American Comics: Today's Big News

Chapter 76 A mere mortal outwits the gods

(Bonus chapter 2 for the master of the bronze coffin)

"How dare you, a mere mortal, mock me, a god?!"

Hades was furious.

Indeed, he was emitting thick, sulfurous smoke from his eyes, nostrils, ears, and mouth, which quickly burst into flames.

Intense crimson flames spread rapidly across Hades' body, and his appearance transformed from that of a refined middle-aged man into that of a monster.

Just like the flame figures seen in the temple before, it had goat horns on its head and prominent facial bones.

It has sharp ears and a mouthful of sharp teeth, giving it a demonic appearance.

The armor on his body was no longer armor, but rather attached to his body and became part of his body. Bone spurs and hair grew rapidly on his body.

As Hades changed, the surrounding undead stopped attacking.

"What you see now is his true form," Hippolyta said to Diana with a worried expression.

Diana didn't understand why Connors would choose to provoke the god of the underworld, but deep down she was secretly pleased that Connors wasn't truly on Hades' side.

The once clean and tidy black cloak behind the armor was now tattered and torn, and Hades roared:

"Mortal! As a reward for your courage, I will bind you to the deepest part of hell, and make candles from your fat, whose flames will endlessly burn your heart, you—"

"So in the end, you still have to go back to hell?"

Connors interrupted the god's chanting, and at the same time, his hair turned noticeably whiter, and his muscular physique gradually dried up.

His verbal attacks were too weak, not even as good as Sunba's. Connors thought Hades needed to download Tieba and learn from him.

"What?" Hades was annoyed at being interrupted, but even though he was extremely irritable at the moment, he was still unusually sensitive to the words "return to hell".

That was the pain he had endured for over three thousand years, and he didn't want to go back for even a moment longer.

Cursed by Hades to be immortal but physically weak, Faust found that he had regained some strength after Connors pointed at him.

Meanwhile, on the ground in front of him, blades of grass sprouted and arranged themselves into words:

"It's your turn."

Faust knew that Hades, the god of the underworld, was powerful, but he still chose to accept his promise because, as a dark sorcerer, he was fortunate enough to possess some trump cards that could fight against the gods.

He was too weak to use it before, but now that he has regained some strength, he is able to do so.

Faust, lying on the ground, began chanting incantations rapidly. His bloodshot eyes took on a purplish-black luster, and he aimed one hand at Hades.

Countless enormous tentacles, dripping with slime and covered in suckers, stretched out from the air and tightly wrapped around Hades.

Even if one tentacle is burned off by Hades' flames, more tentacles will immediately entangle it, forcibly trapping Hades in place.

At the same time, Faust used his last bit of strength to roar towards Zatanna's hiding place:

"Destroy the key!"

Zatanna was straining her eyes to watch Faust's magic, absorbing the magical knowledge attached to his tentacles, when she heard the shout and froze.

She wasn't sure if Faust was talking to her, but Connors was near Hades, Faust was lying on the ground, and Diana and her mother were further away.

Without hesitation, the female magician stopped greedily seeking magical knowledge and quickly ran towards the key.

Although Wonder Woman, Superman, and Catwoman are relatively new characters, Faust, the seasoned dark magician from the comics, certainly didn't disappoint; he actually had a backup plan.

Connors was not disappointed with Faust's performance.

His rashly standing in front of Hades was not a gamble with his own life on Faust's next move.

Even if the old man couldn't do anything, Connors was confident that he could escape from Hades' clutches by relying on "Master Tom's teachings".

He wasn't there to play the saint; he was there to watch the drama unfold. He was only standing in front of Hades to get involved in the event.

Fortunately, things unfolded as Connors had anticipated. The old man Faust did indeed have a backup plan, and after recovering some of his physical functions through his "healing magic," he successfully used it.

The whole thing happened in an instant. Hades was too annoyed by the tangled tentacles to pay attention to Connors, while Zatanna pulled out the key and slammed it to the ground.

To ensure the thing shattered, she added a "telekinesis" spell, causing the already assembled key to break into pieces.

Hades, being a god, quickly found a way to break through Faust's dark magic and successfully escaped his predicament.

As he escaped his predicament, the motionless undead once again brandished their rusty weapons and shields and attacked Diana and Hippolyta.

Hades himself remained in his demonic form and lunged menacingly at Connors.

However, within the opened gates of hell, crimson flames rose, forming a constantly rotating vortex, and the immense suction force swept through the underground space of Paradise Island.

The undead were the first to be engulfed, one after another consumed by the flames of the Gates of Hell.

Next is "Wonder Woman" Diana, who, being stronger than her mother, always protected her mother when attacked by the undead.

But the immense suction force pulled her in first, besides the undead.

Fortunately, Zatanna reacted quickly, grabbing the out-of-control Diana and casting "Phantom Teleportation," a spell that can only be used for short-distance movement, to hide behind a broken stone pillar.

Next is Faust.

Even though the old man, who had been cursed by Hades, had his strength temporarily restored by Connors' "healing magic," the other party was, after all, a god, and the "healing magic" was not so powerful as to ignore the god's curse.

So the old man was also thrown uncontrollably toward the gates of hell, where he died in mid-air and was then consumed by crimson flames.

Hades was powerless to resist the pull of the Gates of Hell and lunged at Connors. While in mid-air, he flew towards the Gates of Hell before Connors, whose feet were firmly on the ground.

For others, the suction force was only slightly strong, but for Hades, who was being punished by Zeus himself, the suction force of the gates of hell was particularly strong.

Hades flew uncontrollably toward the gates of hell, his arms outstretched, his demonic claws gripping the edges of the gates tightly, attempting to resist the suction.

Connors also had a hard time resisting such a huge suction force, but he was not the kind of person who relied solely on brute force, and "Master Tang's teachings" had not been of any use so far.

With the help of the seeds he carried in his pocket, the combination of "Fangwu Green 10%" and "Little Trick" instantly hollowed out the ground beneath his feet.

He buried half of his body in the ground.

The reason he didn't bury it all was twofold: first, Connors felt it wasn't necessary; second, he saw Hades still prying at the door frame.

So Connors "truly took root in the earth," and at the same time picked up the stones of all sizes that had been sucked in by the Gates of Hell and threw them at Hades.

Hades had already done his best to pry open the frame of the Gates of Hell, but the stone thrown by Connors became the last straw that broke the camel's back.

This god of the underworld, carrying endless rage—primarily directed at Connors—inevitably flew into the gates of hell, where he too was consumed by the crimson flames.

As the person in question returned to Hell, the gates of Hell slowly closed, and not a sound was heard again.

Wonder Woman Diana and Zatanna helped each other out of the stone pillar, and Diana breathed a sigh of relief:

"Thank you, Athena, it's finally over."

"You should thank me," Connors said helplessly.

"Can I show you my legs?" Diana whispered. Zatanna covered her face.

Connors looked around, but hadn't seen the Amazon Queen for a while:

Where's your mom?

Diana was taken aback:

"As the man who saved Paradise Island, I can discuss it with my mother and have her show you—"

I think my mother will agree.

Connors: ".———·6."