I'm Going to Get Some Dust in Your Eyes

"Excellent. I've always hated it when someone walks out in the middle of a play."

"Especially when it's one I'm directing."

Hearing this, Black King narrowed his eyes.

Not just because Ron couldn't leave his presence again anytime soon, but also because Ron's ability to borrow others' powers didn't seem all that strong.

"No, no!"

Angel's face twisted in panic. After a brief struggle, she scurried over to Black King and begged, "I'm willing to join you, to help build a new era for mutants. Please don't kill me."

"Angel, you...?" Alex and the other two stared in disbelief at her betrayal.

Ron's expression never changed. This stripper had been destined to defect to Black King's side tonight anyway.

"A wise choice. Anyone else?"

Scanning the room, Black King's gaze finally settled on Ron. His eyes hardened as he prepared to speak again—he'd lost two subordinates today, after all.

"You've already talked enough today. Let me save you some spit."

Ron had no interest in banter. He struck swiftly and decisively, claws slashing forward.

"Go!"

Like a signal, Alex and the other two scrambled to their feet, shouting as they launched their attacks together.

Though the hope of escape had crumbled, Ron hadn't abandoned them. He'd used his last chance to return and face the enemy alongside them—and that lit a fire in their hearts.

"Smart people are always a minority in this world."

Shaking his head with feigned regret, Black King's eyes turned icy. He threw a lightning-fast punch that sent Ron flying.

He caught Alex's energy blade with one hand, then fired a reverse energy ray at Siren, who was opening his mouth wide for a sonic attack.

Unlike Alex, Siren had no ability to absorb heat or radiation. A fist-sized hole punched clean through his chest, revealing the space behind him. His mouth hung open as he collapsed, reeking of burnt flesh.

"Siren!"

"You bastard. Die."

Darwin slid in on his knees, rage blazing, as black rock-hard armor formed a massive hammerhead on his fist.

With several tons of force—enough to send a car flying—he slammed it into Black King's abdomen.

But it didn't budge him an inch.

"A little girl of seven or eight on the street hits harder than you."

Black King glanced sideways at the stunned Darwin, then casually dropped his fist.

Bam!

Darwin was struck as if a tank had fallen from the sky. The terrifying force drove his head through the floor tiles, half his body buried in the ground.

Pop!

Angel flapped her dragonfly-like wings, flying over to spit highly corrosive acid globs at Alex.

"Angel, you traitor!"

Alex twisted and fired an energy blade. The two clashed.

Swoosh!

Ron, sent flying earlier, rebounded off the wall like a panther—quick and agile—and lunged again.

Steel-like spikes grew from his hands, extending along his nails like tiger claws.

Under threat, his Survival of the Fittest ability began to manifest.

"Too slow. Slower than my grandmother who died decades ago."

Black King easily caught both of Ron's wrists mid-strike. The spikes stopped just centimeters from his eyes, unable to advance further.

"You should be able to tell—I've been holding back."

"Ron, you're peculiar. Don't force me to kill you."

His cold warning mixed threat with persuasion. He was trying once more to recruit Ron, to make him submit.

"You can try killing me first."

Survival of the Fittest kept kicking in. Ron wasn't buying it. His muscle tissue evolved rapidly, becoming denser and stronger, the power in his arms steadily increasing.

"Hmm?"

Black King's expression shifted slightly. Relying purely on physical strength, he was starting to struggle.

His real forte was absorbing and releasing energy. His enhanced baseline strength maxed out at eight or nine tons.

And the force gripping Ron's arms was gradually exceeding that limit.

"Enough."

He channeled stored kinetic energy into his grip, intending to crush Ron's arms.

But the next second, Ron's arms—and his entire body—turned into a high-density steel-like substance, gleaming with silver light. Survival of the Fittest again. He withstood the pressure.

"Since you won't listen to reason, then this is where it ends..."

Failing repeatedly, Black King's gaze darkened with anger. He stopped holding back.

After two rounds of probing, this young man before him didn't seem like someone who would submit, and his ability was too peculiar—perhaps too dangerous to control.

He tightened his grip, ready to channel the surging energy within him and tear Ron, now turned to steel, in two.

"Not enough—I need to get some dust in your eyes!"

Mid-sentence, Ron cut him off with a grin, quoting a classic villain line.

Bang~

In the night sky, he and Black King teleported together, appearing above a massive steel furnace chimney.

Flames roared inside the chimney, belching thick black smoke.

"You tricked me—where is this?"

The scene shifted abruptly. Deceived. Ron still had his teleportation ability.

"See ya."

In midair, Ron arched his body, driving both feet hard into Black King's abdomen as the latter twisted his head in shock to survey the surroundings, breaking free from his grip.

The two separated in the air, one falling upward, the other down.

"If I hadn't only been here a few days and never been to the seabed, I'd definitely invite you to check out the Mariana Trench."

"As for this... if you survive, consider it an appetizer."

During the fall, amid the howling wind, his voice drifted through the night sky.

"Where is this?"

Black King, once a high-ranking Nazi official, caught a familiar, pungent smell just before plunging into the chimney. His face twisted, and he roared again in fury.

"Suburban Crematorium."

Looking down at him, Ron tossed out the words and activated his ability to leave.

Dust in his eyes? What dust? Ashes!

"Ron!"

A roar of humiliation and rage shook the night sky.

Back in the base room.

Darwin had just pulled his head out of the ground. Black King didn't know his ability and couldn't kill him—his head had turned to steel, and he survived.

"Where'd that guy go?"

Seeing Ron, he asked groggily about Black King's whereabouts.

"Suburbs."

Ron replied, then glanced at Alex and the other fighting outside. He flickered above Angel and swung a claw down.

Angel, who had just flapped her wings to dodge Alex's strike, heard the sound and turned to evade, but it was too late. Blood sprayed from her neck as she fell limp.

With it all over, he flickered back to the ground.

He scanned the template.

Ability Points: 78,000

Recorded Template: Mutant Black King, Price: 120,000...

Tonight, he'd gained three more abilities and a hefty boost in Ability Points—a massive haul. The only pity was that he still fell short of acquiring Black King's ability.

"No matter. There'll be a second half soon enough."

The contract was signed. Starting today, two updates a day.