American comic book: My Father is Superman, am I just an NPC?

Chapter 234 The Resentment of the Three Palace Demons
Jonathan is a school football player.

He doesn't have any particular quirks about the lifestyle habits he developed from watching movies in the early hours of the morning, which is why he's feeling so uncomfortable right now.

Perhaps Damian and Jordan just can't understand it.

But he understood.

They didn't even have the energy to complain. Clearly, they were the ones Ian had a fleeting thought of before going to sleep, but failed to grasp—"something that had been forgotten."

At the same time, they are also the kind of people Dad doesn't want to help.

Jonathan's idea was indeed correct. Just as Jonathan had vaguely guessed, their situation was not entirely forgotten.

Long before Ian transformed into the "God of Light" and staged his final farce, Superman Clark, who was floating in outer space and carefully pushing the Earth back to its original orbit, had already captured the pitiful sight of his eldest son, second son, and Damian still tied up in the church ruins with his super hearing and vision that covered the entire globe.

A pang of reluctance swept through his heart. But almost simultaneously, Batman Bruce Wayne's voice, so calm it was almost inhuman, came through his communicator.

"Clark, I've given you the positions for Jonathan, Jordan, and Damian."

Batman spoke.

Superman paused for a moment, then replied, "I see them. They... are still there."

“Hmm.” Bruce’s voice was flat. “According to behavioral psychology and the theory of resilience training, allowing them to fully experience the direct consequences of their own behavior in a relatively safe but memorable environment helps to strengthen and update their cognition, and they can better avoid repeating the same mistakes in the future.”

"They need to understand that not all enemies will give them a chance to grow in battle." When it comes to being ruthless towards his offspring, Batman is the most ruthless.

Upon hearing this, Clark glanced at the blue planet beneath his feet, which was slowly moving under the protection of his biofield, and then "looked" at the three boys shivering in the night wind in the ruins.

In the end, that trace of reluctance was suppressed by the fatherly "rationality".

He sighed. "You're right, Bruce. They need to learn a lesson. Just... hang them up for one night. They're not going to freeze."

This was Clark's final decision.

Thus, the two "strict fathers" tacitly agreed to let the three young heroes serve as "dried chickens" for a night in the broken church.

With Ian having "dealt with" the threats from Darkseid and Trigon, the cosmic crisis that had engulfed Earth was declared over. The other members of the Justice League, such as Wonder Woman, The Flash, Cyborg, and Aquaman, after confirming that no large-scale disaster would follow, also received Batman's order to "return to their posts after the crisis is over."

Although they might gossip about Batman behind his back, they all knew to abide by the Justice League's decisions regarding Batman, and so they all left Metropolis, this place of trouble.

"Bruce, wait a minute."

After Superman Clarke had roughly corrected Earth's orbit, he wanted to talk to Batman in more detail about Jonathan, Jordan, and Damian.

However, Bruce rejected his communication request outright as soon as he sent it.

“I have other matters to attend to, Clark.” Bruce’s voice carried a barely perceptible urgency and coldness. “We’ll discuss Ian and everything that happened tonight at the league meeting tomorrow.”

After that, the communication was unilaterally cut off.

Clark looked at the now silent communication channel and shook his head helplessly. He knew that Bruce must have been provoked by something Ian did again, causing him to break down.

Therefore, he could only suppress his doubts for the time being and turn to fly towards the Lonely Fortress—mainly because Ian's actions were too incredible, and even the invincible Superman needed some time to sort out the chaotic experience of the night.

……

Deep beneath Gotham City, inside the Batcave, Bruce Wayne drove back at near-record speed. He removed his Batsuit, stained with night dew and dust, and without even changing into civilian clothes, went straight to the enormous Batcomputer control panel, composed of multiple screens.

There was no other way; he needed to find out immediately what tricks that little bastard Ian was up to in the real world after handling the battle on the dimensional level! Especially the appearance of that fake Batman, which seriously damaged Batman's reputation and could very well trigger a series of chain reactions.

"This little bastard!"

Batman gritted his teeth.

When he turned on his computer and began scanning major global media networks and social media platforms, the sight that greeted him almost froze his normally cold blood!
Despite having many guesses in his mind, even the incredibly intelligent Batman still repeatedly ran into obstacles in trying to figure out Ian's thoughts.

Completely unexpectedly, almost all the popular TV stations, whether news channels, entertainment channels, or even children's channels, were airing the same advertisement during prime time!
Online, the same theme dominates the splash screen ads of major video websites, the trending pushes in social media feeds, and even the sidebars of some serious financial media outlets!
The main character in the advertisement is a well-made, glowing...sparkler toy!

Yes, the content of the advertisement was exactly the cryptic content that he had his butler overhear before, which was a perfect visual representation of the speech that Ian had given Madison!

The video first flashes quickly through shots of school conflicts and children's uneasy faces, accompanied by tense and oppressive music, which seems to really tug at people's heartstrings.

Anyone in the know can tell that this advertisement was actually directed by a Hollywood director skilled at manipulating emotions. The subject matter cleverly avoids gore, but the atmosphere is created extremely effectively.

This is accompanied by tense and oppressive music.

Then, a warm light pierced the gloom, and a child raised his Spark Lens, transforming into an adorable, chibi-style "Mini Ultraman," dispelling the unease and bringing smiles and courage. Although blurred, the design was clearly a cute version of Ultraman Tiga.

Yes, that's right.

Most of the light that Tiga couldn't understand was actually invested in the market by Ian with the mentality of risking big gains with small investments. No one could have imagined that someone would do such a thing to deceive the faith of the next generation of mankind.

Ultraman Tiga's Spark Lens dispelled his unease and brought him smiles and courage.

The background audio is filled with provocative narration.

When the shadows of the world loom over childhood, when unease spreads through schools... what can you do for children?

"Childhood Guardian Sparkler - More than just a toy, it's a promise of safety and a symbol of hope!"

"Let children hold their own light and bravely face every challenge!"

"The first limited edition eco-friendly version is available for a monthly subscription of only $199.99! Protection is priceless!"

The advertisement even included a small print line at the end: "Part of the proceeds from this project will be donated to the Anti-School Violence Foundation"—whether this foundation is newly established or whether the person in charge is Ian or Ian's henchman is unknown, and the public doesn't need to know such things.

of course.

Bruce Wayne was certainly well aware of this, and found it hard to believe that Ian was using tactics in "business competition" that even "ordinary" capitalists like himself couldn't pull off. "This kid, has he really gone mad trying to become the light of humanity?" The sheer scale, reach, and deep penetration of the advertising campaign startled Bruce. He immediately accessed the data stream for analysis and discovered that these ads weren't placed through traditional bidding or contract models.

Instead, it was a legitimate advertising channel that was purchased at a high price and in a reasonable and legal manner.

"His goal is definitely not just a monthly fee of around $200! This guy will definitely launch a rip-off service like SVIP in the future, I'm even willing to stake my descendants on that!"

At this moment, Bruce became the first person to analyze Ian's "money-saving" marketing, but unfortunately, not many people in the world have yet been harmed by the tricks of pay-to-win mobile games.

Most people don't realize that this monthly fee is actually just a tactic to lure others into the trap. Even without thinking, Batman knows that Ian wouldn't do something that doesn't benefit him.

Bruce Wayne even discovered that several media companies controlled by the Wayne Group were simultaneously broadcasting the advertisement without his authorization.

It wasn't because of any high-tech methods; it was simply because Ian Kent offered a higher price than the other bidding companies, and everyone in the Justice League knew that Ian wouldn't do a losing deal.

"What does he want to do?"

Bruce Wayne felt uneasy.

Since Wayne Group signed the contract with Ian's shell company, reports from the technical department have shown that they are unable to block, filter, or even delay playback! It's as if an invisible force has bypassed all firewalls and access restrictions, "stuffing" the advertising content into their playlist!

This can be seen.

Can be imagined.

Just how much does Ian invest in this kind of advertising? Anyone who knows even a little bit about Ian can realize that the more he invests, the greater his confidence in making a lot of money.

"..." Bruce leaned back in his chair, staring at the endlessly playing Ian's signature "hype" ads on the screen, and remained silent for a long time.

"..." Bruce remained leaning back in his chair, staring silently at the endlessly playing Ian's signature "hype" ads on the screen for a long time.

Finally, he took off his glasses, rubbed his temples, and gave a look that was a mixture of frustration, absurdity, and a hint of something else... "appreciation"?
Anyway, he sighed softly.

"The Kent family... truly produced a... financial genius."

It wasn't that Batman knew Ian's vanity and was praising him in private to please him; rather, Batman genuinely felt that Ian was perfectly suited to be a capitalist.

This method of perfectly combining extraordinary events, emotional marketing, moral blackmail, and commercial monetization, and its ruthless and unreasonable approach to channel coverage, has completely overturned his understanding of business operations. This is no longer ordinary business acumen; it's a business machine that is almost devoid of emotion!
Even the energy of those invaders could be sold and rented... At this moment, Bruce Wayne truly gained unprecedented knowledge and inspiration.

While Bruce Wayne was shocked by Ian's business acumen in the Batcave, Clark was sorting out his thoughts in the Lonely Fortress, and the three young heroes were drinking the northwest wind in the church ruins.

Far from the main material universe, it exists in a special dimension that is attached to reality yet independent of it—a vast and scorching realm that is usually called hell by living beings.

There is no sky here, only eternally rolling, dark red clouds like congealed blood.

The earth was paved with scorching sulfurous stones and the ashes of wailing souls, and the twisted, burning demon trees stretched into the void like tormented limbs.

The air was thick with despair and the stench of sulfur.

At the heart of this realm, within a towering, mountain-like dark palace constructed from countless twisted skulls and still-writhing viscera, an unimaginably enormous figure is being forcibly awakened from its deepest slumber! There's no need to guess; it is none other than the true form of the Trigon Demon, whom Ian had previously used as food!
On his massive, mountain-like demonic body, six eyes burning with eternal evil fire suddenly opened simultaneously! The rage contained within them instantly stirred the entire dimension; the sea of ​​sulfur outside the palace boiled and roared, and the blood clouds in the sky were stirred up as if by an invisible giant hand, forming a huge vortex!
"Roar--!!!"

At this moment, a roar powerful enough to shatter the souls of mortals and annihilate lesser demons erupted from the massive maw of the Three Palace Demon, filled with fangs. The terrifying sound waves transformed into a tangible impact, instantly turning some weak demon servants outside the palace into basic negative energy particles!

"My clone... my projection in the human world... has disappeared?! Not banished, not sealed... it was devoured! Annihilated! Not even a trace of pheromones that could return to my original body was left behind!" San Gongmo's voice was like the wailing of billions of wronged souls, filled with unbelievable rage.

He could clearly sense that the clone he had sent to Earth, which carried part of his power and will, had been completely, cleanly, and utterly erased from the level of existence! Even its final moments and memories had become blurred due to some powerful interference.

Only some broken fragments remain.

Therefore.

San Gongmo also exerted all his strength, concentrating all his mental power, like the most precise probe, forcibly piercing through the dimensional barrier to capture and interpret the fragmented information flow transmitted from the last clone.

A golden giant... a power that devours everything... a bizarre dark dimension... forced live stream... an exaggerated performance... and another name...

A name that his alter ego remembered vividly, a name filled with disgust and revulsion.

The fragments were pieced together in his vast consciousness like puzzle pieces.

“Ian…Kent!!!”

The Three Palaces Demon let out an even more terrifying and venomous roar! The entire hell dimension he ruled trembled under his rage!
What a shame!
This is an unprecedented humiliation that Sangu Demon has never experienced since his birth!
He, an ancient and powerful dimensional demon god, was defeated and "digested" in such a humiliating way by a human boy from the prime material world!
This is not just a loss of strength, but also a trampling of dignity!

"Insect! How dare you... How dare you do this!!!" Sangu Demon's enormous demonic claws clenched tightly, and dark red lightning that tore through space burst forth from between his fingers.

"Do you think that hiding in the Prime Material World and having some strange abilities will make you safe and sound?" He still didn't fully understand what his clone had encountered with Ian.

Therefore, it appears extremely rigid and unorthodox.

Those six fiery eyes burned with the most vicious and insane flames of revenge.

"I, Sannomiya, swear in the name of the Abyss and Chaos!" His voice transformed into the rhythm of rules, echoing in every corner of Hell, resonating with the most primal power of curses. "No matter the cost! No matter how many dimensions I traverse! I will find you! Ian Kent!"

"I will extract your soul and imprison it in eternally burning demonic fire, to hear your ceaseless wails for billions of years!"

"I will tear your flesh apart inch by inch and feed it to the most vile ghouls!"

"I will make everything you cherish vanish before your very eyes!"

"I will show you that the price of angering a dimensional demon god is... eternal torment, far more terrifying than death!"

Terrifying oaths echoed through hell, and countless demons trembled and prostrated themselves before the lord's wrath, foreshadowing the inevitable, transdimensional carnage that was about to descend.

At that moment, Ian, who had just lain down to catch up on sleep, unconsciously smacked his lips in his sleep, turned over, mumbled something in his sleep that no one could understand, and continued to sleep soundly—as if the ancient demon god's overwhelming rage and vicious curse were not as important as a steak that appeared in his dream.

(End of this chapter)