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After several months of comfortable, peaceful existence, the three former World Government agents had gradually relaxed their vigilance. The constant state of alertness that had defined their lives as intelligence operatives slowly faded, replaced by something almost resembling normalcy.
Ada Wong particularly loved their current refuge. Here, there was no fighting, no killing, no political maneuvering or assassination assignments. Just quiet days spent working wood and building things with her own hands, feeling the sun on her face without constantly watching for threats.
This unknown island in the vast ocean had not been touched by the Rumbling—it had escaped Eren's apocalyptic march through sheer geographical luck. The inhabitants lived a semi-isolated existence, maintaining minimal contact with the outside world. More importantly, this island did not appear in any World Government records or navigation charts. It was probably new land that had emerged from volcanic activity in recent years, rising from the seafloor to create a refuge that existed outside the government's vast surveillance network.
Living in seclusion here was ideal for survival, for disappearing completely from the political landscape.
After Ada regained her true memories she found herself drowning in regret. She regretted working for the World Government during the first half of her life, regretted every mission she'd completed in their service. The painful memories of Flevance made it impossible for the woman to forgive what the government had done to her hometown, to her people.
But the most unforgivable crime, the one that haunted her every waking moment, was that their actions had separated her from her brother Eren.
The guilt was overwhelming. Out of shame, out of a desperate need to hide from her own failures, Ada had chosen to remain here in isolation. She didn't want to see anyone from her past life, and especially not Eren. She couldn't bear to face him. As long as she saw his face, she would recall that terrible night—the massacre in Flevance, the screams, the smell of burning bodies, the Marines methodically exterminating survivors.
The woman had been having nightmares for the past several months, the same terrible scenes playing out again and again in her sleeping mind. Her hometown's destruction repeated in an endless loop, each iteration as vivid and agonizing as the first.
However, one night, all the peaceful life she'd built was completely destroyed in an instant.
Ada had not expected that she would bring such disaster to this innocent island. If this woman had never come here, if she'd chosen literally anywhere else to hide, no one else on this island would have died. The guilt would be hers to carry forever.
Flames erupted without warning, rising into the sky and setting the entire island ablaze. The fire spread with unnatural speed, consuming wooden structures and vegetation with voracious hunger. Sensing a powerful enemy approaching—feeling the overwhelming presence through her Devil Fruit abilities—Lucci and Kaku immediately prepared for battle. They positioned themselves protectively in front of Ada, their bodies tensing for combat.
The three of them did not have nearly enough time to attempt putting out the spreading inferno.
Under the illumination of the sea of fire, bathed in flickering orange and red light, a blond man descended slowly from the sky. He wore a skintight blue combat suit that seemed to shimmer in the firelight, and the flag of the World Government was emblazoned prominently on his back—a symbol of absolute authority.
The uninvited guest extended one hand in Ada's direction, his face lit with a warm, welcoming smile that somehow made the gesture more threatening rather than less. "Ada, come back with me." His voice was pleasant, almost friendly. "The World Government needs you. The Celestial Dragons need you."
Character Note:
War Weapon Seraph (Superhuman)
Homelander
The moment Ada saw this particular man descending from the sky, she felt hope drain from her body like water through a sieve. She had expected the worst possible scenario, but somehow reality managed to exceed even her darkest imaginings.
The woman had not expected that the Five Elders would deploy their strongest Seraph to retrieve her. This was overkill of the highest order—using a weapon designed to fight Emperors against a single fugitive agent. In truth, Ada had completely abandoned any thought of resistance the moment she recognized who had come for her.
There was no point. Fighting would only lead to more deaths.
The woman pushed forcefully at the two men blocking her path, trying to move them aside with her own hands. "Ada, don't!" Lucci growled, but she ignored him. She didn't want any more casualties today, couldn't bear the thought of their blood on her hands. If she went with Homelander voluntarily, if she surrendered without resistance, it might save Lucci and Kaku's lives.
Rob Lucci, having transformed into his hybrid form—a terrifying leopard-human fusion with spotted fur and enhanced musculature—grabbed Ada's arm with clawed fingers. His grip was firm but not painful, restraining rather than hurting. "Even if the opponent is a new generation Seraph, I have the strength to fight." His voice carried absolute conviction. "Believe me."
Lucci had not yet realized the true severity of their situation. The first-generation Seraphs had been powerful, certainly—capable of exerting strength roughly equivalent to the Shichibukai at minimum. Now that the second generation had undergone a complete iteration in capabilities, their power had increased exponentially. But Lucci believed, with the confidence born from years of being CP0's strongest operative, that he still possessed the strength to fight back.
He was wrong.
Homelander retracted the warm smile from his face, replacing it with an expression of mocking sarcasm. "Ada, since they want to do this..." His eyes gleamed with anticipation. "Don't blame me for what happens next."
Kaku, the giraffe-man, took the initiative. He relied on the Marine's Rokushiki (Six Powers) to explosively close the distance with their enemy, his hybrid form granting him both reach and speed. "I've fought Seraphs before!" he shouted as he attacked. "You androids aren't human after all, and human potential is unlimited!"
Two devastating punches connected with Homelander's chest—strikes that contained all of Kaku's concentrated mastery of the Six Powers' secret techniques combined with Armament Haki refined through years of dedicated practice. These were blows that could shatter stone, that could crack steel.
They accomplished nothing.
Not only did the attacks fail to cause any visible damage to Homelander's body, but the recoil shattered both of Kaku's arms. Bones splintered audibly, the sound sharp and terrible in the night air. The CP0 agent stumbled backward, his face contorting in agony as his shattered limbs hung uselessly at his sides.
Armament Haki—the power known throughout the world for its offensive and defensive properties, capable of bypassing Devil Fruit intangibility and hardening flesh beyond steel—had neither saved Kaku's arms from destruction nor caused even the slightest trouble to Homelander.
The Seraph casually flicked a speck of dust from his blue suit, his expression one of complete disdain. "That was painless," he said, his tone almost bored. "Try practicing more in your next life."
Red light began to build within Homelander's eyes—a brilliant, terrible glow that intensified with each passing second. Two devastating laser beams erupted from his pupils, cutting through the air with surgical precision.
Kaku wrapped his entire body with Armament Haki in a desperate last defense, coating himself in the black manifestation of willpower. The protection lasted less than one second. The red beams passed through the Haki as though it were tissue paper, then easily pierced straight through the giraffe-man's brain.
The terrifying heat that accompanied the lasers not only ended Kaku's life instantly but continued traveling past the corpse toward the position behind him. Lucci grabbed Ada and dodged at the last possible moment, both of them rolling aside as the beams destroyed the modest wooden house they had built together over months of labor. Fire erupted immediately from the ruins of their small home, adding to the conflagration consuming the island.
Homelander's purpose in coming here was to retrieve a living person, not to commit unnecessary slaughter. He deactivated his heat vision and extended an inviting hand toward Ada once more. "I don't want to be rough with you." His smile returned, warm and threatening in equal measure. "This is your last chance."
The parasitic queen insect residing within Ada's body sensed the death of its offspring—the parasite that had been living within Kaku's nervous system. The connection severed like a cut string, and Ada's face filled with profound sadness. She knew with absolute certainty that Kaku was dead forever, that the optimistic giraffe-man who had made jokes even in the darkest times would never return.
It was all her fault for running, for thinking she could escape.
The woman tried to break free from Lucci's protective grasp, struggling against his clawed grip. But the stubborn man refused to release her, refused to let her sacrifice herself. He wanted to try once more, wanted to stake his life on one final technique just as Kaku had done. "Let me attempt Midnight Haki once." His voice was desperate, almost pleading. "I don't believe that Kaido's power can't defeat him."
Lucci wanted to deploy his ultimate trump card, but Ada knew with crushing certainty that Homelander had not even used ten percent of his true strength yet. Her friend had absolutely no ability to resist this god made flesh. They couldn't even harm a single hair on his head.
The second-generation Seraph designated Homelander was an artificial god jointly created by Saturn—Saint Jaygarcia Saturn of the Five Elders—and the world's greatest scientist, Dr. Vegapunk. He possessed developmental potential similar to that of the Four Emperors—comparable to Kaido himself, to Joyboy of the current era.
"There is almost no one in this world who can defeat him." Ada's voice was hollow, defeated. "Lucci, you don't have to face an unbeatable opponent. There's no shame in admitting when something is impossible."
Relying on the unique characteristics of her Mushi Mushi no Mi, Model: Plaga Parasite, Ada had been forced to participate in the development of the subsequent Seraph Project during her time as a World Government agent. The woman fully understood all of Homelander's capabilities, knew his strengths and his weaknesses—though the latter were frustratingly few.
Some of his genetic material had even been derived from her own DNA, extracted and incorporated into his creation. If genetics mattered, if bloodlines meant anything, the two of them could be considered mother and son. But Ada would never acknowledge having such a fully-grown "child," would never claim that relationship.
Why was Homelander called a superhuman? Because this artificial being had surpassed the scope of human limitations entirely, had exceeded baseline humanity in every conceivable aspect. There was a fundamental difference between creating an artificial human and creating an artificial god.
Homelander's skin possessed characteristics derived from Joyboy's unique physiology—it could automatically absorb energy emitted by the sun, using solar radiation to infinitely enhance his physical capabilities and infinitely repair any damage to his body. Like Kaido, he was functionally immortal through regeneration alone.
His other abilities formed an overwhelming arsenal: super strength capable of lifting unfathomable weights, super vision including X-ray perception that could see through solid matter, super hearing that could detect heartbeats from miles away, laser eyes with the ability to control their temperature at will up to near the core temperature of the sun itself, a body of steel that rendered most conventional weapons useless, super healing ability that could recover from catastrophic injuries in moments, super speed including sustained flight that could break the sound barrier, freezing breath that could create ice from exhaled air—
Homelander was the culmination of research into dozens of Devil Fruit abilities, a synthesis of the world's most powerful supernatural phenomena compressed into a single artificial being. He was a god on earth, created specifically by the Celestial Dragons to protect themselves from any conceivable threat.
After hearing what his beloved woman said, after understanding the true scope of what they faced, Lucci stood frozen in fear. His leopard form's muscles trembled involuntarily, and for the first time in his life, the assassin felt genuine terror.
Ada took advantage of his momentary paralysis to break free from his clawed grip. She walked toward Homelander with heavy, defeated steps, each footfall feeling like a death march.
Facing the godlike man before her, Homelander continued to smile warmly at Ada. Then, with movements as gentle as a true gentleman's, he carefully lifted the woman into his arms in a princess carry. In Lucci's horrified eyes, the pair slowly began to rise into the night sky.
The flag of the World Government fluttered dramatically in the wind behind Homelander as they ascended. After hovering at an altitude of one hundred meters for several seconds—perhaps giving Lucci time to fully appreciate his helplessness—Homelander suddenly accelerated.
The sonic boom was instantaneous and terrifying, a thunderclap of displaced air that shattered windows across the island. Within a single breath, both figures had vanished completely from Lucci's sight, leaving only a dissipating trail of disturbed air in their wake.
The leopard-man who had lost everything—his partner, his charge, his pride—collapsed to his knees on the scorched earth. Under the illumination of the sea of fire consuming the island behind him, surrounded by the ruins of everything they'd built, the once-proud assassin could only pound his fists uselessly against the ground.
Again and again and again, his claws tearing into dirt and stone until they bled.
The weak did not even possess the qualifications to protect the strong. This was the fundamental law of the world, and Lucci had just learned it in the cruelest way possible.
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