As the night sky was veiled in ash and smoke, the flames from below painting the world in shades of ruin, Xavier stood firm—Excalibur gripped tightly in hand—his body ready to spring the moment Reginald Wycliffe made a move.
Their gazes locked, silent promises of violence flashing between them. Then, without warning, both of them launched forward—an explosion of speed—Excalibur colliding with Reginald's arm, which, in an instant, transformed into gleaming, metallic silver.
"What the...?" Xavier muttered under his breath, baffled. His mind raced. Did his arm just turn into iron?
Before he could think further, Reginald's left fist shot out like a bullet. Xavier barely managed to bend backward, narrowly evading the deadly strike. The sheer force of it tore through the air, throwing Xavier off balance and sending him sprawling to the ground.
Reginald wasted no time. His right hand morphed into a massive iron fist as he brought it crashing down with monstrous strength. The earth cracked and shattered beneath the impact—but not Xavier. Just barely, Xavier raised Excalibur, the blade taking the brunt of the blow.
What is wrong with this guy?! Xavier thought frantically, his arms trembling from the force. Why do I always end up fighting monsters completely out of my league? Do I have some kind of cursed luck?
Before, he had tried to block the attack with his Vector Shield—only for it to shatter instantly under the raw force. If not for Excalibur, his skull would've been pulp.
Gritting his teeth, Xavier twisted his body and struck at Reginald's leg. But Reginald saw it coming, his limb hardening into iron before the blow landed. Pain exploded up Xavier's leg as the impact reverberated back through him, forcing a grunt of agony from his throat.
"Nice try, kid," Reginald said with a mocking chuckle.
But Xavier wasn't done. Ignoring the sharp pain lancing through his leg, he pushed forward—kicking Reginald hard enough to disrupt his balance—then followed with another quick kick aimed at his face.
Reginald retaliated instantly, throwing another punch—but this time, something felt wrong. A cold, creeping dread slammed into Xavier's instincts.
Without a second thought, Xavier activated his vector teleportation, vanishing in a blink.
The ground where he'd stood erupted—massive iron spikes, thick as towers, spearing through the earth like monstrous thorns. If he had hesitated even for a heartbeat, he'd have been skewered.
Excalibur steady in hand, Xavier landed a short distance away, his eyes wide at the devastation. His mouth ran dry.
He did that with one attack?
Reginald strolled forward casually, hands in his pockets, as if they were out for a night walk instead of locked in a brutal battle.
"You're just as tricky as Percival said you'd be," Reginald said, a half-smile tugging at his lips. "But I've gotta wonder—why's that man so obsessed with you, Xavier?"
Xavier steadied himself. "I should be asking you that," he shot back. "I don't even know why his name keeps popping up everywhere I go."
Reginald laughed dryly. "Maybe because you're his niece?" he teased. "Nah... that doesn't explain the sheer insanity he's sunk into for your sake."
He shrugged. "I won't lie—that man's a lunatic. Pure evil. Whenever he talks about you, he gets this… sinister smile."
Hearing that, Xavier immediately cut off Reginald before he could say another word. "I would like to chit-chat with you, but I have more important things to handle," he said, his tone sharp, as his gaze drifted toward Teslaine in the distance—finally stirring, her fingers twitching as she began to regain consciousness.
Reginald, immediately noticing Xavier's shift in attention, smirked coldly and said, "Oh, you're talking about that poor little girl? You know, I almost feel sorry for her. So desperate to prove herself to everyone around her, especially her father. And yet, at the end of the day, she's still a failure—"
Before Reginald could finish his cruel sentence, a flash of rage ignited in Xavier's chest, his grip tightening around Excalibur. His body moved before thought could catch up, as Excalibur flashed in a silver arc across Reginald's chest.
Blood sprayed into the air.
Reginald staggered slightly, coughing, but grinned through the pain. His hands seized Excalibur's blade bare-handed—and shifted into iron.
"Touched a nerve, did I?" Reginald taunted, voice low. "Must really care about that girl. What is she, your lover?"
"Shut up!" Xavier roared, his voice raw with fury. "I don't tolerate anyone talking down on the people I care about. You'll pay for it!"
At his command, three quantum black holes formed behind Reginald—hurling toward him like avenging spirits. But Reginald reacted in a flash, summoning towering iron walls from the ground. The black holes devoured massive chunks of the iron, vaporizing it as if it were paper—yet Reginald remained untouched.
He grinned wider, the madness dancing in his eyes.
"Bring it on, kid! Show me what you've really got!"
With a sudden burst of speed, Reginald drove a brutal punch into Xavier's gut, sending him flying like a ragdoll. Before Xavier could even catch his breath, Reginald was already above him—slamming him back into the ground with a sickening crash.
Raising one hand to the sky, Reginald conjured a massive iron spike—its shadow blotting out the stars—and hurled it downward.
"Try to block this!"
Blood pounding in his ears, Xavier fought back to his feet. Power roared around Excalibur, the very air vibrating. He roared back, swinging the sword with everything he had.
"Vector Nova!"
Blade met iron with a thunderous impact. A blinding flash ripped across the battlefield, followed by an earth-shattering explosion that rocked the ground and scattered ash into the heavens.
Immediately emerging from the swirling ashes, Reginald charged at Xavier, twin iron blades gleaming—freshly forged from thin air itself.
Xavier reacted in a flash, blocking one blade with Excalibur and parrying the second with a quick, fluid swing.
But Reginald was relentless, a wild grin tearing across his face as he pressed forward, fully savoring the fight. Before Xavier could catch his breath, Reginald slammed a ruthless kick into his side, sending him hurtling through the air like a ragdoll.
Xavier grunted, twisting midair, but Reginald was already summoning hordes of iron spikes, swords, and jagged constructions—each one fired at Xavier like a living storm.
A few of the iron projectiles pierced Xavier before he could fully defend himself, blood splattering the ground beneath him. Gritting his teeth, Xavier activated his vector shield just in time, redirecting some of the deadly barrage back toward Reginald. But it was pointless. The returned projectiles shattered harmlessly against Reginald's body—after all, they were born of his own power.
Reginald closed in without hesitation, pushing Xavier into a desperate corner. There seemed to be no opening, no way to push back the monstrous force bearing down on him.
Just as Xavier parried another ruthless swing, his eyes gleamed sharply. His movements suddenly sharpened, an invisible force surrounding him.
"Multi-Directional Echo," Xavier whispered, lunging forward with a slicing attack from multiple angles at once.
But to Xavier's horror, Reginald's entire body shifted—becoming pure, solid iron the moment the attack connected. His strikes bounced off harmlessly. Not a scratch. Not even a dent.
Reginald let out a roaring laugh, seeing the disbelief etched across Xavier's face.
"That tickled," he sneered. "But you're going to need a lot more than that, kid."
He straightened up, his voice dripping with mocking pride. "I possess the power to manipulate iron itself—Siderokinesis. But not the petty, limited version most know. Mine is pure. Potent. Unbreakable. And much more powerful"
Xavier, for a brief second, let his guard down—his face settling into a calm, almost humorous acceptance.
"Yeah," he muttered under his breath, exhaling. "I'm going to die."
Reginald caught the words and barked out a wicked laugh.
"Don't look so down, Xavier!" he jeered. "I know you've still got some fight left in you!"
Without warning, Reginald hurled a monstrous iron punch, forcing Xavier to raise Excalibur and his vector shield just in time to block.
Another blow followed, but this time Xavier twisted his shield—redirecting the full force of the attack straight back into Reginald.
The counterattack landed true, twisting Reginald's entire arm grotesquely.
Yet the man only grinned wider, the gleam in his eyes practically feral. Iron reformed around his shattered arm in an instant, repairing the damage as if it had never happened.
Then, Reginald let loose a guttural yell, his entire body igniting with a furious silver aura.
"Come on, Xavier! FIGHT BACK!"
Before Xavier could even blink, Reginald's fist blurred—bright as the burning sun—and slammed downward.
Xavier raised his vector shield instinctively, but it shattered like fragile glass the moment Reginald's fist connected. The strike landed brutally against Xavier's face.
The sheer force of the impact shattered the sound barrier, unleashing a thunderous shockwave that echoed through the battlefield, rattling the very earth beneath them.