"Dear God, what's wrong with those people? Have they turned into zombies?"
"Tony, look! Even the army and The Seven can't stop them!"
A kilometer outside the town, by the riverbank, two plaid-clad youths continued filming with their drone.
The one called Tony grabbed the remote. "Why are you focusing on them? The audience only cares about Homelander! That's where the views are!"
"Wait… Where is he?"
A distant whoosh echoed from the sky.
Charlie squinted toward the heavens just in time to spot a blur slicing through the clouds.
"He's up there!"
"Tony! Homelander's in the sky!"
The drone's camera angle shifted, and the screen revealed only a fleeting, streaking shadow—a blue comet tearing through the atmosphere, trailing wisps of vapor in its wake.
In an instant, the streak dove sharply downward, piercing through the cloud layer and heading straight toward the town.
BOOM!
The town reverberated with a deafening crash, as though a meteor had slammed into the earth. Buildings shook, and the ground quaked beneath the impact.
A massive wave of debris shot into the air, cascading outward like a stone tsunami. The earth trembled as the shockwave spread in ripples, tossing everything in its path skyward—only to be smashed into pieces midair.
In mere moments, the entire town was swallowed by waves of stone and rubble, burying countless night thralls beneath its crushing weight.
The military forces and superhumans scrambled to retreat, engines roaring as they raced down the highway, escaping the devastation.
When the tremors ceased, bits of debris rained down like scattered bullets, clattering onto the cracked earth.
Elementalist's eyes turned pale yellow as the ground beneath her feet responded, rising into a towering pillar that lifted her high above the destruction.
From her vantage point, she stared in stunned disbelief.
The town of Silver Tree was gone.
All that remained was a colossal crater, thick with swirling dust clouds rising from the impact zone.
Moments later, a grim sight emerged from the rubble—a blackened hand clawing its way free.
Then another.
And another.
The night thralls, undeterred by the devastation, wriggled out from beneath the debris like weeds sprouting after rain.
Elementalist's face paled. "They're not dead!" she shouted to the ground below. "Those mutated residents are still alive!"
Yuri, who had been shaking the sand out of his cap, felt his heart sink.
At the center of the crater, Azu stood motionless, eyes narrowing at the sight of something strange: soap bubbles.
They floated lazily in the air, shimmering like iridescent orbs—completely out of place amidst the destruction.
But what irked Azu wasn't the bubbles themselves—it was the moment just before impact. He had aimed to obliterate Big Eater by diving straight into the heart of the town.
Yet, when his fist was about to connect, Big Eater had suddenly dissolved into a flurry of bubbles.
"This isn't his ability," Azu muttered, suspicion stirring. "Or… maybe Insight didn't reveal all of his powers?"
His feet left the ground as he drifted upward through the haze of bubbles, scanning the surroundings with cold precision.
Soon, two figures came into view: Big Eater—and standing beside him, decked in garish makeup, was none other than the Midnight Jester.
Azu's eyes flickered as he activated [Insight].
Name: Brad Willy (Midnight Jester)
Life Level: 4 (Superhuman)
Status: Terrified
Abilities: Substitution, Illusion Craft, Perfect Accuracy
Azu processed the information swiftly.
"Three abilities... That's quite the arsenal. No wonder he's a Council member."
His gaze shifted to Big Eater. "So those bubbles… That must've been Jester's Substitution ability."
Azu's mind pieced things together. The Jester had likely hidden in the tent alongside Big Eater, using illusions to mask their presence and swapping out Big Eater at the last moment.
And now, with the animals and Copycat already dead from the earlier impact, Azu deduced something crucial:
Substitution could only target one person at a time.
Azu smirked. "Looks like it's just you two left."
Without waiting, he shot toward Big Eater at lightning speed.
The moment Azu moved, Midnight Jester yanked Big Eater close, screaming, "Now!"
Their forms shimmered—and abruptly lost substance.
Azu's fist punched through thin air, and where the two men had stood, a flock of doves erupted, flapping wildly as they scattered into the sky.
"Well, well…" Azu chuckled. "So, you two know how to do magic tricks."
"But," he mused, "this little trick of yours seems to require physical contact."
His sharp gaze locked onto where the two figures had reappeared, materializing midair.
Midnight Jester, panicking, pulled out a syringe and shouted, "Long live the Council!"
He moved to inject himself in the neck—
BANG!
Azu kicked a piece of debris off the ground. The rock exploded into hundreds of fragments, shooting forward like bullets.
The shards shredded the syringe in Jester's hand and sent it clattering to the ground.
Both the Jester and Big Eater's forms wavered, shattering like glass, and disintegrated into tiny motes of light—a trick, another illusion.
Azu's eyes narrowed. "That was fake, huh?"
From behind a crumbled wall, the real Midnight Jester emerged, gripping a new syringe in trembling hands.
Just as he raised it to his neck, a hand shot out from the rubble, intercepting the needle midair.
The syringe bent uselessly, the needle crushed.
The debris exploded outward as Azu rose to his full height behind Jester, his smile cold and predatory.
The shattered syringe dripped crimson liquid onto the ground.
"End of the line," Azu whispered, his grip tightening.
Jester's panicked breath caught in his throat. He tried one last trick—but before he could vanish into another illusion, Azu's fingers crushed the syringe, and with it, every remaining hope the Jester had.
The two figures dissolved into a cascade of playing cards, fluttering in the wind.
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