Starting from scratch, Batman crushed my dream of getting rich

Chapter 593 The Death of Homelander

At Walter's sanatorium, the "final battle" inexplicably broke out.

Of course, while it was inexplicable, it wasn't entirely unexpected; at least Edgar was mentally prepared for it—but Superman, Homelander, and Soldier Boy had different opinions on it.

One thought that Old Ma and Black Robe would bring this matter to a close, another thought that he would never have a chance to make a comeback, and yet another didn't even realize what the battle in front of him really meant, his mind preoccupied with nothing but revenge.

"I didn't expect the match to be played so hastily."

Clark crouched down, lifting Homelander's body with one hand and carrying the frozen Soldier Boy on his shoulder with the other. He glanced back at Edgar and the Locomotive and the Invisible Man standing nearby, looking on high alert, and thought to himself, "I thought the final battle would be more ceremonial, with more people, at least not so hasty."

This isn't him being pretentious; it's because in his own universe, every villain he encounters, regardless of whether they succeed or not, always has a grand presence and a huge entourage—like the magnificent magical palace floating above the city that appeared in the news before; like the scientist who possessed Superman's body and almost flattened most of Metropolis's skyscrapers; like the giant whose mudstorm almost swept across the entire city.

"So that's it?" he asked Edgar on the second floor calmly. "This is the end of the story, this is your last struggle?"

Edgar didn't answer Superman's question. Instead, he looked at his watch—the minute hand had moved five notches. Five minutes had passed since Superman was hit in the face by Soldier Boy's laser, yet there was still no sign that his superpowers had disappeared.

".Why?"

The old man's voice sounded a little dry and tired: "Why haven't your superpowers disappeared? In the past, superpowered people who were hit by Soldier Boy's beam could only last for three and a half minutes at most. Homelander's superpowers clearly disappeared, so why are you still fine?"

“It’s a good thing I’m alright,” Clark replied. “Otherwise, no one could have controlled Soldier Boy.”

Edgar did not answer.

The locomotive and the invisible man stood frozen in place, their minds replaying the scene from just moments ago—

Superman grabbed Soldier Boy, and white light immediately began to flash on Soldier Boy's chest. Homelander then launched a high-intensity attack on Soldier Boy's eyes with his heat vision, and they also heard Soldier Boy cry out in pain.

But the accumulation of white light did not stop.

Superman didn't want to see the two exchange fire. He wasn't sure if Homelander would be killed instantly by this laser barrage, so he immediately twisted Soldier Boy's body back to avoid Homelander's attack path.

But the soldier boy reacted extremely quickly. The moment he realized he was being twisted, he turned his body around and grabbed Superman's shoulders with both hands, directing the laser beam at him.

Upon closer inspection, the soldier boy's eyes were only slightly unfocused, but there was no obvious damage, indicating that the attack inflicted on him by Homelander was very limited.

Clark was completely unmoved by this; he didn't care about taking another hit, and in fact, he was quite happy about it.

This is quite a strange thing. After being hit by Soldier Boy's laser, Superman found that his body's recovery rate was inexplicably much higher. His recovery speed, which was as slow as a snail after entering this universe, became as fast as a rocket when the white light washed over his body.

Could such high-intensity, high-purity energy restore his body? Clark had never considered this possibility since entering this universe.

Perhaps the soldier boy's white light is really special, or perhaps any pure energy of sufficient quality can replenish his body.

But since this attack helps with recovery anyway, we might as well make use of it; it would be a waste to just throw it out empty.

But to others, it was simply that he was weaker than the soldier boy and unable to break free.

The figure of Homelander appeared beside the two of them in the next moment.

"Clark! You idiot, what have you done! You can't take a second hit!"

He strained with both hands, but couldn't pry the soldier boy and Superman apart. "You're too late!"

The soldier boy let out a wild, sinister laugh, unleashing a burst of powerful white light that engulfed Superman. At that moment, Homelander instinctively looked at Clark's calm gaze.

"Aren't you afraid of death?"

He had intended to ask that, but looking into those eyes, he didn't bring himself to ask.

He suddenly remembered the night he tried to shoot down the Baltimore mayor's plane, when Superman caught up with him and stopped him.

Then came the questions Clark asked him at that dinner party, the words he spoke to him in the underground lab, the way he walked back into the crowd on the first day he met him, and the thing Superman had demonstrated countless times in Waterley.

"Before becoming a hero of Vought International, I was a superhero; before becoming a superhero, I was a human being."

“You are a hero, but also a human being, a Homelander—you just went astray.”

“I have never answered your questions with lies—although you rarely ask me questions, there’s no other reason than basic respect for others, and it has nothing to do with your superpowers.”

Every word sounded like a piece of chicken soup from a fairy tale, but Homelander inexplicably recalled them all at this moment. Perhaps, as "Father" Vogbaum said, he was born vindictive and could never forget the bad things others had said to him or the criticisms he received.

Isn't it better to be a god than a human? God is flawless, God is perfect.

If you become a god, you will no longer make mistakes, nor will you be disliked or criticized.

But at this moment, seeing Superman about to be engulfed by the white light, Homelander's body moved instinctively.

boom!
White laser beams poured out, and to the utter astonishment of Edgar, the A-Train, and the Invisible Man, Homelander stepped forward into the torrent of energy.

His skin, hair, and muscles became fragmented and then vanished into thin air; the defenses provided by his superpowers also began to crumble in that instant.

This disintegration is permanent and irreversible.

Five seconds later, the energy beam disappeared, because the soldier boy firing at full power could only last that long.

After the launch, what appeared before everyone was a dying man, almost unrecognizable.

His body fell to the ground, where Clark gently caught him.

"You blocked my laser? Then who's going to block my next laser in five minutes?"

The soldier boy grinned, his eyes flashing with bloodlust, his tone carrying a rusty, bloody edge, almost no different from when the butcher first met Ma Zhaodi.

They are both scumbags and villains; in this respect, the two have a striking resemblance.

Edgar, upstairs, let out a long sigh.

It has ended.

(End of this chapter)