"Crystal Wall!"
Boom.
Kid's technique was shattered with a single punch. Now the Kryptonian old man had gained unstoppable power. The Crystal Wall broke apart, and the old man's powerful fist shot straight for Kid's face.
"You'll never understand," the old man said. His punch moved like a meteor, slamming Liu A'dou and sending him flying far into the distance.
He crashed through a solid wall—proof of how terrifyingly strong the Kryptonian elder was, far beyond even Superman. But Kid didn't know that the sun essence was just an experimental compound. The energy his cells now produced was damaging him faster than his own healing could keep up with. Death was inevitable.
Yet the old man was determined to defeat anyone who stood in the way of Krypton's revival. "Die!" he roared, catching up to the still-airborne Liu A'dou and pounding him with punch after punch, mercilessly.
The old man was too fast. His movements seemed to break free of space itself. His golden eyes reminded Kid of the transcendent golden Superman.
'What the hell did this old guy inject?' Kid felt like countless TNT charges were going off all around him, tossing him back and forth uncontrollably. Every muscle, every bone, every single cell felt like it was being torn apart by explosions.
He was too strong. Even if he wasn't literally a golden Superman, each of his punches carried the power to destroy everything down to the subatomic level.
Thud!
Liu A'dou felt his whole body go light. The darkness closed in around him—it was space. He'd been knocked out of the atmosphere.
'Don't think I'll hold back just because you're old,' Kid thought. He steadied himself, eyes wide, and thrust both hands forward. "Five Senses Deprivation!"
But another punch slammed into his gut before it could activate. Five Senses Deprivation had failed. The old man's senses had long since evolved beyond normal perception. His eyes could see the electromagnetic spectrum and pulse signals. Atoms looked like shifting clouds he could observe directly. He could even see the constant dance of gravity, time, and matter itself—like he could reach out and rewrite the rules of the universe.
The sun essence gave the old man the power to perceive the true nature of everything before he died—a world even Superman couldn't see. He would use this power to protect General Zod and complete Earth's transformation.
The man before him had to disappear first. The old man pushed Kid's chest hard, sending him hurtling back toward Earth's atmosphere.
Friction burned away Kid's cape, but his entire body was shielded by his microcosmos. He hadn't expected that just after mastering the ultimate microcosmos, he'd face such a terrifying foe. Closing his eyes, he felt every cell in his body roar with excitement. This was the worthy opponent he'd been waiting for. 'Burn, microcosmos. Burn, fighting spirit.'
The power of the expanding universe, the force of everything condensed into his two hands. Kid's whole body turned red-hot as he struck back.
Whoosh—
An invisible force twisted matter itself, blasting up through the atmosphere and hitting the Kryptonian elder. The old man shuddered violently, overtaken by an indescribable sensation—his soul felt like it was being torn apart, the gravity binding his cells canceled, each one crushed by an overwhelming force.
Aaaah! The pain was excruciating. Even the old man couldn't bear it. His mouth opened wide, letting out a silent counterattack. A combined beam of heat vision shot from his eyes, piercing back through the atmosphere, striking Kid and forcing him to plummet even faster.
His speed kept climbing. The temperature kept rising. Kid's chest felt like it was glowing like the sun itself. But now he could simulate the sun's heat. He could take it.
The problem was, the old man was chasing him down. There was no choice—the fight had to continue.
The old man moved faster than light. Liu A'dou didn't back down. He rushed forward, meeting the old man's fists head-on. Boom, boom, boom—
The air felt like boiling water, churning wildly. Colors in the sky twisted and changed, lightning flashed, and thunder crashed as they clashed.
"Your ambitions will never come true," Liu A'dou shouted. He had no idea how long this battle would drag on. He needed another way to end it.
"How dare a puny human speak so boldly?" the old man spat. "When we had our own civilization, your kind was still swinging from trees like monkeys."
"I know everything about Krypton. I know why you went extinct. Even your so-called proud technology is nothing but a speck of dust in the universe. Without the yellow sun of this solar system, you Kryptonian refugees wouldn't have the power to invade at all. You're nothing but doomed remnants—apocalyptic refugees. Krypton was destroyed by your own hands, and no amount of struggle will change that fact, you stubborn old fossil!"
Boom—
Kid unleashed his Light Speed Punch. Ratatatata—countless fists rained down on the old man. His mastery of the ultimate microcosmos let him use the Light Speed Punch perfectly.
The old man saw the barrage coming but there were too many strikes to dodge. His skin cracked like dry bark. Golden light burst from every fracture, like another sun was shining beneath his skin.
This really was the sign of a golden Superman in the making. If he could survive this hardest moment, he might be reborn as one.
"Argh!" Using power he couldn't control, the old man writhed in agony. But worse than the pain was Liu A'dou's words—they cut deep. "You primitive human! What do you know? Have you ever watched your own children, your family, your friends die right before your eyes, powerless to do anything?" he yelled, swinging another punch. Kid dodged easily.
Kid smirked. "No, and I don't want to. That's why I'll stop you. You're just spreading more tragedy. You watched Krypton fall apart, but I won't stand by and watch Earth become a colony for Kryptonian refugees. Sorry, but I'm going to kill you."
"Ha! I'm stronger than your Superman now. What makes you think you can kill me?" the old man laughed, golden light flooding from the cracks in his face. He knew he was doomed, but he had to kill this dangerous Earthling first. He could see the universe's power inside Liu A'dou. All the phenomena of existence seemed to swirl in Kid's body, power on par with his own—that terrified him. "Human, you must die."
'So stubborn and arrogant.' Kid clenched his fists. He'd been holding back because killing this enemy would be inevitable, but now it was clear he had no choice. "Since we stand for different futures, let's fight for our races with everything we have. Life or death—it doesn't matter."
"Fine!" the old man roared. To die for Krypton—he would die with no regrets.
They flew at each other at once. The charged particles in the air trembled violently. Lightning and thunder erupted, turning the sky into the grandest battlefield imaginable. Both unleashed their full power.
Crack—
A lightning bolt as thick as a barrel struck the ground, annihilating everything it touched. For hundreds of miles, humans felt a chill crawl up their spines.
But even after the lightning struck, the brightness didn't fade. People looked up and saw new light in the sky, warm and comforting like sunlight. It wrapped around the battlefield, hiding the brutal clash from the world below. No one could see the desperate old man fighting for his dead world, or the relentless Kaitou Kid fighting to protect Earth.
Only those two warriors on the battlefield could feel each other's unwavering resolve and fierce strength, holding nothing back, fighting to the death.