Chapter 38: Defeating Apocalypse Again

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Ian did not explain, but the anger in Apocalypse's eyes quickly disappeared as he rapidly calmed down.

He seemed to be quickly acquiring some critical information.

However, Ian didn't interrupt Apocalypse.

Ian was curious to know—could Apocalypse directly interpret electromagnetic waves in the air, or was he obtaining information through some other mysterious channel?

The latter seemed more likely.

After all, the signals in the air were just electromagnetic waves of different frequencies. Even if Apocalypse could receive these waves, as someone who had just awakened from ancient times, how would he know how to decode electromagnetic signals?

Soon, Apocalypse confirmed Ian's hypothesis.

The anger in Apocalypse's eyes reignited, and the gaze he cast at Ian shifted from unfamiliar to familiar.

Moreover, in that instant of change, Ian detected a faint ripple of time emanating from Apocalypse.

Apocalypse had stolen countless mutant abilities through his body-snatching technique, so it wouldn't be surprising if one or two of them were related to time.

Thus, the most likely channel through which Apocalypse obtained crucial information was the river of time. Even if he couldn't directly see it, he could still extract basic information about the world from it.

Ian was just about to ask something when Apocalypse suddenly soared into the air amidst the swirling sand, looking down on Ian from above.

"Outsider! Thank you for awakening me early! As a reward, I grant you eternal… death!"

"It seems the information you've obtained is incomplete!" Ian shook his head. He shouldn't have hoped for any understanding—there was too much of a generational gap to bridge.

Countless atoms around Ian condensed into metallic spheres, which then shot toward Apocalypse in the sky. These spheres rotated rapidly, their surfaces covered in countless reverse blades that could instantly strip Apocalypse of flesh and blood upon impact.

Apocalypse spread his arms, activating a shield to block the metallic spheres while gathering a massive amount of sand.

The sand constantly collided with the metallic spheres. If Ian's control over the spheres weakened even slightly, they would turn into sand.

Even if the spheres withstood the onslaught of sand, they would be turned into sand upon colliding with Apocalypse's shield.

Molecular control versus atomic control—neither could overpower the other.

The closer the atoms were to Apocalypse, the more likely they were synthesized into molecules; the closer they were to Ian, the more likely they were decomposed back into atoms.

Relatively speaking, Apocalypse had the upper hand. His molecular control, combined with his sand manipulation, made this desert his home turf.

"Outsider! Death is your only destiny!"

A massive sand tornado had formed, sealing off the entire sky. This was no ordinary sandstorm—its embedded laws could turn everything into sand, leaving no escape!

Ian ignored this, smiling instead. "Who lives and who dies is not yet decided!"

Without giving Apocalypse a chance to respond, several specialized metallic spheres slammed into his shield as Ian spoke.

"Boom!!!!"

Blinding light illuminated the sky, as if a great sun had suddenly appeared above.

Amidst the overwhelming shockwave, the sand tornado instantly collapsed. Even the laws imbued within it couldn't withstand the immense energy.

But it wasn't over yet. More metallic spheres shot into the center of the nuclear explosion.

"Boom!... Boom... Boom..."

The explosions continued endlessly, with the "sun" in the sky expanding further. If Ian hadn't controlled the aftershocks, the mushroom cloud would have already blotted out the sky.

At this point, the core temperature of the "sun" rivaled that of the real sun, yet Ian's expression grew heavier.

He could sense that Apocalypse, enduring the continuous nuclear blasts at the center of the "sun," had an unstable aura but remained unscathed. In fact, he was growing stronger.

The metallic spheres Ian used had been infused with deuterium and tritium, so what was exploding near Apocalypse wasn't an atomic bomb but a far more powerful hydrogen bomb.

Yet the hydrogen bomb seemed less effective against Apocalypse than the high-energy particle cannon.

This outcome was somewhat unexpected for Ian.

He quickly considered a possibility: "That ability of Apocalypse to manipulate sunlight is extraordinary. It's not just about controlling light—it genuinely involves some essence of the sun!"

Only this explanation could account for why Apocalypse could endure hydrogen bombs!

Unfortunately, Apocalypse was now on guard. With his acute danger sense, hitting him with a high-energy particle cannon had become nearly impossible.

The particles in the cannon were primarily neutrons, which were one level lower than atoms and outside Ian's direct control. Once fired, the particles could be dodged by Apocalypse.

Moreover, the nuclear explosions also neutralized some of the cannon's power.

"Time to use my trump card!" Ian hurled the Elemental Furnace toward the "sun" ahead.

The Elemental Furnace expanded instantly, engulfing Apocalypse and the entire "sun" within.

Within the furnace, only atomic-level matter could exist. Any non-atomic matter would be forcibly decomposed into atomic form.

The "sun" disintegrated in an instant, its energy dispersed, revealing Apocalypse at the center.

Apocalypse radiated brilliant light, with intense law fluctuations emanating from him.

He was using his laws to resist the Elemental Furnace's disintegration force!

Apocalypse's resistance caused the Elemental Furnace to tremble violently, as if on the verge of being forcibly shattered.

Seeing this, Ian immediately infused his own law-based abilities into the furnace, stabilizing it and enhancing its disintegration power.

Both being Level Five mutants, Ian refused to believe Apocalypse could escape his Elemental Furnace.

The Elemental Furnace was Ian's true trump card—the reason he dared to challenge Apocalypse directly!

Apocalypse's resistance was intense. As the struggle continued, his law fluctuations grew stronger, revealing a wide variety of laws—all abilities he had plundered over his long life.

Each of these abilities was carefully selected and highly potent, their law fluctuations at least reaching Level Three mutant strength.

However, the chaotic mixture of laws failed to create a synergistic effect, offering only limited enhancement to Apocalypse.

Unless Apocalypse could unify these disparate laws, he could only delay the inevitable, not change his fate.

Clearly, Apocalypse lacked this capability—otherwise, he wouldn't have been slumbering underground for millennia!

After more than an hour of resistance, Apocalypse's strength began to falter. Unable to control the hundreds of laws any longer, his resistance quickly collapsed.

In just a few seconds, Apocalypse's body was entirely disintegrated, leaving him no time for last words.

However, Apocalypse wasn't completely annihilated. After his body was broken down, a colorful crystal remained—something even the Elemental Furnace couldn't decompose.

Seeing the crystal within the furnace, Ian smiled knowingly.

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(End of Chapter)