He was becoming more powerful at an alarming rate.
Zod spread his fingers, and a faint blue glow flickered in his eyes.
He was born with the warrior genes of Krypton, bred for battle.
His genetic makeup allowed him to quickly adapt his body to Earth's environment and its newly gained powers, evolving his fighting techniques to match his growing strength.
"Kal-El!"
Zod shouted Clark's name as he charged at him from the sky!
Clark lifted his head resolutely, launching himself upwards to meet Zod.
Both swung their right fists at each other.
When they collided, a deafening boom erupted as the two most powerful Kryptonians in the universe clashed, their shockwave sweeping through the entire Grand Central Terminal—
Every glass window in the station shattered instantly, steel beams warped, and debris flew in all directions.
—This was no longer a battle mortals could intervene in; it had become a war between gods.
A single punch from either of them could demolish a skyscraper.
Their flight between buildings was faster than the most advanced supersonic jets, and a casual sweep of their devastating heat vision sliced the arching top of the Chrysler Building clean in half.
In the face of such god-like power, humanity had no force capable of standing against them.
Despite Clark's efforts to break free from Zod's relentless pursuit and head towards the World Engine, Zod's unyielding attacks left him no choice but to focus entirely on the fight.
By now, Zod had mastered multiple powers, including heat vision, freezing breath, and supersonic flight.
Combined with his superior combat skills, every strike from him grew more difficult for Clark to withstand.
Their strength was nearly evenly matched, and with every exchange, they aimed to deliver a deadly blow.
The heat vision, like a red blade, sliced through yet another building amidst their battle in the sky.
A massive skyscraper tilted towards the ground, and people on the streets below ran for their lives in its looming shadow.
A decorative golden bear sculpture, hanging on the facade of a nearby shopping center, also began to fall due to the increasing gravity, plummeting right toward the fleeing crowd—
In that critical moment, the black Batwing appeared like a ghost from behind the steel forest of skyscrapers.
Wonder Woman leaped out of the Batwing, her Lasso of Truth flying through the air, catching the falling golden bear just as one of its claws was about to strike a child's head.
Diana braced herself on the rooftop, letting out a battle cry as her arms bulged with muscle.
She struggled against the increasing gravity caused by the World Engine, using all her strength to pull the statue and throw it safely to the other side of the street, where no one was standing.
However, before she could retrieve her lasso, the World Engine's mechanical pump struck the Earth's crust again, further intensifying the gravity.
The weight of the golden bear pulled back on the lasso, yanking her body toward the edge of the building!
Just as Diana lost her balance and began to fall, a strong, muscular arm caught her in mid-air.
...It was Soren, just returned from space, struggling to flap his wings as he hovered in the air, gripping Diana's wrist tightly.
Gritting his teeth, Soren pulled her up a few inches.
The Amazonian princess swiftly drew her God-Killer sword and plunged it into the wall, bending her body and planting her feet against the wall.
With the combined strength of the sword and Soren, she climbed back to the rooftop.
Her champion helmet was now covered in battle scars, and she was panting as she quickly thanked him.
Soren gave a slight nod.
At that moment, the Batwing landed behind them, and Batman leaped out, striding toward them with fury in his voice, "Those two Kryptonians are destroying the city."
Soren took a deep breath, his gaze following Batman's, along with Diana's, as they all looked toward Clark, who was exchanging blows with Zod in the distance.
"…Zod is absorbing the yellow sunlight and growing stronger. If this keeps up, Superman could be defeated," Soren said with concern.
Batman glanced at him, "I've got Robin bringing something from Gotham."
Soren understood immediately.
After a brief pause, he pressed his lips together and said, "Alright, B. You and Wonder Woman go help Clark with Zod. I'll take care of the World Engine."
The Dark Knight wasn't convinced by his plan.
In a low voice, he said, "I've told you before: going in alone will only lead to failure."
Wonder Woman, gripping her God-Killer sword, asked, "How do you plan to stop it? They've already tried launching missiles at the machine, but the enhanced gravity field around it pulls them toward the ground. If that happens, the entire island of Manhattan will be destroyed by the missiles."
"I know," Soren replied, looking up at the massive World Engine above, a thought slowly forming in his mind, "…I'll handle it."
Before anyone could stop him, Soren spread his wings and soared into the air, ignoring Batman's protests as he flew determinedly toward the World Engine.
He moved so fast that he was like a streak of white light.
In the blink of an eye, he pushed through the intensifying gravity field and entered the core area of the World Engine.
This area had already been flattened.
Every building that once stood there was gone, leaving behind no signs of life.
It was as if the World Engine had scorched an open wound into the Earth's surface, a scar for all to see.
It was utter devastation.
The gravity in the core was immense, and Soren could feel his bones and muscles straining, nearly on the verge of breaking.
Even a digital body as strong as his was groaning under the immense pressure.
But only he could enter this area.
Any other living being with flesh and blood would have been crushed into nothing but a pile of formless meat under the intense gravity.