Five minutes later, Lana emerged from the hall, covered in blood.
Her consciousness was scattered, and her mind was filled entirely with fear. She wasn't thinking about anything else, with no room left for other thoughts—the only idea that dominated her was to escape!
Escape from here!
Get away from that devil!
The image of her boyfriend Whitney, covered in blood and convulsing as he fell before her, played repeatedly in her mind like an unfiltered loop.
The string holding her sanity seemed on the verge of snapping at any moment, overwhelmed by the fear and helplessness surrounding her.
From the moment the first person fell to her frantic escape, those horrific scenes replayed over and over in her head.
The main power switch exploded, the hall curtains shattered into fragments, and heavy silver high-voltage electricity floated in the air, writhing like venomous snakes from an Indian fakir's basket, full of terrifying energy.
As she ran out, a bright light flashed, accompanied by screams and the horrific screech of a microphone.
Lana turned her head just in time to see her classmate Fleck gripping a microphone stand, his hands firmly attached.
His eyes bulged, his hair stood on end, and smoke began to rise from his shirt.
Fleck finally collapsed onto a massive speaker, emitting a thunderous sound.
"Crack!"
A purple flash emanated from the hall, snapping Lana back to reality.
Gasping for breath, she stumbled away.
Meanwhile, Eric, fighting Clark, also witnessed everything happening at the dance hall.
With his super vision, no distance, even miles away, could block his sight.
Still not entirely insane?
Jeremy targeted only the football players, allowing the innocent students and teachers to escape.
Seeing what Jeremy was doing inside the hall, Eric scoffed.
If he wanted to be a villain, he needed to abandon all sympathy and kindness.
Hesitation, caught between good and evil, would only lead to his demise!
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Fists and muscles clashed with heart-stopping impacts.
In the sparse, unnoticed forest, the two had exchanged several rounds in an instant.
Despite Clark's strength and speed still falling short of Eric's, he had managed to barely keep up with the pace.
Clark's innate combat talent shone through, going from being completely overwhelmed to barely holding his own.
But Eric's "Homelander template" was continually unlocking, and Clark's pressure forced him to grow stronger.
The template progress increased from 70% to 78%.
With enhanced strength, speed, endurance, and agility, Eric continued to keep Clark on the defensive.
Dodging Clark's punch, Eric deliberately showed a flaw, pretending to lose balance.
Clark, inexperienced, took the bait, seizing Eric's arm as he seemed to stumble.
Holding Eric's arm, Clark lunged forward.
But things didn't unfold as Clark expected.
Eric's arm twisted at a strange angle, breaking free of Clark's grip, and his right knee came up hard.
The brutal knee strike made Clark stagger.
With Clark off balance, Eric grabbed his shoulders with both hands.
Without any mercy, Eric used a wrestling move, hurling Clark to the ground.
Boom!
With a sound like cannon fire, Clark's body slammed into the hard earth.
The ground caved in, forming a large pit as soil rained down like a shower.
Lying at the bottom of the pit, Clark panted heavily.
His strength was almost completely exhausted; even moving a finger was difficult.
Despite causing Eric significant trouble with his sudden surge of power, he was still newly awakened to his abilities.
Unaware of his Kryptonian heritage or the responsibilities it entailed, Clark Kent was just a high school freshman.
Against Eric, whose "Homelander template" had reached 78%, Clark's performance was already extraordinary.
The final victor, Eric, stood at the edge of the pit, feeling the changes in his body.
His heart pounded rapidly, his vision and senses keener.
The chirping of insects in the distant forest, once faint, now sounded extraordinarily clear.
Not only had his strength, endurance, agility, and hearing enhanced, but also his perception.
Eric took a step forward.
He didn't fall but hovered in the air, his feet stepping on nothing.
Clark, at the bottom of the pit, stared wide-eyed at Eric floating above.
What was this?
While he was still running, Eric could defy gravity and float?
Was Eric's talent beyond the limits of Earth?
Clark, already feeling inferior, now felt even more defeated.
Savoring the sensation of floating, Eric took a deep breath.
Was this the power of flight?
Though just beginning to unlock, only capable of hovering now, with the "Homelander template" progress, he would soon master flying.
Thud!
Disabling his floating ability, Eric landed next to Clark in the pit.
"Clark, it's all over."
With an unusual gleam in his eyes, Eric glanced towards the school's dance hall.
"Perhaps you should check out the dance. What you ignored and didn't want to see is happening there."
"The dance?"
Clark's eyes were full of confusion. "You mean...?"
A bright silver flash suddenly shot into the sky, illuminating the night.
Seeing the lightning from the school's direction, Clark was completely stunned!
"Lana?!"
Realizing that Lana might be in danger at the dance, Clark, ignoring his pain, got up and sprinted towards the school.
With super speed, he became a gust of wind.
Watching Clark's retreating figure, Eric slowly shook his head.
Lana, now desperately hiding behind a statue near the library, was the focus of Clark's thoughts.
Sweat and blood soaked her as she shivered, hiding among the fountain and thorny bushes under the cover of night.
Her hands clasped tightly together, praying the devil wouldn't find her.
But to her despair, the demon emitting electrical flashes approached.
Each step he took echoed in her heart, amplifying her terror.
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