Chapter 252: The Emperor Descends
Professor X pressed one hand against his temple, constantly using his telepathic power to soothe the emotions of the civilians. He was also consciously guiding them, making the people immediately leave the buildings and head toward the open streets.
The rest of the X-Men wanted to help, but with their abilities, what could they possibly do? To put it plainly, in the face of a crisis of this magnitude, their strength was simply insignificant.
"Hahahaha! What a wonderful scene. Yes, this is how it should be. Use all your strength to resist me, then be destroyed in despair and helplessness. Entertain me with your performance."
Jean's face twisted with madness as she laughed loudly.
The crimson in her pupils burned ever brighter.
The blazing phoenix surrounding her flapped its wings and let out piercing cries, growing ever more frenzied.
It was as if it were rejoicing in the coming destruction.
Floating in midair, Skye and Jessica watched the madly laughing Phoenix Jean, their expressions utterly impassive.
Across the world, people witnessed the scene unfold. As television broadcasts switched to aerial footage from helicopters over other parts of Washington, they saw the city shaking violently.
Buildings slowly rose from the ground one after another. Residents fled in an orderly manner toward open streets. Magneto's aged face was flushed red as he struggled against Phoenix Jean.
Then the image changed again, showing Phoenix Jean standing high in the sky with her arms spread wide, a massive blazing phoenix surrounding her. It also showed Skye and Jessica, who appeared to have abandoned all resistance.
The contrast left people speechless.
It also filled them with despair.
No one had expected that Magneto, who had once seemed ready to wage war against the world, would instead become the one protecting Washington's residents.
Meanwhile, Jean Grey—the once gentle X-Man—had become the one seeking to destroy it.
The sudden reversal left the entire world at a loss.
"Damn it, even Raven can't stop that woman?"
"What exactly are they doing? Did they give up resisting?"
"They're warriors of the Raven Warbands who could fight against an army of demons, yet now they can't even handle one mutant. Sure enough, the source of this world's evil is still mutants."
"Damn it, where are the Astartes? Where are the other Raven? Where are the Grey Knights? And what about that Emperor they keep bragging about? They're all a joke."
"Fuck it. Destroy it all. I'm tired of this damned world."
Social media had completely exploded. All kinds of comments targeting mutants, Raven, the Astartes, and even Matthew appeared endlessly.
"Jean…"
On the ground, Professor X and the X-Men were consumed by profound sorrow, especially Logan and Scott.
They had never imagined Jean would become like this, transforming into someone they no longer recognized.
The woman who had once treated her students and everyone around her with kindness had become a demon who killed without hesitation and sought to destroy everything.
Their fists clenched tightly.
Their fingernails dug into their palms, yet they paid the pain no mind.
The overwhelming sense of helplessness made them feel as though they were suffocating.
Meanwhile, Washington shook more violently with each passing moment.
Before such overwhelming power, there was no difference between the rich and the poor. Everyone was nothing more than an ant, unable even to protect their own lives.
People fled through the streets, while the powerful figures inside the White House's Oval Office were no less chaotic.
Despair engulfed the entire city.
"What exactly are they doing? I can't fucking hold on much longer," Magneto gritted through clenched teeth.
His aged face was flushed red. Struggling to lift his head, he looked up, only for the sight to nearly make him explode with rage.
He was down here using all his strength to resist Phoenix Jean's powerful pull.
Could they at least move? Were they really just standing there watching the show? Help him out, damn it.
Then, in the next moment, Magneto finally understood why they had not moved at all.
Rumble!
The sky over Washington suddenly changed. Dark, heavy clouds gathered, and along with deep thunderclaps, countless bolts of lightning instantly crossed and danced. The white glow of lightning painted Washington as bright as day.
Light and darkness flickered.
A terrifying majesty and will descended, mixed with black-red lightning, turning the sky into a sea of thunder woven from blue-white and black-red.
It was like the end of the world had arrived.
Jean Grey, who had been laughing wildly and arrogantly, suddenly froze. She felt a vast will crashing recklessly into her soul.
She abruptly raised her head and looked toward the sky.
An overwhelming sense of danger surged through her heart.
Every instinct in her soul screamed that a powerful higher-dimensional lifeform had descended.
Seeing this, Skye and Jessica grinned brightly.
Sure, we might not be able to beat you ourselves, but we've got backing. You liked acting arrogant? Now let's see how you handle this.
Boom!
A blood-red bolt of lightning descended from the gathering dark clouds. It moved so fast that there was no time to react.
Jean instinctively controlled the blazing phoenix to shield herself, but she never expected the blood-red lightning to pierce straight through the blazing phoenix, which had been formed from pure emotion and life energy.
It struck Jean directly.
"Aaargh!"
The moment the lightning struck, Jean let out a shrill, agonized scream that echoed across the world.
She had never expected the lightning to pierce through her power. She was driven by nothing but instinct—the desire for destruction had long since consumed every rational thought.
Of course, the one who had arrived had no intention of giving her the time or opportunity to recover.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
A torrential cascade of lightning, manifested from pure Conqueror's Haki, relentlessly struck Jean's body. She was powerless to resist, yet still tried to mobilize her own power to protect herself and annihilate the descending lightning.
But it was completely useless.
She was nothing more than instinct born from accumulated desire—incapable of thought and utterly ignorant of how to wield this higher-dimensional power.
She could only endure the relentless bombardment in silence.
To everyone watching, the scene was immensely satisfying.
"What is this? Divine punishment?"
"This must be God. God has come to judge that damned sinner."
"God, my ass. Even with that damn three-inch pencil stub of yours, you should be able to figure out that this must be the great Emperor of Terra."
"That's right. It must be the Emperor of Terra."
"Keep it up! Strike her down! Blast her to ashes!"
Countless people broke into joyous cheers. They feared, dreaded, and hated Jean, whose overwhelming power threatened to bring destruction.
At that moment, they were filled with gratitude toward the Emperor who had come to save them.
They shouted wildly for Jean to be killed, desperate to erase this dangerous mutant from the world.
But they were destined to be disappointed. Their will could not influence the Emperor.
Although Jean possessed only instinct, that instinct still drove her to choose the path most likely to save herself.
She poured more power into her attack, trying to tear apart Magneto's magnetic field before taking control of Washington and using its seven hundred thousand residents as hostages.
It was a sound plan.
Unfortunately, she never got the chance.
Under the relentless bombardment and cleansing of that pure will, Jean's eyes rolled back, and she finally lost consciousness.