Chapter 91: Rice’s Final Trump Card
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"Wind!"
The Storm clone quickly activated her powers, dispersing the smoke with a gust. Immediately, all the long-range mutant clones unleashed their attacks.
Cyclops' laser beams, Magneto's metal manipulation, Phoenix's telekinesis moving heavy objects, Pyro's flames, and Iceman's freezing blasts all converged on George.
Yet, with his enhanced physique and reflexes, George deftly dodged most of the attacks. Even as he evaded, he continued to fire his gun, taking down several mutants in the process.
But this advantage didn't last long, as the cloned Professor X, Phoenix, and White Queen joined forces, using telepathy to assault his mind.
Though George had his own psychic abilities and the advantage of a wizard's bloodline, shielding him from complete mental control, he couldn't concentrate as well as before, making it harder to dodge.
"Protego!"
Seeing the renewed barrage heading his way, George extended his left hand, casting a Shield Charm. A magical energy barrier appeared, blocking all incoming attacks.
The Shield Charm held strong, providing solid defense.
But as he prepared to fire again, he noticed his gun was beginning to slip from his control. Clearly, the Magneto clone had stopped using metal objects as projectiles and was now struggling with him over magnetic control of the gun.
At the same time, other close-combat clones like Wolverine, Sabretooth, Colossus, and Psylocke charged up onto the platform, intending to engage him in melee.
"Capture him alive!"
Rice was now certain that Experiment 757 had no chance of victory. He immediately commanded the close-combat clones to capture George.
Originally, he had intended to kill Experiment 757 and study his corpse to find out what other mutations or gene infusions might be responsible for his new powers.
But now that he saw Experiment 757 displaying an increasing number of abilities, beyond what he had imagined, he decided it was worth interrogating him first to see what information could be extracted before conducting further experiments.
If future mutants he created were as powerful as Experiment 757, his plans for world domination would progress even faster.
"Burns the eyes," George muttered.
Watching the group of close-combat clones, all completely unclothed, running toward him made George's lip twitch.
The female clones didn't bother him, but the sight of the male clones, with their parts flapping as they sprinted, was hard to ignore.
It felt like the mental shock was more damaging than the telepathic attacks from the cloned Professor X and his team.
Maintaining the Shield Charm to block ranged attacks and wrestling with the Magneto clone for magnetic control of his weapon, George freed up his right hand, pulling an alloyed spiked mace from his magically extended pocket.
"Transform!"
With the appearance of a magical array around him, George's body rapidly swelled, transforming him into a nearly four-meter-tall giant.
He was now using the giant magic taught to him by Guild Master Makarov.
Although he couldn't grow to hundreds of meters like Makarov, achieving an entry-level three-to-four-meter height was not too difficult.
"First one!"
George raised his spiked mace and, like a hammer hitting a nail, struck the clone of Quicksilver, who was the first to rush up. With a sickening crunch, the Quicksilver clone lay crumpled on the ground, a bloody mess beyond saving.
Though the Quicksilver clone's speed was impressive, leaving faint afterimages as he ran, it was still nowhere near the speed of the original.
With his physical abilities boosted across the board, George's massive spiked mace struck true.
The power of giant magic enhanced everything—not just size but also strength, speed, defense, and reflexes across the board.
With a physique already beyond ordinary, George combined his natural gifts with the enhanced durability and recovery abilities of a wizard's bloodline, mutant resilience, and the heightened reflexes and agility of his magical cat lineage.
These three strengths, amplified by giant magic, made him an elite fighter in close combat. If he activated additional clones in the future, his physical advantages would only grow exponentially with each iteration.
After crushing the Quicksilver clone, George swung his spiked mace horizontally, sending the remaining clones flying.
He wasn't versed in combat techniques, nor skilled with various weapons. His approach was pure power and speed, and he chose the spiked mace precisely because it was simple yet devastating.
If these clone mutants had been ordinary humans, a single sweep like that would have killed them instantly.
Even with healing factors, metal-hardened bodies, and beast-like traits, these clones didn't match their originals and struggled to get up right away. Clones focused on offense with weaker defenses, like the Psylocke clone, were incapacitated instantly.
George didn't press his advantage immediately. Instead, he activated his "Wing" magic, sprouting wings that carried him through the air under the protection of his Shield Charm, diving straight into the cluster of long-range mutant clones.
Once on the ground, he unleashed a powerful, indiscriminate strike.
First in line was the Magneto clone, who had been wrestling with George over magnetic control. With Magneto's power suppressed, he couldn't manipulate the metal mace, and George's blow crushed his skull deep into his torso.
Now free of the Magneto clone's interference, George reclaimed full magnetic control. Sharp blades shot out from his sleeve, joining the carnage.
The ranks of long-range attackers thinned rapidly, reducing their firepower. George abandoned his Shield Charm, redirecting his full focus toward offense.
With magic, melee, and psychic abilities working in tandem, even the returning close-combat clones couldn't break his onslaught.
He used binding and Stunning Charms to immobilize bodies, finishing them off with his spiked mace and razor-sharp blades. Occasionally, weakened laser shots from the Cyclops clone hit him, but his giant-transformed defenses absorbed the impact.
As the mutant clones dwindled, Rice panicked and barked orders at his remaining bodyguard clones, "You too—help him!"
He then hurried towards the control room housing his last trump card, Clone 101. He had only cloned this one once and intended to destroy it, but now it was his last hope.
Seeing Rice try to escape, George swept Wolverine and Sabretooth clones, who were difficult to kill due to their healing factors, off their feet with his mace. He raised his hand and cast a Full-Body Bind Curse at Rice.
"Total Petrification!"
A flash of blue magic shot toward Rice, but it was intercepted by an unfamiliar mutant clone.
Even more surprising, the mutant didn't freeze upon blocking the spell but grinned and charged at George.
On instinct, George swung his mace at the clone, but as it hit, the impact seemed entirely absorbed. There was no damage—only a powerful backlash that almost knocked the mace from his hands.
"A clone of Sebastian Shaw, the Black King?"
George raised an eyebrow, his mind instantly grasping the situation.
"Confundus!"
In the next moment, George cast a Confundus Charm, bewildering the Black King clone and disrupting its ability to channel energy. A flash of his blade, and he slit its throat, ending the threat in an instant.
(End of Chapter)