Why be a hero… when you can be a god?

"Why bother asking? Can't you see the blood on my claws?"

Ron sneered, openly admitting it. Without hesitation, he stepped back into the crowd and grabbed Mystique's wrist.

Hmm?

Raven looked confused, but before she could ask anything— Bang!

In the next instant, Ron activated Azazel's Teleportation, taking Mystique with him. They vanished from the CIA base and reappeared in a dimly lit alleyway.

The scenery around them shifted abruptly.

Only a single yellow streetlamp glowed faintly at the far end of the alley. The rest was engulfed in shadows.

Startled, Raven instinctively clung to Ron, like a frightened kitten seeking safety.

"Ah! Ron—where are we?"

"A safe place," Ron replied calmly, glancing down at her.

"That man back there is far more dangerous than the two I just killed."

Red Devil's ability had been Teleportation, not instant displacement. His teleportation wasn't actually that fast, and it produced a distinct bang-bang sound each time—enough to alert others.

Red Devil and Riptide hadn't expected Ron to possess the same ability.

That's why they had died so easily.

This tactic wouldn't work on the Black King.

In addition to his ability to absorb and release energy at will, Sebastian Shaw could drastically enhance his strength, speed, and stamina. He could remain awake indefinitely, recover from most injuries, and was effectively immortal.

His reaction speed far exceeded that of ordinary people, and his defense was so formidable that not even missiles could harm him.

"To keep you safe in case things escalate, I brought you here first."

If Shaw lost his temper, there was no telling what he might do in the next second—he could easily unleash an energy shockwave with a single stomp and tear the entire base apart.

"T.. Thank you, Ron."

Raven, who had been on the verge of tears from fear, looked at him with gratitude and a flicker of something more. Her heart felt strangely stirred.

There were so many people back there, yet Ron had chosen her to protect first. Could it mean something more?

At that moment, she hadn't even been standing closest to him. There was another girl who could've easily been the first choice.

"I'm heading back," Ron said, preparing to activate his ability once more.

Mystique was no ordinary person—her genes would one day be used to develop the Sentinels, the machines designed to exterminate Mutants.

Anyone else in that room could die—but Mystique should not!

"Ron, please come back quickly…"

Hearing that Ron was leaving, Raven looked around at the dark, deserted alley, still visibly shaken. Like a frightened, helpless girl, she grabbed his arm, her voice trembling with unease.

Having just survived a savage and bloody assault, she couldn't bear being left alone in such an isolated place.

So troublesome… There's probably already a bloodbath happening back there, and I'm still wasting time here.

Feeling a flicker of impatience, Ron turned to look at her. But when he saw the fear in her eyes, his voice softened.

"I will."

He wasn't a superhero. The lives of those people back in the base had nothing to do with him.

If it weren't for the chance to observe and record Shaw's powers, and hopefully kill him tonight, I wouldn't bother going back at all.

"Stay here. Wait for me."

He gave one last quiet instruction before teleporting back to the CIA base.

Inside the room—

Contrary to his expectations, no fight had broken out yet between the others and the Black King.

"…Your companions have abandoned you and fled. I am about to usher in a new era on Earth—an era where Mutants live like kings..."

Inside the room, the Black King, ever the charismatic and calculating leader, stood alone now that his subordinates had fallen. But that didn't bother him. With a deep, imposing voice, he turned his attention to Alex and the others, attempting to sway them.

"Will you embrace this new age, or cling to the rotting corpse of the old world and die with it? Choose wisely."

His piercing gaze swept across them, the pressure in the room growing heavier with each passing second.

Bang—!

A sudden pop of air broke the tension. Ron had returned, interrupting the Black King's speech at a critical moment.

"Actually, how are you doing that?"

Black King's eyes narrowed as he locked onto Ron.

"Do you happen to possess the same ability as Azazel?"

He wasn't just startled by Ron's unexpected return—he was intrigued. The boy who should've fled was back again, and not by conventional means.

Having seen Ron use Red Devil's teleportation to evacuate someone, Shaw had assumed the two shared a similar power. But the implications of that thought unsettled him.

If it wasn't a coincidence… if Ron didn't just happen to possess the same ability as Azazel…Then what exactly was he?

"That was quite a moving speech. Please, don't let me interrupt—continue."

Ron raised an eyebrow as he spoke casually, completely ignoring the Black King's question. Without hesitation, he placed a hand on Hank's shoulder, preparing to activate his teleportation again.

"You really think you can escape from me twice?"

The Black King's expression darkened. With a flick of his palm, a blazing fireball packed with immense energy shot toward them.

"Your so-called 'new era' doesn't sound appealing at all." Just as the fireball was about to strike, Darwin stepped forward without hesitation.

His skin instantly transformed, forming a layer of hardened black stone armor to withstand the blast.

The flames exploded on impact, sending Darwin flying across the room.

"Your speech reminded me of a certain mustachioed man from history." 

At the same time, Alex twisted his torso, forcefully channeling his power into a spinning arc of red-hot plasma and hurling it toward the Black King.

"Excellent energy. Let me return it to you."

The Black King effortlessly raised his hand, absorbing the plasma blade into his palm as if it were nothing. His voice was calm—almost amused—before he extended that same palm again, ready to unleash a devastating counterattack.

Buzz!

Alex was sent flying by a thick beam of concentrated energy.

"Stay here."

Ron teleported Hank to the front of a bar, dropped that line without explanation, and turned to leave again.

Hank wasn't just another Mutant—he was a genius. His mind was far more valuable than his claws or strength. In the X-Men universe, he was the one who had built Cerebro, the Blackbird Jet, and countless other innovations that provided vital technological and logistical support to the X-Men.

Black King wants to create a new era? Coincidentally, so do I.

Ron's version of a new era would need minds like Hank's.

As for how to make Hank willingly serve him—Mystique was the key. Hank had always been deeply infatuated with her. As long as Ron had control over her, he'd have leverage over Hank too.

"Enough! My patience is wearing thin. Surrender… or die!"

In Ron's brief absence, Sebastian Shaw had effortlessly defeated Banshee and Angel, and now stood in the center of the wrecked room, his voice filled with murderous rage.

He was like a dormant volcano on the verge of eruption—his presence alone exuding a suffocating pressure that sent shivers down everyone's spine.

Bang!

The familiar sound of teleportation rang out once again. Ron had returned to the room.

"Quick, Ron! Hurry, take me with you!"

Angel, who had been on the verge of surrendering, saw Ron reappear and instantly changed her mind. Clinging to him like a drowning person grasping at a life raft, she pleaded desperately.

According to her—The two weakest members had already been evacuated. By that logic, she believed it was her turn—after all, she was the only remaining woman.

"Take you with me?"

Ron shot her a glance, his voice cold and sharp enough to pierce hope.

"I just acquired that new ability. It's unstable—I can't use it continuously. That last teleport was the limit for now."

His words shattered her illusions completely.

In truth, the system's template didn't just allow him to acquire other people's abilities—it developed them to the peak potential of the original user. He could've taken them all away in one move if he'd wanted.

But he didn't.

Because he still had unfinished business.

"What?"

Alex, Darwin, and the others who had been knocked to the ground looked up, faces pale with dread.

Only now did they understand why Ron had begun evacuating people the moment Black King appeared—why the same Ron who had so effortlessly killed Red Devil and Riptide hadn't even tried to fight back.

Because this man... was on a completely different level.

Black King had crushed them without effort, like swatting flies.

And now, even if they wanted to run... they no longer could.