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To be honest, Kevin didn't really want to call himself the God of Mist.
After the initial novelty wore off, referring to himself as such in public made Kevin feel a strange sense of shame.
But there was nothing he could do; he had impulsively chosen that name at first, and now, for his abilities to manifest smoothly, he could only continue using it.
He just considered it a moment of youthful exuberance and chuunibyo, as everyone has their chuunibyo phase, right?
With his superb acting skills, Kevin showed no discomfort in front of the cameras.
He removed his flat cap and bowed gracefully to everyone, like an elegant British gentleman.
However, the flat cap in his hand and the sunglasses on his face ruined the aesthetic.
Homelander didn't care if Kevin was Deep or the God of Mist; he only cared about one thing.
His angry gaze fell on Maeve, who was sitting not far away, and he even spared a few extra glances at Ashley, as if understanding something. Homelander roared, "Maeve! And Ashley! You two conspired to trick me!?!?"
Maeve ignored Homelander; she, too, was staring at Kevin in a daze.
Ashley, on the other hand, instantly panicked and stammered in defense:
"What? No… No, no, no, it's not like that…"
"Not like what? Didn't you say Deep was dead?! Then who is standing here now!?!?"
"Deep… Deep is really dead! I… I don't know who he is, Homelander, you have to believe me!"
Ashley was practically on her knees before Homelander.
If Homelander confirmed that this guy, who looked like Deep and had just appeared, was connected to Ashley, then Ashley would definitely be doomed.
For her own life, Ashley had to distance herself from this matter.
Besides, she really didn't know who this person was and had nothing to do with this situation!
"Alright, Homelander, don't take your anger out on ordinary people; that will only make you seem narrow-minded. Be a man, face me, how about it?"
At the crucial moment, Kevin saved Ashley's life.
He stood in the center of the hearing, his voice drawing Homelander's attention.
Homelander's gaze returned to Kevin, his facial muscles twitching as he suppressed his anger and asked:
"You… are the God of Mist? Neuman was killed by you?"
"Yes."
"Ryan, was he also taken by you?"
"Evidently, I don't believe I've made any effort to hide what I've done."
Kevin admitted it openly, then smiled:
"However, these matters should be unrelated to today's hearing, Homelander. Why don't you sit back down, and then we can continue with today's hearing?"
"There's no need to continue! I'll eliminate you, Super Villains, first!"
Homelander's rage could no longer be suppressed. He roared at Kevin, and crimson heat vision shot straight for Kevin's chest!
Just as he had done to this world's Deep, he intended to blast a large hole through the Kevin in front of him!
However, Kevin merely snapped his fingers, and Homelander's heat vision was once again refracted and distorted, flying back towards himself.
"!!"
But this time, Homelander reacted.
Seeing his heat vision boomerang back at him, Homelander quickly dodged to the side, and the crimson rays shot towards the ordinary citizens behind him!
Just as those ordinary citizens were about to be cut down by Homelander's heat vision, suddenly, a portal formed by blue sparks appeared where the heat vision was about to land.
The portal appeared, connecting to Homelander's direction.
The heat vision passed through the portal, flew out from Homelander's side, and landed on him again.
Bang!!
Homelander was once again knocked back by his own heat vision, and this encounter finally restored some of his sanity.
He struggled to his feet, staring at Kevin with wide eyes:
"You're not Deep…"
"Uh-huh, didn't I already say that?"
Kevin had no interest in taking over this world's Deep's 'legacy'; if anything, this world's Deep had no legacy to inherit, only a greater number of messes and various scandals.
He couldn't possibly let people associate him with this world's Deep.
Moreover, it was impossible for anyone, after seeing Kevin display so many abilities, to still insist on treating him as the deceased Deep.
Just like Homelander now, he was certain that the person in front of him was absolutely not Deep.
But just as Kevin thought this, he heard Homelander say again:
"You're not the Deep I know… You… I understand… It's you… The person who appeared in my dreams was you!?"
Homelander finally remembered the nightmares he had been having recently.
He also remembered the real reason he killed this world's Deep.
It was because he dreamed of Deep causing his own death that Homelander attacked this world's Deep.
Originally, Homelander thought it was just a dream.
But now, when the person from his nightmare appeared before him, Homelander realized that it might not have been a dream.
But some kind of special omen.
"Oh? Interesting, a dream? I hadn't thought of that…"
Hearing Homelander say this, Kevin also understood why this world's Homelander, despite not knowing him, still deviated from his original path.
Clearly, it was the overlap of parallel worlds that allowed Homelander to receive certain information from his parallel self in the form of dreams.
This information prompted Homelander to do things that deviated from his path, which is why he killed Deep.
However, even knowing the reason now, Kevin didn't care.
He shook his head, and with a gentle wave of his right hand towards Homelander, countless deep blue ropes appeared from the void, wrapping around Homelander's limbs and waist, firmly pinning him in place.
Kevin's created crimson chains… now they should be called deep blue chains, could easily bind most people whose physical and magical strength were lower than Kevin's.
So, apart from Superman and some self-proclaimed gods, almost no one could break free from Kevin's chains.
Including Homelander in front of him.
"Alright, Homelander, I think we've talked enough nonsense. Now let's return to the beginning… Ms. Mallory, please release the video you were going to show earlier. We need to let everyone see what Homelander has done."
Kevin politely said to Mallory.
Mallory glared at him, but still opened the video as Kevin instructed.
"Do you think the hearing can continue?"
But then Stormfront suddenly spoke:
"I don't believe the public will accept the judgment rendered by a hearing presided over by a Super Villains."
"Oh, you might not have a say in that, and besides… did I give you permission to speak?"
Stormfront's sudden outburst made Kevin realize he had forgotten about her.
Without hesitation, Kevin used 'Deep Blue Chains' to restrain Stormfront.
And when she heard Kevin finish that sentence, Stormfront also realized what Kevin was about to do to her, and she used her powers without thinking.
Thunder and lightning flashed within the hearing room, and deep purple lightning bolts were grasped by Stormfront and shot towards Kevin!
But unfortunately, even Homelander couldn't penetrate Kevin's Mirror Dimension defense, so how could Stormfront possibly bypass the defense and attack Kevin?
So, naturally, the Flashpoint was blocked by the mirror.
Stormfront then followed in Homelander's footsteps.
To prevent Homelander and Stormfront from being too noisy, Kevin also sealed their mouths with chains.
Now the hearing room was completely silent.
"Alright, let's continue. Where were we? Oh, right, reading out Homelander's crimes, correct? Please proceed, Ms. Mallory."
Kevin stepped aside, making way for Mallory.
But Mallory didn't step forward; instead, she sighed and stared at Kevin, saying:
"If you do this, the hearing can't continue. Stormfront is right, they won't accept the results of a hearing involving a Super Villains."
"What does that have to do with me?"
"…What?"
"I'm just here to find an excuse to get rid of Homelander and Stormfront. Whether others accept the outcome or not is irrelevant to me. You just need to continue reading out Homelander's crimes."
Kevin said indifferently.
He didn't hesitate to state his intentions in front of the cameras, making Mallory gasp.
Mallory realized that when it came to disregarding laws and regulations, Homelander might actually be somewhat inferior; this visitor from another world was the true master in that regard.
"…I'd like to continue, but… the police nearby should already be on their way here. This hearing can't continue."
Although she knew Kevin was a lawless fanatic, Mallory didn't care.
If Kevin could really get rid of Homelander and Stormfront, she, Mallory, wouldn't care what kind of person Kevin was.
But the problem was, Kevin didn't seem to have much of a chance to continue.
The nearby police, and even the military stationed there, were probably rushing over. Even if Kevin wasn't afraid of them, the hearing would definitely come to an end if they clashed.
Mallory's conjecture couldn't be said to be wrong, at least from her perspective, it was indeed so.
However, Kevin wasn't anxious at all about it; instead, he smiled and pointed to the entrance:
"You mean them?"
As soon as he finished speaking, the hearing room door was violently flung open, and a group of police officers rushed in, shouting, 'Drop your weapons, hands up!'
Mallory sighed at the sight, thinking the hearing was over, but after a while, she noticed something was off.
These police officers… it was as if they hadn't seen Kevin, looking around blankly, searching for Kevin's figure.
"What's going on…?"
Mallory didn't understand what Kevin had done, nor did she understand why these police officers seemed not to see them.
Kevin gave Mallory a mysterious smile, and with a slight tap of his right foot on the ground, the entire room began to change.
The floor lifted from the ground, forming a new surface beneath everyone's feet.
Walls and windows moved, instantly creating new, identical structures, as if duplicated.
In just two or three seconds, the entire hearing venue had ascended into the sky, and the surrounding scenery was fantastical and bizarre, as if this hearing had been completely isolated from Reality.
Mallory rubbed her eyes in disbelief, and even Homelander and Stormfront, who were restrained in place, as well as the other people encompassed within the Mirror Dimension, widened their eyes.
For them, who had never witnessed such a sight, everything they saw before them was like a hallucination induced by drugs.
Yet, this hallucination was exceptionally real, real enough to drive one mad!
Seeing that Mallory and the others were all stunned by the scene he created, Kevin sighed, took the video recorder from Mallory's hand, and said, "It seems I'm better suited for this. You go sit down."
With that, Kevin walked to the front of the camera, raising the video recorder in his hand.
Everyone at the hearing, including the reporters, was now encompassed within his Mirror Dimension.
And although the Mirror Dimension and Reality are two separate spaces, both capable of blocking signals, Kevin subtly created a 'backdoor' for these reporters, allowing their cameras to connect to the TV station signals and operate normally.
This was, of course, necessary. Kevin wanted more people to 'recognize' him to complete the later skills on his skill tree, so he naturally couldn't cut off their signals.
Therefore, everyone currently watching the live broadcast of this hearing could see Kevin's actions.
"Ahem, since Ms. Mallory is unwilling, I'll do it then."
Kevin said, casually turning on the video recorder in his hand.
"So, let's start here. I think everyone still remembers Flight 37? Hmm, you should, after all, it hasn't been that long since it happened, and Ms. Mallory just mentioned the truth about Flight 37, so I believe everyone has a general impression.
"And here is the evidence regarding the truth of Flight 37."
As Kevin spoke, the video in his hand had already begun to play.
In the video, the recorder was a man in a suit, who, while tearfully saying 'Homelander and Maeve are going to abandon us,' turned the camera towards the airplane aisle.
Near the plane's cabin door, Homelander and Maeve were pulling at each other, their voices faintly audible in the video.
Maeve wanted Homelander to take a child down, at least ensuring the child's safety.
But Homelander refused Maeve's suggestion, citing that the child would reveal what they did on the plane, and used his heat vision to deter those who tried to approach.
After that, Homelander pulled Maeve away from the plane, and the video's recorder said, 'Please tell my family I love them,' before abruptly cutting off.
Kevin then asked Maeve, "Queen Maeve, what happened in this video is true, isn't it?"
"..."
Maeve couldn't answer immediately. She first looked at Homelander, their eyes meeting, then suddenly showed a relieved smile and nodded slowly but firmly at Kevin: "It's true."
"Very good. Not only did you abandon the passengers on the plane, but if Homelander hadn't destroyed the plane's control panel, Flight 37 wouldn't have crashed into the sea, resulting in the deaths of all 123 people on board.
"For this alone, I can pronounce Homelander's death sentence!"
Kevin declared emphatically.
Accompanying his words, the ground around Homelander suddenly separated from the surrounding ground, with the separated section lifting Homelander alone.
Click, click—
The sound of wood planks colliding rang out, and walls made of wood planks descended around Homelander, completely encasing him, leaving only an opening through which his appearance could be seen.
All the audience members present could discern that the wood planks forming the walls that trapped Homelander were indeed the planks from the ground.
In this peculiar space, these wood planks floated in mid-air, defying physical rules, forming a cage.
"In addition to this, Homelander has also committed various crimes, including coercing women, murdering Vice President Madelyn, and cruelly killing criminals who didn't deserve to die.
"For these multiple offenses, the execution of the death penalty begins now!"
"Wait—!?"
When Mallory heard Kevin was going to execute Homelander on the spot, she, who had been in a state of shock, immediately snapped back to Reality and reached out to Kevin to stop him.
Even if Homelander was guilty, he should not be executed by a terrorist nominally a 'Super Villain'; that would render the country's laws utterly meaningless.
But Kevin simply ignored her.
Once Homelander's crimes were confirmed, Kevin clenched his right fist, and the planks trapping Homelander shot out sharp spikes, like the Iron Maiden used for witch punishments in the Middle Ages, impaling Homelander, who was bound within, through and through.
Countless spikes pierced Homelander's body, and his blood flowed out from within the wooden planks.
The bound Homelander's eyes widened, whether from pain or fear. His gaze was filled with disbelief, as if he simply couldn't believe he would die so easily here.
Dying so tragically, painfully, and miserably.
Dying meaninglessly.
And after executing Homelander, Kevin immediately looked at Stormfront.
"Next, I will announce Stormfront's crimes. Stormfront, real name Klara Risinger, wife of Vought founder Frederick Vought, currently one hundred and one years old.
"She participated in Nazi activities, was deeply influenced by Nazi ideology, and held extreme racial discrimination, believing that everyone except Caucasians should die.
"She attempted to create a Supe army, wanting Supes to rule this world, thus becoming the head of Sage Grove Center, trying to create more Supes...
"Human experimentation, harming the innocent—in your hundred-plus years of life, the people who have died by your hand could probably fill the entire Vought Tower, couldn't they?"
Kevin stared at Stormfront with a smile, which gave Stormfront a bad premonition.
She struggled desperately, uttering muffled, unclear, and meaningless words, while lightning and thunder flashed around her, trying to break free from Kevin's restraints.
But Kevin didn't give her a chance to speak.
Just like with Homelander, Kevin dropped his right hand, similarly sealing Stormfront within a square box.
"So I believe you shouldn't have any objections to me sentencing you to death right now. Of course, even if you do, it's rejected; I don't accept it."
Bang!
The deformed structures completely enveloped Stormfront. They continuously squeezed and compressed towards the center, followed by horrifying screams that sent shivers down one's spine.
Everything Kevin did was recorded by the cameras throughout and witnessed by Mallory.
From the moment Kevin began executing Homelander and Stormfront, she had been in a dazed state, not having snapped out of it until now.
But Kevin didn't care about the reactions of the crowd.
Because just after he executed Homelander and Stormfront, the icon he had been brewing finally fully formed!
The icon was a gray mist, with faint, indistinct human figures within it.
Its name was—
God of Mist's Divinity.
...It really is the God of Mist, tsk. I should have just called myself the Sea God back then... No, I should have called myself God.
Kevin muttered to himself.
The icon generated by the skill tree was, as expected, related to the God of Mist Kevin himself had created.
This made Kevin deeply regretful.
If he had claimed to be the Sea God, or God Jehovah, or even the Eastern Dao of Heaven, would he have soared directly now?
But who could have imagined that something created on a whim, just for fun, would affect his future path?
This broken skill tree didn't come with an instruction manual. If he had known that his future path was related to 'recognition,' how could Kevin have been so casual!
The only good news now was that two blurry skill icons had appeared next to the God of Mist's Divinity skill, and lines extended further back, proving that this wasn't the limit, and Kevin's potential hadn't been fixed.
Otherwise, if he truly became this ridiculous God of Mist in the future, Kevin would truly be on the verge of tears.
With the skill icon manifested, Kevin's purpose in coming to this world was achieved.
Next was the wrap-up of the entire event.
Mallory and the people at the hearing remained frozen in place for a long time after Kevin executed Homelander and Stormfront, not daring to move.
Kevin's actions today not only scared them but also rendered the country's judicial procedures meaningless.
It was foreseeable that more entities like Kevin would emerge in the future, imitating his methods to carry out 'lynchings' on certain individuals.
Kevin certainly bore responsibility for this, but he wasn't overly concerned.
Powerful Supes like Homelander and Stormfront were dead, and Vought would also collapse due to the events of today.
Without Vought stirring up trouble, the world would actually be much safer.
Even if some self-proclaimed vigilantes appeared, he believed the people of this world would be able to handle them.
So now it was time to wrap things up.
"Alright, Homelander and Stormfront are dead, and my work is done. You all can continue your hearing now; I won't disturb you. I'm leaving, okay?"
Quit while you're ahead.
Having achieved his goal, Kevin had no intention of lingering at the hearing.
He smiled at the camera and Mallory, drew a portal, and turned to leave.
After he left, the hearing venue, which had transformed into a fantastical space, slowly returned to its original state.
The floating floorboards fell back to the ground, and the cracked walls restored and healed.
And the bodies of Homelander and Stormfront, who had been privately executed by Kevin, were revealed to everyone.
Including on camera.
The police outside the Mirror Dimension converged with the personnel inside the hearing, who had been enveloped by Kevin in the Mirror Dimension. They saw the two bodies on the ground, once known as Homelander and Stormfront, swallowed, and then some began to vomit, unable to bear it.
Once someone started, the sounds of vomiting became continuous.
Gradually, the hearing venue was filled with a peculiar smell, a mixture of decaying food and stomach acid.
Mallory didn't vomit. He looked at the two bodies on the ground and the operating camera nearby, sighed deeply, and casually tossed the remaining documents onto the table.
None of them had expected Homelander to die in such a way.
Nor had they imagined that today's hearing would end in such a bloody manner.
But now, none of that mattered anymore.
What mattered was that Vought was truly finished this time.
Homelander was dead, and with the evidence Kevin provided, no one in this world could help them.
join p atreon.com/KeyofStars for advance chapters | Every 100 powerstones=1 extra chapter | Report issues @discord.com/GVBdncd9Wr | 16 novels being updated, I can't read all comments