Hearing the commotion from the Owl Council hall, Eric looked up.
The council members, who had personally witnessed Mr. Parody's defeat, were already terrified by the power displayed by the so-called Homelander. They could no longer maintain their composure and rationality, abandoning their seats and fleeing in a panic.
Bang!
The air rippled as Eric activated his super speed, instantly moving into the Owl Council hall.
He clutched the neck of the bewildered Speaker with one hand.
"It seems the final victory in this game of hide-and-seek belongs to me."
Eric chuckled lightly, twisting his neck. A pair of eyes beneath his Owl mask glowed with a Weird crimson light.
"You... who exactly are you?"
The Speaker's neck was clutched, his face flushed red, as he strained to squeeze out a few words from his throat.
He had witnessed Eric's battle with Mr. Parody earlier. The visually impactful fight displayed by the two had made even him, usually composed, unable to maintain his calm.
"What a strange question."
Eric's grip on the other's neck tightened. "You claim to be the shadows of this city, to have created everything in this city, yet why haven't you even investigated my identity? Or perhaps, you are just a group of rats, all show and no substance, only pretending to be profound in the sewers?"
"I... please spare me!"
The Speaker, who had always been high and mighty, claiming to be a god, finally revealed his fear. "I... I will give you everything you want, fulfill your every wish."
"Sorry, I'm a bit tired of this game. If it were the Owls in Gotham, I might still have the interest to play with them, but it's your time to exit."
As soon as he finished speaking, a beam of crimson Heat Vision shot from his eyes.
The wide-set Heat Vision impacted the Speaker's eyes, and the high temperature instantly melted his eye sockets.
Releasing his hand, the Speaker's corpse fell heavily to the ground.
The fleeing council members, seeing the Speaker's gruesome state, shrieked in even greater terror.
A lady in an exquisite gown was screaming and running. The next second, she felt a sharp pain in her back and was slammed against the wall near a bench with a "bang," falling down and curling into a ball.
The council girl, who had once cruelly tortured enemies with the most vicious methods, had her chest directly pierced by Heat Vision. Her feet tripped, and she fell headfirst in front of an Owl statue.
She lay there silently, gasping for breath, her burning face buried in the ground. Tears of fear and unwillingness flowed out, as hot and heavy as the blood of those she had killed.
The lights above the council hall were also damaged, flickering a few times before going out with a "hiss."
A man in a black, exquisitely elegant suit was struck by a severed, live power cable. His consciousness instantly felt a dull impact, then his body began to convulse wildly, and he fell forward.
When Clark entered the Owl Council, he saw bodies strewn everywhere, flickering lights, crimson blood on the floor, and sparking wires.
"Eric."
Clark looked in shock at the expressionless Eric beside him. "You killed them?"
"A bunch of rats. They're dead, so what."
Eric removed the Owl mask he was wearing, casually threw it to the ground, and crushed it with his foot.
"You don't need to mourn them. Go mourn those they killed instead."
"But... but!"
Clark's emotions were filled with shock and incomprehension. "Even if they are villains, they should be handed over to the law for punishment."
"They are the law, Clark. Even the law cannot judge them."
Eric's gaze gradually turned cold. "The law also protects these rats who consider themselves the ruling class. If you want to play by their rules, then be prepared to be utterly crushed. So put away your useless sense of justice and compassion."
"Perhaps some of these people are innocent, not all of them are terrorists. You can't generalize."
Clark's tone was still one of incomprehension. "You shouldn't have done this, Eric."
"Innocent? Maybe, maybe not, but who cares?"
Eric's eyes shimmered with a calmness bordering on indifference. "There's a group of people who believe in the law of the jungle, survival of the fittest. So, we fight them in that way, not with laws and rules."
"I think—"
Clark was silent for a moment, then looked up, staring into Eric's eyes. "Eric, we are not gods; we don't have the right to judge. I would never elevate myself to a position where I can judge because of my power. More than anything, I feel fear. I fear my power will harm those around me. I fear my power will make this world afraid. Eric, I don't want you to become that kind of person."
"That's precisely our difference."
Eric turned and walked forward. "But there's one thing you said wrong: I don't consider myself a god, because I possess the weaknesses that everyone in this world has."
He walked to a wall and suddenly threw a punch.
The wall was blasted open by immense force, revealing a hidden space before him.
Eric stepped over the rubble and entered this secret lair of the Owl Council.
Inside the hidden space, various documents and materials were placed on the wall cabinets.
Countless skulls were held in glass cases, each labeled with a code and name, presumably trophies of the Owl Council.
In the center of the floor, a metal box with complex locks contained various precious metals, currencies cast from rare metal materials, and Owl statues made of gold.
All the wealth of the Metropolis Owl Council was presumably stored here.
"What... what is this?!"
As Eric was observing this hidden space, Clark walked in.
He looked astonished at the skulls in the glass case.
"Looks like some kind of trophy for them," Eric replied casually.
"..."
Clark walked to the glass case, his emotions complex as he stared at the skulls inside.
His gaze suddenly and unintentionally caught sight of an ancient book with a simple, antique design.
The cover of the ancient book was engraved with mysterious patterns but had no name; it lay quietly on the bottom shelf of the wall cabinet.
Driven by curiosity, Clark walked to the cabinet and picked up the mysterious book.
He gently turned the slightly heavy first page of the ancient book.
His consciousness suddenly felt a moment of disorientation.
Space was distorted, then plunged into darkness. When his vision returned to normal, he found himself in an unfamiliar place.
Amidst a ravaged land of ruins, he descended slowly from the sky, clad in a dark blue bodysuit and a flowing cape.
And Eric, dressed in a dark uniform, floated before him, holding a steel trident.
Impaled on the trident was a bald man with a ferocious face, dark skin, and eyes glowing crimson.
On the ground before the two stood several people in strange attire: one dressed as Batman, another a woman in red and gold armor with a winged crown...
The few people standing on the ground looked in shock at the steel trident in Eric's hand, their eyes filled with disbelief and astonishment.
"Darkseid is dead!" Eric slowly uttered a few words from mid-air.
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