Lucas stopped his energy bombardment and looked at Red Lantern Superman lying within the magma.
"Besides," Lucas said calmly, "I don't believe you actually have the courage to self-destruct."
The more a being comes into contact with conscious thought, the more easily it is influenced by it.
And among all ideas, one forms most easily—
Better to live miserably than die well.
In simple terms: fear of death.
Red Lantern Superman slowly floated up from the magma. He did not try to flee, because he knew Lucas would never allow it.
"What do you want?" he asked helplessly.
"Remove the ring and leave Earth," Lucas replied coldly.
"If I take it off, he will die," Red Lantern Superman said.
"His heart has already been replaced by a rage core, and all the blood in his body has transformed into Red Lantern energy."
"That's not your concern," Lucas said impatiently. "Just take off the ring."
"You swear you won't pursue me?" Red Lantern Superman narrowed his eyes.
"You're not qualified to make demands," Lucas snorted. "Nor are you worthy of my oath."
Red Lantern Superman took a deep breath and finally said bitterly,
"Fine. I admit defeat."
He raised his left hand and placed it on the ring on his right hand.
But just as he was about to remove it—
A furious roar suddenly exploded through the depths.
For less than a second, even Lucas was affected by the overwhelming pressure of that roar.
In that instant, a streak of red light crossed an enormous distance and slammed violently into Red Lantern Superman.
Lucas saw clearly what that red light was.
The Red Lantern Beast — Blood Butcher.
"So it was you," Lucas muttered, frowning.
"That hidden fluctuation I sensed back on the Kryptonian mothership…"
The moment Blood Butcher struck Red Lantern Superman, it fused directly into his body.
A terrifying surge of crimson energy erupted outward, blasting Lucas back dozens of meters.
A massive red sphere formed, completely enveloping Red Lantern Superman.
"This just became troublesome," Lucas muttered.
At this point, attacking was pointless—the fusion was irreversible.
What he needed to consider now was how to deal with what came next:
An evolution from Red Lantern Superman into Blood Butcher Superman.
As expected, the red sphere soon dissipated.
What emerged was a Clark whose appearance had undergone a drastic transformation.
His body was now covered in thick, bone-like crimson armor.
Horn-shaped structures formed around his head, resembling a demonic crown.
His fists were encased in blood-red gauntlets that shimmered with violent energy.
A pair of scarlet eyes stared coldly at Lucas.
"Now," he said slowly, "the one who should be begging… is you."
No words were wasted.
The two collided once more.
Lucas, in his enhanced state, drove a punch into Blood Butcher Superman's armor—
And discovered it caused no meaningful damage at all.
"You're no longer my opponent," Blood Butcher Superman sneered.
Lucas flicked his wrist and fired an energy blast.
After the explosion faded, Blood Butcher Superman's armor merely glowed faintly red.
"Now," he said, "it's my turn."
In the next instant, he appeared in front of Lucas.
His fist struck like a meteor.
Lucas was blasted hundreds of meters backward, his passage carving a near-vacuum tunnel through the seawater.
Before Lucas could fully stabilize himself, Blood Butcher Superman was already there.
He grabbed Lucas by the shoulder and smashed his head forward.
The impact generated visible shockwave ripples even across the seafloor.
Then came a storm of relentless blows.
The sheer force of the attacks distorted the surrounding water, and the shockwaves soon reached the ocean's surface.
Waves hundreds of meters high formed—
only to be swallowed by even larger waves rising over a thousand meters tall.
Every nation bordering the Pacific Ocean immediately issued emergency alerts.
At this scale, no coastal city would be spared.
Boom!
Blood Butcher Superman kicked Lucas, sending him flying out of the crater that extended deep into the seabed.
Back on the ocean floor, Blood Butcher Superman casually flung out two rage energy cannons.
Lucas raised his arms and caught them head-on.
Even so, the tremendous force pushed him backward.
His feet sank deep into the seabed as he slid hundreds of meters before finally deflecting the blasts aside.
Less than two seconds later, massive explosions erupted behind him.
Shockwaves hurled enormous slabs of the seabed upward.
These were landmasses thousands of meters wide, scenes that could never be witnessed on the surface.
Lucas had no time to observe them.
Blood Butcher Superman charged again.
Lucas crossed his arms to block—
But still could not fully withstand the assault.
The seabed cracked.
Magma surged.
A previously dormant undersea volcano nearby was triggered by their clash and erupted violently.
---
"Mr. President," an aide said urgently,
"NOAA just called. If this battle continues, it will cause catastrophic destruction."
President Ellis rubbed his temples.
"What kind of catastrophe? A tsunami?"
"Mr. President… tsunamis would be the secondary damage."
The aide swallowed hard.
"NOAA has confirmed that multiple undersea volcanoes are erupting due to the battle. Continental plate stability is already compromised."
"If this continues for less than two hours, both the Eurasian Plate and the American Plate will experience massive displacement."
"According to USGS, this earthquake will exceed magnitude 9."
"MS, MB, MD—all seismic scales will surpass every recorded event in history."
Ellis stared at him.
"…Speak English."
The aide replied shakily,
"In simple terms, America alone will experience destruction equivalent to 800 million tons of TNT."
"Even the safest areas would still take damage comparable to a nuclear strike."
"Shit… Fuck!"
Ellis slammed his desk, powerless rage flooding his face.
He had believed that Lucas's return would stabilize everything.
Instead, the battle beneath the ocean threatened a planetary-scale catastrophe.
"Doesn't anyone have a solution?!" Ellis roared.
At that moment, Secretary of Defense stepped forward.
He sighed heavily.
"Mr. President… the only thing we can do now is pray that Lucas defeats his opponent as soon as possible."
"Otherwise… humanity may be wiped out by the aftershocks of this battle."
Ellis collapsed back into his chair.
"…Lucas," he whispered,
"Please… win."
_____
T/N:
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