*Chapter 72: The Big Mushroom Arrives*

Atreus really wanted to stir the pot, hoping Bane and the Witch would fight it out, go for a life-or-death battle, and maybe even have a rematch.

However, he snapped back to reality and shouted over the comms: "Hey! Forget about those two! The real issue is the portal behind them. Who knows if there’s an entire army waiting on the other side!?"

Tony squinted, realizing the situation.

In fact, as a certain traveler knew, if the invaders weren’t zombies and witches but aliens, this would be the plot of Avengers 1!

"You two got any thoughts?" Atreus asked over the comms.

"Damn it! The higher-ups are considering using a tactical nuke to wipe out this mess," Tony replied. As a key figure tied to the military-industrial complex, with direct connections to the Department of Defense, his information was likely spot on.

As another industrial tycoon, Bruce Wayne knew exactly what was going on: "Is there anything that can stop this nightmare?"

He was genuinely anxious.

No way would he allow Gotham City to be bombed, no matter the circumstances.

"Hurry up and take them down! Seal that portal, or no one’s getting out of this clean!" Tony said bluntly.

"Alright, Tony, go prep the big mushroom."

"You serious?" Tony was startled.

"No way!" Batman’s voice was firm.

Atreus coldly said, "Why not let the mushroom explode on the other side of the portal?"

That escalated things quickly!

"I’ll get the big one ready," Tony said first.

"I’ll go get the Batmobile."

"I’ll handle Bane."

In a matter of seconds, the three divvied up their tasks.

Honestly, before he first defeated the Witch, Atreus would’ve been nervous facing such a lineup. But now? It was time for Atreus 2.0 to shine!

"If you don’t hurry, I’m going to die," Gwen's voice carried a hint of frustration.

Against a wizard capable of large-scale magic attacks, Spider-Woman was struggling.

Just moments ago, Bane had thrown a huge boulder at Gwen. Though she dodged it, it was a double hit. As soon as the boulder, mixed with steel beams, shattered, the Witch released a lightning strike.

Already pushing her limits to dodge, the follow-up lightning almost hit Gwen.

Plus, spider webs weren’t very effective against a giant three stories tall.

Atreus’s arrival brought Gwen some relief.

"Get lost!" Bane growled.

The Witch was even more furious: "Kill him first!"

Atreus had guessed right—the two were so out of sync that their attacks were comically uncoordinated. Bane grabbed a large boulder, clearly intending to hurl it at Batman, but the Witch twisted his hand last minute, and it ended up flying towards Atreus.

It wasn’t aimed badly, but it was definitely weaker.

This allowed Atreus to elegantly dodge mid-air, using the boulder as a stepping stone to perform a stylish double acceleration.

While accelerating, he avoided a green magic energy ball hurled by the Witch.

"Go to hell!" Atreus shouted as he closed in, two meters from the giant’s forehead, raising his dual blades high.

If only one person were in control of the giant’s body, this wouldn’t have been so awkward. But as Atreus launched his second attack, the two were hilariously busy protecting themselves—a large hand blocked Bane’s head, while another protected half of the Witch’s body.

Atreus didn’t hesitate, roaring out loud:

"Aerial Spinning Fury!"

If you don’t shout out your move, is it really a proper attack?

Using his exceptional physical prowess and balance, Atreus transformed into a massive spinning top mid-air, his dual blades whirling like chainsaws as he tore through the gap between the two heads.

Starting from Bane’s left shoulder, Atreus carved a gruesome, bloody path nearly a meter wide and half a meter deep across the giant’s back.

Even though Atreus left a terrifying wound on Bane, it wasn’t fatal.

After all, this wasn’t Bane’s actual flesh. There was good news and bad news.

Bad news: This was like scraping off dead skin.

Good news: He was scraping really fast!

Before Bane and the Witch could react, Atreus leaped up again after landing, continuing his Aerial Spinning Fury, this time carving through the giant’s right side, from its skin down to its massive belly.

It looked like traditional ritual disembowelment!

Blood and flesh, like discarded waste in a slaughterhouse, poured onto the ground.

From a distance, Huntress, who had been harassing the Witch with arrows, saw something odd inside the disemboweled belly—a foot!

Without hesitation, Huntress shot an arrow into that foot, and finally, a pained spasm flashed across Bane’s face.

Meanwhile, Batman summoned his Batmobile with a remote.

This four-wheel drive vehicle, equipped with heavy armor, had more firepower than even the Batwing.

As Batman got into the car, he noticed a figure standing nearby and hesitated.

"Selina Kyle! What are you doing here?"

"I know I betrayed your trust, but after Bane caught you, Kratos got me. He’s my boss now." Catwoman bit her lip. "I don’t have enough firepower to fight. Got any heavy weapons I can use?"

While Catwoman was skilled in hand-to-hand combat, her most powerful weapon was just a whip—not much help against a giant Bane!

Batman’s soft spot for her remained, but this time he hesitated less, thanks to his extraordinary son backing him up.

"Here!"

He tossed a small remote into Catwoman’s hand.

"This is for the second Batmobile. But I control the main system."

"Got it!"

With two Batmobiles re-entering the battlefield, the situation shifted again.

The mounted guns roared, shredding Bane’s skin.

The Batmobile’s missiles and machine guns couldn’t kill Bane, but their heavy firepower immobilized him, forcing him to summon more zombies to act as human shields.

Bane might have fought back, but with two of the most counter-strategic heroes on the scene, it was tough luck. Batman switched on the high beams.

The Batmobile’s powerful lights were bright enough to blind anyone.

At this moment, it was like the Sun God had arrived.

If Bane were truly undead, he could rely on a soul vision to see. But he wasn’t, and his vision was his only way to perceive the battlefield.

And now?

If Bane knew the meme, he’d definitely scream in his decayed voice:

"Curse those high beam drivers!"

"Idiot! Hand over control of the body to me!" the Witch screamed in frustration.

"…" Reluctantly, Bane complied.

Who would’ve guessed that, during this critical moment of bickering over control, Atreus and Tony would strike?

Zzz!

A soft crackling sound.

The Witch, previously merged with Bane’s abomination of a body, was sliced clean off.

She flew away, with only her left hand, left shoulder, neck, and head remaining. The rest of her body was still attached to Bane’s left shoulder.

This not only caused the abomination to momentarily freeze but also plunged the Witch into her greatest crisis yet.

Atreus seized the opportunity, lunging and grabbing the Witch’s throat with both hands.

*Energy Drain* activated!

Normally, Atreus wouldn’t be foolish enough to drain the energy of a female villain much stronger than himself.

Overdoing it would be his downfall.

But this time was different—the Witch had already lost 57% of her soul. Atreus doubted she’d risk the rest.

He bet right.

The Witch had only 5% of her soul left!

That small fraction was enough to give him the crucial skill he sought.

System Notification: *Congratulations! You have successfully drained 5% of the Witch’s soul... You have obtained the XXX teleportation skill, along with coordinates to the Zombie World...*

This discovery made Atreus tremble with excitement.

He shouted at the top of his lungs:

"The big mushroom is coming—"

(End of Chapter)