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SM/DC Chapter 72 : Arthur VS Galatea - 2
🕑 Added 2025-03-28 21:36:47 +0000 UTCA sharp hum filled the air. The heat around them spiked.
Galatea’s crimson gaze intensified, twin beams of energy building at the edge of her irises. The very ground beneath her sizzled as small embers flickered to life, burning the dirt.
Doom’s grip tightened. A deep, guttural snarl rumbled from his chest. His massive, clawed hands pressed down with enough force to crush steel.
But she wasn’t struggling.
She was testing.
"You’re really not afraid, are you?" Galatea murmured, her voice even, but laced with irritation.
Arthur’s glowing blue eyes remained locked on hers. Unyielding. Unimpressed.
"Why would I be?" His voice was calm. Deadly.
The heat in her eyes flared. A warning. One last chance.
But Arthur didn’t give a damn.
"Go ahead," he said, voice barely above a whisper. "Do it."
A flicker of uncertainty brief, nearly imperceptible crossed her face.
Then, she fired.
Twin beams of concentrated destruction erupted from her eyes, screaming toward Arthur’s face.
At the same instant
Arthur moved.
A blur of motion. A pivot so fast that the very air cracked in protest.
The beams barely grazed Arthur, searing past his shoulder and melting deep scars into the walls behind him.
But before Galatea could fire again
Doom roared.
A monstrous, guttural bellow that shook the earth.
His massive, clawed hand seized her by the face now, and SLAMMED her into the ground.
BOOM!
The force cratered the battlefield.
Then came another. And another.
Doom’s fists pummeled her relentlessly, one after the other, with enough force to break mountains.
BOOM. A fist crushed into her ribs.
BOOM. Her body bounced up only to be caught by another devastating backhand.
BOOM. Her skull cracked against the earth as Doom grabbed her by the leg and whipped her across the battlefield like a ragdoll.
She tried to move, to regain control but Doom was already there.
A hammer-like punch collided with her stomach, burying her deeper into the earth.
He wasn't stopping.
He was enjoying this.
Another roar erupted from Doom as he raised both fists, ready to pulverize her into nothing.
But this time
Galatea’s hand shot up.
Galatea’s fingers clenched around his massive hand, her biceps flexing as she held him in place. Her teeth were gritted, her expression twisting not in fear, not in pain but in defiance.
And then, she struck back.
Her fist rocketed into his chest, the sheer force sending the towering behemoth hurtling into the sky.
Arthur barely had time to register it before Galatea’s eyes flashed red.
Twin beams of burning heat vision tore through the sky, slicing toward Doom’s airborne form.
They connected. A direct hit.
But Doom was not so easily broken.
High above, his body twisted mid-flight. His glowing red eyes locked onto her, and a guttural snarl rumbled from his chest.
Then
He dove.
With both feet aimed downward, Doom descended like a meteor.
The moment Galatea looked up
BOOM!
His entire body crashed into her like a missile, slamming her back into the earth with such force that the ground beneath them fractured apart, sending shockwaves rippling outward.
Dust and debris erupted into the air.
Arthur exhaled sharply, raising a hand. "That’s enough."
Doom snorted. His hulking frame was still tense, fists clenched. His chest rose and fell with ragged, eager breaths. He let out a guttural snarl, but he obeyed his Monarch.
Arthur narrowed his eyes. "He’s enjoying this way too much."
Doom had never met someone who could take his full power and still keep going.
Galatea twitched. Blood ran from her lip. But she was still breathing.
Arthur rolled his shoulders and stepped forward, his Demon King Longsword in his grip, crackling with lightning.
He stood over her, raising the blade.
"Time to end this quick."
But just as he swung
A blur of blue rushed past him.
CLANG!
Arthur’s sword stopped, stabbed mid-swing.
By Kara.
Her hand gripped the steel, stopping it inches from Galatea’s throat.
"Arthur! No!"
Arthur’s jaw clenched. "You have to be kidding me, Kara."
She looked at him, pleading. "We don’t have to kill her!"
His gaze burned into her. "She’s not even supposed to be alive."
Kara swallowed, but Arthur wasn’t done. "They are clones, Kara. Man-made weapons designed to kill us."
He pointed at the wreckage around them. The broken ground. The burning buildings. The lives shattered in mere moments.
"Look around you." His voice was low, dangerous. He gestured to the destruction around them, the shattered earth, the broken walls, the wreckage of their home. "Is this not proof enough of what they can do?"
"And I’m sure she’s not the only one that was made."
Galatea stared at the ground.
For the first time, she didn’t have a comeback.
Something in her expression shifted. her smirk was gone and she looked conflicted.
Kara’s voice softened. "Still, Arthur… we need to be better than them."
Arthur’s grip on the sword tightened.
Galatea’s eyes lowered. Just for a second.
A part of her wanted to say something.
She just stared.
Her fingers clenched into fists at her sides. Something flickered in her eyes. A frown formed.
Not anger. Not defiance.
Something almost… human.
It got silent between the three of them.
Dust settled. The cracked earth beneath them still radiated with the aftermath of destruction.
Arthur stood over Galatea, his sword still humming with energy. His grip was firm, his stance unwavering. Then, slowly, he turned his gaze to Kara.
He didn’t look angry. Nor disappointed.
Just... cold.
Then, his eyes flicked back down to Galatea.
And finally, with a slow, deliberate motion, he lowered his blade.
Arthur exhaled. "This is your weakness, Kara."
Kara flinched slightly, but she didn’t back down. Her expression was defiant, determined.
From the ground, Galatea chuckled a weak, breathless sound.
"He’s not wrong."
Arthur’s eyes snapped toward her.
His irises burned.
A deep, eerie glow of crackling blue energy surged to life, illuminating his face like an angel of death.
Then [Bloodlust] .
The very air around him became heavy, suffocating as if gravity itself bowed to his wrath. The battlefield darkened under the sheer pressure of his presence.
Galatea’s smirk faded.
Even Kara, who had fought alongside him before, felt a chill crawl up her spine.
Arthur’s voice was low. Dangerous. Absolute.
"This doesn’t mean I’ll forgive this transgression."
His eyes locked onto Galatea’s, his voice like ice and fire combined.
"You harmed my family. You desecrated my home. You crossed a line that cannot be undone. I don’t care if you were following orders or acting on your own. The next time I face one of you Cadmus-made freaks…"
His grip on the sword tightened, lightning crackling along its edge.
"This shall will be the last time I ever spare anyone."
His voice lowered to a growl.
"Even Superman won’t stop me from executing the lot of you."
Silence.
Kara’s fists clenched, her lips pressing into a thin line. She wanted to argue to reason with him. But there was no room for negotiation in his voice.
Arthur’s decision was final.
But beneath his glare, behind the sharp edge of his words he was already planning.
‘I’m absolutely not turning a blind eye to this, this was it.’
His thoughts raced, forming the shape of his next move.
‘You, Galatea, will lead me to Cadmus HQ. I won’t wait for RedHood’s intel. I won’t sneak in through my brother’s shipment.’
‘You will be my way inside.’
A smirk tugged at his lips. It wasn’t a kind smile. It wasn’t a forgiving one.
It was a predator’s grin.
Galatea, still staring at him from the ground, said nothing.
But as she held his gaze, her fingers curled into the dirt.
Her mind churned with her own revelations.
‘I think I already got what we needed anyway… I have his parent’s strands of hair, that should be enough for Lex and Father...’
She inhaled sharply. Her body ached, but her mind was sharp. Calculating.
‘Arthur Blackwynd…’
Now she understood why Lex wanted his power so badly.
Arthur stood tall, his gaze steady, his focus remained on the defiant figure of Galatea, still sprawled on the ground. Her eyes glared back at him, a mix of disdain and frustration, but she wasn’t moving…
Arthur’s eyes flickered to the ground beneath her, from the depths of his shadow, a soldier, silent, and phantom like. melded seamlessly with Galatea own shadow, unseen by everyone except Arthur himself.
"Get up," Arthur commanded, his voice cold and precise. "And leave... before I change my mind."
Galatea's gaze met his, her lips curling into a bitter smile. A flash of defiance remained in her eyes, but slowly, she pushed herself up, her posture regal, despite her fallen state. Her pride, it seemed, would not be broken. Without a word, she lifted herself into the air, her eyes briefly flickering to Arthur.
For a moment, it almost felt as if she would say something, anything but she simply turned and flew off, her silhouette vanishing into the night sky.
Kara stood nearby, watching with a frown, though her expression softened as she turned back to Arthur. She could feel the weight of the decision, and a quiet understanding passed between them.
"You did the right thing," Kara said, her voice firm but laced with something softer. "You didn’t stoop to their level. We will deal with them soon enough and shut them down."
Arthur didn’t respond right away. He was still processing the moment, the choices made. It had been tempting to finish it, to wipe her out, but he had something else in mind.
"Yeah…" Arthur finally said, his tone heavy with resolve. "I know we will…" He paused, his eyes narrowing slightly as he looked toward the horizon, as if seeing something far beyond the distance. "We need to get back to Gotham first… meet someone, and then we plan our next move."
Kara nodded, but before she could speak again, a sudden shift in the air caught her attention. A group of figures materialized before them, emerging from the shadows like phantoms, cloaked in darkness.
Then, one of the figures spoke, their voice deep and unmistakably familiar.
"Arthur..."
The voice carried a weight, a recognition that set off an immediate shift within Arthur. He sighed heavily, almost as if he had expected this moment and them to appear, but didn’t want to deal with it. His eyes locked onto the group, his stance remaining unflinching, though his mind was already racing.
With a calm but firm tone, Arthur spoke, his voice dripping with irritation. "What are you guys doing here...?"
