Chapter 1744 S: Apocalypse Major Event (Eleven) _1

"I can feel the power flowing inside him; he may have awakened some kind of power."

Helen frowned at Barry, unconscious in Spider Man's arms. Her eyes shone in the dark room. Although her Aesir divine power wasn't available, Helen still had all the abilities of Doomsday, including the natural sensitivity to power caused by innate hunger.

"The human body is very fragile, so when you awaken some powers, you may experience some side effects, such as hunger, lethargy, or even fainting. This is a manifestation of powerful forces transforming your bodies."

"Oh!" Spider Man exclaimed in sudden realization. He immediately nodded emphatically, "Yes, yes, when I awakened my spider mutation abilities, I was incredibly hungry. My aunt cooked until her wrist hurt, and my uncle said that I was so voracious that I would have eaten the furniture."

Then he gazed down at Barry's too-young face and said, "This child might have also awakened a superpower. We don't know what kind, but we need to leave here as soon as possible and bring him to a safe place."

Helen, however, focused her attention on the magical array on the floor of the room. She stared at it for a moment, and then said, "I've heard my father talk about Batman. I initially wanted to go to Wayne Manor and look for him, but he wasn't there. His butler, knowing I was his friend's daughter, invited me to tea."

"Aisha just happened to be there. She led me into Mr. Wayne's study, where I found some books on magic. Most of them were about dark legends, dark energy, and dark arrays. Batman might be investigating the truth behind the Dark City."

Spider Man's heart suddenly soared. He looked at Helen and asked, "So, is the reason this city has become so terrible because of magic?"

Helen walked into the center of the magic array and said, "Some dark power is manipulating this city. That's why my appetite suddenly flared up. This thing is extraordinarily potent and refined. It smells delicious."

Helen subconsciously swallowed, and Spider Man walked over and gently pat her arm, saying, "Now is not the time to worry about that, we need to figure out a way to leave here, otherwise, the boy might be in danger."

Helen glanced at Barry, then at the magic array, and then at Barry again. She developed a hypothesis, "Barry might have absorbed the source of my hunger, the dark energy. He needs to fight it within himself and control it, otherwise, he might lose control."

"You're right, we need to leave as soon as possible, and find a safe place for him. If he can't hold on, we ought to be prepared to handle the situation urgently."

After saying this, Helen took a deep breath. She wanted to revert to her original form, break through the ceiling, and escape. She had sensed an astronomical amount of dark energy in the room. This energy could feed her until she is semi-full. If it all floods into Barry, there's a high chance he might lose control.

Regardless of her teammates' current plans, an energy of this level might sweep across the Americas if it erupts here. She thinks it is a situation of the utmost urgency, and it's time to act on it.

Just as a wild light flashed in Helen's eyes, she noticed a wisp of mist float past. She immediately recognized its source, and before she could joyfully shout out the name, Harley's figure appeared in the room.

"Finally, it's over. I need a break. Being a messenger is quite tiring," Harley sighed, "What a coincidence, you guys are here too?"

"How did you get here?" Helen was still somewhat on her guard. She hadn't forgotten that Harley had turned the pages of the Necronomicon behind her back.

Harley shrugged and said, "Someone brought me here." As she finished speaking, a gigantic black book appeared in her hand. Helen noticed that gray mist was condensing around it as the book appeared.

Helen suddenly widened her eyes, filled with shock, and then turned to look at the magic array, revealing a glance of comprehension.

Stealing power again?!!!

Helen gradually understood everything, so she said straightforwardly, "I think it's too late for us to leave now. Although this room isn't very safe, it works well as a temporary base. Aisha and I will guard the front door while Spider Man, you put Barry in the middle of that magic array. We'll wait for him to wake up right here."

"But..."

"Surface isn't necessarily safe either. Barry, who hasn't fully controlled his powers, is still very fragile. Aren't you afraid that once we get back to Gotham, he could be blown to pieces by a random grenade?"

Spider Man opened his mouth and thought of the monsters that had burst into the corridor. But considering the current state of Gotham, he wasn't sure which was worse.

Besides, he understood the principle that critically ill patients shouldn't be moved around casually. He didn't understand magic, so what if moving him haphazardly complicated matters?

So, he followed Helen's instructions and put Barry in the middle of the room, which was also the center of the magic array.

Helen carefully walked towards the circles at the corners of the magic array, erasing the footprints that had disrupted it, exposing its true nature. She memorized all the runes and said to the others, "As per the original plan, Aisha and I will guard the door. Spider Man, come with us. Leaving Harley alone here is enough. She and Barry are friends."

Spider Man was a bit apprehensive, but Harley gave him a wave, indicating that she had it covered, so Spider Man eventually decided to follow Helen's lead and left.

"Activate this magic array, Harley. It isn't that difficult." A line of text formed by the gray mist on the Necronomicon spoke. Just as Harley was about to make her condition, another line of text appeared on the book, "Stolen power...I mean, the power obtained through perfectly legitimate means. I'll split half with you."

"I want sixty percent."

"Deal."

"Hiss... that's enough!"

Harley bared her teeth in pain, but she didn't make a fuss. Instead, with eyes full of determination, she looked at the magic array and quickly said, "It's indeed a summoning array, but it needs at least six sacrifices to activate. Let me think about how to alter it..."

About ten minutes later, Harley stood in the center of the circle, clapping her hands together, "Done. I'm not sure if my blood will work."

She then pulled out her boning knife and sliced open her palm. Blood slowly trickled down like dewdrops on a leaf in the morning. There was no sound when the blood hit the ground. Looking down, Harley was surprised to find that the ground beneath her feet had turned into a vast ocean.

The room filled with an unending darkness. Harley wasn't sure if she had somehow traveled through space because of the ritual and ended up in a different, yet just as dark, location.

Suddenly, she heard an endless whispering sound. Gritting her teeth, Harley screamed, "Why is it here too? Damn it! Shut up! …Wait, who's that? Is that Bruce? What is he doing here?"

As Harley's gaze landed on a tiny figure floaing in the darkness, Little Bruce also turned to look at her. The explosive darkness in his clear blue eyes sent a chill down her spine.

Bruce opened his mouth, but instead of uttering a human language, a terrifying mishmash of whispers filled the air. Harley heard an idea form amongst the noise, "Take me with you."

Harley instinctively reached out. As soon as she felt Bruce's hand in hers, she pulled her hand—and consciousness—back with all her might.

"Bam!"

A figure dropped from the sky, landing next to the array. Opening her eyes in the darkness, Harley found herself staring into Little Bruce's blue eyes, now infused with cryptic text and dark energy.

"I did it..." Little Bruce struggled to get up, his gaze hazy. His voice seemed to come from far away. Harley mustered the strength to sit up and ask, "What did you do?"

"I absorbed the dark energy of that place and used it to wash away the mark of the Outer God. I've escaped from the debt of Nyarlathotep. Even though he is still watching me, he can't mess with my brain until I glean knowledge from him again."

Harley gasped. She glared at Little Bruce and said, "Maybe I'm not normal either and don't have a right to criticize you, but I have to say, you've completely lost it!"

"You used an Outer God's knowledge to analyze another Outer God, summoned him, went to another dark space occupied by a powerful being, then used his power to evade the Outer God's debt. You…"

"That doesn't matter. I succeeded." Little Bruce looked at Harley and said coldly, "A God? Just a foolish tool."

"I don't know if I should call your actions fearless due to ignorance or just pure arrogance." Harley shook her head. Just then, a string of text appeared on the Necronomicon next to her: "Tell him about our plan."

Harley hesitated for a moment, but seeing Little Bruce's resolute expression, she understood that he would not only use gods as tools, given enough opportunity he would have Gods served on a platter.

So, Harley told Little Bruce about her plan along with the Dead's of Necronomicon.

Once again, the magic circle was activated, and their consciousness drifted in the dark space. Whispers filled the space—it seemed that Nyarlathotep realized that the dark figure stole the mark he had bestowed upon his followers, turning the them into his enemies.

The very nature of Outer Gods meant they were trouble. At least until the ruler of this world intervenes to expel them, they could pester any existence to the point of frustration.

"It seems they're all preoccupied." Little Bruce smiled coldly, "What are we waiting for? Let's feast."

The Necronomicon flew into the air, revealing itself amidst the gray mist, but took care not to let the presence of the Nameless Fog show. It started to devour the dark energies in the space, greedily following its instinct.

Soon after, things started falling into place. The Gray Mist wasn't doing this just for itself. It allowed itself to digest the most coarse and unrefined parts of the dark energy, then it fed the most concentrated energy to Harley.

Despite possessing overwhelming wisdom, Harley was still only human. Her soul couldn't handle this much energy. As her soul's strength approached its breaking point, the Gray Mist began transferring the infinite dark energy to Helen.

The old saying still held - Shiller was not stealing power for his own use; he simply wanted to prevent others from having it. When pulling the wool, Shiller didn't necessarily want the wool to knit a sweater, he simply enjoyed seeing the sheep run naked.

Finally catching hold of this greedy sheep, Shiller didn't care if the energy was getting wasted—it was a spectacle to behold. By the time Helen reached her limit, Shiller wasn't finished yet. He proceeded to use the most concentrated energy to enhance Barry's soul strength, helping him to stand against the dark energy he had absorbed initially. Barry, who had been running for his life in his consciousness space due to the overwhelming influx of Divine Speed and dark energy, finally got an opportunity to fight back.

Shiller tried to transfer the energy to Spider-Man, but probably due to the incompatibility of soul from two universes, Spider-Man couldn't absorb this energy. So, the remaining energy was transferred to Aisha, helping her to replenish until she couldn't take anymore.

At last, after Shiller had fed every one of the kids to exhaustion, Kant, who had followed the signal to the underground maze and activated the device again, was almost blinded by the brilliant light on the screen.