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Chapter 391: The Unseen Enemy
The sudden sneak attack sent Green Lantern flying. Orin Vale dodged and immediately used his Ultra Vision, looking in the direction the light path had been fired from.
But there was nothing.
Complete emptiness. It was still the pipe system forged from Apokoliptian alloy. He couldn't see any space that could hide someone, and there was nothing unusual in the shadows on the ground either.
Previously, a New God had tried to launch a sneak attack by hiding in the shadows, so Orin Vale had paid some attention to them. But now, there seemed to be no sign of that.
It was as if that light beam had been generated from thin air.
"Tch, enough with the ghost act."
Alan shouted, green fire flaring around him as he prepared to take flight. He raised his Power Ring, about to unleash a blast, when he was suddenly yanked down by a powerful force. Looking down, he was shocked to see a hand had emerged from the ground at some point and had abruptly seized his ankle.
"Hiding down below?"
Alan yelled and, without a second thought, punched downwards. The Power Ring's energy erupted, and a dazzling green light transformed into a drill, rumbling as it smashed through the ground. The sturdy Apokoliptian alloy was pierced on the spot, creating a massive hole at Alan's feet.
But the hole he had blasted was also empty, revealing only the earth and rock beneath the base. There was nothing else.
"How can that be?" Alan was astonished. "But someone was just grabbing me from down there... Where did they go?"
Orin Vale remained calm and continued to try and scan with his Ultra Vision. However, as usual, the Apokoliptian building had shielding functions against multiple frequencies of rays, and the feedback from his super senses also indicated there was nothing here.
Actually, Orin Vale had felt that something was off ever since they entered this fire pit.
According to the traitors who defected to Apokolips, these fire pits were supposed to be key to Apokolips's next plan. Since there was a base hidden down here, it should have been heavily guarded. It wouldn't even be surprising if it was their headquarters on Earth.
But the truth was, from the moment they entered, the entire facility had been empty. Aside from the Long-tongued Woman who had just rushed out only to be effortlessly defeated, they hadn't seen a single person. It was extremely abnormal.
And now, despite being under attack, there was still no one in sight. Perhaps this was related to the fact that the base had been empty all along.
Swoosh.
Another sneak attack with a light beam. But since the previous surprise attack had failed, it was even less likely to hit Orin Vale, who was now prepared. This time, however, as he dodged, he paid attention and got a clear look at the beam's trajectory. It seemed to have truly been fired from a point on the inner wall of the pipe. But the pipe wasn't pierced; instead, a faint ripple seemed to appear on the surface of the pipe wall, and the light ray shot out of thin air.
Orin Vale took it all in, and a thought sparked in his mind. Just then, a powerful gust of wind swept in from behind him. It seemed someone had predicted his dodge. A massive, powerful fist, wreathed in some kind of annihilation energy generated by Apokoliptian technology, came roaring toward his new position, bringing with it a searing wave of heat.
It was most likely a strike from a New God, as its speed was extremely fast. Even among the New Gods, this one would be considered to be known for its speed.
Of course, Orin Vale was faster.
An electric arc from the Speed Force flared to life. Orin Vale's backward dodge came to an abrupt halt. He stopped his momentum, spun around to evade the punch coming from behind, and seamlessly transitioned the turn into a counter-punch.
It was a dark-blue-skinned New God with rough features. Witnessing this astonishing speed and physics-defying movement, which was incredible even by New God standards, he couldn't help but be shocked.
He can actually be this fast?
Orin Vale, despite reacting second, struck first. His fist landed squarely on the New God's face. The latter let out a pained grunt, blood spraying from his broken nose as his head snapped back and he was sent flying.
But when Orin Vale turned and steadied himself, he saw the body of the New God he'd sent flying collide with the pipe behind him. However, it didn't cause an impact. Instead, it bizarrely phased straight through the wall.
Orin Vale flickered forward, following up with a punch. The wall exploded with a boom under his incredible power, leaving a massive hole. But beyond the hole, the New God had vanished without a trace, as if he had never existed.
Orin Vale glanced down and noticed the bloodstains at his feet.
It was the blood that had spurted out when he shattered the New God's nose with his punch. It looked like his opponent had clearly crashed into the wall, but the bloodstains on the ground stopped abruptly just before reaching the wall, as if they had been cut off.
He pondered for a moment. When he turned to look again, the Green Lantern behind him had also vanished at some unknown point.
In the blink of an eye, he was the only one left in the middle of the vast corridor. The silent pipes felt as if a cold, eerie wind from an unknown source was blowing through, carrying a chilling frost.
"So that's how it is. I think I get it now."
Orin Vale smiled faintly.
"Apokolips's technology is really something... or maybe, this is the 'ability' of a certain New God? But at the very least, it must be aided by Apokoliptian equipment, right?"
The pipes were still empty, with only his own voice echoing eerily.
"Perhaps you think that even if I know the principle behind it, I can't find you. But that's not necessarily true." Orin Vale smiled. "Time's up for you cowards. The time is..."
He raised his hand and gave a crisp snap of his fingers.
"...now."
BAM, BAM, BAM, BAM—
A series of dull thuds from flesh being struck rang out, seemingly all at the same instant. Ripples exploded on all sides of the pipe, and eight New Gods were violently blasted out from separate ripples, tumbling wretchedly to the ground in front of Orin Vale.
"The answer is oscillation."
Orin Vale looked at the scattered New Gods on the ground and said with a deadpan expression.
Oscillation has always been one of the fundamental theories of the DC Universe. The Flash was the first character in comic book history to achieve multiverse travel, and he did it through Speed Force resonance.
In the context of the DC Comics setting, the applications of oscillation abilities are weird and varied, including but not limited to world travel, time travel, stealth, physical immunity, rewriting matter, and even soul possession. The fundamental difference between the various universes in DC is also a difference in their oscillation frequencies.
Orin Vale was certain that the ability or technology he was facing was a variation of applied oscillation.
What they saw after coming down from the fire pit was merely a seemingly empty base on the surface, but it was actually a decoy to lure in enemies. There was another base hidden here, overlapping with the surface base's space, but its different oscillation frequency made it invisible, just like a ghost.
The enemy used a technique similar to a phase shift, allowing their attacks or their bodies to briefly switch between different frequencies. This way, they could continuously launch surprise attacks on intruders. If a strike missed, they would retreat back to their 'ghost' frequency. That's why, although they were spatially located all around the intruders, they couldn't be hit or seen.
Orin Vale was actually no stranger to this trick. In the Ultraman Universe, the signature ability of the character Nexus, the "Meta-Field," is also a subspace created based on the principle of a phase shift. It overlaps with real space but cannot be seen or touched by ordinary people. Orin Vale didn't have a Meta-Field-type subspace ability and couldn't use this trick himself, but he had studied the theoretical knowledge.
However, now that he had the Speed Force, switching oscillation frequencies and the like was a basic application of it.
The only remaining problem was finding the correct frequency.
"You also have a similar frequency-manipulating ability?"
A New God, beaten black and blue, clutched his bleeding face and struggled to lift his head, looking at Orin Vale in disbelief.
"But how did you hit us? Why were we thrown out?"
Orin Vale smiled upon hearing this.
"...A Trojan Horse."
(end of chapter)
The sudden sneak attack sent Green Lantern flying. Orin Vale dodged and immediately used his Ultra Vision, looking in the direction the light path had been fired from.
But there was nothing.
Complete emptiness. It was still the pipe system forged from Apokoliptian alloy. He couldn't see any space that could hide someone, and there was nothing unusual in the shadows on the ground either.
Previously, a New God had tried to launch a sneak attack by hiding in the shadows, so Orin Vale had paid some attention to them. But now, there seemed to be no sign of that.
It was as if that light beam had been generated from thin air.
"Tch, enough with the ghost act."
Alan shouted, green fire flaring around him as he prepared to take flight. He raised his Power Ring, about to unleash a blast, when he was suddenly yanked down by a powerful force. Looking down, he was shocked to see a hand had emerged from the ground at some point and had abruptly seized his ankle.
"Hiding down below?"
Alan yelled and, without a second thought, punched downwards. The Power Ring's energy erupted, and a dazzling green light transformed into a drill, rumbling as it smashed through the ground. The sturdy Apokoliptian alloy was pierced on the spot, creating a massive hole at Alan's feet.
But the hole he had blasted was also empty, revealing only the earth and rock beneath the base. There was nothing else.
"How can that be?" Alan was astonished. "But someone was just grabbing me from down there... Where did they go?"
Orin Vale remained calm and continued to try and scan with his Ultra Vision. However, as usual, the Apokoliptian building had shielding functions against multiple frequencies of rays, and the feedback from his super senses also indicated there was nothing here.
Actually, Orin Vale had felt that something was off ever since they entered this fire pit.
According to the traitors who defected to Apokolips, these fire pits were supposed to be key to Apokolips's next plan. Since there was a base hidden down here, it should have been heavily guarded. It wouldn't even be surprising if it was their headquarters on Earth.
But the truth was, from the moment they entered, the entire facility had been empty. Aside from the Long-tongued Woman who had just rushed out only to be effortlessly defeated, they hadn't seen a single person. It was extremely abnormal.
And now, despite being under attack, there was still no one in sight. Perhaps this was related to the fact that the base had been empty all along.
Swoosh.
Another sneak attack with a light beam. But since the previous surprise attack had failed, it was even less likely to hit Orin Vale, who was now prepared. This time, however, as he dodged, he paid attention and got a clear look at the beam's trajectory. It seemed to have truly been fired from a point on the inner wall of the pipe. But the pipe wasn't pierced; instead, a faint ripple seemed to appear on the surface of the pipe wall, and the light ray shot out of thin air.
Orin Vale took it all in, and a thought sparked in his mind. Just then, a powerful gust of wind swept in from behind him. It seemed someone had predicted his dodge. A massive, powerful fist, wreathed in some kind of annihilation energy generated by Apokoliptian technology, came roaring toward his new position, bringing with it a searing wave of heat.
It was most likely a strike from a New God, as its speed was extremely fast. Even among the New Gods, this one would be considered to be known for its speed.
Of course, Orin Vale was faster.
An electric arc from the Speed Force flared to life. Orin Vale's backward dodge came to an abrupt halt. He stopped his momentum, spun around to evade the punch coming from behind, and seamlessly transitioned the turn into a counter-punch.
It was a dark-blue-skinned New God with rough features. Witnessing this astonishing speed and physics-defying movement, which was incredible even by New God standards, he couldn't help but be shocked.
He can actually be this fast?
Orin Vale, despite reacting second, struck first. His fist landed squarely on the New God's face. The latter let out a pained grunt, blood spraying from his broken nose as his head snapped back and he was sent flying.
But when Orin Vale turned and steadied himself, he saw the body of the New God he'd sent flying collide with the pipe behind him. However, it didn't cause an impact. Instead, it bizarrely phased straight through the wall.
Orin Vale flickered forward, following up with a punch. The wall exploded with a boom under his incredible power, leaving a massive hole. But beyond the hole, the New God had vanished without a trace, as if he had never existed.
Orin Vale glanced down and noticed the bloodstains at his feet.
It was the blood that had spurted out when he shattered the New God's nose with his punch. It looked like his opponent had clearly crashed into the wall, but the bloodstains on the ground stopped abruptly just before reaching the wall, as if they had been cut off.
He pondered for a moment. When he turned to look again, the Green Lantern behind him had also vanished at some unknown point.
In the blink of an eye, he was the only one left in the middle of the vast corridor. The silent pipes felt as if a cold, eerie wind from an unknown source was blowing through, carrying a chilling frost.
"So that's how it is. I think I get it now."
Orin Vale smiled faintly.
"Apokolips's technology is really something... or maybe, this is the 'ability' of a certain New God? But at the very least, it must be aided by Apokoliptian equipment, right?"
The pipes were still empty, with only his own voice echoing eerily.
"Perhaps you think that even if I know the principle behind it, I can't find you. But that's not necessarily true." Orin Vale smiled. "Time's up for you cowards. The time is..."
He raised his hand and gave a crisp snap of his fingers.
"...now."
BAM, BAM, BAM, BAM—
A series of dull thuds from flesh being struck rang out, seemingly all at the same instant. Ripples exploded on all sides of the pipe, and eight New Gods were violently blasted out from separate ripples, tumbling wretchedly to the ground in front of Orin Vale.
"The answer is oscillation."
Orin Vale looked at the scattered New Gods on the ground and said with a deadpan expression.
Oscillation has always been one of the fundamental theories of the DC Universe. The Flash was the first character in comic book history to achieve multiverse travel, and he did it through Speed Force resonance.
In the context of the DC Comics setting, the applications of oscillation abilities are weird and varied, including but not limited to world travel, time travel, stealth, physical immunity, rewriting matter, and even soul possession. The fundamental difference between the various universes in DC is also a difference in their oscillation frequencies.
Orin Vale was certain that the ability or technology he was facing was a variation of applied oscillation.
What they saw after coming down from the fire pit was merely a seemingly empty base on the surface, but it was actually a decoy to lure in enemies. There was another base hidden here, overlapping with the surface base's space, but its different oscillation frequency made it invisible, just like a ghost.
The enemy used a technique similar to a phase shift, allowing their attacks or their bodies to briefly switch between different frequencies. This way, they could continuously launch surprise attacks on intruders. If a strike missed, they would retreat back to their 'ghost' frequency. That's why, although they were spatially located all around the intruders, they couldn't be hit or seen.
Orin Vale was actually no stranger to this trick. In the Ultraman Universe, the signature ability of the character Nexus, the "Meta-Field," is also a subspace created based on the principle of a phase shift. It overlaps with real space but cannot be seen or touched by ordinary people. Orin Vale didn't have a Meta-Field-type subspace ability and couldn't use this trick himself, but he had studied the theoretical knowledge.
However, now that he had the Speed Force, switching oscillation frequencies and the like was a basic application of it.
The only remaining problem was finding the correct frequency.
"You also have a similar frequency-manipulating ability?"
A New God, beaten black and blue, clutched his bleeding face and struggled to lift his head, looking at Orin Vale in disbelief.
"But how did you hit us? Why were we thrown out?"
Orin Vale smiled upon hearing this.
"...A Trojan Horse."
(end of chapter)
