Why Stop Me?

"Ron, stop Erik!"

"Why should I stop him?

Charles, if you follow orders, you can wash your hands of all responsibility, can't you?"

Ron didn't want to stop him. He looked toward the Blackbird jet and refused.

"Since he chose to act beyond his means, he should bear the cost of that action."

"Ron, you..."

Professor X never expected such cold words to come from Ron's mouth. Those were thousands of lives. A sudden, intense sense of foreboding surged in his heart.

The old Black King was dead, but could a new, more terrifying Black King be born from his corpse?

In just two or three seconds, a dense swarm of missiles howled over the two fleets.

"God..."

The people on the fleet stared in terror.

He couldn't dwell on it. He immediately tried to manipulate Magneto's mind.

But the radiation from the Black King's body brought an all-pervading pain, like a torture from head to toe, inside and out. It was already a feat that Professor X hadn't passed out.

"Erik, if you kill them, you'll immediately stand against all of humanity."

"Charles, you're too weak right now. You can't stop me."

His mind was slightly disturbed, but Magneto gritted his teeth, his face twisted. Fueled by his hatred for humanity, he stubbornly held on and guided the missiles.

Hundreds of missiles struck the fleet. He laughed coldly.

"Go on, go repent in hell!"

Boom, boom, boom!

Violent explosions, flames shooting into the sky.

The heavy, ten-thousand-ton warships were destroyed and sank. Ammunition detonated, like brilliant fireworks blooming over the sea, churning up massive waves.

"No, Erik."

The weakened Professor X stared at the blazing fire outside the porthole, tears streaming down his face as he screamed in anguish.

Not just for the dead on the fleet, but for his friend Erik, whom he had met too late, now committing a terrible mistake.

"Why did you do this? Do you know what the consequences will be?"

Not just America's hatred, but the Soviet Union's, the two poles of the Earth, human society—everyone would hate and condemn him for this.

Magneto would become the greatest terrorist in human history, a monster in the eyes of the entire world.

From now on, there would be no redemption. Human society would never accept him again.

And this might even provoke global hostility toward mutants.

"Pretty fireworks are always short-lived."

Ron sighed.

"Ron, come help me. Shaw deserved to die, but some of his ideas were right.

We mutants are the new humans, the inevitable step in human evolution!

Every mutant is a unique miracle. We should take the Earth from the decaying Old Humans. That's our mission!"

Having destroyed two super-fleets, Magneto's face was cold, as if he had just poured boiling water on two anthills. He turned back and gave an impassioned speech, trying to pull Ron to his side.

The power Ron had shown could tip the balance between mutants and humans!

"Come on, Ron.

Join me in creating a world for mutants!"

His eyes were sincere and eager, as if they held a beautiful vision worth fighting for. He extended his hand.

"Does everyone end up becoming the person they once despised?"

Ron glanced at his hand.

Sure enough, after Shaw's death, Magneto had walked a path similar to Shaw's.

This had nothing to do with him—Magneto was always going to turn out this way. At most, under his influence, he might be a little colder and more extreme now.

"Erik, you speak well..."

Hearing this, Magneto's lips curled into a smile. He thought Ron would agree.

After all, Ron had just stood with him, rejecting Professor X's plea. Their positions were so aligned.

"But I refuse!"

Ron shook his head lightly.

The next second, Magneto's smile froze, his eyes filled with shock.

"Refuse? Why would you refuse?"

"Erik, you're too cold-blooded and extreme. Mutants and humans can coexist perfectly."

His expression turned serious as he spoke in a low voice.

"Cold-blooded? But you just—"

"That was then. This is now."

With that, he swung a punch at Magneto.

Boom!

Magneto was sent flying sideways, tumbling seven or eight meters before quickly controlling a sheet of metal to catch himself.

"Ron, don't tell me you agree with Charles—that humans will accept us, treat us as equals, as their own kind?"

He climbed to his feet, wiping blood from the corner of his mouth. He knew Ron hadn't gone all out, but he couldn't help shouting in anger.

"Think about Mystique. Think about Beast."

Mutants with abnormal appearances like theirs would definitely be seen as monsters by humans. Even mutants who looked normal would be feared and ostracized by ordinary people!

"I understand all that.

But Charles is weak and naive, and you're cold-blooded and extreme. Only I am the future of mutantkind."

Raising a finger, Ron slowly pointed it at himself, unhurried, as if stating a simple fact.

After today, mutants would be exposed to human eyes. The mutants of the world needed a leader—someone to guide them through life after discovery and forge a future. Neither Charles nor Magneto was fit for it.

"Ron, we can work together—"

Magneto's expression softened slightly. As long as Ron didn't share Charles's naive ideals, he could still be won over. He wanted to keep persuading.

"I won't join forces with you.

Our philosophies don't align. But we can compete."

He cut Magneto off with a wave of his hand.

"Compete? Compete in what?"

"You can hear me, can't you, Charles."

Ron ignored him and looked toward the Blackbird jet.

"The three of us have different visions for mutants and humans, and none of us will convince the others.

So let's settle it with action.

Each of us follows our own philosophy and methods. We'll see who ultimately creates true welfare and a future for mutantkind!"

He intended to usher in a new era on Earth—to change the fate of every mutant born after this turning point.

Even if not every mutant had a role in the original story, he could encompass them all in one fell swoop, once and for all.

"...Hmph. He's been chattering in my head, trying to use me to persuade you."

After a few seconds, Magneto pointed at his own head and let out a cold snort.

He knew his old friend too well—Charles was hardly the type to make decisive choices.

"Doesn't surprise me at all."

Ron didn't care in the slightest, nor was he interested in what Professor X had said. "He heard me. He'll do what he thinks is right.

The point is you, Erik. What do you think?"