Veidt was the smartest man in the world?
Maybe. After all, he could claim to have calculated the entire world with his own power, playing with it as if it were a game. Even a god-like being such as Dr. Manhattan had acted according to his plan.
With the wisdom of a mere mortal, he had even outmaneuvered someone like Dr. Manhattan, who once referred to him as a "clever termite." But Kara saw beyond the illusion:
"Lies are still just lies. Peace built upon deception will eventually collapse. The truth always comes to light, and when that happens, everything will be destroyed."
Dan nodded in agreement, just as Kara had supported him moments ago. "If I had to choose between living in a world of lies or dying in a world of truth, I would rather choose the end of the world."
That, too, was a human choice.
But more than that, Kara was focused on something else. "There was never any need for such a complicated plan. There was no need to use lies to bring peace.
Since you already thought of using Jonathan's power to deter the world, why not just let Jonathan—who doesn't care about these things at all—eliminate all the responsible politicians of both nations, even those at the highest levels of power?"
Wasn't that the most straightforward solution?
"The two World Wars cost hundreds of millions of lives, yet war didn't end. A nuclear crisis still looms, and World War III might begin at any moment."
"Do you really believe that the deaths of millions of innocent people united the world? No. The only thing that truly forced cooperation between nations was the fear of Jonathan's power."
"You knew from the very beginning that there was only one way to achieve peace—Jonathan's supremacy."
"Yet, you chose the most idiotic way to execute what you thought was the perfect plan."
Kara sneered as she spoke. "The reason is simple. You're part of the ruling elite. You're a capitalist. A perfect capitalist, in fact. You wouldn't risk the lives of a few to save billions. Instead, you chose to sacrifice millions to protect a select few."
"Save billions at the cost of millions?
No, what you really did was save a handful of people by sacrificing millions."
Because in the end, those few were the true culprits.
Civilians don't decide the fate of nuclear war, do they?
It was never up to those who lived their lives without regard for the common people.
In the end, the elite would remain safe, while only the innocent would die.
So what did it matter if civilians perished? What did it matter if they had to dig the graves of their own families? It was a Cold War between two superpowers, yet it was the people who were constantly threatened and sacrificed.
That thought filled Kara with fury. Her voice dripped with undisguised rage as she pointed at Veidt and shouted, "Stop pretending to be the savior of the world! You're only feeding your own self-satisfaction.
Is there really no better solution? Of course, there is. But you don't care about the methods, the process, or how many people die. All you care about is the end result—your own ego. That's all this is."
Veidt staggered backward as if he had been physically struck. His face turned pale—not from an actual attack, but from the weight of Kara's words. If she had wanted to hit him, he wouldn't have remained standing.
His expression became vacant. His mind searched for a rebuttal, but he found none.
Because deep down, he knew the truth. His plan wasn't flawless. There were other ways.
Dr. Manhattan's humanity was fading, but if Veidt had sought his help in the name of saving the world and convinced him to play the role of a villain to unify humanity, Manhattan wouldn't have refused.
Because it wouldn't have mattered to him.
But Veidt chose a different path, and for the sake of absolute secrecy, he killed every single person who had assisted him.
How many lives had that cost?
"Superhero?" Kara scoffed. "Don't make me laugh. Yes, I kill people, but I only kill those who deserve to die. You, however, are the kind of person who deserves to die."
As she spoke, Kara could no longer hold back. Her eyes glowed red before unleashing two beams of blue heat vision.
"No," Dr. Manhattan reached out instinctively to stop her.
But it was too late.
The searing rays, burning at tens of thousands of degrees, struck Veidt, dissolving his body in an instant.
That's right—he didn't just burn. He melted, like butter cut by a hot knife.
It was almost… beautiful.
There was no need to describe it further.
"You killed him," Dr. Manhattan's voice broke through the silence.
Kara shut off her heat vision and turned away. "If you truly wanted to stop me, you would have acted or spoken up a few seconds ago.
The truth is, you already saw this outcome. His so-called perfect plan was destined to collapse. His utopia would never last."
Dr. Manhattan remained silent. He didn't contradict her.
But Kara wasn't finished. She turned back toward him. "So? How long would his plan have lasted?"
Dr. Manhattan lowered his head. Now that Veidt was gone, his interference had ended, and Manhattan could see the future once more.
And just as Kara had said, he saw nothing but devastation.
"Thirty years. After thirty years, the truth would be exposed, and the world would descend into true apocalypse."
Kara smirked.
"See? His plan was nothing but a joke."
"After all, he was just an ordinary man. No matter how smart he was, he was still just a clever termite, wasn't he?"
She looked straight at Dr. Manhattan, repeating her earlier words.
"Actually, if you really wanted to bring peace, all you had to do was stand before the world and kill the right people. No elaborate deception. No ridiculous schemes.
Because you're the one they truly fear."
"But I suppose that doesn't matter to you."
"Wait—are you planning to kill someone else?" The others snapped out of their shock at Veidt's death and turned toward Kara in disbelief.
Kara didn't care about Silk Spectre or Nite Owl. Instead, she simply nodded toward Dan "You understand, don't you? This isn't a lie. The method may not be just, but it's the real way to save the world."
This time, Dan hesitated. But there was one thing he would never compromise on.
"If you really do that," he said, "I will spend ten lifetimes hunting you down."
Because even in the name of saving the world, taking lives was still a crime.