Multiverse: Deathstroke

Chapter 397: Ch.396 Never a Slave

Diana had a bizarre dream.

She dreamt that she was flying through the sky with Su Ming, competing to hunt dragons in the icy and snowy Nordic lands, sparring on the beaches of Themyscira, and going to Olympus where they fought and defeated all the gods she had always disliked.

Even Hera shivered, admitting that he was the mightiest warrior, the perfect choice for the god of war with his combat skills and fearless ferocity.

Diana happily handed over the title of God of War to him, and then the two of them went to watch the sunset on a cliff by the sea.

In the warm glow of the twilight, the two of them enjoyed the sea breeze, and the atmosphere grew both tender and romantic.

He held his helmet, his expression that of a serious warrior, but his one eye held only her.

Their faces drew closer, and closer still, until it seemed they could feel each other's breath.

But the next second, Diana saw that damned weapon—it turned into a massive frying pan and knocked her out.

She collapsed, and Su Ming strode away, leaving the other members of the Justice League, even her enemies, to come and observe her unconscious body like an artifact in a museum.

Diana was conscious but could not move or speak, only watch as she was humiliated.

They pointed, laughed, and made sarcastic remarks that she couldn't bear.

With a sudden struggle, she woke up.

She awoke from the dream, finding herself in a spacious black bedroom.

The tall walls were angular, seemingly assembled from various prisms. The black, cold stone reflected dim light, and the scent of sulfur spread through the room and the corridors.

"Ah!!!"

Diana angrily pounded the bed beneath her. The force of her blow sent the four metal legs spinning off, and the metal bed frame landed vertically, dropping her to the floor on her backside.

"Ugh..."

She got up, rubbing her sore tailbone, and shook off the tangled sheets and blanket, her heart full of fury.

A sniff of the air told her this was Hell, and not just any part of Hell—this was a demon lord's palace. She remembered everything now. She had been tricked by Su Ming at Circe's place!

Although she knew her choice back then had been dangerous, she was a warrior who had long accepted the possibility of dying in battle.

Su Ming knocking her out and sending her to a safe rear position—what was that supposed to mean?

She wanted to fight alongside Su Ming, to protect each other in battle. Even if they died together on the battlefield, that would be the Amazonian way, the Amazonian romance.

But Su Ming had chosen the "Batman way" of protecting her—keeping her completely out of it.

She didn't even get to see the battlefield, just treated like a little girl and sent to the rear like she was a burden.

There were many reasons for her anger, too many to count. Right now, she just wanted to find Su Ming, knock him out as well, and make him dream of being betrayed!

Her armor was on her, and her weapons and shield were by the bed. She needed to figure out how to leave Hell.

Fortunately, she had a good memory. She remembered Su Ming mentioning that at the end of Hell's main street, there were two large doors that led to the Dreaming.

As a demigod, she was someone who could see both doors, and by passing through dreams, she could always return to the real world.

Dreams and reality were like two sides of the same coin, though no one really knew how to describe the entirety of the world.

Act now, think later—Amazons never hesitate.

She equipped her weapons and marched toward the door.

However, just outside, a fully armed demon guard was waiting, ready for anything.

Arabella had briefly explained the risk of the marked being controlled to Mazikeen. Given the urgency of the situation, she hadn't gone into detail. Perhaps out of caution, Mazikeen had ordered those who had been brought here to be closely monitored, ready to suppress any sign of rebellion.

Diana waking up and destroying furniture immediately put the demons on alert.

The guards didn't know much, but they knew their orders: if anyone woke up and resisted, they were to be subdued immediately. So when they saw Diana charging out of the door full of killing intent, their first reaction was to rush her all at once.

Diana, though, still had some reason. She knew Su Ming had sent her here because he thought it was safe, which meant these demons weren't necessarily enemies.

She wasn't unfamiliar with demons—she could even communicate peacefully with the dead in the Underworld, and she had once hired a minotaur as a chef for the Hall of Justice. She didn't hold racial prejudices.

But these demons, their eyes glowing red, clearly had no intention of giving her a chance to talk.

So she had to fight her way through.

She didn't use her sword but opted for her shield and fists.

Mazikeen's army was considered Hell's elite, but compared to Diana's strength, they were far inferior.

How could ordinary demons stand against the God of War of Olympus?

The only problem was that the giant obsidian castle had no windows, and Diana had no idea where she was going.

But as she fought her way through, that issue temporarily ceased to matter. Whichever direction had the heaviest resistance must be the way out, right?

In the pitch-black corridors, only the Hellfire in the braziers along the walls provided light. The beautiful maiden's fair fists collided fiercely with scales and muscles of all colors.

Her charge was unstoppable—no demon could match her.

Then she found herself before Mazikeen's throne...

By the time Diana realized it, she was staring up at a slender woman with half her face covered by a mask, dressed in a black gown, sitting high on the throne, looking down at her coldly.

"Diana Prince, Queen of the Amazons—do you think you can exercise your authority here in Hell?"

The woman's hands were nailed to the throne with two massive black spikes, red blood flowing down the armrests and spreading across the floor, even seeping down the steps toward Diana.

"Mazikeen, I mean no offense, and I sincerely apologize for what's happened, but I must leave here. I need to find my teammates—they are in danger."

Diana recognized her. This half-faced woman was Mazikeen, the Queen of Hell.

"You are going nowhere. Your teammates, ha, have already handed you over to me. By our agreement, you are now a slave and servant of Hell," Mazikeen said, extending a slender finger to point at a trembling imp in the corner of the throne room. "Just like them."

Diana couldn't help but feel a surge of disgust. She drew her sword.

Arabella hadn't actually betrayed her—this was just Mazikeen's way of speaking.

She was the Queen of Hell, and she'd been beaten back to her throne—how could she stay calm?

Even with the Justice League and Arabella to consider, she needed Diana to understand who was in charge and stay obediently in Hell.

But the Amazons had a dark history of enslavement by men. Even though they overthrew the male rule on Themyscira, they still wore the bracelets—a symbolic reminder that they had once been shackled, a reminder of their humiliation and the misery of being slaves.

And the word "slave" was something Diana despised most.

"An Amazon is never a slave!"

She leaped high, raising her weapon, and lunged at Mazikeen.

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