Because Apocalypse's disappearance was so sudden and so simple, everyone present remained unable to snap out of their shock for a long time.
Beast Hank had his mouth wide open, his large face covered in blue fur filled with bewilderment.
Cyclops subconsciously adjusted his glasses, seemingly wanting to confirm if he was seeing things.
That extreme "God" who had lived for thousands of years, determined to overthrow human rule and have Mutants enslave Earth, had just... disappeared like that?
Professor X still maintained a posture of "embracing ten thousand kills."
His lips moved slightly, clearly wanting to say something, but when the words reached his lips, he didn't know what to say.
Facing Peter, who was floating in mid-air, only pure awe remained in his heart.
Just as everyone was gradually recovering from the shock, wondering if this crisis had truly been resolved, a new anomaly occurred on the scene.
"Skreeee~!!!"
Jean Grey suddenly let out a sharp phoenix cry!
Her entire body was lifted slowly into the air by a surge of golden-red energy; beneath her fair skin, it seemed as if magma was flowing, outlining countless eerie golden patterns.
She looked exactly like—a second Peter!
That's right!
The Phoenix Force within her had gone berserk!
Because it discovered that the portion of power it had just released to "delete" Apocalypse had not only failed to return to its body, but had completely vanished.
This was something that had never happened in the billions of years it had existed in this world!
This sense of unease and threat to its own safety made her decide without a second thought to directly "delete" the source of that unknown risk—Peter Parker!
Boom!
With a flick of Jean's hand, a ball of golden-red flames, even more violent and intense than when it incinerated Apocalypse, transformed into a stream of light capable of piercing heaven and Earth, and struck toward Peter!
"Jean! Calm down!"
Professor X couldn't help but shout, trying to get the berserk Jean to calm down.
But at this moment, the Phoenix Force had already completely taken over Jean's body; how could it possibly stop just because of a human's call?
Watching Peter get hit by that golden-red energy, a terrible thought simultaneously emerged in everyone's minds:
It's over.
Although Peter had successfully absorbed the flames that landed on Apocalypse earlier.
But the flames Jean released this time were simply not on the same level as the ones used to deal with Apocalypse earlier!
No matter how strong Peter was, he probably couldn't withstand this power capable of destroying the world!
After Peter dies, will Jean calm down?
If not... who will be her next target?
Thinking of this, Professor X didn't even have time to mourn Peter's "death," but instead, taking advantage of this moment, decisively looked at two people in the crowd and said:
"Nightcrawler and Quicksilver, I'm counting on you. As many as possible! Take the children away!"
As he spoke, he stood up slowly and firmly, determined to use his own power to stall for as long as possible after Peter died.
Beast, Impact, Mystique, and the others, seeing Professor make such a choice, said nothing, but silently stood behind the Professor.
If their deaths could buy the children's lives, then their deaths would be meaningful.
After all, the future belongs to them!
Just as the atmosphere at the scene was solemn to the extreme because of the X-Men's choice, a lazy and indifferent voice quietly sounded:
"What are you all standing there for? Cosplaying as Gold Saints?"
Hearing this voice, Professor X and the others were stunned at first, then looked up in disbelief.
They realized that Peter had actually been standing there, completely unscathed, from start to finish!
Even the action of his hands in his pockets hadn't changed at all!
And those world-destroying powers, the moment they touched Peter's body, were silently absorbed, just like water dripping into a sponge.
When the light and flames dissipated, Peter was still hovering in place; not to mention his clothes being dirty, even his hairstyle hadn't been messed up in the slightest.
He even... stuck out his tongue and licked his lips, as if savoring something.
A moment later, he cast his gaze toward Jean Grey opposite him, who was completely controlled by the Phoenix Force, a playful smile appearing on his face:
"A little bird's puff?"
"Interesting!"
Peter naturally had reason to be so calm.
The Phoenix Force hitting Apocalypse was definitely true damage, capable of ignoring Apocalypse's healing factor and directly reducing him to subatomic ash.
But hitting him, the nature of it completely changed.
Because he already had Jean Grey's Mutant genes within him, which was equivalent to having the qualifications to host the Phoenix Force.
Coupled with the Phoenix Force previously absorbed from Apocalypse acting as a seed, and the unreasonable buffs of the Tiger Talisman and Horse Talisman.
It was equivalent to building a bird's nest in his body that was even more comfortable than Jean Grey's.
The Phoenix Force had originally intended to rush in and wreak havoc, but upon entering and seeing this five-star suite, it didn't want to leave.
So, what hit Peter wasn't true damage at all, not even magic damage.
It was pure healing; it was basically healing while attacking!
The Phoenix Force obviously didn't understand Peter's mockery.
Because the energy it sent out received no feedback, it was now facing a formidable enemy, yet it didn't dare to strike rashly.
Seeing this behavior, Peter couldn't help but find it somewhat amusing.
He had originally wanted to play with this "little red bird" a while longer, for example, switching to Celestial Energy to clash with the Phoenix Force.
Or perhaps use the unquenchable Amaterasu to test if the Phoenix Fire could burn it away.
But just as he was preparing to make a move, his peripheral vision suddenly caught something unusual.
The row of avatars in the bottom left corner of his field of vision suddenly began to flash violently!
This was... the teleportation option for Stand United!
Although the health bars hadn't changed yet, the flashing avatars indicated that his teammates were currently facing great danger!
More accurately—Earth was in trouble!
And the source of this danger was self-evident—Thanos!
In an instant, the playful expression on Peter's face disappeared without a trace.
An icy, bone-chilling killing intent permeated from him.
That was not just the pure mental intimidation of Conqueror's Haki, but the most pure killing intent that had settled after defeating countless powerhouses.
The X-Men, who a second ago felt like they were about to be roasted, now suddenly felt like they had fallen into an ice cave, as if their souls were about to be completely frozen.
They looked up in terror, only to discover that Peter in the air had somehow wiped the relaxed smile from his face:
"I actually wanted to play with you a little longer."
Peter's voice was very soft, yet it clearly reached the ears of everyone present, the voice revealing a coldness that seemed to come from the nine nether hells:
"But something happened back home, so I can't waste any more time here."
"So, please be sensible and enter my body on your own. Don't waste my time."
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