The moment Logan saw the fallen American officer, he was instantly dragged into a torrent of painful memories.
The face of the man who had turned him into a test subject—William, the true mastermind behind his suffering—began to overlap with the young officer lying on the ground.
It was clear now. That young officer who had just been taken down with a simple tap was none other than the future tormentor of Logan—William Stryker himself!
Like a tidal wave, the trauma surged over Logan, knocking the air out of him. His face turned pale, and his body weakened as he slumped helplessly against the wall, as if suddenly struck by a heart attack.
None of the others noticed Logan's strange reaction. And right at that moment, Erik made his move—he picked up a pistol and, unbelievably, aimed it straight at Raven!
"Erik!"
Raven and Charles both froze in shock. Charles instinctively stepped in front of her, shielding her with his body. He had just promised to keep her safe.
Erik's sudden betrayal left them completely unprepared. He looked at Raven with a blank expression and said, "Don't blame me, Raven. I have to change the future. As long as you're alive, none of us are safe."
According to Logan's account of the future, Raven's DNA would play a critical role in perfecting the Sentinels' combat abilities—turning them into unstoppable mutant-hunting machines.
Knowing this, Erik came up with a brutal but effective solution: kill Raven now, and be done with it.
Outside the video, the audience was just as shocked by Erik's actions.
"Erik is a total scumbag! Raven trusted and admired him so much! After betraying Charles, now he betrays her too?"
"he is a heartless monster! How can he be so cruel? I used to think he was cool and responsible—harsh, but a great leader. But I was wrong. Completely wrong."
Many viewers couldn't stomach Erik's backstab. But some tried to understand it from a survivalist, mutant-first perspective, arguing that his actions, while ruthless, made sense.
"If Raven's DNA is the key to Sentinels wiping out mutants, then even if she survives this assassination attempt, she'll still be a target in the future. The safest option is to kill her now. It's brutal, but someone has to be sacrificed."
"I don't think Erik did anything wrong. As the leader of the mutants, he has to put the future of their kind above all. Honestly, if it were his DNA, I believe Erik would choose death himself."
"Yeah right. You're just being sarcastic, aren't you? I seriously doubt Erik would ever sacrifice himself. Guys like him always talk about 'the future' and 'the greater good'—but it's always someone else who pays the price."
The discussions grew heated. Players were equally divided in Eternal Space.
Charles couldn't hold back anymore and shouted, "Erik, you're insane! How could you do this?! Raven trusted you! You took her away and now you want to kill her?!"
Logan shot Erik a cold glare and snorted, "Told you. This guy's got no heart. He never treats the people around him as comrades."
Faced with their outrage, Erik remained eerily calm. With no emotion in his voice, he replied, "This world is what it is. You shouldn't be blaming me. The ones who keep pushing the mutant threat narrative, who insist on exterminating us—they're humans. That little demon in charge is human.
It's the human world that forced me to raise a weapon against my own kind.
Charles, stop deluding yourself. We never had a choice. God didn't ask if I wanted to be a mutant when I was born.
If you keep holding onto these naive ideals, then even if we stop the Sentinels this time, the future waiting for mutants will still be just as hopeless."
But Charles, burning with rage, wasn't in the mood to listen. He shouted profanities back at Erik.
This version of Charles hadn't yet matured—after all, he still had a full head of hair.
Erik didn't want to argue. He simply pointed at the screen and said they should finish the video first. There'd be plenty of time to yell afterward.
In the video, Raven wasn't panicking. Charles was right there, and Erik wasn't wearing his helmet, which meant Charles should've been able to control him mentally.
What she didn't expect was that Charles had already lost his telepathic powers. He could only watch helplessly as Erik pulled the trigger.
Just then, Hank dove forward with a sudden burst of speed and tackled Erik. But even as he fell, Erik used his powers to redirect the bullet in midair—straight toward Raven!
But Raven was no longer the naïve girl she once was. Her reflexes were razor-sharp. She sprang toward the window, curled her body, and crashed through the glass, falling out of the building.
Yet the bullet, still under Erik's control, followed her through the broken window like it had been equipped with a homing device. It turned midair and chased after her. Luckily, Erik's aim was slightly off—it only struck her in the calf.
Raven fell to the ground, wounded. When she looked up, she saw reporters all around her, their cameras aimed squarely at her. That was expected, given the importance of the summit—journalists had already set up early to capture every moment.
Because of this, the existence of mutants was exposed to the public for the first time.
Back in the meeting room, Hank and Charles wrestled with Erik, but neither could match his power and were quickly thrown aside.
And the one person who could fight Erik evenly—Logan—was in no shape to help.
The sight of William had thrown his mind into chaos. His mental instability was starting to affect his physical body.
The scene cut to the future timeline. Logan now old and gray, was lying on a stone bed. A beautiful young mutant stood behind him, pressing her hands to his temples. Streams of energy flowed from her palms into Logan's mind.
It was clear that this young woman was the key figure helping Logan travel through time. A few other mutants stood nearby, including the elderly Erik.
But Logan's inner turmoil disrupted his consciousness. His sleeping body began to thrash, claws popping from his fists and flailing wildly like he was trapped in a nightmare.
In doing so, he accidentally slashed the young woman behind him—interrupting the time-travel process.
___
T/N:
Hello everyone! My Patreon is just $3 — a perfect opportunity to access 30+ advanced chapters and support the translation.
You'll also get access to firsthand girls' pics as a bonus!
🔗 patreon.com/user?u=79514336
Or simply search Translator-Sama on Patreon