Oi! Homie: Hmph...

Ryan had already taken to the skies.

Becca felt all the strength drain from her body, her heart twisted in agony as she collapsed limply into the arms of her husband, Billy.

Billy held his beloved tightly, his chest echoing with a mixture of rage and secret, hidden joy.

On this day, Becca had lost her son, and Billy had regained his wife; meanwhile, from behind a large tree further down the bridge, Homelander could no longer contain his ecstasy, laughing aloud without a shred of restraint.

That laughter pierced through the woods and across the bridge, sharp, manic, and filled with extreme triumph and boundless joy.

Yes, the only person present who had not understood Ryan's final words was Homelander.

Back when Ryan had hung up the phone saying he was going out for a flight, Homelander had sensed something was wrong through surveillance and had rushed over.

Upon arriving, he had witnessed the entire drama from start to finish.

"Clap, clap, clap!"

"Homelander!"

Billy moved to shield his wife behind him once more, but this time, Becca stood up bravely, facing Homelander head-on.

"Homelander, you must not—you cannot hurt Ryan!"

Becca's voice trembled, yet it carried a desperate, final resolve: "And I will take him back!"

"I will!"

"Mm-hmm, mm-hmm..."

Homelander nodded repeatedly, appearing as if he were listening patiently and in full agreement.

Only after Becca finished speaking did he slowly say, "Tell me, if I were to kill you both right now, would my son ever know?"

"Boom—"

The air exploded once again.

But this time, it was not the casual movement of Ryan, but a high-speed aerial shift that bridged the distance in an instant.

Homelander's speed was simply beyond what Billy and Becca could defend against; their pupils had only just begun to contract when their necks were locked tight by a terrifying force the very next second.

However!

This original couple were no pushovers to be slaughtered at will.

Even Becca, after a brief moment of shock following the sudden turn of events, immediately took action.

With a flick of her wrist, a dagger hidden in her pocket was unsheathed in an instant, and without a second thought or hesitation, she drove it toward Homelander's eyes.

Simultaneously, Billy raised his gun, pressed it against Homelander's forehead, and pulled the trigger repeatedly, the sound of gunfire erupting instantly.

Homelander closed his left eye, and the dagger snapped.

Homelander opened his right eye, and the muzzle of the gun melted.

"Boom—"

The sonic boom of flight rang out once more, though this time the speed was significantly slower.

In the end, Homelander still considered Ryan's feelings and did not actually kill them; instead, he gripped their necks and slammed them both onto a car parked in the middle of the bridge.

Muffled thuds and groans sounded from left and right; Billy and Becca had been hit so hard that every bone in their bodies seemed to be protesting.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk... take Ryan back? With what you have?"

Homelander let go, leaving them to collapse to the ground.

He stepped back, then leaned down, bringing his face close to Becca's, mocking her to the extreme:

"I used to think you were an interesting woman, quite memorable even. I've even secretly smelled the panties you left in your drawer, but now..."

He turned his head to look at Billy: "Hahaha, be grateful. I'm letting you and this mad dog that's been biting me for years go."

"But, listen!"

Homelander's expression turned fierce in an instant, revealing his volatile nature.

He issued an ultimatum with an overwhelming aura: "This is only for the sake of my lovely son. You only have this one chance to escape from my hands with your lives."

"Remember, just this once!"

"Hmph."

Homelander hummed, put away his angry expression, stood up straight, and smoothed his cape back with his hands.

His posture was composed and elegant, but no matter how he looked at it, Billy felt that Homelander was truly sick in the head—posing like that in the middle of nowhere.

Who was he posing for?

"Oi..."

One corner of Billy's mouth curled upward as he called out to Homelander.

Then, he struggled to support his body, staring at Homelander with contempt: "I bet you didn't understand what Ryan meant at the end, did you?"

Homelander tilted his head.

Billy finally stood up, looking Homelander straight in the eye: "I've only met Ryan twice, but I believe his mother raised him well, and he is absolutely nothing like a pervert like you."

"Homelander, you won today."

"It doesn't matter. Ryan says he wants to try and change you, but I have a lot of faith in you—you are a rotten, monstrous piece of trash who is absolutely incapable of change!"

"I'll be waiting for the day you and Ryan have a falling out!"

Homelander's eye twitched a few times, his gaze flicking down toward Becca.

Becca's confidence was reignited by Billy's words, and she stared back at Homelander with burning eyes: "I believe in Ryan, and I will never give up!"

Homelander: "Hmph..."

"Inexplicable..."

Leaving those words behind, Homelander turned, threw his arms up, swiveled his hips, and shot into the sky.

For New York, tonight was just another unremarkable night.

Superheroes still stood guard over the city in their flashy costumes. Even though Vought International's Compound V had been exposed, what did that have to do with them?

It wasn't like their own children, or they themselves, had turned into supes.

Life remained a mess.

Those destined to fall into the execution threshold couldn't stop their slide, while those perched on high remained firmly entrenched in the clouds, looking down upon the masses.

"Sigh~"

On the edge of a desolate rooftop, a tall girl with a gothic aesthetic leaned against the ledge, sighing melancholically.

She dangled her legs, staring at a massive billboard nearby displaying Vought International's official statement regarding the Compound V leak: "So what's the point of injecting Compound V to become a supe? You still end up having to beg!"

"Don't you agree, Russell, Cameron?"

"Caw! Caw!"

Standing on either side of the girl were two handsome, spirited crows. They let out soft cries as if they understood exactly what she was saying.

"I know, I know. You don't need to remind me, and don't rush me."

The girl picked up her phone, staring at the measly five-dollar earnings on the screen with tears in her eyes: "I only made this much from the livestream today. I'll definitely save money to buy you unsalted peanuts; I won't skimp on you."

As soon as she finished speaking, the crows let out two urgent cries.

"You want mealworms too?"

The girl's pretty face tightened instantly, and she refused flatly: "No! They're too expensive, I can't afford them!"

The crows drooped their wings, letting out aggrieved, low chirps.

Seeing this, the girl's tone softened again. She reached out to gently stroke their smooth feathers, promising with little conviction:

"Don't worry, I am the Countess of Crows. Once I go viral, I'll let you eat mealworms every day. You'll have the best imported bird feed—the kind made in China—all you can eat. How about that?"

"Caw."

The crows nodded in satisfaction, and at the thought of the countless mealworms and high-quality bird feed in their future, they immediately began to fly around in excitement.

They circled above the girl who called herself the Countess of Crows on the dark rooftop.

With the colorful billboard in the distance and the full moon overhead as a backdrop, the dark, gothic aesthetic of the selfie made the girl extremely satisfied.

"Huh, wait, what is that?"

The girl zoomed in on the photo in surprise.

In the disc-like full moon, besides her crows Russell and Cameron, there was actually... a person?!

No, wait—why does this person look like they're flying toward her?