In the scorching desert, where a city once stood, a colossal pyramid rose from the ruins. Alex Summers, codenamed Havok, eyed the towering structure and unleashed a crimson plasma blast from his hands.

The beam struck, and the pyramid’s peak erupted in a shower of debris and dust.

Charles, watching from his wheelchair, chuckled. “Alex, you beat me to it. No matter—we’re here to act, not hide. Everyone, execute the plan!”

Pietro Maximoff, Quicksilver, surged forward in a blur of speed, but a shadowy figure intercepted him, striking with precision. Pietro tumbled, rolling back to his starting point, dazed but intact.

The figure halted, revealing Rakshasa, one of Apocalypse’s Four Horsemen. With six arms and a gender-neutral frame, the Indian mutant exuded menace. As Rakshasa emerged, storm clouds gathered, thunder roaring. Storm descended from the sky, landing beside Rakshasa. Steel Claw, a burly mutant charging on all fours, and Scarlet Light, a young woman with flames trailing from her feet, joined them. Apocalypse’s elite Horsemen stood united against the X-Men.

“Be cautious,” Pietro warned, catching his breath. “The six-armed one’s fast nearly my match and more agile. Don’t let him get close.”

Rakshasa stepped forward, voice resolute. “My master foresaw intruders disturbing his rest. I’ll handle you trespassers!”

White light flared across Rakshasa’s six hands, morphing into energy weapons—swords, ropes, shields, and a vajra. With a fluid motion, the weapons danced in a synchronized flurry, and Rakshasa charged, an afterimage streaking toward the team.

“I’ve got him!” Pietro shouted, vanishing in a silver blur to engage Rakshasa. Though less versatile, Pietro’s superior speed let him counter the Horseman’s agility, holding his own with tactical precision.

The others sprang into action. Hank McCoy transformed into his blue-furred Beast form, roaring as he clashed with Steel Claw, their brute strength shaking the ground.

Alex’s plasma blasts met Scarlet Light’s fiery bursts in a dazzling standoff, neither yielding.

Wanda Maximoff faced Storm, their powers chaos magic against elemental magic—colliding in a fierce, unyielding duel.

Sebastian Shaw, unwavering, raised his wand and levitated Charles and his wheelchair, gliding toward the pyramid’s entrance.

Raven Darkhölme, Mystique, stayed behind to disrupt the Horsemen’s coordination in the chaotic fray.

“Wanda’s magic changed did she learned from you?” Charles asked, glancing back at the battle.

Sebastian nodded. “She’s exceptionally gifted, a quick study. She might outshine me.”

Wanda’s talent, as Sebastian noted, was prodigious, even envied. Her aptitude for dark magic was unmatched—she grasped spells instantly and adapted them creatively. Bolstered by immense magical reserves, Wanda could cast formidable spells without a wand, rivaling the power of a standard wand-user. Though not yet matching Sebastian’s enhanced wand, her potential was undeniable.

Had she lived in his past life, Wanda Maximoff would have been the magical world’s greatest wandless spellcaster.

Sebastian’s words rang true.

Wanda faced Storm, hovering amidst swirling clouds, her hands aglow with crimson energy. With a swift gesture, she unleashed a spell a bolt of red lightning that surged toward her foe.

The scarlet blast met Storm’s summoned thunder in a crackling clash. Wanda’s magic twisted, spiraling around the lightning to strike Storm directly. The Horseman faltered, unconscious, plummeting from the sky. Wanda caught her with a gentle telekinetic pull, laying her safely on the desert ground.

A faint smile crossed Wanda’s face as she regarded the fallen Storm. Without her magical training, defeating such a formidable mutant would have been a grueling ordeal, atleast not this swift victory.

Brute force paled beside the precision of magic. Combining her spellcraft with her mutant ability to bend probability, Wanda wielded unparalleled power.

Charles had stressed sparing the Horsemen’s lives if possible, a directive Wanda honored. With Storm neutralized, she left her unharmed, respecting Charles’s decision.

Surveying the battlefield, Wanda couldn’t track Pietro and Rakshasa’s blinding duel, their speeds blurring beyond sight. Instead, she turned to Hank, grappling fiercely with Steel Claw, and Alex, locked in a fiery exchange with Scarlet Light. Noticing Alex’s struggle, Wanda acted. Crimson mist flowed from her palms, surging toward Scarlet Light in a calculated strike.

And this the battle continued….

—————

As the battle outside the pyramid raged, Sebastian and Charles Xavier reached the massive stone gate. Sebastian raised his wand, unleashing a crimson blast that shattered the entrance in a burst of rubble.

Sebastian strode inside, Charles guiding his wheelchair beside him. Within, they found Apocalypse on a stone altar, his form altered sleeker, younger, almost unrecognizable from their prior encounter.

Three lifeless mutant children lay nearby, their bodies drained. Sebastian’s jaw tightened, the grim truth evident. Charles, equally aware, placed a hand to his temple, poised to strike Apocalypse’s mind.

Sebastian acted first, flicking his wand to fire a searing Annihilation ray at Apocalypse’s head. The beam twisted mid-air, homing in with precision, but an invisible barrier flared before the mutant, absorbing the attack effortlessly.

Apocalypse stirred, his new form—a slender, striking young man with a cold, imperious gaze—rising from the altar. He stepped forward, eyes fixed on Charles. “I knew you’d come, but I didn’t expect such a prize. A mutant I’ve sought for centuries, delivered by your hands.”

His hunger for Charles’s telepathy was palpable. With it, Apocalypse could ascend to godhood, his presence will be omnipotent.

Through his ritual, Apocalypse had absorbed three mutants’ powers: energy absorption and release, detection of mutant abilities and energy, and resilience to extreme environments. These auxiliary abilities, chosen to counter Sebastian’s fiery magic, allowed him to wield absorbed energy as a weapon and endure any condition by expending minimal power.

Sebastian wasted no words. He lunged forward, wand blazing with a molten stream of lava-like energy that roared toward Apocalypse. The ancient mutant countered swiftly, redirecting the absorbed ray’s energy into a shockwave that clashed with Sebastian’s attack, both dissolving in a flash.

Undeterred, Sebastian waved his wand, transfiguring the chamber’s floor into jagged stone spears that surged toward Apocalypse from all angles.

“Sebastian, I’ll disrupt his mind keep pressuring him!” Charles called.

“Got it!” Sebastian replied.

With a swift gesture, Sebastian levitated Charles and his wheelchair, guiding them to the chamber’s rear, clear of the fray. Charles unleashed a torrent of telepathic force, assaulting Apocalypse’s psyche.

Sebastian and Charles struck in tandem—Sebastian dominating the physical realm with relentless spells, Charles probing Apocalypse’s spirit. Though Apocalypse’s mental fortitude outmatched Charles, the telepath’s persistent attacks distracted him, weakening his physical defense. Sebastian’s onslaught gained the upper hand, forcing Apocalypse onto the defensive.

Above the city ruins beyond the pyramid, a jet descended silently. Scott Summers (Cyclops), Jean Grey (Phoenix), Kurt Wagner (Nightcrawler), Jubilation Lee (Jubilee), and CIA agent Moira MacTaggert disembarked, rushing to join the X-Men battling Apocalypse’s Horsemen.

The X-Men—Wanda Maximoff, Alex Summers, Hank McCoy, and Raven Darkhölme—had already pushed the remaining Horsemen, Rakshasa, Steel Claw, and Scarlet Light, to the brink. The arrival of Scott, Jean, Kurt, and Jubilee tipped the scales decisively.

Rakshasa fell under the combined optic blasts of Scott and Alex’s plasma waves. Steel Claw was overwhelmed by Nightcrawler’s teleportation, Beast’s strength, and Mystique’s shapeshifting, left unconscious but alive. Scarlet Light met a grim fate, struck from the air by Wanda’s chaos magic, amplified by Jubilee’s plasma bursts and Jean’s telekinesis, her body lifeless before the team.

“Is everyone okay?” Raven called, scanning the X-Men. Though she disapproved of Scott’s team arriving uninvited, their aid was undeniable. She held her tongue, rallying the group toward the pyramid.

As they neared, the pyramid’s upper half erupted in a cataclysmic explosion. Dust and debris coalesced into a towering, semi-humanoid giant, its massive fist hammering the structure below. The X-Men froze, fearing for Sebastian and Charles inside.

From the pyramid’s ruins, a dark red inferno surged, swelling into a colossal fire demon with blazing claws. It clashed with the dust giant in a titanic struggle, shaking the desert.

“This is Apocalypse and Sebastian’s power?” Jubilee gasped. “It’s incredible.”

Raven steadied herself, leading the team into the shattered pyramid. At the entrance, they found Charles in his wheelchair, blood trickling from his nose, eyes bloodshot, body trembling—a testament to his grueling mental duel with Apocalypse.

“Jean, help him,” Raven urged. “Your telepathy can boost Charles against Apocalypse’s mind.”

“Alright,” Jean replied, stepping forward despite her doubts. She placed her hands on Charles’s shoulders, her telepathy syncing with his. In the psychic temple where Charles battled Apocalypse, Jean’s presence halted his retreat, stabilizing their resistance.

With Jean’s aid, Charles held Apocalypse at bay mentally, weakening the mutant’s physical prowess. Sebastian seized the moment, his wand channeling the fir Fiendfyre Hellfire flames to engulf Apocalypse’s form. The ancient mutant staggered, collapsing under the onslaught, barely resisting the consuming blaze.

Sebastian turned to the arriving X-Men, his voice cutting through the chaos. “Together, now! His energy absorption has limits overwhelming them, and we can win!”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep