Chapter 226: The Scapegoat Turns Out to Be… (First Update)

Concise and packed with information.

Atreus’s short reply left Black Widow slightly dazed.

Looking at the outside of the building with its walls blown apart, Black Widow saw the entire space surrounded by reflective panels acting as barriers. She knew that this time, Homelander’s death was justified.

This wasn’t a fair fight between equals—it had been a one-sided slaughter from start to finish.

Kratos was terrifying. You could never know how deep his strength really ran.

Luckily, Black Widow hadn’t voiced her thoughts. Otherwise, Atreus would’ve probably replied, "Isn’t it possible... I was just weak back then?"

Silently, Black Widow picked up Homelander’s cape, folded it neatly, tucked it under her arm, and then stared fearlessly into Atreus’s eyes, which gleamed with an inhuman godly light. “Kratos! As much as I think John, that bastard Homelander, deserved to die, I have my duty.”

Black Widow didn’t finish her sentence, but Atreus understood: *Either you kill me now, or if I make it out alive, I’ll report everything to Director Nick Fury.*

“Whatever,” Atreus’s indifferent reply sounded almost transcendent to Black Widow’s ears.

He didn’t care at all what the U.S. government thought.

At least Homelander had gotten one thing right: *“With power, you can do whatever you want!”*

I, Kratos, killed him—just like I killed Doomsday.

What’s the White House going to do about it?

Black Widow was at a loss for words, feeling slightly overwhelmed. She frowned and said, “If this situation isn’t made public, that bastard John might still get a flag over his coffin.”

Kratos suddenly laughed, “Hahaha! You’re right. Right now, the Stars and Stripes doesn’t even befit Captain America, let alone serve as a burial shroud for trash like him, who disgraces the title of ‘hero.’”

His laughter, tinged with divine power, reverberated, shaking Black Widow to her core.

But it wasn’t just the laughter—it was the truth behind the words.

Yeah!

The country she served had changed. It was no longer the America that, led by Captain America, fought against tyranny. That nation had ceased to exist.

How ironic! The word ‘hero’ used to be a tribute to those who stood against evil for the people.

Now, led by Vought International, it had become a business, an industry, a corrupted idol-making machine, hiding the countless atrocities committed through inhuman experiments.

As a spy, Black Black Widow knew she wasn’t supposed to take sides.

But at this moment, she couldn’t help it. She envied Kratos—envied his strength, which allowed him to defy the mightiest nation on Earth...

The Seven were now history.

The only question left was how to deal with the aftermath.

Although Atreus had long wanted to wipe out Homelander and his crew, he had only come because Black Widow had called for him. Killing was satisfying, but cleaning up the mess afterward? A nightmare.

Especially when Catwoman arrived, dragging along the nearly paralyzed Starlight. Atreus’s expression grew strange.

“What now?” Catwoman asked, her gaze filled with malice.

Starlight, finally regaining her senses, cried out, “I’m not with The Seven! I only joined them to get more intel for my righteous cause. I didn’t know how filthy they were under their commercialized facade. I almost got forced... forced to serve them.”

Starlight glanced at the crushed remains of The Deep, her eyes full of disgust.

Atreus coldly said, “Take her away. Throw her to Group Two.”

Group Two was where the Huntress and Katana were. To be honest, neither of them were Atreus’s girls, and their abilities hadn’t surpassed ordinary human limits. To Atreus, they were now kind of useless.

But at least they had a place to go.

This should have been the end of the matter.

Just as Atreus was about to dismiss the *Mirror Dimension*, a massive force suddenly descended upon the space where the Vought Tower had once stood.

“Huh?”

Normally, the Vought Tower and the sky outside were separated by different dimensions. There was no air connection, and sound shouldn’t have been able to pass through the dimensional barrier.

But this was no ordinary force!

This was divine power!

This force even had the ability to cross dimensions!

As the deafening roar echoed from the fragmented sky above the tower, even Atreus couldn’t help but look up.

Every shard of broken glass trembled, signaling that the Mirror Dimension couldn’t withstand the intruding force.

The distant roar sounded like the cry of a cosmic whale.

It was approaching.

The massive sound was closing in on this space.

Suddenly, the shattered sky flashed, reassembling into a giant mirror the size of a football field, only to shatter once more.

Countless bolts of lightning lit up the entire battlefield with a brilliant blue glow. But the lightning didn’t descend from the clouds—it shot out from the hands of a towering black figure.

If Atreus’s group’s slaughter had targeted The Seven and left Vought’s employees as collateral damage, this furious lightning strike was pure, indiscriminate carnage.

Amid the blue glow, the deafening thunder drowned out everything.

A thousand bolts of lightning struck!

Terror had arrived!

The piercing thunderclaps echoed over New York City.

Whether office workers burning the midnight oil or pedestrians walking the streets, everyone instinctively dropped to the ground upon hearing the continuous explosions.

It had become a reflex for New Yorkers.

Half of the city’s population saw a massive shockwave erupt from the Vought Tower in Manhattan, sweeping across at least two blocks like a bright ring. Every glass window in its path shattered into a beautiful but deadly shower of glass.

Countless innocent bystanders screamed in pain.

And that’s not to mention the Vought Tower itself.

The building had already been badly damaged by Atreus’s crew in the Mirror Dimension. Now, the attacker’s divine finishing blow completely obliterated it, turning the skyscraper into a collapsing puff pastry.

The entire tower disintegrated. Anyone who might have survived in the previously untouched floors? Now they were definitively dead.

As for Atreus and his group, they had seen the attack coming and teleported a kilometer away to the roof of another skyscraper.

Black Widow felt slightly embarrassed. She had been caught in Atreus’s arms during the attack, now cradled like a princess.

And just so you know, Kratos (Atreus) had unintentionally gotten a good sense of how much was under her black leather outfit.

But the battle-hardened Black Widow wasn’t flustered. Her full attention was on the black figure crackling with lightning.

“Damn it! Black Adam himself showed up?”

Black Adam’s angry voice echoed through the sky: “Forget Homelander and The Seven! Weren’t you coming for me, Black Adam? Well, here I am!”

(End of Chapter)

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