The Dark Lord's thinking was simple: even if he lost this round, as long as he could burn more of Thea's divine power, he'd win easily next time. Whether Thea had reached Highfather's level or not, she warranted his serious attention—that itself demonstrated her strength.
With that mindset, one side recklessly spent divine power with wild abandon while the other carefully conserved every drop. The battlefield actually achieved a strange equilibrium.
"You are a formidable opponent," Darkseid said, economical with words as always.
"But she is not." The Dark Lord turned to look at Diana. His eyes blazed crimson as power seemingly transcending time, space, and all other concepts erupted from his gaze.
"Your Majesty, are you getting confused?" Thea was genuinely puzzled. Do you have amnesia or something? While Darkseid's Omega Beams were suffocatingly powerful, she could block them with some divine power expenditure.
Her eyes flashed green as twin beams met them head-on.
But on contact, she realized he'd used a feint. The attack looked intimidating but only had a thin layer of actual energy on the surface.
What's he planning? Thinking of deception, Thea quickly looked to the other side. The Dark Lord had stepped across spatial distance in a single stride, grabbing the shadowy chubby figure that had been wreaking havoc among the parademons. Darkseid looked at Thea with a cold smile.
"You are worthy of my using tactics," he stated in his typical tone, as if expressing some fundamental truth.
Darkseid's palm tightened slightly, crushing the shadowy chubby figure. That sliver of soul merged into his body like a drop of water entering the ocean.
Hmm? Something extra in my body? Darkseid immediately sensed something wrong.
"Hahaha! Call you stupid, and you really are! With such a huge head, I'm impressed—you dare absorb souls I've tampered with?!" Thea laughed with pure joy. Her acting could easily win an Oscar. She extended her left hand toward Darkseid, sensing that peculiar energy inside him, then clenched it into a fist.
A massive plume of black smoke erupted from Darkseid's body. The Dark Lord reacted impressively, possessing the Dark Godhood—he immediately mobilized dark divine power somewhat related to souls to suppress it.
Unfortunately, Thea's understanding of darkness came from the Primordial Shadow, naturally ranking above the Dark Godhood on a fundamental level.
Darkseid's divine power not only failed to suppress it but actually added fuel to the fire.
Ordinary people couldn't hear it, but the divine beings heard clearly—BOOM! A muffled explosion. Darkseid detonated from soul to flesh.
His deep blue armor blasted open with a gaping hole. Two drops of black, nearly transparent divine blood fell to earth, instantly forming two ten-foot (3-meter)-deep craters. Black vapor hissed from within, containing both Darkseid's dark divine power and the strange energy Thea had gleaned from the Primordial Shadow.
Around the craters, whether parademon or human coalition forces, all vaporized instantly, disappearing without a trace.
"Oh, Your Majesty is quite decisive. To purge my hidden trap in such a short time—truly impressive." Thea nodded in praise, her tone carrying a hint of regret. Despite the sudden attack, Darkseid had made the most advantageous choice while caught off-guard. That composure deserved recognition.
Darkseid had traded minor injuries to completely eliminate the trap Thea had painstakingly built up since the battle began. You could definitely call that brilliant strategy.
Both sides returned to square one—one with minor soul damage, the other having burned significant divine power.
"Everyone, clear this battlefield." Seeing Thea's eyes growing brighter—clearly building up for a major attack—Diana quickly warned the human coalition to evacuate.
Modern humans weren't stupid. Good lord, two drops of blood created deep craters! Forget blood falling from the sky—they couldn't even withstand collateral damage from ordinary attacks. This group of extras didn't even have a chance to cheer them on—they needed to get far away!
The human coalition withdrew in waves. The parademon grunts didn't want to be caught in the crossfire either, using "pursuit" as an excuse to clear several miles around the battle's epicenter for the big shots to duke it out.
Thea called out softly. Boundless soul power erupted from her body—first a river, then a lake, finally an ocean. An entire sea composed of souls.
Countless souls cruised through the ocean, their hazy features marking their difference from the living. Wailing, resentment, dissatisfaction—every negative emotion crying out to heaven and earth, weeping before the living.
Among the spirits swam countless shadow creatures. Some souls and shadows had merged together into things even Thea couldn't identify.
Holy shit! Watching this scene, even Darkseid finally showed some anger. "You covet the Dark Godhood too?!"
Damn it, having the Soul Godhood snatched away had already infuriated Darkseid to the extreme. Now Thea's aggressive display suggested she wanted his Dark Godhood too? He could tolerate a lot, but not this!
Does Highfather, your boss, even know you're messing with dark power like this?!
Actually, Thea had no choice. Every time she studied the Primordial Shadow, she gleaned things related to corruption and darkness. The big boss primordial beast could definitely birth light from shadow, but she was just a small fry without that level of understanding. With the Soul Godhood as her guide, all the characteristics she'd absorbed leaned toward darkness.
Since her talent points had already gone crooked, might as well keep going!
With a gesture, the soul ocean slowly began moving, finally gathering all its energy like an endless river flowing straight toward Darkseid. This was a new technique Thea had developed mimicking the River Styx—not needing the filtering properties, but relying on massive soul power to wash over enemies. Even if Darkseid was a mountain, she'd erode that mountain away.
Without need for eye signals, Diana soared above the soul ocean and drew out a golden spear.
This divine weapon had been reforged from old Shazam's lightning staff. While it fell slightly short of Zeus's original lightning spear now in Hera's hands, the two women didn't care. Divine weapons, however powerful, still depended on their wielder.
Diana continuously channeled divine power into the spear, upholding her convictions, guarding what she protected.
"Let's attack together!" Seeing the soul ocean take shape, Thea leaped onto the only reef on its surface, manipulating the waters.
Diana also transformed into a golden lightning bolt, coordinating with the soul ocean to charge straight at Darkseid.
"Two youngsters!" Darkseid spoke with contempt, but had actually gone all-out. He extended both massive hands to meet the soul ocean and lightning.
The Strength Godhood was his earliest acquisition and most familiar power. Mustering incomparable might and stirring up hurricanes, he struck directly at the two women, attempting to crush everything with raw power.
His giant fist first contacted the golden lightning. Darkseid didn't particularly respect Diana—one glance revealed the warrior goddess's true level, and he was confident in blocking her.
What he couldn't see through was Thea. Most of his divine power went to his right hand, but punching into the ocean water brought an indescribable strangeness.
Souls have no physical form—even ordinary Earth people could figure that out, let alone him.
The Dark Lord was extremely confident in his understanding of strength, believing it far exceeded Thea's understanding of souls.
This viewpoint wasn't wrong—except he didn't know Thea had also gleaned some things from the Primordial Shadow that transcended rules. Those things were ineffable, inexplicable—you could even say unreasonable.
No matter how deeply you understand strength, it's useless—I've exceeded those rules. I don't play by your logic!