Compared to ordinary humans, Mayor possessed formidable physical resilience in his crimson devil form.
Judging by appearance alone, his defensive capabilities rivaled even the Hulk's.
Despite this, Richard remained certain that Mayor couldn't withstand the FS Judgement Cut End he had just unleashed.
Even the standard Judgement Cut End—let alone its more powerful FS variant—would overwhelm Mayor's demonic transformation.
The reason was straightforward: Judgement Cut End transcended conventional physical attacks.
Its space-cutting properties made it nearly impossible to resist through physical durability alone.
While certain entities in the Marvel Universe might withstand Judgement Cut End through sheer physical resilience, Mayor certainly wasn't among them.
As the surrounding space began its unnatural distortion and ghostly space-tearing shadows materialized, Mayor displayed no surprise. He immediately raised his massive arms, crossing them protectively before his body, preparing to endure the assault with his formidable physique.
He had considered immediate retreat, but the moment spatial distortion began, he found himself anchored in place by an inexplicable gravitational force.
If escape is impossible, I'll endure it with my body!
Though unfamiliar with Judgement Cut End's underlying principles, Mayor had repeatedly studied footage of Richard employing the technique against the Sentinel robot and Benjamin at the Los Angeles branch. He understood its devastating cutting power.
Additionally, in Fury's office, he had witnessed drone footage of Richard dispatching six specially designed Sentinels with the same technique.
The moment Mayor raised his defensive guard, more than a dozen razor-sharp crescent-shaped energy blades converged on him from all directions with extraordinary velocity.
Chichichichichichi...
The crescents of sword energy carved through Mayor's form with the same effortless ease they would pass through soft cake.
Soon, both the crescent energies and the black spatial tears dissipated, the distorted space returning to normalcy.
Mayor, who had braced himself against FS Judgement Cut End, remained motionless in his original stance.
Blocked?
Seeing Mayor still intact rather than reduced to scattered fragments like the Sentinels, Captain America, Todd, and the others momentarily shared the same mistaken assumption.
Within seconds, however, they realized their error.
Though Mayor hadn't immediately disintegrated like the Sentinel robots, he had indisputably failed to withstand the FS Judgement Cut End.
His apparent cohesion resulted solely from his X-gene's demonization power, which instinctively attempted to repair the catastrophic damage.
While demonization granted Mayor impressive regenerative capabilities, the devastation wrought by FS Judgement Cut End had exceeded those limits.
After only four or five seconds, under the horrified gaze of Captain America, Todd, and the others, blood erupted from Mayor's body in massive gouts.
Concurrent with this gruesome display, Mayor's form collapsed, disintegrating into variously sized fragments that fell earthward under gravity's influence.
Unlike the others who had briefly believed Mayor had withstood the attack, Richard immediately activated his plunder ability as the FS Judgement Cut End concluded.
[New ability acquired: Demonization!]
[Same type abilities obtained, ability fusion in progress!]
[Demonization enhanced!]
[X-gene mutant power list updated!]
[X-Gene Mutant powers: 14 Alpha, 24 Beta, 6 Delta]
Noting the decrease in Beta-level powers, Richard immediately deduced which ability had been enhanced through fusion with Demonization.
Without hesitation, he opened his Beta-level mutant power list to confirm.
As anticipated, the ability enhanced through fusion with Demonization was Giant Form—a power he had never deployed in combat.
Closing the information panel, Richard redirected his attention upward toward Todd and Lambert hovering above.
The two Department leaders floated in midair, regarding Mayor's remains with complex expressions.
Though they had mentally prepared for potential casualties, neither had anticipated that the Operations Director would fall as easily as the regular agents.
Their shock stemmed not from Mayor's defeat itself, but from the casual manner in which it occurred.
He was the Operations Director of Headquarters! An Alpha-class mutant with demonic transformation abilities!
In Todd and Lambert's estimation, Mayor possessed power comparable to the Hulk.
Moreover, unlike the current Hulk who relied primarily on brute force, Mayor had accumulated extensive combat experience and tactical expertise.
Despite their high assessment of Mayor, Richard considered the comparison with Hulk misplaced.
While today's Hulk might not yet have reached his full potential, nothing guaranteed he wouldn't eventually attain the cosmic levels of power depicted in the comics.
Observing Todd and Lambert's reluctance to descend from their aerial positions, Richard activated his recently acquired Alpha-level gravity manipulation.
Increased Gravity!
With a simple downward gesture of his right hand, he projected a gravitational field of terrifying intensity—hundreds of times Earth's normal gravity.
The overwhelming force instantly negated their flight abilities, causing both men to plummet like birds with broken wings.
Before they could impact the ground, Richard teleported behind the rapidly falling Todd.
Octoslash!
The Masamune moved with lightning speed.
Eight fluid, precise slashes carved through Todd's body instantaneously, reducing the Minister of Mutant Affairs to a scattered mass of bloody debris.
Upon Todd's demise, Deputy Minister Lambert—possessing energy manipulation abilities—released stored power to create a spherical protective shield around himself.
This energy barrier not only prevented direct contact with the ground but also withstood Richard's intensified gravity field, preventing Lambert from being crushed under the immense pressure.
For an administrative deputy minister who rarely participated in field operations, Lambert's reaction speed proved impressive. Unfortunately, his opponent was Richard.
While Lambert established his defensive sphere, Richard activated Shadow Flare—the reward received for completing "One-Winged Angel (II)."
The name alone offered little insight into Shadow Flare's true nature.
Unlike elemental skills such as Thundaga, Shadow Flare inflicted dark attribute damage.
Though not technically a game, dark attributes existed tangibly within this universe—though less commonly encountered than fire, lightning, or ice-based energies.
When activated, Shadow Flare generated a white gravitational sphere with intense attractive force within its target area.
This gravity well pulled surrounding enemies into Shadow Flare's attack radius.
Simultaneously, black flames manifested through dark magic, forming a spherical cage that enveloped the target.
Beyond the black flames, silver-white lightning crackled within the cage, delivering continuous damage.
Once the target was completely enclosed, the cage detonated like an explosive, delivering a devastating final impact.
Though Lambert's protective shield had successfully countered Richard's intensified gravity, it failed to prevent Shadow Flare from targeting him.
Before Lambert could react, a white gravitational sphere materialized before him.
Though unfamiliar with the phenomenon, primal instinct immediately triggered an overwhelming sense of mortal danger.
Simultaneously, he felt the powerful attractive force emanating from the white sphere.
Lambert's defensive shield—originally crimson in hue—transformed to pitch black within moments.
A spherical cage formed of dark mana, resembling condensed black flame, materialized instantly, encompassing both Lambert and his energy barrier.
"Farewell, Deputy Minister Winston Lambert," Richard announced calmly.
A heartbeat later, the dark energy cage surrounding Lambert detonated with explosive force.
Compared to conventional explosives, Shadow Flare's detonation produced relatively modest sound—approximately equivalent to a grenade's discharge.
Despite its subdued acoustic profile, Shadow Flare's destructive potential vastly exceeded conventional weaponry.
When the black flames and silver lightning dissipated, Lambert had vanished completely—as if he had never existed.
No fragmented remains, no blood spatter, no residual debris.
Lambert, subjected to Shadow Flare's full power, had been erased without trace, seemingly vaporized from existence.
Despite Lambert's complete disintegration, Richard activated plunder without concern.
[New abilities acquired: Energy Projection, Flying, Energy Manipulation!]
[Same type abilities obtained, ability fusion in progress!]
[Energy Manipulation enhanced!]
[X-gene mutant power list updated!]
[X-Gene Mutant powers: 15 Alpha, 25 Beta, 6 Delta]
Noticing that energy absorption from before had been fused and Energy Manipulation, Richard recognized that Lambert's energy control capabilities hadn't been as formidable as anticipated.
In terms of versatility, Lambert's energy control offered greater breadth than pure energy absorption.
However, Lambert could only manipulate conventional energy forms: thermal, electrical, kinetic, and similar manifestations.
While Lambert could transmute absorbed energy into different forms, energy absorption could accomplish the same feat.
Richard didn't dwell on which aspects of energy manipulation had been integrated with his existing energy absorption. Instead, he examined the Alpha-level ability list to review "Crush."
[Crush: Instantly shatters atomic connections in contacted materials, causing complete disintegration or reduction to fine dust!]
After reviewing the description, Richard's attention shifted to Captain America—specifically, to the vibranium shield in Rogers' grasp.
Can vibranium be crushed?
Had Richard not acquired Todd's crushing ability, he would have proceeded with his original plan: testing how many strikes with the Masamune would be required to breach Captain America's legendary shield.
After brief consideration, a new strategy formed in his mind.
First, he would use the Masamune to fracture Captain America's vibranium shield, then test whether his newly acquired crushing power could disintegrate the vibranium fragments.
Captain America and Hawkeye remained oblivious to Richard's tactical calculations.
However, their expressions betrayed clear dismay.
They had recognized Richard's formidable capabilities, but neither had anticipated Todd and his colleagues would fall so rapidly.
No chance to fight back.
This assessment most accurately captured what had transpired with Todd and his team—a complete inability to mount meaningful resistance.
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