Chapter 125: A Bat God or a Demon Bat?

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"Most men's hearts are restrained by mortality, recoiling in fear from the fabulous fruits of evil. But some do not constrain themselves to mortality and its tyranny."

- Dio Brando, (Jojo's Bizarre Adventures)

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In just a few moments, Hercules' once muscular, tall, and well-built body was reduced to a husk of its former self as his skin dried up and his muscles disappeared into thin air. Even his hair fell off while his eyes and cheeks sunk in, making him look like a living skeleton. Within a few seconds, Hercules could no longer even talk as his saliva dried up and his teeth fell out like a bunch of dried leaves. 

"Weak!" The Merciless exclaimed before throwing the dried-up body of Hercules to the side like trash. He didn't even need to finish the job with his All-Blades, he could sense that Hercules was already dead. After all, even the Greek demigod's godly immortality had been completely sucked off by Bruce. "You know, it will be a true disappointment if Shazam is as weak as you too" Bruce snickered mockingly as he moved his attention to where Hippolyta and Diana previously were. 

However, only Hippolyta was still lying there, applying pressure on her wounds while watching him with wary eyes. Diana on the other hand was nowhere to be seen. 

A few seconds after spreading his senses around to search for the princess, he finally found her as he muttered in realization. "So, she went ahead to battle the pest before me" He could not help but chortle from within his armor at the opportunity of witnessing so many bloody battles in a single day. "So many gods to kill, so many Amazons to tame, and a war to win, it's a jackpot for me. HAHAHAHA." He laughed. "I am having so much fun, but this war still lacks something..." He mumbled to himself while slightly tilting his head, wondering how he could make this entire thing more interesting as he sensed different battles happening simultaneously all over the island. 

The Amazons were initially winning the war against the Golems with almost no casualties due to their superhuman physiques and combat experience. In fact, most of the rock golem army had already started to fall back after I slaughtered Ares. However, with the rebirth of the titan named Iapetus, members of a similar yet different army began to emerge to fight the Amazon warriors again. These new warriors looked similar to the golems, appearance-wise. But instead of rocks, their bodies were composed of some sort of iron-like metal, and they were much more agile and organized while also being way better fighters than the rock golems. 

After Iapetus awakened, these monsters rose up from the ground like an army of the dead and instantly started attacking the Amazons without any warning. They were not only a very efficient army but also had considerable numbers as well, something that even these experienced warriors would find tough to handle.

"So, this barrier around the island is the reason why no machinery ever finds Themyscira?" He wondered aloud while looking at nothing in particular before raising his hand towards the sky. As soon as he did that, a beam of dark energy left his index finger towards an invisible target. However, after traveling for some distance, the energy hit something in the sky, revealing a thin golden barrier covering the entire island protectively like a dome.

'Anti-magic, anti-technology, kinetic energy repellent as well as a feature to make this island undetectable and "unplottable" on any kind of map like some dope Harry Potter hideout, Zeus truly went up and above to protect his little pets.' He smirked as he waited for his energy to make a hole in the center of the barrier. 

He had a big grin under his helmet as he could already sense what was outside the barrier, waiting for him.

"You can now enter the island, Cortana. Your help will be invaluable in decimating the lowly titan's insignificant army." He declared before thousands upon thousands of drones of different shapes and sizes began entering the island through the hole in the barrier, spreading around the island as quickly as possible. 

"I was finally able to reach you, sir. I thought I would have to start contacting angels, demons, and sorcerers to accurately locate you." A high-tech-looking white floating sphere, larger than most of the other drones flew toward the armored Bruce and voiced after scanning him using a scanner. "By the way, I love the new armor design, sir but that helmet is emitting extreme energy radiation levels, the levels of which I have never detected before. It is even actively connected with the suit and your biological body as well. Are you sure you want to keep it on, sir? It almost looks like a parasite to me." Cortana vocalized her concerns. 

"Parasite? You should not speculate about what you don't know, Cortana. This helmet is one of the most powerful magical objects I have ever come across. It holds unprecedented power. With this, I am almost invincible..., an invincible god." He retorted with a displeased voice. "Don't worry about stuff that doesn't concern you. Just do what I command and destroy every one of those metal undead." He ordered while gently stroking his precious helmet, feeling like he was forgetting something important. 

"... I am sorry, sir. I might have spoken too prematurely. I will collect more data about the object first, before making any more claims." She apologized in a slightly melancholic voice before floating away to complete her orders.

"And as for you my beautiful Queen," He suddenly turned towards Hippolyta and walked up to her in a confident manner. "You are indeed beauty personified, almost enough to go to war for... It would be a waste if you were to die here." He kneeled in front of her before caressing his hand against her cheeks and brushing her hair behind her ears which magically healed all her wounds instantly like they were never there to begin with, all the while Hippolyta just stared at him with furrowed brows.

"Ares' power has started affecting you, Bruce. You have been able to hold on for long but if this keeps on, you will not just be his avatar or inheritor while wearing that helmet, but you will BECOME the next Ares." Hippolyta warned in a measured voice, careful not to sound too forceful. She didn't want to give him the wrong idea after all. 

"Nonsense! I have complete control over this helmet, and I still have time before my mental barriers start failing. I can easily take care of Iapetus before that. Maybe you are just envious of my godly strength." Bruce snorted before standing up to leave.

"That was before you absorbed Hercules' power along with the divinity that Ares had passed on to him. In fact, that helmet was the one to absorb all that godly power for you. With the increase in its power, its influence over your mind and soul might have increased as well..." Hippolyta still tried to argue but Bruce didn't give her a chance. 

He just ignored her and silently flew away towards the mountain where he had previously sensed Iapetus reviving, not wanting to listen to the Queen of the Amazons any further.

Bruce with his new powers didn't even have to use the repulsors in his armor to fly anymore. He just "leaped" toward the location he wanted to reach, and he could feel himself traveling faster than the speed of sound. 

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<{Above Mount Tartarus on Themyscira}>

<(Omniscient POV)>

"After so many years, I am finally free of that wretched place, free of my prison. Now, I can finally do what I was always meant to do and spread the gift of death among the gods just like I am going to do to you, little Amazon." A giant monster with a rotting corpse for a body and red thorns around his armor arrogantly declared while looking in the direction of Wonder Woman who was confidently standing in front of him even though somewhat tired and gasping for breath. Both of their eyes were glowing with lightning in testament to their power as they faced each other without fear. 

[{(Image in Discord)}]

Iapetus could sense a familiar aura around the girl. Even though he could not remember where he had sensed this familiar aura before, he was sure that she was one of the unholy god-spawns that he needed to purge from this world. 

"After I am done with you, I will drink the blood from every Amazon of Themyscira, only then will my anger soothe." He growled before releasing a burst of lightning toward Diana that made a crater in the ground with its raw power. 

However, the Amazon princess was able to dodge it at the last moment while redirecting some of her own lightning with the help of her sword at Iapetus which the titan effortlessly blocked using his hand. His power seemed to be on a completely different level when compared to Ares and Hercules. 

"Lightning powers are just getting too common nowadays, aren't they? Almost everyone seems to be able to use it. So, maybe try using something else for a change." A calm but ominous voice interrupted their standoff. "For example, I like blood more than lightning. So, how about I try and see if I can choke you in your own blood."

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