DC: I am Bruce Wayne

Chapter 126: Fall of a Titan

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"If you wish to be The King of the jungle, acting like a king is not enough. You must be The King. And there can be no doubt because doubt causes chaos and one's own demise."

- Michael Pearson, (The Gentlemen)

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<(Omniscient POV)> 

"A demigod and a mortal possessed by the remnant spirit of a dead god think that they can defeat me. Heh, People must have truly forgotten who I am or what the Titans are capable of... No matter, I'll gladly remind this world of who the Titans really are, starting from you." Iapetus confidently chuckled with a voice that sounded like dozens of hammers striking against a piece of iron. 

As soon as he had finished speaking, a beautiful yet menacing silver spear appeared in his hand that he aimed at Bruce while still keeping his eye on Diana. A pale blue energy slowly coated the spear as he got ready to take on both foes before him.

Diana was the first one to make a move as she jumped towards Iapetus while swinging her sword, trying to pierce his skull in one blow. But Iapetus easily parried the hit with his spear, not even bothering to take Diana seriously. The princess of Themyscira, however, had a trick up her sleeve. As soon as the titan blocked her attack, her golden sword twisted in shape like it was made of clay. Its tip split into numerous thin tentacle-like blades that all attacked Iapetus together.  

But the titan was too experienced to be taken by surprise with just that. The moment he saw the form of her sword change, he snorted before immediately pushing her away, his incredible strength propelling her far away from him. 

"It seems Hephaestus has made you quite a good toy there... It will look very good in my hands after I take it from your cold dead body." Iapetus threatened, his eyes greedily glancing over the golden sword in Diana's clasp as blue lightning began to crack between his fingers. 

Without letting Diana take even a moment of respite, he sent multiple bolts of lightning in her direction in an attempt to overwhelm her so that she would not be able to defend herself, but he had forgotten about someone else who was also present there. 

Bruce in a flash of blinding speed quickly intercepted the Titan's lightning bolts, tackling them with his own body. His armor, which had previously failed to protect Bruce after being struck by a few lightning strikes back during his flight over the Aegean Sea, didn't have a single scratch on it even though it was struck directly by Iapetus' lightning. 

"What, have you forgotten about me or something? You should know that the real danger to you here is not her but me." Bruce uttered with a sinister laugh as he grabbed Iapetus' entire head in a flash of speed before picking him up and thrashing him against the Earth, creating a wide crater on the ground with a Bam sound, blowing dust everywhere. 

"Strength worthy of a god indeed. However, unfortunately, I am a Titan, not a god." Iapetus retorted as he intercepted Bruce's fist before it reached his face. Instead, with a swift movement, he delivered a punch charged with pure lightning at Bruce's figure to disorient him. Meanwhile, the silver spear which had earlier been dislodged from the Titan's grip during the scuffle surged back into action, flying towards Bruce, aiming to impale his chest. However, Bruce reacted quickly and summoned one of the All-Blades into his grasp, effortlessly deflecting the deadly projectile away from him with a swing of his sword.

"Interesting... I have never seen that weapon... nor do I recognize the style of craftsmanship on it. But for it to be able to stand up against my weapon... Tell me, who gave you that sword, mortal?" Iapetus asked after rising to his feet. He lightly dusted his shoulder as if removing some invisible filth before raising his hand to catch the spear that came flying into his palms on its own. 

"This sword? Honestly, I have no idea... but maybe you will get to know it better after being impaled on it." Bruce responded before raising one of his hands and focusing his power. Instantly, sparks of black-colored lightning began to dance on his fingers which he directed at Iapetus, Darth Sidious style. The lightning stream, though not nearly as intense as the ones previously released by Iapetus or Diana, had something else that made up for its lack of power. It was much more damaging in the sense that wherever the dark lightning hit, it seemed to die. Even the lush green Earth itself became nothing but a scorched piece of dirt once affected by lightning. 

But, despite how dangerous of an attack Bruce's black lightning was, Iapetus was still able to block it with his spear, even though his face now showed a dark tinge of worry.

Seeing an opportunity, Wonder Woman with a flick of her wrist, hurled her enchanted golden tiara towards Iapetus, the razor-sharp edge slicing through the air like a bolt of lightning. But the titan was again quick to react as he deflected the projectile with a sweep of his hand. 

However, Batman seized the opportunity to strike once again, confidently charging forward and clashing his All-Blade against Iapetus' spear. 

Thunderous sounds of explosions echoed through the ruins as Batman and Iapetus engaged in a fierce duel. Each of their blows sent shockwaves through the Earth destroying more and more of the mountain. Sparks flew, as destructive energies from both sides began to collide against each other through their weapons. Bruce's black lightning clashed against Iapetus' blue storm in an all-out battle of dominance as the surrounding environment slowly spiraled into destruction.

Iapetus, who initially had a very confident expression on his face, soon began to show signs of surprise and confusion instead. He had felt the divine power hidden inside Bruce and knew that despite the semi-immortal having reached the same level of power as an average adult Olympian, he was nowhere near close to Iapetus himself. However, Bruce was slowly getting there. With every blow, with every strike, every passing moment, the mortal was becoming stronger and faster. It was almost like their battle itself was helping him become better somehow. 

Meanwhile, as Bruce and Iapetus clashed, Wonder Woman was circling around the battlefield like a tigress hunting for prey, her keen eyes searching for an opening. As soon as she spotted a vulnerability in the titan's defense, she didn't hesitate to unleash a barrage of lightning-fast strikes against his weak points, her sword twisting in its form and shape to deal as much damage to the titan as possible. But Iapetus proved to be a formidable foe, his thick hide absorbing the brunt of both of their assaults without ever faltering. 

But still, as the battle raged on, Iapetus slowly but steadily began to be pushed back by the duo. Even his mighty strength began to weaken in front of the combined power of Bruce and Diana. 

As Iapetus was getting pushed back, he was getting desperate, his pride did not warrant him being dominated like this. So, with a scream full of anger and desperation, he finally unleashed a devastating blast of energy from the tip of his outstretched spear, sending both Batman and Wonder Woman flying backward with a force that seemed to defy gravity. The lightning was so powerful and destructive that it was able to even level the entire mountain to a plain land while clearing the surrounding sky of any clouds. 

Seeing the surrounding destruction, Iapetus nodded with satisfaction. "I am getting rusty," He muttered to himself before cracking his neck while checking if there was any damage to his spear. 

He was almost confident that he had defeated his foes if not killed them completely by scorching them to a pile of useless ash. However, the very next moment, his attention was grabbed by something else. "Hmm? My soldiers... they are getting destroyed so quickly? Well, no problem, I just need to raise more soldiers, so many more that no army in the world can even hope to stand up against them." He mumbled to himself while staring in the direction of Hippolyta's castle. 

With a confident look on his face, he raised his spear in the air. "Arise, my servants, arise and Khhh...." Iapetus gagged on his own words as his body suddenly froze under the effect of a foreign power. "Wha-what is happening?" He somehow uttered, trying his best to move his body. It was like his body had somehow grown cold and rigid.

"Quite a powerless feeling, isn't it? It is like you are standing in front of an inevitable fate that will destroy you and everything you have ever known in your life. No matter how much you try to stop that destiny from happening, it will happen, and it will change everything. That's what war is and what you are feeling right now is the true fear of war." The deep voice of Bruce declared. 

As the dust cleared and the surroundings became visible, Bruce's figure was seen, still standing upright. There was heavy damage to his armor but most of the damage was quickly getting repaired themselves on their own. The only place that wasn't at all affected by Iapetus' attack was his helmet, which seemed as spotless as ever. A few meters away, even Diana looked mostly unharmed as well. She had covered herself with the metal of her sword at the right time and was able to effectively protect herself from the damage. 

"Initially, I thought I could feel your blood and control it... well, I still think I can. But I can also do so much more." Bruce said while slowly walking towards the frozen Iapetus. "Right now, I can not only feel your blood and body but even your very soul as well."

"Bruce, we should try to seal him back as fast as possible, no mortal has ever been able to even defeat a titan much less kill it," Diana advised as she observed Bruce materialize both of the All-Blades in his hands. 

However, both Iapetus and Bruce ignored Diana's words. They were now focused only on each other. "I was wrong. No remnant of a god can display this much power." He somehow spoke through his frozen mouth. "You are something else, something more." He concluded. 

Bruce on the other hand just kept quiet before raising both of his flaming swords up in the air while giving the titan one last look. "I proclaim you... guilty" And with that, he brought both of his blades down, piercing his blades directly into Iapetus' chest. 

"AAAAAHHHHH" The titan could not help but scream in pain as he felt the steaming blades of his twin swords, but he quickly brought himself under control. "I am a TITAN, THE TITAN LORD OF THE WEST. I WON'T DIE SO EASY. IF I CANNOT STAND OVER YOUR COLD DEAD BODY, I'LL AT LEAST TAKE YOU WITH ME." He screamed before using the last bits of his strength to grab Bruce's helmet-wearing head with both of his hands.  

"BRUCE!... ar-are you alright?" Diana yelled in worry as she saw the burning figure of Iapetus grab Bruce's head in a last-ditch effort to kill him before a strange purple light entered Bruce's demonic helmet while the titan exploded into a torrent of fire and ash.

"... Bruce...? HAHAHA There is no more Bruce here anymore. There is only... the Merciless!" He declared before advancing towards Diana with a cold look on his face.

But before the ominous situation could further worsen, the armored figure suddenly fell unconscious on the ground for seemingly no reason at all, shaking the ground into a mini quake because of the immense weight of his armor. 

***

<{Inside Bruce's mind palace}>

"What in the name of Tartarus is this place?" A hazy figure of Iapetus muttered under his breath as he observed the dark and ominous setting of the place, he had just arrived in. 

During his last moments, he had tried to destroy his enemy by using his entire remaining mental and spiritual power to crush the semi-god's mind. Still, instead of getting the pleasure of seeing his enemy perish with him, he found himself within the mind of his foe instead. 

BANG BANG Iapetus heard a banging sound from behind him. Turning around to see what was happening, he found a bulky figure looking strangely similar to the being he had just fought a few moments ago, hitting a huge metal door with his axe, while thousands of dead bodies of weird and ferocious-looking monsters lay around his feet. 

"What the...?"

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