Strip You of Your Strongest Title

The mountainside shattered, and a figure shot into the sky amid a spray of rubble.

There was no fear or shock on Homelander's face. Only endless confusion.

Homelander was genuinely baffled.

And he had good reason to be.

Was he supposed to believe that a Girl of thirteen or fourteen had blasted him away without him even seeing her make a move?

That was ridiculous.

Homelander could not even describe the force.

It had appeared from nowhere. He could not fight back. He could not stop it.

Seeing Homelander hovering high above, almost completely unscathed, a flicker of excitement crossed Tatsumaki's eyes.

Homelander's body seemed rather unusual.

In her dull life, aside from Fubuki's company, she had finally found something that could spark her interest.

Fubuki was not surprised in the slightest to see Tatsumaki blast Homelander away.

Her sister was always like this, ready to fight at the slightest disagreement.

Her sister had a fierce temper, but she had the strength to back it up.

Tatsumaki was powerful enough that even Homelander could not hope to gain the upper hand against her.

"Sister," Fubuki suddenly said.

"What?" Tatsumaki muttered.

If Fubuki wanted to stop her from fighting Homelander, that would really spoil the fun.

"Don't wreck the house," Fubuki said.

Tatsumaki nodded.

She slowly floated higher into the sky.

The Mitarai Family residence and its front courtyard covered over a thousand square meters. A transparent, dome-shaped barrier suddenly appeared, enclosing the entire property.

Only after seeing that display did Homelander fully realize that the one who had blasted him away was this Girl of thirteen or fourteen.

She was small, but she was a terrifying opponent with immense superpowers.

Even so, Homelander still did not believe she had the strength to threaten his position as the "strongest Esper."

He had earned the title of strongest through victories in countless battles.

What made Homelander so formidable was how balanced his superpowers were.

In close combat, he had terrifying strength and absurd physical toughness. At range, he had his lethally destructive laser vision. Add in flight, keen hearing and smell, and eyesight that could see through almost anything.

He was the complete package.

Take A-Train, for instance. Even if A-Train could surpass Homelander in a burst of speed, he still could not last a single exchange against him.

Homelander might not be the best at everything, but he came close in every area.

That was the real reason he was invincible.

The Girl might excel at offense, but there was no way she was as well-rounded as he was.

Perhaps her body was terribly fragile.

If so, even if she could attack with that much force several more times, Homelander's toughness would let him withstand it.

But the Girl might not survive his attacks.

As the saying went, I can fail countless times. You only get to fail once.

Red light flared in Homelander's eyes again.

Tatsumaki dropped her earlier nonchalant expression and grew serious.

After all, her opponent was the man known as the "World's Strongest."

Only when Tatsumaki got serious did she show a hint of maturity.

There was a haughty, commanding edge to her voice as well.

"Today, I'm taking your title of Strongest Superhero."

Tatsumaki slowly spread her hands.

A faint green glow enveloped her entire body.

Homelander had a strange feeling.

It was as though the Girl controlled the very space around them.

Before Tatsumaki could make a move, Homelander struck first.

Blazing red lasers shot straight at her.

If they hit her head-on, they would pierce straight through her body.

But Tatsumaki hovered in place, making no attempt to dodge.

A faint smile touched Homelander's lips.

She was a child, after all. Her combat experience was far too limited.

Homelander looked forward to what came next.

What a beautiful sight it would be: a Girl with an adorable face, like an angel with broken wings, plummeting from the sky covered in blood.

But the scene Homelander expected never came.

Something completely unexpected happened.

Several meters from the Girl, the lasers refracted at a bizarre angle, veering entirely off course and streaking into the distance.

How was that possible?

Only one thing could make light change direction so drastically midflight.

He and his opponent had to be in two entirely different mediums.

Yet Homelander and the Girl were clearly beneath the same sky, breathing the same air.

Unless...

Light could also refract within the same medium if its density varied.

For the angle to be so extreme, the air around the Girl had to be extraordinarily dense.

It was hard to believe, but it seemed to be the only reasonable explanation.

With his ranged attack ineffective, Homelander tried to close the distance.

But as the Girl slowly spread her hands, he discovered to his shock that he was pinned firmly in midair.

A terrifying, invisible force squeezed and twisted the space around him.

It was so powerful that even Homelander, with all his physical might, could barely hold out.

He could clearly hear the bones throughout his body creaking.

The Girl was using her terrifying Psychic Powers to crush him to death on the spot.

Under the immense pressure, Homelander's hidden reserves of strength erupted.

He threw back his head and roared. His face contorted, thick veins bulged across his forehead and neck, and scorching lasers burst intermittently from his blood-red eyes, crisscrossing the night sky.

As he fought back with all his might, Homelander felt the restraint loosen. He broke free and charged at the Girl.

The Girl remained calm and slowly closed her hands.

Homelander struggled forward as if through an endless mire. Every inch he gained toward the Girl dragged him deeper into the swamp. By the time he could no longer advance, retreat was impossible too.

He was trapped deep in the mire, the dreadful pressure crushing his torso.

Even Homelander was bent over before the Girl.

Under that overwhelming force, his body curled up like a boiled lobster.

The posture filled Homelander with humiliation.

This was the second time a battle had left him feeling so deeply humiliated and powerless.

The first time, his opponent had been a young man. This time, it was a little girl who had not even finished growing.

While he struggled desperately, his face twisted in pain, she looked utterly at ease. She seemed to have driven him this far without the slightest effort.

Homelander began to question everything.

Once, he had stood at the pinnacle of the world. Now he had suffered crushing defeats one after another.

Tatsumaki raised her hands, and Homelander's body, curled into a ball, hurtled toward a distant mountain peak.

Homelander did not come back.

Tatsumaki knew he was not dead. She had held back.

"How boring. That's the strongest Esper?" Tatsumaki scoffed.

She slowly descended from the sky. At the same time, the transparent barrier above the residence vanished.

Fubuki was not surprised by the outcome.

No matter whom her sister faced, she always defeated them with overwhelming ease.

Even if that opponent was Homelander.

Tatsumaki hovered above the lawn, silently watching Fubuki.

"Sister, I..." Fubuki knew her sister was about to start in on her.

"Have you been causing trouble out there again?" Tatsumaki asked in a lecturing tone.

In battle mode, Tatsumaki was a little adult, nothing like she had been earlier.

Tatsumaki might be innocent and carefree, but she was no fool. A famous superhero like Homelander would not show up at their door for a beating without a reason.

Fubuki had been coming and going mysteriously these past few days. This had to have something to do with her.

"I haven't..." Fubuki protested.

"Forget it." Tatsumaki yawned. "If you don't want to tell me, don't. Let's go inside and sleep."

Since Fubuki did not want to talk, Tatsumaki would not press her.

Whatever trouble Fubuki ran into, it would not be a problem as long as Tatsumaki was there.

Homelander was nothing.

Even if the sky fell, she would hold it up for Fubuki.

After last night's encounter with Homelander, Fubuki realized Vought International had noticed their group. She had to take precautions.

To prevent Homelander or other superheroes from coming after them again, she applied to the management of Frieza Heights for a security protection order.

Applying for a security protection order was a privilege enjoyed by the wealthy residents of Frieza Heights. As one of the most important properties owned by the world's largest real estate company, Frieza Heights had the strongest security system in the world. More importantly, the company had ties to the Military. Even Vought International would not dare make trouble on its turf lightly.

It was not that Fubuki feared for her own safety. With her sister around, nobody could cause trouble on Tatsumaki's turf.

She had other considerations.

If Homelander had found her, he might also find the other members of the Blizzard Group.

Fubuki decided to have them move into the Mitarai Family residence for a while and lie low.

As their leader, Fubuki really was looking out for her team.

Though Tatsumaki did not seem happy about it.

When Fubuki told Tatsumaki that two of her friends would be staying at the house for a while,

Tatsumaki's first reaction was surprise. "What? Fubuki, you actually have friends?"

Fubuki was speechless. If anyone was completely isolated socially, it was Tatsumaki.

Then Tatsumaki frowned. "They're not bad people pretending to be your friends so they can take advantage of you, are they...?"

Tatsumaki resolved to vet these so-called friends carefully if Fubuki brought them into the house.

If she noticed anything suspicious, Tatsumaki would not hesitate to blast them straight out.