Esdeath did have some interest in "training" Emma, but since Zod had said so, she would not go against his wishes.
Whether it was the survival-of-the-fittest mindset carved into her bones, or the implanted loyalty to Zod, both made Esdeath obedient to him in every way.
Zod built Esdeath a space station out in space, positioned very close to the sun. At the same time, he altered the nearby magnetic field influences so the station would not be captured by the sun's gravity, yet could still focus and bundle the sun's light.
Zod felt that Esdeath was very strong now.
"Wanna fight, Boss?" Esdeath asked, sensing Zod observing her, her expression eager.
"Alright."
Zod did not mind. He brought Esdeath with him in a teleport, arriving in a prepared combat room.
The combat room, built from atomic alloy, was more than enough to withstand the violent clash of two Kryptonians.
Esdeath did not hold back. She threw a straight punch head-on, blasting the air apart. The punch's initial speed broke the sound barrier instantly.
Zod released electromagnetic force, controlling the surrounding magnetic field, and applied it to Esdeath.
Her punch slowed more and more, until it finally stopped right in front of Zod's face.
A pressure of millions of tons pinned Esdeath in place, leaving her unable to move.
"Boss, you can't do that!" Esdeath protested. What she wanted was a fist-to-fist battle, not a fight ended without any sparks.
"Fine."
Zod withdrew the electromagnetic force. Esdeath immediately swung a right hook at his face.
Zod dodged with ease. Then he countered with two backhand punches that landed solidly on Esdeath.
Esdeath was knocked back, her bio-field shielding her so she was not affected too badly.
In the next instant, she vanished. Her speed was too fast, and coupled with the bio-field's unbelievable properties, even when she broke several times the speed of sound, there was no sonic boom and no heat barrier. She appeared behind Zod, clasped her hands together, and hammered down toward his head.
Zod had just lifted his gaze when Esdeath showed a triumphant smile. Her eyes turned red as she unleashed heat vision at maximum power!
Zod was swallowed by the heat vision. The beam that could split metal and melt jade failed to shake his body in the slightest. It did not even ruffle his hairstyle, still that Aizen-like slicked-back look.
The main reason was Zod's bio-field was far too strong. On top of that, he possessed an ability other Kryptonians did not: energy absorption. He absorbed Esdeath's heat vision attack in full, and used that energy to permanently enhance his own physical toughness.
Then Zod's eyes lit up with a blue glow.
Freeze ray!
Blue freeze rays fired from his eyes, instantly freezing the heat vision. Esdeath, who did not have time to escape, was frozen as well.
Bizarro's freeze ray and thermal breath were not abilities Zod could only use by becoming Bizarro. After mastering electromagnetic force and gravity, turning heat vision into freeze rays, and turning freeze breath into thermal breath, were both easy tasks. More importantly, his energy absorption could convert any form of energy.
Esdeath tore free from the ice. She drew in a deep breath, preparing to unleash freeze breath at Zod.
Then she saw Zod raise a hand toward her.
He converted the energy within his body into gravity. In the next moment, Esdeath was pulled toward his hand at lightning speed.
The gravity was so powerful that even a Kryptonian like Esdeath could not resist.
After drawing Esdeath into his grasp, Zod opened his mouth. Esdeath opened hers too.
Thermal breath!
Freeze breath!
Flames and frost annihilated each other at point-blank range. Then, before Esdeath's eyes, the flames Zod exhaled began to condense, and in the next instant they became a thermal energy ray!
Her freeze breath was no match at all. It was pierced straight through. Esdeath herself was blasted away, slammed into the wall, and pinned there.
The continuous thermal energy ray lit up her entire body. Even so, Esdeath's bio-field was insanely tough. She forced her way through, shattering the thermal energy ray with a single punch, then dodged aside.
Esdeath chose to surrender.
Zod was simply too strong. Even without using electromagnetic force, his other abilities completely crushed her. If they kept fighting, there was no hope of victory at all.
Since Esdeath surrendered, Zod did not insist on continuing. He had never been that interested in fighting to begin with. The electromagnetic style suited him: no need for brutal fist-to-fist exchanges. Besides, there were not many people who could trade blows with a Kryptonian anyway.
After surrendering, Esdeath leaned directly into Zod's body.
"What's wrong?"
Zod had not adjusted his hormone release yet, so when it came to emotional intelligence, he was still blunt.
"I want to duel you, Boss, on another battlefield."
Esdeath's long legs wrapped around Zod's waist.
Zod: OO
He thought for a moment before he understood the meaning behind her words.
There was nothing else to say. Just do it.
A single line of poetry could describe what came next.
When spring breeze meets jade dew once, it surpasses countless moments in the mortal world.
The battle between two Kryptonians was extremely fierce, lasting more than three hours.
In the end, it still concluded with Zod's victory.
After all, he had just strengthened his body again. Esdeath was already far from being his match.
Pietro woke from his coma.
At first, he did not see the familiar ceiling. Instead, it was pitch-black, so dark he could not even see his own hand. He thought his eyes had been covered, but after groping around and finding nothing, panic surged in him. Am I blind?
Cold sweat poured down Pietro's back. He tried to recall what happened last night, but he had been too high, blacked out, and his memories were broken and scattered.
He only knew it seemed like someone beat him up, then locked him away, and it was freezing cold.
The pain all over his body told him it was not an illusion.
"What the hell happened!"
"Is anyone there!"
"Save me!"
Watching Pietro start to make a scene, the beast-soldiers did not really care.
A person's energy is limited. Pietro had been beaten last night, and he was cold and hungry. He could not shout for long. Even if he screamed until his throat tore, this room, a place where even sound waves could not travel out, would not let anyone know he was inside.
After shouting for a while, Pietro's voice turned into hoarse roaring. Then he gave up.
A darkness where you cannot see anything is the thing that devours a person's spirit and will the fastest.
He could not obtain any information from the outside world. No, to be precise, he could not even sense whether he himself existed. His whole being felt like a wisp of a ghost, drifting in infinite darkness, falling endlessly toward the abyss.
At this time, even the flow of time seemed to become unbearably slow. More than that, Pietro could not even feel time passing.
Darkness was eternity.
An instant, yet eternal!
/-\
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