"Shaw, this isn't some glorious new era—this is a shameful, unforgivable massacre!"
"What you're doing now is a hundred times worse than what that mustached tyrant did!"
Charles raised his head and launched into a merciless indictment of the Black King.
He had already read Emma Frost's memories and knew about Shaw's plan to trigger a nuclear war on Earth. So the fury he showed now was no act—it came from the depths of his soul.
"It seems you've chosen the humans," Shaw said coldly.
He didn't bother to argue with Charles. He simply sentenced him to death in his heart.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
A sharp sound of metal slicing through the air filled the hall.
Erik had taken control of every metal object nearby—decorations, silverware, knives, forks—anything metallic in the dining area.
With a thought, he sent them all hurtling toward the second-floor balcony where Shaw stood.
But just then, the door behind Shaw suddenly swung open. A figure dashed out from within and placed a hand on Shaw's shoulder.
In the blink of an eye, both of them turned semi-transparent.
All the flying metal shot straight through their bodies, striking the walls and hallway beyond without leaving so much as a scratch on Shaw.
"You've got to be kidding me... Kamui?" Alex couldn't help but mutter. "He can phase through matter now? That's just cheating!"
Erik's face darkened.
"So this is your decision," Shaw said coolly after Erik's barrage ended.
The phasing mutant wisely withdrew his hand, and Shaw returned to normal.
"Very well. Then I have no choice but to eliminate you all."
As he spoke, four other mutants emerged one after another from the hallway's adjoining rooms.
Their powers weren't immediately apparent, but the aura they gave off made it clear—they were anything but ordinary.
The tension in the room spiked.
"Shaw!" Erik roared, spreading his arms wide. Metal objects once again rose into the air, flying toward Shaw like a storm.
But before they could reach him, a figure dressed like a ninja leapt down from the second floor.
With the grace of a diving falcon, he landed squarely in front of Erik and slashed downward with a katana.
Instinctively, Erik tried to control the blade—only to realize it wasn't made of metal. He had no control over it at all.
That brief hesitation gave the ninja all the time he needed. The katana was about to slice through Erik—
At the last moment, Alex fired a heat ray that struck the blade, knocking it aside.
"Thanks, Alex!" Erik called, shaken but unharmed.
He quickly refocused and resumed hurling metal projectiles at the ninja.
Whoosh whoosh whoosh!
But the ninja moved with supernatural precision, his katana a blur as it deflected every single piece of metal.
"You've got tricks up your sleeve too?" Shaw remarked with mild surprise from above, watching Alex with renewed interest.
Alex glanced up at him but didn't make a move. He knew full well from past experience that conventional attacks didn't work on Shaw.
Not just Alex—none of them, not even Havok or Siryn, dared attack Shaw directly.
Before they came, Charles had warned everyone: Shaw could absorb energy attacks. Any assault would only make him stronger.
Everyone knew better than to engage him recklessly.
Everyone, that is, except Erik.
Seeing his mortal enemy standing right there, Erik simply couldn't suppress his fury. His emotions got the better of him.
Only Charles stood a real chance against Shaw.
And Shaw knew it too.
Just then, a dreadlocked black man standing beside Shaw raised a hand toward Charles.
Despite being a man, his fingernails were oddly long—like a woman's.
In a flash, his fingernails shot forward like bullets straight at Charles!
"Charles!" Darwin cried and leapt in front of him.
The sharp nails struck Darwin's body, but thanks to his power of adaptation, his skin instantly hardened into something like steel, blocking the attack completely.
Two more figures jumped down from the second floor.
One had claws like a wolf and moved with beast-like agility. His entire form exuded a lupine aura.
He charged at Havok, hands and feet pounding the ground like a wild animal.
Havok fired a blast of energy at him, but the wolf dodged it effortlessly.
The other new arrival unleashed gusts of slicing wind with every movement and made a beeline for Siryn.
The hall erupted into chaos as battles broke out on all sides.
"I heard you killed Azazel and Riptide."
A woman's voice came from behind him—sudden and cold.
A dark figure in a black bodysuit emerged like a gust of wind and floated in front of him.
"But unfortunately for you... you won't be able to kill me."
She slashed at him with a dagger.
Alex wasn't about to let himself get cut. He flipped his wrist, pulling out a dagger of his own and parried the blow.
Their blades collided with a crisp sound. Alex's strike was so strong, her weapon flew from her hand and clattered across the floor.
He had chosen not to use his heat ray—its duration was limited, and he wanted to save it for a critical moment. For now, close combat would do.
The wind woman paused, then licked her lips with a smirk full of dangerous charm.
Alex didn't respond. He lunged again.
But her body transformed into a swirl of wind, and his blade passed right through her.
Her ability wasn't like Riptide's whirlwind dodge—she could literally become wind.
That explained why she dared face him despite knowing what he'd done to Azazel and Riptide.
Unfortunately for her, she had no idea what Alex was truly capable of.
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