Farewell, Return

Fans?

Homelander still seemed unable to process it. He looked confused and almost adorably dazed.

But Butcher quickly proved it through his actions: he really was a fan—an especially extreme kind.

Eight years. Eight whole years!

He had spent those eight years living a living hell, searching for his wife, Rebecca!

Now, at long last, he could get his revenge. Overwhelmed by rage, Butcher roared and stepped forward, golden beams of searing light blazing from his eyes!

Heat Vision?

Homelander's pupils narrowed, but he reacted almost instantly, firing his own Heat Vision to meet it.

BOOM!

One beam red, the other gold, they twisted around each other like battling dragons.

The two high-temperature beams collided in midair, setting off a violent explosion.

Gale-force winds howled, and waves of scorching air spread outward. As dust swirled, Butcher looked like a vengeful demon as he charged straight at Homelander.

In his fury, Butcher was moving every bit as fast as Homelander.

His fingers clenched into fists. The air seemed to flee between them, while his bones and muscles worked in concert, as if rumbling thunder filled the air.

"Homelander, give me back my wife!!!"

"???"

Homelander still looked utterly bewildered, but he clenched his fist and swung back. "I don't even fucking know your wife!"

BANG!

A deep, tremendous boom erupted across the open fields!

A gale sprang up, flattening the young wheat. Waves of air radiated from the two men, and a powerful shock wave swept in every direction, leaving the surrounding area trampled and wrecked.

The ground seemed unable to withstand their strength. It groaned under the strain, then collapsed several inches all at once, while dust and sand surged skyward like a curtain!

The peaceful farmstead from just moments ago had become a wasteland in the blink of an eye.

The two powerful bodies traded hundreds of blows in an instant. Their collisions generated force like an invisible hand shoving the air aside, sending wave after wave rolling outward!

Deafening booms mixed with the explosive cracks of sonic booms, erupting across the abandoned farm!

"D-do we help?"

Frenchie swallowed, wiping cold sweat from his face as he turned to Marvin.

"Help? How?"

Marvin's mouth twitched. The two of them were completely unnecessary here!

When superhumans fought, ordinary people suffered. They'd thought injecting Compound V would make them at least a little stronger.

Now it was clear they'd been kidding themselves. They weren't even in the same league!

Oh, right. Marvin's superpower let him cover his whole body in hard spikes, like a porcupine, but he couldn't shoot them out.

Frenchie's superpower let his arms detach from his body.

Fortunately, Alvin hadn't expected much from the two of them anyway. They were just there to make up the numbers. Butcher was the real heavy hitter!

"Wow, Butcher really is something."

Hovering in midair, Alvin watched the two fighting and couldn't help admiring him. "He's actually holding his own against Homelander."

Butcher's willingness to trade his life for a blow had genuinely frightened Homelander.

Several times, Homelander had tried to fly into the sky, only for Alvin, watching from the sidelines, to pin him back down with his Psychic Power!

If Butcher were the only one there, Homelander wouldn't have been worried. But there was also that extremely devious bastard, sneaking in a hit whenever he got the chance!

As the fight wore on, Homelander gradually fell behind and took several punches to the face from Butcher.

His once-handsome face was swelling, and his hair had become disheveled. Though furious, he had begun to feel a flicker of fear.

Unlike ordinary people, Homelander's fear only stoked his will to survive, and he managed to suppress the frenzied Butcher.

"Damn it, Alvin! Where's your drug?"

Butcher was taking a beating head-on and struggling to hold out. At last, he couldn't take it anymore and yelled up at Alvin, "Get it out here, now! I can't hold him!"

"Just a little longer!"

Alvin calmed himself and focused.

He was going to try something audacious. It could lead to unforeseeable consequences, but to test the limits of Psychic Power in another world, he had to do it!

Butcher had no idea what Alvin was up to. Still, he knew the two of them were in this together, so he could only curse inwardly and fight with everything he had to keep Homelander occupied.

And Homelander?

He had already realized that this was a trap laid specifically for him. Driven by his will to survive, he unleashed even greater power, desperately trying to break free of Butcher.

"Hurry up! I can't hold him!"

Butcher really was at his limit. The rampaging Homelander had him pinned down and was beating him mercilessly.

"Ready!"

Alvin's eyes snapped open. The Psykana Power around him surged like a tsunami!

Homelander sensed danger in an instant.

It was a terrifying feeling unlike anything he had experienced before—a real, tangible threat to his life. He tried to flee with everything he had.

But it was too late!

"Doomsday Vortex!!!"

The veins on Alvin's forehead bulged as icy-blue flames blazed around him.

Vast psychic energy warped space and time, as though it would pierce the material universe and reach the High Heavens, where countless souls' echoes resounded!

"No, no!!!"

Homelander shrieked in terror, desperately trying to fly out of the horrifying area.

The space warped by psychic energy snapped both his legs, and blood sprayed into the air.

"AAAH!"

Homelander's face twisted in pain, and he could no longer keep himself aloft. He came crashing down.

But the warped space immediately returned to normal.

"As expected. I can't open a rift between the material universe and the Warp in another universe." Alvin was drenched in sweat, as if all the moisture had been wrung out of him. Deep exhaustion lingered in his eyes as he gasped for breath.

Homelander, his legs broken, wailed in agony, terror filling his eyes.

Since birth, he had never suffered an injury this severe. His steel-hard body had let him face guns and artillery without a second thought, but now that confidence had been shattered!

"We did it! We did it!"

Butcher could barely contain his exhilaration. The invincible Homelander had finally fallen!

But just then, another figure suddenly joined the fight.

With her long, dashing hair and curvaceous figure, she was unmistakably one of The Seven: Queen Maeve!

"Homelander?"

The moment Queen Maeve saw Homelander's injuries, she looked horrified.

"Quick, save me, Maeve!" Homelander was overjoyed. He hadn't expected to be rescued at the last moment. "These people are trying to kill me! Hurry and save me!"

"Damn it!"

Butcher's eyes narrowed as golden beams shot from them.

But Queen Maeve was incredibly fast. She blocked the beams and shielded Homelander.

"What a shame..."

Watching Queen Maeve enter the fray, Alvin knew they had lost their chance.

Once word got out that Homelander was in danger, Vought International would soon send reinforcements. With Queen Maeve protecting the badly injured Homelander, ending the fight anytime soon was all but impossible.

So this was what "Divine Protection" meant?

The plan to obtain Source Power had failed, but Alvin wasn't disappointed.

He had only meant to use this chance to test how difficult it was to kill a protagonist or villain, so he could prepare himself for obtaining Source Power later.

Now it seemed that killing a character protected by "Divine Protection" would indeed be no easy task.

"What do we do?"

Butcher looked at Alvin. He still wasn't willing to give up on this chance to kill Homelander. "I'll hold off Queen Maeve. You take care of Homelander?"

"Sorry, time's up."

Alvin glanced down at his wristband and smiled at everyone.

After nearly beating the hell out of one another, the group froze at his sudden words, unable to figure out what he was up to.

But the very next second, Alvin bowed to them with impeccable courtesy. "Thank you all for looking after me these past few days. I hope you'll all be in good health the next time we meet."

As he finished speaking, the timer hit zero!

[Stay duration has ended]

[Insufficient Source Points; unable to anchor the location]

[Insufficient energy; unable to remain any longer]

[Respected Navigator, you will now return to your original world]

Then, right before their eyes, Alvin suddenly vanished.

It was as if he had never appeared at all, leaving not a trace behind.

An eerie silence settled over the scene. The badly injured Homelander and Queen Maeve slowly turned their gazes toward Butcher, Frenchie, and Marvin.

In an instant, Butcher's eyes nearly popped out of his head. Blood surged up his throat and burst from his mouth. "I fucking swear, Alvin, I'll kill you!"

I'm counting on everyone to help boost the follow-up reads (bends over).