By the time Darkseid sensed the terrifying kinetic energy striking from the side, it was already far too late to dodge.
Super Ego's unreserved heavy punch slammed solidly into Darkseid's face.
"Boom—!"
The force of this punch was staggering; Darkseid was knocked clean off his feet, his body sent flying hundreds of meters. He smashed through over a dozen black mountain peaks along the way before being embedded deep into a rock wall.
As Darkseid was blasted away, the "Pain Matrix" he was maintaining on Homelander was also interrupted.
The matrix energy net flickered for a moment and then immediately dissipated.
"Huff— huff— huff—"
Free from the restraint, Homelander collapsed on the ground like a fish out of water, greedily gulping in large mouthfuls of air.
The experience of extreme agony left him with lingering fear at this moment.
"Shit... you old schemer, no sportsmanship at all!" Homelander cursed weakly. "I was still too careless..."
The muscles on his body were still twitching slightly and involuntarily; for the time being, he truly didn't want to move a single inch.
In the distance, within the rock wall, Darkseid pushed away the boulders pressing against him and walked out.
He wiped the dust from his face and looked up ahead.
When he clearly saw the figure that had sent him flying with one punch, shock flashed in his eyes.
"son of krypton?"
But he quickly noticed something was wrong.
Though it had the same face and the same body, the unfamiliar divine power radiating from within was identical to the tentacles that had attacked him.
"You are not him." Darkseid stared at Super Ego. "You have occupied his vessel."
He reacted quickly, turning his head to look at Homelander, who was lying in the distance gasping for breath.
"Is this your method? Erasing consciousness and controlling the body?"
Darkseid recalled how he had almost been caught by this Earthling just now. If he hadn't released the Pain Matrix in time, he feared his current fate would be just like this Kryptonian's—becoming a puppet at someone's beck and call!
At the thought of this, an uncontrollable rage surged in the heart of this cosmic tyrant.
"Unforgivable!! You actually dared to attempt to control the great Darkseid with such despicable means!!"
Homelander, having regained his composure, forced himself to prop up his body. Hearing Darkseid's self-righteous condemnation, he couldn't help but laugh out loud.
"Ha... hahaha..."
"I say, you old bitch. Did I just punch your brain into mush?"
"What are you doing acting like a moral guardian here? When you used the Anti-Life Equation to control Kryptonians, and when you transformed innocent people into mindless Parademons, weren't you despicable then?"
"What? Now that you realize you might become a puppet too, you know how to get angry?"
"I've seen plenty of hypocrites, but a cosmic-level shameless hypocrite like you? This is truly a first for me."
Having been ruthlessly exposed, Darkseid's expression became even gloomier. He didn't argue further, because to him, victory was the only truth.
Homelander ignored Darkseid and waved his hand toward Super Ego ahead.
"Super Ego, I'll leave the rest to you."
"I need to rest for a bit and let this damn nerve pain subside."
"Remember, leave an intact corpse. I still have a use for that skin of his."
Super Ego tilted his head slightly and took the order: "Your will, Master."
He then turned to face Darkseid directly.
At the same time, those flailing ghostly blue tentacles quickly retracted into the ground.
This was because Ego, deep within the planetary core, began to unreservedly concentrate and channel his divine power into this Kryptonian avatar.
As the energy converged frantically.
"Boom————!!!"
A blue aura of energy erupted from around Super Ego, shooting straight into the sky!
The violent air currents swept all the debris on the ground high into the air.
As the blue aura gradually condensed inward, a brand-new Super Ego appeared before Darkseid.
His hair stood on end from the divine power waves, turning a brilliant ice-blue.
Fine arcs of blue divine electricity crackled around his body.
This was the peak form that fused Kryptonian potential with Godly power.
Super God Form.
"Bluffing!"
Darkseid felt that highly oppressive presence, but his pride as a God would not allow him to back down.
"Zzzzt————!"
Darkseid struck first, his eyes erupting once more with Omega Beams, heading straight for Super Ego.
However, the transformed Super Ego had no intention of dodging at all.
Super Ego likewise fired divine vision mixed with the Omega Effect, pushing against the red light beams as he charged directly in front of Darkseid.
A pure melee battle broke out.
Fist to flesh! Every strike carried the power to shatter mountains and split stone!
Darkseid was beaten back repeatedly. His combat skills, honed over years of conquest, were useless against this monster that combined Godly wisdom with a Kryptonian physique.
He could only raise his arms in a desperate struggle to hold his ground, being forced back step by step.
Facing the immensely oppressive Super Ego and the death threat posed by Homelander, who could recover at any moment, the cosmic tyrant developed a strong stress response.
Between life and death, it was as if his crown had been broken through by an unknown force!
His understanding of his own Omega Effect suddenly ascended to an unprecedented new level.
"Taste this!!"
Darkseid roared, his eyes locking onto the attacking Super Ego.
Super Ego sensed danger; he crossed his arms in front of his chest, pushing his Omega Divine Shield to the limit.
However, the new Omega power ignored the target's energy defenses. It bypassed the shield directly and acted upon Super Ego's body.
"Ah!"
Under the intrusion of this annihilation power, Super Ego's Kryptonian cells showed signs of decay, and his body fell into an extremely vulnerable state in that instant.
Darkseid seized this fleeting opening.
He pulled his arm back sharply, gathered all his strength, and punched Super Ego in the chest.
"Crack!"
The sound of the sternum breaking was clearly audible.
Super Ego's chest visibly caved in, and he drew a long arc through the air, flying far away and crashing into a black mountain peak.
"Hahaha... Hahahaha!!!"
Having repelled a powerful enemy with one punch, Darkseid, with his new power, felt he was back on top.
He did not continue to pursue the already injured Super Ego.
He knew very well that the one he had crippled was merely a powerful puppet.
The true threat, the culprit who had truly brought him great humiliation, was that blonde man sitting on the ground.
Darkseid turned around and locked his gaze firmly onto Homelander in the distance.
He wanted to strike for the kill while this man had not yet fully recovered from the aftereffects of the Pain Matrix!
"It's over, Earthling. The Victory is on my side!"
He channeled all his power and fired that ultimate Omega Beam with annihilation properties at Homelander!
"I am... Darkseid!!!"