The two figures gazed at each other, and on the battlefield, time seemed to halt for a moment of dramatic reunion.
The rage-fueled Kryptonian, for reasons unknown, instinctively came to Lois Lane's side the moment he heard her scream.
Their eyes met, one bewildered, the other overjoyed.
"Clark... Clark... is that you, Clark?"
Lois Lane covered her mouth, excited tears falling onto Clark's fingers. The spreading light was like a key, instantly unlocking the memories deep within Clark's mind: from his childhood until now. The malevolence in his eyes gradually faded as his memories returned, and the ferocity on his face softened.
"It's me, Lois."
Clark's fingers gently ran through his girlfriend's hair, but an energy blast, utterly oblivious to the moment, landed beside him and Lois.
The tender romantic scene ended abruptly.
Lothar's indiscriminate attack, unleashed with one hand, forced Clark to immediately pull his girlfriend away from the center of the explosion. Looking back, Lothar stood to one side, panting, clutching his already broken right arm.
"Wait for me here for a moment, Lois."
A now rational Clark surveyed his surroundings, then floated towards Darkseid. This made Lothar, who had expected Clark to pursue him for another fight, frown.
"Who are you?" The shirtless Clark hadn't put on his Kryptonian battle suit, and his black sweatpants were tattered from his previous fight with Lothar. But this did nothing to diminish the aura of the world's strongest hero.
"My name should be in your Kryptonian records."
"Darkseid."
Facing Superman, who stood in his path, Darkseid's expression remained utterly unchanged.
"Darkseid?"
Clark frowned. His intimidating presence, even without anger, was broadcast via the distant helicopter's TV signal, giving hope to the terrified humans below.
This was the meaning that Superman's face represented on this planet.
If Batman's fear-inducing presence radiated only from Gotham to its surrounding cities, then Superman, who once flew all over the world maintaining peace, symbolized hope and salvation.
Or rather, a hero.
A true hero of noble character.
Superman's appearance carried far more significance than the unfamiliar Lothar could ever compare to. Especially since Lothar had just been seen on TV fighting Superman in a cataclysmic battle.
"Hey, hurry up!"
"Quick!"
Seizing the moment while Clark and Darkseid confronted each other, Mera stealthily slipped into the battlefield. She patted Lois Lane's shoulder, urging her to follow.
"Who are you?"
"My name is Mera, current Queen of Atlantis." Mera led Lois Lane to cover, then cautiously peeked out again to observe the battle.
Superman, Clark, had already engaged Darkseid.
"???"
"I know you're confused, but trust me, I mean you no harm."
"I just want to get you out of the battlefield, so you don't get in their way."
Mera bluntly pointed out Lois Lane's "baggage" status, clutching the miniaturized Golden Trident and the Woz bracelet Lothar had given her. Her eyes nervously fixed on Lothar, who was still in the fight, ready to intervene at any moment.
She had only one chance, an unnoticed chance. This was what Woz had calculated for her.
"Decent power, but that's all it is."
Darkseid, shrugging off Superman's heat vision, brushed dust from his shoulder. With a single punch, he sent a slow-to-react Clark flying into the ruins next to Lothar.
Boom!!!
"Cough, cough..."
Clark shook his head, rising from the rubble, feeling momentarily dizzy.
All humans watching this scene through the televised broadcast fell silent.
Superman's arrival, it seemed, hadn't changed the tide of battle much.
"Get out of the way, don't block the path!"
Lothar's figure darted past Clark, aiming for the opening Darkseid had left after attacking Superman! His still-functional right arm suddenly spread open, and dazzling silver light bloomed like a flower.
Zzzt!
Darkseid turned and unleashed an Omega Beam onto Lothar's hand. Superman's heat vision, however, followed closely behind, striking Darkseid's back!
Boom!!!
Darkseid's body swayed three times. With a punch, he hurled the nearby Lothar like a weapon towards Clark's position!
"Your powers cannot harm me."
"Nor can you stop me from destroying this Earth."
As soon as he finished speaking, Darkseid chose to go on the offensive. His pincer-like arms firmly locked onto Lothar's and Clark's heads, slamming them hard onto the fractured ground!
Bang!
The cracked ground instantly shattered, forming two new, massive craters!
"Pfft..."
Kryptonian blood and Saiyan blood mingled under the dim sky. The two figures, rising again, straightened their backs and, as if by telepathy, attacked Darkseid in unison. No words were exchanged, yet their understanding was perfect.
"Naive."
An invisible energy field expanded outwards from Darkseid, and a force so powerful that no one could resist instantly swept Lothar and Clark to the ground.
"The games end here."
Darkseid walked step by step towards the fallen Lothar and Clark.
He threw a punch.
Unparalleled despair instantly welled up in Lothar's heart. Lothar, who had previously been able to exchange dozens of blows, now couldn't even withstand a single attack from Darkseid. That immense power instantly made Lothar feel the agony of his internal organs shifting.
'That guy... how is that possible...'
"Die."
Darkseid, having vented, wore a cold expression. He pointed his hands towards the two most powerful figures on the planet.
Omega Beams, several times more powerful than before, burst forth, instantly piercing through their chests and extinguishing their life forces... So fast that Mera, trident in hand, didn't even have a chance to react.
Whoosh!
Under invisible gravitational manipulation, Lothar's and Clark's bodies were hung by Darkseid on the bronze portal above Gotham. Their gruesome demise was broadcast through distant helicopter signals, visible to all humanity.
"The Kryptonian is dead! Your guardian god is dead!"
"Ignorant and backward Earthlings!"
"Your doomsday is coming!"
"Fear! Tremble, prostrate yourselves at the feet of the great Lord of Apokolips, Darkseid!"
Rumble!!!
Steppenwolf's voice, accompanied by thunder, instantly echoed across every corner of Earth.
Under the influence of the Mother Boxes' power, every landmass on Earth began to shift again.
Compression, collision, volcanic eruptions.
Surging waves and scorching magma instantly spread across the lands where humans lived, and overwhelming terror, like a virus, rapidly spread throughout the entire human race.
The Apokoliptian forces, like cats scenting fish, flapped their wings and flew off, drawn by the fear cultivated by Superman's death...
The darkest hour had arrived.
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