Despite the flood of questions swirling in his mind, the azazel would never get his answers. His vision went dark, and he completely lost consciousness.
Thud!
Alex finally flicked his wrist and tossed the azazel's corpse to the ground like a dead dog.
"He actually… killed that terrifying guy?"
"No way. That has to be fake, right?"
Raven, Hank, Darwin, and the other mutants who had been worried about Alex just moments ago were all left dumbfounded.
One second, Alex had been in a desperate situation—on the verge of being flung into the sky. The next, he completely reversed the tide and took down his opponent in a flash?
The shift was so abrupt, none of them could react.
"Azazel!"
Even the Black King froze for a moment, then couldn't help but gasp with shock and heartache.
Shock—because he had never imagined someone as powerful as the azazel, a mutant who could breeze through the most challenging missions, would die on such a simple one.
And at the hands of someone so young.
The heartache—was because Azazel had been one of his most invaluable right-hand men. Loyal and capable, someone irreplaceable.
But right after, the Black King's eyes lit up with a fiery intensity as he stared at Alex.
This young man… was the most promising mutant he'd ever seen!
He must be brought under his banner!
If he could recruit Alex, then losing Azazel wouldn't be such a loss after all.
Poor azazel. If he knew that his master had tossed him aside the moment he died, one could only imagine how he'd feel.
But that was the Black King for you—
Cold-blooded, ruthless, and willing to do whatever it took to achieve his goals.
"You killed Azazel!"
Riptide's eyes widened in disbelief.
With a flick of his wrist, a cyclone began to swirl in his palm.
Whoosh!
But before he could even unleash it, Alex snapped his arm forward and let loose a flash of cold steel.
A dagger tore through the air like a streak of light.
Where did the dagger come from?
Naturally, Alex had prepared it earlier—during the time he "disappeared" after Charles and Erik left.
With strength measuring in the dozens of tons, the blade shot out like a missile, streaking toward Riptide with terrifying force.
How long would it take for an object accelerated by ten-plus tons of force to travel twenty meters?
Just the blink of an eye.
Shhk!
Riptide only saw a blur before his body jerked violently and was flung backward.
Boom! He crashed to the ground with a heavy thud.
The dagger had pierced clean through his right chest, embedded deep in his body.
"You… you…"
Riptide barely managed to stammer those two slurred words before his head lolled to the side. He stopped moving altogether.
The room fell deathly silent. Everyone just stared blankly at Riptide's lifeless body, struggling to process what had just happened.
This was a mutant capable of summoning tornadoes at will, strong enough to destroy large-scale facilities like the Cerebro amplifier with ease.
Even a team of elite agents couldn't so much as scratch him. He could wipe them all out with a wave of his hand.
To them, Azazel was terrifying—but Riptide's destructive power far surpassed his.
And now, this powerhouse of a mutant… was dead? Just like that?
But to Alex, it wasn't anything unusual.
Many mutants were like that—high offense, low defense.
Magneto was the most classic example.
His power was unquestionable—remember that scene in Days of Future Past, where he ripped up an entire stadium in a fit of rage? It was badass.
Way more powerful than Riptide at this stage.
Yet even he got taken down by Raven with a single well-placed bullet.
Same with Professor X.
If someone wore a helmet that blocked his telepathy, even a random dude with a knife or a gun could kill him.
(Of course, this refers to pre-wheelchair Charles.)
So for Alex, despite Riptide's strength, he had a fatal weakness: his powers weren't instant-cast—or at least, couldn't instantly reach the target.
After all, tornadoes needed time to form and travel.
And Riptide himself sucked at hand-to-hand combat.
So why on earth would Alex fight him head-on like an idiot?
Use your brain.
Taking him out quickly was the smart move.
"No wonder he's Alex!"
"That was badass!"
After the initial shock, the mutants around him were all fired up.
Two out of the three enemy mutants had been eliminated in the blink of an eye—the crisis was almost completely resolved!
With Alex around, there was this unexpected sense of calm and security.
They looked at him with eyes full of admiration, practically worshipping him.
Compared to how useless they had been, Alex's performance stood on a whole different level.
Clap clap clap!
Applause rang out. The Black King actually looked at Alex with nothing but admiration as he clapped enthusiastically.
As if the two who'd died weren't his top aides, but just random nobodies.
"Truly astounding!"
The praise on his face was unfiltered. He strode confidently toward the group, but his gaze remained fixed on Alex.
"Do you have any idea what those two were capable of? How powerful they were? And yet you took them both out—I honestly didn't see that coming."
"You didn't even blink!"
"Someone like you shouldn't stay buried in a place like this. Come with me! A new era is on the horizon—our era!"
It was a heartfelt invitation, straight from the Black King himself.
"You're right. A new era is coming," Alex nodded.
The Black King's smile grew wider. He looked incredibly pleased.
This young man really was a gem.
"But I'm quite sure," Alex continued, eyes steely, "that the 'new era' we're talking about… isn't the same."
"And the one who ushers it in—won't be you."
"Not me?" The Black King raised an eyebrow, then chuckled. "Don't tell me… you think it'll be you?"
To be fair, Alex had the Homeland-er template, and he knew how future events might play out.
If anyone had a shot at ushering in a new era, he probably had the best chance.
But Alex had no intention of debating the matter with the Black King.
He was a transmigrator, after all. And if there's one thing he knew—it was that running your mouth in front of the villain is just asking for death.
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