Petra was certain—she had just buried every last monster underground. There was absolutely no chance anything had slipped through.
That move had a wide area of effect, and with the terrain essentially under her control, Petra didn't believe anything could have escaped her notice.
So the question was—how had this thing appeared here?
While Petra was still full of questions, she suddenly sensed some disturbance on the ground behind her.
She spun around abruptly, only to see the shadows on the ground coming to life. Like thick, oily sludge, they seeped up through the cracks in the earth, quickly converging and forming humanoid outlines.
Staring in shock, Petra watched as the outlines solidified into those same monsters. Only now did she fully grasp what was happening.
These things—these creatures—probably weren't even something the human mind could comprehend. Their appearance defied all logic and science, completely beyond anything Petra had known.
Yes, she'd dealt with many mutants before. She herself had supernatural mutant powers. But facing these grotesque creatures, Petra found herself caught in a dilemma.
Lowering her center of gravity, she prepared to fight.
There was no clear way to kill or even restrain these monsters. Petra didn't have a good solution—but standing still and waiting for death was not an option.
As the demons slowly closed in, Petra was just about to manipulate the surrounding rocks into a storm when, all of a sudden, the monsters began to wail in agony.
A ghostly blue flame burst from their chests—then, as if something had ignited, the fire surged violently, engulfing them in an instant.
The hellish flames devoured them visibly fast, wrapping around their bodies as they burned, releasing an acrid, nauseating stench.
Petra's mouth parted slightly in shock. She remained completely still, not daring to relax for even a second.
She didn't know what was happening—but facing such a bizarre scene, she couldn't afford to lower her guard.
As the blue flames completely consumed the monsters, a flicker of green fire emerged from their midst.
The green fire spread so quickly that before Petra could react, it had replaced the blue entirely—casting a ghostly green hue over the entire area.
Soon, amidst their fading screams, the creatures' bodies completely disappeared, and the flames gradually died down.
Just then, a calm voice sounded behind Petra.
"I'm fine."
"Ah!" Petra shrieked and instinctively swung her hand in a slap.
But the next second, her wrist was caught firmly in midair.
Startled, Petra finally realized that the person who had suddenly appeared behind her was none other than Alex—the one who'd just been blasted away earlier.
"You—you're okay? But just now you…"
Then she noticed—Alex was completely clean. Not a single wrinkle on his clothes.
"Just a little trick. No need to make a fuss."
Alex let go of her wrist, stepped past her, and walked straight to where the monsters had been burned to nothing.
There was hardly anything left—just a few faint black scorch marks on the ground. You'd never notice them unless you were looking closely.
Staring at what remained of those strange creatures, Petra frowned.
"What were those things? A trap left by that outsider? Or monsters that came into this world with him?"
Only those who'd fought these monsters firsthand could understand just how difficult they were to deal with. Their attacks weren't particularly powerful—but the fact that they couldn't be killed or restrained made them a nightmare.
She wasn't surprised at all—if things like these were let loose into human society, the results would be catastrophic.
Looking at the last remnants of the fading scorch marks, Alex thought for a moment, then said quietly: "Petra, have you ever heard of the Slender Man?"
"The Slender Man? You mean that urban legend people use to scare kids!" Petra immediately made the connection. Then, recalling the earlier events, she added, "Now that you mention it… these things did kind of resemble that story."
According to legend, the Slender Man was a tall, faceless being wearing a black suit—like a grotesquely stretched-out gentleman.
"But… isn't that just a story? I remember reading that it was debunked online—a made-up myth from some kid's imagination."
Then Petra froze.
"Wait… could it be that in some parallel universes, monsters like that actually exist!?"
"Maybe," Alex said, not denying it. The multiverse was complicated. Some universes were home to ghosts, monsters, or worse. But whatever these things were—they weren't the same as that.
After a brief pause, Alex raised his hand, and a flicker of ghostly green magical energy ignited instantly.
Soon, a humanoid figure appeared not far in front of them—dressed in a black suit, mouth agape, and looking exactly like those monsters from before.
"Watch out!" Petra immediately stepped in front of Alex to shield him.
But strangely, the creature didn't move at all. It just stood there silently, like a powerless robot.
That's when Alex spoke.
"Relax, it won't attack. It's just a replica I created based on those creatures from earlier."
As he said that, Alex patted Petra's shoulder and pointed at the figure.
"Well? Looks familiar?"
Petra's mouth twitched. "Yeah… it does. But could you warn me next time? That scared the hell out of me."
After saying that, Petra seemed to realize something. She looked at Alex with surprise and suspicion. "Wait… you said you made this thing? Are you saying the ones from before were also created by some unknown force?!"
Alex didn't answer directly. Instead, he raised both hands and began gesturing in the air like a puppeteer controlling marionette strings. As he moved, the monster in front of them began to move as well.
As he guided the tall, shadowy figure back and forth, Alex slowly explained: "Abstract magic—a form of mystical energy that brings imagined beings into physical existence. The user can link their will with the world itself, reshaping reality to manifest what exists in their mind.
Normally, this power draws from either one's own spirit or someone else's, projecting abstract concepts from deep within the subconscious into the real world. But certain powerful entities don't even need spiritual fuel—they can manifest these things purely through imagination."
Even though Alex didn't directly answer Petra's question, she understood—this was his explanation for how those monsters came to exist.
"So these creatures… were made using abstract magic?"
Hearing her question, Alex gently shook his head.
"I've been familiar with abstract magic for a long time. It's a force beyond the boundaries of reality. These things—while lacking true physical form—don't seem to be born of abstract magic. They feel more like a kind of psychic manifestation."
"Psychic… manifestation…"
Petra frowned.
"Don't tell me this is something Professor X cooked up?"
She was genuinely frustrated now. Her world had already gone to hell, thanks not just to the darker sides of humanity, but mostly because a bunch of deranged scientists had taken control of Professor X.
Without Professor X, they would never have been able to develop so many Sentinel robots, nor cause such massive damage to mutants in such a short time.
At first, Petra thought this was just an isolated case in the multiverse, but coming here and learning that the elderly Professor X had accidentally killed all his students planted a seed of doubt in Petra's mind about the perfect image she once had of him.
Because of that, when Alex said these things originated from the spirit, Petra immediately wondered if maybe another crazed Professor X had come here. Thankfully, Alex waved his hand and dismissed Petra's concerns.
"Do you really think Charles's power can manifest imaginations into reality? In other words, do you think his mind control could affect me?"
Hearing this, Petra silently nodded.
If Professor X had trapped her in an illusion, that would be understandable. But to influence Alex standing right in front of her? Petra wouldn't believe it for a second.
Although she didn't know how strong Alex's methods were, just waving his hand and summoning a meteor was definitely beyond the combat ability of a level five mutant.
Maybe only inviting Teacher Jean could match Alex, or maybe Apocalypse would have to come personally? Petra wasn't sure.
While Petra was lost in her thoughts, Alex looked toward the deepest part of the forest.
"Though I'm not sure exactly who or what created all this, one thing I am certain of is that they, like me, wield magic. In other words, they also have a way to communicate with another dimension."
"Wizards from another universe?" Petra asked, puzzled.
"Maybe mutants who have mastered magical energy. After all, some mutants are naturally better at practicing sorcery than humans."
With a quiet sigh, Alex added one last thing he hadn't yet said:
That among the magical energy drifting around, he sensed a presence from the Limbo.
...
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