บท 244: The Most Simple Solution #244
I sighed in relief as I finished binding Jericho with an elaborate Starhert construct that inhabited the energy in his body, stepping aside as I noticed Deathstroke approaching his son.
"Joseph, are you still in there?" Deathstroke calmly asked as he kneeled next to his son, maintaining a respectful distance out of caution as he looked into Jericho's eyes.
"F-father..." Jericho said, his voice sounding normal as he twitched, clearly struggling to stay in control. "K-kill...me..." He added in an urgent tone that conveyed his despair and urgency despite struggling to speak.
"I-it hurts... e-everything... hurts..." He concluded, his eyes shining in a golden light as his expression turned blank and the Azarathain spirits regained control.
I watched in silence, crossing my arms as the Azaranthain spirits began taunting and threatening Deasthstoke, going as far as to dare him to kill his son in cold blood.
The mercenary turned a deaf ear to the Azarathains' words and closed his eyes in silent contemplation. Ultimately, he grunted as he stood up and retrieved a small vial full of green liquid from his inventory.
Deathstroke kept his composure as he took a pistol and ejected its clip, dousing the bullets in the toxic green liquid. "Remove the barrier. I'll do what must be done," He said as he loaded the gun, pointing it at Jericho's head and turning to me.
"You really plan to kill him?" I asked, raising an eyebrow as I gave the mercenary a weird look. I knew Deathstroke was ruthless, but even he cared for his family, albeit in his own twisted way.
"No. I'm setting my son free," Deathstroke said with a grunt, his grip tightened over the pistol's handle. He looked at me as he spoke, but it seemed he was talking to himself.
"If you aim to free your son, then killing him is not the only way," I said, shrugging my shoulders. "There's always another way," I added, and the mercenary gave a skeptical look at my words.
"There are many ways to exorcise evil spirits, but none of them is my specialty," I said, shaking my head as I sighed. "But these guys are bound to Azarath, as far as I could tell," I added, pointing at the ground, much to the mercenary's confusion.
"This dimension is their anchor that allows them to linger instead of moving on," I said as I stepped forward, keeping my eye on Jericho, and the slight shift in his expression didn't escape my notice.
"It's what keeps them from crossing over to heaven, hell, or whatever is waiting for them on the other side," I said, speaking in a matter-of-fact tone, not being too sure of my words.
Faust had studied evil spirits, as any self-respecting evil sorcerer would. I was sure that such creatures were always bound to an anchor that kept them in our world as I had his memories.
I also knew that destroying the anchor would deprive the evil spirits of their foothold in the material world and send them to whatever afterlife or endless void their gods had in store.
However, I had no idea what the Azarathian spirits used as an anchor. I was throwing shit at a wall, hoping it would stick. Surprisingly enough, I was right if Jericho's rapidly shifting expression was anything to go by.
"In other words, destroy Azarath and expel the spirits..." Deathstroke murmured, his eyes glinting as he lowered the gun and gave me a thoughtful look.
"Well, that or find someone powerful enough to restrain your son and bring him to a powerful exorcist," I said with a shrug and continued before the mercenary could get a word in. "The keyword here is find. I have shit to do," I concluded.
"I assume you know how to destroy a dimension, then?" Deathstroke said, narrowing his eyes as he gave me a blank look. Though he was calm, the hidden meaning in his words was clear; you better not be pulling my leg, or I'd be very pissed.
I couldn't blame him since his son's life was at stake, and the mercenary was ready to put Jericho down to free him, but I wasn't that much of an asshole. I wouldn't run my mouth if I didn't have a way.
"I have the equivalent of a magical nuke in my storage space. If it doesn't work, then nothing will," I replied with a shrug, keeping my calm as I turned to Jericho and noticed his expression sinking further at every word.
"You possess a weapon that could destroy an entire dimension?" The mercenary asked, furrowing his eyebrows. "And you're willing to use it to save my son?" He asked, his frown growing more pronounced as he spoke.
"What's the catch?" Deathstroke asked without hiding the suspicion in his tone as he looked at me. He didn't make it this far doing what he does without a healthy dose of distrust, and as a paranoid guy myself, I could respect it.
"There's no catch. I don't have much use for world-ending weapons..." I replied with a chuckle, shrugging my shoulders. "And getting the world's greatest assassin in my debt doesn't sound too bad in exchange," I added, smiling at him.
"And if it doesn't work?" Deathstroke asked, getting straight to the point after a slight pause as he processed my words.
"Then you can put Jericho down, knowing full well you've done eveything in your power to save him," I said with a sigh. "It isn't much, but at least you won't have to question it for the rest of your life," I concluded, shaking my head.
Deathstroke lowered his head at my words as he seemed to contemplate my offer, but he didn't get to reply as Nightwing, and the other heroes, arrived with the captives.
There were more than a dozen heroes, most of which I recognized, but they were either minor members of the Teen Titans or retired vigilantes, so I didn't pay them any attention.
Other than the heroes, tens of regular people were trailing behind, all of whom looked like they had seen better days, as none were without injuries or bruises here and there.
"What's going on here?" Nightwing asked, instantly frowning as he noticed the gun in Deathstroke's hand as the latter stood in front of his son's bound body with an unreadable expression.
"I took down Jericho, but he's still possessed..." I said with a sigh as I took a deep breath and explained the situation to Nightwing and the other heroes, who seemed to listen with rapt attention.
"Wow... the father of the year, everyone..." Beasty Boy mockingly said, giving Deathstroke a weird glance before looking away when the latter heard him and shot him a glare.
"So we'd either have to destroy an entire dimension or let one of our own die..." Nightwing said with a bitter expression as he alternated his gaze between Jericho and Deathstroke.
"You won't have to do anything," The mercenary said before anyone could speak as he raised his head. "Jericho is my son. It's my decision and my decision alone," He added, his tone firm as he seemed to have made his choice.
"What do we need to do?" Deathstroke said as he walked past everyone and stopped in front of me. "Do you need anything in particular before you begin?" He asked his tone calm.
"Nothing. I only need a way back to Earth," I said with a shrug. "I don't know about you, but I don't want to be here when that thing goes off," I added, rubbing the back of my neck.
"I can help with that," Nightwing said as he reached into his utility belt and retrieved a black spherical stone. "Raven said to crush it when we're ready to go back," He added, and I instantly frowned at his words.
"Have you tried it before? How long would it take to send everyone back? How many people could it transport?" I immediately shot a barrage of questions without bothering to hide my suspicion at the raggedy stone in Nightwing's hands.
I had no doubt the stone would work and take us back to Earth, what with how many significant characters were on this dimension. Comic book logic dictated they would go back home safe and sound.
However, it was one of the most common comic book tropes to trust in this kind of sketchy shit, only for something to go south when it failed to perform as expected, and I'd be damned if I fell for it.
"I'm not sure..." Nightwing replied as he scratched his head. Much to his credit, he at least had the decency to look uncomfortable as he awkwardly cleared his throat.
"Typical..." Deathstroke said, grunting in annoyance as he gave Nightwing a bemused look. "We can go through the portal I used. It instantaneous, but it can only move five people before shutting down..." He concluded, crossing his arms.
...
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