John quickly led the mutants out of the research facility through another route. There, they ran into Logan and Silver.
"Emma!"
"Sis!"
Silver and her younger sister Emma embraced tightly, overwhelmed with emotion.
"Logan, you made it out too? What about Victor?" John asked.
"He left. Melin warned us in advance. We didn't dare delay," Logan replied.
"Wow, so even Victor listens to advice now? That's something new."
"Alright, enough talking—we need to get moving. We don't even know how far 'as far away as possible' actually means!"
"But the courier's little plane can't possibly carry this many people, right?" John said, frustrated.
…
…
This was a small island, with no docks for ships. Stryker was extremely cautious—supplies were only transported by small planes, and if there were too many, they were airdropped directly.
"Even though you're right, it still hurts to hear you gossiping about me behind my back."
"Remy!"
"What are you doing here?"
John and Logan were both surprised to see Remy running toward them. Their deal didn't include a return trip.
"Yeah, I regret it too, but what can I say—I'm a sentimental guy. By the way, where's the boss?"
"He's still in there… ran into an old friend."
"Old friend?" Remy paused, wondering what kind of old friend could possibly be more important than escaping.
But the next moment, a sudden roar interrupted Remy's thoughts. Everyone looked up to see a highly futuristic aircraft descending before them.
The hatch opened, and out stepped Mu and Erik.
"What are you all standing around for? Get on board!" Erik shouted. He already knew a battle between gods was about to erupt here. He didn't dare linger—just the aftermath alone could wipe them all out.
"Who are you?" Logan, John, and Remy immediately went on guard.
"Magneto. Erik. Heard of me?" Erik introduced himself.
"You're with the X-Men?"
"Yes. Any questions, save them for later. Otherwise—"
BOOM
Before Erik could finish his warning, another distant explosion cut him off. The shockwave swept forward like a tidal wave, flattening everything in its path.
"Crystal Wall."
Just as the shockwave was about to hit, Mu vanished from Erik's side and appeared behind the group. Spreading his arms wide, a transparent wall glowing with seven colors rose to shield them. Ripples and cracks appeared under the pressure, but it held.
"Hurry up and go!" Mu shouted urgently. His Crystal Wall couldn't withstand multiple shockwaves.
Logan and the others didn't dare waste another second. They quickly boarded the plane. Through the cabin windows, they saw Three Mile Island completely shattered into countless pieces behind them. The original research facility had been wiped away. The ground looked like it had been turned over entirely. An orange beam and a multicolored light shot into the sky, colliding again and again, tearing the sky open with every clash.
"What… is that…" Remy was visibly trembling without realizing it.
"That's the master—fighting Ares," Mu replied.
"And you are?" Remy asked curiously, looking at Mu in golden armor.
"Mu, Aries Gold Saint."
"The legendary Saints!? Bro, you guys are real? I always thought it was just a story!" Remy was excited. Underground intel always whispered of Saints, but few had ever seen them—or even recognized them. Most people treated the stories like myths.
But even as myths, the Saints had many fans—superheroes who killed gods with mortal bodies!
Even criminals couldn't help but be drawn to them.
"Mm, we can talk more later. Hank, get ready—we need to accelerate," Mu said to the pilot.
Though they'd already flown quite a distance, Mu knew it still wasn't far enough. Returning to Sanctuary was the safest move.
"Ready," came Hank's voice from the cockpit.
"Three, two, one—accelerate!"
As Mu spoke, Hank pushed a lever, and blue light flared from Mu's body, enveloping the entire aircraft. From the outside, only a flash of blue could be seen streaking across the sky like a shooting star, leaving a long trail. The plane itself had vanished from sight.
…
In the air, after another clash, Melin and Ares separated again.
"Damn it! The mortal body really is weak—it's already falling apart," Ares cursed, watching the skin on his hand peel away like rotting bark.
"Come on, Ares. You were so arrogant before, and now you're falling apart?" Melin mocked, casually swinging a sword beam at him.
"Damn you, Melin! War God's Roar!"
"Here it comes!"
Seeing Ares unleash a roar that shook the heavens and earth, Melin immediately dropped his mocking tone, becoming deadly serious.
"War God's Shield!"
As Melin predicted, Ares's roar was a prelude to his ultimate move: the Spear of the War God.
This was Ares's most powerful attack. The War God's Roar activated his divine essence and gathered the world's scattered will to wage war, massively enhancing all his powers.
Then came the killing blow: the Spear of the War God, a divine weapon hurled with deadly precision.
The War God's Shield was soul-linked to Ares. The greater his fury and battle intent, the more powerful the shield became—and it had soul-lock capabilities. Once it locked onto a target, unless their strength exceeded Ares by two full tiers, there was no escape.
"Godslayer Slash!"
Without hesitation, Melin crossed his twin blades into an X and unleashed a radiant cross-shaped sword beam. It collided with the tip of the War God's Shield.
WOOOOM—
There was no earth-shattering explosion or deafening roar, just a deep hum.
But it was far more terrifying than any previous clash. The very first shockwave shattered the space around them, peeling away like crumbling old walls to reveal a purple-black void beneath.
…
"Oh my God!"
"Is… is that a god?"
"Space… space is breaking!"
"Damn it, what are you all staring for? Record everything! This is critical research data!"
"Sir, we've lost all communication!"
"Check the cause!"
"The satellite… the satellite is destroyed…"
"What?!"
"It's true… the final data readings… were massive… the military satellite overheated and exploded…"
"How is that possible…"
WOOOOM— WOOOOM—
In a secret research base deep in the mountains of the United States, alarms blared and warning lights flashed red.
"Now what?"
"Sir, we need to evacuate! All recording devices are overloaded—they're going to explode!"
"Cut the power! Activate emergency cooling!"
"We tried. Nothing works. Run—"
The final word caught forever in the researcher's throat as he was consumed by flames and thunder, rising into the sky.
…
"Me—lin—!"
With Ares's enraged scream, the War God's Shield, which had held strong, began pushing forward against the cross sword beam, inching closer to Melin.
But the next moment, Ares's burning blood turned cold—forever.
For reasons unknown, the War God's Shield suddenly reversed direction. Enveloped in the Godslayer Slash, it shot toward Ares. In the blink of an eye, it pierced through his body.
SPLURT—
"How… can… this be…" Ares slowly turned his head, unable to believe what he saw—Melin standing behind him. Strangely, his head moved, but his body remained still.
"You can't win a battle by shouting, Ares. All these millennia and you still don't get it." Melin sheathed his twin swords and casually caught the now-lightweight Spear of the War God, which had lost its connection to Ares.
"Me…lin… Me…lin…" Ares's eyes began to dull. His lips murmured the name of his lifelong obsession.
Ares had once been the pride of Olympus, son of Zeus and Hera. Young and powerful, he became one of the Twelve Olympians, the embodiment of martial valor, and ruler of war, rebellion, slaughter, and chaos.
His personal strength ranked just below the three brothers—Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades.
But from the moment Melin emerged, his brilliance faded.
Athena, whom he desperately pursued, turned instead to Melin. His title of First War God was taken. The war-loving peoples who gave him faith were moved toward peace…
All because of Melin.
Melin was not just his enemy—he was Ares's inner demon. The one thing he desired most in life was to defeat Melin—even just once, in any way.
But… he never did.
"Don't worry. Someone will be joining you soon," Melin said calmly.
Ares stared at Melin with hatred even as his body crumbled away like rotten bark, turning to ash and returning to the earth. All that remained were his wide-winged armor and the dimmed spear and shield—remnants of his existence.
"This time, I won't give you another chance."
With that, Melin hurled the Spear of the War God toward the armor and shield and slashed.
"Godslayer Slash!"
A rainbow-colored beam split space and time, cutting the spear, shield, and armor clean in two.
Screeeeech!
A piercing wail rang out, and finally, the pieces dissolved into starlight, pure energy returning to the world.
"You were still as cunning as ever, Ares. But… it's truly over now. Farewell, old friend."
With those final words, Melin sheathed his sword and descended toward the earth.