DC: Rise of the Kryptonian Tyrant

Apokolips.

Darkseid's twin Omega Beams tore through the scorching, oppressive battlefield atmosphere and blasted directly toward Bardi's chest.

But just then, Bardi, distracted while contemplating the giant beast's intentions and sensing something left behind in his body, fell into a brief trance—allowing the two Omega Beams to strike his chest with unstoppable force.

Boom—

The Omega Beams struck Bardi's chest with a deafening explosion, alarming even the hearts of the New Gods and shaking the armies of New Genesis.

Darkseid's Omega Beams were anything but merciful.

The searing rays, capable of warping time and space, seemed to melt through Bardi's divine chest down to the bone, exposing his rapidly beating crimson heart.

A wave of intense pain surged through Bardi. His vision blurred. Before he could even consider resisting, he choked back a gasp and coughed up blood, his body flung backward by the overwhelming force.

Even with his unmatched divine body, it was nearly impossible to resist the might of Darkseid's signature move.

The massive kinetic energy carried by the Omega Beams pierced straight through Bardi's chest. Though he subconsciously tried to resist, the overwhelming impact—powerful enough to dissolve time—tore through his divine body. He was sent flying nearly 700 kilometers, carving two deep trenches beneath his feet and smashing through several volcanoes, triggering violent lava eruptions in a hellish apocalyptic scene.

When the Omega Beams finally dissipated, Bardi was over a thousand kilometers away. A massive hole had been blasted through his chest, exposing pale bones and internal organs.

Lowering his head and gasping for breath, Bardi's heart surged with a mix of helpless rage toward the giant beast and fury at Darkseid's Omega Beams—pain and anger erupting from deep within his chest.

To those watching, Bardi looked isolated and defeated, his body pierced clean through.

But a hundred kilometers away, Bardi's eyes suddenly glowed red. His breath grew heavy, and powerful gusts of air gushed from his throat. The divine force field around him distorted the very air.

Debris surged around him. As his fury intensified, the violent airflow churned upward, shattering the terrain and blasting karst rock into the sky.

In an instant, Bardi's body expanded, growing immeasurably large. The sky darkened above him, and a giant hole burst open in the clouds. At the same time, countless tendrils of granulated tissue rapidly regenerated over his chest, his body instinctively constructing defensive genes.

"You court death!"

Bardi's massive form roared skyward, eyes burning with wrath.

Bang!

Two dark rays shot from Bardi's eyes, slicing through the heavy air of Apocalypse and lancing toward Darkseid in the sky.

At such close range, there was no time to dodge.

For gods of their level, a distance of several hundred kilometers meant nothing.

The dark rays struck Darkseid's chest armor with tremendous force and corruption. His armor instantly warped and decayed into a dark chocolate-like sludge, as if stained by toxic sewage.

Then, the beams—fueled by immense impact and corruptive power—blasted straight through Darkseid's armor, burrowing into his godly chest and transforming it into chocolate as well. His entire body was hurled hundreds of kilometers away, crashing into a temple and reducing it to rubble, a massive cloud of dust billowing out.

Yet neither Bardi nor Darkseid could be defeated by a single attack. Their power was simply too vast.

Moments later, amid the temple's ruins, Darkseid's enormous figure emerged like a looming shadow.

As the dust cleared, he stepped forward with rage burning in his eyes.

Darkseid tore open his own chest with one hand. His godly flesh had turned into chocolate, which he angrily ripped out, grasping the corrupted mass with an expression of pure fury.

After discarding the corrupted tissue, Darkseid's body began to regenerate rapidly. In mere seconds, he was fully restored.

"I'm going to tear you apart!"

Darkseid's colossal divine form leapt into the air, roaring so loud it shook the heavens, launching himself toward Bardi with thunderous rage.

"I'm going to eat you!"

Bardi, equally enraged, glared back with burning eyes. He too sprang into the air, divine body soaring toward Darkseid with a defiant roar.

On the battlefield below, the legions of Apocalypse and New Genesis finally clashed.

Steppenwolf raised his battle axe high and led the Parademon horde, roaring fiercely, "For Darkseid!"

The howling Parademon army echoed in unison, "For Darkseid!", surging toward the New Genesis forces like a dark tide.

Highfather cast a quick glance at Bardi. Seeing that, despite taking a direct Omega Beam hit, Bardi's fighting strength hadn't diminished, he relaxed slightly. Then, turning his furious gaze toward Steppenwolf, he raised his scepter and bellowed, "For New Genesis!"

The New Gods behind him—Orion, Lightray, Avia, Big Barda, Mister Miracle, and others—stood solemn and unyielding, facing the oncoming Parademon horde and shouting together: "For New Genesis!"

From above, the entire battlefield unfolded in grim grandeur.

Two vast, clashing steel torrents—light and darkness—collided with unrelenting force.

Apocalypse was instantly engulfed in a cataclysmic war. Lava and battle blazed across the land, setting the entire world on fire.

The dark clouds overhead turned a blazing red from the spewing volcanoes and endless inferno.

Boom!

The moment Bardi and Darkseid's fists collided, they broke through Apocalypse's atmosphere, tearing open the heavens and blasting apart the clouds.

"Fool! You'll destroy everything!!"

Darkseid roared in fury, his massive fist slamming into Bardi's healing chest, crushing it once more and sending him hurtling into a volcano, triggering an eruption that shot lava thousands of feet into the air.

He never imagined that the name of the giant beast—once unspoken, with no written record or image—would be uttered by anyone.

Every New God instinctively understood the terror of that name. No one dared to speak it. No one dared to even think it.

Because everyone knew how serious it was.

And now this newcomer, who had somehow learned the name of the giant beast, had brought about its appearance.

It drove Darkseid into a rage beyond containment.

The end had come early.

The apocalypse was upon them all.

(To be continued.)