"Yeah, something like that. You could see it that way."
Eric nodded after a brief pause. He still wasn't sure where Bradley stood, so he wasn't about to lay all his cards on the table just yet.
"I'm sorry, but I don't think we have anything more to discuss. Please leave."
Bradley, who had remained relatively polite until now, suddenly stood up and coldly dismissed the two of them.
"Mr. Bradley, perhaps it's best if you hear me out before making a decision," Eric tried to salvage the situation.
"No need. I'm sorry you came all this way for nothing."
Bradley's tone made it clear—this conversation was over.
Eric didn't insist any further. He exchanged a glance with the young man beside him, Alex, and the two stood up, ready to leave.
If someone didn't appreciate your good intentions, there was no need to keep shoving your kindness in their face.
Creaaak.
They pushed the door open, but neither of them expected to find a burly man standing outside in a black trench coat, his face rough and unshaven.
It was the same man Eric had briefly locked eyes with from afar earlier.
Sabretooth.
"That's it? Doesn't look like the meeting went too well, huh?"
Sabretooth grinned, his very presence radiating a kind of primal menace.
"Victor…" Bradley's expression changed slightly the moment he recognized him.
During their time working together, Bradley had seen firsthand how deranged Victor could be. This man was a cold-blooded killer, plain and simple.
"Aw, come on, Bradley. Aren't you happy to see an old friend?" Sabretooth shot him a sideways glance.
"Excuse me, could you move aside?" Eric frowned, noticing how Victor was completely blocking the doorway.
"No, no, no. Don't apologize," Sabretooth said, raising a finger and wagging it mockingly. "Because I'm the one who should apologize."
"Oh? And why's that?" Eric's brow arched slightly.
Even a fool could tell this guy wasn't here for a friendly chat.
Sabretooth just chuckled.
Then, without another word, his hands twitched—and long, gleaming claws sprouted from the tips of his fingers.
"None of you are leaving here today."
He stepped forward into the room and slammed the door shut behind him.
[New Task Generated:]
Objective: Thwart Sabretooth's assault and protect Bradley from being killed.
Reward: 100 Origin Points
Just then, a few lines of text popped up on Alex's system interface, making him pause in surprise.
But that moment of surprise quickly turned into excitement.
The system had finally given him a mission!
And a mission meant a reward. Rewards meant power—and power meant progress!
Alex didn't know exactly what these "Origin Points" were yet, but that didn't matter. He was all in.
Sabretooth, looks like I'll have to put you down!
CLANG! CLANG!
Suddenly, the metallic hum of movement filled the room. Every metal object inside began to float into the air, suspended midair under Eric's control.
They hovered like an army of mechanical guardians, swirling protectively around him. It was quite a sight to behold.
He wasn't called Magneto for nothing.
"Hope you give me something fun to play with," Sabretooth sneered, his body crouching low like a predator ready to pounce.
Whoosh whoosh whoosh!
In an instant, the hovering metal objects shot toward him like a barrage of deadly arrows.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
Sabretooth went full beast mode, his claws slicing through the air. He batted away the incoming projectiles one after another—TVs, shelves, appliances—everything was smashed like papier-mâché in his path.
He bulldozed forward with brute force and terrifying momentum.
But Eric wasn't letting up. He launched wave after wave of metal toward Sabretooth, refusing to give him even a second's rest.
As strong as Sabretooth was, he couldn't dodge everything.
SHNK SHNK SHNK!
Several kitchen knives drove straight into his abdomen, forcing a twisted grin of satisfaction onto Eric's face.
Got him!
But the next moment—
ROAR!
A beastly roar burst from Sabretooth's mouth. Despite the blades lodged in his torso, he lunged forward like he hadn't been injured at all.
In the blink of an eye, he closed the remaining distance and appeared right in front of Eric.
His right arm raised high, claws flashing as he swung viciously downward.
Eric's pupils shrank. At the last possible second, he yanked a metal cabinet in front of him as a shield.
BOOM!
Sabretooth's claws slammed into the cabinet, denting it with a sickening crunch.
The force of the blow sent Eric flying like he'd been hit by a wrecking ball. His body slammed against the wall before crashing to the floor.
This version of Eric hadn't yet trained under Charles. He wasn't the Magneto of the future—his powers were still limited.
On top of that, Bradley's house was small, leaving him with few metal objects to use. Outmatched and out of options, Eric quickly fell behind.
Cough, cough!
Pain surged through his chest. It felt like his ribs were shattered, and he couldn't even catch his breath.
"Die!"
Sabretooth didn't let up for a second. He leapt forward again, claws flashing with murderous intent.
Stryker had told him to bring them in dead or alive—but unless explicitly told to keep someone breathing, Victor always went for the kill.
After all, from Stryker's perspective, blood samples were just as useful as living bodies.
Just as his claws were about to tear into Eric—
Whoosh!
His vision blurred.
That young man, the one he hadn't given a second thought to, suddenly appeared between him and Eric like a phantom.
With a clenched fist, Alex launched a devastating punch straight into Sabretooth's chest.
CRACK!
The sound of breaking bones echoed through the room.
Sabretooth's massive body flew backward like a missile, crashing through Bradley's wall with a thunderous explosion. Debris flew everywhere.
He hit the ground outside hard and skidded across the pavement for several meters before finally coming to a stop.
Silence fell over the scene.
Everyone stared at Alex, eyes wide with shock.
This kid... was that powerful?
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