*Chapter 176: Three Spears*

"Kratos, can you take this monster out of the atmosphere?" Nick asked Atreus through the earpiece.

"No, I can't. Superman should be able to," Atreus replied, knowing his limits. He turned and shouted to Superman, "Throw this guy out of the atmosphere! The authorities want to give him a big firework show."

This time around, Superman was in much better shape when facing Doomsday.

He hadn’t been impaled by the shiny green Kryptonite spear from Batman first. And facing such a strong enemy, he also had Atreus, Flora, and Wonder Woman to help take turns absorbing damage.

Superman was already the top of the "thick skin" category, known for being incredibly tough. Even though he had taken several heavy hits, he was still at about 80% strength.

Besides, he could just recharge by basking in the sun, so it was no big deal.

The moment Atreus suggested it, Superman acted immediately.

But first, there was a series of flashy maneuvers.

Penthesilea started things off by driving in with a "Flash Spray."

The golden chariot, accompanied by a divine glow, crashed down from above, looking as if she intended to go down with the enemy.

As Doomsday swung its massive fists, preparing to smash the chariot, it pulled off a sharp drifting turn a hundred meters away, narrowly avoiding the blast of wind from the punch.

Wonder Woman, carrying her divine shield, also charged in from another direction to draw the monster's attention.

No matter the time, that big, shining golden shield was always eye-catching.

The real killing blow, however, came from underground...

Following Atreus's instructions, Flora deftly slipped into a sewer at the harbor and launched a surprise attack on Doomsday from below.

"Boom!"

A spectacular upwards kick not only showcased Flora's long, beautiful legs but also shattered a two-meter-thick concrete floor.

Concrete, which was incredibly tough in the eyes of mere mortals, was no more than brittle crackers when faced with the destructive power of Kryptonians.

Since this monster was called "Doomsday," then no matter what happens, it was bound to face destruction.

Just as Atreus, having dealt a ton of damage, rushed in to attract the monster's last bit of attention, Superman struck like a flash.

When Superman fights without holding back, every move is unbelievably powerful.

With a grappling maneuver, he charged at Mach 10, easily holding the Doomsday monster in place. At full strength, he rapidly accelerated like a rocket, streaking towards the sky.

By the time he flew out of the atmosphere, Atreus had no idea if Superman had exceeded the first cosmic velocity by 23 times.

Flying purely with his body and effortlessly escaping Earth's gravity was something Atreus could never hope to learn.

Watching Superman’s blue cape and red trunks vanish into the distance, Atreus couldn't help but shed a tear of envy.

The only thing certain was that the big American nuke had gone to space with them.

Passing through the stratosphere, despite Superman’s continuous acceleration, Doomsday, who had adapted to this extreme speed, started resisting, swinging its massive fists at Superman.

The terrifying destructive power, enough to sink a Nimitz-class aircraft carrier, only managed to knock Superman back a few hundred meters in the weightless void.

Seeing the nuclear missile, brimming with destructive power, getting closer and closer, Superman got serious. He did something that would have seemed unthinkable to any other superhero—

He flew behind Doomsday's thick neck, which was too large for even one person to encircle, and held the monster in a death grip, preventing it from moving.

The nuclear missile hit its target accurately...

"Whoa—"

People on the ground looked up in shock at the sky, seeing that the dark night sky had suddenly turned a bright orange.

This 100,000-ton nuke was definitely far less powerful than the 50-megaton Tsar Bomba detonated by the Soviets in history.

But this was already a standard strategic nuclear missile in the regular nuclear arsenal.

The massive shockwave from the explosion covered dozens of square kilometers of the sky.

Since it was an airburst, it could be seen from as far as 1,000 kilometers away.

The rolling flames looked like hell had descended. The clouds above Gotham and New York City visibly pressed down due to the massive explosion’s shockwave.

The billowing fire cloud seemed as if it would crush down on the rooftops of skyscrapers at any moment, destroying these two already tormented cities once again.

"Did it work?" Nick Fury and General Swanwick both murmured at the same time.

"Missile One (the nuke) hit the target!" Agent Hill reported the live status.

But then, something unbelievable happened for everyone watching.

"Oh no! It's back!" Agent Hill exclaimed in disbelief, looking at the radar readings.

That terrifying monster split through the still-blazing clouds, piercing through the atmosphere and descending back to Earth with unstoppable momentum.

More than one camera captured it crashing down on an island near Gotham City, creating a horrifying wave of fire.

Despite being hit by a big mushroom cloud, its life force had not diminished. On the contrary, it felt a surge of overwhelming power filling its body, and a violent killing urge took over this moment of Doomsday.

Its body began to crackle from the inside out, and huge bone spikes thicker than a person’s leg burst through the muscles on its broad shoulders, back, and elbows, growing rapidly before everyone’s eyes.

Meanwhile, a massive high-energy reaction filled this tiny two-square-kilometer island.

The enormous fireball, mixed with orange lightning, easily reduced all man-made structures on the island to dust.

"Oh, hell! Is this something humans can actually fight?" Tony Stark didn't dare fly too close, hovering a kilometer away in his Iron Man suit.

If given enough time, he might be able to create an "Anti-Doomsday" Iron Man suit.

But in a direct confrontation, he was truly powerless.

"Where's Superman?" Nick asked.

Agent Hill quickly checked the recent data. "He seems to be hovering in outer space, unresponsive."

Well, that’s just great.

They launched a goddamn nuke into the sky, but it didn’t kill the main threat; instead, it knocked out Superman, their most powerful ally. Might as well let the extraordinary ones handle the battle on their own!

Nick was feeling a bit annoyed.

He knew clearly that without Superman, the strongest force now was Kratos and his team.

At that moment, messages came in from two directions simultaneously.

"Batman's aircraft spotted, rapidly approaching Kratos."

Wouldn’t you know it, right then, Black Widow and Hawkeye arrived in their Quinjet.

Both sides called out at the same time, "I’ve got a Kryptonite spear here. With this, you should be able to kill that Kryptonian monster."

"Whoosh!" "Whoosh!"

From the north and the south, two green-tipped spears shot through the air, each caught by Wonder Woman and Penthesilea.

Under everyone's watchful eyes, Kratos reached behind himself and pulled out another spear with a green tip.

"Funny thing is, I have one too!"

Not far away, Faora stared in disbelief as the Greek trio held three gleaming Kryptonite spears.

"..."

Was this on purpose, or was it an accidental coincidence?

(End of Chapter)