"A mere beast thinks it can stop me?
Get out of my way!"
Magneto roared, yanking every scrap of metal in the area into the air. Hundreds of jagged shards slammed into Ten Thousand Snakes, blasting the serpent's massive body skyward.
"GYAAAH—! Damn it, that hurts! This old man is seriously playing dirty!"
The serpent twisted midair, pupils narrowing with pain. He could no longer pin Magneto down.
"Boy!" Ten Thousand Snakes howled. "I'm doing my part! Get over here before this lunatic bites someone's head off!"
"Yeah, yeah! I'm coming!"
Fog Step!
Ryuuto blurred, abandoning Quicksilver and the scattered Brotherhood grunts. His figure streaked like a shooting star—straight toward Wanda.
But Magneto smiled.
A strange, crooked smile.
One that told Ryuuto nothing good was about to happen.
"Wanda!" Ryuuto shouted. "Use your Origin Magic Power to shield yourself! You can do it—trust me!"
Wanda trembled, but his voice anchored her.
Her breath steadied.
"Yes… I can… I can do it!"
She raised her hands. Origin Magic Power burst out in a crimson wave, bending the metal shards Magneto launched. Even Quicksilver and Mystique tensed, sweat forming along their brows.
"Heh… impressive. Origin Magic Power is no trivial force." Magneto chuckled, pride dripping from his voice. "Too bad you've spent all this time standing on the wrong side."
His eyes sharpened.
"And Wanda… I never said I planned to kill you. Let me give you back your memory."
Ryuuto's face hardened.
"No—!"
He realized Magneto's intention a split second too late.
A single coin flicked through the air.
Silent. Precise.
Following an unnatural arc—
And it pierced the old woman's forehead.
Blood sprayed across Wanda's hands.
For a moment, time froze.
The world stopped breathing.
"No… NO!!"
Wanda's scream cracked the sky itself.
Her pupils tightened. Her power surged uncontrollably—
and reality around her began to bend.
"What have you done? WHY?!"
She collapsed over the old woman's body, shoulders shaking violently. Her tears fell onto cooling skin. Her scream was the sound of something breaking—shattering.
Magneto watched calmly.
"Have you really forgotten? You are one of us—Mutant Brotherhood's ace. Blood has always been your companion. Come back, Wanda."
Ryuuto snarled.
"Magneto…
You're playing with fire—and YOU'RE ABOUT TO GET BURNED."
He shot toward the old man—
But an overwhelming surge of energy erupted behind him.
"AAAAAAAHHH!!
I AM NOT LIKE YOU!!"
Wanda's power exploded.
Origin Magic Power rampaged like a cosmic beast, her body the trembling center of a collapsing world. Buildings, dirt, metal—all of it distorted, dissolved, twisted into nothingness.
Magneto's face drained of color.
"No! Scarlet Witch is unstable—retreat!
RETREAT NOW!"
He spun and fled, abandoning pride, abandoning his men.
Quicksilver, Mystique, and the Brotherhood trampled each other in panic. Screams echoed everywhere. Dozens were crushed underfoot before they could even escape.
Those slower than lightning were swallowed by raw, annihilating magic and disappeared without leaving ashes.
"Everyone get clear!" Ryuuto roared, leaping high.
"Wanda's power is out of control! Get the civilians out NOW!"
He summoned sand, swirling it outward in massive waves to shield and evacuate every villager he could reach.
BOOOOOM!!
A blinding white flash swallowed the world.
No one dared keep their eyes open.
Minutes later—
Silence.
Only the wind remained.
Quicksilver finally looked up… and his legs buckled.
The entire village was gone.
Not destroyed—
erased.
A vast crater stretched hundreds of meters wide. Everything was dust... except the lone figure at its center—
Wanda, unconscious.
"Captain… what do we do now?" Bobby whispered hoarsely.
Ryuuto landed beside them, expression hard.
"Protect Wanda. No matter what.
Magneto doesn't get her."
He stepped forward, chakra flaring.
"I'll drive these rats off myself."
"Understood!"
Secret Technique — Insect Jade!
Countless shadowy insects poured from Ryuuto's hands like living darkness, sweeping across the battlefield and drowning the disoriented Brotherhood survivors before they could regroup.
The hunt resumed.
...
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