Bab 161: Redemption's meeting with Beyonder
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"What happened?"
Cyborg's eyelids twitched.
He had never seen the Beyonder look like this. Although he had always been cold and decisive, this ruthless attack was a first for him.
The attack range directly covered several miles, leaving everything in ruins!
Bruce Wayne, silent, had a vague idea of what was happening.
The ability to influence the minds of people in the entire city of Metropolis likely involved telepathic powers. For superheroes, revealing their true identities was a taboo.
Boom!
The crater was several meters deep.
The Psycho-Pirate was knocked down by the terrifying force, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth. The Medusa mask emitted psychic energy, forming a barrier with visible cracks.
Gravity, a force related to time and space, couldn't be resisted by ordinary force fields or energy shields. However, the equally extraordinary power of telepathy was not included.
He struggled to resist the overwhelming gravity that descended from the sky, preventing him from continuing his psychic invisibility.
"Not dead yet!"
David stared at the exposed figure of the Psycho-Pirate in the sunlight, waving his hand to unleash thunder and lightning.
Click!
"I am willing to surrender..."
The psychic barrier seemed on the verge of shattering like glass.
Frantically, he tried to reassemble the barrier, hoping to exchange surrender for his life.
But David remained impassive, the mountain-like gravity still bearing down.
It was rare for him to have such intense killing intent towards someone.
"You really think that you know too much of what you shouldn't know and I'll let you continue to live?"
Crack, crack, crack!
"No..."
The newly formed psychic barrier quickly cracked. The Psycho-Pirate heard the sound of the barrier breaking, as if hearing the demons in hell. His heart trembled, and the fear of death flooded over him like a tide, causing a moment of suffocation.
"Batman, Cyborg, are you going to watch as the Beyonder brutally kills me? Does the Justice League have privileges beyond the law!"
No one in the world has the right to kill a surrendering, untried criminal.
He expected Batman and Cyborg to stop David.
The young Cyborg struggled with a silent expression.
The Justice League didn't have the authority to judge criminals. In theory, he should stop David.
But recalling the time when David killed Kalibak, he didn't stop him either. He was excited that the Beyonder avenged his father, he felt he had no right to stop the Beyonder.
Batman frowned, taking no action.
"You are too dangerous. Allowing you to live in this world might lead to a repeat of today's events, putting many people in danger."
The initial move affected the entire city, driving millions of people into madness and chaos. The number of casualties today might surpass the day when Brainiac attacked...
The League had no means to restrain this guy.
"I know your identity, Dai..."
The fierce gaze of the Psycho-Pirate, resembling a cornered beast, wanted to shout out David's identity, but it was too late.
Boom!
A colossal force descended, instantly crushing him into a pulp.
The gruesome sight made Cyborg look away.
"Uh, what's going on?"
In mid-air, Clark woke up, suddenly seeing a chunk of the ground below seemingly looking like it was excavated. He was startled.
"David? I was being controlled."
His expression changed as he suddenly realized what might have happened.
"Don't worry, you haven't harmed anyone."
Seeing the worry on Clark's face, he knew what he was thinking. Extending his hand, gravity brought the Psycho-Pirate's mask to him. David examined it for a moment.
The mask used to glow every time he used his abilities. It remained intact even in the field of hypergravity. This mask must be an object with special abilities, maybe worthy of inclusion in his collection.
"Wear me, and I'll give you everything you desire.
Immortality, wealth, power—I'll help you rule the world."
The mask twinkled, emanating thoughts with a seductive touch, like the whispers of a tempting devil.
"Unfortunately..."
Taking off the mask in mid-air, David frowned.
"I don't need conscious things in my collection."
Keeping it at home would be too dangerous. What if his parents found it and the Lantern Ring's psychic defenses were breached? Better to throw it into the treasure vault on Themyscira for the Amazons to guard, just like the Mother Boxes before.
"The rest is up to you."
The mastermind behind the madness that caused millions in Metropolis to lose their sanity had been dealt with, and David turned and flew away.
He had completed the most challenging part and had no interest in dealing with the remaining trivial matters.
"Is this done by the Beyonder?"
The Flash, rushing to find out what happened, arrived just in time to see David leaving.
"He solved the crisis again but left us to deal with this mess."
Cyborg, looking at the streets disappearing for miles around, felt a headache. How were they going to explain this to the Metropolis city government? At least tens of thousands of people had lost their homes and property.
"I think they might be somewhat grateful."
The Flash scratched his head.
Regardless, the Beyonder saved Metropolis. Without him, who knows what could have happened? Even Superman was under control.
Compared to the millions who died in the chaos, they should be able to accept this outcome.
"Let's hope so."
Batman said, clearly not optimistic about the result, his gaze turning towards another figure in the sky.
"Are you feeling better, Superman?"
Looking at the body at the bottom of the huge pit, Clark snapped back to reality. "I'm fine."
He was just a bit scared. His identity was known to criminals, and his parents were exposed, and he was controlled again. At least, he hadn't caused harm to anyone.
'Thanks to David. Otherwise... today might have been my biggest regret.'
He covered his forehead, with a complex expression.
After David left, Clark, Batman, Cyborg, and the other members of the League who rushed back, worked together to quell the riots in the city and prevent more people from getting hurt.
When the citizens of Metropolis recovered, all they saw was a city in ruins and chaos.
Everyone felt a sense of relief at having survived the ordeal. The actions they took in their irrational state felt like a terrifying nightmare.
The aftermath brought forth various issues related to family, home, economy, law, and more, troubling millions of citizens. However, the Justice League couldn't offer much help and left it to the city government and the citizens to resolve.
Metropolis citizens had never hated someone as much as they did today. The shadow left by the Psycho-Pirate almost rivaled the destruction caused by Brainiac, who once turned Metropolis into a bottle city. The damage and impact exceeded even that.
At the same time, there was immense gratitude towards the Beyonder for saving them.
However, some citizens harbored discontent due to the loss of their homes and businesses, becoming homeless, and wandering the streets with their families. But this dissatisfaction didn't last long.
When a house-sized golden block fell from the sky and landed in the square in front of City Hall, with a message indicating it was for post-disaster repairs and compensation, the discontent among those citizens immediately vanished. They received generous compensation, far exceeding their previous losses. With glowing faces, they began praising the Beyonder!
The Beyonder, who previously seemed indifferent to the lives of citizens, suddenly became a decisive, wise, benevolent hero in their eyes.
"How did you do that, David?"
Back at home, Clark asked incredulously.
"Where did you get the money?
Even Bruce, the wealthiest in the League, can't produce such a massive gold piece."
The giant gold piece was worth several tens of billions of dollars, almost as much as the accumulated wealth of the Wayne family over more than two hundred years. When Batman saw that mesmerizing piece of gold, he fell into silence for quite a while.
"If you knew a bit more about mineralogy, you wouldn't ask that question."
Under the night sky, on the second floor of the warehouse, David leaned on the side with his arms folded.
"Over ninety-nine percent of gold resources are in the Earth's crust. I extracted that gold from the mantle and compressed it. If you want, I can give you a piece ten times larger tomorrow."
In fact, as the King of Atlantis, a highly advanced technological kingdom, he had resources and wealth surpassing any political leader on Earth. He just didn't feel like going to Atlantis, so he casually extracted a piece of gold from the Earth's core.
"This doesn't seem like your usual style," Clark hesitated and then asked.
He actually paid attention to some dissatisfied voices online.
"That piece of gold is nothing to me," David looked toward the direction of the houses.
"But it can quiet down some annoying noises directed at me. Mom and Dad often check online comments about us. Sometimes, being famous isn't a good thing."
As parents, Jonathan and Martha might feel upset seeing criticisms directed at their son.
Well, Clark scratched his head, understanding his younger brother's reasons.
...
"That church did indeed release news about 'Redemption.'"
In the Justice League hall, Cyborg solemnly waved his hand, throwing dozens of news articles from different parts of the country.
"I thought it would happen sooner.
They seem to lack confidence in competing for headlines with our Beyonder, given that it's been half a month since the chaos in Metropolis."
Hal Jordan sat with crossed arms on a chair, a teasing expression on his face regarding David.
A long time ago, Batman had warned about the potential crisis that "Redemption" could bring, addressing the members who were absent at the time.
The Flash also found it strange.
The events in the nation of Nyasir had happened before the Black Adam incident, but the organization called the First Redemption Church only revealed it long after the Metropolis riots had ended.
"My mother looked at the mask you sent back to Themyscira and couldn't trace its origin. It seems unrelated to the gods, just a powerful magical item, ancient and created by someone unknown."
In the meeting, Diana whispered to David.
"The seductive ability on it is inherent to its creation and cannot be removed."
David nodded, indicating that he understood.
Unfortunately, the mask that amplifies psychic power comes with a seductive ability, and it's extremely powerful. According to Clark, the Psycho-Pirate wanted to create a new world, but it's likely his mind was influenced by the mask, leading to such a nonsensical plan.
Although the mask is just a magical item, it shouldn't be underestimated. The DC Universe is never short of magic users more powerful than gods, like the wizard who created the power of Shazam.
'The source of magic is even older and more powerful than the gods, existing before the birth of the multiverse. The gods themselves were born because of magic.'
"Although it was released late, news about 'Redemption' has dominated headlines worldwide."
Cyborg expressed skepticism.
"There is no doubt that there is a powerful force behind this matter."
"The First Redemption Church has received funding from wealthy people worldwide early on. It's not surprising."
Batman, who understood the influence of capital power, commented.
The material he used to create the Fenrir Armor is a military secret that the country with the strongest military strength on Earth couldn't leak even a gram of.
"Now almost the entire world knows about him."
Arthur looked at the blue projection with a serious tone.
"Among them are devout Catholics. How much power does this provide him?"
Everyone in the room, except for David, wore thoughtful expressions, including Clark.
After facing Brainiac, Black Adam, and the Psycho-Pirate, he knew his power was still insufficient to handle all the crises on Earth.
"One person's power is small, but when the power of tens of millions or even billions of people gathers, we might not be able to resist."
Clark looked at David with concern.
Although usually he doesn't do anything, David had almost become the League's first choice in dealing with huge crises. If 'Redemption' became a global threat, David would be the first line of defense.
"He hasn't done anything yet, why are you so nervous?"
David, who was specially summoned to the Justice Hall, was puzzled.
This matter had already been discussed last time, and this meeting seemed overly reactive to a single action.
He still held the view that the abilities of 'Redemption' couldn't be limitless, at most an lower version of 'Captain Avalon'.
"In fact, their next move may have already been revealed to us."
Batman and Cyborg, who had been responsible for handling League information, exchanged a glance, remained silent for a moment, and then looked at David.
"Do you have the Psycho-Pirate's mask in your hands?"
"What do you mean?"
David raised an eyebrow.
"This is a statement just released by the First Redemption Church on their official website."
Cyborg waved his hand, projecting a website message in the middle of the round table.
"They claim that the Psycho-Pirate's mask is a weapon created by the devil, tempting people to fall and causing disasters. They request the League to hand it over to the church for safekeeping."
All eyes in the room turned to David, as everyone knew he had taken away the mask.
Scanning the lines of text, David was somewhat surprised.
"The mask does indeed tempt people to fall and bring disasters. I've conducted experiments. If a person's psychic power isn't strong enough, they wouldn't pay it any attention. Maybe only those with the potential to bring disaster would be tempted by it."
He looked at the concerned faces in the room and raised an eyebrow.
"Do you all want me to hand the mask over to them?"
Devil's weapon?
He still believed in the insight of Zeus's former lover, Hippolyta. The mask was just a magical item, unrelated to gods and demons. He suspected that the church's statement was a fabricated excuse to get him to hand over the mask.
After all, the opposite of God is the devil, and the rest is just coincidentally caught in the middle.
"No!"
Batman vehemently shook his head.
"Absolutely not."
Clark and the others looked at Batman with some confusion, puzzled by his strong reaction.
"With a mask that can enhance psychic power and distort others' minds, and a church that has always been trying to attract followers, what do you think?" Batman tapped the table forcefully.
The expressions of Clark and others changed.
For a church seeking to attract followers, that mask was like a heaven-sent artifact.
"With that mask, the First Redemption Church could unify the world in faith within a few years at the latest."
"The fact that the First Redemption Church is in dialogue with the Justice League and making requests, this is such an attention-grabbing news.
But they only made high appearance all over the world, but didn't use this hot news."
Cyborg, who knew the internet well, thought it was an extremely abnormal point. In online terms, they could have taken advantage of this declaration to make a good impression with the popularity of the Justice League, but they didn't.
Did they not want too many people to know?
"If nothing goes wrong, the Redemption Church will probably send more information soon."
Initially indifferent to this matter, David didn't expect it to eventually involve him. After thinking for a moment, he smiled.
"The First Redemption Church probably won't be stupid enough to think that publishing a statement on their official website will make me hand over a mask containing dangerous power. They will likely follow up with substantial action soon."
Just as he finished speaking, a notification sound echoed in the hall.
Ding!
A new message alert resonated, and everyone's faces turned strange.
Cyborg, who was responsible for handling official League affairs, projected the new email.
It was an official email from the First Redemption Church.
"The Beyonder, 'Redemption' invites you to meet on a grassland near the territory of Africa's Nyasir."
Cyborg swallowed hard, and along with the others, he looked at David with nervousness.
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