Fenrir Armor's Debut

"Boom!!!!!"

A thunderous crash, as if a god had struck the earth with an iron hammer.

A massive, grotesque black monstrosity tore through the distorted space and descended from above with brutal, unreasonable force!

Without any cushioning system, it slammed straight down onto the strongest alloy platform in the center of the Batcave.

"Thoom—!!!!"

The entire Batcave shook violently! The indestructible alloy platform was smashed into a visible depression, spiderweb cracks spreading outward. The shockwave from the impact whipped up a gale that made Diana's battle skirt snap wildly, while Barry instinctively took half a step back. The bats hanging upside down from the ceiling scattered in alarm, shrieking sharply as chaos filled the cave.

As the smoke and dust gradually cleared, the terrifying war machine finally revealed itself in full.

It was a gigantic exoskeleton armor nearly two heads taller than Bruce himself. Its design had utterly discarded all aesthetic considerations, exuding the most primal, purest sense of savagery and violent beauty. Its entire body was covered in outrageously heavy black composite armor. A faint energy glow flickered between every armor plate, and its sharp, angular lines seemed capable of cutting through anything.

Its shoulders were fitted with densely packed miniature missile pods, like the hives of demons, ready to rain down flames of death at any moment. Beneath the raised armor modules on its back were hidden larger-caliber energy cannons that radiated unsettling heat. Its arms were enormous and thick, clearly not designed for delicate operations. Its right arm was a vicious power gauntlet, arcs of electricity flashing over its knuckles, while its left arm bore a gigantic claw capable of tearing apart a tank.

Most eye-catching of all was the huge inverted "Ω" symbol branded into the center of its broad chest plate, glowing with ominous crimson light. The symbol seemed alive, pulsing slowly. With every flicker, the surrounding air emitted a deep hum.

Fenrir Armor! The ultimate weapon born to slay gods!

This war beast, "deployed" from the system space, stood silently before them in a half-kneeling position. It made no sound, but that silence itself was the ultimate deterrent. What it radiated was a pure, undisguised will to destroy, as though its very existence was meant to crush all life and civilization into dust.

"What is that..." Barry's voice was dry as he stared at the steel behemoth, feeling as though even his Speed Force was insignificant before it.

For the first time, genuine shock appeared in Diana's beautiful eyes. As a demigoddess raised on Paradise Island, she had seen all manner of divine artifacts from the Olympian pantheon, yet none had ever given her such a pure sense of oppressive "destruction." She could clearly feel that power flowed through this armor—power capable of posing a fatal threat to her, even to the gods of Olympus.

"Bruce... what is that?" Clark's voice from the screen became more solemn than ever. His super vision could penetrate the armor's outer layers, allowing him to see the complex energy circuits within, which he could not comprehend at all, as well as... substances in certain critical areas that emitted a faint green glow that made him deeply uncomfortable.

"My armor."

Bruce's voice came through the armor's speakers, colder, deeper, and filled with metallic texture, as though it no longer belonged to a human.

He slowly rose to his feet. A series of teeth-grinding mechanical locking sounds came from the joints of the Fenrir Armor. As it moved, that destructive pressure became even more intense.

"While you draw all the fire on the main battlefield, I'll find Faora." Bruce—or rather, Fenrir at this moment—swept Diana with electronic eyes flashing red. "She's a pure warrior, and a major threat. I'll deal with her."

Diana frowned as she looked at the armor brimming with an aura of destruction. She had wanted to question how a mortal could fight a Kryptonian warrior, but before this god-slaying weapon, any doubt seemed feeble and powerless.

"You're sure you want to face her alone?" she still asked, a trace of concern in her voice that even she had not noticed.

"I'm sure." The voice inside the Fenrir Armor allowed no doubt.

He did not explain the Kryptonite energy weapons and simulated red sun radiation devices installed on the armor. Nor did he explain that, through countless simulations, he had already worked out more than a hundred ways to kill Faora. Strategically, he trusted the strength of his allies; tactically, he trusted only himself.

Showing this ultimate weapon to his allies was both a deterrent and a promise. A deterrent to any potential disloyalty, and a promise that he possessed the ultimate means to end this war.

"One more question." Clark's voice rang out again, carrying a strange note. "Smallville... my home, and the farms around it... this battle could very likely... level the place."

He had grown up there. Every inch of land was filled with memories. Though he was willing to sacrifice it for the greater good, he still could not bear to let it go.

Bruce fell silent for a moment, then said in a tone so calm it was nearly cold:

"You don't need to worry about that."

"Before you came to Gotham, I had Wayne Enterprises' legal department purchase the property rights to all land within fifty miles of Smallville, including your farm, under the name of developing new energy farms."

The Batcave instantly fell into an eerie silence.

Barry's mouth hung open. He looked from the terrifying god-slaying mech to the utterly bewildered Superman on the screen, feeling as though his brain could no longer process this.

Even Diana's eyes, which had seen through millennia, showed a trace of astonishment. Just moments ago, she had been shaken by the terror of that armor. Now, she was stunned by another kind of "power" this mortal had displayed.

Clark, on the other side of the screen, froze outright. He opened his mouth, his expression extraordinarily complicated—part shock, part helplessness—before finally turning into a heartfelt sigh:

"...You rich people really know how to have fun."

Is this the power of money...? Clark silently grumbled. He was still heartbroken over the possibility that his farm might be destroyed, yet they had simply bought all the land around the entire town just to make fighting more convenient. This way of thinking was completely beyond the comprehension of a small-town reporter like him.

"This is merely to ensure that we have absolute control over the battlefield and can begin reconstruction immediately after the battle, avoiding unnecessary legal disputes and media hype." Bruce explained expressionlessly, as though he were discussing something utterly trivial.

"Alright, the meeting is over." Bruce's voice pulled everyone back from their thoughts. "There are less than twenty hours until Zod's ultimatum. Clark, continue evacuating the civilians and stay in contact at all times. Diana, Barry, rest here for now and familiarize yourselves with each other's abilities. I need to make the final adjustments to the armor."

With that, he turned and walked toward the Fenrir Armor, preparing for the final outfitting. The steel beast seemed to sense its master's approach. The crimson light of the "Ω" symbol on its chest intensified, and an invisible force field unfolded, enveloping Bruce.

War was about to begin.