Reverse Shazam

The faint shimmer on the surface of the Golden Apple had yet to fade, and the strange warmth still lingered on Shane's fingertips when the familiar sound of air being torn apart reached his ears.

It was the unique sound of Diana's flight, the air splitting with an urgency greater than any time she'd rushed back to the training ground before.

Shane's heart tightened, and his hand gripping the Golden Apple instinctively clenched.

The greed stirred up by the magic moments ago hadn't fully dissipated, and a crude thought immediately surfaced.

Hide this thing away, claim it for himself.

On Viltrum during the civil war, any item of value belonged to the strongest—grab it and it's yours. That was a survival instinct carved into his bones.

But the thought had barely risen before he forcibly suppressed it.

He glanced at the black smoke still dissipating on the street corner, then recalled how Diana had patiently taught him to control his power these past days.

Earth wasn't Viltrum. Grabbing and killing couldn't solve everything; instead, it would shatter the stable situation he'd just found.

Besides, Diana had the Lasso of Truth at her waist. Lying over a Golden Apple of unknown effect wasn't worth it.

He took a deep breath, loosened his slightly trembling fingers, and stood still, waiting.

The red figure arrived in an instant. Diana landed before Shane, her gaze locking onto the Golden Apple in his hand.

Her brow furrowed instantly, and her aura turned heavy and solemn as she spoke in a low voice.

"The Goddess of Discord, Eris—she was here?"

Shane nodded, his tone concise.

"A bald woman with green eyes showed me this apple. Then I briefly lost control. I snapped her spine, and she turned into black smoke and vanished."

He deliberately omitted the details, stating only the core events.

Diana sighed helplessly at this, her eyes carrying both understanding and a hint of gravity.

"It seems there's still a long way to go before you fully break the habit of killing and destruction."

Her gaze fell on the black smoke traces at the street corner.

"What you killed was her divine body in the mortal realm, not her true self."

A flicker of barely perceptible annoyance crossed Shane's eyes.

Killed her, sure, but it turned out she wasn't fully dead.

Even though she'd started the trouble, it was clear she wasn't the type to reason with.

He raised the Golden Apple, his tone carrying a hint of awkward inquiry.

"This thing... is it a treasure?"

The desire that had shaken his mind earlier made him instinctively feel this apple was no ordinary item.

"Golden Apples themselves aren't rare in the Divine Realm," Diana explained.

"The gods under Zeus often consume Golden Apples to extend their lifespans and stabilize their soul vitality."

"But Eris's apple is different—it's her exclusive divine artifact."

Her tone turned serious.

"Beyond its basic effects, it can stir the deepest desires in any living being, breeding jealousy and conflict. It's sparked several divine disputes and mortal wars in the past."

Diana paused, then added.

"More importantly, Eris won't perish just because her mortal divine body is destroyed. Once she resurrects in the Divine Realm, the evil magic on this Golden Apple will revive along with her."

Shane's heart jolted, and his grip on the Golden Apple loosened slightly.

So this wasn't some treasure worth fighting over—it was a ticking time bomb that could go off again at any moment.

As for the apple's life-extending effect, it held little appeal for a long-lived Viltrumite.

That intense possessiveness he'd felt was just the lure and illusion of magic.

Diana looked at the legendary Golden Apple in myth, feeling a headache coming on as well.

In principle, she should suggest Shane hand the Golden Apple over to the Justice League for safekeeping.

But the Justice League, still in its infancy, didn't seem to have a good way to deal with the revenge of an enraged deity.

Founded just two years ago, the Justice League hadn't had time to recruit many members. Among them, only she and Shazam were connected to the magical side.

Shazam often came across as immature and unreliable in his words and actions.

In fact, Batman had mentioned that in Fawcett City, Shazam's occasional carelessness had caused a few incidents of magical items going missing.

Though none had led to major disasters, entrusting a magical artifact that could potentially trigger a third world war to Shazam was clearly not a good idea.

As for Diana herself.

She was indeed closely tied to the magical side.

But her abilities mostly came from the divine blessings of her bloodline and the artifacts gifted by the gods.

She knew some magic, but they were mostly minor, recreational spells.

There is simply no comparison to the Goddess of Discord Eris, let alone any hope of suppressing this Golden Apple capable of sparking war in the Divine Realm.

Speaking of which, how did this kid manage to defeat the Goddess of Discord?

"Maybe you should hand it over to the Justice League. This isn't something you should be getting involved in..."

"No, it can't be handed over to the Justice League."

Just as Diana had steeled her sense of responsibility and was about to persuade Shane, Shane opened his eyes and directly vetoed Diana's suggestion.

"Teacher Prince, you were silent for a full three seconds just now. If you truly believed the Justice League currently had the ability to handle this apple, you would have spoken up immediately."

Shane gazed at the pure golden light shimmering on the apple's surface under the sun, lost in thought.

"We should first understand why this happened in the first place."

"That Goddess of Discord wouldn't just casually pull out such a precious artifact to influence an ordinary person. She used the Golden Apple to try and make me lose control, which means I have value worth that kind of effort in her eyes."

The concern that had been on Diana's face gradually shifted to surprise as Shane explained.

"In other words, in the eyes of the gods, or rather in the eyes of those magic users, there must be something special about me."

Diana felt a bit awkward. She was a demigod herself, but at this moment, she couldn't come up with any useful advice.

"I've already offended the Goddess of Discord. Whether I want to or not, if I hand this apple over to the Justice League, it means a group of superpowered individuals will be targeted by that Goddess of Discord."

"This isn't something you can just take on with a line about a hero's responsibility, Teacher Prince."

Shane didn't say anything more after that; everything was already self-evident.

If Superman and the Flash were affected by the Goddess of Discord's magic, the consequences would be unimaginable.

Besides, the Justice League itself was still in a position of relative public distrust.

Even if they had all the means at their disposal, if even one or a few of their heroes were influenced for just a short while and did something disastrous, the subsequent PR crisis would be catastrophic.

"Wow."

Diana crossed her arms. She hadn't been particularly curious about Shane's background; deep down, she had mostly treated Shane's request as just another routine mission for the Justice League.

"You and Shazam are complete opposites. By the way, are you really only fourteen, like Bruce said?"

Shane smiled and tucked the Golden Apple into his inner pocket.

"If my thinking really were limited to my apparent age, then right now and in the future, I would only be another Conqueror of Viltrum."

Diana was taken aback.

Who was the Conqueror?

But Shane had already risen into the air.

He had originally planned to go out shopping today and buy some fruit, but this mess had ruined his mood.

"Wait, so what's your plan now?"

Diana felt like this kid had a fundamental lack of respect for adults, and she gritted her teeth as she flew up after him.

"The Justice League should have a list, right? Don't you guys actively collect information and keep tabs on global anomalies or dangerous individuals?"

Shane stated bluntly: "If the Justice League doesn't have any experts, we can go find them ourselves. By the way, Teacher Prince, you don't actually know any Earth mages, do you?"

Diana suddenly understood.

This was something to take to Batman.