Kill You Right Here

Hiss!

"Not bad observation. I'll give you ten points."

Ron said blandly, his eyes glowing scarlet as plasma laser beams suddenly shot out.

"But I don't accept the word 'thief.' What did you lose?"

He raised a hand to block the beams and absorb their energy, but Black King immediately took a heavy punch to the abdomen.

"You think that just because you gained my ability, you can stop me?"

He snarled as he punched back, terrifying heat gathering around his fist—enough to vaporize steel.

"We may have the same ability, but I've developed mine for decades. How could you compare to me?"

The last time Ron had used Red Devil's ability, it had been obvious that although he had copied Red Devil's power, he was far inferior to Red Devil in its development and application.

"Is that so? How do you know I only gained the ability itself?"

His entire body was wrapped in plasma-like energy that resembled red flames. Ron hovered in the air, trading blows with Black King, who could also fly with his abundant nuclear energy.

"Kid, I'll settle the score with you for last time and for getting in my way today!"

The longer this dragged on, the worse it was for his plan—especially if anyone saw him in his current state.

Remembering how he had been thrown into an ash chute, Black King violently vented the nuclear energy within him through his attacks. The nuclear energy released from his fists became increasingly terrifying.

He was convinced that Ron's capacity for energy could not possibly compare to his own.

Since Ron could absorb energy just like him, he would simply overload him!

Terrifying heat and radiation spread outward. The temperature of the sea for miles around began to rise, and radiation spread down into the water. Small fish corpses floated up from the depths and drifted across the surface.

"How is Ron doing that?"

Under the intense radiation, Magneto's head swam, and he could barely endure it. Riding a sheet of iron, he rapidly retreated, shocked and bewildered that Ron could fight Black King on even terms.

Squinting into the distance, he saw what looked like two small suns battling above the ocean.

He tried to control the wreckage of the nuclear submarine and use it to attack, helping Ron.

Whoosh!

A massive steel wreck weighing thousands of tons tore through the air, but before it could get close, the rising temperature in that area caused it to lose its magnetism, and it fell into the sea.

"How could this be?"

Facing his enemy, he could not even get his attack close.

Bang!

"You want to overload me? It won't work."

Effortlessly blocking Black King's attack again, Ron moved faster and firmly prevented his breakthrough. His expression remained indifferent as he saw through Black King's intentions.

"However much energy you can absorb, I can absorb even more!"

Alex's ability, combined with Black King's ability, gave him an energy capacity—especially for thermal energy and radiation energy—that even slightly surpassed Black King's.

Boom!

Their fists collided, and ripples of energy erupted, blasting hundreds of meters into the sky and scattering the clouds. The sea surface caved in under the pressure, throwing up enormous waves.

"Impossible! Kid, you're about to reach your limit, aren't you? Stop pretending!"

Black King's face twisted hideously. Deep down, he refused to believe it.

If Ron possessed other abilities as well, and his energy absorption was no weaker than Black King's, then even if he started a great war and destroyed the world, would he still be the one to rule it afterward?

"Black King's ability is actually this powerful?!

"And Ron? He's actually holding Black King back!"

Several miles away, Professor X muttered aboard the Blackbird jet as Raven and the others fell into stunned silence.

Black King had turned out to be so powerful, like a walking nuclear bomb. Ron, meanwhile, had displayed an ability that was not inferior to Black King's in the slightest.

"He copied Black King's ability, but didn't he say he could only use his copying power five times in his life?"

"In fact, this may be Ron's fifth copy."

Beside him, Moira recalled something and spoke hesitantly.

"After discovering you, I investigated classified military files. I found that a Colonel Stryker seemed to have discovered your existence long ago. Under his command was an X-Force supposedly made up of people with all kinds of unusual abilities.

"One member was codenamed Sabretooth. His ability was the same as what Ron displayed at the beginning: slower aging than ordinary people, super-fast regeneration, and enhanced physical strength. His fingernails could turn into sharp claws..."

"So, of the five abilities Ron told me about, two actually came from one person's ability?"

"Yes."

"Oh, he lied to me.

"But he lied well."

Professor X excitedly slapped the area above the cabin window. He could not imagine who could stop such a terrifying Black King if Ron had been unable to copy his ability.

"God, are two gods fighting?"

The people in both fleets stared wide-eyed at the scene on the sea, frozen in terror.

It resembled a battle between gods from mythology, shattering their understanding of the world.

"How can humans possess this kind of power?!"

A dreamlike feeling rose in their hearts.

Were humans not fragile creatures who could be scalded by boiling water and killed by a bullet to a vital spot?

Then how could those two men's frail bodies contain such terrifying energy?

Above the sea, Ron and Black King exchanged attacks. They were evenly matched, and every clash of fists and kicks brought terrifying energies crashing together. Massive ripples spread in every direction, reaching nearly a thousand meters away.

A seabird flew past and was instantly torn apart, its flesh and blood reduced to ash.

Bang!

"This is the first time I've found my own ability so hateful!"

Nuclear energy condensed around his fist as he struck Ron, Black King said through gritted teeth.

He finally understood how his enemies had felt when facing him. No attack had any effect whatsoever.

All energy was absorbed, offering no feedback at all. It was like attacking an abyss that devoured everything!

"Me too."

Ron replied coldly.

The energy ripples leaking from his battle with Black King were enough to tear apart anything in their path. To others, the battle likely looked utterly terrifying.

But Ron himself found it a little boring.

Even a full-strength strike could not knock his opponent back a single step or injure him.

"To make sure this never happens again, you should die here today."

With his current strength, even fighting Homelander should not have been like this.

Black King's ability made his enemies feel frustrated and helpless too easily. From now on, there only needed to be one such being on Earth, and that would be him.

"You? Get out of my way!"

Black King's attacks became even fiercer. The heat radiating from his body neared the temperature of the sun's surface as he tried to drive Ron back.

"Stay here. I don't think either of us can take part in a battle like that."

Nearly a thousand meters away, Darwin watched the two men fighting in the sky, where erupting energy ripples swept through everything.

Having retreated to the other side of the small island, Darwin's body had transformed into a strange brown, rock-like form to resist the aftershocks. He stood beside Alex and swallowed hard.

One of them could absorb heat and radiation, while the other possessed an ability to adapt for survival. That was the only reason they could stand here; ordinary people would have been killed long ago.

But that was as far as they could go. If they moved any closer, neither was sure they could survive safely.

"The heat Black King is giving off is already nearing the sun's surface. We can't even get close. Avenging Siren and saving the world can only rest on Ron now."

"Ron, execute Plan D!"

After his shock and excitement faded, Professor X came back to his senses. From the Blackbird jet, he shouted a reminder through the loudspeaker.

Anything concerning the safety of the world had to be treated seriously. Ron, Professor X, and Magneto had discussed several plans for dealing with Black King.

Poison gas, extreme cold, outer space... Using Ron's Teleportation, they would send Black King into an extreme environment they had prepared in advance and kill him there.

"Plan D?

"Indeed, that's the only one left that can work."

Hearing the reminder, Ron had grown familiar enough with the ability and no longer intended to continue. He prepared to end the battle.

In Black King's current state, steel could vaporize beside him. Poison gas and cold were out of the question. Teleportation had a limited range, and even if Ron teleported him into space, he could fly back. There truly was only one viable plan left.

"Someone's urging me on. Black King, this ends here."

"Ends here? Are you surrendering?"

Black King fiercely attacked, firing arm-thick Nuclear Rays from his palms.

The specially made helmet the Soviet Union had created for him was on his head, making him immune to all Psionic Ability. With his strict defenses, Ron had no chance at all to remove it.

Physically speaking, aside from a high-yield nuclear bomb, what on Earth could kill him?

"Or are you planning to use your Teleportation to send me into the center of a nuclear explosion?"

"Can you really absorb the enormous nuclear energy I release while splitting your focus to teleport at the same time?"

"You're right. Absorbing enormous energy while teleporting is somewhat difficult."

His eyes fired plasma laser beams in return as Ron spoke.

"But there's no need to go anywhere else. I can kill you right here!"