As the pyramid crumbled, the special energy that had been absorbing and transforming sunlight rapidly declined. The power surrounding the two figures gradually weakened and dissipated.
Their transfer ceremony was forcibly interrupted. Apocalypse awoke from the trance and, noticing the hole cut into the top of the pyramid, realized his ritual had been destroyed.
Bamf!
In a puff of blue smoke, a young blue-skinned mutant with a tail appeared, grabbed the now-bald Charles, and teleported away from Apocalypse's reach.
The interruption of the transfer ceremony filled Apocalypse with rage. His chosen vessel had been rescued, and his fury boiled over.
"Charles!!!"
As he roared, the massive stone pillars he'd created inside the pyramid began to collapse. Suddenly, a flash of light cut through from above.
Swish, swish, swish!
Several beams of blue energy shot down from the light, slicing through the stone pillars as if they were made of paper. The energy continued its path straight toward Apocalypse.
Faced with such a powerful attack, Apocalypse raised his hand defensively. Countless stone pillars erupted from the ground, rushing to intercept the energy beams. He also formed a spherical shield around his body.
The stone pillars gradually absorbed the energy's power. By the time it reached his shield, the attack had been reduced to a tenth of its original strength and was easily deflected.
But following closely behind the energy came Marcus. He passed through the gap in the cut pillars and landed directly in front of Apocalypse.
"Heh, looks like Charles made it out safely," Marcus said, noting that only Apocalypse remained here. Combined with the roar he'd heard moments ago, he could guess what had happened.
When Apocalypse saw Marcus transformed into Excalibur, his heart skipped a beat. The warrior before him, with what looked like a rhino horn protruding from his head, radiated danger.
Especially that energy sword—it gave him a terrible feeling, as if a single touch would mean certain death.
The last time Apocalypse had performed the transfer ritual, he'd specifically chosen a mutant with accelerated healing as his host. With that ability, he could ignore most fatal injuries.
But now, facing Marcus, he felt the long-forgotten breath of death. One touch from that energy sword could end him instantly.
This wasn't what he wanted. His goal was to restore mutant glory, not die here and now.
Recognizing the mortal threat in Marcus's attack, Apocalypse didn't hesitate. As Marcus swung his glowing sword, Apocalypse used his power to collapse the entire pyramid, hoping to trap Marcus inside.
Before the energy blade could reach him, he teleported outside, intending to find Charles and complete the interrupted transfer.
The collapsing pillars and rising quicksand did cause Marcus some trouble.
But what surprised him more was Apocalypse's decisiveness. The so-called ancestor of mutants didn't waste time fighting—after collapsing the pyramid, he simply teleported away.
Waving his hand to release countless energy blades, Marcus laughed. It was the first time he'd faced an opponent like this.
As expected of the mutant ancestor—decisive enough, but this collapsed pyramid couldn't contain him.
With a flash of light, Marcus transformed into Titania, activating Razor Wings to shrink to butterfly size and escape through the debris.
Outside the pyramid, Logan and his team were confronting Apocalypse and his followers, though Apocalypse's side was clearly at a disadvantage.
Brothers Alex and Scott fired red energy beams, forcing Apocalypse to defend himself against their coordinated attack.
Erik and Ororo had joined Logan's group to fight against Apocalypse and protect Charles.
Under Erik's control, countless metal fragments flew toward Apocalypse. Ororo summoned lightning storms, sending bolts crashing down on their enemy.
Their change of allegiance made sense.
Erik had joined Apocalypse out of grief over losing his family, hoping to destroy humanity. Now that he knew his family was still alive, he naturally abandoned Apocalypse's cause.
Ororo's reason was even simpler. She had met Raven, a hero to mutantkind. Compared to Apocalypse who disregarded life, Raven was a beacon of hope for many mutants.
Neither Erik nor Ororo attacked Angel with his metal wings or Psylocke with her energy weapons. They only wanted to stop Apocalypse, not make enemies of his followers.
But that didn't mean Angel and Psylocke were left alone. Hank and Logan rushed toward them, each choosing an opponent.
Hank tangled with Angel. His strength far exceeded Angel's, forcing the winged mutant to take to the air and rain metal feathers down on Hank.
Fortunately, Kurt—the blue-skinned teleporter—grabbed Hank and warped him out of danger, allowing them to continue their assault on Angel.
Meanwhile, Logan charged at Psylocke, adamantium claws extended. The metal lacing his skeleton was practically indestructible, easily deflecting even Psylocke's energy weapons.
Psylocke was clearly uncomfortable with the matchup. Against an opponent covered in super-alloy with accelerated healing, most of her attacks were ineffective.
Logan could ignore her attacks and keep pressing forward, while she couldn't ignore his claws—one good hit would mean serious injury or death.
As they fought fiercely, Charles lay curled up on the ground in agony. Jean knelt beside him, unsure how to ease his pain.
"Professor!"
Jean cradled Charles's body, trying to use her abilities to soothe his suffering.
"Looks like he's having a mental problem," Marcus said, materializing beside them. He placed his hand on Charles's bald head. "Don't let anyone get close to us."
With those words, Marcus transformed into pure energy and entered Charles's mindscape.
Charles's mental world resembled a house—his home and the Xavier School for Gifted Youngsters.
Inside, Charles was locked in battle with Apocalypse's consciousness. Perhaps because of years confined to a wheelchair, or simply because Apocalypse's power was greater, the fight was completely one-sided.
Charles looked like a ragdoll being slammed repeatedly into the ground by the giant form of Apocalypse.
Swish!
A beam of light shot out of nowhere, striking Apocalypse mid-attack.
The impact caused Apocalypse's form to deflate like a punctured balloon, shrinking back to normal human size in an instant.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk. You really took a beating there, Charles."
Hearing the voice, Charles weakly pushed himself up and looked over. Apocalypse had been knocked to the ground, with a foot planted firmly on his face.
Looking up, Charles saw a familiar figure. Noticing Charles's gaze, Marcus smiled and waved.
"Hello~ Long time no see. Is this your new hairstyle?"
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