At Apocalypse's command, the four knights unleashed their powers.
As the only melee specialist, the Black Knight shattered the ground beneath his feet and launched himself toward Marcus and the others like a human cannonball.
Behind him, two massive flaming pythons surged through the yellow sand, melting everything in their path into bubbling lava.
"Be careful! I can't protect you anymore!" Marcus called to the others.
A burst of Void energy enveloped him before sharp blades of energy erupted outward.
Swish!
Blue energy shot toward the Black Knight while Marcus transformed into a streak of light, rushing forward to meet his opponent head-on.
Facing the incoming energy blade, the Black Knight twisted his body, planted one hand on the ground, and pushed with tremendous force. He narrowly changed direction, avoiding the Exalted Sword's energy in a heart-stopping maneuver.
The energy blade missed the Black Knight and continued toward the two flame pythons behind him.
The ferocious fire constructs lunged at the energy. The moment they made contact, their heads were severed cleanly, dissolving into sparks that dissipated in the air.
But the pythons' heads quickly reformed. As manipulated flames, they had no permanent physical form—even when decapitated, they recovered almost instantly.
Marcus had anticipated this. He hadn't pinned his hopes on that energy blade alone.
Under cover of the energy attack, he rushed to the Black Knight's side and slashed with the Exalted Sword in his hand.
The Exalted Sword's destructive power far exceeded the Energy Blade he'd used before. If the Energy Blade had forced Apocalypse to defend with his scepter, then the Exalted Sword should be capable of destroying these corrupted warriors.
With a sweeping motion, another energy blade shot from the sword, targeting the Black Knight.
This attack put the close-combat specialist on high alert. He stomped hard on the ground, shifting his body sideways to evade.
The energy blade still caught his shoulder armor, slicing through the golden metal and drawing blood.
Immediately after, the two flame pythons surged forward, spewing fire at Marcus, attempting to melt him like the surrounding rocks.
But the moment the pythons released their flames, Marcus transformed into light and passed straight through them.
The flames melted the ground where he'd stood moments before, turning it into viscous, glowing lava.
As he passed through the flame pythons, Marcus released two streams of energy from his sword. The energy extended along the fiery bodies of the creatures.
Everywhere the energy touched, the flames collapsed. Under the sword's power, the pythons dissolved into scattered flames that quickly dissipated.
But the pythons' attack had bought the Black Knight enough time to escape Marcus. Instead of re-engaging, the Knight changed direction and charged toward the X-Men.
He had experienced the power of Marcus's Exalted Sword firsthand. That kind of power wasn't something he could withstand—a direct hit from the sword or its energy would cause severe injury at minimum.
Such an opponent should be handled by the other knights. The Black Knight set his sights on Erik and the others instead.
He stomped the ground again, sending out a shockwave that made the earth tremble. Gravel and debris bounced off the ground from the impact.
The Black Knight's strength was extraordinary, and against the other mutants, he could display his full power.
"Attack together!" Erik shouted, thrusting his hands forward.
Countless metal pieces buried in the ruins broke through the ground and shot toward the Black Knight.
The others joined in, including Angel and Psylocke. They were never truly loyal to Apocalypse, and now that he'd ordered their deaths, they had no reason to follow him.
The other knights wouldn't allow the Black Knight to fight alone. With their master watching, they were determined to prove their worth.
The Gray Knight and White Knight exchanged glances and nodded slightly, each selecting different targets.
The White Knight caused countless sand soldiers to collapse and reform into spears that flew skyward.
Whoosh!
The spears arced through the air, targeting Erik before racing downward with a roar.
"Jean!" Charles called out desperately from where he leaned against a wall.
Jean, who had been in a daze nearby, snapped back to awareness. She looked up at the incoming spears.
Raising her hands forcefully, scattered sand and stones gathered in the air. Under her control, they formed two massive stone walls—one shielding the group from above, the other rushing toward the incoming spears.
The two barriers worked perfectly together. The wall intercepting the spears stopped a large number of projectiles before they could reach their targets.
The two sides fought intensely. The Black Knight was now thoroughly engaged with the X-Men. With help from Kurt's teleportation and Pietro's speed, the team managed to attack while avoiding the Knight's devastating blows.
Compared to their group effort, Marcus found himself in a more defensive position. Both of his opponents specialized in ranged attacks.
The Red Knight's flames shaped themselves into countless fire snakes. Every time Marcus destroyed these constructs, he would then have to contend with the Gray Knight's shockwaves.
Their coordinated attacks put Marcus at a disadvantage, and the stone statues continuously summoned by Apocalypse only added to the pressure.
"I need to take out the Gray Knight first," Marcus thought.
The greatest threat was the Gray Knight's shockwaves—pulses of energy that could reduce objects to powder. Whenever these came his way, Marcus had to counter with the full power of his Exalted Sword.
The threat from the Red Knight and the stone statues was secondary. Mostly, they kept him occupied so he couldn't properly target the Gray Knight.
After destroying another stone statue, Marcus manifested twin energy swords beside him.
"Try this on for size!" he called out.
The energy swords shot forward instantly, gathering together under his guidance. They formed a river of blades streaming toward the Gray Knight.
Shhhhhh!
All the energy swords flew forward, cutting through the air with a sharp whistle.
BOOM!
Facing the incoming blades, the Gray Knight clapped his hands violently. A devastating shockwave erupted, rushing toward Marcus.
The Knight intended to destroy all the energy swords while attacking Marcus again.
But reality defied his expectations—the energy swords passed straight through his shockwave and continued their deadly path toward him.
Meanwhile, Marcus blocked the shockwave with his Exalted Sword as he had done before.
Thunk! Thunk! Thunk!
The energy swords struck home like javelins, embedding themselves deep in the Gray Knight's body.
Unlike Apocalypse, the Gray Knight lacked self-healing abilities. These wounds constituted serious injury. The Exalted Sword in Marcus's hand released an intense light, enveloping both the Gray Knight and the Red Knight.
A blinding whiteness filled their vision, making it impossible to see their surroundings. A ringing filled their ears.
Desperate to prevent Marcus from pressing his advantage, the severely wounded Gray Knight released a shockwave in all directions.
HUMMM!
Intense, almost solid waves of force radiated outward from his body. The ground beneath shattered under the pressure.
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