AM I SUPERMAN?

Chapter 81: CHAPTER 81



As Diana descended from the sky, Kaius couldn't help but feel as if a divine war song was echoing in his ears. She fell with the speed and force of a meteor, her figure blazing with purpose.

Boom!

Diana landed with a thunderous impact, creating a shallow crater in the streets of the damaged town. The concrete fractured outward in a spiderweb pattern, the sheer force of her arrival silencing the chaos momentarily.

In the center of the crater, Diana stood, her divine power evident. She held the Shield of Athena in one hand and the Godkiller Sword in the other, the Sword of Hephaestus strapped across her back. Her movements were deliberate, graceful, and commanding.

She pointed the Godkiller Sword toward the two Kryptonian warriors. "Who are you to threaten this world? Another pawn of Ares?"

The Kryptonian soldiers hesitated, momentarily taken aback by her presence and the unexpected challenge. But their loyalty to Zod quickly overtook their hesitation.

"How dare you insult General Zod!" one of them shouted. "You will pay with your life!"

One of the Kryptonian warriors abandoned her fight with Kaius and charged at Diana with full force, her black Kryptonian armor gleaming ominously under the sunlight.

Diana met her charge head-on, her shield raised and her sword ready. The two clashed with a resounding boom, their movements a blur to the untrained eye. Diana's shield deflected the Kryptonian's punches, while her sword slashed against the alien's armor. But the black Kryptonian armor was no ordinary material; even the Godkiller Sword only left shallow marks.

Meanwhile, Kaius observed the battle, muttering to himself, "I really need to upgrade my own suit if it's going to withstand hits like that."

Realizing the advantage Kryptonian armor gave the warriors, Kaius called out, "Diana, use the Kryptonite sword!"

Diana nodded, disengaging from her opponent. She stabbed the Godkiller Sword into the ground and drew the Sword of Kryptonite from her back. The blade emitted a bright green glow as soon as it left its scabbard, radiating a toxic energy that immediately weakened the two Kryptonian soldiers.

Their strength visibly drained, and they stumbled, collapsing to their knees. Even their genetically enhanced resilience was no match for the debilitating effects of Kryptonite.

Kaius, now wielding Diana's Kryptonite sword, moved with blinding speed. Using Diana's Speed of Hermes, he activated a burst of superhuman velocity, making the world around him appear frozen.

"Let's finish this," he muttered.

Moving faster than the Kryptonian warriors could react, Kaius plunged the Kryptonite sword into their chests in quick succession. The glowing blade pierced through their weakened armor effortlessly, and they crumpled to the ground, lifeless.

As the effects of the speed burst ended, Diana observed the aftermath, her eyes scanning the fallen warriors. "They are so fragile in the presence of Kryptonite," she remarked.

Kaius wiped the blade clean, nodding. "The Kryptonite weakens them, yes, but their strength also depends on their exposure to Earth's sun. Not all Kryptonians are so easily subdued. The stronger ones can resist its effects—some even claim Superman could one day shrug it off entirely."

Diana raised an eyebrow. "I'll believe that when I see it."

Kaius gathered the bodies of the fallen soldiers, stacking them together. "We can't leave them as they are. Their bodies are a danger to Earth's people." He ignited a flame, burning the remains to ensure no traces were left.

Above Metropolis, the spacecraft and the World Engine had docked, one hovering in the sky and the other embedded in the South Indian Ocean. The two machines began to emit synchronized energy pulses, their intent clear: to terraform Earth into a new Krypton.

The gravitational waves from the pulses rippled across the area, disrupting the natural order. Buildings creaked and groaned, objects within a hundred-meter radius floated into the air momentarily before crashing down violently. The weight of the gravitational shifts flattened cars and crumbled infrastructure as if a massive invisible force were pressing down on them.

In the sky, the World Engine aimed its energy beams at the Earth's core, preparing to rewrite the planet's geology. The devastation it caused was immediate and catastrophic.

Kaius and Diana stood amidst the destruction, their eyes fixed on the spacecraft above Metropolis.

"We have to stop that thing before it destroys everything," Kaius said, gripping the Kryptonite sword tightly.

Diana nodded, determination burning in her gaze. "Then let's move. There's no time to waste."

Together, they leaped into action, racing toward the heart of the chaos to stop Zod's plan before it was too late.

The energy pulses from the Kryptonian World Engine intensified. The area of effect expanded rapidly, extending from a radius of a few meters to over a hundred meters. Entire city blocks were caught in the devastating field, their contents—vehicles, debris, and even people—ripped from the ground as if gravity had ceased to exist.

Boom!

The momentary weightlessness ended abruptly. Everything suspended in the air was violently slammed back to the ground, crushed under immense gravitational pressure. Screams were cut short as lives were extinguished in an instant. Vehicles crumpled like tin cans, and buildings collapsed, their foundations unable to withstand the shifting forces.

The devastation spread like wildfire, leaving the once-thriving cityscape in ruins. Panic gripped the masses. Crowds fled in every direction, desperate to escape the expanding zone of destruction. The alien spacecraft loomed ominously overhead, its presence a harbinger of doom.

At the temporary military base on the outskirts of Metropolis, General Swanwick watched the carnage unfold on a large monitor. His face was etched with tension as he turned to Dr. Emil Hamilton, the civilian expert enlisted for the crisis.

"Dr. Hamilton, what are they doing?" Swanwick demanded.

Dr. Hamilton adjusted his glasses, his gaze fixed on a 3D model of Earth on the screen. Data streams and simulations ran alongside the image. After a moment of analysis, he explained, "They're using some kind of gravity weapon. It's synchronized with their spacecraft to alter Earth's mass and atmospheric composition. They're polluting the air with fine particulates—essentially terraforming."

Swanwick's patience wore thin. "Speak plainly, Doctor!"

Hamilton sighed and simplified, "They're transforming Earth into a new Krypton. By altering gravity, atmosphere, and terrain, they're making it habitable for Kryptonians but lethal for us."

Swanwick's expression darkened. "So if they succeed, we're finished."

"Exactly," Hamilton replied grimly. "Humans can't survive in Krypton's environment."

A technician interrupted urgently, "General, alien forces are advancing over Metropolis, and our armed response teams are engaging!"

Swanwick nodded decisively. "Launch a full-scale assault on the alien ship. Prioritize civilian evacuation, and prepare a second nuclear strike if necessary. But only as a last resort."

Swanwick glanced at the screen again, his resolve hardening. "If we fail here, it's the end."

At Metropolis Airport, a sleek Wayne Enterprises helicopter touched down amidst the chaos. As the rotors slowed, Bruce Wayne jumped from the co-pilot's seat before the craft fully stabilized. A loyal attendant hurried to meet him, driving his car as close as possible to the helipad.

"Master Wayne, here's your car!" the manservant called, but Bruce was already moving.

Bruce leaped from the two-meter-high platform with practiced ease, landing smoothly. Without wasting a moment, he slid into the driver's seat and sped toward downtown Metropolis. As he drove, he gripped his phone tightly in one hand, his other on the wheel.

"Jack? Are you still in the building?" Bruce's voice was sharp, commanding. "I want everyone out of there now!"

On the other end of the call, an older man's voice trembled. "Understood, Master Wayne. We're evacuating as you instructed, but things are getting worse here—"

The line went dead with a loud crash. Bruce tried calling again, but there was no response.

"Dammit!" he growled, slamming his fist on the steering wheel.

Determined, Bruce floored the accelerator, weaving through traffic with practiced precision. The Batmobile would have been more efficient, but here in his civilian guise, the limits of a luxury car left him frustrated. "If only I had the Batmobile here," he muttered, pushing the car to its limits.

Meanwhile, the World Engine continued its work. The alien spacecraft above Metropolis hovered ominously as gravity pulses grew stronger. Nearby objects levitated briefly before slamming down with crushing force. Cars were flattened, debris turned to dust, and even concrete structures buckled under the relentless pressure.

In the southern hemisphere, the second World Engine had fully submerged in the South Indian Ocean, emitting shockwaves that destabilized the area. The synchronized efforts of the machines were rapidly transforming Earth, with every pulse bringing humanity closer to annihilation.

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