"Erik, at last... we meet again."
Alex stepped into the chamber with a calm smile, as if he hadn't noticed the cold, ruthless glare Sebastian Shaw shot at him.
"Alex, don't worry about me—kill him!"
Erik struggled fiercely in Shaw's grip, but his voice was full of unyielding resolve.
Hearing that, Shaw let out a disappointed sigh. "You know, hearing you say that actually hurts. Truly... disappointing."
He looked at Erik like a pitiful child who didn't understand the world. "You're still clinging to these meaningless emotional attachments. They're beneath you. Your mother was beneath you."
"We are the future. We are the next step in human evolution! This is our era! I made you who you are—you should be grateful."
"Let Erik go," Alex said coolly. "I'll show you what the real future of evolution looks like."
Shaw's eyes sharpened. "Indeed. Compared to Erik, you're much more refined. In some ways, even better than me. But that's precisely why I have to eliminate you."
He glanced down at Erik, full of condescension. "You? You're just a pathetic clown."
BANG!
Shaw tossed Erik aside like trash.
In Shaw's eyes, Erik was nothing more than a minor character—powerless, irrelevant. He even took pleasure in watching Erik's hopeless struggle for vengeance.
---
Outside on the beach—
Charles's face lit up.
Sebastian Shaw—who had seemed to vanish completely—suddenly reappeared in his mental senses the moment Alex entered the chamber.
But strangely, Charles could only sense Shaw's presence. He still couldn't read his mind.
"Must be Alex…"
Charles clenched his fists, mentally cheering.
Just moments ago, Shaw had completely blocked Charles's psychic scan. But now that Alex had gone inside, that perfect mental shield had a crack in it.
Charles wanted to tell Alex to keep doing whatever he was doing.
Unfortunately, as always, his powers were useless on Alex.
So he settled for the next best option—reaching out to Erik.
"Erik, I can sense Shaw. Did Alex do something in there?"
Erik froze for a moment, then thought back.
Alex hadn't done much—just punched a hole in the shiny, silver room…
Wait.
Realization struck.
That room was built to block Charles's abilities! When Alex broke it open, the psychic shield had been compromised.
"That's it!"
Erik's spirits soared. Without wasting another second, he raised his hand and started manipulating the metal around him.
CLANG!
CLANG!
A series of metallic crashes echoed through the chamber as Erik began tearing apart the reflective silver walls.
"You've finally grown a brain, Erik. Too bad it's too late."
Shaw sneered.
He already absorbed all the energy from the nuclear sub—exposure was no longer a threat.
But what Shaw didn't expect was—
SWOOSH!
While Shaw was distracted by Erik, Alex blurred into motion at subsonic speed—and in the blink of an eye, snatched Shaw's helmet right off his head.
Shaw's power lay in absorbing energy, but it didn't enhance his reflexes. With his attention divided, he didn't even notice Alex moving.
He just felt a sudden shift in the air—then a cool breeze against his forehead.
"Sh*t!"
His expression changed dramatically as he lunged toward Alex, desperate to reclaim the helmet.
He knew—without it, he was a dead man.
"Nice one, Alex!" Erik shouted, eyes blazing with excitement.
He screamed at the top of his lungs, "Charles! Now's your chance!"
Of course, Charles didn't need to be told—he was already flooding the area with psychic power.
The moment Shaw's helmet came off, Charles seized control.
SWOOSH!
Shaw froze mid-motion—arms raised, legs forward—like someone had hit pause on his entire body.
"Thanks, Alex," Erik said quietly.
He walked up to Shaw, his gaze dark and complex.
"Shaw… it all comes down to this."
His eyes sharpened, killing intent thick in his voice. "You're right about one thing—we are the future."
"But you killed my mother."
He raised his hand, ready to end it once and for all.
Suddenly, Erik felt resistance—his body wouldn't move.
Charles was interfering.
"Erik, listen to me. Killing him won't bring you peace. It'll only stain your hands with blood—blood that'll never wash off!"
Charles's voice echoed in his mind.
"Not now, Charles! Get out of my head! Don't you dare stop me!"
Erik roared, struggling to break free of the mental hold.
"You don't want to become that kind of man, Erik. Control your rage—don't let it control you! Please, trust me!"
"SHUT UP, CHARLES!" Erik was nearly trembling with fury.
His enemy was right there. A simple coin could end it. But his ally—his friend—was standing in his way.
"Erik…"
ZAP!
While the two argued, a beam of heat vision pierced the air—Alex had fired.
Two holes burned straight through Shaw's skull.
"AHHH!"
Charles cried out in agony—his psychic link with Shaw meant he felt the death as if it were his own.
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