The man aimed his pistol at Clark, a cold sneer on his lips, and pulled the trigger.
Bang!
The sound of a bullet leaving the barrel rang out, and the spinning bullet flew towards Clark.
In the man's eyes, Clark seemed to be frozen in fear, not moving an inch.
With a hint of disdain in his eyes, he had already imagined the tragic scene of his opponent's Death.
But what happened next exceeded his expectations.
A wisp of green smoke floated towards Clark, and before the bullet hit Clark, Alicia instantly moved in front of Clark, blocking the bullet for him.
Alicia's instantaneous movement covered the space where the bullet was.
It looked as if the bullet had embedded itself in Alicia's chest the moment her teleportation was complete.
Thud!
The bullet impacted Alicia's chest, and blood immediately spurted out.
Alicia was also sent flying backward by the force.
Her feet lost their footing, and she fell backward from the second-story overhang.
As her body lost balance and fell backward, Alicia reached out to grab Clark.
Clark, who had been completely stunned by the scene before him, suddenly felt his heart lurch.
Because everything happened so suddenly, Clark had not expected Alicia to stand in front of him!
By the time Alicia's body had fully teleported and transformed from a phantom into a solid entity, the bullet had already entered her body, leaving Clark no time to react.
All the blood in his body seemed to solidify in an instant.
The air he breathed burned his soul like a raging fire.
Alicia's hand did not touch Clark, and she continued to fall backward.
Looking at the shocked and disbelieving Clark, the girl said nothing, only gave him a relieved smile, and fell down.
Whoosh!
A gust of wind blew, and Clark instantly moved outside the barn, catching the falling Alicia.
Holding the girl's body, Clark held her tightly in his arms, letting her pale face rest close to him.
"Why? Why? You know I have the body of steel; I'm not afraid of bullets. Why are you so foolish?!"
Clark could barely breathe, and tears streamed from his eyes like broken pearls.
"I…"
The girl, spitting blood and gasping for breath, smiled at Clark, "I didn't think, seeing you in danger, I just rushed over without thinking. You're right, Clark, I am a bit foolish."
Alicia reached out and held Clark's hand, "I'm sorry, I... I lied to you a lot, Clark. But the fact that I like you, I didn't lie!"
"Don't say anymore! Don't say anymore!"
Clark held the girl tightly, "I'll take you to the hospital right away!"
"It's... it's too late! Clark, you... you have to promise me..."
Alicia, continuously gushing blood from her mouth, with tears glistening in her eyes, pressed her body tightly against Clark and said intermittently, "You and I, we are not monsters. This is a gift from God to you!"
Although Alicia felt her life rapidly draining away, she still managed a faint smile, "Don't be afraid to show your gifts, don't... don't be afraid to show how different you are. You... you will never be alone, because I will always be by your side. I love you, Clark!"
After struggling to utter her last words, Alicia peacefully closed her eyes.
Holding Alicia's body, Clark felt an intense coldness throughout his body.
It was even more bone-chilling than the cold he had experienced inside the Secret Fortress in the frigid Arctic.
"No! No! No! No!!!!"
Pressing his face tightly against the lifeless girl, large tears rolled out of Clark's eyes.
His face was contorted in pain, his features almost twisted into a knot.
"Alicia, wake up, I'll take you to California. We'll drive in a convertible, starting in the morning, starting at noon, starting in the afternoon..."
Clark said, wiping the blood from Alicia's mouth while crying.
But no matter how much he called, Alicia could not wake up.
Clark's expression changed from initial pain to anger.
"Why? This cannot be your ending, it cannot be your future. You haven't experienced a beautiful life yet, you haven't started a long journey! God cannot be so unfair to you!"
Clark roared, holding Alicia and placing her on the ground.
He reached out a trembling hand and gently stroked her scattered golden hair on her forehead.
He stood up, head bowed, trembling all over.
Clenching his fists, Clark took a step forward, the murderous aura around him almost solidifying.
Whoosh!
A howling wind swept through!
Clark instantly moved in front of the gunman and grabbed the terrified man.
Bang!
He threw him forward violently!
The man was thrown flying by Clark, crashing heavily into the barn wall, directly smashing through it!
Amidst the flying wood splinters, Clark continued to charge forward, grabbing the flying opponent by the neck in mid-air and slamming him to the ground.
Bang!
The man was slammed to the ground by Clark, his back suffering a huge impact, and he spat out a mouthful of blood.
"Why?"
Clark gritted his teeth and extended his right hand, pressing it against the man's face.
"Why did you do that? You killed Alicia! I love her, you took her from me! You—are unforgivable!"
Clark raised a fist and punched the man backward.
All of the man's teeth were knocked out by Clark, and blood splattered into the air along with shattered teeth.
Clark's eyes had turned blood red. The moment he sent the man flying, he moved in front of him and grabbed him by the neck.
Another punch, directly hitting the man's cheek, making him spit out a mouthful of blood and tumble to the ground.
"Why did you take her from me?! Why?!"
Clark roared, clenching his fists, looking like a madman.
"Clark!"
Just as Clark was about to continue venting his pain on the man, a voice sounded from behind him.
He turned his head and saw his Martha, standing behind him with tears in her eyes, looking at him.
Eric stood beside his mother, his face still devoid of emotion.
"I!"
Clark looked at his worried mother, then glanced at the man he held in his hand, who was already gasping for breath.
He dejectedly let go of the man, letting the body of the guy he had beaten almost to Death hit the ground.
Clark stumbled back a step and knelt on the ground.
Head bowed, hands clutching the dirt on the ground, letting the falling tears splash onto the ground drop by drop.
Martha quickly walked over and lovingly embraced her eldest son.
"Clark, everything will pass, everything will pass."
Clark didn't speak, just let the tears flow freely.
"Alicia wanted me to go to California with her. If I had, none of this would have happened!"
"This isn't your fault, Clark."
"No, I can't forgive myself, I can never forgive my actions! If it weren't for me, Alicia wouldn't have suffered this misfortune. If I had been willing to call her, to listen to her, this wouldn't have happened!"
After muttering for a while, Clark stood up, wiped the tears from his eyes, and walked towards where Alicia was.
He walked over and gently picked her up, ignoring Eric and his mother, and walked straight ahead.
"Clark!"
Martha wanted to catch up, but Eric stopped her.
"Let him be alone for a while, Mom."
Looking at Clark's figure walking further and further away in the moonlight, Martha shook her head sadly, tears streaming down her face.
"Clark..."
While watching Clark's back, Martha called out her son's name.
Two days later.
The weather was gloomy, and dark clouds covered the sky, making the town's atmosphere even more somber.
Eric, wearing a black trench coat, walked to the cemetery.
Under the gloomy weather, wisps of mist permeated the cemetery, exuding a dense, low atmosphere.
On the branches of the trees by the graves, stood several crows.
The jet-black crows, their eyes rolling, looked at the things in the cemetery that attracted their interest.
Eric walked to a tombstone.
As he expected, Clark was standing in front of the tombstone, silently looking at the smiling girl on the tombstone.
"Eric..."
Seeing Eric approach, Clark said in a slightly hoarse voice, "Is it so hard to be different?"
"Perhaps. Some will like you, some will never like you."
Eric's hand was in his pocket as he looked at the epitaph Clark had carved for Alicia on the tombstone—"My Beloved Alicia."
"Before this, I always thought I was alone. You and I, we are both bearers of gifts and cursed by them. I will become a Superman expected and admired by everyone, that little boy who fell off the cliff, Kara, they all believe in me so much."
Clark's eyes were fixed on the tombstone, "But this sense of loneliness will not diminish. Alicia taught me that loneliness is not terrible; cowardice and fear to love, self-imprisonment, that is the reason for being trapped by loneliness. I understand now, but it's already too late."
After a moment of silence, Clark said, "Alicia said she would always be with me. I think she must be by my side now."
Eric shook his head, "Even as Superman, you must learn to lose, Clark."
"Yes."
Clark gently took a slightly crumpled rose from his pocket and placed it on the tombstone.
"It's not easy to accept that you're not omnipotent."
"Do you know, Eric, I once had a dream."
Clark said to Eric, "I dreamed that one day, we were judged by humanity. You stood on the judgment seat in the Capitol Building, and all malice surged towards you."
Clark turned around and looked into Eric's eyes, "I heard someone say: Do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world is to be judged by you, are you unworthy to judge the smallest matters? Do you not know that we are to judge angels? How much more then matters pertaining to this life?"
"You stood on the judgment seat, narrating your losses—losing Bart, losing Zan and Jena, losing Lana. And then you stood against the world!"
"I was very scared when I woke up, not knowing why you in the dream would fight against the whole world, but now I understand, because we are all the same—we will never learn to lose!"
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