Magic Lightning

"Finally."

Hearing Kara’s words, Zhang Ye quickly sensed through magic that a being carrying divine power had entered Gotham.

Zhang Ye had already informed Barbara Gordon, Kate, and the others that Shazam was on his way. Although they did not know how Zhang Ye had contacted Shazam, they were still excited to see a Justice League hero again.

With Zhang Ye’s Reverse Language Magic teleportation, everyone went from underground to Arkham’s entrance in the blink of an eye.

"Your magic is getting better and better," Kara said with a smile.

"I’ve only just gotten started. I’m still not skilled enough at using this world’s energy. I was actually planning to see if I could cast spells silently." Zhang Ye shrugged casually.

The two only exchanged a few words before turning their gazes toward the distant sky. Sure enough, high above, a figure broke through the thick clouds and flew toward Gotham like lightning.

Seeing this, Zhang Ye raised his right hand and placed his index and middle fingers against his temple.

The next moment, his voice appeared directly in Shazam’s mind.

We can see you, Billy. Look toward your two o’clock. We’re at the ruins of Arkham Asylum.

Shazam was startled by Zhang Ye’s voice, but he quickly recovered. He had met plenty of wizards before. Someone like Zhang Ye who could use telepathy was rare, but not unheard of.

"Got it."

Turning in the direction Zhang Ye indicated, he indeed spotted several ant-sized figures gathered at Arkham Asylum’s entrance. Amid the deathly silent Gotham City, Zhang Ye and the others stood out remarkably.

Having found his target, Shazam immediately changed course and dived straight down.

If Shazam had still harbored doubts about Zhang Ye before, he now truly believed him completely.

Billy would not forget the demonic power that had emanated from Zhang Ye earlier. Though it seemed somewhat different from the demons of this world, that pure malice could not be imitated. He was certain that Zhang Ye was an extraordinarily powerful Black Wizard.

"Keep three parts of your words to yourself; never lay your whole heart bare." The saying suited Billy, who had been tormented by PTSD for two years, exceptionally well. Though he was only a child, everything he had experienced had made his mind more mature than that of some adults.

And now, seeing Zhang Ye standing together with members of the Bat-Family, Billy finally let out the breath he had been holding.

Even if his trust in Zhang Ye outweighed his vigilance, until he truly met Zhang Ye and the others face-to-face, Billy could not calm himself. He was truly afraid of the despair that would follow hope.

But just as he entered low altitude, a squad of Para-demons patrolling Gotham City noticed his arrival.

"Uh-oh. Looks like you weren’t the only ones who saw me."

On his way here, Billy had remained extremely vigilant. He had carefully avoided the territories of every Para-demon force and concealed himself as best he could, not wanting to cause trouble for the surviving heroes here. He had not alerted a single Para-demon.

But what he had not expected was that the moment he arrived in Gotham, the Para-demons inside discovered him.

"You didn’t warn me there were Para-demons here! I thought you’d already cleared them all out!"

Sorry, sorry. It’s not that we don’t want to clear them out. Barbara said that if they wiped out the Para-demons here on a large scale, the Para-demons from the surrounding nests would swarm out in full force. Those things still care a lot about Gotham.

Zhang Ye on the ground was also a little helpless. It was clear that Batman truly loved Gotham. Even after being brainwashed by Darkseid, controlling Gotham was still etched into his genes.

Turning around, Zhang Ye looked at the others behind him. "Who wants to go meet him?"

"Leave it to me." Without another word, Kara took off her coat and shot into the air from where she stood, streaking skyward like a launched cannonball.

Black Canary beside her was not about to be outdone. She had long wanted to make a move, and now that she finally had a chance to show off her strength, she naturally would not let it pass.

Perhaps because Pietro and Ashley had slaughtered the previous squad of Para-demons, this patrol in Gotham actually included two Doomsday Para-demons.

The blackish-green Doomsday Para-demons let out roars, their blood-red eyes fixed firmly on Shazam. Clearly, they had already marked him as prey and were ready to tear him apart alive.

"All right, then let’s see what you’ve got!"

Shazam neither dodged nor retreated. Facing the oncoming Para-demons, he did not even slow down, instead charging at them at full speed.

His fist slammed into the chest of the leading Doomsday Para-demon. Sensing danger behind him, Shazam spun and kicked. His golden right leg, formed from magic, swept out fiercely and sent the other Doomsday Para-demon attempting to ambush him flying dozens of meters away.

Perhaps two Doomsday Para-demons were no match for Shazam, but the strength of these biological weapons had never been their individual combat power. Their greatest advantage was their endless, locust-swarm numbers.

After taking several heavy blows from Shazam, a Doomsday Para-demon turned and raised its massive, vicious palm, prepared to show this cripple the power of a Kryptonian.

The next moment, an unstoppable force struck.

Just as that palm was about to smash into Shazam, the Doomsday Para-demon vanished from before his eyes.

The abrupt change left Shazam stunned. He had already braced himself to take the blow head-on.

Following the fading afterimage left by the Para-demon’s disappearance, Shazam saw only that the Doomsday Para-demon had been sent flying a hundred meters away by someone in a red cape.

"S-Superman?"

Blinking, Shazam struggled to process it. He remembered the rumors saying that Superman should have been crippled already.

But while he froze, the other Para-demons around him did not stop moving. Those grotesque little monsters rushed him one after another, clutching his limbs tightly as their sharp teeth frantically gnawed at his body.

Though the teeth of ordinary Para-demons could not bite through Shazam’s flesh, the pain was real enough for Shazam to find unbearable.

Under normal circumstances, Shazam would not fear these things. Even twice as many would be no problem for him. But now, after traveling so far, he was already utterly exhausted.

At that moment, the thick clouds over Gotham abruptly began to churn, and a terrifying pressure gathered above.

The sky seemed to split open, and a violent bolt of lightning surged from the rift, illuminating all of Gotham. The thunder that shook the entire sky carried terrifying destructive power, as though it could tear space itself apart.

The lightning pierced downward like a spear. Its sound alone was enough to make one tremble in fear.

Before Shazam could react, the lightning struck him head-on. At the same time, the Para-demons clinging desperately to his body were reduced to ash by the thunderbolt.

His body shrank sharply, and Shazam reverted to Billy in the blink of an eye.

"Me!?"

Billy could not help reaching out, trying to grab onto something. He felt like cursing his head off.

He had clearly not shouted the word "Shazam," so how had he been inexplicably struck back into his original form by lightning?!

But his shock did not last long. Having lost the ability to hover, before gravity could pull him down, his entire body was caught in a hard embrace the next second.

"When Oliver told me before, I didn’t believe him. I never expected the mighty Shazam to really be a child."