Chapter 677: J'onn's Resolution
The Blood Rain and the Mother Entity's Plea
The sky rained blood-colored torrents.
Skin, shredded flesh, bones, internal organs, and blood droplets mixed together, continuously pouring onto the land. The ground turned blood-red, and the mixed blood formed an artificial lake spanning several dozen kilometers.
The pervasive stench in the air was sickening. A bloody, ominous energy hung in the sky, staining the heavens and earth a bizarre, vivid red.
The Mother Entity's body was still disintegrating. The epidermis and muscle tissue were gone, leaving only viscera and sinew clinging to bone. At this moment, it resembled a skeletal framework of flesh and blood spanning the sky.
New flesh continually sprouted, yet it could not keep up with the speed of the disintegration.
A shrill shriek came from above. The Mother Entity roared at the sky, its voice carrying a note of pleading, yet Dom showed no sign of stopping.
Diana was awakened from her coma by the commotion. Seeing the horrifying scene, she couldn't help but ask,
"What is that?"
"The Mother Entity of the tentacle monsters. It was fighting Dom and ended up like this."
"Dom? Where is he?"
"I don't know," J'onn shook his head. "I can't hear his psychic signature. If I had to guess, he's dead."
Clark sighed. "He used his own death to achieve this. I have to say, that guy commands respect."
"Anyone who dares a death-blow is remarkable."
Just then, the Mother Entity's cry changed. Instead of a piercing shriek, it emitted an abnormally low growl—urgent, terrified, and slightly imploring, altogether strange.
J'onn's face changed. "This is bad. It's calling for help."
"Calling for help? Are you sure?" Clark asked incredulously.
If the Mother Entity was this powerful, how could anything stronger exist in the Underworld?
"It is definitely calling for help. It's calling out to its child."
Silence hung in the air. Clark's jaw dropped. Diana ignored her weakened state and quickly asked,
"Are you certain it's calling for a child?"
J'onn nodded seriously. "The voice in its mind is precisely a mother's anticipation for her child. It is calling for rescue, appealing to its own child."
Diana murmured, "Luke once said the Human Gods were willing to become tentacles because they were waiting for a child to be born that would lead them back to Earth. Could it be that the child it's calling for is that child?"
The Arrival of the Old Woman and the Egg
Meanwhile, deep underground several hundred kilometers away, the Old Woman (Witch) pacing around the fleshy egg suddenly looked up, her face troubled.
"What is going on? Why is that sound happening?"
"It's the Mother Entity. Something has happened to her."
The giant egg also sensed something. Driven by a mysterious force, it suddenly rose into the sky, smashing through the rock layers, and sped into the distance.
The Old Woman and the remaining five snake-people immediately got up and followed closely behind.
Their speed was tremendous. The hundreds of kilometers vanished instantly. They arrived before the Mother Entity in just a minute. Seeing the blood-red lake on the ground and the skeletal framework spanning the sky, the Old Woman's face turned ashen, mixing fury with a faint, underlying fear.
The fleshy egg flew straight toward the Mother Entity in the sky. In mid-air, a figure flashed past and punched it back to the ground.
"It's you! You damnable humans!"
The Old Woman gnashed her teeth, burning with murderous hatred. "You are responsible for all of this!"
Clark remained silent, his gaze sweeping over the fleshy egg on the ground, finally settling on the Old Woman and the snake-people behind her.
Five snake-people. Every one possessed the same cold eyes and frigid demeanor as the ones before.
Trouble!
Clark clenched his fist. Luke was missing, Diana was severely wounded, and they only had two fighters against five opponents, plus an Old Woman whose power was unknown.
If they fought, their chances of victory were extremely low.
J'onn also realized the danger. He quietly took the Soul-Devouring Bow from Diana's back.
Dom had said this bow carried a death curse and could not be used by the living. At this moment, they couldn't afford to worry about that.
"Kill them! I want them torn limb from limb!" the Old Woman commanded, hissing through gritted teeth, her hollow eye sockets filled with limitless malice.
The snake-people behind her immediately moved, flying toward the heroes.
J'onn gripped the long bow and slowly drew the string. An energy arrow shimmering with black lightning formed, bringing with it death, darkness, electricity, and an oppression that seeped into the soul.
The five snake-people stopped in unison, their expressions serious as they stared at J'onn.
That arrow made them feel death. If hit directly, they would likely die.
J'onn took a deep breath, shifted his aim, first targeting the Old Woman, then the five snake-people. The moment he released the string, he suddenly switched the target to the fleshy egg on the ground.
The Old Woman's face changed drastically.
"Quick! Stop it!"
Bang!
The bowstring vibrated. A streak of black light appeared between heaven and earth, starting from the Soul-Devouring Bow, crossing through layers of space, aiming straight for the fleshy egg.
Boom!
In a flash, a shimmering, ethereal barrier appeared in front of the fleshy egg. The arrow light collided with the barrier, setting off a massive shockwave. The snake-person who deployed the spatial barrier spat blood and collapsed, his hands a bloody pulp, as if they had been shredded—his bones ground into powder.
Crack!
Cracks appeared in the barrier, rapidly expanding until it shattered like glass.
Having pierced the barrier, the arrow light lost none of its momentum. It penetrated the fleshy egg and vanished deep underground.
Aooooo!!!
The Mother Entity let out a mournful, agonizing roar. Its ferocious psychic energy transformed into a visible shockwave, making the heroes cough up blood and nearly pass out.
Confrontation and the Final Sacrifice
After firing that arrow, J'onn felt as if something had been drawn out of his body. His limbs felt fatigued, but he had no time to worry about it. He drew the bowstring again, his target still the fleshy egg.
The situation was clear now.
The Death Gods of the Underworld might not be evil. The Human Gods might not be good. It all came down to the saying: there is no right or wrong in war, only gain and loss. As for going home... that had become a luxury.
Even if, as Hanyue had claimed, the child in the egg could open the seal and take them back to the mortal world, J'onn would not allow it. He would never permit something like the Mother Entity/tentacle monsters to appear on Earth. It would destroy human civilization and kill everyone.
Clark shared this conviction, which was why he had punched the egg to prevent it from reaching the Mother Entity.
The black lightning arrow quickly formed. Death followed the path of the arrow's aim like a shadow.
"Kill him! Kill them!" the Old Woman shrieked, rushing toward the fleshy egg. The previous arrow had blown a hole in the egg. The wound was blackened, and the power of death was creeping inward, consuming the life force and preventing healing.
If this continued, the small life within the egg would likely perish.
The Old Woman tremblingly reached out her hand, wanting to touch it. The moment she touched the wound, she recoiled, her eyes filled with terror and anxiety. She then gritted her teeth and forced her hand onto the wound.
Squish!
An excited cry came from inside the fleshy egg. The massive egg suddenly turned into a liquid and flowed up the Old Woman's arm and into her body. Her abdomen quickly swelled, growing larger and larger, until, with a loud bang...
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