Clark, now a selfish and unrestrained person without moral constraints, has undergone a subtle change in mindset after a grueling battle that left him physically and mentally exhausted and his confidence shattered.
Indeed, as Eric said, he has developed fear!
Extreme arrogance eventually leads to a loss of all courage and fear.
Facing Eric's threat, the personality granted to him by the red kryptonite has developed a tendency to escape.
And the only way to free himself is to remove the red gemstone ring!
Clark exerted all his strength to reach out and grasp the ring on his finger, trying to take it off.
At the same time, Eric's heat vision was activated, aiming at Clark's eyes.
"Ah!"
Clark, groaning in pain, used all his strength to remove the ring and threw it away with all his might.
Eric's heat vision was about to unleash a torrent of heat, ready to strike Clark's eyes.
But seeing Clark remove the red gemstone ring, Eric hesitated for a moment.
In the end, he did not aim his heat vision at Clark but deflected it towards the wall behind Clark.
"Zing!"
The heat vision passed close to Clark's ear and impacted the wall behind him, penetrating it.
Feeling the heat by his ear, Clark could no longer hold on and fell forward.
Eric retracted his heat vision and looked at the "unfortunate brother" lying unconscious on the ground.
Confirming that Clark was temporarily out of danger, Eric walked towards the discarded red gemstone ring.
He bent down to pick up the red kryptonite ring that had caused such a change in Clark's personality.
He carefully examined the ring, lost in thought.
When Jonathan and Lana arrived at the abandoned factory, the scene they saw was Eric standing in what looked like a factory hit by artillery fire, with Clark lying on the ground, unconscious.
The factory was in ruins, the floor was sunken and cracked, and the walls were covered with spiderweb-like fissures.
A large hole was torn in the roof, and the metal debris inside was bent and shattered, giving a strong visual impact.
Even seeing the aftermath of the scene, one could imagine the extent of the battle between the two.
Chloe shook her head, her eyes filled with confusion as she asked, "So, the battle between the superheroes is over?"
No one answered her. Lana and Peter both had stunned expressions.
Jonathan, however, was calmer. He quickly walked to Clark, helped him up, and performed a simple check.
"Eric."
After helping Clark up and handing him over to Chloe and the others, Jonathan approached his younger son and patted him on the shoulder. "Eric, are you alright?"
Lana also walked towards Eric as she spoke.
"I'm fine, just some torn clothes, no injuries."
Eric turned around upon hearing his father's voice.
At the same time, the red gemstone ring in his hand came into view for everyone.
Seeing the red gemstone ring in Eric's hand, Jonathan's heart tightened.
An internal fear rapidly overtook him.
Why is the red gemstone ring in Eric's hand?!
If Clark's mind was affected by the ring with red kryptonite, there were still ways to remedy the situation.
But once Eric's mind was affected by the red kryptonite, no one would be able to match him, and the entire world could be dragged into the abyss by him.
Fear gripped his heart like a beast.
Lana, beside him, also realized the seriousness of the situation and took a step back in disbelief.
But contrary to their expectations, Eric handed the red gemstone ring to his father casually.
"...?"
Jonathan stared blankly at the ring in his hand.
"Eric, weren't you affected by the ring?"
He knew that both Clark and Eric were brought by the alien spacecraft and shared the same physical structure.
If Clark was affected by the red kryptonite, Eric would naturally not be immune.
But why does Eric appear to be completely unaffected?
"If I wore it, maybe I would have become like Clark, with a complete personality change. But just touching it, I can use my concentrated willpower to suppress and resist this transformation."
Eric casually explained to his father.
The willpower excuse was naturally a pretext he used to deflect his father's concerns, but Jonathan and Lana clearly believed it.
Especially Lana, whose eyes showed admiration.
Could he resist the corruption that Clark could not withstand?
Such willpower must surpass that of most people in the world!
The next day.
At the Kent Farm.
Clark hesitated in front of the door, took a deep breath, and pushed the door open.
In the living room, Jonathan and Martha were preparing dinner, and Eric was standing by the window reading the newspaper.
Jonathan had bandages on his back and shoulders from an injury caused by Clark's push, affecting his muscles.
When Clark entered, Jonathan, Martha, and Eric all kept their heads down, doing their own things, as if they had not heard the door open.
"I went to Jessica's house. They have already moved away."
After a moment of silence, Clark spoke up.
"Perhaps they won't be on the run anymore, but will seek help from the authorities."
Martha, seeing that her husband and younger son were pretending not to hear, had no choice but to respond to Clark.
"I just hope she can be safe and no longer be harmed."
Clark said with a sense of melancholy.
Now, after losing the red gemstone ring, he had returned to his previous personality.
Although his rationality and personality had been restored, the memory of his previous absurd behavior remained, and this guilt and regret were the most painful for him.
Seeing that Jonathan still seemed unwilling to acknowledge him, Clark took the initiative to apologize to his father.
"I'm sorry, Dad. I didn't mean to say those things or do those things."
"Clark."
Jonathan shook his head, adjusting the plates. "The red kryptonite may have affected your personality, but... we have to face reality. There's a reason you felt that way. Our family is impoverished compared to the Luthor family, but I've only now realized how much you cared about that."
Clark walked up to his father and said sincerely, "Maybe it was like that sometimes. But I know that no matter how crazy I become, you will support me and try to save me, and that's something no amount of money in the world can buy."
Jonathan was silent for a moment, let out a sigh, and looked at Clark. "You will reflect on this, Clark, that's always a good thing, but you almost made a grave mistake. I hope you will always understand what you're doing."
"I know, so I'm very grateful to Eric."
Clark looked at Eric. "Eric stopped me."
At the same time, a strange emotion arose in his heart.
Did his personality, affected by the red kryptonite, ultimately give up his identity due to fear?
What does that mean?
Did Eric scare him into abandoning his independent personality, escaping, and giving up all desires?
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