Fast. Way faster than she'd expected.
But Illyana (Magik) was no easy mark.
Her figure shimmered—leaving a fading afterimage in place—then she reappeared dozens of meters away, struck a pose she thought looked cool, and shouted, "Shatter!"
Boom!
The Illyana in front of Saitama detonated. The blast kicked him a step back, flecks of black hellfire licking across his suit.
Illyana laughed. "Enjoy your last calm breath before death. You'll die screaming in hellfire, you stupid… bald mule!"
"You—stop calling me a bald mule!"
Saitama could take most insults. That one—no.
He flicked out a casual punch; the side wall atomized into grit. "See that? Don't make me mad, lady."
He thought he looked pretty cold and imposing. Illyana only sneered. "Oh? You going to hit a woman?"
"Uh… well…" Saitama scratched his head, momentarily lost.
He didn't see her flicker behind him, Soul Sword already thrusting for his heart.
Clang—no, not even clang. The blade simply failed to enter.
Impossible. Her mind hiccuped—and in that beat, Saitama turned, very earnest. "I think I don't mind hitting women."
A tap of his palm launched her. Illyana tumbled for dozens of meters and cratered into a wall before sliding down.
"Uh… guess I overdid it again," Saitama muttered.
Colossus sprinted over and caught her. "Illyana! Are you alright?"
"I held back," Saitama sighed. "Anyway—do you know where she sent Professor X?"
"You—!" Rage twisted Piotr's features. "What did Magneto tell you? Must you kill Charles?"
"Uh… lemme think." Saitama rubbed his scalp. "System, repeat the quest?"
[Ding! Side Quest: Mutants in this world are pitiful. Become friends with Magneto, then help him defeat Professor X, and make humanity accept mutants!]
Hmm… wait.
So the point isn't just beating Professor X. The real key is: how do you make humans accept mutants?
While Saitama stared into space, Illyana shuddered and climbed up. One second she'd seen a blur; the next she'd been airborne; now her body felt like it had been taken apart and put back wrong.
All that from a "tap"? This man's strength… If that was true, beating him wouldn't be easy.
She bit down hard enough to draw blood. "Get out of my way, idiot brother!"
"Illyana—what are you doing?" Piotr froze.
"I said move! Drag Cyclops and go. He cannot leave here alive—he's too dangerous. With that power—if we let him walk, he'll—"
A drop of her blood fell to the floor.
"Don't be rash!" Piotr's face drained. He knew this rhythm. Back when she'd come raging to Charles' estate, hundreds of X-Men had tried to stop her. She'd done exactly this. What followed… he hated to remember.
Her ace in the hole. Black sorcery—summoning an infernal horror from Limbo.
"Then get out!" Illyana snapped. "The spell is already cast!"
Piotr clenched his jaw. "Jean! Kill the alarm. Evacuate, now!"
"On it!" Phoenix answered. She and Piotr hauled Scott away just as something massive burst up through the floor beneath Illyana.
"Ahhh—sweet, delicious air of the mortal realm! Foolish Illyana, where have you brought me?"
When she was a child, a devil had stolen Illyana into Limbo. There she mastered black magic. Only after defeating that devil did she return to Earth.
Of all the sorceries she'd learned, the one she invoked now was the darkest and the most devastating—calling up a half-body of a lord of Hell.
A nine-headed serpent rose—torsos only, the lower bulk still anchored in flame-churned depths. Nine skulls as big as trucks swayed, hissing.
Hell Hydra.
"Kill him," Illyana said coldly.
Saitama studied the beast. Nine serpent heads, no legs—more like nine colossal necks sprouting from the ground. Probably couldn't move freely.
"Illyana, I see your temper's grown since last we spoke," one head rasped. "Have you forgotten? We're not master and servant."
"Yes, yes," another purred. "Don't go breaking bad on us. You're one of the rare mediums who can call us up, you know—kukuku."
Saitama lifted a hand. "Uh, before you start… can someone just tell me where Professor X went?"
Nine heads turned. Illyana raised her blade, eyes burning.
The Hydra's maws opened—and the room went dark.
(End of Chapter)
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