novelhk Chapter 176 Soul Trial
Chapter 176 Soul Trial
Chapter 176 Soul Trial
"Running away isn't like you, Eric."
Magneto suddenly turned around. The White Queen was leaning against a pine tree, her long golden hair fluttering slightly in the wind, a faint smile on her lips, but her icy blue eyes held a deep scrutiny.
"Emma?" Magneto's voice was deep and hoarse. "Why are you here?"
The Queen of a Hundred Steps approached slowly, her diamond-like skin reflecting a cold light in the setting sun.
"Because I gave you the coordinates of the Hydra base." Her voice was calm, yet carried an undeniable sharpness. "And you, almost died inside."
Magneto's brow furrowed, and a faint magnetic force rippled around him: "You knew the Red Guard had turned into the Berserkers?"
The White Queen chuckled softly, her diamond-like fingertips lightly tapping her temple: "The intuition of a telepath, Eric. Red Skull stole Charles's brain, and Charles—was once my mentor."
Her eyes dimmed slightly for a moment, but Eric wasn't foolish enough to believe she was genuinely saddened by Charles's passing. She continued, "I can feel that twisted emotional turmoil, like the sweet scent of a rotten apple. But to be honest—I'd rather you really killed him. I don't want Red Skull to become a berserker. Nobody wants to see that damned Naxxramas turn into such a ruthless character."
Magneto remained silent.
“Listen, Eric, Red Skull simply can’t control Charles’s power. His madness will destroy him,” Emma said softly. “Even though he’s become a berserker, I don’t think he can really be like you and Charles before—”
"Enough, stop talking." Magneto interrupted Emma. He didn't want to hear any more. The appearance of that twisted monster was a mistake, and he had once again contributed to the emergence of the Onslaught. He stared at Emma, the anger in his eyes gradually settling into a cold calculation.
"What do you want, Emma? The profits of the Hellfire Club? Or the power of the mutant nation?"
Empress Bai smiled slightly; she knew that Magneto had finally calmed down. Her diamond-like skin slowly faded, returning to the softness of human skin.
“What I want is survival, Eric. After the Sentinel era, we all understood—mutants can no longer fight amongst themselves.” She held out her hand, palm up, her captivating eyes pleading. “We must unite. The rampage isn’t Red Skull’s mad goal—he has some far more sinister ambitions. I don’t know how he can see through everything, but he certainly does, and he has collected all the Infinity Stones.”
Magneto stared at her hand, and after a moment, slowly grasped it.
"Then prove your worth."
The White Queen's smile grew even brighter, a sharp glint flashing in her eyes.
"Come with me, King of Magnetism. It's time to meet our new friends!"
Don't be fooled by Rune's previous complete control over these heroes; he's actually got a lot more trouble ahead of him! To counter the berserk mental abilities, Rune has to provide these street heroes with some targeted enhancements, and all of this is free—of course, he figured he could ask a certain rich guy for reimbursement afterward. Considering he's contributing to the world, one of the world's richest men who likes the color scheme of scrambled eggs with tomatoes shouldn't refuse.
"Next." Rune sighed. Even though there might be reimbursement, he was still very tired.
"My name is Johnny Blaze," the melancholy man said, a name that made Rune take notice.
"Ghost Rider?" Rune raised an eyebrow, and the man nodded. Ghost Rider is definitely a top-tier fighter among Earth's heroes. Johnny Blaze has twice single-handedly fought the Avengers, defeating multiple members at once. He once used Hellfire to destroy Lucifer's clone, and the later Punisher version of Ghost Rider once defeated Thanos in his normal form.
Of course, when discussing Ghost Rider, one cannot ignore his Soul Judgment. He can look directly into the eyes of his target, causing them to experience the pain of all victims. The deeper the sin, the greater the damage, ranging from excruciating pain to annihilation. However, targets without a soul are unaffected by this attack; those who believe that everyone they have killed deserves to die can ignore it.
"Could you give me a soul judgment?" Rune asked.
Blaze paused for a moment, then nodded. The next instant, a burning sensation spread from deep within his chest, like magma flowing through his veins. His skin burned, his breath became scalding, each heartbeat felt like a drumbeat from hell, Blaze's muscles began to spasm, his bones cracked under the strain, and orange-red flames seeped from beneath his cracked skin.
Flesh and blood burned, eyes melted, skin carbonized and peeled away, revealing a pristine white skeleton beneath. Flames burst forth from the gaps in every bone, coiling and reshaping. His jawbone stretched, his teeth sharpened, and his skull twisted into a demonic silhouette in the flames.
The commotion attracted the attention of a crowd who wanted to approach, but Rune stopped them.
Rune's handsome face was full of solemnity: "I voluntarily accept the judgment of my soul, which is also to demonstrate my credibility to all my friends."
Without hesitation, Rune met the two burning blue flames, accepting the judgment eye as he had desired. In an instant, his vision was filled with endless crimson—theoretically, he should have seen a replay of all his crimes and felt the suffering of his victims. But—"
There was nothing there.
There were no screams, no repentance, no tearing of the soul. The Ghost Rider's head tilted slightly, the flames flickering for a moment. This meant that Rune either had never killed anyone, or he felt no remorse for everyone he had killed.
Indeed, this was the case. Rune had killed drug dealers, beasts who persecuted wizards, assassins from the Court of Owls, and many others. He believed that everyone he killed deserved to die, so he considered himself innocent, which was why he dared to accept a soul trial. Moreover, accepting a soul trial could prevent some heroes from being stubborn and ruining Rune's plans at crucial moments—such incidents had happened before.
You agree, Star-Lord?
Rune's willingness to face the Soul Judgment clearly earned the respect of all the heroes present. Many there were afraid to accept it; Erica had worked for the Hand and killed innocent people; Jessica, under the Purple Man's control, had killed many; and Luke Cage had killed several police officers during his prison break.
Putting themselves in others' shoes, everyone present looked at Rune with newfound respect. If there were any heroes who were unconvinced before, now no one dared to question Rune's character. However, Rune also breathed a sigh of relief—at least for now, in terms of moral principles, he had no weaknesses.
"You've made such a big fuss as soon as you arrive?"
A captivating female voice rang out, and everyone who recognized the voice looked solemnly at the new woman. Her face was sharply defined, with high cheekbones and skin as pale as porcelain, almost devoid of any color, as if she were born to belong to ice or diamonds. Beside her was an even more terrifying figure.
Rune raised an eyebrow: "You are—the White Queen? Then this person beside you must be Magneto?"
The man had a angular face with high cheekbones and a jawline as sharp as if carved by a knife, exuding a weathered and resolute air. His short, gray-white hair was neatly combed back, and he wore that classic dark red helmet.
"That's right, I am Magneto."
His voice was cold and stern, as if it came from hell.