Clark struggled but finally managed to stand up, each breath sending waves of pain through his chest.
He had thought that with his recent surge in strength, the gap between him and Eric had been closing. But now, after a brief exchange, the disparity was still glaringly evident.
Was his talent truly inferior to Eric's?
Breathing heavily, Clark's mind was in turmoil. He had always thought of himself as having mediocre abilities, developing later than others. Little did he know that his "Kryptonian heritage" would one day make him incredibly powerful. But at this moment, all he felt was defeat.
Suppressing the overwhelming sense of failure, Clark looked at Eric, who stood nearby with a blank expression.
"You're right, Eric. I might not be smart enough, but I always know what I'm doing. That's our biggest difference!"
With all his might, Clark tore a metal bar from the basketball hoop. The noise of metal being wrenched apart made Chloe and Pete's scalps tingle. Clark let out a roar and charged at Eric.
The metal bar swung towards Eric with a sharp whistle, slicing through the air.
This time, Clark's speed far surpassed his previous attempts, appearing in front of Eric almost instantly.
Eric, unable to dodge in time, instinctively fired a crimson heat vision beam from his eyes.
The metal bar, carrying all of Clark's strength, was melted by Eric's heat vision.
In a breath, the several-meter-long bar was reduced to just a few inches.
Clark's attack missed, but he didn't retreat. He swung the remaining piece of the bar towards Eric's head.
Eric stepped back, narrowly avoiding Clark's blow.
But with his newfound speed, Clark seemed to have leveled up, keeping pace with Eric.
Clark's fist struck Eric's chest hard, sending him flying backwards.
Boom!
This time, it was Eric who crashed into the floor, causing it to shake.
Despite the pain shooting through his back, Eric felt surprisingly pleased.
Wasn't this the power of a Kryptonian, capable of endless potential? To make such a breakthrough in such a short time.
Clark's speed and strength had increased significantly, and he was starting to adapt to Eric's combat rhythm.
Without his heat vision, Eric might have been decapitated by that blow.
But this was good!
Only such a fight could help him unlock more of his "Homelander template."
Taking a deep breath, Eric stood up.
"Good, Clark! Anger makes you stronger, but it doesn't make you smarter!"
Eric continued to provoke Clark, maintaining his role as the "suspected murderer."
In the next moment, he activated his super speed, rushing at Clark.
Clark didn't back down, speeding towards his brother.
The air exploded with a deafening bang as their fists collided, both of them being pushed back by the impact.
Eric seized the opportunity, pressing both hands against Clark's neck. His feet slammed into the ground, causing it to crack.
Using his immense strength, he grabbed Clark's shoulders and hurled him backward.
Boom!
The gym wall exploded into a large hole as they continued to crash through it.
Accompanied by earth-shaking rumbles, dust rose into the air.
"Ugh!"
Pete closed his mouth, agape in shock, and looked at the equally stunned Chloe.
"This reminds me of fighting with my brother. To them, it must look like ants fighting."
Chloe didn't respond to Pete's quip, her face etched with concern. "We need to find a way to stop them."
"Stop them?" Pete swallowed hard. "I can't do that. One punch from either of them, and I'd be meeting my grandpa."
Back in the ballroom, the dance was in full swing.
Members of the honor society were collecting votes from the students.
Voting for the homecoming king and queen was the highlight everyone awaited.
The teachers supervising the ballots began counting the votes while the band played pleasant filler music on stage.
Everyone was anxiously awaiting the teachers to announce the final results.
Clark's crush, Lana, was tightly holding her boyfriend Whitney's hand, her muscles tensed.
Though she knew they had a good chance of being chosen, she couldn't help but feel nervous.
Boom!
In the overly quiet hall, a loud noise suddenly erupted.
Startled, the students turned towards the source of the sound.
The doors to the ballroom had been slammed shut, and a shadowy figure appeared at the entrance.
Facing the unexpected intruder, the students hesitated.
"Hey! Who are you? Are you here to cause trouble?"
Tommy, a big football player standing nearest the entrance, stepped forward and shoved the newcomer.
He assumed it was someone deliberately disrupting the dance.
Each year, there were always some people not allowed to attend the dance who tried to cause trouble.
Hence, the popular football players were tasked with security.
Today, Tommy and his teammates were responsible.
The moment Tommy touched the stranger, a blinding white light flashed before everyone's eyes.
Tommy collapsed with a thud, his face pale and blood streaming from his nose.
Under everyone's horrified gaze, Tommy fell to the ground.
After a moment of silence, terrified screams erupted in the hall!
The crowd rushed towards the windows, doors, and escape routes.
The intruder, who had taken down Tommy with a single strike, stepped forward, revealing himself—Jeremy!
Jeremy stood at the entrance, not attacking but smirking mockingly.
The students struggled with the doors, but the emergency exits wouldn't budge.
More and more people were pushed towards the doors, the first ones to reach them being crushed and unable to breathe.
But the emergency exits, which should have been open, remained shut!
Among the panicking crowd, Whitney quickly took action, pulling Lana and struggling to make his way towards the emergency exit.
Grabbing jackets, dresses, or anything he could get hold of, he yanked people aside.
Countless screams echoed through the hall as people ran around like headless chickens.
But with the doors and windows sealed, there was no escape.
A heavy and desperate atmosphere began to settle over everyone.
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