The energy inside Levi had reached its limit.
He could feel it—any more, and his body wouldn't be able to handle it.
He patted his stomach and looked around.
The city was in ruins. Everywhere were collapsed buildings and towering beams of light. In the distance, two Kryptonians were still fighting, their clashes echoing loudly.
His gaze shifted to the still-active energy beam. He raised his hand and made a slight grasping motion toward it.
The World Engine stopped.
The beam that had been warping the city's gravity vanished instantly.
Every component that made it up—metal, screws—disintegrated into fundamental particles at the same moment, dissolving into the air.
Cars and debris suspended in the sky lost their support and rained back down.
The distant battle came to a halt.
Zod and Superman both stopped, looking over uncertainly. They could feel it—the massive energy source was gone.
Levi took a step forward, appearing between them.
His sudden arrival made the already tense atmosphere even tighter.
Both Zod and Superman were injured, breathing heavily. Meanwhile, Levi looked completely untouched—no visible energy fluctuations, like an ordinary man.
But an ordinary man couldn't erase the World Engine.
"Who are you?" Zod asked warily, his voice hoarse.
Levi didn't answer immediately. He glanced at Superman, his eyes lingering briefly on the "S" emblem on his chest before turning back to Zod.
"The one here to end this."
Zod's expression darkened.
He couldn't sense any power from this man—and that unsettled him.
He stopped talking and fired twin heat vision beams straight at Levi's head.
"Watch out!" Superman shouted—he had seen Levi before.
But the next second—
He witnessed something unbelievable.
The heat vision stopped less than a meter from Levi, as if it had hit an invisible wall—then silently dissipated.
A deep fear rose within Zod.
He abandoned any probing and unleashed all his power. His figure vanished, air screaming as he punched toward Levi's heart at extreme speed—a perfect combination of speed and strength.
But in Levi's eyes—
Zod was slow.
He didn't even bother dodging. He simply raised his right hand.
[Law Domain]
Zod, rushing forward at full speed, suddenly felt like he had plunged into a viscous space. The air around him turned into something like cement. Every inch forward became impossibly difficult.
His muscles burned, yet his fist crawled forward at a snail's pace.
All he could do was watch as Levi extended a single finger and tapped his unmoving fist.
There was no sound.
But Zod's entire body trembled.
He felt the connection between himself and the power granted by the yellow sun—
Severed.
The strength drained from him instantly.
From a god, he became an ordinary Kryptonian again.
Earth's gravity reclaimed him, and he fell helplessly from the sky.
Boom!
Superman hovered in the air, unable to comprehend what had just happened.
The Zod who had been overwhelming him seconds ago had been knocked down—by a single finger.
Zod crashed into an abandoned street, dust rising everywhere.
Levi didn't follow up. He didn't even look down. He simply lowered his hand and turned to Superman.
"What are you standing around for?" Levi said calmly. "Your opponent's down there. The fight isn't over."
Superman snapped out of it.
He glanced at Levi—unfathomable—then at the street below.
He didn't know if this man was friend or foe.
But he had been given a chance.
Taking a deep breath, he suppressed his shock and shot downward like a streak of light.
Levi remained where he was, floating silently.
He could hear everything below.
Zod struggled out of the rubble, trying to summon his strength—only to find emptiness. He was still stronger than a normal human, but his world-destroying power was gone.
He looked up, seeing Superman land before him.
For the first time—despair appeared in his eyes.
"What did you do to me?!" he roared at Levi.
Levi didn't answer.
Superman looked at his powerless fellow Kryptonian, his expression not triumphant—but sorrowful.
"It's over, General."
Zod laughed wildly. "Over? No, Kal-El! As long as I can breathe—this isn't finished!"
He suddenly drew a Kryptonian dagger and lunged like a wounded beast.
Superman sidestepped easily and struck Zod's wrist.
Clang.
The dagger fell.
Then Superman grabbed his shoulders, pinning him down completely. Without his powers, Zod couldn't resist.
At that moment—
On the other side of the city, the final World Engine reached peak output.
A thicker blue beam shot skyward. The planet's magnetic field began to fluctuate violently.
Levi frowned.
This one was different—more destructive. It looked like it was about to self-destruct.
He raised his hand again, ready to deal with it the same way.
But halfway through, he stopped.
He sensed it—
Near the engine, inside a collapsing building, a family was trapped.
Superman heard them too.
He looked at Zod beneath him—then at the distant beam, and the faint cries for help.
Pain and conflict filled his face.
Zod saw it—and burst into manic laughter.
"Go save them, Kal-El! Go!" he shouted. "While you do, this planet becomes Krypton! You can only choose one!"
Levi found this kind of forced dilemma… boring.
He simply glanced in that direction.
The next instant, the four people inside the building were enveloped in an invisible energy bubble—vanishing, reappearing safely in a plaza kilometers away.
The family stood there, shaken and confused.
Problem solved.
Levi turned his gaze back.
Superman froze—he could sense they were safe, but didn't know how. He looked up at Levi, eyes full of questions.
Levi ignored him.
"Now," he said calmly, "you can focus on your choice."
With no hostages, Superman exhaled in relief. He looked at Zod, still struggling beneath him—his gaze hardened.
"I won't kill you, General. But you'll answer for what you've done."
He struck Zod at the back of the neck.
Zod groaned—and went unconscious.
With that resolved, Superman immediately shot into the sky, heading for the final World Engine.
But Levi appeared in front of him, blocking his path.
"That one's mine."
Levi pointed at the distant beam, his tone leaving no room for argument.
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