Chapter 69

The strong smell of blood and gunpowder almost made Dio vomit.

Dio quickly closed his senses, and that's the only reason he managed to hold it in.

Then, it was the images in front of him that turned his stomach.

He had seen bodies before; the first time was during the invasion, but the bodies in front of him were destroyed on another level of brutality.

They are spread out on the floor in different places, and there is an inch of blood on the ground and all over the walls, which makes it look like a gruesome piece of art.

These are all the bodies of mechanics and engineers who were wearing coveralls.

They suffered a variety of wounds, but blasts killed the majority of them, which crushed their heads and completely destroying their bodies.

A number of others were shot, but the shots were not only meant to kill but also to target very specifically.

One of the bodies has a lot of holes in it.

"Great Hera!"

Diana exclaims in front of Dio.

She had seen a lot of wars, but seeing her comrades being torn apart on the ground still hurt her deeply.

"Diana, look to the left."

Dio said after seeing the tragedy in front of him.

Turning left after the bodies, he can see some bloodstains going in that direction.

"Survivors."

Diana said.

"Yes, I think they're heading for the bunker."

Dio assumed.

They have a safe room on the lowest floor of the building to protect themselves from attacks by metahumans since they work with metahumans and help heroes.

With nothing more to say, Diana hovers above the blood and goes to the left. Dio followed, then leaped over the blood and ran to catch up with her.

They quickly found more bodies to the left, and they all died in the same unusual way as the ones at the entrance.

"There was someone breathing up ahead."

Diana said after taking the stairs down one floor because the elevators were broken.

They reach the corridor and see a soldier from the A.R.G.U.S. with his back to them.

"Soldier."

Diana called.

The soldier turns and faces them.

The organization's battle suit covers his whole body like gray armor, and there is a red circle on his chest that is where the suit's energy core is located, making the wearer stronger and more defensive.

The soldier is also using a long silver weapon—something not available on the commercial market—an energy weapon.

Due to the helmet with a red visor, they couldn't see his face very well, but he didn't appear to be injured, with a bit of blood on his left leg.

That's when things got strange—the soldier who should have been their ally fired his weapon at Diana.

A short blue energy beam shot the short distance almost instantly.

Dio didn't know why, but Diana managed to raise her arm, and the energy beam hit her bracelet, which reflected and left a hole in the wall next to her.

Dio moved in front of Diana and stood in front of the soldier before he could fire again. He grabbed his weapon and raised it into the air.

He fired, and the shot hit the lighting, which caused it to explode.

Then, Dio grabbed the side of his helmet and slammed it against the wall, which shattered the helmet, and the soldier fell to the ground unconscious.

Dio looked at Diana and saw that she was fine.

That was dangerous; energy weapons are extremely dangerous due to their speed and penetrating power.

Dio could only see a flash after the shot; he certainly wouldn't have been able to dodge it if he were the target.

However, Diana must have found it fairly easy given her experience and abilities.

"A traitor?"

Diana asked while approaching the fallen soldier.

"I don't know."

Dio replied while crouching down and removing what was left of the damaged helmet.

The side of the soldier's head was bleeding, and his eyes were alarmingly green.

It was an unusual sight, and he was clearly under the influence of something bad.

"Do you have any idea what could have caused this?"

Dio asked and turned to see Diana's angry face.

"Yes, I do."

Diana replied with gloom.

Diana also approached and looked at the soldier. She seemed to want to be absolutely sure before telling him.

"It's Maru's virus, for sure."

Diana explained.

"Maru?"

Dio asked with confusion.

Dio doesn't recall ever hearing that name, and Diana gave him a brief lesson on poisons that affect demigods during his training, but he doesn't remember this one.

"The first time I encountered it was when I returned to the world of men with Steve. A cult that worshipped Ares but was actually under the control of his children used it.'

In this reality, after Diana helped win World War II, she returned to Themyscira and stayed there until Steve's plane crashed.

"What are its effects?"

Dio asked.

"The infected go into a state of madness and attack anyone in their surroundings until the virus kills them or someone intervenes to stop them."

Diana explained with disgust while removing her golden lasso from her hip.

"But unlike the infected I've encountered before, this one seems to be in a worse state. We can only pray that this works."

Diana said as she wrapped the golden lasso around the man's neck.

The lasso glowed a little brighter, and then the soldier's eyes began to return to normal, and his appearance improved slightly.

"Those infected typically die after some time, but my lasso, both before and now, can save them from this torment."

A virus that leaves people in a wild state for a certain time causes destruction and death and then kills them.

This is very dangerous, and according to her, the virus has improved.

If her lasso can heal the infected, this virus must have something mystical in it because her lasso can't heal common diseases.

"Does this virus affect us?"

Dio asked with concern.

"Not before."

Diana replied.

"That doesn't mean much now."

Dio said.

If the virus has been changed, there's a chance it could infect meta-humans or even demigods.

A terrifying image formed in his mind.

Can anyone imagine how much damage someone infected with this virus would do if Superman or Diana couldn't be controlled?

"We need to move faster and save as many infected as we can."

Diana said.

"I agree."

They both ran through the halls and passed more injured bodies as they went.

The blood on the floor and walls made this headquarters turn into something out of a horror movie.

After descending another flight of stairs, Diana opened the door leading to the floor below when a woman attacked her.

Diana held the woman by the arms and threw her against the wall. Then she took the lasso from her waist and wrapped it around the woman's neck.

A man in a dress shirt with green eyes and drooling came out of the door and tried to attack Diana from behind while she was taking the nightmare out of the woman.

Dio stepped in front of him and tried to grab him.

Dio moved faster and grabbed him below the collar of his shirt. He then put his leg next to his and twisted his body, which knocked him to the ground.

But he tried to choke Dio, as that wasn't enough to stop the fight.

Dio let go of his shirt and hit him in the face, which made him pass out.

"Here,"

Diana said that and offered him the end of her golden lasso.

Dio quickly took it and wrapped it around the man's wrist. A few seconds later, he was better, as was the woman.

"This won't work; it takes too long to heal one person."

Dio told her and stood up.

"We don't have another option for now."

Diana said.

"True, but as far as I remember, Dr. October's lab is on this floor."

Dio reminded Diana, who soon understood.

So they headed straight for Dr. October's personal lab, hoping she would be there and be okay.

They ran through the corridors this time, passing by several bodies of scientists in blood-stained lab coats.

When they reached the location, they received good indicators, as a man in A.R.G.U.S. military armor was firing at the gray bulletproof glass door with two pistols.

Diana walked up behind the man and wrapped the lasso around his neck with the skill of a hitman using a wire.

With the enemy on the ground, Diana went up to the gray glass and tapped it with her hand.

"Are you there, Victoria?"

Diana asked while tapping the glass again.

"It's me, Diana."

Victoria said.

"Diana!"

A voice exclaimed cheerfully from the other side of the glass at the same moment, and then the glass became transparent while revealing its interior.

Once Dr. Victoria October was sure that they were allies, she entered her password into the glass, which opened and let us in.

Dio pulled the healed soldier inside with him.

...

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