RedX43
patreon
[Frog] Chapter 162: Tony’s Urgent Mission
🕑 Added 2024-11-15 17:23:02 +0000 UTCAround Magneto, countless black iron sands swirled. The shattered metal fragments Alan had previously broken apart now gathered like a dense, dark cloud, blanketing the sky.
“If only I had this power back then…”
Magneto gazed at his hands in satisfaction. The enhancement from the X-gene had pushed his mutant abilities to new heights. He was confident that once he dealt with Emperor, his dream of ruling the world would be within reach.
“Emperor, as a parting gift to you,” he sneered, “I’ll ensure your death is memorable.”
With an elegant lift of his hand, countless iron sands converged into dozens of streams of black, surging forward to blast towards Alan.
“Interesting,” Alan muttered. His figure shifted in an instant, leaving his original spot as the streams of iron collided, exploding into a rain of sand that scattered across the sky.
Under Magneto's control, the streams of iron sands continued to chase Alan, attacking relentlessly. Alan dodged while using his Emperor Sword to cut through the approaching streams. Yet as long as Magneto remained, the broken iron sands would reform and gather again, twisting like black serpents that lunged at Alan.
Watching Alan, who was now being pursued, Magneto felt a resurgence of the thrill of wielding the power of life and death.
“Hahaha…”
“Emperor, where did your earlier confidence go?”
“I told you, those who try to be heroes must pay the price,” Magneto said, lifting his other hand. The iron sands beneath him shot into the sky as well. “And that price… is death!”
In an instant, the iron sands from above and below converged, surrounding Alan entirely, like two colossal iron walls closing in.
“This X-gene… it feels a bit like a Devil Fruit,” Alan remarked to himself, watching Magneto’s display of power with interest. “They’re both products of genetic alteration.”
“However, the potential of the X-gene should be much higher.”
In Alan’s memory, even the strongest Devil Fruit powers only reached the level of altering weather. But the strength of mutants could extend to levels capable of reshaping the universe itself.
As Alan pondered, the iron walls under Magneto's control continued to close in, inching closer like an unyielding vise.
Alan stood his ground, gripping the hilt of his Emperor Sword and stabbing downward into the iron sands below.
Watching this, Magneto smirked with supreme confidence. “It’s useless, Emperor. My powers are on a completely different level now.”
“I’ve reached the molecular scale.”
“Even a meteor strike wouldn’t break through my walls now!”
Alan’s mouth curled into a cold smile. “To me, it’s all the same…”
“Equally weak!”
With that, Alan pressed downward with his sword, sending a surge of energy into the black iron walls below. Cracks began to form, emanating brilliant golden light.
Seeing this, Magneto’s confident expression turned to disbelief, and then to panic. “No, no…”
“This is impossible!”
Magneto clasped his hands together, fingers intertwined tightly. “This can’t be happening!”
“I’ll crush you into pieces…”
The exertion of his powers took an enormous toll on Magneto’s aging body. He soon felt a trickling sensation, hearing faint droplets. But he had no energy left to pay attention.
With great effort, he forced the shattered iron sands to close again, drawn by powerful magnetism, forming a more compact, reinforced barrier. The once-rough walls under Alan’s feet now smoothed, taking on a polished, mirror-like sheen, glistening faintly.
“Now that’s more interesting,” Alan said as he stood upright. With a gentle touch, he brought forth a brown energy card, which appeared before him.
The card’s intricate patterns converged at the center, forming the Chinese character ‘Earth’ (土).
With a light tap, the card dissolved into golden particles that merged into the Emperor Sword. The blade, already glowing with golden light, now carried a soft brown hue, adding a mountain-like solidity to its imposing aura.
“Emperor’s Earth Splitter!”
Alan whispered.
A powerful slash formed from the Emperor Sword, cutting through the iron walls with an unstoppable force.
Boom!
The Earth Splitter cleaved through everything in its path, striking the iron wall with devastating impact.
“W-what is this power?” Magneto felt the force dismantle everything, and even he, overwhelmed by exertion, began to bleed from his seven orifices.
Even if he won this battle, he wouldn’t have much time left.
But unfortunately for him, victory was not an option.
Crack...
In the sky.
A crisp sound echoed, like the final straw that broke the camel's back.
A thin crack appeared on the mirror-like smooth surface of the iron wall. The crack grew wider, and a blinding brown light burst through it, spreading rapidly across the entire wall.
Magneto struggled to hold on, but it was all in vain. The cracks on the iron wall spread like a virus, accompanied by the continuous sound of shattering.
Boom!
A deafening explosion followed, and smoke and dust filled the air.
Magneto's body fell heavily to the ground. His face had turned deathly pale, but his eyes remained fixed on the epicenter of the explosion as countless pieces of iron of various sizes rained down from above.
Under his magnetic control, the original iron sand had reformed at the molecular level into solid iron blocks.
Soon, the dust in the sky began to clear.
Looking up at the figure in the sky, Magneto could no longer tell whether he should be furious… or terrified.
In the sky stood the Emperor, completely unscathed after the fierce battle. Meanwhile, Magneto himself was utterly spent, with nothing left to give.
“Hahaha…”
Using the last of his strength, Magneto tried to stand, only to falter and fall back down.
“Emperor, with such power as yours,” he said, blood dripping from the corner of his mouth, “why would you choose to play the role of a tragic savior?”
“One day, the humans you protect will betray you!”
Magneto, more than anyone, understood the darkness that lurked within the human race on this very land.
With these words, Magneto raised his hands once more. The iron blocks scattered on the ground began to lift and reshape under his command, forming countless sharp iron spikes of varying sizes, all aimed at Alan in the sky.
“Even if I die, I won’t let you have it easy!” he roared.
“With such a dense attack, you can’t dodge or deflect them all. If even a single shard pierces your body, you’ll be joining me in death!”
Magneto’s blood-covered face twisted into a grotesque expression, resembling a demon from the depths of hell. With all the strength he could muster, he flung his hands forward.
The swarm of iron spikes shot up like a storm, hurtling toward Alan.
Alan watched as the countless dark points rushed at him, then formed a stabbing gesture with his hand.
The ‘Wood’ symbol charm flew from the Emperor’s Belt, transforming into glimmering stardust that adhered to the Emperor’s Sword.
At the same time, a pair of majestic, white wings unfolded behind Alan’s Emperor Armor.
Countless iron spikes filled the sky, densely packed.
“Emperor’s Wind Piercer!”
The energy-laden wind spikes shot downward, colliding with the iron spikes mid-air and piercing through them instantly. The powerful shredding force tore the iron spikes back into fine iron sand.
Magneto roared with rage, unwillingness, and despair.
Not a single iron spike managed to break through Alan’s Wind Piercer. All of them were reduced to dust, cascading down from the sky like black powder.
Some of the wind spikes even passed through the gaps and landed beside Magneto.
In an instant, one of his legs was pierced, and blood swiftly dyed it crimson.
And with one, came a second, third, and fourth…
Swish, swish, swish…
Magneto, pierced by about seven or eight wind spikes, could no longer maintain his abilities. Fortunately, the Emperor's wind spikes had mostly been exhausted as well.
Magneto staggered back a few steps, looking at himself and letting out a sorrowful laugh. He had never thought he would die like this. He believed that he could lead mutants to glory and dominate humanity.
The dream was so close. Controlling Alan would have been the first step, and everything was set in place. But he never expected an Emperor to appear—one so overwhelmingly powerful.
“Why... why is it like this?” he shouted. “Are mutants doomed to always be suppressed by humans?”
At that moment, Magneto noticed a glint of golden light before him. “Emperor, you’ve won...”
“I didn’t kill you to save anyone,” Alan said calmly. “Nor did I want to be some hero. I have no interest in playing the part.”
“My principle is simple: if no one offends me, I won’t offend them. But if you try to kill me, you should be prepared to be killed.”
Magneto’s mind flashed with a certain figure.
“Hahaha...” he laughed, then collapsed backward.
In the final moment before his death, Magneto realized that his plan had been doomed from the very start.
Alan glanced around at the shattered mountains surrounding him, realizing this had been the most intense battle he’d experienced since arriving in this world.
Then, sensing something, Alan turned toward the horizon.
Tony Stark, controlling his Mark 6 armor, descended slowly and surveyed the devastated landscape. With disbelief in his eyes, he looked at the Emperor and asked, “Did you hold a bomb party here or something?”
Alan looked at Tony with curiosity. “Why are you here?”
Tony, never one to keep secrets, replied, “Jarvis detected a rapid depletion of iron ore in this mountain range. Then, the satellite spotted you fighting Magneto. So, I thought...”
He glanced at the aftermath of the battle and felt awkward finishing the thought.
But Alan knew Tony had come to help him.
Not bad, Tony Stark was someone worth befriending. When things got serious, he really was willing to join the fight.
Tony’s eyes fell on Magneto’s corpse behind Alan.
“You... you killed him?”
Alan nodded. “He tried to kill me, so I had no reason to hold back.”
“Let’s go. There’s no point in staying here. Someone will come to take care of his body soon enough.”
With that, Alan vanished into thin air.
Used to Alan’s sudden comings and goings, Tony lowered the hand he’d raised for a farewell.
Staring at Magneto’s lifeless body on the ground, once a formidable presence, Tony sighed before flying off.
On the S.H.I.E.L.D. helicarrier.
All the agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. stared at the massive screen, their eyes wide with shock. They still couldn’t believe that the battle they had just witnessed had actually happened. If it hadn’t been captured by S.H.I.E.L.D.’s satellite surveillance, they would have thought it was a scene from a new Hollywood blockbuster.
Maria Hill was the first to snap out of it and immediately dialed Nick Fury.
The call connected, and Hill said urgently, "Magneto…"
"He's dead…"
“Killed by the Emperor...”
...
