"Shaw, what you call a new era is nothing more than a brutal massacre!"
Charles raised his head and stared at Sebastian Shaw with anger in his eyes.
"What you're planning is even more disgraceful than what that tyrant with the mustache did decades ago!"
Charles had already seen Emma Frost's memories. He knew Shaw intended to provoke a nuclear war between the world's superpowers.
His anger was genuine.
But Shaw didn't argue.
Instead, he simply looked at Charles calmly.
"So you've chosen humanity."
His voice was quiet, almost disappointed.
In that moment, he had already passed judgment.
Swish!
A faint whistling sound cut through the air.
Eric had moved.
Every metal object in the lobby suddenly rose into the air.
Forks and knives from the restaurant area.
Metal decorations from the walls.
Even fragments from the shattered chandelier.
All of them shot upward toward Shaw like a storm of blades.
But before the attack could reach him—
The door behind Shaw suddenly opened.
A figure rushed out and placed a hand on Shaw's shoulder.
The next second, both of their bodies became translucent.
Chi! Chi! Chi!
The flying metal objects passed straight through them.
None of them caused any damage.
They smashed into the walls behind the balcony instead.
Rorschach blinked.
"…Seriously?"
He couldn't help muttering under his breath.
Turning intangible?
That ability was almost ridiculous.
Eric's expression darkened.
The man who had protected Shaw removed his hand calmly.
Both of them returned to solid form.
"It seems you've made your choice," Shaw said quietly.
Then he sighed.
"In that case… I'll have to remove you."
As his words faded, several doors along the second-floor corridor opened.
Four mutants stepped out one after another.
Even without displaying their abilities, their presence alone made the air feel heavy.
The tension in the lobby intensified instantly.
"Shaw!"
Eric roared again.
His hands spread wide as he tried to launch another wave of metal attacks.
But this time someone intercepted him first.
A man dressed like a ninja leapt down from the balcony.
His movements were incredibly fast.
He landed directly in front of Eric.
The samurai sword in his hand slashed downward toward Eric's head.
Eric instinctively tried to seize control of the weapon with his power.
But something was wrong.
The blade didn't respond.
The sword wasn't metal.
"Damn!"
Eric realized the problem too late.
The blade was already descending.
Whoosh!
A red beam suddenly cut across the space.
Rorschach's heat vision struck the sword just before it landed.
The weapon deflected violently to the side.
Eric narrowly avoided losing his head.
"Thanks, Rorschach!"
Eric shouted quickly.
Then he immediately counterattacked.
The metal objects in the lobby surged toward the ninja like a rain of bullets.
But the ninja's sword moved with astonishing speed.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Every piece of metal was deflected.
Shaw watched the scene from above with interest.
"Oh?" he said.
His eyes shifted toward Rorschach.
"So you have that trick as well."
Rorschach glanced up at him briefly but didn't attack.
He already knew Shaw's ability.
The man could absorb energy.
Any direct attack would only make him stronger.
Everyone else understood that as well.
Before leaving, Charles had warned them clearly.
Attacking Shaw directly would be useless.
Even Alex, Sean, and the others held back.
Only Eric—consumed by rage—had acted impulsively.
If anyone was capable of defeating Shaw, it would be Charles.
And Shaw knew that too.
At that moment, a tall Black man standing beside Shaw raised his hand.
His dreadlocks swayed slightly.
Despite his large build, his fingernails were unusually long.
Almost like claws.
Then—
Swish!
Five nails shot forward like bullets.
They were aimed directly at Charles.
"Charles!"
Darwin reacted instantly.
He jumped in front of him.
The nails struck Darwin's body.
But Darwin's mutation activated automatically.
His skin hardened instantly, becoming as tough as steel.
The nails bounced off harmlessly.
Bang! Bang!
Two more figures leapt down from the second floor.
One of them had hands shaped like wolf claws.
His movements were fast and animalistic.
The moment he landed, he sprinted straight toward Alex Summers.
Alex fired an energy blast in response.
But the wolf-like mutant dodged easily.
The second opponent could launch slicing waves of compressed air.
He immediately rushed toward Sean Cassidy.
The battle erupted instantly.
Mutants clashed across the lobby.
As for Rorschach—
"I heard you killed the Red Devil and Riptide."
A woman's voice suddenly whispered behind him.
Rorschach turned.
A woman wearing a tight black suit emerged from the shadows.
Her body dissolved into swirling wind as she floated forward.
"But unfortunately," she said with a faint smile, "you won't be able to kill me."
Whoosh!
The woman lunged forward, striking with a dagger.
Rorschach reacted instantly.
His own dagger flashed upward.
Clang!
The impact knocked the weapon out of her hand.
The blade flew across the room.
Rorschach had deliberately avoided using his heat vision.
His current control was limited.
He preferred saving it for critical moments.
So he relied on close combat instead.
"You're stronger than I expected," the woman said with a playful smile.
She licked her lips slightly.
But before she could continue—
Rorschach attacked again.
His dagger cut through the air toward her neck.
Whoosh.
Her body dissolved into wind once more.
The blade passed through harmlessly.
Rorschach narrowed his eyes.
Her ability was different from Riptide's vortex teleportation.
She wasn't moving through wind.
She had literally become wind itself.
That explained her confidence.
Even after hearing that Rorschach had killed Azazel and Riptide, she still dared to face him.
Unfortunately for her—
She had no idea what Rorschach was truly capable of.
.....
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