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*****
"Too bad… just a little more, and I would have fully unlocked it."
George noticed that Apocalypse's steps had become clearly unsteady, and he couldn't help but feel a twinge of regret.
Still, overall, he was very satisfied—far beyond his expectations.
If Apocalypse weren't standing right here, preventing further testing, George would have gladly pushed both abilities to their absolute limits.
He felt his spiritual power had reached an unprecedented height. It seemed that with a single thought, he could envelop the entire Earth in an instant, and without much effort at all.
As for magnetism, he was confident he could haul the Earth itself across the universe. Even a "Wandering Earth" scenario didn't feel particularly impossible.
"You're not quite there yet."
Turning his head toward Apocalypse, George wore an expression of mild disdain.
If Apocalypse were just a little stronger, perhaps George's potential could have been completely awakened.
"You—"
Apocalypse instantly caught the flicker in George's eyes, and a surge of humiliation welled up within him.
But almost as quickly, he realized he must have misread the look, because George's face was filled entirely with gratitude.
"Thank you for enhancing my abilities, for giving me the chance to take my revenge. From this day on, your word is my command. If you say east, I will never say west; if you say one, I will never say two!"
George slipped seamlessly into performance once again.
This time, his objective had been met—or rather, exceeded.
At this very moment, he could easily turn on Apocalypse and strike him down.
And yet, just now, a new idea had begun to take root in his mind.
Through this contact, he realized that Apocalypse wasn't as invincible as he had imagined. Meanwhile, his own mutant powers had advanced to a near-legendary level—especially his mental strength.
So he wondered: why not seize the opportunity to directly take Apocalypse's ability for himself?
If he could acquire Apocalypse's power to develop mutant potential, he could endlessly unlock his own.
As his life force advanced, his mutant genes would grow stronger, his potential would continue to rise, and his abilities would never stop evolving.
In the future, even these two powers alone could reach the level of a single-universe entity—or even multiversal scale.
Mental force was spiritual strength, and such strength offered a tremendous boost to magic. It would never fall behind the times.
And magnetism—one of the four fundamental forces of the universe—wasn't limited to manipulating metal. Dig deeper, and its uses were limitless.
For example, it could strengthen his lightning powers, greatly amplifying the destructive force of his lightning magic.
As for how to steal Apocalypse's ability, he already had a plan.
"Excellent. I like what you've just said!"
Apocalypse probed with his psychic power, confirming George's sincerity. At last, a smile spread across his face.
He concluded that he must have misjudged earlier. Facial expressions could easily mislead, but the mind never lied.
Among his many incarnations, one body had possessed psychic powers. From that, he retained the ability to read minds.
However, unlike a true telepath, he couldn't alter or erase memories, nor could he control others—only read them.
Magneto's potential was far greater than he had imagined, but since Magneto had no psychic defense, Apocalypse could easily see into his thoughts.
So now he was pleased—delighted, even—that he had secured such a powerful and seemingly loyal knight.
Meanwhile, George, outwardly respectful, was mocking him inwardly:
"Try reading my mind? Eat shit, loser."
There were plenty of mutants with psychic gifts, but most, like Emma Frost, could only read minds without other specialties.
What made Professor X truly formidable was not just telepathy, but domination: controlling thought, seizing bodies, rewriting or erasing memories, and more.
George had inherited Xavier's genes, which meant his psychic powers were identical to the Professor's.
On top of that, George was a magician well-versed in spiritual magic. Layered together, his abilities made Apocalypse's probing useless.
Especially now—his psychic powers had surged dramatically, his spiritual force far surpassing Apocalypse's. The tyrant had no chance of perceiving his true thoughts.
Everything Apocalypse read in his mind was fabricated—illusions George deliberately allowed him to see.
"Let's return to base."
After a brief rest, Apocalypse finally regained some strength and opened another portal.
Stepping through, they arrived at an abandoned factory.
This was once the resting place of the angels; now it served as Apocalypse's temporary base.
"You need stronger protection in battle."
Casting a glance over the four, Apocalypse lifted his hand. With a surge of molecular restructuring, their clothes morphed instantly into battle suits resembling his own.
George ran his fingers across the material. Though not on par with vibranium or uru-forged armor, it was only slightly inferior.
"This Apocalypse really does have an endless arsenal of abilities. Unfortunately, most of them are useless to me now."
Apocalypse had inherited countless mutant powers, but George's mastery of magic could replicate most of their effects.
Had he obtained these powers when he first arrived in the Marvel world, they would have been an incredible boon.
But back then, he had been far too weak to even dream of stealing from Apocalypse. Meeting him then would have meant instant death.
Some things simply couldn't be shortcut.
Step by step, his steady pursuit of magic had brought him safely to where he was now.
And mutant powers were risky: a flawed body could easily lead to disaster.
Magic was different. Understand the fundamental laws of magic, and one grasped truth itself. Even if reduced to a soul, one would remain intact.
So, given the choice between mutant power and magic, he would still choose magic.
Magic was the foundation of true strength. Mutant powers were only auxiliary.
"Next, we shall—"
Once the new battle suits were ready, Apocalypse began explaining his plan to George and the other Horsemen.
The plan was simple, divided into three stages.
First, eliminate the leaders of every nation and destroy all nuclear weapons that could threaten him.
Second, have George—posing as Magneto—alter the Earth's magnetic field and collapse modern civilization.
Finally, wipe out the remaining human resistance and establish a slave society with mutants as the ruling class, just like ancient Egypt.
At this point, Apocalypse had no knowledge of Professor X's full powers. He hadn't yet considered seizing Xavier's body to gain his telepathic might, which could have solved both the human leadership and nuclear problem with ease.
But George knew that very soon, Apocalypse would discover this and attempt to claim Xavier's power for himself.
And that, George thought, would be his best chance to claim Apocalypse's ability.
(End of Chapter)