When Clark crashed into the ball of lightning, his body went slightly numb. Then pain shot through his face, and the lightning energy sent him flying!
The ball of lightning, meanwhile, hurtled toward Dilos without slowing down!
The moment Jeremy's gaze fell on Dilos, the latter had sensed an intense feeling of danger. Acting on instinct, Dilos engaged every muscle in his body, twisted at the waist, and shifted his feet, quickly moving out of the way.
A split second later, the thick bolt of lightning struck the spot where he'd been standing, scorching the ground black.
As soon as he dodged, Dilos shouted irritably, "Come on, man. I had nothing to do with anything involving Scarecrow. The guy you just sent flying was someone I rescued. Clark, isn't that right?"
As he spoke, he gestured for Jeremy to look over at Clark.
"He's telling the truth. He saved me." Clark's voice carried over, though something about it made Dilos uneasy. Clark sounded terribly weak.
Dilos glanced over, and the moment he saw what had happened, he nearly cursed. After Clark was sent flying, he'd smashed through some of the ground nearby—and, by a stroke of terrible luck, there were pieces of Green Kryptonite near him. Even moving now caused him excruciating pain.
Was Clark the unlucky one, or was Dilos? He wanted to know, but there was no time to think about it. Jeremy the lunatic was moving again.
"You've just been fooled by him! He's one of them!" Jeremy pointed at Dilos, his eyes bloodshot as he roared at Clark. Then electricity, as thick as ropes, burst from his body. He swung both hands at Dilos, sending the current surging toward him!
This attack wasn't as massive as the last one, but it was faster and covered a wider area. In Dilos's eyes, Jeremy's electrical attack spread across a broad swath, blocking off almost every path forward. He could only retreat!
The intense sense of danger drove Dilos to circulate the energy within his body, sending it racing through his limbs. A faint gust of wind followed his feet as he quickly stepped backward. His retreat covered little distance with each step, but his steps came at an incredibly rapid pace. In an instant, Dilos had moved five or six meters back.
There wasn't much room, though. After those five or six meters, he slammed straight into the corn stalks. Using the force in his legs, he threw his waist and shoulders into the movement and launched himself two or three meters into the air. By then, Jeremy's attack had arrived. Dilos's dodging skills were simply too good—the current missed him and struck several corn stalks instead.
While still in midair, Dilos pressed his arm down on one of the stalks. Using its recoil, he did a backflip, moving several more meters before landing among the corn.
Hiss...
A dull sound rang out. The stalks struck by the current first sparked, then quickly caught fire!
In a cornfield, only certain areas were cleared. The stalks everywhere else stood close together. Once one patch caught fire, the flames would spread to the rest, starting a blaze!
Jeremy had already lost his senses, but when he saw what was happening, he regained a little composure. He watched fearfully as the fire spread, then turned and ran!
Dilos, meanwhile, had already started making his way out as soon as he landed in the cornfield, relying on his footwork to move quickly. His route took him alongside the direction Jeremy had fled.
Seeing Jeremy's panicked state, Dilos scornfully muttered, "Coward." Then he hurried back to where he'd come from. Clark was still trapped there by the Green Kryptonite.
When Dilos got back, he picked up Clark, who still couldn't move, and carried him on his back. Then he plunged into the nearby corn that the fire hadn't reached and got out of there as fast as he could.
Once they were out, Dilos realized Jeremy had disappeared. After they'd moved a short distance from the Green Kryptonite, Clark gradually regained his strength. Seeing that, Dilos set him down. But...
Watching the flames slowly devour the cornfield, Dilos felt conflicted. Business was tough these days, especially for farmers. Growing such a large field of corn each year was no easy feat. If the fire kept spreading, the entire crop would be ruined, and the farmer would be devastated. It wasn't his fault, not really, but he was partly responsible, and that left him feeling uneasy.
Then he noticed Clark beside him, and his eyes lit up. He deliberately sighed, "If only there were a Mutant with incredible strength here right now. I heard that Mutants like that have enormous lung capacity. They can take a deep breath, then blow hard enough to create powerful winds and put out fires."
He hadn't spoken loudly, but Clark had heard him.
Dilos knew all about Superman's abilities. Since the Superman in front of him hadn't fully mastered his powers, Dilos didn't mind "accidentally" giving him a little guidance under the circumstances.
Dilos saw Clark's eyes move, then said, "Wait here. I'll go to LuthorCorp and see if they have a fire extinguisher." Since Clark didn't want to reveal his secret, Dilos would play along.
With that, he quickly ran off. Once he'd reached a certain distance, he turned around and saw a scene he'd witnessed countless times in movies in his previous life.
From where Dilos stood, Clark was blowing furiously at the burning cornfield. A gale seemed to pour from his mouth, and in just a few seconds, he quickly blew out the flames across the field.
"What an incredible power." Dilos felt a little awed. In his previous life, Superman had been admired by everyone—not only for his noble character, but also for his seemingly godlike, invincible power.
Dilos had gone some distance away, hiding on a road beside LuthorCorp where Clark couldn't see him. He planned to wait a while before coming back, just in case that Clark, who couldn't lie to save his life, came up with some bizarre excuse.
But it seemed the heavens had no intention of letting him off so easily. He'd only let his attention wander for a moment when a sense of danger rose in him again. This time, though, he couldn't dodge properly. The moment he moved, he felt something hit him.
Zzzzzzzzzzz...
Dilos's whole body convulsed uncontrollably. Pain ravaged every nerve in his body, and he could smell something burning.
Tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap...
A familiar figure slowly appeared in Dilos's field of vision, approaching him one step at a time.
It was Jeremy!
A sick smile spread across Jeremy's face. "Found you. You'll be the first..."
Dilos screamed inwardly as fury surged through him. Or rather, it was murderous intent!!!
Before you continue