The Magna Angemon, like a sword of light emerging from the heavens, soared into the sky.
The Magna Angemon's speed was astonishing.
Before Peter could signal Whitney, the experienced blonde pilot had already yanked the control stick and was in pursuit of the Angemon.
Magna Angemon glanced back in the air, seeing the jet following behind.
It shouted urgently, "You all go back!"
At that moment, a gust of wind whipped through his long hair, scattering golden strands.
Whitney shouted into the communicator, "Get out of the way!"
Two missile launchers descended from the underside of the jet, and two missiles locked onto Soren's position, cutting through the breeze and roaring into the air.
Soren immediately turned around!
—In the direction of the incoming missiles, a figure in a white cape with a bright red "S" on the chest was flying towards them from afar.
The calm, oceanic blue eyes of Krypton locked onto Soren from afar.
For a moment, Soren's mind was a blur; he couldn't utter a single word.
And those two missiles were screaming towards Superman.
The two missiles hit Superman's chest with pinpoint accuracy, causing two explosions.
The blast waves of scorching heat surged towards Soren like molten lava, nearly sending him flying.
—He had lost one wing, making it increasingly difficult to maintain balance effortlessly.
Soren watched as the flames from the explosion burned right before his eyes, his heart almost stopping in the moment.
Then, as he realized what was happening, his wings flapped powerfully, determined to plunge into the sea of fire.
But amidst the burning flames, a figure was slowly emerging.
Apart from slight char marks on the pristine white cape, Clark was almost unharmed.
A lock of dark hair fell across his forehead, just brushing his brow.
His lips parted slightly, mouthing a single word.
Amidst the roaring turbulence of the explosion's aftermath, Soren couldn't hear what he was saying, but he knew Clark was calling his name.
His heartbeat thundered in his ears.
Soren stared blankly at Clark.
Clark's name was on the tip of his tongue, but he couldn't bring himself to speak.
At that moment, Clark's eyes suddenly turned a fierce crimson!
Heat vision, as wide as a beam of light, shot towards Soren's side.
Before Soren could react, he heard another explosion from behind.
He spun around, only to see the Andean Condor being sliced in half by the heat vision.
The ammunition on board was ignited by the heat, resulting in a massive explosion.
"No—!!"
Soren rushed forward in horror and grief, and saw two figures plummeting rapidly from the fireball.
Black, bird-like shadows rose behind them, indicating the deployed parachutes.
—Whitney and Peter had decisively ejected and parachuted to safety when they realized Superman was unharmed.
Soren dove down through the explosive turbulence, aiming to catch them.
Even though they had escaped Superman's initial attack, the violent explosion could still be fatal.
Behind him, Clark stood like a god gazing down from the clouds, emotionless and unmoved, observing them as a human might observe ants scurrying around their feet.
Backlit by the sun, which rimmed him with a golden halo, Clark was ensconced in shadows, making his expression unreadable.
Soren spread all his wings above Whitney and Peter's parachutes, angling to shield them from the blast waves.
The parachute swayed in the chaotic airflow, with Whitney having opened it and Peter extending his arms to glide down in his spider suit.
Peter then grabbed Whitney as they descended.
Whitney hit the ground and immediately rolled to his feet, looking up at Superman in the sky.
His gray-blue eyes fixed on Superman with a fierce expression.
His strong fingers quickly unfastened his parachute harness, breathing heavily with shock, and he gritted his teeth, saying, "Clark Kent..."
"Are you two hurt?" Soren's voice was hoarse as he landed beside them.
Peter finally pulled up his Spider-Man mask and said to Soren, "Listen, we need to get out of here immediately."
Soren glanced over them, confirming that they were not seriously injured, and then folded his wings with a bitter smile, saying, "You two go ahead."
Peter, anxious, replied, "I'm not leaving you behind. We came as a team of four, and we're leaving as a team of four! No, no, no, Soren, don't do this. Don't go after him—"
His voice abruptly cut off.
Because right behind Soren, Superman, who had been hovering in the air, was now slowly descending to the ground.
Superman's expression was impassive; no one could discern the emotion in his eyes.
He looked at the three of them, his hands hanging by his sides as if completely unguarded, his white cape, scorched with black marks, draping heavily behind him.
"Soren."
His tone was calm, as he extended a hand towards Soren, as if calling a pet that had run too far away.
He was so certain that Soren would choose to abandon everything and walk towards him.
As if there were no other possibility.
As if he would ruthlessly erase any chance of defiance.
Soren turned around, and in the white light, he transformed back into his original form.
Clark's face was now clearly visible to him, the handsome visage of the sun god Apollo unchanged, though his brow had become even more stern.
It was so strange. In this situation, he should have felt fear, anger, and resistance—his reason told him so, but his love made him feel sadness and joy.
It was the joy of reuniting after many months of longing, and also the sorrow of knowing they had taken different paths.
He tried hard to engrave this face into his memory, as if it were the most precious treasure to him.
He thought, seeing you once means seeing you less, Clark.
They were on two opposing paths now—how could they find a compromise?
"...Clark, I'll come with you. You can do whatever you want with me, just please don't hurt my friends."
Soren's voice was hoarse.
In the Arctic blizzard, he had tried every possible way to save his comrades.