Multiverse: Deathstroke

Chapter 94: Ch.93 Quest from the Old Gods

At that moment, Su Ming felt that the beautiful golden gun in his hands had turned into a flashy but useless accessory—something he couldn't make good use of, yet was too valuable to discard.

But since it was a free gift, it's likely that Hephaestus gave it away for Barry's sake, as he was Wonder Woman's teammate. Despite his words about not caring about Diana's lifestyle, his actions clearly showed that he hoped they would help her.

Thoughts raced through Su Ming's mind. He was a bit puzzled. The gods were clearly aware of Barbatos's invasion, and they seemed prepared for it, almost as if they were waiting for the heroes to come to them for help.

Yet, they had no intention of joining the battlefield themselves, acting like mere bystanders.

Now, the various pantheons seemed to be treating this as entertainment, making Su Ming feel as though he had been transported back to the mythological era, where heroes would risk their lives seeking help from the gods to defeat monsters in epic tales.

But Barbatos was far too powerful to be considered mere sport for the gods. How could they be so confident in their inaction? Su Ming couldn't figure it out.

He had no plans to persuade the gods. After all, they didn't really care about humanity. They only cared about themselves.

Su Ming began loading some magazines, then packed them into his gear. "We actually came here seeking a divine artifact, one that can generate high-voltage electricity over a long period."

Hephaestus hesitated for the first time, his expression showing reluctance, something Su Ming had never seen from him before.

"There is indeed such a divine artifact that can release high-voltage electricity for a long time, but..."

"But?" Barry discreetly stashed the divine metal grenades away, planning to give them to Su Ming later. After all, if they were free, why not take them?

"It's in my father's hands. It's called 'Thunder,' always appearing in the form of a twisted lightning bolt. It symbolizes my father's divine authority as the Sky God and the ruler of Olympus. Whoever wields the power of the Thunder God's punishment is the king of Olympus."

Hephaestus crossed his arms over his chest, getting soot all over his apron. He would never dare think about taking Thunder. That artifact could only be wielded by the chief god, and Zeus valued his rule above all else. Anyone who tried to take it would surely die.

Su Ming fell silent. It was like asking for a king's scepter. It wasn't just impossible to take; even borrowing it was out of the question.

"But if you can mark the enemy's position, I can ask my father to unleash the artifact once," Hephaestus suggested, his eyes burning like flames, representing the thought flickering in his mind as he proposed this solution.

"Thank you. But how would I mark it?" Su Ming understood. Zeus did love striking people with lightning. It didn't matter who the target was. Helping out at a crucial moment would demonstrate his divine might and strengthen his authority.

Hephaestus rummaged through his apron pockets, tools falling out as he searched. After a while, he pulled out a shining gold phone, brighter than any titanium phone Su Ming had ever seen. "Let's add each other on Facebook. When the time comes, just send me a GPS location screenshot."

Su Ming: "..."

This wasn't what he had expected, but it was a workable plan. Although many major cities had been destroyed, the satellites in Earth's orbit were still functioning as usual.

Unfortunately, he didn't even know which world he was from. Although he had a phone, it had no signal, whether on Earth -11 or in the primary world.

In the end, Barry had to make a trip back to Central City to get his own phone from the lab, and he brought Su Ming a prepaid phone as well.

Barry's expression wasn't great. Someone at S.T.A.R. Labs had been injured in the recent events and was still in the hospital.

However, there was some good news: Barbatos and the Batman Who Laughs hadn't made any moves yet. They didn't seem to have noticed that the Red Death had been killed, and Central City had temporarily avoided disaster.

Su Ming needed to act quickly and eliminate as many scattered enemies as possible before they realized what had happened.

At this moment, if the Dark Knights were still unaware, then the Batman Who Laughs, the Merciless, and the Murder Machine should be with Barbatos in Gotham, guiding the Cosmic Tuning Fork to concentrate dark energy. If they were sticking together, he would need to avoid them for now.

The Merciless should be in the underground of the A.R.G.U.S. headquarters, fighting Wonder Woman one-on-one, while the Dawnbreaker was clashing with Green Lantern Hal Jordan in the underground of Coast City.

Su Ming had saved Earth -11, but there were definitely other Dark Multiverse Batmen who had become the Drowned, currently fighting Aquaman in Amnesty Bay.

Here, it was just Su Ming and Barry. They had Constantine's magical scroll and Hephaestus's automatic rifle. Although their strength had increased somewhat, they still had no effective means to counter the Drowned. Underwater combat was a common weakness for both Su Ming and Barry.

So, for now, they would stick to their original plan and go help Diana deal with the Merciless—a Batman who relied solely on physical power was relatively easier to handle.

Thinking of this, Su Ming glanced at the honest-looking Hephaestus, whose mind, likely filled with magma, seemed to have the same idea. His enthusiasm was really all about helping his sister Diana.

"We're almost out of time. We should head to help Wonder Woman now. Could you modify this hammer to make it more manageable for me?" Su Ming asked, taking the Hawkman's war hammer from his back.

Originally, he had planned to ask Hephaestus to enchant his sword with the Nth metal, but since he had given the Batmanium to Constantine, the only weapon he could use now was the hammer.

Hephaestus reached out with his large hand, weighed the hammer in his grip, then brought it closer to his face for a closer look. The war hammer was dark and unremarkable, and it was hard to tell what he was seeing.

"Hmm... Nth metal. Good material, but the craftsmanship and design are garbage. This thing is very difficult to use."

"Can it be modified?"

"Of course, I just need to melt it down and reforge it. It'll only take a few minutes." Hephaestus walked toward the forge, hammer in hand, indicating for the two of them to follow him back to the foundry. "What kind of weapon do you want?"

"Anything is fine. Spear, greatsword, katana, mace," Su Ming wasn't picky. He could use any weapon. But he remembered something and added, "Preferably a melee weapon."

Hephaestus nodded and led them back to the center of the volcano. The magma below was blocked by his strange device, and all the energy of the volcano was gathered in a huge container.

He threw the hammer into the container. Under the combined influence of Earth's energy and the fire god's divine power, the massive container instantly melted the Nth metal with principles beyond mortal comprehension.

Hephaestus pressed a few buttons, and the molten metal flowed through pipes into a nearby mold. He added some additional materials and, after it had cooled slightly, grabbed the red-hot metal and began hammering it repeatedly on the anvil.

After a few minutes, a massive, pitch-black sword appeared before Su Ming. It reflected no light and was as dark as the night sky.

The blade was forged, not ground, yet it was eerily sharp. The sword's body was incredibly thin, only slightly thicker than a sheet of paper. A war hammer's worth of material had been turned into a sword 1.5 meters long and 20 centimeters wide.

Su Ming wasn't worried about the thin blade breaking. Anything crafted by Hephaestus was undoubtedly a divine weapon. The many unreasonable and unscientific occurrences here were commonplace.

"Thank you. We'll be on our way." Su Ming took the giant sword, which Hephaestus had also equipped with a sheath. Su Ming unbuckled the Sword of Ares he had taken from the Wonder Man and strapped it to his waist, then slung the new giant sword over his back. "I'll name this sword 'Nightfall.' A divine weapon should have a name."

Hephaestus stared at the weapon on Su Ming's waist, seemingly deep in thought, and nodded slowly. "Very well, I approve of the name. You must ensure that Diana returns safely to Olympus."

Su Ming raised an eyebrow. Just as he suspected. "Don't worry, I accept this quest."