The World Engine, captured from Zod, was destroyed. As soon as David and H'el met, friction arose. Based on the situation, Jor-El immediately notified Clark, who was thousands of miles away.
"My father's student? Stealing an energy crystal?"
Above Metropolis, Clark, having just resolved a jewelry store robbery, saw his Green Lantern Ring light up. With astonishment, amidst the gazes and cheers of the crowd, he broke the sound barrier repeatedly and sped towards the North Pole.
"I've been observing my mentor's son, Hal-El, to see if he could help me save Krypton."
Hit by a cosmic energy beam and sent flying back a considerable distance, H'el steadied himself with a grim expression. He appeared to be completely unharmed.
"But unfortunately, he has forgotten who he is, indulging in your false, non-blood-related familial affection. He's become arrogant in the fawning and worshipful gazes of Earthlings, betraying Krypton."
He opened his palm, and a Kryptonian crystal, resembling a naturally grown cluster of gemstones, rose into the air, hovering above his head.
"Non-blood-related, false affection?
So you know what true familial affection is like?"
David scoffed coldly.
In addition to his physical abilities far surpassing those of Kryptonians, H'el also possessed teleportation, telepathy, and telekinesis.
"You must be very close to your birth parents, right?"
"You're looking for death!"
H'el was instantly enraged.
He was a rare orphan on Krypton, having never met his biological parents or any other relatives.
Only Jor-El and Lara treated him kindly, providing him with the only warmth he had ever known. He loved them dearly and considered them father and mother figures.
"Wait a moment, H'el.
We're not here to fight, are we?"
Kara stepped between the tense H'el and David. After blocking H'el, she looked at David and pleaded sincerely.
"We need this energy crystal to save Krypton.
It's not something important to you and Clark, so let us take it."
"It's Kryptonian property, not theirs. Kara, you don't need to waste your breath on him."
H'el's eyes glowed, like two terrifying miniature suns.
Kal-El was the son of Jor-El, his mentor, and Lara. Yet, he didn't cherish the blood relationship with them that H'el himself dreamed of. This betrayal was caused by the person in front of him and his parents!
"Impossible. You'll never take it."
David flatly refused Kara's request, his tone as cold as ice, leaving no room for negotiation.
Although it had only been a few days, through their interactions, Kara knew David wasn't a petty person. He never cared about the World Engine that he and Clark casually left piled up in the Arctic. David's strong reaction left her bewildered and confused.
"Wh-Why?"
"It's of no use to me, but I don't want it to be of any use in this guy's hands either."
With the energy crystal, H'el could proceed with his plan. David's eyes shot out purple beams, aimed at the energy crystal hovering above H'el's head, but they were blocked by an invisible barrier, causing ripples.
"You think I wouldn't have defenses for this plan to resurrect Krypton?"
H'el had long ago set up a telekinetic barrier to shield the crystal from the attack.
"I've decided. Before I carry out my plan to save Krypton and travel back to the past, I'm going to teach you a lesson first!"
His body flashed, and he bypassed Kara, appearing before David. He raised his fist to strike!
"Earthling, you seem to have a poor grasp of your place in the universe, daring to treat Kryptonian property as your own."
Bzzzz!
Facing H'el's sudden attack, David's eyes remained undisturbed. The gravity field around him abruptly shifted, and an overwhelming force instantly enveloped H'el, as if immense mountains were pressing in from all directions, squeezing his body and freezing his punch mid-motion.
Bang!
Just then, a blue and red figure streaked from afar, creating a long void in the swirling snow. In an instant, he arrived, his fist like a cannonball striking H'el squarely in the face, sending him flying.
"You're H'el?"
Stopping himself, Clark revealed his form. After exchanging a glance with David, he looked at H'el with ill intent.
"You don't seem to be the smart, honest, and reliable person my father described at all."
He had clearly seen the expression on H'el's face when he threw that punch – like a cold beast, filled with savage killing intent!
Steadying himself and touching his uninjured mouth, H'el sneered upon seeing Clark arrive.
"You mean that data fragment as your father?
You disgust me, Kal-El. You are not worthy of bearing the name of House of El!"
"I've been observing you since my arrival. If you weren't Jor-El's son, I would have killed you long ago."
"H'el, that's enough. Let's go!"
Seeing Clark, a hint of panic flashed across Kara's face.
She couldn't meet her cousin's gaze, feeling a bit guilty.
Kara knew that if she went back and changed the past, Clark wouldn't have been sent to Earth, and he wouldn't have met his Earth parents and his younger brother, David.
Although she felt that Jor-El was the wisest and most intelligent father she had ever met, and her Aunt Lara's consideration and gentleness were unlike anything she had ever experienced, Clark, growing up under their care, would surely be happier than living on Earth.
After all, Clark wasn't even an Earthling. She had heard him talk about his confusion and fear when he discovered his differences on Earth.
But Kara also knew that it was somewhat selfish of her not to have asked Clark if he was willing, as she only longed to see her parents again.
"I can leave the moment I get the crystal.
But I don't see the need to leave like a thief stealing something."
H'el coldly rejected Kara's suggestion.
He hadn't yet taught David a lesson, and the thought of doing so had only grown stronger since Clark's arrival.
"Kara, I'm giving you the crystal. Protect it. This is the only hope for saving Krypton!"
Handing the crystal to Kara, H'el looked at David and Clark, scoffing.
"Come at me together, Transcendent, Superman, Earth's great superheroes."
He particularly emphasized the words "Superman" and "Transcendent."
Having been told he didn't deserve to bear the House of El name, Clark was already furious. After Kara, with a conflicted expression, retreated to the side, he threw a punch and charged.
"Too slow."
H'el tilted his head, easily dodging Clark's attack. The missed punch blasted the air, sweeping away the swirling snow hundreds of meters behind H'el. It was clear the punch had missed.
"When?"
Clark's face showed shock; he couldn't believe H'el's speed.
He hadn't made any move until Clark reached him, as if he hadn't reacted at all. But as Clark's fist descended, H'el, with crossed arms, dodged the attack with a speed Clark couldn't follow.
Boom!
H'el struck. Although immense repulsive force erupted from Clark's body in an instant, enough to blow away mountains, H'el broke through the obstruction and sent him flying with a powerful punch to the abdomen.
David's face turned grim as he caught the flying Clark. Clark knelt on the ground, spitting out a mouthful of blood that stained the cold earth, his heart filled with immense shock.
"I've never taken such a powerful hit. David, be careful."
His intestines felt as if they had been shattered; he couldn't even stand after that one punch.
"He's stronger than Zod!"
Wasn't H'el his father's student? Why was he stronger than Krypton's military leader?
"I know."
Looking at H'el, David's face was grim. He patted Clark's shoulder, signaling him to relax.
Even a fully grown Superman was no match for the super-Kryptonian H'el, let alone the recently adult Clark.
However, to be honest, H'el was even stronger than he had estimated.
"Is it your turn?
I'm curious how many punches you can take from me."
H'el stood with his arms crossed, floating in mid-air, exuding an arrogant aura that looked down on everything.
"Unlike Kal-El, you don't have the blood of the House of El flowing through you, nor are you a Kryptonian.
I have no psychological burden in killing you!"
"Say that when you can actually do it!"
A rippling purple light appeared on his body, making him look like a humanoid star. David vanished from his spot and reappeared before H'el at extreme speed.
H'el disdainfully raised one hand to block his attack, but the next moment, a fierce force shook his body, almost making him drop his guard.
He seemed to have underestimated this guy, H'el's expression changed drastically. But facing David's relentless attacks without giving him a moment to breathe, it was too late to raise his other hand.
"You don't have the right to be arrogant in front of me yet."
With his hand only halfway up, David's other fist struck H'el's face with savage force, sending him flying.
H'el flew backward with the wind whistling past his ears. Adjusting his body in mid-air, he saw an iron fist rapidly enlarging before his eyes. He urgently conjured a psionic barrier before him, but his psionic barrier, capable of withstanding a nuclear explosion, shattered like brittle glass in an instant.
Using the brief moment he bought, he blocked David's fist, gripping it tightly. His eyes, filled with surprise and uncertainty, stared intently at David's eyes.
"You've gotten stronger, these past few days!"
"Do you think you know me well?"
Pushing H'el's hand away, David's palm strike, accompanied by a piercing shriek, tore through the atmosphere and slashed towards H'el's neck.
"Even so, the outcome will not change."
David's displayed strength and speed were almost on par with his own. H'el no longer dared to be careless and teleported to dodge. His eyes suddenly shot out thick beams of heat vision, piercing the sky.
The terrifying high temperature caused the perpetually frozen Arctic temperature to rise rapidly. In the blink of an eye, the ice and snow melted into water and then instantly vaporized.
Rumble!
David raised his arm to block, and searing pain spread from his arms. The powerful impact forced him to carve two deep trenches into the ground as he turned to evade the heat vision. In the distance, an iceberg exploded and evaporated. Unfazed, he swung his fist and charged at H'el again.
H'el's strength was truly terrifying; he had broken through David's multiple layers of defense in almost an instant, including his ability to absorb nuclear explosion power and his inherent physical defense.
Fortunately, the injuries weren't severe. David's arms only showed a layer of burn marks.
"Why aren't you playing with your shoddy heat vision anymore?"
Seeing David injured, H'el sneered.
He was born on Krypton and possessed infinite belonging and pride for his homeworld.
David's ability to shoot energy from his eyes was very similar to the Kryptonian heat vision, but in his eyes, it was merely a crude imitation.
The two clashed with fists and feet, and layers of shockwaves erupted, sweeping across a hundred miles. Deafening sonic booms echoed through the sky above the North Pole. The animals in the Arctic looked up at the epicenter in terror and fled, as if two terrifying behemoths capable of destroying the world were fighting there.
David remained silent, smashing H'el's head back with a punch.
"Your strength is increasing?"
H'el touched his sore and aching nose, his gaze fierce.
His speed had also improved, nearly matching his own.
"You guessed right, but there's no reward."
David's fists were as fast as lightning, carrying power that could shatter planets. His offensive was sharp and fierce, forcing H'el to abandon any sense of ease or arrogance and focus entirely on the fight.
The slightest lapse in attention could result in a heavy blow.
[Template Fusion: 56%]
A few more days passed, and the Hyperion template's fusion had increased slightly.
"While it hasn't given me new abilities, I've become more proficient in using my powers to enhance myself by consuming cosmic energy."
Similar to how he dealt with the Despair Demon before, David was now consuming the immense cosmic energy within him to enhance his physical body, speed, strength, and reaction time.
Superman and Kara, on the ground, watched the two fighting in the sky with shock and worry.
The air explosions that erupted wherever they went dispersed the atmosphere and shattered distant icebergs, their momentum terrifying.
They believed that if they were to face such attacks, they wouldn't last even a second and would risk death.
Consequently, their worry intensified.
Clark was worried about David, while Kara worried about both H'el and David. She clenched her fists, her eyes fixed on their battle.
She just wanted to go home, but she didn't want anyone to get hurt or lose their lives in the process.
Both David and H'el possessed super-brains. Skills like martial arts were things they could comprehend and learn in an instant.
"You're no match for me. You don't know the hardships I've endured!"
H'el roared in anger, his fist, capable of leveling mountains, slamming down on David like a meteor.
At this moment, their fight was a purely primal and ferocious collision of strength and speed.
"If you truly believed that, you wouldn't be saying it with that tone."
David blocked it expressionlessly and countered with an elbow strike to H'el's head.
The two were truly fighting with fire, no longer even using gravity or telekinesis to distract or slow their attacks. Their most thrilling battle was like two meteors colliding amidst shockwaves.
Even before acquiring the Hyperion template, David already possessed vast cosmic energy. Gaining the ability to consume cosmic energy to enhance his body and mind was akin to obtaining a key, allowing him to achieve far more than just the level of the Hyperion.
And compared to enhancing the ethereal mind by consuming cosmic energy, directly enhancing the physical body resulted in less consumption and greater effect.
David's cosmic energy was now burning like a supernova, his aura growing stronger, his power slowly but steadily increasing.
"Why hasn't his strength stopped growing?"
H'el's eyes were sharp and anxious.
Unlike David, who was battle-hardened and had defeated countless strong enemies, H'el lacked experience in life-or-death combat. David was like a wave after wave, threatening to engulf him, and a growing unease began to settle in his heart.
-----------
Machine Translation by: https:// randomtranslator.com/
Read 777+ original & fanfic translations in English, Español, Português, Deutsch, Français, or Русский at: https:// randomtranslator.com/
Join our Discord: https:// discord.gg/NSWvfN7vua
-----------