"Erik, I'll hold him off—go help Charles!"
After narrowly dodging another strike from the Black King, Alex spoke in a low, steady voice to Erik beside him.
Following their earlier setback, Erik was a lot calmer now.
He understood clearly—the only real shot at taking down the Black King lay with Charles. Anything else would just get in the way.
"I'm counting on you, Alex!"
After casting a long look at the Black King, Erik gave Alex a nod and immediately turned to leave.
He may still be in the early stages of becoming Magneto, but even now Erik was already one of the stronger mutants around.
His assistance would no doubt be a tremendous boost for Charles and the others.
And the Black King? He let Erik leave without even trying to stop him.
Of course, with Alex standing in his way, there wasn't much he could do anyway.
Besides, to the Black King, the others no longer mattered—not even that overpowered telepath.
No, the one who truly commanded his attention was the man in front of him.
A body like steel. Strength and speed that far surpassed ordinary humans. Even his eyes could fire laser beams.
This young man was, without question, the most flawless mutant the Black King had ever seen.
Defense, offense, brute strength, speed, melee, ranged—
The Black King often proclaimed that mutants were the future of humankind, the next step in evolution.
But standing before him now, this young man was the next step.
The perfect form. A peak specimen.
Even the Black King—despite his seeming invincibility—had a fatal flaw: his offensive power was lacking.
If his enemies didn't feed him energy, he was no different from a regular human being.
"So, is this your plan? Just stall me here, play hide and seek until they recover Charles' telepathic control and try to finish me off in one strike?"
The Black King's voice rang out with arrogant composure. "Not a bad idea. But do you really think you can beat me so easily?"
"You're right. That's why I've changed my mind," Alex replied after a moment of silence.
He made a new decision—he lunged forward and charged straight at the Black King.
Even though he knew he couldn't kill him, the Black King's smug attitude was enough to make Alex question whether Charles and the others could really succeed.
So he had to prepare a backup plan—try to drive the Black King out of the hotel.
Outside, Charles' powers would work just fine.
It was better than wasting time in here.
Sure, he couldn't kill the guy.
But the Black King couldn't kill him either.
Might as well use him for some free sparring practice.
Alex darted forward like a bullet.
"Oh? You're going to fight back now? It won't change a thing!"
The Black King sneered coldly and charged in as well.
And just like that, the two of them clashed once again.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Crack! Crack! Crack! The sounds of fists and feet colliding echoed throughout the room.
Alex noticed it the moment they exchanged blows—
The Black King felt… weaker than he had back at the CIA base.
Back then, the guy had just stood there flexing, playing defense the whole time, not even bothering to attack.
But now, the Black King was actually displaying impressive combat skills.
Still—Alex could feel it. Clear as day.
Even though his punches didn't hurt the guy, the feedback was totally different from before.
Last time, it was like hitting thin air—pointless, ineffective.
But now? It felt like striking a sponge.
The energy was still being absorbed, yes—but not entirely. Not flawlessly.
"What's going on...?"
Alex couldn't quite figure it out.
Still, it wasn't exactly bad news.
He spotted an opening and went in for the kill.
With a perfect combo of super speed and heat vision, Alex created a brief window. He poured every ounce of strength into one devastating punch—like thunder splitting the sky—and smashed it into the Black King's chest.
The impact was explosive.
The Black King flew through the air like a cannonball, slammed backward by the sheer force of the strike.
He doubled over, hacking violently, and a thin line of blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.
He'd actually been injured by Alex's punch.
Alex blinked, slightly stunned.
Did I really do that?
That punch had worked far better than he'd expected.
The Black King could absorb nuclear energy from a submarine reactor—how could he not absorb a single punch?
Was there a limit to how much energy he could take in?
Did it overflow once it passed a certain point?
Even if that was the case, shouldn't the threshold be way higher?
"Have you been hiding your real power this whole time?"
"So this is your true strength?" the Black King asked, rising slowly to his feet. He wiped the blood from his lips and stared at Alex with wide, shaken eyes.
But Alex hadn't been holding back.
He'd simply gotten stronger since the CIA battle.
Back then, his strength cap was 15 tons.
"That's not what matters," Alex replied with a grin. "What matters is this—if that's all you've got, Sebastian, you're finished."
Without waiting for a response, Alex blurred forward and charged again.
There were still a lot of questions about the Black King's condition, but none of them mattered right now.
If he could overpower him—
Then that's exactly what he'd do.
A worried voice called from the side. It was Phasing Man, who'd been watching the fight unfold from a distance. He finally couldn't sit back anymore and prepared to step in.
"Stand down!" the Black King barked harshly. "You really think I can't beat this brat!?"
Phasing Man's only skill was intangibility—he could phase himself or others.
If he stepped in, it would be admitting total defeat.
And the Black King couldn't accept that.
Roaring, he charged back toward Alex.
They clashed once more.
But this time, Alex had a clear strategy—
Use explosive force to break through the Black King's defenses.
And the results spoke for themselves.
Alex pummeled him like a training dummy, sending him flying repeatedly until he smashed right through the hotel entrance and tumbled out into the street.
Outside, Raven and Hank—who'd been standing watch—rushed forward in shock.
They stared at the Black King sprawled on the pavement like a dead dog.
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