Professor X and the others only knew that Ron had apparently used Red Devil's ability to send Black King away, but they did not know where exactly he had sent him.
The crematorium's furnace tube?
No one had expected that Black King, the mastermind plotting to start World War III and destroy the world, would end up in such a miserable state because of Ron.
"Well done. Back when he was a Nazi, who knew how many people he burned to death."
Thinking of that scene, Magneto revealed a shark-like, vicious smile, filled with a sick sense of delight.
"That's where he belongs!"
"I wanted to see whether the thin oxygen and billowing smoke in the furnace tube after it started burning could suffocate him to death."
Sitting on a bench, Ron voiced his idea.
In a direct confrontation, there was likely no one in the world who could kill Black King.
"It will be difficult to succeed."
Professor X sighed.
"I looked through White Queen's memories. One of Black King's abilities gives him extraordinary endurance; he can go two or three hours without breathing."
An ordinary person's limit for holding their breath was only ten or twenty minutes. Black King could exceed that limit by more than tenfold.
"Then the bottom of the sea probably can't kill him either."
After hearing Professor X's words, Ron murmured.
Given Black King's strength, ten-odd minutes might be enough for him to swim from the Mariana Trench, more than ten thousand meters below the surface, all the way up to the surface—perhaps even less time.
To kill Black King, they would need another method.
"A place to train... come with me." After thinking for a moment, Professor X suggested that everyone go to his home.
"My home is fairly spacious. It can accommodate all of you."
Outside New York.
"Th-this... is your home?"
In front of an exquisite, ancient castle within a sprawling estate that covered several hundred acres, Darwin, who had once been a taxi driver, stammered.
"If I'm not mistaken, it seems to be a castle."
So this was what rich people meant by fairly spacious?
Forget their group—there would still be room even if their numbers increased tenfold or more.
"We'll stay here for the time being."
Professor X ignored Darwin's astonishment.
"Charles, how much money does your family have?" Alex could not help asking in surprise.
"I don't know. I've never cared about that."
He spread his hands, showing that he had no interest in such things. He preferred academic research.
Magneto stood silently at the side, thinking of how, after leaving the concentration camp as a child, he had wandered everywhere and gone hungry three times a day.
"The future Mutant School."
Ron looked at the castle before him. Professor X would one day turn this castle and estate into the site of the Mutant School.
"Come on, time for the tour."
Mystique smiled and led everyone through the castle.
As they walked along corridors with redwood floors, they found the castle's interior decoration even more classical and elegant. Antique clocks hung on the walls, and antiques were everywhere.
Professor X had the undisputed setup of a winner in life: a New York aristocrat under the Stars and Stripes, with ancestors who had lived in a castle two centuries ago; born into a wealthy family with more money than he could spend in a lifetime; and, as a child, he had found Mystique, his younger adoptive sister, stealing food in his own kitchen.
After growing up, he was handsome, extraordinarily gifted, and possessed the most powerful psychic ability on Earth. With such advantages, he should have had a happy and fulfilling life.
Unfortunately, in his early years, he had been a playboy who did not understand people's hearts. He missed Mystique, who could transform endlessly, allowing Magneto to win her heart and take her away.
"In his later years, his savior complex awakened, and he spent his entire life toiling for mutants until his death."
Ron secretly shook his head. Pitiful.
After touring the castle, Professor X assigned rooms and began training each person.
Inside a bunker capable of withstanding a nuclear blast, Alex was allowed to freely practice his immensely destructive ability.
Magneto was guided through his emotional knots. He could not always rely on a surge of rage to activate his ability; he had to think of beautiful things and master subtle changes while remaining calm.
Various environments were created to help Darwin familiarize himself with how his ability would respond to different dangers, allowing him to use it with mental preparation.
As for Hank... Professor X, as a master of psychology, successfully helped him work through his emotional knot as well. Hank let go of his inhibitions and temporarily accepted his big feet. He ran faster now, several times faster than an ordinary person.
Of course—this was not particularly useful. They did not need someone in the trenches to help carry ammunition.
Professor X gave up and let Hank work on his own research.
Finally, it was Ron's turn.
Inside the room.
"Ron, your situation is rather complicated and unique."
Professor X carefully chose his words. Looking at the young man before him, he paused before asking,
"You seem... able to possess the abilities of other mutants?"
To ordinary people, mutant abilities were like magic, like miracles. If someone could freely possess the abilities of other mutants, would he not eventually become a god in every sense of the word?
Professor X could not help wondering whether such an unrestricted, overpowered ability could truly exist in the world.
"Five times."
On the sofa, Ron withdrew his gaze from Magneto, who was practicing his ability on the lawn outside, and suddenly spoke.
"What?"
Professor X did not react at first.
"I can copy other people's abilities, but I can only do it five times in my lifetime. Once they're used up, they're gone."
He held up five fingers and smiled.
"Five times? That means five abilities."
If he could only possess five abilities, that was acceptable. Professor X secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Logically, such an overwhelmingly powerful ability should not exist.
Otherwise, the future fate of Earth would sooner or later not be determined by its six billion other lives, but by the will of the young man before him alone. That would be terrible.
As his savior complex gradually awakened, he subconsciously did not want to see such a scene.
"The best god for the world is one that exists only in imagination forever!"
"How many have you already copied?"
Professor X continued questioning him.
"Longevity Self-Healing, Tiger-Leopard Body Enhancement, Teleportation, and Darwin's and Alex's abilities. Five in total."
Ron counted them off casually, lowering one finger with each ability until all of them were down.
"Wait, did you say longevity?"
After Ron finished, Professor X froze as he finally processed it. He seemed to have heard something incredibly significant.
"How long can you live?"
"Several hundred years, perhaps over a thousand. I can't say for certain. I don't know the exact number."
Ron spoke lightly, looking much like Professor X had earlier when talking about his family's wealth.
Sabretooth had the same ability as Wolverine. Wolverine's Adamantium skeleton had become one with his body, but it had also greatly hindered his Longevity Self-Healing ability.
"Although my natural lifespan is short and that creates some burden as well, with Sabretooth's ability, living at least several hundred years won't be a problem."
He did not care much about the question. His lifespan still had a chance to become even longer, perhaps even allowing him to become truly immortal.
Elsewhere.
Raven lay on a weight bench, continuously lifting a 100-kilogram barbell to train her strength.
Suddenly, the barbell slipped free from her control and floated into the air.
Magneto slowly walked in.
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