Chapitre 160: Hard Decision

Now, Superman had regained his strength.

And was now tearing apart a fighter jet with his bare hands.

Soren turned his head and saw the deformation of the cabin's rear, quickly guessing the cause.

In a panic, he unbuckled his seatbelt.

The cabin erupted with the cracking sound of ruptures, followed by a howling gale as the plane was ripped apart, exposing the blinding white ice of the glacier in front of them!

The aircraft plummeted heavily downward, and amidst the dazzling light, Soren saw Clark's silhouette against the light.

His cape billowed behind him like a flag torn by a fierce wind.

Soren stared up at him, stunned, "Clark…"

In the next moment, a blinding light erupted from him!

Eight silver wings sprouted from his back, with a beam shield and the Excalibur appearing in the digital flow.

He flew out of the cabin with the Excalibur that was gleaming brilliantly.

But Shazam was the first one to reach Clark.

Soren anxiously glanced at them and extended his eight wings, catching the plummeting aircraft.

The plane's weight yanked him down sharply.

He beat his wings rapidly, stabilizing himself in mid-air, then looked down at Batman in the cockpit, "Are you okay, B?"

"Not dead yet," Batman replied coldly.

In just a few seconds, he leapt from the pilot seat, his black cape spread wide like bat wings as he glided down toward the snow-covered ground below.

Soren then released what was left of the Batwing, and turning quickly to face Clark.

Billy was engaged in a fierce battle with Clark in mid-air.

Although Billy possessed the powers of the six gods, his lack of combat experience was evident.

His fighting skills lagged far behind.

Clark consistently anticipated Billy's strikes with precision, while Billy struggled to evade Clark's attacks.

In the blink of an eye, Billy had multiple wounds, and with Clark's next punch poised to land, Soren raised the beam shield, activating its defensive capability to protect Billy.

"Clark!"

He shouted, using his wings to shield Billy and facing Clark head-on.

Just as Clark's fist was about to hit the beam shield, the overwhelming force of his punch suddenly ceased.

But what Soren hadn't anticipated was that Clark's scarlet gaze shifted to look behind him.

Soren's eyes widened in shock.

He shoved Billy aside and yelled, "Billy, hurry, get B out of here!"

At the same time, he spun the Excalibur in his hand, pointing it directly at Clark's chest.

"Clark… please, don't do this. You'll regret it," his voice trembled.

Before he could finish speaking, Billy flew towards Batman on the ground, while Clark reached out and grasped the Excalibur.

The Sharpe blade of the Excalibur was gradually crushed by Clark's iron-hard grip, bending the edge.

The snow white sword blade instantly developed small cracks, with the curled edge leaving deep impressions on Clark's hand.

"Are you going to point the sword at me, Soren?"

Clark's eyes were blazing red as he spoke each word with deliberate intensity.

Soren shook his head in panic.

He tried to retract the sword urgently, but Clark's grip on the Excalibur was unyielding; he couldn't move an inch.

"No… I don't want to… I can't let you hurt Bruce, Clark."

"For him?"

Clark fixed his gaze intensely on Soren's face.

He resembled a wounded beast, and even his breath seemed to burn Soren's heart.

Clark held the tip of Soren's sword and slowly maneuvered it towards his own chest, aiming directly at his heart.

"So what do I mean to you, Soren?"

The wounded beast roared at him in agony.

Soren nearly ground his teeth to dust.

Tears blurred his vision, his nostrils flared with heat.

He choked out the words, speaking to Clark with a voice that trembled, words that Clark might never believe again: "…I love you."

— Because he loves him.

He would never allow Clark to step closer to the abyss!

Soren lifted his head, releasing the Excalibur, and suddenly flew towards Clark.

His eight silver wings extended to their fullest, activating the beam shield to block the most powerful being on Earth with his own body.

One second.

He only needed to buy Batman one more second.

When facing an entity like Superman, every second can offer countless possibilities.

For each additional second Soren could secure for Batman, humanity gained a bit more hope of success.

Clark finally stopped holding back.

Scarlet heat vision burst from his eyes, piercing through the beam shield, shattering it into pieces with overwhelming force.

He reached through the remnants of the shield and grabbed one of Soren's wings, even allowing himself a faint smile.

He was mocking Soren's futile defiance.

"How could you ever think you could stop me?"

Soren's breath hitched, but then he lifted his gaze to meet Clark's eyes, suddenly saying, "—Clark, you're wrong. I can."

In an instant, he kicked Clark hard, and with a sharp twist of his body, he wrenched himself backward, violently tearing off the wing Clark had seized!

The force of the kick sent Clark flying several meters through the raging wind, while Soren, having freed himself from Clark's grip, staggered back, putting distance between them in the blizzard.

The agony of the torn wing sent cold sweat pouring down Soren's face.

Clark's voice, filled with heart-wrenching fury, echoed across the storm: "Soren!"

He charged at Soren, but Soren dodged, trembling from the searing pain, barely able to execute a precise move.

Biting down hard on his lip, Soren clutched his right arm with his left hand, focusing as streams of digital light began to coalesce in his palm.

The Excalibur, formed from these digital flows, could always be reassembled if given enough time.

The blizzard howled more ferociously, assaulting them from every side.

Soren swayed under the force of the wind, the digital streams scattering again and again, but he stubbornly clenched his right hand, determined to reform the Excalibur.

Clark's heart shattered as he watched Soren struggle in this state.

—And at that moment, Shazam launched another attack from behind!