"I believe your name is Orm, correct?" Lucas asked politely.
"Orm Marius," Orm replied coldly.
"Ocean Master. King of Atlantis."
"Very well, King of Atlantis," Lucas said calmly.
"I'm giving you two choices."
He raised two fingers.
"First option: I beat you up right now. Then you obediently take your people and crawl back to your country. Without my permission, you never set foot on land again."
"Second option: you refuse to cooperate. I beat you up even harder, throw you back into the sea, and from that day forward, you are forbidden from appearing on land—without my permission."
Orm's eyes burned with fury.
"Those two options sound exactly the same."
Lucas shook his head.
"No, no, there's definitely a difference."
"If you choose the first option, it means you sincerely admit your mistake. I'll go a bit easier on you."
"But if you choose the second—"
Lucas clenched his fists. His knuckles cracked sharply.
A grin spread across his face.
"I'll make sure you remember—for the rest of your life—why flowers are red."
Orm roared. He slammed the Trident of Poseidon into the ground as brilliant golden light erupted outward.
"So you've chosen the second option," Lucas sighed regretfully.
Then his expression lit up with excitement.
"In that case—try to survive a few punches."
Orm's face twisted with rage.
From the moment he was born, he had never suffered such humiliation.
Especially after obtaining the Trident of Poseidon—
the overwhelming power surging through his body made him feel as though he could shatter the world with a single blow.
His arrogance had reached unprecedented heights.
And now—
Lucas looked at him like an adult staring down a child waving a wooden stick.
---
The once-clear sky darkened as storm clouds gathered above Gotham.
Boom—boom—boom!
Thunder rolled like spring storms.
The golden glow of the trident dimmed slightly as lightning-like patterns spread through the surrounding air.
Moments later, lightning from the sky responded, racing along those patterns and flooding the battlefield.
"No one dares challenge the authority of the Ocean Master!"
Orm raised the trident, pointing it straight at Lucas.
"Land-dweller—die!"
A terrifying bolt of lightning condensed instantly, carrying blistering heat and blinding brilliance.
The ground melted into a deep trench as the thunderbolt tore forward like a charging war chariot, ripping the earth apart as it slammed into Lucas.
Electric arcs engulfed his body—
Yet upon closer inspection, an invisible barrier stood between Lucas and the lightning.
The thunder raged like a feral beast, but it could not breach that unseen defense.
Lucas casually waved his hand.
The lightning dispersed like torn white smoke.
"…An energy shield?" Orm stared in disbelief, glancing at his trident.
"Sorry," Lucas said lightly.
"That was just my body's automatic defense. Come on—try again."
With a thought, Lucas withdrew the protective aura beneath his skin.
Given such an invitation, Orm showed no restraint.
Lightning surged once more—stronger, denser, more violent than before.
"DIE!"
Orm vanished in a flash and rammed the trident straight into Lucas's chest.
This time, the lightning struck cleanly.
Over a hundred million volts coursed through Lucas's body—
Yet Orm's expression turned ugly.
Not only did the trident feel like it had stabbed into the hardest metal known to the ocean—
But Lucas's face…
It looked as though he was enjoying a massage.
Orm's blood pressure spiked violently.
Roaring in fury, he swung the trident again.
Clang—!
It was like striking a steel wall.
The backlash numbed Orm's arms, yet he gritted his teeth and attacked again.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Metallic impacts echoed endlessly.
With each strike, Orm grew more desperate.
His arms were going numb—
a sensation he had only experienced years ago while training against his weapon master.
"You are not human!" Orm leapt backward, retreating several meters.
Lucas rolled his neck lazily.
"That's it? You're done already?"
"I was just starting to enjoy myself. Are you really that weak?"
Orm's vision swam red as rage consumed his reason.
"AAAAAH—!!!"
Golden light exploded from the trident, flooding Orm's entire body.
Lightning poured down from the sky, striking him again and again—coiling around him without dispersing.
"I'd really love to drag Thor here and ask him something," Lucas muttered.
"Which one of you is the real god of thunder?"
"I am the Ocean Master!"
"King of Atlantis!"
"I should rule the land as well!"
Orm screamed as lightning completely engulfed him, electric light spreading across the battlefield like a living storm.
Lucas raised an eyebrow.
"…Did this kid finally snap?"
"Lucas, do you need help?" Kara's gentle voice came from the sky.
"No," Lucas replied.
"Go get that thing for me."
He rolled his wrists and cracked his neck.
"When someone's gone crazy—
you beat them awake."
---
BOOM!
The ground exploded where Lucas had been standing.
He reappeared directly in front of Orm.
"DIE!" Orm roared, releasing his left hand and throwing a punch.
Lucas answered with a straight right.
BANG!
The punch landed first.
The thunder armor around Orm's face shattered instantly.
BAM!
A devastating liver-breaking blow slammed into Orm's abdomen.
The lightning armor there collapsed like eggshells.
PUFF!
Orm's fury froze—then twisted into agony.
Lucas dropped his stance, shoulder sinking low, his right fist carving an upward arc.
BOOM!
The rising uppercut smashed into Orm's jaw, sending his already-deformed helmet flying.
The impact violently shook Orm's brain inside his skull.
For the first time in his life—
Orm felt fear.
Lucas didn't stop.
A durable opponent like this didn't come around often—
and he had no intention of wasting such a punching bag.
He grabbed Orm by the shoulder, yanked him back—
And unleashed another crushing punch, the air screaming in its wake.
___
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