…
Smack. Smack.
"Now… it's just you, my dear son."
Leon patted Homelander's face with a disturbingly bright smile.
"I—I—I…"
Homelander couldn't even form a sentence.
When confronted with violence he couldn't overpower, the man who ruled through intimidation was reduced to exactly what he had always been—
A terrified man-child.
"Enough."
Leon tapped the Bluetooth link on his left ear.
"Arcee. Release our 'Son of Satan.'"
"Copy that, Boss."
"Launch scheduled after a two-and-a-half-hour evacuation buffer. Estimated arrival: twenty minutes."
There was unmistakable excitement in Arcee's voice.
The weapon in question was powerful enough to erase Texas—or an entire European nation—from the map.
A Russian-built RS-28 Sarmat ICBM, originally intended as a contingency measure in case Soldier Boy ever became uncontrollable.
Now—
It belonged to Leon.
Moments later, Arcee's voice hijacked every connected speaker system around Vought Tower.
Warning. Warning.
A viral weapon under development at Vought laboratories has suffered catastrophic containment failure.
To prevent further spread, Vought Tower will be sealed in thirty minutes.
In two and a half hours, total eradication via strategic strike will be conducted.
Please evacuate the surrounding area immediately.
Leave at once…
For one heartbeat—
The world went silent.
Then—
Pandemonium.
Leon ignored it.
He had given fair warning.
Those who stayed could enjoy the greatest fireworks display in human history.
At the cost of their lives.
"Vought claims both you and I can survive a nuclear strike," Leon said calmly.
"Let's stop debating and test it."
"W-What?!"
Homelander lost control completely.
"You don't even believe your own propaganda?"
Leon wrinkled his nose in disgust.
A quick flicker of heat vision cauterized Homelander's lower body—sealing an unfortunate stress response.
"Aaaaah!"
"I can't survive a nuke! That's just marketing!"
"Shh."
Leon pressed a finger to his lips.
"If you keep whining, I'll crush your skull right now. But if you survive… I'll let you live."
"You know me. I keep my promises."
He smiled again.
Homelander nodded frantically.
…
A distant roar split the sky.
The Sarmat ICBM descended, evading American missile defense systems.
High above Vought Tower, its payload separated—
A 40-megaton nuclear warhead, falling like the Sword of Damocles.
"It's here."
Leon felt his eyelid twitch.
His body trembled—not entirely from fear.
This was his first time facing humanity's ultimate weapon head-on.
Even he felt instinctive awe.
With Homelander still in his grip, Leon blasted upward through the ceiling and emerged onto the rooftop.
The warhead loomed closer.
With a thought, the Soldier Boy Suit vanished into the System Storage Space.
Only the indestructible Ultra-Elastic Fiber Undergarment remained.
"John," Leon said quietly.
"Y-Yeah?"
"Once, there was a man who sought to challenge the nuclear bomb. He trained his body, honed his mind, perfected his skill—yet could never reach its supreme might."
"But then he realized…"
"If you don't want to be vaporized by a nuclear explosion—"
"Become the nuclear explosion."
Golden light erupted from Leon's eyes as he raised his arms toward the descending warhead.
His grin stretched unnaturally wide.
"Stop! Stop! We'll both die! You're insane! I don't want to die!"
Homelander screamed.
Leon ignored him.
"John… let us engrave this 'supreme might' into our flesh."
"I."
"AM."
"ATOMIC."
BOOM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The nuclear detonation swallowed Vought Tower.
Leon stood at ground zero—
Like a nail hammered into the fabric of reality.
Unmoving.
The initial shockwave struck.
His Vibranium Physiology activated first—absorbing kinetic force and refracting excess energy.
His newly acquired Haki reinforced his body:
Armament Haki hardened instinctively—though still crude and unrefined.
Conqueror's Haki surged, offering limited internal stabilization.
But in this first moment—
It was Vibranium that bore the brunt.
After massive energy refraction, reduced thermal radiation scorched his skin—like boiling water over flesh.
Then came the true horror:
Kinetic force.
Absorption capacity saturated instantly.
The stored force discharged outward, creating a momentary vacuum—only to be overwhelmed by the next wave.
His body began to melt.
Super Self-Regeneration triggered immediately—cells disintegrating and reforming in a continuous cycle of destruction and rebirth.
As the explosion intensified:
The Starlight Template began absorbing radiant energy.
The Soldier Boy Template (Living Reactor Physiology) resonated—converting nuclear-scale energy internally.
The burden shifted away from Vibranium as Leon's entire system engaged.
Gamma radiation.
Neutron flux.
They pierced through him—
Like wind brushing past stone.
Finally—
At the heart of the detonation—
Temperatures of tens of millions of degrees surged outward.
After cascading layers of absorption and reduction—
The ultimate safeguard remained:
Adamantium Skeleton.
With a melting threshold that continued rising alongside Leon's growth, it gleamed untouched within the inferno.
Holding his structure intact.
At that moment—
The outcome was decided.
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