"My body..." Enchantress tried to speak, but her physical form was dissipating too rapidly. In the blink of an eye, it was as if half of her had been wiped into nothingness. All she could manage were wheezing gasps; her vocal cords were already gone.
Though she knew resistance was meaningless, her primal survival instinct still compelled her to gather her remaining magic to fight against this eradication at the level of Rules.
But it was all in vain. Before her pitch-black magic could even touch the encroaching void, Enchantress felt her senses of touch, hearing, and sight being stripped away at high speed. The biting killing intent had already reached her head.
Her soul, unwilling to accept death, desperately emitted spiritual fluctuations, but everything was powerless before the mighty Rule.
She resolved to detonate her magic core—to at least leave some proof that she had existed in this world. But just as her dark magic began to churn and boil, it was too late. The Power of Rules swept through. Magic, soul—all were annihilated into nothingness.
There was no earth-shattering explosion, no final vicious curse. Enchantress was forcibly extinguished by the Arrow of Vengeance!
"Huff... huff..." Thea didn't feel great after loosing that arrow. Vengeance exacted a price, requiring matching strength. A mere child couldn't just pick up the Arrow of Vengeance and stab Hera to death. Artemis wasn't that omnipotent. Artifacts were weapons for gods; lowering the entry requirement meant the user paid a toll. If her magic power hadn't increased significantly recently, that arrow would have drained her life force instead.
Instantly drawing seventy percent of her mana was taxing, even for a body modified by divine power. She hovered in place, resting for a good while before catching her breath.
Flying to the spot where Enchantress had perished, she searched the area. The Arrow of Vengeance was truly potent; not even a speck of ash remained of the witch. She had died cleanly, leaving no trace of her existence.
Because the arrow had drained so much magic, Thea hadn't maintained the Eye of Horus and missed the moment Enchantress threw the substitute doll. She rested until she recovered fifty percent of her fighting strength, then rushed to the remaining two battlefields.
Deathstroke and Captain Boomerang were closer. By the time Thea arrived, their battle was already over. Deathstroke was naturally stronger than Boomerang. Added to the fact that Boomerang was mind-controlled and couldn't utilize his full potential, he had been suppressed the entire time. Just as Deathstroke's longsword was about to slice his throat, Enchantress died, and the mind control broke.
Facing a lethal blow, the Australian unleashed his full potential in that life-or-death instant, throwing his final boomerang. Slade was startled, but the distance was too short. Despite being skilled, it was too late to fully dodge. He could only tilt his head slightly, avoiding a direct hit.
The boomerang carved a gash over ten centimeters long across his face—from cheekbone to eye to forehead. The wound was deep enough to see bone. His right eye was blinded.
But Deathstroke was a ruthless man. Despite the heavy injury, the longsword in his hand didn't pause for a microsecond; it slashed through, severing Captain Boomerang's neck. This Australian, who might have made a name for himself in the original timeline, died under Deathstroke's blade before he could even truly shine.
Thea arrived just in time to see this scene. In the blink of an eye, one was dead, and one was injured. Captain Boomerang had lost his life. Deathstroke didn't know about the mind control; he only felt that he had been dominating the fight, only to be blinded by a dying counterattack due to his own carelessness. He was seething with hatred.
"Let me stabilize your injury first," Thea said, a ball of white light flashing between her fingers. The bleeding from Slade's wound slowed visibly.
"Rest here. I'm going to the other battlefield." Thea could certainly cure him—regenerating a limb was simple enough—but the time and place weren't right. If he didn't pledge loyalty, there was absolutely no need for her to waste magic on him.
Slade remained silent, sitting on Captain Boomerang's corpse with his head bowed in thought. As for what he was thinking, no one knew.
Harley Quinn and Katana were double-teaming Killer Croc. The situation didn't exceed Thea's expectations; both women were skilled. Taking advantage of the moment Enchantress died and the mind control faded—causing Croc to freeze—they launched a fierce offensive.
Thea arrived to see Katana stabbing through Killer Croc's upper jaw and out the lower jaw, pinning his mouth firmly to the ground. Then, seizing the opportunity while he struggled violently, Harley swung her baseball bat, smashing it repeatedly against Croc's head.
She didn't stop until the custom-made bat broke. The manic Harley finally ceased her attack, and Killer Croc, breathing shallowly, fell into a deep coma.
Just as Katana drew her sword to deliver the killing blow, Amanda Waller finally arrived. "Stop!"
As her direct subordinate, Katana was very disciplined; she sheathed her blade upon hearing the command, and Killer Croc's life was ultimately spared.
"Are the two enemies dealt with?" Amanda asked immediately as Thea slowly touched down. If Thea said even a single word of refusal, she was ready to bolt instantly.
Fortunately, Thea didn't disappoint her. "All handled. The fire guy probably still has a breath left. As for Enchantress, she was thoroughly beaten to dust."
Amanda was pleased; the incident was perfectly resolved. She immediately ordered her men to clean up the battlefield, using the debriefing as an excuse to keep a powerhouse like Thea from leaving.
The corpses of the targets were carried out. Captain Boomerang and Rick Flag were stone cold. Amanda sighed over Rick Flag. She wasn't grieving for the man himself; she felt it was a waste of the time she had invested in him. Turning him into a qualified subordinate had taken a lot of effort. Seeing years of work turn into a cold corpse made her sad... for exactly one second.
"What is that?" A second later, her attention was drawn to the cloth-wrapped object that Deadshot was holding.
The main force had entered too quickly; Deadshot had just extracted the arm from the ice and had nowhere to hide it, so he helplessly handed it over.
"That witch's arm... only it seems a bit withered. I think it... dried out?" Deadshot explained, holding the object that looked like hand bones wrapped in a layer of human skin.
Amanda ignored his explanation and automatically looked to her resident occult expert, Thea.
Thea probed it with her mental power. There was still a trace of energy residue on the arm, but because Enchantress's soul had been obliterated, the magic within the limb was dissipating rapidly.
"That is Enchantress's arm. Since her soul was extinguished, the arm is useless. Take it back and destroy it," Thea said nonchalantly.
Amanda, perhaps having a thought of her own, nodded and instructed a subordinate to bring out a container, sealing the arm inside.