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Looking at the man in front of him, who was like a dead dog, Butcher's eyes were very complex.
He had indeed thought that Kevin would attack Homelander, make Homelander lose his Supe abilities, and then hand him over to Butcher, Homelander's enemy, to deal with.
But Butcher never expected that Homelander, after losing his Supe abilities, would appear so… pathetic.
Butcher didn't know how long he had fantasized about this scene; ever since he learned that his wife had been forced by Homelander, Butcher had thought about how to kill Homelander almost every day.
But he couldn't do it, because he was an ordinary person, and Homelander was the strongest Supe in this world.
But now, Butcher's dream was within reach.
Homelander, like a pathetic stray dog, stood before him, hunched over.
Even though he was still wearing his Superhero uniform, Butcher felt none of his former authority.
For a moment, Butcher even doubted whether the person standing in front of him was truly Homelander.
Or was it just a doppelganger who looked similar to Homelander?
But unfortunately, the Homelander in front of him was indeed the real deal, because the moment he saw Butcher, he recognized him:
"You… you are… William Butcher?"
"Oh? You actually know me? This is truly…"
"Why are you here? Wait… I understand, you're Kevin's man! So Madelyn was killed by him too?!"
Homelander suddenly became clever; he instantly guessed why Butcher was here, and even guessed the reason for Madelyn's death.
It was just a pity that even knowing this now was useless.
Butcher would not let him go.
"This has nothing to do with you anymore, you bastard."
Butcher didn't answer Homelander's question; he walked up to Homelander, grabbed his collar, and pulled him up.
Homelander tried to struggle, but he was powerless.
Having lost his Supe abilities, he seemed even weaker than an ordinary person.
"What are you doing? Are you going to attack me?"
"I am attacking you, so what? Are you going to shoot my ass with your red eyes? Now you probably can't shoot anything, no, you can probably still squeeze out a few tears to gain my sympathy."
"Damn it!! How dare you—"
Homelander was enraged by Butcher's words; he angrily raised his fist to punch Butcher.
However, Butcher caught the thrown fist, holding it firmly, making him unable to move.
Butcher shook his head and sighed:
"Your fists now are probably not even as good as a little girl's. Are you trying to give me a massage? If you want to hit someone, do it like this—!"
After he finished speaking, he raised his right fist and slammed it onto Homelander's face!
Bang!
A dull, teeth-grinding thud echoed.
Homelander was knocked to the ground by Butcher's punch; his face was bruised, his mouth full of blood, and several teeth spat out from his mouth. Butcher had actually broken his teeth with that punch!
And Butcher did not stop his 'abuse' of Homelander.
He looked at Homelander, who was sprawled on the ground after being hit by him, and kicked him in the stomach, making him double over. Then he mercilessly punched and kicked him, just like a hooligan beating someone, mercilessly assaulting the powerless Homelander.
In the van, Hughie, who had come along, got up to try and stop Butcher.
But as soon as he stood up, Marvin stopped him.
Marvin, the black man, held Hughie's shoulder and shook his head slightly at him:
"You shouldn't disturb him now."
"But… Homelander, he…"
"He deserves this, Hughie. You know how many families he's destroyed and how many people he's harmed. You shouldn't feel sympathy for him."
Marvin advised earnestly.
Yes, they all knew what kind of person Homelander was, and what kind of things he had done.
Homelander, who outwardly represented justice, secretly committed evil deeds that caused countless families to be torn apart and ruined.
Butcher was a victim; Hughie, strictly speaking, was also an indirect victim.
So they shouldn't feel sympathy for Homelander now.
Any trace of sympathy would be disrespectful to the victims.
Persuaded by Marvin, Hughie stopped looking at Homelander being beaten by Butcher. He just lowered his head, looking at his hands, not knowing what he was thinking.
Butcher's beating continued; he wanted Homelander to feel pain, to beg for mercy.
But this guy, who had already lost his abilities, still retained his arrogance from when he was a Superhero:
"How dare you…! How dare you do this to me!! I am Homelander!! Pfft—"
Homelander hadn't finished speaking when he was kicked in the stomach again by Butcher.
This blow was heavy; blood spurted from his mouth again, but bruised and swollen, he still looked at Butcher with angry and hateful eyes.
Butcher grabbed his hair, yanked him up from the ground, and asked strangely:
"At this point, do you still think you have something to rely on? Wake up, Homelander, no one here will save you, and no one will pity you. This is your grave, the end of your life."
"You're lying!!"
Homelander, with a mouth full of blood, roared at Butcher with bloodshot eyes.
He still couldn't accept the truth, or perhaps he was already in a semi-mad state, unable to comprehend the current situation at all.
The Superhero named Homelander no longer existed; all that remained was an ordinary person named John.
Seeing his enemy in such a state, Butcher felt a sense of emptiness in addition to the satisfaction of getting his revenge.
He had originally thought that his struggle with Homelander would be a more intense battle, a contest of wits and courage.
For this, Butcher had been prepared to die at any time.
But now, his enemy easily fell at his feet, beaten by his fists and feet, even easier than bullying a child still in school.
This made Butcher feel a little empty, even bored.
Bullying someone who couldn't resist was meaningless, so Butcher decided to end this boring work.
He took out his pistol and aimed it at Homelander, who was kneeling on the ground.
"...?"
John looked up blankly; his forehead was very close to the pistol, but his mind hadn't reacted.
A pistol, a human weapon, a toy John once wouldn't even deign to look at.
Now it could threaten his life.
The moment the gun was aimed at him, John finally regained his composure.
He couldn't help but recall everything from his past.
He was born in a laboratory, grew up in a laboratory, and never received parental love from childhood, so he longed for someone like a parent to care for him.
The first person John considered a father figure was Dr. Vogelsbaum.
He raised John, and in the laboratory, Dr. Vogelsbaum was the person John saw most often.
Although Dr. Vogelsbaum was very cold, treating him no differently from other experimental subjects, John still had a fantasy, fantasizing that the other party could show him even a tiny bit of care.
But the result was that Dr. Vogelsbaum might have felt guilt or sympathy for him, but definitely no parental love for a child.
To Dr. Vogelsbaum, John was just an experimental subject.
Later, the person John considered a father figure was Edgar.
The CEO of Vought, who personally brought him out, gave him the identity of Homelander, and made him a Superhero, a person standing in front of the cameras.
John revered Edgar, at least he used to; everything he did, he hoped Edgar would praise him with a 'well done,' which would make John happy for a long time.
But in the end, Edgar was the same.
He merely treated him as a commodity, and when a better commodity appeared that could bring more profit to Vought, he would mercilessly abandon John.
Just like discarding trash.
Later, John fell in love with Maeve, and then with Madelyn.
The former was because Maeve was the only woman who could withstand his strength; he felt they were similar.
The latter was because John found a maternal quality in Madelyn.
If he had a mother, John felt, she would probably be like Madelyn.
But Maeve hated him, distanced herself from him, and Madelyn was killed by Butcher, fearing him until her death.
In the end, did anyone in this world like him?
Did anyone in this world care about him?
John didn't know the answer to this question, and he couldn't know it now.
Perhaps from the beginning, his birth was a mistake, everything about him was a mistake.
He should never have been born into this world.
"Heh… heh heh heh… Hahahahaha… Hahahahahahaha!!!"
Finally, facing the gun that would end his life, John burst into a crazy laugh.
He ignored the pain in his body, ignored the death he was about to face, and just laughed maniacally.
He laughed so happily, laughed until tears almost came out, laughed until his breathing almost stopped.
John said nothing, just let out a chilling laugh.
That laughter spread across the plain.
Butcher's finger on the trigger trembled slightly, but he didn't pull it. He looked at John, who was laughing uncontrollably, and asked:
"What are you laughing at?"
"Hahahahaha…! I'm laughing… I'm just a joke… Hahahahaha, you… and I… are all just a joke!"
"..."
John was still laughing, as if he had contracted a virus that made people laugh uncontrollably.
Butcher closed his eyes slightly, no longer asking the reason for his laughter; it didn't matter.
He just took a deep breath, tensed the finger on the trigger, then opened his eyes again, firmly aiming the gun at John's forehead.
Bang!!
A crisp gunshot echoed across the plain, and a sharp bullet pierced the forehead of the person in front of him.
A spray of blood erupted from the back of John's head, and as he knelt on the ground, his body fell backward under the impact of the bullet.
Finally, his body landed on the ground, lying in a pool of blood.
His eyes were still open, staring fixedly at the clear blue sky.
The corners of his mouth were turned up, almost splitting to his ears, as if in the last moments of his life, he had experienced something so beautiful, so wonderful that he wouldn't forget it even in death.
The 'Superhero' who was once Homelander, the nameless one named John, fell here.
Just as no one knew of his birth, no one would know of his death.
Looking at Homelander's corpse on the ground, Butcher also looked up at the sky.
The sun still shone down, its dazzling light almost making Butcher dizzy.
Butcher closed his eyes tightly, lowered his head, and shook it. He looked at Homelander's corpse again, then at the gun in his hand that had ended Homelander's life.
Butcher stroked the gun, subtly aiming it at himself.
Until Hughie called out to him from behind:
"Butcher, should we… leave?"
"..."
Butcher snapped out of it, moved the gun away, glanced at the lifeless body below, and replied:
"The mission is over, lads. It's time for us to leave, and take him with us."
"Uh… are we taking his body?"
"Of course."
Butcher put away the gun and looked into the distance, in the direction where Kevin and the others were dealing with Stormfront.
After gazing for a while, Butcher said:
"Mission accomplished. We should bring a 'gift' back for the boss, shouldn't we?"
Butcher said, grinning.
Hughie silently looked at John's lifeless body.
Clearly, the 'gift' Butcher spoke of was John's corpse.
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