"Useless idiots! Hold him down!
Do you all eat dirt for breakfast!?"
Magneto's roar shook the whole battlefield. His subordinates were being launched into the sky by Ryuuto like broken toys, crying out like a flock of dying pigeons.
His face twisted. Murderous aura exploded.
Quicksilver, meanwhile, ran in circles yelling, "Come on, everyone! We have numbers! We can overwhelm him! Whoever captures that kid gets full credit!"
He didn't notice Magneto's cold glare until too late.
"Quicksilver." Magneto growled.
"Go retrieve Scarlet Witch. Alone. Now."
"Ah? Alone? Seriously—"
"Stop whining. We need her Origin Magic Power. Go. Move!"
Magneto didn't wait for a reply. Metal shrieked as he hurled entire sheets of steel at Ryuuto, keeping the boy pinned.
Quicksilver sighed like a man sentenced to death.
"Damn it… why is my life suffering?"
Still, with Ryuuto occupied, he gritted his teeth, boosted his speed to the limit, and became a streak of silver lightning racing toward Wanda.
"Not happening!" Scott roared.
BZZZTT!!
His visor flared, blasting a massive red beam that cut the earth open. Bobby and Steel formed a living wall in front of Wanda, while Arlo lifted her onto his back with calm, heavy steps.
"A bunch of obstacles…" Quicksilver hissed.
"Fine—everyone else! Kill the X-Men first!"
More Brotherhood soldiers surged in, throwing themselves at the X-Men while Quicksilver searched for an opening.
Magneto scoffed at the insect cloud surrounding him.
"Jiang Li! Your pathetic worms are children's toys.
This level of trickery? Against me?"
Steel walls of metal rose around him, blocking the swarming insects like a fortress.
"And you dare call yourself a captain of the X-Men…" Magneto sneered. "You're the stupidest leader they've had. Your people will die because of you!"
Ryuuto smirked.
"Old man, open your eyes. You're the one hiding like a turtle in a can."
He waved lightly—another surge of insects crashed toward Magneto like a living tide.
"Arrogant brat!" Magneto snapped, eyes going cold.
He detonated a storm of metal shards, blasting away the swarm and coating the ground in crushed insect bodies.
"I'll crush you! DIE!"
A huge iron ball—easily ten thousand kilos—ripped itself from the earth and hurled toward Ryuuto.
The Brotherhood erupted in cheers.
"If Magneto kills him, we're saved!"
But the world never gives them what they want.
Secret Art — Insect Wall!
Ryuuto flicked his wrist.
The scattered insects suddenly converged—compressing, hardening, merging—forming a massive chitinous barricade.
BOOOOM!
The metal ball rebounded so hard it nearly smashed Magneto's skull.
"Return to sender, Grandpa. Enjoy."
"YOU—!"
Magneto staggered back, furious, scrambling to re-control the massive sphere before it flattened him.
"Jiang Li! You only know these few cheap tricks—you can't hurt me!"
"Really?" Ryuuto grinned.
"Then feast your eyes. This one's special."
'Release: Devouring Swarm!'
A massive worm-bug hybrid erupted from the swarm, its red eyes gleaming like cursed jewels.
Magneto frowned.
"What the hell—?"
He launched a barrage of metal—
but the creature ate it.
One bite.
Then another.
Then it lunged.
"WHAT—?!"
The creature latched onto Magneto's torso and began sucking—
not blood, but power.
"AARRRGHHH!!"
Magneto's scream ripped through the battlefield. His body convulsed, veins bulging as the Devouring Swarm siphoned his magnetic energy straight out of him.
The crowd froze.
Even his own subordinates backed away in terror.
"What are you staring at!?" Quicksilver shrieked.
"STOP THAT KID! If Magneto falls, you're all dead!"
The Brotherhood scrambled toward Ryuuto, even as Quicksilver abandoned his attempt to grab Wanda.
"Arlo! Hand Scarlet Witch to me—I'll guard her!" Bobby yelled, sprinting over.