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As Homelander's tragic declaration fell, the scene in space seemed to be put on slow motion.
Under Friday's precise lens capture, the figure suspended before the cosmic abyss was undergoing heartbreaking changes.
His originally golden, dazzling hair was visibly losing its luster.
Starting from the roots, it was gradually dyed with withered gray.
His handsome face, always brimming with confidence and composure, was rapidly losing color, his cheeks thinning, and his eye sockets sinking.
As if every drop of life essence within him was being madly burned as fuel.
This withering was visually striking.
Like a sunflower blooming to its peak, withering in an instant, just to release one last glow to illuminate the darkness.
Inside the command hall of V.G.D. Headquarters.
Jessica tightly covered her mouth with both hands. She tried to hold back her sobs, but the tears wouldn't stop.
"No... don't do this..." she choked, her voice broken beyond recognition, "Bastard... you don't need to go this far..."
"Stop... please, stop..." Wanda had long knelt on the ground, weeping uncontrollably, "Liar... you said you'd come back..."
Missouri frontline.
"My god..." Natasha exclaimed in shock. She had witnessed death countless times, but never seen a person wither so rapidly, "What is he doing? Is he burning his own life?"
"It must be... some kind of forbidden power." Steve Rogers clenched his fists tightly, "To fight against that level of existence, he's overdrafting his future... his life."
This scene was transmitted without delay to every corner of Earth through quantum signals.
No words could describe the shock and grief people felt at this moment.
That always glamorous Homelander, to protect them, was turning himself into ashes.
In bars, the sound of shattering glasses echoed one after another. In squares, people embraced and wept.
"He's burning his life..."
A veteran took off his hat, trembling as he pressed his hand to his chest.
"Wah wah wah! I can't bear to watch! He's aging! He's dying!"
"For us... for everyone..."
Alert! Gained popularity value +890,222!
Alert! Gained popularity value +954,110!
Alert! Gained popularity value +1,012,455!
Alert! Gained popularity... the surging data stream scrolled wildly in Homelander's mind, the jumping numbers seemingly more dazzling than Ego's taunts.
"This effect... is outstanding."
While maintaining that "painful yet resolute" expression, Homelander whistled inwardly, genuinely admiring his own directorial talent.
It must be said, the Reality Stone is truly a tool for showing off.
This visual effect of life fading, even if Sorcerer Ancient One stood here, probably couldn't spot any flaws.
"Look at this gray hair, these sunken cheekbones, and these fine dry cracks on the skin... Oscar owes me a Best Visual Effects award." Homelander thought proudly.
"Alright, the foreplay is done." Homelander's gaze began to sharpen.
After all, special effects are special effects, but the big guy charging up in front is the real deal.
That terrifying oppressive feeling made his Spider-Sense keep warning him frantically!
Now, it's time for the real deal.
"System..." Homelander coldly ordered in his mind, "Activate, Injustice Mode!"
"System Alert: Detected host's intent to activate 'Injustice Mode'. This mode will enhance host's overall combat attributes by continuously burning popularity value. Please confirm the popularity value burning rate per minute."
"Let's start with an appetizer." Homelander looked at the ferocious planetary head before him, thinking silently, "100,000 per minute."
"System Alert: Command confirmed. Injustice Mode activated."
"System Alert: 'Injustice Mode' is exclusive. Detected current 'Team Assembly' and 'Thunder Bond' statuses... 'Team Assembly' aura forcibly stripped. 'Thunder Bond' link severed."
"Damn, quite domineering." Homelander slightly pursed his lips.
But as the thunderous power surrounding him dissipated, a purer force surged from deep within his body.
Under the lens capture, Homelander's red-and-blue star-spangled battle suit seemed soaked in ink.
The originally vibrant colors turned into deep midnight black, while the golden eagle emblem on his chest became grayish-white.
Pale hair, withered face paired with pitch-black battle suit.
A black-cloaked Homelander appeared before the lens.
And Friday, true to its advanced artificial intelligence, controlled "Homelander One" to slowly adjust angles, using extremely professional cinematic framing techniques to convey this tragic sense of 'hero in twilight, facing death to live' through the screen, striking heavily on every viewer's heart.
"Huff..."
"Is this the power of 100,000 popularity per minute?"
Homelander clenched his fist, feeling the surging power within. Indeed stronger, twice as strong as the previous thunder form.
"Buzz—! Buzz—! Buzz—!"
But his Spider-Sense didn't weaken with the increased power; instead, it continued to disturb his nerves like an air raid alarm.
"Seems not enough..."
Homelander looked at Ego ahead, the charging nearing critical point. That destructive fluctuation, just the overflowing energy, caused cracks in the surrounding space.
"System! Adjust rate!"
Homelander gritted his teeth, roaring in his mind.
"200,000!"
Power surged again, dark red energy patterns began to appear on the surface of the black battle suit.
Spider-Sense still warning.
"400,000!"
"800,000!"
"1,000,000!!"
Terrifying energy waves erupted from Homelander as the center.
But still not enough. That heart-palpitating feeling told him if he fought at this intensity, he'd lose, he'd die.
Homelander gritted his teeth, looking at his massive popularity value stockpile.
Though it hurt, winning beautifully was more important. And today's income was already astronomical, enough for him to splurge.
"2,000,000 points per minute!!"
Boom——————!!!
At this moment, Homelander felt like several exploding supernovae had been stuffed into his body.
Terrifying energy fluctuations overflowed from within him, even distorting the vacuum around him.
Finally... that annoying Spider-Sense alarm instantly quieted down.
"That's more like it."
Homelander slowly raised his head, his eyes glowing with dazzling crimson light. The light overflowed from his eye sockets, pulling out two twisted trails of flame on both cheeks, like burning tear marks.
And now, from the giant mouth spanning thousands of kilometers on Ego the Living Planet, the energy had also accumulated to critical point.
"Die! You insignificant bug!!" Ego roared madly in his mind.
"Boom—!!!"
A dark blue high-energy particle beam over a hundred kilometers in diameter erupted from Ego the Living Planet!