."
"Jarod did this?"
Batman's expression slightly changed.
"Yes, it was him."
Cyborg looked serious, somewhat uneasy.
"Nyasir has a local ancient indigenous worship of gods, and the local laws prohibit the worship of other religious gods. There was a church family that entered the country to preach, and for violating the law, the entire family was accused of heresy and hanged."
"Jared, or the 'Redemption' as he calls himself, flew to Nyasir, flew there, and didn't have control of his emotions questioning this. During the questioning, soldiers fired at him."
"He retaliated, and a dazzling blue light enveloped the entire military base."
When the light dissipated, a base that covered dozens of acres, with thirty-six buildings and a whole stationed army, was flattened in a single blow!"
This terrifying event, which would undoubtedly cause a great uproar in the world, was concealed due to fear of public panic by various countries.
"How did he behave afterward?"
Apart from nuclear weapons, there is no other weapon capable of replicating such an effect in one strike. Batman inquired with a serious tone, "Is there any sign of weakness?"
If this 'Redemption' loses control of his emotions in a bustling city, one strike could wipe out an entire block.
David looked at the disturbing photos of the scene and touched his lips.
The 'Redemption' not only had super speed but also could release energy that even surpassed Clark. At this age, Clark probably couldn't evaporate a military base along with steel and concrete with just his heat vision. This might not even be Jared's limit.
Cyborg shook his head.
"After releasing one strike, various military satellites from different countries observed him looking at his own hands. It seemed like he was somewhat frightened by his own power and quickly left that country. His speed was still as fast as when he arrived, too fast to catch on camera, and it's hard to tell how much power that one strike cost him."
There was a moment of silence in the conference room.
This proves that the Redemption has the ability to unleash a second or even more attacks.
If he didn't concentrate his power like that to one military base, could he kill half a city's population with one strike?
"But after half a day, the Redemption seemed to have been enlightened. No longer in panic, he returned to Nyasir calmly and rationally. The Nyasir government was terrified, facing someone like a humanoid nuclear weapon. They made various concessions, rapidly amending the country's laws to allow religious freedom."
"Subsequently, the First Redemption Church allocated large funds, claiming to cooperate with the Nyasir government to establish social welfare services including hospitals, schools, orphanages, and more in the country including a series of facilities of the Church."
Cyborg continued narrating the subsequent developments.
"If it weren't for the bad things in the beginning, the later events wouldn't be considered bad."
The Flash made a fair comment.
Executing a family just because they had a different belief seemed too ignorant and bloody for the small African country of Nyasir, like uncivilized primitives.
Building hospitals, schools, orphanages, and other social welfare facilities, along with churches, in Nyasir was indeed a good thing.
However, the kind hearted Barry Allen couldn't condone the Redemption's actions of destroying a military base and killing all the soldiers inside before that.
Batman frowned.
"The Redemption is not only potentially dangerous now. He entered other countries, destroyed a military base under the pretext of his believers being killed, and forced a country's government to amend laws according to his will."
'If it happened once, it will happen again. The next time, it might not just be the persecution of followers but a hindrance to preaching, or even atheism?'
However, he kept such extreme speculation to himself, not directly voicing it.
Batman subtly glanced at the others. He knew that many members of the League wouldn't agree with his dark perspective.
'Something doesn't add up,' David rubbed his chin.
The Redemption's strength, if not surpassing that of Superman, was at least very close. Logically, he should be quite famous, especially being a character on Earth.
Why had David never heard of this person before?
'It's probably just a small appearance in the comics,' David suspected that the power of this 'Redemption' might have some huge limitations.
"So, that's the entire incident in Nyasir. In addition, there's some military investigation into the 'Redemption.'"
Cyborg looked at the last few lines of information with a slightly hesitant tone.
Sitting up straight, Batman's gaze sharpened. He wanted to hear if the United States military, which has always been wary of metahumans, had gathered crucial information about the Redemption.
"The founder of the First Redemption Church is a priest named Father Hightower, who looks quite old, around sixty or seventy. It was he who absorbed Jarod into the church. The identity of this person is a mystery, and Hightower should be an alias."
"Every time the 'Redemption' sets out to rescue and help oppressed believers in areas with restricted religious freedom, Father Hightower would use the internet to call on the believers in the church to pray together for the 'Redemption.' He repeatedly told them to believe in the Lord, believe in redemption, and their faith could turn into the power of the 'Redemption.'"
"Faith turns into power?"
Everyone in the room keenly caught the key point in the last confidential information from Cyborg.
"Is this his limitation? No one believing in him means no power."
David raised an eyebrow.
After seeing Jared's strength comparable to the current Clark, he had become slightly interested in this person whom he had never heard of before.
"No!"
While Cyborg and the Flash were still pondering, Batman's face changed dramatically. It seemed like he realized some impending danger.
"What's wrong?"
The Flash turned his head in confusion.
"'Redemption' is already twenty-six years old this year, and it's been two years since he discovered his abilities.
What kind of person would be scared by their own familiar powers after two years?
Unless his power experienced a sudden surge, becoming so powerful that it felt unfamiliar to him."
Batman's face became serious as he stood up, manipulating the holographic projection and displaying several crucial pieces of information for everyone to see.
"'Redemption' went to Nyasir when he previously demonstrated his powers to help believers in several other countries. The number of followers absorbed by the First Redemption Church reached a new level."
"Faith is power. No faith, no power. Conversely—more belief in 'Redemption' represents more powerful abilities!"
Facing the still puzzled duo, David spoke slowly.
"'Redemption' displayed god-like power in Nyasir. The country's suppressed faith due to local laws probably erupted like a tidal wave. The First Redemption Church likely absorbed even more followers.
His power should have experienced another surge."
"And that's not all."
Batman stood up, walked to the window, and looked at the deep sea in the distance, shaking his head solemnly.
"The believers were persecuted, a family was hanged.
'Redemption' appeared to avenge them, defending religious freedom. He made the ignorant country amend its laws, allowing everyone to freely choose their beliefs.
What an excellent piece of propaganda material."
As long as there was enough money, public opinion on the internet was nothing more than a manipulable toy for anyone to play with.
Cyborg, realizing something, quickly closed his eyes and searched for the headlines of major news media worldwide. He sighed in relief.
"For now, the international news headlines in various countries are mostly dominated by us."
Batman and the Flash also took out their phones and checked, wanting to confirm themselves.
The Justice League's first intervention helped restore peace to the Middle East, causing enough international attention. Comments under the news were not discussing the existence of the 'Redemption,' but rather the significance of the Justice League's emergence.
Some people said that with the Justice League, there was no need to worry about the Earth descending into war, celebrating this development.
[We should all be grateful for the Justice League. From now on, there are people silently watching over the world's safety.]
But there were also skeptics questioning the Justice League's right to enter other countries and mediate wars without their consent.
[The Justice League prevented war by arresting political leaders of other countries. Does their power override the political systems of all countries on Earth?]
[Will there be someone sympathizing with warmongering dictators who disregard the demands of their people?]
[Power must be kept in check.
Unrestricted power is a wild beast, bound to harm sooner or later. Are we going to entrust our safety to the moral sense of just a few members of the Justice League?
All countries must unite to restrict the Justice League!]
[This perspective isn't entirely wrong...]
Opinions were being expressed online about the Justice League, superheroes who had appeared not long ago. Legislation regarding superheroes hadn't been fully established, and various governments had not yet decided how to handle organizations like the Justice League.
[I heard that the guy called Black Adam this time is very powerful, impervious to weapons.
He seems to control thunder and lightning. If he weren't powerful, he couldn't have conquered a country in such a short time. One person suppressing all the resistance in the country!
But still, he's not as powerful as the Justice League.]
[Didn't they say the Justice League almost suffered defeat this time? Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman were all defeated by Black Adam.
If it weren't for the intervention of the Beyonder, who knows how it would have ended.]
[Speaking of which, it's the Beyonder who took the main role in resolving the crisis, just like before, and now as well.]
Among the individual members of the Justice League, the most discussed were Beyonder and Superman, especially the Beyonder. The shocking power he displayed gave people an infinite sense of security. Speculations about his real identity accounted for over sixty percent of the discussions.
The Flash, nonchalant, scratched his head, smiled, and put away his phone.
He had no envy; after all, it was true that David had genuinely saved them more than once.
"Just because it hasn't happened yet doesn't mean it won't in the future."
After glancing at the comments, Batman silently put down his phone.
"Think about it. Right now, only some regions in the UK and a few small countries are praising the 'Redemption,' and he's already this powerful.
If the whole world knows about him, how powerful will he become!"
Currently, 'Redemption' was only forcing one country to make concessions, but would it develop into a situation where one person could change the world at his whim?
Even though Batman was a billionaire and the richest man in Gotham, he couldn't manipulate global public opinion. He didn't have any good ideas.
He looked at Cyborg, wondering if he could single-handedly block the world's internet from publishing news about the 'Redemption.'
"I can't do it," Cyborg straightforwardly shook his head.
Despite having access to major confidential websites and databases worldwide, from his slightly ajar backyard gate, all he had to do was push it open, and he could browse freely. However, even a god couldn't instantly silence the voices of people around the world.
Even if it could be done, the Justice League would likely immediately become the target of criticism and condemnation by the public.
"That's the problem. He hasn't done anything yet, and we don't have a valid reason to go after him forcefully.
So, let's wait until he shows behavior that endangers the world."
After thinking for a moment, David stood up, shrugged, and prepared to leave after touring the League base.
In fact, 'Redemption' hadn't done anything too outrageous yet. As for the incident of wiping out a military base, he had done similar things.
"Aren't you afraid that his power will grow to the point where even you can't handle it?" Batman looked at David's back.
"Maybe."
David paused, chuckled, and didn't deny the possibility.
"However, I believe that a person's abilities have limits."
Turning others' beliefs in oneself into strength was undeniably a strange ability, reminiscent of one of the Marvel Universe's four major supermen, Captain Avalon, whose strength increased with the strength of his self-confidence.
"The 'Redemption' can't endlessly convert beliefs into power.
Otherwise, with the current conversion ratio, he could easily conquer several planets, and wouldn't he then be able to stomp that Dark Monarch under his feet, making him pray devoutly to God morning and night."
Cyborg's eyes lit up, thinking that what David said made a lot of sense.
The Flash had a strange expression, unable to imagine what the father of the humanoid monster named Kalibak would look like, holding a cross and devoutly praying, calling out to the merciful Lord.
"Cyborg, investigate this priest named Hightower; he may have played a crucial role in all this."
After David left, Batman didn't relax his frown. He paused, speaking in a deep voice as a reminder.
"Don't forget, even if he only maintains his current power, it's still a potential threat to the world."
Cyborg, who had been much more relaxed after hearing David's words, suddenly realized and fell into silence.
Right, not everyone was Beyonder. Not everyone possessed such immense power. The current strength of 'Redemption' was already scary enough.
...
Using his super-hearing to monitor the entire city, Clark heard about a bank robbery in progress.
Police cars blocked the street, acting as cover, while officers with guns cautiously took positions behind the cars, aiming at the inside of the bank.
"Superman! Superman is here!"
Upon seeing Superman's arrival, both the police officers and the crowd outside the cordon cheered as if they had found a savior, waving and greeting him.
"Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. I hope you enjoy the sunshine today and that this event doesn't dampen your enthusiasm for work."
Clark nodded and smiled, acknowledging the greetings. As he flew into the bank, he thought this was just another ordinary bank robbery he had dealt with many times before.
"You've finally come."
A remark that surprised him accompanied by low laughter echoed from inside the bank.
"Superman, I've been waiting for you for a long time."
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