[Kahndaq borders]
Dr. Sivana was ready to break the final seal and unleash the full power of the Seven Deadly Sins. He acted faster than Fate expected. And thanks to his visions, he had the heroes evacuate the civilians from Kahndaq yesterday.
At present, only a handful of heroes capable of facing the threat were ready to fight. The others are on standby. Fate wanted to bring in Wonder Woman, but sadly, she went home and got caught up in some political mess. Superman also didn't join the team, since he was weak to magic and could get corrupted by the Sins.
Fate's voice echoed through the desert winds as he lifted both hands toward the sky, golden runes spiraling from his fingertips.
"By the convergence of the cosmic threads… by the order of Nabu… no demonic power shall enter or escape Kahndaq."
The air crackled. A ring of blinding symbols spun outward from him. Then, with a final surge of magic, Fate thrust his palms downward.
A massive dome of shimmering gold erupted across the horizon, spreading over every mountain peak and grain of sand until all of Kahndaq was sealed beneath a protective barrier. The shield hummed like a living thing as it locked into place.
Inside the dome...
Fate exhaled heavily. The strain of containing so much magic trembled through his armor. He flew down and staggered a bit before Hawkman supported him.
Hawkman said, "The barrier is strong. But will it hold when Sivana arrives?"
"It will not." Fate's voice was flat. "It will slow him… not stop him." He turned, his glowing eyes scanning the distant mirage of the desert. "And that is all we need. Time."
Atom Smasher cracked his knuckles. He looked nervous, with tense shoulders and darting eyes. "So we are the delay team. Great. This is totally fine. Not scary at all."
Cyclone floated down beside him, her green curls twisting in the gentle swirl of wind she constantly radiated. "Relax. Just become giant and smash as always. Besides, you found demonic beings before."
"That was a giant demon bird. I simply blocked it. Constantine did the hard work," Atom Smasher muttered. "But this guy carries the actual Seven Deadly Sins, and Constantine just had to be in some other dimension now of all the time."
Guy Gardner snorted. "Quit whining, rookie." He tapped the glowing emerald ring on his finger. "We punch Sivana in the face, keep him off that seal, and wait for lightning boy to show up. Easy."
Harley hopped onto a rock with her mallet slung over her shoulder. "Ohhh, ya say that now, but wait until he tries to melt your face off with demon fire. Then you'll scream like a toddler."
Maureen stood next to her, arms crossed. She was focused. "We are not losing today. John is counting on us."
Guy raised a brow. "Are we sure letting the clown lady and her ice girlfriend join is a good idea?"
Harley pointed her mallet at him. "Say that again, bowl cut weirdo, and Maureen will freeze your weenie so I can break it."
Maureen's eye twitched. "Do not drag me into your threats."
Before their bickering could escalate, Fate lifted his hand.
"Silence. He is coming."
All at once, the air thickened. A foul pressure collapsed onto the barrier. The sky above Kahndaq dimmed as if shadows were bleeding into the daylight. The sand beyond the dome turned black.
A blur of shadow landed and slowly walked toward them, each step cracking the earth.
Dr. Sivana. Or rather… what Blaze had made him.
He stopped and examined the surroundings. Then he hovered inches above the sand, his body a vessel of demonic corruption. His skin was etched with red markings that pulsed like veins full of molten lava. His eyes glowed pure crimson. The monstrous shapes of the Seven Deadly Sins flickered behind him, their silhouettes shifting and muttering in the air like a choir of nightmares.
His smile was unnatural.
"So… this is the resistance," Sivana said, his voice echoing as if several demons spoke through him. "A handful of insects scratching at fate."
The barrier rippled as he placed a hand against it.
Just the touch sent shockwaves across the dome. Sandstorms whipped into existence. The ground beneath the heroes shook violently.
Fate spread his arms and forced more magic into the shield.
Harley and Maureen both yelled together: "SHAZAM!"
Two giant bolts of lightning struck them from the sky, transforming them into their peak form. They shot out of the dome at a blinding speed, leaving streaks of lightning behind them. They appeared before Sivana. Harley has already created her lightning mallet and smashed his head, while Maureen kicked his torso.
Boom! Massive shockwaves rippled through the area as Sivana got pushed back over 500 meters from the barrier. But he looked unharmed.
"Showoff," Guy said out loud.
Harley smirked at Guy. "Slowpoke."
"That's it," Guy covered his body with the lantern energy and flew out.
Sivana steadied himself in the air after the twin strikes from Harley and Maureen. His lips curled upward in a jagged sneer. "It seems the insects have learned tricks," he said, the overlapping voices of the Sins crawling beneath his words.
Five shadows surged out of him like living tar. Their shapes twisted, growling, snarling, and forming monstrous bodies as they escaped his frame: Wrath, Gluttony, Lust, Sloth, and Greed.
Envy and Pride remained inside Sivana.
Harley cracked her neck while her lightning mallet crackled with explosive sparks. She planted her feet into the sands and grinned at the demons. "Alright, ya ugly gremlins," she called out. "Who wants a turn on Harley's Whack-a-Monster ride?"
Maureen stepped beside her, ice shards spinning at her fingertips. Frost spiraled up her arms like coiling vines. Her eyes glowed with a blue and white blend, the dual energies of lightning and her own meta power merging perfectly.
"They are not here to play," she said quietly. "We need to end them quickly."
Wrath roared first, a massive, horned demon. It charged Harley with enough force to tear a mountain apart.
Harley crouched and launched herself upward. She brought her mallet down on Wrath's skull. "Heyaahh!" The strike detonated in a bright explosion that splashed fire and lightning across the desert.
The shockwave tore through the dunes.
Wrath's head slammed into the ground, but the demon immediately sprang back, snarling.
Harley snarled back. "Alright. Tough guy. I like it spicy."
Greed lunged toward Maureen with spider-like limbs coated in obsidian armor. Its movements were jittery, twitching with hunger.
Maureen reacted instantly. A massive frost barrier erupted from the ground and blocked the demon's snapping jaws. She then launched into the air, her body spinning into a corkscrew. Lightning laced through her frost.
She thrust her hand downward.
A beam of ice and lightning merged into one, slicing directly through Greed's upper arm. The limb exploded into black chunks.
Greed shrieked.
Maureen landed lightly behind it. "You should not have tried that."
The battle raged around them.
Lust slithered toward Guy Gardner with a serpentine body wrapped in glowing, seductive eyes. Its voice slurred through the air as it tried to breach his mind.
"You want power… recognition… dominance…"
Guy's ring flickered and dimmed for a moment as the creature pulled mentally at him.
Harley noticed it. "Yo, emerald bowl cut! Don't let the tentacle demon whisper dirty stuff into your brain!"
Guy yelled back, "I am not listening to this thing!"
He clenched his fist, and his ring flared back to full strength. A giant emerald construct of a fist appeared above him and smashed Lust into the desert floor, leaving a crater.
Meanwhile, Sloth drifted through the battlefield like a ghost, its movements slow but its aura warping time around it. Every pulse made the others feel heavier.
Atom Smasher grew to his largest size and attempted to stomp Sloth.
His foot sank as though he stepped into tar. His muscles locked up.
Cyclone swooped in with a sharp descent. "Move back!"
She blasted Sloth with a spiraling column of wind. Sloth recoiled with a screech.
Atom Smasher finally pulled his leg out and gasped, "I hate this thing. I really, really hate this thing."
Fate watched everything unfold without intervening. He focused on Sivana, who started moving again.
Sivana paid no attention to the chaos behind him. He blinked and hovered before the golden dome. Pride sharpened his expression, and envy widened his grin. He placed two fingers on the barrier and pushed. The ground beneath Fate shook violently. The shield flickered but held strong.
Sivana said, "You cannot hold me, old fool."
He pressed down harder. A wave of dark energy spread across the dome. Fate nearly buckled at the knees.
"I know," Fate replied.
Hawkman flew out of the dome and went straight at Sivana, swinging his glowing Nth metal mace with great force. Sivana caught the mace with one hand. Their collision sent a shockwave through the air. Hawkman's wings strained under the pressure, but he gritted his teeth and pushed harder.
"I'll rip you apart," Sivana said calmly.
Sivana yanked Hawkman toward him and drove a knee into the Thanagarian's chest. The impact sounded like metal snapping. Hawkman crashed through three dunes before stopping.
Cyclone flew in next, sending a tornado of slicing winds toward Sivana. The winds ripped chunks of sand and stone from the ground.
Sivana raised a hand, releasing a blast of demonic energy that blasted the tornado away like a wisp of wind.
Cyclone froze midair, stunned by how effortlessly he canceled her attack.
Sivana appeared behind her in a flash of red flame. He grabbed her by the throat.
"Such delicate breath," he hissed. "Allow me to take it."
He tightened his grip.
Guy Gardner flew in at full speed. An emerald construct of a giant flicking finger flicked Sivana. The blow was powerful enough to send a regular metahuman across the continent.
Sivana did not move.
He merely turned his head, still holding Cyclone.
"You are persistent."
"Oh, yeah? You've seen nothing, freak," Guy yelled as he summoned more constructs. One construct trapped Sivana's legs, trying to pull him down to the ground and stretching his legs a bit apart, which Sivana didn't even notice. The second construct was a baseball bat and a ball, right under Sivana.
Guy flicked his hand and hit the ball.
Smash! The ball hit Sivana's crotch at a blinding speed and power.
There was a loud crackling sound. Well, it didn't do any damage to him. Sivana headbutted Cyclone's face and threw her into the air before shooting a blast of demonic lightning. Guy summoned multiple barriers, but the lightning shattered them all.
Dr. Fate used his portals to safely teleport Cyclone back into the dome. Then he quickly chanted a spell and threw multiple invisible glass-like shards at Sivana, trapping his movement in the air.
Hawkman recovered and flew in. "HAAAA!" He smashed his mace on Sivana's head before Atom Smasher kicked Sivana like a little football, sending him flying into the sky. Guy swiped his hand in the air.
Multiple emerald hand constructs appeared around Sivana.
"Get a load of this, creep," Guy slammed his palms together and those hand constructs began to slap and punch Sivana into the air from all directions.
On the other side, a massive explosion rocked the area.
Harley used her explosion magic and nearly killed Sloth. When the dust and debris cleared, she noticed that a swirl of black gas flew away and entered Sivana's body.
"Ha-ha! Run to your daddy, freakin' creep," Harley yelled.
..
..
[Meanwhile...] [Desolate Island]
John finished his training and got a nice control over his power. He even recreated a couple of lightning moves from anime. But as he was about to fly back home...
"Controlling the power of twelve gods without breaking down? That's pretty impressive, if I say so myself," A female voice came from behind.
"Tell me something I don't know," John said as he turned back to face the woman. "Blaze."
---
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