That highly entertaining battlefield in the distant sky showed no sign of needing a Kryptonite spear at all.
The sight made Bruce grip the spear in his hands even tighter.
He could feel the power of Kryptonians, and his estimation of them kept climbing.
Clark alone was already outrageous; Bruce had thought even Clark had limits, that Doomsday wasn't something he could handle alone.
And then a great-grandfather just popped out of nowhere!!!
When General Zod of Krypton attacked Earth a few months ago, hadn't he said there was only one Kryptonian on Earth named Kal-El?
So where the hell did this great-grandfather come from?!?
Superman, oh Superman, is your whole damn family touring Earth as a vacation group?!?
Are we gonna get Superman's uncles and aunties and little brothers and sisters next?!?
Bruce let out a deep sigh.
Thank god he still had the Kryptonite spear to keep them in check!
Thinking that, Bruce immediately sped up his dash toward the battlefield. Even if Kal-El and his great-grandfather were threats to Earth, Doomsday was still the bigger threat.
And besides, if that great-grandfather really had killed Odin, didn't that mean he'd been living on Earth for over ten thousand years?
He'd already been on Earth since the Age of Gods?
That thought eased Bruce's worries quite a bit—after all, Earth hadn't been destroyed over the past ten thousand years under that great-grandfather.
But then a thought struck him.
Kryptonians can live over ten thousand years?!?
He stumbled violently mid-run and nearly face-planted into the ground.
He absolutely refused to admit it was because his mind was shaken—it was all because the tremors from Doomsday getting beaten were too intense!
Diana, who hadn't taken part in the kickball game, spotted Bruce quickly. She saw his pathetically slow running speed and immediately sprinted toward him.
When Diana reached him, Bruce handed the spear straight to her.
"Be careful. Don't hurt those two Kryptonians!"
He warned, which made Diana pause for a moment.
She nodded and, at the same time, teased him softly.
"Who knew Batman could actually be considerate!"
"Batman certainly isn't considerate, but occasionally I'm Bruce Wayne!" Bruce said.
He'd met Diana as Bruce Wayne long ago, and smart as he was, he'd long known she recognized him.
So he rarely bothered hiding his identity around her or Clark.
And his words had exactly the effect he wanted. Once he said them, Diana's approval of him grew a little more, just as expected.
So Diana gave Bruce a heavy nod.
"You be careful too. You're way too weak, after all!"
The moment she finished, she turned and leaped away, and the kick-off from her departure sent up sand and gravel that nearly blew Bruce flying backward.
Once he steadied himself, Bruce couldn't help but pat his armor.
These superhuman types had physical strength that was just insane!
Watching Diana charge toward Doomsday in the distance, and then watching Clark and the great-grandfather constantly tangling in the sky above, Bruce frowned imperceptibly.
They really were on humanity's side, but the world had far more superhumans than just them.
What if more powerful beings stood against humanity?
Or what if one day, even they themselves stood against humanity?
Bruce pressed his lips together and pulled out the Kryptonite grenade launcher strapped behind him.
Then he turned toward the battlefield and charged with absolute resolve.
If one day, all you powerhouses stand against humanity, then there must always be a Don Quixote charging at you!
I may never become one of you, but I can be humanity's Knight of the Windmill!
Always!
…
Off to the side, Diana, spear in hand, leaped straight toward Doomsday tangled in the melee.
At the same time, she shouted a warning to Clark and Heisenberg.
"Sun God, watch out for the Kryptonite!
Leave the monster to me!!!"
Wait—did she warn Clark?
Regardless, the moment she shouted, Clark instantly kicked Doomsday flying toward her.
Doomsday, his body radiating limitless energy, hurtled straight at Diana.
And Clark seized the chance to fly backward over several hundred meters. If it wasn't absolutely necessary, he really didn't want to experience the agony of powerlessness again.
But once he pulled back, he stared in shock toward his great-grandfather in the distance!
Heisenberg hadn't pulled out of the fray like him. Instead, he charged straight toward Diana and the Kryptonite spear in her hand!
Diana and Doomsday were about to collide in the blink of an eye, and right at that hair's breadth, Heisenberg arrived!
Clark watched as Heisenberg's left hand reached out toward Diana's Kryptonite spear, while his right hand stretched toward the bone spike Doomsday had raised high!
Seeing that scene, Clark could already picture Heisenberg suddenly going limp, then getting impaled by Diana and Doomsday at the same time!
In an instant, boundless terror and guilt flooded Clark.
"Dammit, did I not tell Great-Grandfather what Kryptonite looks like?!?"
He let out a roar, surging forward with all his might toward Heisenberg, but no matter how fast he was, he couldn't be faster than Heisenberg, who was still a shade faster than him.
Before his grief-stricken eyes, Heisenberg finally collided with Diana and Doomsday!
"Great-Grandfather!!!"
Amid Clark's anguished cry, Heisenberg's right hand grabbed Doomsday's bone spike and held it tight!
THUD!!!
A muffled impact rang out, and Heisenberg's upper body snapped backward uncontrollably.
Even though Doomsday had been born less than half an hour ago, it wasn't something an ordinary Kryptonian could deal with. Even Heisenberg, who possessed Rao's bloodline and the mantle of the Sun God, was only slightly stronger in raw power!
And as Heisenberg's upper body lurched back, his left hand actually seized the Kryptonite spear Diana was thrusting forward, gripping it tight!
BOOM!!!
The spear in her grasp suddenly stopped dead, and Diana didn't even have time to be shocked before she slammed into Heisenberg with a thud.
Down on the ground, because everyone was moving too fast, Batman couldn't make out the details of Heisenberg wedging himself into the fight.
By the time he finally saw clearly, a violent shockwave had already rippled outward in the air, centered on Heisenberg.
Bruce raised his arms to block the dust kicked up by the shockwave, but nothing could block the shock in his heart.
Why, when the Kryptonite spear was clearly drawn, did the man claiming to be a Kryptonian great-grandfather simply take it head-on?
Bruce genuinely felt like he'd run into a cheater. Playing a round of Dou Dizhu, and here he was, a peasant player holding a joker, yet the landlord could still play a rocket?!?
Are you sure you're a proper Kryptonian?!?
Even more shocked than Bruce was Clark in the distance. No one knew better than him what Kryptonite did to him!
But his own great-grandfather…?
Clark's eyes suddenly widened, his super vision rapidly scanning his great-grandfather's body.
At the same time, Heisenberg, sensitive to the scrutiny, turned his head and glanced at Clark, whose eyes were burning bright.
The next instant, Heisenberg shifted his force field, directly wrapping Diana up and sending her far away.
Clark, you little brat, not learning anything good, what the hell are you staring at?!?
But because Heisenberg didn't cloak himself in the force field, Clark once again confirmed the relationship between himself and Heisenberg.
He really was a Kryptonian, and indeed his elder, but how the hell was he immune to Kryptonite?
While Clark stood bewildered, Heisenberg casually punched away Doomsday, who had been trying to hammer his chest, sending the monster flying.
At the same time, he shook the Kryptonite spear in his left hand and laughed heartily at Clark, who was flying toward him.
"So this is the Kryptonian weakness you told me about?
This is the Kryptonite spear?!?"
Saying that, Heisenberg simply began twirling the Kryptonite spear.
"You little brat, your great-grandfather is going to teach you a lesson today: everything you think is a Kryptonian weakness is only because you believe it's your weakness!!!"
Heisenberg abruptly stabbed the Kryptonite toward his own palm. After a violent impact, his hand showed not a single scratch.
And Heisenberg continued.
"But once you believe you have a weakness, then you truly do have one. Do you understand what I'm saying, you little punk?"
"I…?!?"
Clark was utterly dumbfounded. He almost seemed to grasp his great-grandfather's meaning.
So he flew at top speed toward Heisenberg, and in the blink of an eye—
THUD!!!
The moment he got within a certain distance, his whole body went limp with powerlessness and he crashed right into Heisenberg.
As Heisenberg grabbed him by the cape and lifted him up once again, Clark looked up innocently.
"Great-Grandfather!!!"
His body completely drained, he asked Heisenberg.
"Are you sure Kryptonite really isn't a Kryptonian weakness?"
Hearing Clark's words, Heisenberg immediately laughed.
"Kryptonite certainly isn't my weakness. But there are two things that make me very happy.
First, you've finally started calling me Great-Grandfather, boy!
As for the second…"
He continued, "I seem to have discovered the true purpose of that cape of yours!"
As he spoke, Heisenberg dangled the power-drained Clark and gave him a shake, making Clark gulp hard.
He wished he could dig a hole and bury himself in it!
No, no need to dig—free-falling headfirst from twenty thousand meters into the dirt would also be an excellent choice!
He'd never imagined that one day he'd be treated like a toy and a child by someone!!!
But when he thought about how the one teasing him was his kin, his elder, his great-grandfather who shared his blood and genetic heritage, a strange, indescribable feeling welled up inside Clark.
That feeling kept gathering until it condensed into a single short realization.
It seemed he was no longer alone.
As for Heisenberg,
after giving the red cape and Clark a few shakes, he tossed the young man into the air.
Using his force field, he held Clark suspended beside him.
Then, Heisenberg raised the spear in his hand toward Clark and pointed at Doomsday, who was getting back to its feet, speaking with grim severity.
"That is Doomsday. It is an out-and-out monster created by the Kryptonian Science Council eighteen thousand years ago through a wrong experiment, an experiment that should never have happened!!!
It is the reason I awoke from my long slumber, and it is the purpose for which I exist in this world.
That mistake was created by countless past generations of Krypton, and it should naturally be ended by this generation!"
After saying that, Heisenberg controlled his force field to send Clark over to Batman.
Then, without drawing any attention, he tucked the Kryptonite spear into his armor plates.
Next, he stretched both hands out to his sides.
The magma on his bracers immediately flowed out, forming chains in his palms, and at the ends of those chains appeared two fiery-red battle blades!
Heisenberg gave the blades a shake, and the chains sent the blades dancing, weaving a razor-sharp net of death around him.
"Watch your grandpa slay that damned monster for you!!!"
BOOM!!!
In that split second, the Heisenberg in Clark's eyes streaked forward like the sun itself. His Chaos Blades, forged from divine metal, tore through Doomsday's hide effortlessly, sending the monster howling and spraying blood everywhere!
Batman stared in shock at that spinning sun, while at the same time instinctively catching Clark in a princess carry.
Diana leaped to their side, gazing with deep yearning at the wildly unrestrained Sun God in the distance.
Just as the Heisenberg in Clark's eyes blazed ever more brilliantly, Diana's voice reached his ears.
"I'm so envious that you have a grandfather like that!!!"
"Right, having an elder like that really is reassuring!"
Bruce added, while looking down at the Clark in his arms.
In that instant, both he and the Clark in his arms, who was looking right back at him, froze in unison.
Moments later…
Bruce: (╯°Д°)╯︵
Clark: (#-_-)～～
And Diana…
That bold, spirited demigoddess had no time to watch the love-hate drama between Superman and Batman. She was long since utterly captivated by Heisenberg in the thick of slaughter.
Her voice rang out, filled with absolute certainty and longing, as she praised him to Clark.
"Your grandfather is the strongest god I've ever seen in my life, and the one most worthy of the title of god!
He is practically a second sun!"
/-\
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