Cyborg glanced at the incessantly laughing Darkseid, then looked at Homelander, his tone somewhat hesitant.
"The Pain Matrix covers the globe through the father box, but its total output power is constant. It's like a net, spread evenly across the nerves of a billion people."
"If... if we can use the mother box as a terminal guide..." Victor's tone was strained as he spoke the cruel solution.
"...we could transfer all the matrix energy covering the globe."
"...transfer it all onto one person."
"This person would not only have to withstand a massive infusion of energy, but more importantly, they would need to bear the fluctuations of everyone's pain... That way, everyone else could be saved."
As soon as these words were spoken, the surrounding heroes, who were barely maintaining a sliver of consciousness through the intense pain, were shocked.
Bruce Wayne struggled to lift his head, shouting to Cyborg through his sweat.
"You can't do that, Victor... No living being can endure that level of pain..."
"Concentrating the pain of a billion people onto one person?"
"What kind of torture would that be?"
"That's not salvation at all; that's sending someone into an abyss that even Hell couldn't describe!"
"This isn't a solution; it's an extremely cruel execution."
"This... it would be better just to die..." Barry shivered on the ground, finding the mere thought terrifying.
"No... no..." Harley shook her head desperately in Homelander's arms. Though she was on the verge of fainting from the pain, she understood Cyborg's words.
"Don't listen to him... honey... don't do anything stupid..."
Before Harley could finish.
Without a second's hesitation, Homelander shouted out loudly.
"Let me do it!!"
"Use the mother box! All the energy, all the pain! Transfer it all to me!!"
Homelander's voice thundered, echoing through the Metropolis Plaza and across every screen and radio in the World.
Cyborg was stunned.
Although he had deduced this plan, he never thought anyone would actually be willing to pay such a price.
"Homelander, do you understand what you're saying?"
"You're crazy!" Cyborg warned loudly. "That's the accumulated pain of a billion people! Even if your body is indestructible, you'll be tortured to death by the pain!!"
"I know."
Homelander replied calmly.
"But Victor, look at them."
Homelander pointed at the civilians and soldiers wailing all over the ground.
"If we don't do this, they will all die. I am their leader, and I promised to protect them..."
"And..." Homelander held the twitching Harley tightly in his arms, his eyes filled with emotion.
"No! No!"
Harley, finding strength from somewhere, clung tightly to Homelander's neck and screamed.
"I don't want you to die! You said you would marry me! You're a liar!"
"Trust me, Harley. I won't die."
Homelander gently pulled Harley away, pressing his forehead against hers. The tenderness in his voice could seemingly melt ice.
"But... if I have to watch you suffer..."
"...that would be what truly kills me."
Harley was dazed.
In that moment, the intense pain seemed to vanish.
Her World was left with only this man's soulful eyes and his heart-wrenching words.
"Prompt! Gained special popularity value +50,000! (From Harley Quinn)"
Listening to the pleasant prompt in his mind, Homelander was thrilled.
He suppressed the urge to laugh, decisively let go of Harley, and stood up.
With a flick of his wrist, a metal cube glowing with red light appeared in his palm.
He threw the mother box directly to Cyborg.
"Catch it, Victor!"
Cyborg caught the mother box instinctively, his voice trembling.
"Have you really decided?"
He had always been wary of this foreign hero, thinking him too flamboyant and arrogant.
But now, he felt ashamed of his own narrow-mindedness.
"Stop talking, Victor!" Homelander urged loudly, his tone brooks no argument.
"Do what you have to do! I am Homelander; this is my destiny!"
Cyborg gave Homelander a deep look.
"Prompt! Gained special popularity value +20,000! (From Victor Stone)"
"Fine!"
Cyborg no longer hesitated, pressing the mother box to his chest as his palm transformed into a data cable to plug into the interface.
"Reconfiguring matrix link..."
"Locking onto terminal target..."
"Homelander, get ready. Link... start!"
Following Cyborg's operation, the mother box erupted with a blinding glare.
"Beginning convergence of matrix energy!"
"Vrrrrmmm————!!!"
Invisible ripples began to contract, and pain ions were stripped from humans across the globe.
They turned into countless visible blue electrical arcs, converging from all directions.
"Homelander! Prepare for the energy impact!" Cyborg roared.
Homelander flew to the center of the plaza, spreading his arms with his back to the camera.
The net of pain, like a thunderbolt from the highest heavens, struck straight down onto Homelander's head, completely engulfing him!
Across the globe.
From North America to Europe, from Asia to Africa.
The invisible shackles of pain shrouding a billion humans were gradually pulled away.
People collapsed to the ground like drowning victims who had regained air, breathing greedily.
But the pain had not vanished; it had merely been transferred.
"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah————————!!!!!"
A heart-wrenching and horrific roar jolted everyone awake.
Homelander was seen kneeling on both knees, his entire body entwined by electrical arcs from the sky, his facial expression completely distorted by extreme "pain."
He curled his body, rolling frantically on the ground, making guttural, Beast-like sounds of agony.
The veins on his neck bulged as if they might burst at any moment.
This scene was too tragic, too shocking.
Anyone who saw him would think he was enduring torture beyond any earthly punishment.
Of course, in actual practice, within a ten-thousandth of a second of the matrix energy touching Homelander's body...
Ego, who was controlling the Pain Matrix, immediately cut off the pain signals acting on Homelander.
Therefore, Homelander didn't even feel as much pain as a mosquito bite right now.
But that didn't stop a top-tier Best Actor from displaying his lifelong acting skills!
"No! Stop! Stop it!!"
Harley Quinn scrambled up from the ground and stumbled toward Homelander, but was stopped by Cyborg.
"Don't touch him! The energy is still transferring; you'll be torn apart by the pain if you touch him!" Cyborg held Harley tightly.
"Let go of me!! Stop all of this right fucking now, Victor!!" Harley struggled frantically, tears falling like rain.
A billion people across the globe had now regained their senses.
They sat blankly before their screens, watching the hero leader rolling and wailing on the ground.
That tragic sight deeply stung the hearts of everyone.
Everyone knew how terrifying the pain they had just experienced was.
And now, that man was bearing all of it alone.
The whole World went quiet, so quiet that only Homelander's agonized roars could be heard.