Fifty years later.
Deep within the mountains, an ancient temple stood in silent solitude.
Inside the main hall, the atmosphere was incredibly heavy. Several Mutants stood around, their gazes fixed on the stone slab in the center.
Logan, with graying hair at his temples, lay there with his eyes tightly shut.
A young woman crouched at the head of the slab, her hands pressed against his temples. A flowing white light emanated from her palms, connecting to Logan's brain. It was Kitty Pryde, using her ability to send Logan's consciousness back half a century.
Time passed minute by minute.
"Ugh..."
Kitty suddenly frowned, her body trembling slightly.
As Kitty's current boyfriend, Iceman Bobby immediately leaned forward and asked nervously, "Kitty, what's wrong? Have you used your ability for too long? Is your body giving out?"
Kitty's expression contorted. "No, I've been crouching for too long. My legs are numb."
Everyone: "..."
The elderly Magneto's mouth twitched. With a wave of his hand, nearby metal fragments instantly twisted and deformed, assembling into a small stool in the blink of an eye that slid steadily under Kitty's bottom.
The Black man, Bishop, was somewhat irritable.
"It's been so long. What's the situation now?"
His ability was to absorb various types of energy to use for himself, earning him the nickname Little Black... King.
However, compared to Sebastian, the upper limit of energy he could absorb was much lower, like the difference between a power bank and a power station. Because he could endure it, previous time-travel missions had always been his responsibility, so he knew the difference in flow rates between the two timelines best.
Half a day here could mean days or even an entire week had passed in the past.
As a result, after so many days, Logan hadn't shown any movement from start to finish, which made Bishop anxious.
"Be patient. We must have faith in Logan," the elderly Professor X said steadily, sitting in his hovering wheelchair.
If he hadn't mentioned that, it would have been fine, but mentioning it made Bishop angry.
He pointed at Logan lying on the stone slab and said indignantly, "I've been watching for a long time. This guy has shown a sleazy smile at least ten times, like he's having a wet dream. How do you want me to have faith in him?"
Professor X opened his mouth, momentarily speechless.
Actually, he was also puzzled. Based on his understanding of Logan, that smile usually only appeared when he saw Jean.
But the problem was, fifty years ago, Jean shouldn't have entered the X-Academy yet.
Professor X also couldn't figure out the specific reason.
Magneto's face remained calm.
"Regardless, we have no way back. This is our last chance."
He was right about that.
The Sentinel Robots had the ability to precisely locate the X-Gene, so they never dared to stay in one place for too long.
For fifty years, they had been scurrying across the Earth like stray dogs, hiding from one ruin to another.
And now, they had concentrated all the remaining active forces of the Mutants here to guard Logan together. This was equivalent to going all-in with all their chips. Betting that Logan could succeed.
Betting that the past could be changed.
If they lost the bet, the fate of the Mutants would likely end right here.
Seeing that both leaders had spoken, Bishop couldn't say anything more and could only continue to wait.
Suddenly, a sharp warning cry pierced the silence.
"They're here!"
Everyone's expression tightened instantly.
They all knew exactly what "they" referred to.
"You stay here and guard him well."
Magneto turned decisively, his cloak billowing behind him as he stepped toward the temple entrance, with Bishop following closely behind.
Outside the hall, the mountain wind howled.
Dilapidated city walls were built on the edge of a cliff. Below was a bottomless abyss with churning clouds and mist, hiding the ground from view.
Several Mutants responsible for the perimeter were already on high alert. Their abilities were varied, but at this moment, the same gravity was written on all their faces. Magneto raised both hands, and his entire body rose onto the city wall by the cliff side.
He narrowed his eyes and looked toward the distant horizon, his voice deep: "How many of them are coming?"
"Twelve transport ships."
Warpath, who possessed super-hearing, tilted his head to listen, his expression extremely grim.
This number made everyone present feel a jolt in their hearts.
Each transport ship carried at least twenty-some Sentinel Robots. Twelve ships combined meant at least several hundred.
In the past, they had at most dealt with dozens of Sentinel Robots at once, and even that was quite a struggle.
But now they were facing hundreds of Sentinel Robots!
Magneto took a deep breath and decided, "We must hold them off at all costs to buy time for those inside."
The other Mutants nodded silently.
Having reached this point, everyone knew what it meant; they had long since prepared themselves for death.
Storm's eyes turned white, and her entire body floated upward amidst invisible forces as she began her ritual, calling upon the east wind.
In the next moment, the sky began to fill with dark clouds, and a gale began to rage.
The twelve square transport ships in the distance shook violently in the gale. Two even lost control and collided, exploding into a blinding flare of fire. For a time, all the transport ships were blocked by the gale, unable to advance further.
But before they could breathe a sigh of relief, they saw the bay doors at the bottom of the transport ships open simultaneously.
Countless slender figures poured out.
Densely packed, they fell from the high altitude like dumplings being dropped into a pot.
But the fall only lasted for a moment. Those figures all hovered in mid-air simultaneously, then adjusted their posture and flew rapidly toward the temple.
Looking out, hundreds of Sentinel Robots covered the sky, blotting out half the horizon.
The Mutants couldn't help but gulp as they watched this scene.
Magneto made a split-second decision, suddenly raising both hands.
The black jet parked outside the hall instantly rose from the ground and flew head-on toward the Sentinel Robots.
The jet rapidly disintegrated in mid-air, with countless metal fragments carrying the massive kinetic energy bestowed by Magneto, shooting toward the surrounding Sentinel Robots like a Storm of pear blossoms, knocking the lead Sentinels out of the sky one by one.
Meanwhile, the main body of the jet, under the cover of the metal fragments, successfully charged into the core of the Sentinel Robot swarm.
Storm's arms spread wide. Thunderclouds churned in the sky, and countless lightning serpents swirled and converged within them.
BOOM!
An incredibly thick bolt of lightning suddenly struck down, precisely hitting the main body of the jet.
Under the infusion of terrifying electrical energy, the high-energy engines instantly overloaded, and a dazzling blue-white light exploded from within.
RUMBLE!!!
The terrifying sound of the explosion made the entire mountain tremble.
A massive mushroom cloud rose in mid-air. The scorching heatwave swept outward frantically, instantly engulfing hundreds of surrounding Sentinel Robots. At the same time, the shockwave swept through, carrying countless fragments.
The Mutants scrambled for cover, while some used their abilities to tank the damage.
Magneto, perhaps because he was too old to react or perhaps to maintain his dignity, did not follow Storm's example of hugging his head and lying on the ground. He held his hands forward, and countless metal fragments flying toward him abruptly stopped half a meter in front of him, suspended in mid-air.
However, Magneto's face suddenly turned pale.
Looking down, a palm-sized fragment was deeply embedded in his abdomen, with only a corner of its edge showing.
That wasn't a metal fragment; it was a fragment of a Sentinel Robot, made of a special composite material with zero iron content, which was why he hadn't been able to control it.
Magneto gritted his teeth, gripped the edge of the fragment with his right hand, and pulled it out. Blood quickly stained his clothes red.
His figure swayed, and he nearly lost his footing.
Seeing this, the other Mutants' moods instantly plummeted to rock bottom.
The battle had only just begun, and their leader was already heavily wounded. This was truly a hellish start.
"Watch out!"
Bishop suddenly pushed Storm aside.
A tall silver figure suddenly lunged from below the city wall, its right arm transforming into a blade that stabbed fiercely toward Bishop's chest.
Fortunately, Bishop activated his ability. The energy contained in the blade was instantly absorbed, and he didn't suffer much damage.
He immediately raised the energy gun in his hand, channeling all the energy he had just absorbed into it. A blinding beam of light shot out, blasting the Sentinel Robot in front of him backward.
Before he could relax, more silver figures climbed up from the edge of the wall.
They were sleek and silver all over, their surfaces covered in fine scales. Those scales churned and reorganized like living things, even transforming into various forms.
Quite a few of those forms were very familiar; they were the abilities of their former Mutant companions or enemies.
And now, these abilities had become the Sentinel Robots' sharpest tools for slaughtering them.
"We must not let them inside!"
Magneto shouted, ignoring his own injuries.
All the Mutants looked determined. One by one, they unleashed their abilities, launching desperate attacks against the Sentinel Robots.
The Mutants who had managed to survive until now were naturally not useless.
They coordinated seamlessly, working together to engage the Sentinel Robots and barely managing to stall their advance.
However, as the number of Sentinel Robots increased, the Mutants gradually fell into a disadvantage.
There was no helping it; the mechanics of the Sentinel Robots were simply too broken.
Not only could they use various Mutant abilities, but they could also transform in real-time based on their opponent's powers to find the most effective counter, rendering the other's ability completely useless.
Even more terrifying was that they were tireless, fearless of pain, and possessed a Hive mind, making their coordination flawless.
In contrast, the Mutants' condition was getting worse. All of them were more or less injured, and the most unfortunate one even had an arm chopped off by a Sentinel Robot. Facing such a predicament, even a Mutant powerhouse like Magneto felt increasingly powerless.
Due to his power level, he received special treatment.
Countless Sentinel Robots swarmed toward him, surrounding him so tightly that not even water could leak through.
Magneto gritted his teeth, pushing his ability to the absolute limit. Metal objects around him spun rapidly, forming an airtight metal barrier that blocked the Sentinel Robots' attacks while smashing away those trying to get close.
It wasn't that he didn't want to dismantle these Sentinel Robots, but he simply couldn't.
The designers of the Sentinel Robots had clearly treated him as their number one enemy. They had designed them from every angle to counter his ability—their entire bodies contained no metal whatsoever, and their surfaces were airtight without a single gap, giving him no chance to manipulate metal fragments to drill inside and cause damage. Destroying them from the outside was even more impossible.
The Sentinel Robots' defensive power was extremely formidable. Ordinary metal couldn't harm them in the slightest, unless it was Logan's Adamantium Claws that could cut through iron like butter.
Because of this, Magneto could only use the metal to smash the Sentinel Robots away to buy time.
But he was, after all, heavily wounded. His breathing became more and more rapid, and he was reaching his limit.
But he couldn't retreat.
Behind them was the temple. Once they lost his help, the other Mutants alone probably wouldn't last more than a few minutes.
The Sentinel Robots seemed to sense Magneto's weakness.
They abandoned their original attacks. All their silver heads turned toward him simultaneously, the hard shells on their faces opening to both sides as scorching energy brewed frantically within, ready to be unleashed.
This was one of the Sentinel Robots' abilities: releasing a terrifying high-temperature energy ray powerful enough to easily melt steel.
And now, at least dozens of Sentinel Robots were aimed at Magneto simultaneously.
No matter how strong Magneto's ability was, he couldn't withstand the attacks of so many Sentinel Robots at once.
"Is this the end?"
Magneto murmured to himself.
At this moment, the Sentinel Robots' movements seemed to slow down. His life flashed before his eyes, images flickering past one by one.
That was his lost youth.
BOOM!!
Over a dozen terrifying energy beams shot out at once. The crimson light instantly illuminated the night, striking the spot where Magneto stood! In the blink of an eye, Magneto was swallowed by the light.
The ground was instantly shattered. Rocks and soil vaporized in the high temperature, and the shockwave carried dust and smoke everywhere, making it impossible to see what was happening inside. The Sentinel Robots slowly retracted their cannons, the lenses on their heads gradually dimming.
The Mutants were in complete despair.
With even the powerful Magneto taken out, how could the battle continue?
However...
As the dust and smoke gradually cleared, everyone was stunned.
Where Magneto had been standing, only a massive, charred crater remained, but it was empty—his body was nowhere to be seen. What was going on?
The Mutants looked bewildered.
The Sentinel Robots also seemed to sense something unusual and suddenly looked in one direction collectively.
Magneto, who should have died under the Sentinel Robots' siege, actually appeared dozens of meters away.
And beside him stood a figure that was entirely red and didn't look human.
Magneto looked at this person, his face full of shock: "You are... Red Devil?"
Red Devil nodded.
"Why are you here? Weren't you dead long ago?"
Magneto's eyes widened. He clearly remembered that Red Devil had died over fifty years ago.
Along with the other members of the Hellfire Club, he had been dissected and studied by humans. Every inch of his tissue had been used to perfect the Sentinel Robots' genetic database.
How could someone who had been dead for half a century appear here?
Red Devil said expressionlessly: "I was sent by the Black King to help you."
"Black King!?"
Magneto's expression changed drastically.
He was all too familiar with this title. The founder of the Hellfire Club, a madman who attempted to promote Mutant evolution by instigating World War III.
Magneto asked in disbelief: "Could the Black King you're talking about be..."
"That's right, it's me."
A voice came from behind him.
Magneto's whole body shuddered, and he turned his head sharply: "It really is you, Sebas... No, who are you?"
Darian grinned: "First time meeting. I am Darian, the current Black King of the Hellfire Club and the leader of the Brotherhood."
Magneto: "???"