Just as countless warriors were gathered around the chasm, lingering and staring, the ground in the distance suddenly split open with a new, enormous fissure.
Amid the rumbling roar of the wind, a starship more than six kilometers in diameter drifted up out of that colossal crack.
Heisenberg frowned, slowly turning his gaze toward the rising ship. His sight pierced through the hull, and in a single glance he saw the creature inside—the one with a deeply furrowed brow, impossible to tell whether it was life or machine.
That being stood in the ship's command center, silently staring at Heisenberg. His eyes, which had been as placid as an ancient well from the very beginning, gradually grew more and more agitated.
After a moment, he spoke in a voice utterly devoid of inflection.
"Thanks to you, I seem to have acquired a new emotion—*powerhouse.*"
At that, Heisenberg let out a *heh heh* chuckle and replied softly.
"Don't be in such a hurry. I've got plenty more to teach you!"
As his words fell, Heisenberg clenched his right fist and spoke to the countless warriors around him, who had already resumed their defensive stances.
"Prepare to withstand an energy impact, and spread out across the planet in formation.
The enemy in front of us is endless. From here on, I won't be able to look after you!"
The instant Heisenberg's words ended, the ship in the distance began to flicker with a faint blue light.
The vessel looked almost exactly like a human skull after death, and at the skull's neck, countless mechanical tentacles had replaced the function of a spine.
And at that moment, those tentacles hanging beneath the ship were gathering together. Ions bound by the strong nuclear force converged between the tentacles, and then countless lightning-like ion blasts came roaring down toward the Divine Kingdom's forces.
At the same time, Heisenberg patted the little ball in his arms and laughed.
"Watch your old man!"
As his words fell, Heisenberg raised his right hand. The ground around him immediately began to churn and gather in response to his movement.
In just an instant, the sand and soil under his force field's control, pulled by Heisenberg's now-astonishingly powerful bio-field, rose up and shielded the heads of every Divine Kingdom warrior.
*BOOM!!!*
This was a violent collision of different force fields—even more, it was the clash of different universal laws.
To counter Brainiac's ions, bound by the strong interaction force, Heisenberg's bio-field adjusted the weak interaction force, neutralizing and deflecting Brainiac's assault through a method humanity could never comprehend.
The moment Brainiac's ions vanished, Heisenberg also withdrew his force-field barrier at once.
As countless grains of sand and shattered metal fell, the ground continued to shudder violently.
Centered on the area of Heisenberg's barrier, the earth that had just been smashed into what looked like a beach by the strong-magnetic device was now torn apart like a flour sack that had been viciously slammed and ripped open.
Sky-darkening dust erupted like flour, nearly blinding everyone!
And as that dust sprayed outward, Clark abruptly shot into the air, charging straight toward the distant Brainiac ship.
Watching Clark approach, Brainiac curled his lip in disdain. He strolled leisurely over to the side of the porthole and waved a hand, opening the window before him.
At the same time, his ship kept shifting shape—the inner chamber where he should have been at the center of the vessel instantly relocated to the compartment directly facing Clark's direction.
Seeing the mechanical lifeform that had suddenly appeared before him, that unimaginable oppressive force told Clark at once who he was.
"Brainiac!"
Clark came to an abrupt halt in front of Brainiac, furrowing his brow as he demanded.
"You're the one who imprisoned my people?"
"Imprisoned?"
Hearing Clark's words, Brainiac shook his head expressionlessly.
"That was not imprisonment. That was cultivation. When I arrived on Krypton, that planet had less than a month of life left.
Without me, they would simply have died with Krypton.
And I truly cannot understand their choice—why they would rather die than be separated from their planet.
Wisdom and thought are our true destination. The body and the planet are merely passing guests and vessels of thought. They shouldn't be valued so highly.
In order to understand the reason behind their choice, and also to preserve the unique civilizational model of Krypton...
I saved them, and I have allowed them to live within my world ever since."
Having said that, Brainiac gently raised both arms, and his whole body floated into the air.
As he drifted, he let out a sigh.
"Your people—and that true powerhouse who makes me feel dread—he made me understand the taste of dissatisfaction.
But what you can bring me is a disappointment I have already experienced countless times, over countless years.
Mortals cannot perceive the limits of wisdom. Even power cannot make you rational.
But I understand you. And what I have always done is to make up for the things you will not do, or cannot do."
As his words fell, Brainiac crossed his arms and looked at Clark with the calm of a still well.
"I truly hope you won't resist me. But clearly, stupidity makes you unwilling to give up on yourself.
So... I will teach you."
"No need!"
Clark gritted his teeth in frustration, then violently shot toward Brainiac. The spot where he launched immediately exploded with violent air currents, and in the blink of an eye, he was right in front of Brainiac.
*BOOM!!!*
With a dull thud, the punch Clark threw was caught cleanly in Brainiac's grip.
And Brainiac's free hand clamped down hard around Clark's throat.
Brainiac's right hand, the one holding Clark, tightened fiercely, and veins immediately bulged across Clark's forehead.
Clark desperately swung his free hand at Brainiac.
But he only had two hands, whereas Brainiac, in addition to two arms, also possessed countless mechanical tentacles!
In an instant, the tentacles had completely seized Clark's remaining limbs.
Looking at Clark in this state, Brainiac calmly remarked:
"A Kryptonian who has enjoyed the beauty of sunlight—you are by no means the first. The universe has long since left traces of your kind, and I have more than enough methods to deal with you!"
As his words fell, Brainiac's eyes slowly began to glow red.
Before that inexplicable red light, Clark suddenly felt a heat in his nose—he was actually bleeding from the nostrils!!!
At the same time, his four limbs were brutally snapped by Brainiac, and amid the crisp *crack* of breaking bones, Clark howled in agony.
Hearing that meaningless howl of pain from the sky, the Justice League members below were all shocked!
And in that same moment, Astra let out a disdainful huff.
"Foolish Earth Kryptonian!"
She said harshly.
"He has all that power, yet he's never once investigated the properties of his own abilities. He's basked in the sun for thirty-four years, and he still doesn't know his own weaknesses!"
As her words fell, Astra patted her left shoulder.
"Divine Kingdom—armor up!"
The instant she spoke, the black combat suit she wore—the black Superman uniform—rapidly rippled with layer upon layer of gravity particles.
She had actually donned that armor of hers once again, the one she'd worn when she first arrived on Earth.
Then she leaped into the air, shot straight at Brainiac, and viciously tore Clark out of Brainiac's grip!
Clark's four limbs instantly dislocated, and the intense pain made him clench his teeth to the breaking point. As he suffered a severe injury from the enemy on the battlefield for the very first time, he suddenly felt immensely grateful for Heisenberg over the past few days.
If Great-Grandfather hadn't taken him through training, if Heisenberg hadn't repeatedly forced him to adapt to the taste of pain...
Then that single blow would have already knocked him unconscious, completely stripping him of his ability to fight.
Not like now—though all four of his limbs were broken, he only needed to bask in the sun for a while and he'd recover his combat strength!
At the same time, Astra, holding Clark with obvious disgust, casually hurled him far away.
Immediately after, a petite figure shot up into the air and caught Clark firmly in her arms.
*BOOM!!!*
Astra hadn't held back in that throw. The person who caught Clark was knocked flying backward several dozen meters before managing to stop.
Only then—freed from the effects of the red-sun radiation and gradually regaining his strength—did Clark finally see clearly.
The one who had caught him was actually his cousin. His cousin who was only eight years old!!!
Kara dumped Clark on the ground even as she grumbled softly.
"Auntie is really too much. You're hurt this badly and she still used that much strength!"
As she spoke, Kara pounded her own shoulder lightly, then crouched down in front of the steadily recovering Clark and said softly.
"Cous… uh, well then—Big Little Cousin!
Not bad, huh, your cousin?
You said you'd protect me, and then you got knocked flat in one hit!
But it's fine. I'll protect you, Big Little Cousin!"
As her words fell, Kara shot into the sky, following the ranks of the other Kryptonians as they flew toward Brainiac's ship.
At the same time, the instant the Brainiac ship rose into the air, Fiona—who had been leading the assault on the planet's orbital cannons—also returned to the formation with her soldiers.
One hundred thirty-two Kryptonians, all clad in radiation-proof armor, glared menacingly at the Brainiac before them.
And Heisenberg, smiling as he cradled the little ball in his arms, drifted slowly to the front of their ranks.
Looking at the solitary Brainiac across from him, Heisenberg waved and laughed.
"First time meeting you. I'm Heisenberg.
I hear quite a few of my people are staying with you for the time being. Thank you for letting them survive Krypton's destruction.
As for a proper thank-you gift... I'll leave you a little backup later. How does that sound?"
"Hmph. Even with all that power, you still can't see past your own desires. A creature like you disgusts me, Heisenberg!"
"Haha, we just have different hobbies, that's all.
You love wisdom; I love living. You're not human, but I am. Right?
But while we're on the subject of chit-chat—it's time to settle the debt from when you invaded Krypton all those years ago and stole one of our great cities!!!"
/-\
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