HISD Chapter 83: When Homelander Meets Doomsday
High above the ruined city, Homelander hovered a hundred meters in the air. His piercing blue eyes widened slightly as he locked onto the figure standing on the half-collapsed skyscraper.
How could one describe this thing? A monster standing amidst the fog, yet completely out of place with the mist's ecosystem.
Over two meters tall, its frame was lean but powerful. Jagged bone spurs jutted out from its back, its body barely holding on to a humanoid shape. A seamless exoskeleton wrapped around it like a grotesque armor, bone and muscle merged into a smooth, brutal layer of gray plating that covered it head to toe.
It stood there motionless, like a statue carved from ivory, eyes closed. At its waist dangled a tiny witch doll.
The blue witch doll also had her eyes closed, wearing a pointed hat, a snowy-white cloak, and a little dress. Cute and elegant, she formed a sharp contrast to the terrifying bulk of the bone-spiked monster.
The doll swayed lightly with the wind, skirt fluttering, but never slipped from its place on the monster's waist.
Beside them yawned the massive crater left by a nuclear-scale blast—the grave of dozens of fog-born black goat abominations. A bizarre scene in the depths of the mist.
Homelander stared at the creature, sensing a faint breath of life from it. Yet even his vision could not pierce the strange material of that exoskeleton.
The bone-spurred monster stood as if oblivious to him. Its chest rose and fell evenly, not moving at all, like it was… asleep.
"What the hell is this?"
Homelander sneered. His eyes flared red and beams of searing heat lanced downward, cutting through the ruined skyscraper and the strange monster alike.
Boom!
The half-collapsed building crumbled completely, burying the bone monster beneath tons of concrete and steel.
Homelander floated proudly above, chest out, confident as ever. Even with dozens of black goat corpses strewn below, he believed nothing in this fog zone could threaten him.
Given time, he was sure he could have killed those creatures himself. And as for this bony humanoid? According to the rules of the mist—bigger meant stronger—this thing looked like nothing but a low-tier beast…
The skyscraper crashed down, dust billowing skyward.
"Time to go back," Homelander muttered, turning away. He wasn't interested in probing deeper. The danger was growing, and there was no need to push himself. He had video proof of his strength—that was enough.
After all, the more invasion events happened, the more his position as humanity's savior would be secured.
He pivoted in the air, about to fly out of the fog-shrouded Tianhe City.
But then, behind him, a deafening rumble shook the ruins. Heavy footsteps thundered, each one layered with the shock of a sonic boom.
"What…?"
He spun back, startled. From the rubble of the fallen building, a colossal white figure burst forth. The bone-spurred giant leapt up at impossible speed, the little blue witch doll whipping backward as it soared.
Caught off guard, Homelander was slammed head-on. It was like being rammed by a warship at full speed. His proud figure was sent flying helplessly.
Boom!
He smashed through a high-rise, tearing through over a dozen floors before crashing deep into the ruins below.
Not even a second later—
Bang!
The ground erupted as Homelander burst back into the air, hair disheveled, face twisted with rage. Veins bulged on his forehead and neck as his crimson gaze locked on the monster standing before him.
"Die!" he roared.
Twin beams of burning heat lanced out, striking the monster's chest. But instead of cutting through, the energy was absorbed into the gray plating, vanishing into the bone-muscle lines.
"What? Impossible!"
Homelander's eyes widened in disbelief. He poured on more power, heat vision blazing.
Yi Meng, transformed into Doomsday, stepped forward through the beams. Eyes still shut, body still sleepwalking, he pressed onward as if unaware of the attack.
"Get out of my way!"
In panic and fury, Homelander swung his fist. Fast as lightning, the punch ripped the air apart. Normally, it could shatter anything.
Doomsday-Yi Meng moved a fraction late, but raised his own spiked fist, casually punching forward.
Their fists met.
Boom!!
The collision was like two missiles detonating against each other. The shockwaves tore through the mist for kilometers, clearing the fog in an instant. Monsters fled in terror from the devastation.
A searing pain shot through Homelander's arm. The reinforced sleeve of his combat suit exploded apart as he was hurled backward by the sheer force of the blow.
He had lost in a clash of pure strength.
What kind of monster was this? How could such a thing exist in this world?
For the first time, doubt crept into Homelander's mind. Had his lifetime of invincibility been a lie?
Before he could process the thought, the monster's chest glowed red. With a stomp, it unleashed a sphere of crackling lightning, tearing the earth apart in a hundred-meter radius.
The blast hurled Homelander away like a ragdoll.
Doomsday-Yi Meng roared, still with eyes closed, still in his dream-state, and opened his mouth. From it poured a blazing beam of golden destruction.
A laser—but far beyond Homelander's heat vision. His beams were mere toy guns compared to this annihilating torrent.
The thought flashed across his panicked mind. Too late to dodge, he crossed his arms and braced himself against the oncoming light.
Zzzrak!
The colossal beam swallowed him whole, blasting him across a thousand meters, tearing through building after building until he crashed into another street.
Boom!!
Still sleepwalking, Doomsday-Yi Meng landed heavily, the ground quaking, storms blasting outward. He lunged forward, chasing his prey.
Homelander clawed out of the rubble. This time, he no longer looked invincible. Burned, bloodied, hair scorched, his suit and patriotic cape in tatters.
His face twisted as he looked up at the descending monster. For the first time in his life—he turned and fled.
Doomsday-Yi Meng slammed into the ground with a hurricane blast, toppling another building. Then, with a monstrous leap, he chased after the retreating Homelander.
[Please give powerstones if you're enjoying the story.
500 stones = 1 extra chapter
patreon com/GuessMyName33 for up to 40 chapters ahead]