After a moment—
Clark released the two, his gaze settling on Lois.
"Clark, are you okay?"
Lois asked with concern.
"I'm fine. I've got backup—I'm not fighting alone," Clark replied.
Backup?
Lois looked puzzled.
Just then, Azuma landed in the farmyard, one hand gripping Fiora's corpse.
"Family reunion, huh? Did I come at a bad time?"
Azuma quipped with a smirk.
"It's you!!!"
Lois stared at Azuma in shock.
Her eyes darted to the corpse in his hand—that Kryptonian female warrior. How could she forget her? This was the one who'd taken her and Clark earlier—hard to miss that impression!
"Hey there, Lois," Azuma said with a grin, greeting her before turning to Clark. "The ones who didn't run are dealt with. Now it's just the ones up there. What's the plan? We storm in together?"
Clark's attention was fixed on Fiora's body in Azuma's hand.
"You killed her?"
Clark asked, his voice tinged with sorrow.
Azuma rolled his eyes. "What else was I supposed to do? It's kill or be killed, brother!"
Fair enough—Clark had to admit Azuma was right.
Still, seeing a fellow Kryptonian's corpse right in front of him stirred a pang of guilt and pain.
Why?
Why did they have to invade Earth?
Couldn't they all just live in peace?
Clark couldn't wrap his head around it, and it tore at his heart.
Azuma understood Clark's feelings.
He was Superman, after all!
If Superman didn't feel compassion for everyone, he wouldn't be Superman—he'd be the Injustice version!
"You don't seem ready to decide yet. Chat it out with them. I'll take her where she belongs," Azuma said.
With a bang, he shot into the sky, vanishing beyond the horizon in an instant.
Lois turned her gaze back to Clark.
"Clark, is he also…?"
She asked, wide-eyed with surprise.
Clark nodded.
"Yeah, Azuma's a Kryptonian too. He landed on Earth sixteen years after me," Clark explained.
Lois wasn't an outsider, and Azuma hadn't hidden his identity from her just now.
So Clark felt safe sharing this.
"My God! I had no idea," Lois said, still reeling.
She'd already met two Kryptonians without even realizing it.
And now—
She was friends with one of them, and maybe in the future…
While Clark and the others chatted at the farm, Azuma had already reached space. After locking onto his target, he hurled Fiora's corpse toward the distant moon.
"Done!"
Azuma dusted off his hands, then turned his attention to the Kryptonian ship on the other side.
"Hm? Looks like Zod's making his move!"
He noticed the ship splitting into two sections.
The lower part detaching was actually a World Engine.
That thing was designed to terraform a planet's gravity and environment, reshaping it to match Krypton's.
Why bother with the transformation?
Probably nostalgia for the homeland!
Otherwise, Kryptonians could easily adapt to Earth's conditions—there was no real need to change it.
Clearly—
Zod was a man deeply tied to his roots.
He was dead-set on turning Earth into a new Krypton.
Of course, it wasn't out of the question that Zod also wanted to wipe out Earth's native life—humans included—in the process.
Krypton's gravity was dozens of times stronger than Earth's.
Humans and Earth's animals couldn't possibly adapt to that kind of shift overnight.
So—
Once the terraforming was complete, aside from a tiny fraction, every living thing on Earth would be wiped out!
That was exactly why Clark was so determined to stop Zod.
The scale of that slaughter!
Clark, with his gentle soul, felt guilt over even a single death—let alone Zod's plan to kill billions worldwide.
To Clark, Zod had lost his mind!
How do you reason with a madman?
Kent Farm—
When Azuma returned, Lois and Martha were no longer there.
Clark stood in the farmyard, seemingly lost in thought.
"What's up?"
Azuma landed beside him, asking, "Reminiscing about your childhood?"
Clark nodded. This farm held too many memories—it was the part of this planet he could never let go of.
"I won't let Zod's plan succeed. I won't let the people and things in my memories vanish!"
Clark turned to Azuma. "Azuma, I need your help. Together, we can stop Zod!"
"No problem. What's the plan?"
Azuma nodded—this was his goal all along.
"Zod's activated the World Engine. His ship's Phantom Engine and the World Engine are now linked. We need to break that connection," Clark said.
"I need you to take the small ship that brought me here—it's powered by a Phantom Engine too. If we crash the two Phantom Engines together, it'll create a singularity and suck them all in!"
"Man-made black hole—solid idea," Azuma said with a nod. "And you? Heading to the other side?"
"Yeah, I'll handle the World Engine," Clark confirmed.
Taking on the World Engine solo and destroying it was risky.
Why?
Because it had already started. The area around it was now a slice of Krypton—atmosphere, gravity, everything.
If Clark went there, he'd be affected, weakened by the conditions.
"You sure you can handle it alone?"
Azuma asked.
Clark grinned. "You once told me a man can't say he can't do it!"
Azuma laughed at that.
"Alright, you're confident. Let's wish each other luck then—may we both succeed!"
"May we both succeed!"
Azuma and Clark locked eyes for a moment, a silent understanding passing between them. Then Azuma turned and headed toward the barn.
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