Savitar was supremely confident in his speed.
The surging Speed Force rippled across his body, the very power that had once allowed him to crush countless other Speedsters—killing them at key moments in time.
"Die, Superman!"
His blinding velocity carried terrifying inertial force. Savitar was certain that even Superman's bones would shatter under a single punch.
From Savitar's perspective, the world seemed to come to a complete halt. Everything stood still—including Herman, floating in the sky, motionless and seemingly defenseless before his strike.
A surge of triumph rose within him.
What mortal god? He was the only true god!
Speed—speed was the ultimate power!
"The activity of his cells far surpasses that of Quicksilver in motion… I see now. The Speed Force is stimulating his cellular activity," Herman observed calmly to himself. "That's why his human brain can keep pace with his speed without burning out from overload."
In truth, to Herman's eyes, Savitar's speed wasn't exactly slow—but it was far from fast enough to catch him off guard. Even as Savitar charged toward him, Herman used his super vision to pierce through the metal shell of the Savitar armor, peering directly at the disfigured Barry Allen inside on a microscopic level.
By magnifying his vision, Herman could observe even at the nanoscale. He saw every cell within Barry Allen's body, each one coursing with a lightning-like energy that strengthened and protected his hyperactive cells.
"Speed Force… truly fascinating."
As that thought passed through his mind, Savitar appeared before him, his lightning-charged fist driving straight toward Herman's face.
"You really don't know not to hit someone in the face?"
Herman's gaze was calm and unshaken. He simply leaned his head back slightly, and Savitar's punch sliced through nothing but air.
"This… this can't be possible!"
Savitar hadn't anticipated his attack being dodged.
In his perception, the world had stopped—yet Herman hadn't frozen with it.
He was moving normally!
A jolt of alarm shot through Savitar's mind.
Does he have the Speed Force too?
No! There was no trace of the Speed Force's glow on him!
This was pure speed—raw, physical speed erupting from his body alone!
Realizing this sent a chill down Savitar's spine. The revelation struck him with a fear far greater than the idea of Herman wielding the Speed Force itself.
A man who wasn't a Speedster—who relied only on his physical reflexes—was keeping up with the fastest Speedster alive!?
If anyone had told Savitar such a thing before today, he would have laughed it off as absurd. But now, standing before this terrifying man, Savitar couldn't even smile.
Because it was real.
He had met someone who defied every rule of speed he knew.
"Not a Speedster... this—this is impossible!" Savitar shouted in disbelief, his pupils shrinking to needlepoints.
"Maybe I should teach you something," Herman said as he suddenly raised his hand, moving faster than Savitar could process. "Nothing is impossible."
They were both suspended at the same height in the air, but Savitar had nowhere to brace himself. He couldn't even dodge as Herman's hand shot forward and clamped around his arm.
When Savitar had leapt into the air earlier, he hadn't imagined Herman could react in time. His plan had been simple—if he couldn't kill him outright, he'd at least send Superman crashing from the sky.
But now—
"You were right about one thing," Herman said coldly as he caught the falling Savitar. "The skies of this Earth truly aren't big enough for two."
He raised his other hand, clenched it into a fist, and drove it straight into Savitar's head. The terrifying force ripped through the air, the sound echoing like thunder.
"Boom!"
Herman's fist slammed into the alloy plating of the Savitar armor. The impact sent a powerful shockwave bursting through the sky, momentarily clearing the rain from an entire section of the city.
"Boom!"
Savitar's body was hurled downward uncontrollably. The moment he struck the ground, he crashed into the concrete, forming a crater over ten meters wide.
It was like a meteorite impact—tremors rippled through the square as the earth shook violently. Scientists and onlookers screamed, scattering in all directions.
"Homelander's killing someone!"
"Damn it! Where's Dr. Barry Allen!?"
"What the hell is that metal monster?!"
Panic erupted across the plaza. None of them realized that the metallic creature—Savitar—was actually the missing Dr. Barry Allen himself.
He had donned the Savitar armor so quickly that, aside from Herman, not a single person present had been able to comprehend what had just happened.
"Noisy."
Herman didn't care whether the citizens saw him as some ruthless butcher. He just found their panicked screams unbearably loud.
With a thought, he unleashed the Raven's teleportation ability, instantly transporting the entire crowd to Boston's most famous lake—Walden Pond.
In the middle of winter... it would be great for their health. A cold dip should help cool down those hot-headed, hysterical civilians.
For a brief moment, Herman even felt quite considerate.
"Alright, just the two of us left now."
He continued to hover beneath the rain-shrouded night sky, his gaze fixed on the massive crater below. Inside, Savitar was stirring, slowly regaining consciousness from his brief blackout.
It had to be said—the alloy used in the Savitar armor was no ordinary material. Even after taking the full force of Herman's punch, it hadn't deformed in the slightest.
Savitar's brief unconsciousness was probably due to the armor's poor shock absorption, causing a mild concussion rather than any real damage.
"This... this is the power of a god among men…" Savitar muttered as he rose shakily to his feet, looking up through the rain at Herman, cloaked in black.
His heart churned violently, waves of dread washing through him. Savitar knew perfectly well—without the armor's protection, he would already be dead.
That man…
A being who could match a Speedster purely through physical reflexes alone. Staring up at Herman in the sky, Savitar felt an oppressive, suffocating pressure grip his chest.
"As far as I know... he's died before! And not just once!" Savitar tried to quell the fear gnawing at his mind.
He saw Herman as the parallel-world counterpart of Superman, Clark Kent. And in his mind, memories surfaced—of Superman dying countless times throughout history in his own universe.
"You're not truly invincible!"
Savitar roared, his body suddenly surging with arcs of crackling blue electricity. The dazzling glow illuminated the ground below like lightning in a storm.
Normally, his Speed Force appeared yellow—similar to Reverse-Flash's—but once amplified by the Savitar armor, it turned a brilliant blue, the color of ultimate speed.
"I am the strongest! Speed is the only truth!"
Savitar's movements blurred as he began racing across the ground, his velocity rising with every step as he built up immense momentum.
Then, when he'd gathered enough speed, he leapt skyward once again, launching a second assault toward Herman with terrifying force.
His speed was staggering.
The air itself rippled violently, pushed aside in shockwaves as he tore upward.
In an instant, Savitar closed the mere dozens of meters separating him from Herman. Blue lightning flared wildly around his fist, condensing into a brilliant, crackling core.
"To you... I am your equal!"
Divine light flickered within Herman's eyes as he calmly unleashed his Divine Fire Ray.
The next moment, the blazing beam of divine energy erupted, flooding the night sky with blinding light as it struck Savitar head-on, engulfing his towering armored form completely.