Thea had trained step by step from close combat to ranged attacks to magic. Her martial skills couldn't compare to someone like Steppenwolf who'd practiced for tens of thousands of years, but compared to Superman who'd been farming and mowing lawns, her techniques were far more flexible.
Facing Superman's waist-twist punch, she nimbly pivoted mid-air, coming at him from below with an uppercut.
Her snow-white fist made solid contact with his stubbled chin. Like muffled thunder on flat ground—BOOM! The caught-off-guard Superman went flying over a hundred meters (330 feet).
Lois on the ground cried out in alarm. Diana quickly reassured her—this was just a warm-up.
"So hard..." Thea shook her hand. That punch felt like hitting a superalloy. Superman's face was too tough. It reminded her of the awkward scene of piercing Kara's ears.
Superman quickly flew back, tilting his head to work out the kinks in his neck. "How does Darkseid's strength compare to yours?"
Thea could only smile bitterly. "I didn't dare compete with him in raw strength." You're joking, right? Having the Goddess of Wealth compete in strength with the God of Strength?
"The gap is that big..." Superman's gaze grew more serious. Fists clenched, he flew at Thea, using a feint to evade her side kick at close range, striking directly at her back.
Unfortunately, he only hit an afterimage. "Is that magic?"
Thea emerged from behind him, grabbed his red cape, spun in place three times, and hurled him at a nearby mountain.
"High-speed movement leaving afterimages. You can do it too." Thea knew he could hear her. After throwing her opponent, she pursued, landing a punch to his chest just as Superman emerged from the rubble.
Superman tried to block, but Thea grabbed his wrist and, with his guard wide open, drove an elbow into his chest.
"Clark, you should practice some human martial arts. Against ordinary people it's fine, but once an enemy matches your power level, your combat technique is too crude." Thea was getting a bit bored. In her eyes as a contemporary martial artist, Superman's street-brawling style was full of openings. The idea that "too many openings means no openings" was nonsense—without his Man of Steel body, he'd have died a hundred times over.
To say Clark Kent was calm as still water, neither elated by victory nor depressed by defeat, would be a joke. He was feeling quite discouraged. Was the gap between them this wide?
"I won't use martial technique. Let's trade punches. I know you're still holding back. Don't worry, you can't kill me. Use your full power and show me Kryptonian pride."
This level of Superman wasn't worth her time. She wanted to settle it with one strike.
Thea began gathering divine power. Surging soul force like an ocean enhanced her body. Her muscle definition didn't change at all, but internally, earth-shattering transformation occurred. Though her four divine seats had little to do with strength, just stacking divine power created a terrifying number.
"Have I already been left behind by the times?" Superman had to ask himself. He was a nice guy, but more than that, he was a decorated warrior. He couldn't allow himself to be a coward.
A sharpness appeared for the first time in this ordinary-looking man's eyes. Even he wanted to see what he could accomplish if he cast aside all concerns.
"Very strong." Diana below watched with surging emotions, wishing she could join the fight herself.
In her eyes, Superman had reached the edge of godhood. But why hadn't the Source responded yet?
Thea saw more clearly than Diana. Superman had long since touched the edge of the Strength divine seat. Others just stepped over the line and the Source would actively respond.
But Superman had practically shoved his whole body in and still got nothing. The problem was that the Strength seat was occupied by Darkseid. Someone was in that spot—Superman wouldn't get the Strength seat in a thousand years unless he kicked Darkseid out.
In a sense, this was also the world's will's trial for these seemingly born-protagonist types. Diana was like this, Superman too. They were born starting where ordinary people couldn't hope to reach in a lifetime.
Ordinary people's starting line was ten thousand meters away, while these protagonists might be just a few hundred meters from the finish.
The balance of all things burdened them differently from lightly-equipped ordinary people. Heavy shackles firmly bound them—every step forward was climbing to heaven.
Now Thea had surpassed them. If these destined protagonists didn't want to fall behind, they needed to put in even more effort and sweat.
Thea didn't know what mental struggle Superman was having. She only knew her divine power had accumulated to the maximum. She'd definitely win this next punch.
Not just her confidence—the world's will was faintly sending similar signals.
Even with most of Superman's body at the Strength seat, it wasn't scary. He wasn't the God of Strength yet. The essential difference couldn't be ignored.
In a real fight, Thea would never be this reckless—abandoning defense, mobility, and vigilance to charge up for two minutes then unleash all her divine power in one punch? Darkseid would never give her the time. This punch was probably her current highest level.
"Here I come!" Eyes more serious than ever, Superman felt uncertain facing Thea's gathered divine power. He'd strike first.
Of the people on the ground, only Diana was calm. She could see Thea had the advantage. The other two—one human, one dog—perfectly demonstrated what "dumbstruck" meant.
"About twenty to thirty percent of Darkseid's main body strength!" Thea still had the leisure to estimate Superman's power, recalling the force when the Evil Overlord shattered her sword light and making a comparison. If Superman only had this level, he'd barely last a few rounds against Darkseid's avatar in the future, right?
Was Superman weaker than expected, or was she too strong?
Thea had no time to ponder. Facing Superman's fierce attack, she unleashed her maximum force.
Even without contact, the force of their punches compressed the air in the area, which rushed violently to both sides.
Getting serious, Superman channeled the stellar force within him. Initially just tiny glimmers, as he frantically extracted cellular energy, the light grew brighter—from afar, he looked like a small sun.
Thea's appearance was far less impressive. Soul force had nothing to do with light. Silver-gray energy spiraled around her body, with faint sounds of war drums from above.
This was the bonus from the Arts divine seat—playing music to relieve stress and boost morale. Thea's mysterious confidence that she'd win came from the Arts seat.
The previously clear sky split directly in half. The left half was an increasingly bright yellow star; the right half was steady, unyielding gray mountains.
BOOM! An earth-shattering collision as both charged forward with absolute conviction of victory.