"Oh..."

Bardi remained calm. His expression was indifferent, his eyes emotionless as they rested on Mandrakk.

Seated high upon the throne, Bardi looked down on Mandrakk like he was a clown. Though he didn't wear a mocking expression or show disdain, his cold, detached gaze alone made Mandrakk's heart sink. It was as if Bardi didn't even consider him worth his attention. That indifference made Mandrakk deeply uncomfortable, and a slight frown crept across his face.

Just an "Oh…"?

Mandrakk's red electronic eyes flickered, his expression uncertain as he tried to discern Bardi's thoughts.

"It was I who used the Monitor's passage through the Speed Force Wall to let the Spectre transport your wife out…"

His voice was slow, his red eyes shining with intense light as they locked onto Bardi.

Silence filled the hall. Mandrakk, encased in his sleek blue-and-white armor, stood upright, his bright red eyes staring at Bardi seated above.

Suddenly.

Bardi moved slightly, and with him, the emperor's armor shifted as if the universe itself moved with it. His cold, silent gaze fixed on Mandrakk, his face stoic beneath the cosmic mantle, towering in stillness.

At that moment, Mandrakk felt Bardi's presence swell endlessly. He seemed to tower across the cosmos, gazing down indifferently, rendering Mandrakk insignificant.

"You don't have much time. Soon, the Spectre will deliver your wife to the Trigon dimension."

Mandrakk's electronic voice was calm.

Bardi remained unmoved. He raised his left hand, palm up, and lightly tapped his fingers. In his palm floated an Anti-Life Equation, dark and bristling like a sea urchin.

With a thought, unnoticed by Mandrakk, a drop of Bardi's blood essence appeared and merged into the Anti-Life Equation. Using a dual-layer concealment, Bardi completely hid the core of his blood essence, making only the outer shell appear immensely powerful and terrifying.

"Explain your purpose, Mandrakk."

Bardi played with the Anti-Life Equation, his voice indifferent.

In his hands, the Anti-Life Equation twisted and writhed like a feral creature. Its spiked tendrils flickered and stretched. Without Monitor-level technology, it was impossible to detect the hidden blood essence within.

"My agreement with the Spectre and the others was to provide them access, along with the mind-machine Superman that the Spectre controlled.

"Originally, our plan was to seal your consciousness, capture your body, and allow me to study it for at least a month. Regardless of the outcome, the Spectre would then send your body to the graveyard of the One God and bind it to the Source Wall, sealing you completely."

"But now, cooperating with them no longer benefits me. My best option is to work with you to gain the greatest benefit."

"I can give you the location of the passage… and the weakness of the mind-machine Superman."

"So that you can rescue your wife in time."

"All I ask in return… is the Anti-Life Equation in your hand."

Mandrakk's red electronic eyes glowed as they moved from Bardi's face to the dark, sea-urchin-like sphere hovering in his palm.

Prior to this, Mandrakk had not intended to obtain the Anti-Life Equation. Being a positive matter Monitor, he could not enter the Antimatter Universe. To do so, he would have to obliterate and consume Mobius, the Antimatter Monitor. Very few beings, other than Bardi, could force their way into that realm.

Bardi's gaze remained indifferent as it swept across Mandrakk.

He knew Mandrakk was not being entirely honest.

Mandrakk always held something back. No one knew exactly what he wanted, not even the Spectre, Phantom Stranger, or Golden Superman. They only knew he was dangerous, had monitored the multiverse, and had long been planning to harness its power for himself.

Judging from his eyes, it wasn't just about acquiring the Anti-Life Equation. That was power, yes, but Bardi knew Mandrakk desired far more.

Still, none of that mattered to Bardi. Power? Desire? Such things were meaningless in the face of his own might.

No force in the multiverse rivaled Bardi's.

He flicked his finger lightly. The Anti-Life Equation rolled from his palm to the floor, coming to rest at Mandrakk's feet like a spiked orb.

"Bring my wife back."

Bardi said.

Mandrakk paused, his gaze following the path of the rolling Anti-Life Equation.

Just like that, it was his.

So easily obtained, it felt like an illusion. The prize he had long dreamed of—laid at his feet like a discarded token.

It felt almost like charity.

His red eyes flickered wildly. He looked up at Bardi again, feeling a weight settle in his chest.

"I can only tell you the location…"

"Bring my wife back."

Bardi's tone was flat, yet heavy with authority. His voice echoed with undeniable power, resonating through the hall like divine thunder. Though he wasn't angry, his words, in this universe or any other, were law. The universe itself could not ignore his voice. No one could refuse it.

Mandrakk suddenly felt a mechanical creaking inside himself, as though the immense weight of a divine machine were crushing him. His avatar's functions began to fail under the unbearable pressure. His red lights flickered violently.

The pressure came and went in a flash, vanishing like a hallucination. But Mandrakk's heart trembled.

To scheme against a unique god… he now walked a razor's edge.

And yet, even now, he found it difficult to bend down and retrieve the Anti-Life Equation he had always desired.

"Go. You have two days to bring her back."

"Also, leave me the coordinates of Golden Superman's five-dimensional universe. I believe you'll want to see me destroy his home."

Bardi looked down on Mandrakk with cold, impassive eyes as he spoke.

Mandrakk paused again, his mind sinking.

To bring his wife back…

No.

I have the Anti-Life Equation now. Why would I care about your wife?

His red eyes lowered. He stared at the spiked, sea-urchin-like equation, then finally leaned over and picked it up.

The other three he had conspired with were no longer aligned with his vision. He left behind the coordinates of the Golden Superman's universe, the one he had originally come from before entering the Fifth Dimension—the home of all the Supermen.

After Mandrakk departed…

The will of the universe, Hera, appeared beside Bardi.

"Master, he will definitely not return Raven."

"I know."

(To be continued.)