Confronting Nabu #304

Auhtor's note: I have good news and bad news. The good news is that the story is complete (I've already published the last chapter on my p-word page). The bad news is that I won't update here for the next two weeks days because it would be unfair to the people who paid money to read ahead this month. My senior year's exams will start in three days, so there's that too. Anyway, I'll resume updating the story until the last chapter following the same schedule starting from 6/6/2023.

...

Marzel's eyes couldn't help but widen as she watched the light leaking out of Grayson's body suddenly turn red, radiating a familiar scorching heat that was familiar to every demon.

Even as she stood at the other side of the room, she could feel the ungodly amount of power coursing through the man's body as he plundered Neron's memories and magic.

"Shit... what the hell have I done?" Marzel muttered, unable to withstand the magical pressure Grayson exuded, inadvertently destroying her disguise. "I need to get out of here..." she said to no one in particular and immediately teleported away before anyone noticed her.

...

"That will do..." I said with a grunt, letting go of Neron's head as it slowly dissipated into flame embers in my hand. "I'm ready to return home..." I muttered, feeling a rush of power as I looked at the accumulated notifications, popping up one after the other.

I raised my head, and the gathered demons instantly flinched, much to my confusion. "Sorry about that..." I said with a chuckle as I realized what was happening and quickly suppressed my energy.

"You should be able to take out the remaining two Satans on your own..." I said as I turned to Etrigan and retrieved Neron's get-out-of-hell-free card, and he merely nodded in response, seemingly too stunned to speak.

The nod was all the answer I needed as I instantly channeled my energy into the card to activate it. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I gotta save whatever's left of my home..." I added as the card dissipated, and my vision suddenly turned blank.

...

"Was it truly wise to let him leave, my son...?" Ran Va Daath said as she slithered toward Etrigan. "That mortal devoured Neron as a demon would..." She added, her tone concerned.

"I must admit... I did not foresee such a turn of events..." Etrigan said as he gathered his bearings. "But we wouldn't have been able to stop him now that he'd devoured a Satan..." He added, thoughtfully shaking his head.

"It's better that we parted ways amicably..." The rhyming demon said as he slowly walked toward his father, who was surrounded and held down by the surviving Archdukes. "For now, we can only hope he doesn't return for more before we're ready..." He added as he kneeled next to Belial and began devouring his soul.

"Regardless..." Etrigan said as he finished devouring his father's soul and stood up, exuding a frightening amount of energy. "We have won the day, and it is time to feast!" He exclaimed as he raised his fist, causing the demons to roar excitedly.

"Prepare the souls of the damned!"

...

"What the fuck...?" I said, unable to hide my confusion as I looked down at Gotham and found the city to be in the same state I left it in when I took Godfrey to the Nightshade dimension.

Even more surprisingly, the Apokoliptan warships I destroyed were still on fire precisely where I had left them. "The hell is going on...?" I muttered, straining my brain to try to make sense of the situation.

Ultimately, I didn't need to think too long as Nabu's helmet of Fate suddenly appeared before me, and I found myself in that same dark space, staring at the Lord of Order's oversized head.

"What the fuck do you want?" I asked, instantly scowling as soon as I saw Nabu's face. "I don't have time for your bullshit... I need to figure out what's going on here..." I added without bothering to hide my annoyance.

"Time dilation..." Nabu blankly said, though I could see he struggled to keep his irritation under control. "If you had stopped to listen to me for a minute before leaving with that demoness, you'd know that already..." He added, giving me a displeased look.

"I know about your strange ability to gain strength, and so I accelerated the passing of time in the Nightshade Dimension..." The Lord of Order explained. "I had hoped to give you enough time to grow so that you may stand as the God of Tryannye's equal..." He concluded.

"So you're telling me I just fought my way out of fucking hell for nothing!?" I asked, barely resisting the urge to create a giant fist construct and bash Nabu's oversized head with it right then and there. "Why didn't you just say that?!" I added through gritted teeth.

"Well, I still wanted you as my avatar... I was merely tipping the scales in my favor by hiding a part of the truth..." Nabu replied, his casual tone almost causing me to lose my mind as he calmly explained the situation like it was nothing.

"You piss me off so much... but you're out of my kill list for now..." I said, letting out a tired sigh as I rubbed my forehead in frustration. "You're a real fucking piece of work.

"So Kent Nelson used to tell me..." Nabu said, flashing a barely noticeable smile as he mentioned his former host. "In any case... you are much stronger now, but you still need my power..." He added as he regained his solemn tone and expression.

"You're still on about that?" I asked, my eyes twitching in annoyance. "I already told you the answer is no. I'm not interested in being your avatar or anything of that nature..." I added, firmly shaking my head.

"That is unfortunate, but you don't have to be my avatar..." The Lord of Order said, causing me to tilt my head and give him a skeptical look. "You only need to use my power to defeat Darkseid, and that will be the end of it..." He added and quickly went on once he noticed my unconvinced expression.

"In exchange, I will allow you to use my power to do one thing, whatever it might be, as long as it does not upset the balance of order in the universe..." The Lord of Order concluded.

...

"Home sweet home..." I muttered, plopping on my couch and smiling as I watched Little Soot jump straight into my lap. "It's good to see you're as carefree as ever, little guy..." I said, scratching the feline's chin as he rubbed his face against my hand.

Leaning into the couch, I took a deep breath and closed my eyes, feeling relaxed as the tension finally left my body. "That's that.. time to get back to work..." I said as I opened my eyes and brought up the system's interface a moment later.

[Due to absorbing a large amount of foreign energy, the total score of your body, mind, and spirit has increased]

[+64 stat points to your body attribute]

[Body: 464]

[+58 stat points to your mind attribute]

[Mind: 458]

[+234 stat points to your spirit attribute]

[Spirit: 634]

[Due to reaching a milestone in your spirit attribute, your perks: Energy Conductor, Energy Detector, Energy Conversion, Energy Adaptability, and Ergo-Pisonics, have merged to create a new one]

[You have unclocked the perk: Supernatural Spirit]

[Supernatural Spirit: your soul has transcended its mortal coil, allowing you to achieve feats that very few in your world could achieve and to control all energies as easily as breathing]

[+20 levels to the Brawling skill]

[Brawling (85)]

[+16 levels to the Medieval Weapons Mastery skill]

[Medieval Weapons Mastery (58)]

[Due to reaching a milestone in your Medieval Weapons Mastery skill, you have uncloaked the perk; One With The Weapon]

[One With The Weapon: your weapon of choice is an extension of your body, and you are able to wield it as naturally as you would move your arm, making it impossible for anyone to disarm you under any circumstances]

[+14 levels to the Language Skill]

[Language (32)]

[+32 levels to the Dark Arts skill]

[Dark Arts (89)]

[+29 levels to the Aclemy skill]

[Alchemy (49)]

[+20 level to the Astrologer class]

[Astrologer (level MAX)]

[1+level to the Occultist archetype]

[The Occultist (level 6)]

[You have unlocked the power: Astrological Awareness]

[Astrological Awareness: You are aware of the slightest shifts in the stars around you, allowing you to calculate the faintest changes and consequences caused by your actions]

[+36 accumulated class levels]

[+168 stat points]

[Stat points: 168]

[You have reached the maximum level for your current class]

[Would you like to choose a new one?]

'Damn... I already feel the difference...' I mused as I channeled my energy into my hand, materializing a fish, a horse, an eagle, and a cat, each made from a different element.

"Might as well use up the stat points first..." I muttered as I split my stat points between my body and mind attributes, raising them over five hundred.

"Holy shiiit..." I couldn't help but curse, my eyes widening as I instantly felt a rush of power coursing through my veins.

[Due to reaching a milestone in your three attributes, your perks, Supernatural Body, Supernatural Mind, and Supernatural spirit, have merged together, creating a new one]

[You have unlocked the perk: Transendence]

[Transendence: you are glaringly, obviously, and supernaturally better than other beings in your universe, as every aspect of your being and existence dwarfs those around you]

'Way to try and give me a god complex...' I bitterly mused, gritting my teeth as I suppressed the rush of power and energy. It took a moment, and I instantly breathed a sigh of relief as I took control of the sudden increase in energy.

Once everything was under control, I turned my attention to the system and didn't hesitate to choose the White Mage as my new class since it didn't matter anyway.

[You have gained the class: White Mage]

[You have gained the skill: White Arts]

[White Arts: The user can utilize the White Arts, a benevolent system of techniques based around a purer side of magic that magicians typically use for helping other people by healing the mind, body, or spirit]

[+30 levels to the White Mage class]

[White Mage (level MAX)]

[Acumelated class levels: 6]

[2+level to the Occultist archetype]

[The Occultist (level 8)]

[You have unclocked the power: Curse Removal]

[Curse Removal (locked): the ability to lift or remove any curse at will regardless of its complexities and the power of its caster (currently unusable due to the low level of the White Arts skill)]

[You have unclocked the power: Angelic Manifestation]

[Angelic Manifestation (locked): the ability to call on the might of heaven and channel the strength of its most powerful angels through your body in your time of need once every year (currently unusable due to the low level of the White Arts skill]

[You have reached the maximum level for your current class]

[Would you like to choose the next one?]

I merely sighed as I read through the new and unusable perks and skills before choosing the last available class, Artificer.

[You have gained the class: Artificer]

[You have gained the skill: Magical Craftsmanship]

[Magical Craftsmanship: the skill to create any and all magical tools, weapons, and appliances, ranging from your run-of-the-mill flaming sword all the way to a dragon-themed alarm clock that will burn you to cinders if you don't leave the bed]

[+6 levels to the Artificer class]

[Artificer (level 7)]

...

Name: Grayson Whitlock

Race: Human

Gender: Male

Age: 17

Archetype: [The Mad Scientist (level MAX)] [The Occultist (level 8)]

Class: [Thief (level MAX)] [Fighter (level MAX)] [Acrobat (Level MAX)] [Programmer (Level MAX) [Gunman (level MAX)] [Mechanic (level MAX)] [Duelist (level MAX)] [Artist (level MAX)] [Scholar (level MAX)] [Linguist (level MAX)] [Chemist (level MAX)] [Surgeon (level MAX)] [Biologist (level MAX)] [Dark Mage (level MAX)] [Alchemist (level MAX)] [Astrologer (level MAX)] [White Mage (level MAX)] [Artificer (level 7)]

...

Stats:

Body: 538

Mind: 538

Spirit: 634

Stat Points: 0

.....

Skills:

[Brawling (level 85)]

[Crime (level 64)]

[Acrobatics (level 55)]

[Computers (level 68)]

[Gun Mastery (level 39)]

[Mechanics (65)]

[Medieval Weapons Mastery (58)]

[Art (5)]

[Knowledge (24)]

[Language (32)]

[Chemistry (24)]

[Medicine (24)]

[Biology (2)]

[Dark Arts (89)]

[Alchemy (50)]

[Astrology (level 20)]

[White Arts (1)]

[Magical Craftsmanship (1)]

....

Perks:

[Dormant Metahuman]

[Silent Step]

[Augmented Reality Vision]

[Metallurgic Intuition]

[Ricochet Intuition]

[World Wide Access]

[Menacing Presence]

[Emp Surge]

[Cat Falling]

[Crypticus Maleficium]

[Oath Breaker]

[Transendence]

[One With The Weapon]

...

Archetype powers:

[Network Crash]

[Code Manipulation]

[Personal Computer]

[Machinery Scan]

[Machine Control]

[Machine Morphing]

[Chemical Analysis]

[Metabolism Manipulation]

[Living Catalyst (locked)]

[X-ray Vision]

[Instant Surgery]

[Stitchting]

[Detect Weakness]

[Create Familiar]

[Instanr Ritual]

[Word Of Power]

[Instant Potion]

[Avatar Creation]

[Astrological Awareness]

[Curse Removal (locked)]

[Angelic Manifestation (locked)]

"Looking good..." I muttered with a smile as I went through the entirety of my stats, skills, perks, and powers. "Now to figure out a way to deal with Darkseid..." I added, activating my Astrological Awareness and astrology skill to dig into the possible future and find one where I could kick his ass.

...

"God damn it..." I said, sighing as I deactivated my power and rubbed my forehead in exhaustion, having found no possible future where I could beat Darkseid on my own, despite depleting half my energy reserves in the endeavor.

I had no idea how or why, but I couldn't think of or divine any way to beat the God of Tyranny, even in scenarios where I had the help of Superman and other heroes.

Typically and ideally, Superman would be able to beat Darkseid, but something was different this time around. I couldn't put my finger on it. And that simple fact frustrated me more than I thought possible.

As much as I'd like to, I couldn't let Darkseid keep thrashing Superman since the God of tyranny would turn his attention once he was done with the man of steel, and I couldn't let that happen for obvious reasons.

"I guess there's no other choice..." I muttered with a sigh as I reluctantly retrieved the Helmet of Fate and placed it on the table. "Nabu...! Let's bargain...!" I exclaimed and instantly found myself in that dark space as soon as I finished speaking.

...

The surface of Mars

"The man of steel... how disapointing..." Darkseid muttered as he pressed his heel against Superman's head. "There is no steel in you, Kryptonian..." He added as he raised his foot and kicked Superman in the head, which sent him flying.

"You've done nothing but waste my time..." The God of tryanny said as he flew into the air, rapidly growing in size until he dwarfed the barren planet, already in ruins due to the battle.

"But I will grace you with my attention no longer..." Darkseid said as he dismissively looked down at Mars and Superman by extension. "Farewell, Kryptonian..." He concluded as he drew his gigantic fist and sent it flying toward the planet's exposed core, intent on crushing it alongside the man of steel.