Chapter 18: Fighting Through to Dawn!

The sound of a blade slicing into flesh echoed through the air, followed immediately by a wet, gurgling noise.

Homelander and Clark watched in shock as a severed head rolled across the ground.

"Is... is that Uncle Louis's head?!" Clark stared, wide-eyed at the gruesome sight. Moments later, the zombified version of Louis, which had been chasing them, collapsed heavily to the floor.

Lana, hiding in the deepest corner, had not seen the head being severed, but she felt a familiar presence.

"Thud! Thud!"

Footsteps approached the group. Clark held his breath in tension.

"Found you!"

A familiar voice reached their ears. Homelander immediately looked up with delight, his eyes landing on the recognizable face of Peter.

"Dad!" Homelander exclaimed, rushing forward and throwing himself into Peter’s arms. Seeing his godfather arrive, Clark finally felt the tension in his chest dissipate.

Lana stared blankly at Peter, who held a katana. Peter’s body was splattered with blood, emitting a strange, pungent odor. Though the sight was somewhat terrifying, the sight of him wielding the sword helped settle her panicked heart.

Peter, who had swiped the katana from Father Norman’s house, let out a sigh of relief upon seeing the three children safe. After leaving the priest’s home, he had rushed to the auditorium, only to find it turned into a sea of blood due to the zombie attack. After learning the children's likely location from the anxious Jonathan and Martha, he had fought his way through. Though he lacked formal sword training, his body, influenced by the wristwatch, had gradually become superhuman, allowing him to cut through zombies as easily as slicing vegetables.

"Are you all okay? Homelander, Clark, Lana—did any of you get bitten?" Peter checked Homelander for wounds before turning to the others.

"N-no," Lana replied, feeling embarrassed as Peter rubbed her cheeks to inspect her.

"Good. Let’s get out of here." Peter tore a few strips of wire from a fence and used them to secure Lana and Clark to his back. "Homelander, you can keep up with my speed, right?"

Homelander nodded firmly, speaking with the tone of a little adult. "Yes, Dad. I will protect you!"

*You protect me?* Peter thought to himself. *Your laser eyes are hit-or-miss; I’m supposed to rely on you?*

"Alright, let's fight our way out together."

"Like in *From Dusk Till Dawn*?"

Peter glared at him. "We’ll discuss your habit of sneaking horror movies once we’re out, Homelander."

Homelander’s face immediately fell.

Raising the katana, Peter said to the two on his back, "Clark, Lana, close your eyes. We're starting."

"Shing!"

Peter stepped out of the nursery. Facing the charging zombies, he swung the blade with a fierce force. The snarling creatures were instantly cleaved in two, thick black blood spraying outward. As another lunged, Peter countered with a powerful elbow strike.

"Boom!"

With a sound like a cannon blast, the zombie slammed into the ground. The impact left a crater in the floor, and debris rained down like gravelly rain. The zombie’s body was shattered by the force.

"Whoosh!"

The katana flashed like lightning, decapitating a third zombie. It offered no resistance, dispatched with ease. Homelander watched, stunned. *My dad is actually this strong!*

Clark, on Peter’s back, had his mouth agape in shock. He had thought his godfather was an ordinary man, but it turned out that when Peter got going, he was even more terrifying than the zombies.

Lana, strapped to Peter’s back, had kept her eyes shut until blood splashed onto her face. *My god, that’s blood!* She nearly gagged. Fighting the urge to vomit, she pressed her face tightly against Peter’s back. She could smell the stench of blood on him—that nauseating, sticky, metallic scent. A kaleidoscope of bloody, violent images flashed through her mind, yet for some reason, they didn't make her fear Peter. Instead, they brought her a sense of safety she had never felt before.

"Crash!"

Peter kicked open the main door, and more zombies lunged at him. The katana swept through the air like lightning, and thick blood sprayed out once more. Homelander was splattered again, but this time he didn't break down; instead, he sniffed the air, taking in the scent of the carnage.

"Dad, watch out! Behind you!" Seeing a zombie lunging from Peter's blind spot, Homelander shouted. He fired his laser eyes, slicing the attacker in half.

Peter turned to see the body bisected by the beams. "Nice work, Homelander!" he praised, despite the boy’s appearance reminding him of his past life's infamous "supervillain" moments.

Encouraged by the praise, Homelander’s energy surged. "I told you, Dad, I’ll protect you." He aimed his laser eyes at another snarling zombie.

"Zzzzt!"

The heat vision pierced the zombie’s chest. To their surprise, the creature didn't stop, continuing to lunge forward. Peter swung his katana in a powerful downward arc, cleaving it in two. Poor Homelander was showered in blood once again.

Ignoring the mess, Peter noticed the fire spreading. He kicked open a side door to the auditorium and rushed into the fire escape. Stepping over a few corpses, he moved at top speed toward the exit. Any stray zombies trying to block his path were decapitated in a single stroke. The sound of flames crackling and popping filled the air, mixed with the smell of blood and smoke.

"Bang!"

As they reached the exit, a spark flashed, followed by a violent explosion. Flames surged toward them. Peter immediately pulled his arms together in front of his face. The fire slammed into him with a roar. Clark and Lana huddled against his back, with Homelander shielded behind him.

When the heat and the force of the blast finally faded, the three of them slowly opened their eyes.