Butcher had killed many people.
After he became Mallory's right-hand man, his hands were stained with blood.
But many times, the people Butcher killed were 'ordinary' Supes.
They might have been Superheroes, ordinary people related to Superheroes, or security personnel from Vought.
However, personally killing a government councilor was a first for Butcher.
And it was an action carried out under Mallory's direct instruction.
Victoria Neuman's movements were not a secret.
Most of the time, she would participate in protests against Vought, or go for interviews to express her personal views on the current political situation.
But no matter what kind of interview it was, Neuman would eventually bring up Vought and Supes.
On one hand, she would say Supes needed regulation, and on the other, that Vought's power was too great and needed to be balanced.
Her words revealed only one thought: to establish a department that could regulate Supes.
Butcher had agreed with her before this.
After all, Supes indeed needed regulation, and with such a department existing, at least in the future, those Superheroes would have to consider its existence if they wanted to do anything.
Although it couldn't be said to make the whole world better all at once, this was a kind of progress.
The progress Butcher hoped to see.
But now, looking at Neuman through the camera, Butcher only felt disgusted.
A Supe, a Supe with the superpower to instantly blow up other people's heads, and a character related to Edgar, yet she kept saying she wanted to establish a department to regulate Supes.
Her double act with Vought was quite well-performed.
"But this is as far as you go, bitch."
On a tall building near Neuman's podium.
Butcher was aiming his sniper rifle at Neuman below.
Neuman was a congresswoman, and every time she came out to give a speech or do something else, there would be bodyguards checking the surroundings.
There might even be people from Vought secretly checking.
Under normal circumstances, assassins trying to assassinate Neuman would generally be unable to get close to her.
High vantage points similar to Butcher's location would definitely be one of their key inspection areas.
But... What if there were CIA agents among the people around Neuman?
When Mallory vaguely guessed Neuman and Vought's intentions, she began to arrange how to bring Neuman down.
If before, Mallory had no confidence in killing Neuman, a Supe, in one blow, and could only use political means or seek evidence to deal with Neuman.
Then now, after Kevin provided two bullets, Mallory chose the simplest and most convenient method.
Assassination.
Let Butcher put a hole in that bitch's forehead!
Kevin didn't know what method he used to imbue the two bullets for Butcher with the power to pierce the tough skin of Supes.
Mallory and Butcher believed that since Kevin had spoken about Neuman, he wouldn't lie about this matter, so after making arrangements, they sent Butcher to his current position.
Butcher had a total of two special bullets.
According to Mallory, Butcher should ideally kill her in one shot, so they could take the remaining one back for research.
But if he failed to kill her in one shot, the remaining bullet would be Butcher's insurance to continue attacking Neuman.
It wouldn't matter if they couldn't keep the bullet as a research sample; killing Neuman was their primary goal now.
Holding his breath, Butcher aimed at Neuman from the shadows of the building.
Perhaps she thought she wouldn't be assassinated, or perhaps she was confident in her Supe identity.
Neuman, standing on the high platform, had no defenses whatsoever.
It's true, normally no one would want to assassinate a congresswoman, and even if someone did, they likely wouldn't be able to break through Neuman's physical defenses.
Even taking a step back, even if Neuman were assassinated, as long as her vital organs weren't fatally injured, giving her time to breathe, she could still ensure her survival with her blood manipulation ability.
Therefore, to kill Neuman, Butcher had to kill her in one shot.
Aim for the forehead; no other body parts were considered besides the forehead.
"Butcher, the surrounding security has been diverted by Frenchie, you have five minutes."
"Understood."
Mother's Milk Marvin's voice rang in his ear.
The five minutes he spoke of was not the time for Butcher's assassination, but the time for his escape after the assassination.
Although this location was 'overlooked' by security personnel due to Mallory, it did not mean that after Butcher succeeded, they could continue to ignore this excellent sniping position.
If Butcher could succeed, he would have to escape immediately to have a chance of not being caught.
Otherwise…
There was no need to elaborate on the outcome of failure. Once Marvin confirmed the security was handled, Butcher focused entirely, aiming his gun at Neuman below.
Measuring wind speed, distance, gravitational effects, and even air humidity... Butcher was not a professional sniper, but having been trained, he could at least guarantee accuracy within four hundred meters.
When everything was confirmed, Butcher grinned and, aiming at the woman passionately protesting in his sniper scope, pulled the trigger.
"Goodbye, bitch."
Bang—
The suppressed sniper rifle made a muffled sound that only Butcher could hear.
The next second, Neuman's head on the stage snapped back, and her body fell heavily backward.
...
While Butcher was sniping Neuman, Kevin was sitting in a coffee shop not far from Neuman's speech venue.
The location of this coffee shop was excellent; not only could he see Neuman's position, but with Kevin's eyesight, he could also see Butcher hidden in the shadows of the tall building.
The reason Kevin was here was simple.
He wanted to see with his own eyes if the magic bullets he made could affect Supes.
If so, Kevin might have discovered a way for ordinary people to harm Supes.
Although this was useless to Kevin, it was crucial for Kevin's own 'Supe Reduction Plan' in the The Boys Universe.
Ordering a cup of coffee, Kevin waited for the critical moment to arrive.
Finally, when he was halfway through his coffee, Kevin saw Neuman on the high platform; her head snapped back heavily, and her body was suspended at least half a meter in the air before gravity pulled her to the ground.
Thud.
Neuman's body fell onto the platform, and from Kevin's perspective, he could see that her forehead and the upper part of her skull were shattered, and she instantly lost all signs of life.
Seven skill points were credited, confirming Neuman's death. Kevin looked at Neuman in this world, his expression neither sad nor joyful, and slowly finished the last sip of coffee.
"It really works, well, maybe Neuman's body strength wasn't that high to begin with."
Kevin put down the empty coffee cup, thinking to himself.
Neuman's physical strength was higher than that of ordinary people, but not by much; perhaps Butcher could have performed a 'craniotomy' on her with an ordinary sniper bullet.
But to ensure Neuman's death, Kevin still gave Butcher two enhanced bullets.
Now only one is left, and he doesn't know what Butcher will do with it.
Research is probably impossible; the magic pattern system is not technology. No matter how hard people in this world try, they simply cannot replicate magic pattern bullets.
In the end, it can only be kept to deal with other Supes.
Hmm, if Butcher's aim was a bit more accurate, and he could precisely hit Homelander's eyes, perhaps he could even kill Homelander with this bullet.
But this had nothing to do with Kevin.
It was Butcher's own business who he killed with this bullet.
Now…
It was time for Kevin to make his appearance.
...
Screams erupted below the high platform.
The ordinary citizens who had come to support Neuman scattered in panic, trying to find a safe place.
Neuman's bodyguards, while maintaining order, sent people to search for the assassin who had split Neuman's head open.
"How is Ms. Neuman?!"
"No vital signs confirmed… Damn it! Who was checking over there before?! Why was there an assassin?!"
"Don't talk about that yet…! Wait, something's not right!"
As Neuman's bodyguards communicated, they suddenly noticed that the situation at the scene was a bit off.
It was clearly a bright, sunny afternoon, yet white dense mist began to rise on the field.
The mist appeared extremely bizarrely.
It was without warning and defied logic, enveloping the entire venue in just a few seconds!
Except for the central high platform, which was not obscured by the dense mist, all other areas were blocked by the mist, preventing people from leaving the platform.
"Is… is… it a Supe!?"
A few calm bodyguards, seeing this bizarre and illogical scene, instantly connected it to a Supe.
And no sooner had this person's words fallen than a clear clapping sound came from the dense mist.
Clap, clap, clap.
It was strange; even though people were screaming in panic all around, so noisy it could make one's head explode, this clapping sound could still reach everyone's ears.
Accompanying the clapping, a man in a black suit and a smiling mask on his face walked out from the dense mist.
The man had a standard build, about one meter eighty-five tall. He walked lightly out of the dense mist, and the mist around him seemed like his subjects, obediently parting left and right to make way for him.
Perhaps feeling the oppressive aura from the man, or perhaps startled by this unimaginable scene, everyone present, surrounded by the dense mist, gradually became quiet.
Until only their breathing could be heard.
"To quickly realize it was a Supe's doing, you truly are Neuman's bodyguards."
The man walked to the front of the crowd and praised the bodyguard who had just made the guess.
But that bodyguard did not feel happy about it; instead, he became even more nervous.
The nearby camera was still working, broadcasting the current scene to Neuman's personal live stream and to the TV stations that cooperated with Neuman.
This meant that everyone saw the scene of Neuman's death and the appearance of the man before them.
Daring to stand out in the open in front of everyone, this person was either a lunatic or a powerful Supe with absolute confidence in his strength.
And just by looking at the surrounding mist, one could understand.
He belonged to the latter.
For any powerful Supe, being invulnerable to blades and bullets is a basic ability, so the bodyguard did not believe that the guns in his and his colleagues' hands could pose a threat to the Supe in front of them.
Fortunately, the enemy did not seem to intend to kill them.
He merely stood there, observing Neuman's corpse.
"Who… who are you?"
The scene was quiet for a while, and finally, a bodyguard mustered the courage to loudly ask the newcomer.
The man in the suit and mask gently turned his head to look at him, making cold sweat break out on the bodyguard's forehead.
But fortunately, the masked man did not make a move; he simply walked slowly to Neuman's corpse, looked down at her, then turned to face the nearby camera, and softly answered the bodyguard's question:
"I am merely an Avenger. I have come to seek revenge on Vought, to seek revenge on Edgar.
Edgar, I know you are watching this. I wonder how it feels to witness your adopted daughter die before your eyes? Don't worry, this is just the beginning. Next, I will make you experience more pain until Vought is completely destroyed."
The man's tone was cold, his words filled with chilling murderous intent, as if he truly came for revenge.
And at the end of his speech, the man revealed his identity.
"Oh, by the way, in your eyes, I should be considered a 'Super Villain,' but calling me just a 'Super Villain' is a bit too impolite, so… I hope you can call me 'God of Mist' from now on. This is my codename, just like… your Homelander."
The man, who called himself God of Mist, said this.
Perhaps to prove his identity, the surrounding mist also grew thicker.
When the dense mist completely obscured everyone's vision, it suddenly dispersed as if it had never existed.
The surroundings returned to how they were before being enveloped by the mist.
The man who called himself God of Mist had disappeared.
The scene of 'God of Mist' appearing was faithfully captured by a nearby camera.
Mallory, watching this 'news,' showed a strange expression.
Homelander, who also saw this live broadcast, frowned, pondering the identity of God of Mist.
And Edgar, upon seeing Neuman's death, slightly lost control of his emotions, smashing a cup, his eyes slightly red.
As for Kevin, the mastermind behind all of this.
He found a hidden corner, took off his mask, changed out of his suit, and fell into thought, looking at the suddenly appearing skill icon on his skill tree.
Although it was just a whim, wanting to play around by fabricating a 'God of Mist' to stand in front of the public.
But he didn't expect…
There was actually an unexpected gain?