He Couldn't Tear It Off

Northern Greece, the summit of Mount Olympus between the administrative regions of Thessaly and Macedonia.

Shane, Superman, and Shazam hovered high above the mountaintop.

Superman's strong palm rested on Shane's shoulder, his eyes filled with concern and worry.

"Are you sure you can do this alone?"

"Isn't this also Batman's plan?"

Shane glanced sideways at the big blue, his meaning clear.

If you think I can't, you can go talk to Batman anytime.

Superman gave a sheepish chuckle and moved his hand away.

Shazam's attention, however, was focused from a completely strange angle.

"Dude, I'm not judging your fashion sense, but this outfit doesn't look very suitable for a fight, does it?"

Shazam's winking gaze fell on the grey hoodie Shane was wearing, which was clearly a size too big.

This was an old piece of clothing Tom had found in his closet a few days after Shane first arrived on Earth.

It had been worn for who knows how many years and washed who knows how many times. The elbow joints and other areas with sharp designs that experienced more friction had even developed frayed edges.

In the Mediterranean climate's winter, at altitudes of four to five hundred meters or higher on the mountaintop, the cold, damp wind whistled through the gap between the three of them, making Shane's hood flap in the wind behind him.

Shazam's eyes followed the bobbing hood.

"Your hood looks like it's about to fly off any second."

Superman also noticed Shane's inappropriate attire at the moment and angled his body slightly towards the North Pole.

"My Fortress of Solitude has a suit design function. If you need it, I can go make you one right now. It'll be a quick round trip."

"And then I have to change into a skin-tight suit hundreds of meters in the air on top of Mount Olympus, completely naked?"

Shane found it hard to keep a straight face.

"That's a great idea. We won't even need to actively open the Divine Realm entrance; those gods will definitely rush out and beat us up."

Shaking his head at Superman, Shane crossed his arms, lowered himself, and pulled the greyish-white hoodie up from his waist, taking the entire garment off.

Wearing the black and grey version of the Viltrum battle suit, Shane handed the hoodie to Superman.

"Take care of this for me – I don't have many casual clothes on Earth."

Shazam's gaze darted strangely towards the black battle skirt that extended downwards from Shane's waist.

"So, Superman's cape is behind him, my cape is on my left shoulder, and your cape is hanging from your waist – I thought you were just wearing a really long black t-shirt to cover your lower half, like those hip-hop guys sometimes do."

Shane's face felt uncharacteristically hot. He had actually wanted to reject such a design when he was younger, but it was clear that the Viltrum elders, who placed great importance on tradition, had not approved of Shane's aesthetic.

Strictly speaking, if Shane hadn't escaped back then, he would have had to grow a mustache on his upper lip by a certain age, as that was also one of the Viltrum traditions.

Superman, on the other hand, seemed much more tolerant in his aesthetic judgment. He didn't comment on the loincloth, only praising the color design.

"The dark color scheme looks cool."

Shane's fingers brushed over the Viltrum emblem on his chest, which had been deliberately thickened and painted over by the Luo Star people to conceal it. He shook his head without speaking.

This color represented only the profound, bloody hatred of those final Luo Star people.

A completely black Batwing aircraft was quietly parked on a grassland not far from Mount Olympus.

Batman's deep voice transmitted to the three of them through their earpieces.

"There are ten seconds left until the time node calculated by Cyborg. I hope everyone is ready."

Superman carefully folded Shane's hoodie, nodded at the other two, and flew out a short distance.

Shazam, meanwhile, looked up at the sky, took several deep breaths, and continuously flexed his hands to relax them.

"Relax, I don't want to strike you by accident."

Shane said nothing further, simply gazing forward.

Cyborg's electronic voice began the final countdown.

"5."

"4."

"3."

Shazam raised his hands towards the sky and took a deep breath.

"2."

The front of the Batwing aircraft rose, its cannon aiming as a blue energy beam that tore through space shot towards the mountaintop sky.

"Now! Shazam!!!"

A massive bolt of lightning generated from thin air and the blue beam converged in front of Shane simultaneously.

Zeus's magical lightning and the hidden Divine Power within Shane connected, and the three forces instantly formed a deep spatial vortex.

The next second, Shane's eyes lost their perception of the colors of the world.

After several seconds of dizzying darkness, a crisp scent of grass and wood suddenly filled Shane's nostrils.

He opened his eyes to find a smooth, mirror-like white-grey stone slab beneath him.

The road was wide enough for over a dozen warhorses to ride abreast, stretching into the depths of the clouds and mist.

White marble pillars stood on either side of the road, their bodies carved with intricate coiling patterns. Intertwined vines wrapped around half-opened anemones and ivy.

"Please follow me."

A clear, emotionless voice sounded. Shane turned to see a figure standing not far away.

He wore a silver-grey, short, waist-cinching robe, with a sapphire-inlaid belt.

What drew the eye were his boots, each adorned with a small, gently trembling golden wing on the side.

Shane looked up at the messenger's eyes, intending to gauge the Divine Realm's attitude.

But all he saw was an unfathomable abyss of ink, completely black with no whites of the eyes. He couldn't capture any emotion, only a sense of calm.

"Heh, I thought I'd be struck by lightning the moment I stepped in."

The messenger didn't reply, turning and walking deeper into the stone path, as if certain Shane would follow.

Shane focused for a moment, the extraneous emotions vanishing from his eyes in the blink of an eye. His pupils dilated slightly, taking on the detached expression of a Viltrumite.

He didn't understand this world's Greek Divine Realm, but it wasn't his first time venturing into alien territory.

He stepped forward to follow the messenger, his body's strength gradually awakening with each stride.

They walked in silence, the golden patterns embedded in the stone slabs becoming denser as they went deeper.

Before long, a massive Temple appeared ahead.

It had an arched dome, carved with the sun, moon, and stars.

In front of the Temple was a wide plaza, in the center of which stood a colossal statue of a stern-faced figure holding a thunder scepter.

Twelve enormous stone pillars lined the plaza, with only three figures scattered among them.

The one at the forefront wore black, thorny armor and exuded a killing aura Shane was all too familiar with.

About ten meters to his left, a woman with shoulder-length, curly, flaxen hair was coldly appraising Shane.

She wore a rose-red gown embroidered with golden olive branches, and golden, filigree armguards.

On the other side stood a burly, non-human giant, easily three meters tall. His upper body was bare, his arms like flowing lava, and he held a massive, long-handled warhammer.

This one was so tall, shrouded in mist, that his face and expression were unclear.

The messenger's form silently faded into transparency.

And to the left of the Temple, Diana was tightly bound to a stone pillar by the Lasso of Truth.

When she saw Shane appear alone, surprise and worry flashed in Diana's eyes.

"Vile mortal! How dare you steal the Golden Apple!"

The man in the thorny armor stepped forward first, his opening words a furious accusation.

"You profane the divine authority! Today is the day you die!"

Shane completely ignored the outburst, tilting his head to glance past the accuser and carefully examine Diana's condition.

She appeared to be a bound prisoner, with some kind of seal on her throat preventing her from speaking. Yet, not a single strand of her hair was out of place.

So Batman was right, the Divine Realm has other motives?

Interesting, how did that guy figure it out.

Having been directly ignored, the god of war seemed utterly enraged. His crimson eyes, visible through the helmet's slits, locked onto Shane.

"How dare you show me such contempt?"

Shane slowly straightened his head, meeting the gaze of those crimson eyes.

"Mortal! You--"

A punch, built up over the entire journey, sent Ares flying backward, his words cut short.

The goddess in the rose-red dress stared in stunned silence as Ares exploded through four sonic booms and vanished into the sky. She instinctively summoned her spear and shield, only to see Shane already rushing towards Diana.

"Don't worry."

A deep, rumbling roar came from the three-meter giant.

"I know that lasso well, even Superman couldn't break--"

Shane's hands didn't even pause on the gleaming golden lasso. He directly wrapped them around the stone pillar, his fingers digging into the stone like steel nails.

He braced himself and exhaled, a crackling sound echoing as he uprooted the entire pillar binding Diana. Then, his feet stomped down, creating two massive craters. His thigh muscles bulged, compressing his strength to its absolute limit in milliseconds.

"Hurl!"

A muffled roar came from the communicator inside the Batwing. Cyborg immediately displayed thousands of data screens.

Superman and Shazam stared intently at the spot where Shane had just vanished.

Shazam's expression held a trace of disbelief and horror.

"That fast?"