Melee

Smoke and dust churned through the air. The moment Sean rushed in, the oncoming grit nearly caked his eyes shut.

The medical mask on his face seemed to offer little protection against the dust. One breath, and he felt his nose fill with dirt.

That only made his anger burn hotter!

This was where Storm proved her worth. A whirlwind swept through, carrying the dust high into the sky and forming a gray-black column of smoke!

Who knew whether environmental groups would sue the X-Men for wantonly ruining the environment.

But for Sean, the benefits were immediate!

He could see!

Not far ahead was Cyclops, who had just climbed back to his feet. Though visibility was still poor, Sean would recognize the culprit behind the collapsed building even as a shadow!

He turned sideways, stepped in, bent his right leg, and drove it forward! There was no hip rotation, only a twist of his torso as he turned sideways.

A textbook Bruce Lee side kick!

Cyclops was still dazed when Sean's kick slammed into his right chest. With a bang, he was sent flying!

After kicking Cyclops away, Sean immediately began searching for the culprit behind this mess—the witch!

Storm floated in midair like a goddess descending to earth. Her glowing white eyes and the lightning coiling around her made her seem utterly majestic!

The gathered crowd had already retreated farther away. Even the police and firefighters hurriedly withdrew, practically clearing out the entire intersection for the X-Men to use as a battlefield.

The reporters who had arrived late had also set up their cameras, ready to seize tomorrow's headlines!

This show...

Had only just begun...

Far away at the Xavier Institute, Professor X suddenly felt a wave of tension. Events had already surpassed everyone's expectations, and the professor seemed to see a brutal final battle ahead!

The first thing he did was evacuate the crowd, making the distant onlookers and police leave. This battle was no longer something ordinary people could take part in!

The professor stared ahead and said softly:

"Eric, a major problem has arrived!"

No one knew who he was speaking to. The first major event of 2009 was about to unfold in Manhattan.

Professor X summoned Colossus and Phoenix, even Iceman, Polaris, and Shadowcat. He gathered every person he could use without leaving a single one behind!

To Manhattan!

Above the clinic, violent lightning continuously blasted the clinic ruins. Its targets were the witch Morgan le Fay and the female demon Ava Ellis. The reason was simple: the two of them were too powerful, making Storm, high in the air, feel threatened.

It was a strange feeling, as though she would be torn apart if she did not attack them.

Storm trusted that her instincts were not wrong.

Relying on her keen intuition, Yuriko had already found Wolverine.

The two old rivals once again launched into a savage battle.

The dust was swept high into the sky by the gale, and the ruins of the clinic gradually became clear.

But just before the dust could disperse, a dense fog suddenly erupted.

It shrouded the clinic ruins once more.

The imposing Storm was also dragged down from the sky by a sudden force. It was a giant dark-green serpent, like smoke made solid.

Everyone was drawn into the dust and fog, making outside observation impossible for the moment.

Sean had little visibility in the thick fog, nor did he possess instincts as keen as Wolverine's or Yuriko's. He could only search for targets with his eyes within two meters.

Strangely, when he focused, several figures appeared in his mind.

Storm, Cyclops, Ava Ellis, Yuriko, and Linda Carter in the distance.

This was...

The Black Ledger?

Sure enough, the Black Ledger was impossible to escape from when debts were involved!

Sean went to find Ava Ellis first. He needed the female demon's abilities to locate the witch.

Ava Ellis was in an extremely foul mood. She and Linda Carter had just returned from outside when they saw a woman in the clinic.

Without a word, that woman had begun attacking her with magic.

Ava Ellis had no choice but to fight back. As a powerful demon, Ava Ellis had her own pride.

But her opponent today was equally powerful.

This was one of the strongest opponents Ava Ellis had encountered in thousands of years.

The last time someone had beaten her black and blue was when she ran into that bald woman from Kamar-Taj.

The moment that woman made her move, Ava recognized her origins—Merlin...

That scoundrel from King Arthur's era!

A wizard feared even by demons!

During the battle, Ava tried her best not to damage the clinic building, but the witch had no such reservations.

In the end, the clinic still collapsed, and a chill ran down Ava Ellis's back.

This was Sean White's lifeblood.

At that point, Ava Ellis had already wanted to break away from the fight.

But the X-Men's arrival made the situation even worse. Storm's attacks did not care whether she was a demon or a witch.

Under the double assault, Ava Ellis suffered miserably.

Storm's electricity was no joke when it hit.

With smoke rising from her hair, Ava Ellis angrily wanted to tear Storm to pieces.

Those bolts of lightning dealt even more damage than the witch's magic.

Fortunately, the witch also seemed unable to withstand such attacks.

She summoned a giant serpent like smoke and mist, dragging Storm down.

With Sean White and Yuriko joining in as well, the battle became even more chaotic.

After losing her aerial advantage, Storm could only use indiscriminate attacks, sending lightning spreading in every direction.

The power of nature was more magnificent than magic. Under the thunderbolts' brutal assault, the giant serpent summoned by the witch rapidly dissipated.

While the witch turned her attention toward Storm, Ava Ellis slyly slipped out of the battle.

That was precisely when Sean found her.

"White... Doctor White~"

Ava Ellis called out softly and carefully.

Unease hid in her tone.

She was truly a little afraid. Though the clinic's collapse was not her fault.

But how could Doctor White's way of thinking possibly be limited to assigning responsibility?

"Where is that witch?"

Sean asked with a dark expression.

Ava timidly pointed in one direction.

Then Sean abandoned her and rushed straight that way.

Ava was stunned. She had not been scolded? That really was cause for joy!

But after taking only five steps forward, Sean was struck stiff by a surge of electricity.

"Step voltage?"

Fuck!

The ionization in the air made every hair on his body stand on end. Just how much electricity had Storm released?

In his fury, Sean simply picked up debris from the collapsed building and hurled it wildly in the direction Ava Ellis had indicated.

He had to hit something by chance, right?

Concrete chunks weighing more than ten kilograms on average were no small stones.

They made a whistling sound as they tore through the air, while the heavy thuds of their landing meant they had missed their target.

The witch was resisting Storm's lightning when a chunk of concrete flying past nearly struck her.

This opponent who only knew how to unleash lightning was far stronger than the witch had expected.

Her fire spells had no room to work beneath the raging wind. They were dispersed by the wind the moment they were released.

The fog had been released by the witch, and within it, she had clear vision.

She could see Sean's every move perfectly.

She knew exactly why Sean was attacking her: the house beneath her feet that had already been destroyed.

In Morgan le Fay's eyes, it was merely a house. To offend noble her over a house was unforgivable!

The computer had finally died for good. Until finances improved, Old Tree could only type on a phone.

The downside of typing on a phone was, first, that it was slow; second, that the chapter content could become somewhat scattered.

Hopefully it would not affect the reading experience too much...