A tall gray figure stood with one foot on the corpse of a Guardian.
Darkseid.
The ruler of Apokolips, the strongest of the New Gods.
With his hands behind his back, he coldly watched the defeated Green Lantern Corps before him.
"Master."
DeSaad, Darkseid's right-hand man, appeared behind him and knelt on the ground.
"Earth... something happened."
"Hm?" Darkseid did not turn around, merely letting out a low grunt.
"That Kryptonian was defeated."
"Our army on Earth... was completely wiped out."
Hearing that, Darkseid finally turned around.
"Completely wiped out?"
"By whom?"
"An Earthling who calls himself 'Homelander.'" DeSaad brought up a recording.
It showed Homelander carrying Superman's corpse in one hand.
"Homelander..."
Darkseid repeated the name, a faint cold smile appearing at the corner of his mouth.
"An Earthling capable of killing a Kryptonian... interesting."
"DeSaad..."
"Yes, my master." DeSaad bowed in response.
"Suspend the purge of Oa."
"Assemble the Dark Elite."
"We're making another trip to Earth."
The skies above Metropolis were torn apart by thick smoke and flames.
This was no longer Superman's domain, nor was it Darkseid's slaughterhouse.
It was a grand, carnival-like reckoning.
Homelander hovered over Metropolis, calmly watching everything unfold below.
He had not exterminated every Parademon. He had deliberately left some of the monsters alive.
For humanity, oppressed for far too long, mere victory was not enough. They needed blood. They needed the feeling of tearing nightmares apart with their own hands to prove they were still alive.
On the streets, furious crowds vented their rage without restraint.
"Kill!!"
A veteran who had lost his left arm swung a steel rod with his remaining right hand and viciously drove it into a Parademon's head.
The monster's scream was drowned out by the roars around it.
"This is for my daughter!"
A tear-streaked