Battle

The next chapter opens with an earth-shattering blow, the ground beneath Mori and Darkseid crumbling as their fists collided, creating shockwaves that rippled through the battlefield. The force of their clash caused nearby trees to uproot, boulders to split, and distant mountains to rumble as if the planet itself was reacting to their immense power.

Darkseid's stoic expression never faltered as his fist connected with Mori's, the raw power behind it enough to decimate armies. But Mori, smirking, didn't budge an inch. Their battle was no longer about exchanging words—it was about sheer dominance.

"Impressive," Mori grunted, his voice filled with excitement as he pushed back against Darkseid's force. "But I'm just getting warmed up."

Without warning, Mori spun around with a powerful backhand aimed at Darkseid's jaw. The impact was thunderous, but Darkseid merely tilted his head to absorb the blow, his eyes glowing red in response. He retaliated with a swift punch to Mori's midsection, aiming to wind him, but Mori twisted just in time, grabbing Darkseid's arm mid-punch. With a grin, he yanked the tyrant forward and delivered a knee strike to Darkseid's abdomen.

Darkseid grunted as the impact sent ripples through his body, but he barely flinched. He swung his free hand toward Mori's face, intending to crush his skull, but Mori released his grip and ducked under the blow, dodging with inhuman speed. 

"You really are a tough one," Mori remarked, his eyes gleaming with amusement. "This is fun."

Darkseid snarled, raising his hands high above his head, summoning his godly strength. The ground around them trembled as he brought both fists down in a double-handed slam aimed at Mori. The force was immense, causing the air to split and the ground beneath Mori to crater deeply, but Mori once again vanished, teleporting out of harm's way at the last second.

Reappearing behind Darkseid, Mori fired off a concentrated blast of Ki straight at the back of the New God's head. The energy beam struck Darkseid squarely, sending him hurtling forward through the debris and into a nearby cliffside. The impact shook the earth, and for a moment, it seemed like the battle had tipped in Mori's favor.

But then, as the dust settled, Darkseid emerged from the rubble, completely unfazed. His red eyes glowed with fury as he raised his arm, summoning his Omega Beams once more. This time, however, instead of the usual straight beams, they split into dozens of chaotic tendrils of energy, each one homing in on Mori with deadly precision.

Mori smirked at the challenge, raising his energy levels to new heights. His aura flared, crackling with raw power as he weaved through the air, dodging each beam with astounding agility. The beams followed him relentlessly, curving and twisting in midair as they pursued their target. Mori teleported, zigzagged, and darted around, but the beams seemed to anticipate every move he made.

"Persistent little things, aren't they?" Mori mused, his smirk widening.

Finally, Mori stopped in midair, allowing the beams to converge on him. As they closed in, he raised his hand and unleashed a massive explosion of Ki that engulfed the entire area, vaporizing the Omega Beams in a brilliant flash of light. The ground below them trembled as the explosion rocked the battlefield, but Mori stood unharmed at its center, his energy aura still blazing.

Darkseid watched, unfazed but clearly intrigued. This opponent was unlike any he had faced before. There was no fear in Mori's eyes, only excitement and a growing hunger for the fight. Darkseid, for the first time in many battles, felt something akin to anticipation.

"Your defiance is remarkable, insect," Darkseid said, his deep voice rumbling. "But futile. You cannot defeat the inevitable. I am the end of all things."

Mori landed on the ground, dusting off his hands casually as if their world-shaking battle was just a warm-up for him. "End of all things? You sure like talking a lot about the end. But where I come from, we don't really care about your titles. Strength is all that matters. And guess what?" He cracked his knuckles, his grin widening. "I'm stronger than you."

Darkseid's eyes narrowed. Without a word, he raised his hand, and the ground around them suddenly erupted as huge black obelisks of Apokoliptian stone shot up from beneath the earth. These monoliths radiated dark energy, pulsing with the essence of the Omega Force. The atmosphere itself seemed to grow heavier as the stones began to hum with power.

"I will show you the true might of a god," Darkseid intoned as he floated into the air, his arms outstretched. The black monoliths around them began to glow brighter, siphoning power directly from the Omega Realm. The sky darkened, and a massive storm began to form above them, swirling with crimson energy. It was as though the entire world was bending to Darkseid's will.

Mori's grin never faltered. "Now we're talking," he said, his voice filled with exhilaration. His aura flared even brighter, casting an intense golden light across the battlefield that seemed to push back against Darkseid's dark energy. Mori's muscles tensed, and his energy output skyrocketed, the air around him crackling with electricity.

As the storm above reached its peak, Darkseid unleashed his power, sending a torrent of Omega energy cascading down from the heavens like a waterfall of destruction. The sheer force of it was enough to annihilate anything in its path, the ground disintegrating beneath its touch. The monoliths surged with power, amplifying the storm's devastation.

Mori didn't move. He stood his ground, staring up at the oncoming wave of destruction with a look of pure determination. At the last moment, he raised his hand and, with a roar, unleashed a colossal Ki blast of his own. The two forces collided with a deafening explosion, the sky splitting open as the energy clash sent shockwaves rippling across the planet.

The force of their combined attacks shook the very fabric of reality. Entire mountain ranges crumbled in the distance, and oceans roared as their clash reverberated across the globe. The energy was so intense that it began to distort time and space itself, warping the battlefield into a chaotic maelstrom of raw power.

But as the smoke and energy dissipated, there stood Mori, unscathed, his aura still blazing as brightly as ever. Darkseid floated above him, his expression unreadable, but his eyes betrayed a hint of acknowledgment. This was no mere mortal. Mori had power unlike anything Darkseid had faced before.

"You're still standing," Darkseid said, his voice carrying a mixture of intrigue and irritation. "But you are no god."

Mori smirked and cracked his neck. "You're right. I'm something better."

With that, Mori launched himself at Darkseid, his fist charged with pure Ki. The battlefield trembled as the two clashed once more, their strikes shaking the very planet beneath them. This time, Mori wasn't holding back, and neither was Darkseid. Every blow they exchanged sent shockwaves rippling through the atmosphere, the force of their fight tearing apart the landscape around them.

Darkseid swung a massive fist, but Mori ducked under it, driving his knee into Darkseid's ribs with enough force to create a sonic boom. Darkseid retaliated with a blast of Omega energy, but Mori deflected it with a powerful Ki shield, countering with a devastating uppercut that sent Darkseid flying through the sky.

The battle had escalated into a full-blown war, and neither side was willing to relent.