Clark stood amid the shattered ruins, one hand pressed against his slightly throbbing head as he stared at Adrian in astonishment.
He had never expected the Yellow Lantern Ring to elevate Adrian's power to such an overwhelming level.
Hal Jordan, empowered by Parallax and the Central Power Battery, had been completely dominated.
The sight left Clark deeply shaken.
For so long, he had believed that by relentlessly pursuing Adrian's example, he had finally begun to close the gap between them.
Now he realized the distance had only grown wider.
Would he ever truly stand on equal footing with Adrian?
Self-doubt had always lingered in Clark's heart, and this battle only reinforced it.
He remembered when Adrian had already mastered flight while he could only dream of soaring through the sky.
When Adrian had learned to control his Heat Vision well enough to tear through buildings, Clark had barely managed to keep his own powers in check, once accidentally setting part of his classroom ablaze after losing focus during an awkward moment involving Ms. Akins.
"Will I ever be able to catch up to him?"
He looked skyward, his gaze fixed on Adrian as the battle continued.
At that moment, Adrian seemed to have completely surrendered himself to the fight.
The instant he reached Hal, another punch sent the Green Lantern flying.
Hal roared in fury, but Adrian's fists descended like the thunder crashing through the storm above. Blow after blow hammered into Hal's chest without mercy.
Hal's body looked like a ragdoll being tossed through the sky.
Every impact sent violent ripples through his frame.
His chest collapsed under Adrian's relentless assault, blood scattering through the rain.
Although Hal could draw upon the energy he had stolen from the Central Power Battery to heal himself, his regeneration could no longer keep pace with the damage.
His shattered flesh struggled to knit itself together.
Granulation tissue formed.
Broken bones slowly reassembled.
Yet before the process could finish, Adrian's next strike would tear everything apart again.
Hal was driven backward through the sky, completely unable to regain control.
Rain struck his body only to be blasted away by the force of each impact.
Adrian sent him soaring higher into the heavens.
Then, with another devastating punch, he smashed Hal back toward the earth.
Hal crashed down with such force that his healing faltered entirely.
Most of the stolen energy sustaining him had already been consumed.
Now he was barely able to continue fighting.
Boom!
Hal slammed into the remains of a building.
The structure collapsed immediately, burying itself beneath clouds of dust and debris.
Clark's attention snapped toward the destruction.
Within the collapsing rubble, he spotted the silhouette of a child.
Without a second thought, he activated his super speed.
In an instant, he reached the falling figure, scooped him into his arms, and sped away from the collapsing building.
Chunks of concrete and steel struck Clark's back as he shielded the child with his own body.
He held the boy tightly, making certain none of the debris reached him.
A moment later, Clark arrived at a safe location.
"Are you alright?"
The child he had rescued wore a black and red hooded outfit, with a sword hanging from his waist.
It was Damian.
After witnessing the pillar of yellow light in the distance, his curiosity had drawn him to the battlefield.
Hidden inside the ruined building, he had watched Adrian overpower the Green Lantern like a god descending upon the world.
He had never imagined that simply observing the battle would nearly get him buried alive.
Perhaps he was the first person foolish enough to follow his hero into battle and almost be killed by the aftermath.
"Thank you! Thank you for saving me!"
Still visibly shaken, Damian patted his chest before looking up at Clark.
"Thanks, Superman. If you hadn't shown up, escaping would've taken a little more effort."
Even while expressing his gratitude, he could not resist boasting.
Clark frowned slightly.
The boy radiated the unmistakable energy of someone who constantly invited trouble.
"You shouldn't be here," Clark said. "This place is far too dangerous. I'm taking you somewhere safe."
As he reached for Damian, the boy immediately resisted.
"You can't do that!"
Twisting free, Damian landed in a puddle, splashing rainwater around his boots.
"This is exactly why I came here."
His expression turned completely serious.
"I came to fight in this war."
He pointed toward the distant battlefield.
"I'm here to fight beside Homelander. I'm his ally."
To Clark, those words carried little weight coming from someone so young.
Sensing the doubt in Superman's eyes, Damian pulled the weapon from his waist.
It was a hand-and-a-half sword, shorter than a traditional German design but unmistakable in form.
Wrapped in a leather scabbard, the weapon reflected an old style of craftsmanship.
Historically, such swords had balanced the advantages of one-handed and two-handed weapons, capable of both powerful cuts and precise thrusts. Mastering one demanded considerable strength and skill.
Damian gripped it proudly.
"This is my weapon. You can see I'm serious. I can help."
His admiration for Adrian had already grown into outright devotion.
To him, Adrian was the very image of strength.
Clark, however, only saw another child fascinated by violence and war.
He slowly shook his head.
"You can't help anyone here, and Adrian doesn't need your help. Right now, the best thing you can do is leave. Staying out of the way is the greatest help you can offer."
Damian's expression darkened immediately.
To him, those words were an insult.
He raised his sword.
"You think I'm just talking? Then watch my swordsmanship."
Before he could move, his vision blurred.
The sword was gone.
Clark now held it effortlessly in one hand.
Looking directly at Damian, he said quietly, "It seems your swordsmanship still needs work."
"You...!"
Damian's face turned red with anger.
If the person standing before him had not been Superman, he would have attacked immediately.
The rebellious boy hated nothing more than being underestimated or forced to do something against his will.
Clark had already earned a place on the very short list of people Damian disliked the most.
Just as Damian was about to argue again, a deafening explosion echoed across the battlefield.
Both of them instinctively looked up.
At the center of the conflict, Adrian's battle with Hal had reached an even more terrifying stage.
As the fight intensified, the brutality, cruelty, and madness buried deep within Adrian seemed to surface.
Even the Joker virus he had long suppressed appeared to be stirring.
A savage grin spread across Adrian's face.
At that moment, he looked less like a man and more like a demon crawling out of the abyss.
Bang!
Another violent shockwave rolled through the storm.
Hal was struck upward once again, blasting out of Earth's atmosphere.
The two of them surged into space.
Locked in combat, Adrian and Hal raced toward the moon, exchanging devastating attacks.
Hal was forced entirely onto the defensive.
Adrian never stopped advancing.
Upon reaching the lunar surface, the battle continued.
Every collision sent tremors through the moon itself.
The barren landscape was ripped apart under the power of two monsters unleashing everything they possessed.
Massive craters formed.
Gigantic canyons spread across the surface.
Hal finally reached his limit.
He crashed onto the moon, blood spraying from his wounds.
Fractures spread throughout his skeleton.
The overwhelming presence he had carried into battle had been completely shattered by Adrian.
Floating above him, Adrian looked down with icy indifference.
Hal struggled to stand.
He failed.
With the last of his strength, he unleashed another energy shockwave.
Adrian pierced straight through it.
The attack was no longer enough to slow him down.
A moment later, another merciless beating began.
There was no hesitation in Adrian's movements.
The creature before him had long since lost its reason.
Destroying it carried no burden.
It simply felt natural.
Several minutes later, Clark, still standing in the rain over the ruins of Coast City, suddenly heard a piercing whistle from above.
Something was falling.
Something moving at unimaginable speed.
Boom!
A blazing figure crashed into the earth, shaking the ground like a massive earthquake.
Damian nearly lost his footing.
Then Adrian descended from the sky.
Rain soaked his cape, giving it a dark metallic sheen beneath the storm clouds.
His eyes were as cold as the night itself.
Even Damian, who idolized him, felt a shiver run down his spine.
Adrian briefly glanced at Clark and Damian before walking toward the unconscious Hal.
During the fall from the moon to Earth, Hal's body had burned like a meteor.
Driven downward by Adrian's relentless assault, he had torn through the atmosphere wrapped in blazing fire.
From the depths of space all the way back to Earth, Adrian had pursued him without pause, striking him again and again.
Even with Parallax dwelling within him, Hal Jordan could no longer endure Adrian's overwhelming power.