บท 175: CHAPTER 167
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[David Lance POV]
Having completed my training with Wioska, learning a lot, yet not so much at the same time, I took flight to Apokolips at full speed. My head was heavy with thoughts and questions about what course of action I should take before taking to earth.
At a core, my intentions hadn't changed. I wanted to kill Superman.
However, now that I was clear of Trigon's hold, the path I wanted to take wasn't the same. Without Trigon whispering in my ear, I was able to think things more thoroughly, more calmly, or rather as calmly as my rage allowed me to.
I wanted to kill Superman. Even without Trigon in my head, my every thought was that; killing the man that had taken Dinah from this universe, I wanted to make him suffer; I wanted to make him scream before sending him to hell.
That was my only desire.
Well, that and going back home.
But one thing at a time.
Right now, my whole focus was Superman; after taking care of my business with him. I would invest my time in finding a way to go back to my universe.
I sighed.
I suppose now the real question was, why was I going to Apokolips instead of Earth?
Wioska had been very clear about Darkseid's intentions regarding me. With ease, he had seen right through Trigon's tricks and had decided in a tactful manner that it was best to avoid confrontation, as my power at the time was quite possibly too great to be worth the effort or the resources that it would've taken to take me down.
Now, however, I wasn't that strong.
Sure, in a way, I was stronger thanks to Wioska's training, but the strength I had right now didn't compare to the one I used to have under Trigon's hold. Meaning that Darkseid could now easily consider the task of killing me worth the effort.
Then again, I also had to consider a minor yet important detail about the ruler of Apokolips, which was the fact that Darkseid wasn't one to lie, for it was beneath him to do so, meaning the fact I was returning from Wioska's, having completed the quest he himself had given me, could very well open the door to a shaky alliance.
Of course, this was all speculation on my part. For all I knew, Darkseid was a skillful liar and could very well attack me on sight upon arriving at Apokolips.
A part of me was telling me to go back, to change my course. But if I did that, I would be betraying Dex, who, although I had no emotional connection to, had trusted me, offering me his help on this quest of mine in exchange for my own help with his quest.
Betraying him was something I wasn't too keen on doing, even under all of this rage that pushed me forward.
Taking a deep breath, I continued to fly through the emptiness of space, surrounded by the cold darkness. As I made my way, I couldn't help but smile a little; space was truly beautiful and terrifying; an infinite void of beauty and terror. A place with no sound, no light, and no life for the most part.
A vacuum of nothingness with a chillingly dark reputation.
As I continued to admire the wonders of space around me, I reached Apokolips within short moments, which made me come to a halt in front of the planet. The dark planet loomed in front of me, its atmosphere swirling with smoke and ash.
Even from afar, I could feel the extraordinary heat emanating from the planet's surface, which was beyond surprising considering where I stood.
Time to meet Darkseid again.
Without wasting any more time, I descended into the planet, for the first time noticing the place I had previously come for help.
It was like stepping into Hell. The sky was red and black, the land was black, and the air was filled with the screams of what I assumed were Darkseid's enemies, tainting the place in a symphony filled with pain and suffering.
It was almost enough to deter me.
Almost, but not enough.
Within short moments, I landed on the planet's surface, my boots touching the scorched ground with a soft thud as I stared at the structure in front of me. Darkseid's castle. The castle loomed large and foreboding, its imposing walls seeming to mock those who would dare approach.
At the castle's door, there were two armored creatures.
The creatures were large, at least eight feet tall, with hide that was black as night. Their eyes burned red, and they had sharp horns that curled back from their forehead. In their hands, they carried deadly-looking spears as they stood so very still that they might as well have been made of stone.
I paid them no heed, calmly walking to the Castle's door, only to be stopped.
"On your knees," One of the guards ordered loudly, tapping his weapon on the ground.
Needless to say, I paid his absurd request no importance as I continued walking towards the door they guarded.
"For your foolishness, you will pay in blood! For Darkseid!" With a roar, the guard slowly brought his spear back, readying himself for the attack.
"Hmm," I smiled at this little display, staring at the creature with a sense of amusement. Seeing this, the guard took a step back, almost as if a predatory beast had suddenly arrived, taking my place.
However, there was no one else around but me.
Stopping in front of the guards, both now seemingly petrified in fear, I grabbed the one that had reeled his spear back with an outstretched arm and lifted him up with no trouble by the neck, flying a bit to compensate for the height difference.
It's said that all creatures have a natural intuition, an animal instinct that becomes dull when sentience gets in the way, but even dulled, when pressured enough, all creatures are able to perceive with clarity when there's an unmistakable gap.
And to put matters in a simple way, the difference between me and these two was the difference between absolute strength and absolute weakness.
"No need to panic," I said, using the ring as I patted the guard on the shoulder. "I just came here to talk with Darkseid. Nothing more, and nothing less."
Almost as if snapping out of his fear-induced trance, the guard gripped his spear tightly before moving it forward, trying to pierce me with all of his strength, an action the other guard sadly repeated.
However, both weapons broke upon contact with me without delivering any damage.
At this, my grip strengthened, and the guard suddenly found that it was more difficult to breathe. "Gugh!"
"I honestly have no idea why you thought that was a good idea," I said, almost genuinely curious. "But I guess it really doesn't matter now, does it?"
Their fates had been sealed the moment they had hesitated to attack; I knew that much. After all, Darkseid demanded absolute devotion, and hesitation was simply not accepted under any circumstances.
The best I could do for them now was to offer them a quick and painless death.
"Goodbye," I said, as with a flick of my wrist, I broke the guard's neck, killing him before casually tossing him to the side, where he fell with a thud. The other followed soon after, breathing his last breath before I erased him out of existence with a point-blank beam of my ring.
With that done, I turned my head upwards to greet my audience. Darkseid. Who had been watching all of this from above.
"I completed your task, Darkseid," I said, looking at him. "Now, let's talk about my reward, shall we?"
Darkseid smiled for a brief second, giving me a sickening, twisted grin that made it clear that he was not to be trifled with. "Of course. Come, let us discuss this inside the castle."
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