Superman looked up at Arias's figure, confusion flickering in his eyes. He tried to quickly wrap his head around what was happening but could find no imdiate answer.
"What are you...?" he asked, his tone carrying a grave sound to it.
The corner of Arias's mouth curled up into a smile, and rather than answering, he grabbed Superman by the hair and drew his hand back before hitting his face with a strong punch.
**Pa!~**
A bewildered Superman spat out blood, and the dizziness he felt imdiately vanished as he tried to fight back, punching at Arias as well.
However...
Despite his fist hitting Arias cleanly in the chest, Arias remained standing. The shockwave from the attack caused a significant amount of dust to rise up, as if a storm were brewing.
But how could one have any hope of harming Arias physically when he could ignore the laws that governed reality?
Seeing the surprised look in Superman's eyes, Arias shook his head and spoke, "Do you understand now?"
Not waiting for a reply, Arias proceeded to lift Superman off the ground as if he were a rag doll, before slamming him into the dry ground with imnse force, causing what could only be described as an earthquake in the surrounding area.
Looking at Superman's almost limp figure laying on the ground, Arias let out a sigh and began to pace around him. "This so-called justice that you chose to pursue, I understand now what made you think you could make a difference. When one has a certain amount of power, they could either do sothing very terrifying or sothing utterly useless. Tell , Superman, which do you think you are?"
Without answering, Superman struggled to get to his feet, only for Arias to kick his knee, shattering the bone in a violent burst.
"Argh!!" Superman yelled out in unfamiliar pain, his teeth gritted and his gaze strong as he looked at Arias with unforgiving eyes.
Still, Arias wasn't the least bit fazed by him and continued to speak.
"You see? That drive of yours to get back up and keep pushing, all for the sake of accomplishing nothing. Many consider you the most powerful being on our planet, yet your intellect only allows you to be a naive fool, used by others."
Superman was quickly healing despite the severe injuries he was receiving due to the lack of kryptonite in the area.
It beca clear to Superman that he couldn't beat Arias alone, so it was ti to flee. But the mont he hovered, he could feel the familiar sensation of Arias's telekinesis holding him in place.
Arias got closer, and this ti his voice was even colder. "The governnt, the League, even the woman you're infatuated with, all of them seek to use you for their own benefit, and you... you're more than happy to be led on like a starving pup. Allow to show you the true nature of the world, Clark... starting with the physical."
As his voice trailed off, Arias approached Superman, standing near his head, before reaching toward his face. One hand slowly moved to Superman's widened eye, which he could no longer close due to Arias's telekinetic influence.
He had to bear witness as Arias's fingers slowly dug into the corners of his eye, gripping it with violent force, trying to remove it from its socket.
"S-stop this! You-!! Ahh!" The pain Superman felt was especially strange. His body was in top form, lacking the influence of kryptonite, and yet he felt utterly helpless, the pain hitting with strong intensity.
Blood ran down his face as his eye was removed from its socket, now just dangling out in the open creepily, swaying side to side as Superman scread.
He tried firing his laser vision, but with no control, it only made him look more freakish. Arias ignored the loud scream and Superman's continuous attempts to free himself.
After the other eye was left in the sa state as the first, Arias withdrew his blood-soaked fingers, but only away from the eyes... and toward Superman's mouth.
Once again, Superman was helpless as his mouth was forcefully kept open. He could still see, but his sight was blood-covered and distorted, with both eyes dangling out of their sockets.
Instead, he felt Arias's blood-covered fingers enter his mouth and grip one of his teeth.
"N-o... nuh," Superman tried to protest, but his words ca out garbled. Even without this, it was clear he couldn't avoid what was coming.
"Ahh!" Once again, he scread in pain as his tooth was pulled out with imnse force.
He was given no ti to recover as Arias went on to the next tooth, and then the next... until Superman was left with nothing but a bloody mouth and deford gums.
However, Arias still didn't stop there. He reached for Superman's tongue, tearing it out in the sa bloody fashion.
Even in such a pitiful state, Superman still retained so of his willpower and tried to speak. "T-he otas ah caming." Without a tongue and teeth, it was hard to make sense of his words, but being so close, Arias heard them clearly and smiled.
"The others are coming, you say? Good, then I'll use you as an example to them..."
...
A short while later, Arias and Harley could be seen walking through a dry desert under the moonlight. Arias's hands and clothes were covered in blood, while Harley was looking at Arias with a questioning gaze.
"Say, Mr. M, was that magic you used back there to beat up ole Supes? Can I learn it?" she asked, her tone still chirpy despite what she had seen. If anything, she seed happier after seeing Superman "dealt with."
Arias shook his head before looking up at an approaching helicopter. This one was more luxurious in design and less military in style.
"Yes, Harley, it was magic. And I will teach you, as long as you don't bring up what happened here to the others... yet." Arias lied plainly, but Harley bought it all and shook her head like a naive child.
"Cross my heart and hope to die, I won't tell a soul!" she declared with vigor, just as the chopper was settling down. Rose's figure was visible on one of its landing legs with a rifle in hand.
...
At the sa ti, so kiloters away, Batman's jet road the skies, approaching the scene of the altercation between Arias and Superman.
While still inside the plane, Batman commanded his digital assistant, "Zoom in on the ground... there it's..."
The large screen displayed the remnants of the battle.
The terrain alone brought many questions and fears, but not as many as the sight of Superman's body.
Even Batman was rendered speechless as he looked at the image of a blood-covered Superman, his eyes dangling from their sockets, his teeth removed, and his gums ruined. His limbs had been severed, almost as if they were ripped off with sheer force, and this deford body was displayed on one of the damaged helicopter blades, used as a pike. The blade was inserted at his rear with force, until it pierced out through his mouth.
The only thing that made this sight even more terrifying was that Superman was clearly still alive.
At the bottom of the pike, a ssage was left, written in blood from the severed limbs. The ssage read:
**"Are you still motivated to be a hero?"**
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