Chapter 409: Allen vs. Steppenwolf
The Amazonian warriors were all consumed by the agony of the Octuple Birth Curse and had no mental capacity left to worry about the activity of the Mother Box.
Allen, however, remembered that in the movie, one of the Mother Box's functions was to open a spatial gateway.
And now, this felt eerily like the prelude to Steppenwolf's arrival.
"This universe's Earth is really lively," Allen muttered to himself.
The Black Lantern Corps was preparing to invade Earth—and now Apokolips was jumping into the mix as well.
Steppenwolf was just the vanguard, here to collect the three Mother Boxes and initiate a large-scale teleportation between the two worlds.
When that happened, countless Parademons would swarm forth and wipe out all of humanity.
According to the original story, Darkseid had pulled stunts like this many times before.
A portal opened beside the Mother Box, and two arms reached through, lifting the trembling device.
Looking down at the quivering Mother Box, Allen felt a tingling numbness run through his hands.
Meanwhile, at the heart of the plaza on Themyscira, the Amazonian warriors were struggling to restrain Diana, now a Black Lantern zombie.
Her terrifying undead abilities were giving them a major headache.
Several warriors had already been slain.
Whenever one got too close, Diana would thrust her hand mercilessly into their chests, rip out their still-beating hearts, and devour them on the spot, blood and all.
Archers on the outer perimeter fired arrow after arrow, their shafts shimmering with cold light as they struck Diana.
Unfortunately, they had no effect. It was as if they were hitting a pile of rotting flesh—her squirming wounds simply squeezed the arrows out and then sealed shut, oozing pitch-black blood that rapidly healed her.
Queen Hippolyta had already taken up the God Killer Sword and joined the fray.
She slashed at Diana's black-blood manifestations, doing her best to rescue her kin.
But as time dragged on, their hearts grew heavier and heavier.
They were facing a true catastrophe.
Themyscira was surrounded by ocean on all sides. There was no time to evacuate. As long as they remained on the island, they would have to confront this Black Lantern zombie.
Even the Lasso of Truth had been used, but all it could do was bind her body. The black-blood attacks continued uninterrupted.
"Make way!"
Suddenly, a voice called out from the distance.
Both sides instinctively turned their eyes toward it.
A figure was sprinting under the moonlight, arms raised high, holding a simple iron box.
The Mother Box!?
Hippolyta's heart jumped in alarm—just when one crisis hadn't been resolved, now someone had stolen the Mother Box too. Troubles just kept piling on.
Allen, holding the Mother Box high, ran excitedly toward the battlefield.
"Stop fighting, everyone! We've got a much bigger problem coming!"
As he spoke, Allen drew near and hurled the Mother Box straight at Diana, locked in her life-or-death struggle.
In an instant, the writhing black blood shifted form and caught the object.
No one had any idea what Allen was trying to do.
The Black Lantern zombie Diana looked at the Mother Box in her hand, puzzled, then glanced at the bashful-looking Allen.
"You're with her?" Hippolyta snapped, jumping to conclusions—she assumed Allen had defiled Diana's corpse and stolen the Mother Box from Themyscira's vault.
"I would never~" Allen turned his head with a coy little smile, sneaking a pervy glance at Diana.
What the hell are you blushing for?
Can't you see how serious the situation is? Cry, damn it!
Everyone else was utterly baffled.
As for why Allen was acting bashful—it was simply that Diana's funeral attire had been torn up during the battle, exposing more skin than just her thighs and neckline. It was the first time he'd seen her like that, so blushing was a normal hot-blooded reaction.
Still, the Black Lantern zombie Diana kept her gaze fixed on the trembling Mother Box, as if she could sense the danger looming.
That's right—Allen's plan was for Steppenwolf to arrive and fight the Black Lantern zombie.
Let the monsters kill each other.
BOOM!
A streak of light appeared from the void, spilling out a torrent of powerful energy that enveloped the Mother Box's location.
Then, a humanoid figure clad entirely in gleaming silver armor descended.
"So this is the world we failed to conquer a thousand years ago."
A deep, cold voice echoed.
Steppenwolf stood with a massive battle axe in hand, his body encased in radiant silver armor.
His terrifying presence sent chills through Hippolyta.
They hadn't even managed to defeat the Black Lantern zombie, and now came another seemingly invincible alien warrior with the aura of a god.
"Mother Box," Steppenwolf said, instantly locking onto the one in Diana's hand. He held out a hand and ordered, "Give it to me."
"Die…"
But Diana, now fully a Black Lantern zombie, smelled the intoxicating aura radiating from Steppenwolf and instantly lashed out with black blood.
The more powerful the lifeform, the richer their emotional energy.
As a newly risen Black Lantern, she desperately needed that energy. To her, he was like a starving man spotting a sizzling roast dinner.
SPLAT!
Steppenwolf slashed through the tide of black blood without hesitation.
His primary objective was to secure the Mother Box.
His unstoppable swing cleaved Diana from the head down—but she regenerated instantly.
The wound stitched back together with her black blood like glue.
It was a horrifying display of the Black Lantern Ring's power.
Watching the two monsters battle it out, the Amazonian warriors didn't dare intervene. They didn't even know which side to support—and in any case, their power was far too insignificant to make a difference.
"Mom, don't be scared. I really am a good guy," Allen muttered nervously.
Hippolyta demanded, "What the hell is going on?"
Her daughter had turned into an undead monster, and now an alien powerhouse had arrived. She couldn't make heads or tails of any of it.
She had fought in the war a thousand years ago.
She had seen Zeus and the other ancient gods struggle to defeat Darkseid.
But back then, there hadn't been anyone like Steppenwolf.
"It's actually pretty simple," Allen explained calmly. "Nekron wants to destroy Earth, so he sent out Black Lantern Rings to raise the dead and grow the Black Lantern Corps. Apokolips saw the chaos as an opportunity to retrieve their lost Mother Boxes."
"…"
Hippolyta was still completely lost.
Nekron's status was far too high for a queen of a mythological race to comprehend.
But Allen's guess wasn't wrong.
Apokolips struck now precisely because they knew no heroes remained who could stop them.
In fact, they didn't even care about destroying Earth—they were happy to let the Black Lanterns do it for them.
"Don't worry, Mom."
Allen swore solemnly, "Once the White Lantern Ring appears, the crisis will be over. And Diana can truly come back to life."
"Really?"
Hippolyta struggled to believe it.
Even if Zeus himself returned, he might not be able to resurrect Diana. She'd been dead so long—surely her soul had passed into the underworld.
"Guaranteed. Genuine, 100%, eight-heart, eight-arrow diamond-certified," Allen said with utter seriousness.
In truth, Hippolyta wasn't sure what to believe.
This complete stranger, acting half-insane, didn't exactly inspire confidence.
Especially the part about resurrecting Diana—it sounded absurd just thinking about it.
"Black Lantern zombies really are a pain," Steppenwolf muttered.
Before coming to Earth, Darkseid had warned him to steer clear of them.
He'd brushed it off at the time.
But now, he realized just how difficult their undead regeneration really was.
Granted, the Black Lantern's attacks barely hurt him at all—he simply didn't care.
As one of Apokolips' top generals, Steppenwolf's true power was enough to slay most native gods.
"If I devour your heart, I'll gain unimaginable power," the Black Lantern zombie growled greedily.
Too bad Steppenwolf had no patience left.
"You think a ring makes you strong enough to kill me? Pathetic."
SLASH!
The two figures blurred.
Steppenwolf exploded into motion, his axe swinging with lethal speed.
An arm flew through the air—on the index finger, a black ring glittered.
Diana looked at her severed limb in horror, black blood spurting as she tried to reattach it.
"It's over!"
Steppenwolf brought his axe crashing down on the Black Lantern Ring.
BOOM! A thunderous explosion erupted, sending a shockwave across the battlefield.
The watching Amazons were all knocked to the ground.
With the Black Lantern Ring destroyed, Diana reverted to a corpse missing an arm, her pale, lychee-colored eyes turning dull and lifeless.
Steppenwolf didn't even spare her a glance.
He strode toward the Mother Box.
Just as he bent to pick it up—
A golden lasso shot out and wrapped around it, yanking it from his grasp.
Following the path of the lasso, he saw Allen wielding both the God Killer Sword and the Lasso of Truth, handing the recovered Mother Box to Hippolyta.
"You dare defy me? Then I'll grant your death wish."
Steppenwolf had originally planned to leave after retrieving the Mother Box. But since someone insisted on getting in his way, he would oblige them—with death.
CRACK!
The Lasso of Truth lashed across Steppenwolf's unarmored face, leaving a bloody mark.
"Feel good?" Allen asked smugly.
Hippolyta, clutching the Mother Box, wisely retreated—she wanted no part in this madness.
Provoking Steppenwolf like this could only end in disaster.
"Very well. I won't let you die quickly."
Steppenwolf wiped the blood from his face, his expression growing crueler by the second.
CRACK!
Allen lashed him again on the other cheek.
Hiss…
This guy's insane.
Didn't he realize what kind of consequences would follow this kind of provocation?
The Amazonian warriors collectively decided to play dead.
"Come chase me!"
Allen held both ends of the Lasso of Truth and ran like he was jump-roping, still mouthing off.
A true case of "not dead yet, but trying hard."
BOOM!
Steppenwolf launched himself like a cannonball.
At the last moment, Allen spun and met him head-on with the God Killer Sword.
Their weapons clashed, sparks flying.
Allen's body ignited with a red glow—he had activated Burning Blood of Fury.
The two clashed evenly, neither gaining an edge.
"Who are you?" Steppenwolf asked in shock. A human who could match him in battle?
According to Apokolips' records, humans were weak and insignificant. There was no mention of anyone named Allen among the known threats.
"I'm just a ridiculously good-looking nobody. Other than being handsome, I've got nothing going for me."
Even as they fought, Allen couldn't resist throwing out a one-liner.
"Handsome?" Steppenwolf frowned.
By Apokolips standards, Allen looked like an underdeveloped animal.
The aesthetic standards of Apokolips Star were… questionable. They favored a completely hairless, smooth appearance, believing it to be the pinnacle of evolution.
"Humanity is on the brink of destruction. I can give you a chance to pledge allegiance to Apokolips Star."
Steppenwolf extended the offer with apparent sincerity. "I can guarantee you supreme power."
"Can I be the boss of Apokolips Star?" Allen asked with equal seriousness.
"You clearly have a death wish. I'll gladly oblige."
Realizing the sheer arrogance of the person before him, Steppenwolf quickly lost his patience. He began to provoke Allen with increasing hostility, his eyes burning with unconcealed fury, and his attacks grew ever more vicious.
"Great, I'm begging you to kill me."
As Allen deflected the blows, he couldn't keep his mouth shut. "If you actually manage to kill me, this book ends. That dumbass author will finally have an excuse to lie flat every day."
"…"
Faced with such lunacy, Steppenwolf was left speechless.
At the same time, the surrounding environment warped and folded, forming a twisted and repetitive spatial maze.
Spatial magic.
Mirror Dimension.
Steppenwolf felt an even deeper sense of shock.
The magical system passed down on Earth was quite famous across the universe.
Many powerful mages who had left Earth were known to wander the cosmos.
"Scared now, aren't you?"
As space distorted, the distance between them widened in an instant.
Since he had summoned the Mirror Dimension, Allen naturally wasn't going to hold back.
"You're not just a warrior… You're a mage too!"
Steppenwolf couldn't help but marvel—such a talent was almost unheard of.
Truth be told, Apokolips Star had also done research in magic. The Mother Box, after all, was a fusion of magic and science.
"What's wrong with being multi-talented? I'm the protagonist," Allen declared righteously.
He struck a starting pose.
The Form of Aiken.
In a flash, thousands of clones appeared.
"Residual Hezi!"
They shouted in unison, their voices echoing through every inch of the Mirror Dimension.
Steppenwolf, mid-leap and ready to strike, was instantly ensnared by countless crimson tendrils.
Crack crack crack…
"Log in now for ten free draws!"
Allen still found time to whip Steppenwolf across the face with the Lasso of Truth.
Crisscrossing bloodstreaks marred his entire face.
"I'm going to kill you."
Driven to the brink of rage, Steppenwolf's armor flared open and shut like scales, unleashing a terrifying burst of force as he forcibly shattered the crimson magical restraints.
With that, the thousands of clones dissipated like a vanishing dream.
…Eh.
But strangely, Steppenwolf didn't resume his assault. Instead, he froze in place.
What he saw was hundreds of Allen lookalikes, each holding different weapons and glaring at him with ferocious expressions.
His sharp senses told him the truth—these were no longer magical constructs. Every single one of them was a real, powerful entity.
Allen, with zero regard for fair play, had summoned the Celestial Court's true gods for backup.
When the fight was even, he'd call for reinforcements. If he couldn't win, he'd retreat and wait for a better opportunity. Allen was a very practical—and very inclusive—man.
"I'll let you live a little longer. But I swear, I'll kill you myself."
Sensing how dire the situation had become, Steppenwolf decisively withdrew. He raised his battle axe and summoned a teleportation portal.