Hawk watched the dozen or so armed mutant guards running toward the emergency passage, then looked down at the pistol just stuffed into his hand.
It was just handed to him by the administrator, seemingly meant for him to use to commit suicide if things went south over there.
Being caught by the Sentinel Special Forces, a fate worse than death.
Hawk had no doubt about that.
Because he knew who was in charge of the Sentinel Special Forces.
Colonel Strucker!
A ruthless man, calling him the butcher of mutants would not be an exaggeration. For those mutants caught by him, the only path awaiting them was scientific research.
To be experimented upon!
Just then.
"Hawk."
Wanda, who was beside him, called out to Hawk.
Hawk snapped back to reality, looking at Wanda beside him.
Wanda raised her hand, her eyebrows slightly furrowing as if she had discovered something incredible: "My energy... seems to be blocked too."
Hawk raised an eyebrow, recalling the words of the mutant guard just now.
"X Ability Inhibitor."
"What is it?"
"A device specifically designed to target mutant abilities."
"But I'm not a mutant."
"It's called an X Ability Inhibitor, but it might also be an Extraordinary Energy Inhibitor."
"..."
Upon hearing this, Wanda frowned, then seemingly thought of something, looked at Hawk: "So is there a possibility that your energy is also being blocked because of this?"
Hawk shook his head: "Not sure."
He had only arrived here less than three hours ago; it was too early to draw conclusions now.
The sound of gunfire came from the distant emergency passage and from the shelter door, where some surviving, hideously deformed, Epsilon-level mutants were also rushing into the shelter under the cover of the mutant guards amidst the crossfire.
Some Epsilon-level mutants were covered in blood; it was unclear whether it was theirs, other mutants', or the agents of the Sentinel Special Forces'.
Just then.
The administrator's shouts came from the distant escape passage.
"Shit, a grenade, quick…"
"Boom!"
With the violent explosion, the administrator's shouts abruptly stopped, and at the same time, dust swept out like a storm from the escape passage.
"Mark!!"
"Ah!!"
"Let's fight them."
A shrill roar followed, then the sound of more intense gunfire.
Mark…
The name of that mutant administrator.
Hawk's brows furrowed slightly.
Meanwhile.
A blood-soaked guard, carrying the administrator Mark who had been turned into a pincushion by a grenade blast, staggered out from the escape passage and then collapsed to the ground along with Mark.
"Boss."
"Dobby."
The guards who followed them out of the escape passage saw this scene and quickly ran to the side of their fallen comrade, Dobby.
"Leave me, save the boss first, I'm fine."
The guard Dobby, struggling to get up from the ground, grinned to reveal blood-stained teeth, pulled out the shrapnel embedded in his leg with a pop, and rushed back into the escape passage.
For them mutants, when faced with the Sentinel Special Forces, there were only two possibilities.
Either they died.
Or the Sentinels died.
There was no third option; they would rather go to Hell than be captured alive by the Sentinel Special Forces.
Because if that happened, their fate would be worse than death.
In the sewer, in the escape passage, the Sentinel Special Forces were firing with an almost machine-like calmness, while the shouts of resistance from the mutant guards continued to echo.
Hawk looked at the wounded administrator Mark being rescued in the pool of blood, then at the Epsilon-level mutants not far away, who wore terrified expressions but still shielded several mutant children in the middle.
For a moment.
He couldn't tell who were the good guys and who were the bad guys.
But…
Did it matter?
Hawk's thoughts turned, then he looked at the pistol that Administrator Mark had just given him to use for suicide, and couldn't help but shake his head with a smile, then looked at Wanda beside him: "Are you alright?"
Wanda didn't speak, but met Hawk's eyes with a slight smile as if she had made some kind of decision and raised her right hand.
Crimson Chaos Power flowed between her fingers.
Although it seemed weaker than before, there was no doubt that the X Ability Inhibitor hadn't completely suppressed Wanda's energy.
"It works, but not entirely."
"Got it."
Hawk smiled slightly.
Just then.
Pew! Pew! Pew!
The two guards at the entrance of the shelter were instantly shot into sieves by the Sentinel agents who were already rushing towards the shelter.
"Ah!"
"Fuck!"
"Abby, take them to the emergency escape passage!"
The two mutant guards, seeing their comrades' tragic state, shouted to a female mutant behind them, then roared and charged outside with their guns, trying to buy time for the mutants in the shelter.
Even though they knew that there were also Sentinel agents on the escape passage side.
But…
What if their sacrifice could buy a slim chance of survival?
So—
The two mutant guards, without hesitation, charged outside the shelter, and then they saw Sentinel agents who were fully armed, eyes cold, and aiming their gun barrels at them in tactical formation.
The eyes of the two mutant guards met countless eyes on the opposite side.
And then.
Without any expression or communication, the Sentinel agents pulled their triggers in unison.
In an instant.
A dense barrage of bullets, enough to turn two people into a sieve, shot out, then whistled as they covered the two.
The two mutant guards instinctively closed their eyes.
The next second!
"Ding ding ding!"
"Duang Duang Duang!"
Almost as soon as the two mutant guards dashed out, Hawk stepped forward and instantly appeared in front of them, shielding them behind his own body.
The dense barrage of bullets continuously collided with Hawk's body, and in the blink of an eye, Hawk's suit turned into rags.
The two mutant guards listened to the metal clashing sound ringing in their ears, opened their eyes, and saw the majestic figure blocking their eyes ahead, disbelief widening their eyes.
"Who is this?"
"Who is he?"
"Shit, the X Ability Inhibitor failed?"
Not only were the two mutant guards shocked, but so were the Sentinel agents not far away.
Their pupils widened, disbelief evident as they watched the smoke slowly dissipate, revealing Hawk still standing unharmed before them.
No.
You couldn't say unharmed; at least Hawk's suit had completely turned into rags.
Hawk lowered his gaze, looking at the thoroughly destroyed outerwear on him, reached out his right hand, grabbed his left袖, and with a ripping sound, tore away the equally ruined white shirt inside, revealing his muscular upper body.
The next second.
He looked up, fixing his gaze on the Sentinel agents not far away, then under the watchful eyes of the agents, he grinned, baring his teeth in a smile.
A cruel smile.
"Have you finished shooting?"
"It's my turn now."
"Boom!"
As Hawk's words fell, as the cement ground beneath his right foot cracked, he vanished in place, appearing in the blink of an eye among the group of Sentinel agents.
"Crack!"
"Splat!"
Hawk reached out both hands, grabbing the heads of the two nearest Sentinel agents, without waiting for their scream, he exerted force, crushing their heads with a sound like watermelons bursting.
"Holy shit!"
"Fire, fire!"
"Splat splat splat!"
"Ding ding ding!"
Hawk expressionless, watched as the Sentinel agent in front of him, face now devoid of its previous coolness, full of terror, pointed a gun right at him and pulled the trigger, ignoring the barrage of bullets hitting his face, he swung a palm forward.
Instaneously.
The trigger-happy Sentinel agent's head spun rapidly like a wind-up toy, until it spun no more, with a splitting sound, the head separated from the neck.
Five seconds later.
The gunfire ceased.
The screams vanished.
The shouts were gone too.
In the vast sewer, only Hawk stood bare-chested.
No.
There were still two standing at the shelter entrance.
Hawk turned, the moment he stepped forward with his right foot, he appeared right in front of the two mutant guards, now expressionless and slack-jawed.
The two mutant guards, with a gaze as if looking at a god, stared at the blood-covered, bare-chested Hawk before them.
Yes.
A god.
For the group of Sentinel agents, Hawk might be a demon.
But to them mutants, Hawk was undoubtedly a god.
Hawk was familiar with the adoration in these two mutants' eyes.
Because when he migrated to the cosmos of the sycamore tree, those lives looked at him the same way.
Hawk's tone was calm.
"Watch, signal if any Sentinel descends."
"...Understood."
At Hawk's words, a jolt passed through the mutant guards, snapping them back to reality.
Hawk then vanished from their sight.
The sewer's Sentinel agents were dealt with, but those by the escape route weren't yet.
So he's already taken action.
If that's the case.
One killing or two, no different, even if it's around ten thousand, it's still killing.
Just killing.
For Hawk, habitually exterminating households and occasionally exterminating clans, it posed no psychological burden.
Moreover...
Hawk suddenly realized something.
Why did he need to find Professor X?
What's the point, they couldn't find the X Academy, only the academy could find them?
Hehe.
Alright then.
Hawk wouldn't seek them anymore.
Why not let Professor X come to seek him?
It's widely known.
If the infamous Magneto was the hawk among mutants, then the renowned Professor X, touted as the mutant professor, was supposedly the dove.
Moreover, a dove that collaborated with humans.
Of course, this is just rumor.
Right now, Hawk wants to know one thing.
When mutants were slaughtered, Professor X didn't appear.
Then—
When Sentinel agents are slaughtered, will Professor X appear!
...