Karl's strength was already widely known across the world.
Now Jean Grey—who appeared to be Dark Phoenix—was preparing to fight him.
The last woman who had fought Karl, Captain Marvel, had completely disappeared from public view. Many people believed she had already died.
If Jean…
Storm didn't dare finish the thought.
Charles sighed heavily.
"She is Jean… and she isn't."
He looked at Storm, Cyclops, and the others.
"What you are seeing is Jean's second personality taking control of her body."
"I never told you this before."
"There is a force inside Jean—an energy capable of destroying entire worlds."
"I sealed it deep within her mind using a psychic cage."
"Now… that seal has been broken."
Charles' expression darkened.
"My concern now is whether Karl can handle her current state."
"If he cannot…"
Charles paused.
"Earth itself may be destroyed."
At that moment—
Karl disappeared from the manor.
Dark Phoenix followed immediately.
Both of them shot into space.
Across the world, governments activated their satellite surveillance systems again.
No one knew who the mysterious red-haired woman was.
But anyone who could force Karl to fight again was clearly not an ordinary opponent.
Soon intelligence agencies uncovered something shocking.
She was a mutant.
And the fact that Karl had taken the battle into outer space meant something terrifying.
Her strength might be comparable to his.
BOOM—!!
The moment Dark Phoenix arrived in space—
Karl attacked.
The Ruyi Jingu Bang descended like a golden comet, smashing toward her head.
Dark Phoenix raised one hand casually.
And stopped the attack.
Karl's expression turned serious.
He hadn't expected this.
Her strength was clearly greater than Captain Marvel's.
The Phoenix Force had only just awakened.
Yet it already possessed terrifying power.
He had underestimated it.
BANG—!
Dark Phoenix lifted her other hand.
Crimson cosmic energy gathered in her palm.
Then—
She slapped Karl.
Karl was blasted backward through space.
Fortunately, he wasn't injured.
But on the surface of the Sagittarius Gold Cloth, a fiery red handprint appeared.
The Horse Talisman activated instantly.
Golden light flowed across the armor.
The Saint Cloth returned to perfect condition.
Karl's heart grew heavier.
Dark Phoenix had left a mark on the Gold Cloth with one casual strike.
When he fought Captain Marvel earlier, the armor had endured countless attacks before even showing damage.
Yet Dark Phoenix had done it effortlessly.
And she clearly wasn't using her full strength.
Karl realized something.
If he didn't go all out—
He might truly lose this battle.
BOOM—!!
White flames suddenly erupted from Karl's body.
The Bone Spirit Cold Flame.
Combined with Karl's natural freezing ability, the flame allowed him to touch the laws of absolute cold.
Though only slightly—
It still pushed his combat power close to the level of a sub-Skyfather.
The Phoenix Force possessed the ability to burn and disintegrate matter and energy alike.
Karl still had no clear idea how to defeat such an entity.
But he had no choice except to fight.
The golden wings of the Sagittarius Cloth spread wide.
Karl became a streak of golden light.
He shot forward.
Dark Phoenix smiled.
She transformed into a crimson comet and rushed toward him.
BANG—!!
The two lights collided violently.
Shockwaves rippled through space.
Nearby meteorites were instantly pulverized into cosmic dust.
The battle intensified.
Faster and faster.
On Earth, satellites struggled to track them.
Even after slowing the footage hundreds—sometimes thousands—of times, analysts still could barely see their movements.
Without that processing, the screen only showed two lights colliding repeatedly.
Golden light.
Crimson fire.
Again and again.
Karl gradually noticed something strange.
Dark Phoenix wasn't fighting as she claimed she would.
Each time she attacked him—
Her power was only slightly stronger than his.
Enough to pressure him.
But never enough to truly injure him.
It felt as though she was deliberately draining his stamina.
Karl frowned.
When their eyes met again—
He saw something unexpected.
For a brief moment—
The crimson eyes of Dark Phoenix softened.
A trace of fascination flashed across them.
Then the cold, wicked expression returned.
BOOM—!!
Karl released a massive attack.
His freezing power merged with the Bone Spirit Cold Flame, forming a devastating wave of absolute cold.
The attack surged toward Dark Phoenix.
The surrounding space began freezing.
Energy itself crystallized.
Even Dark Phoenix's body began to freeze.
Yet she remained calm.
Watching Karl quietly.
Just before the attack fully engulfed her—
Crimson flames erupted from her body again.
The frozen energy disintegrated instantly.
Karl's attack vanished.
Dark Phoenix smiled.
Her expression seemed to say—
Surely that wasn't your full strength.
Karl laughed bitterly.
He finally understood.
Dark Phoenix had no intention of killing him.
She was simply… playing.
Energy surged around Karl again.
His body began expanding with power.
He prepared to use Kaioken once more.
But this time—
He attempted something new.
He tried integrating the power of the Saint Cloth and the Ruyi Jingu Bang into the amplification.
Dark Phoenix watched curiously.
Clearly enjoying the spectacle.
Karl soon discovered a problem.
The combined energy was far too powerful.
His body couldn't withstand it.
So instead—
He transferred the gathered energy into the Ruyi Jingu Bang.
As the energy flowed into the staff—
It began trembling violently.
WHOOSH—!!
Karl hurled the staff with all his strength.
The golden weapon became a blazing meteor.
It struck Dark Phoenix instantly.
Piercing through her body.
Karl froze.
What?
That… shouldn't have worked.
He recalled the staff.
Then cautiously approached her.
Suddenly—
Dark Phoenix opened her eyes.
Her crimson pupils locked onto him.
Then—
She moved.
In an instant.
She appeared in front of him.
And wrapped her arms around him.
Karl was completely stunned.
He had expected another attack.
He had even prepared to counter it.
But he hadn't reacted in time.
That movement wasn't merely fast.
It was extreme cosmic speed.
Karl sighed helplessly.
"So…"
"What exactly do you want, Phoenix?"
He had already realized something.
Dark Phoenix had no hostility toward him.
She was simply holding him.
After witnessing her speed just now, Karl understood something else.
Her true strength was far beyond his own.
This level of power shouldn't exist immediately after her awakening.
Unless—
The Phoenix Force had been accumulating energy even while sealed inside Jean's mind.
If that were the case—
Even beings like Odin or the Ancient One would find her extremely troublesome.
After all—
She was the Phoenix Force.
A cosmic entity that could never truly die.
Even if her physical body were destroyed, her consciousness could survive within the fragments of the Phoenix Force.
In the original timeline, it had been Jean's primary personality that suppressed the Dark Phoenix.
Only then did Logan gain the opportunity to kill the host.
Otherwise—
No one could have killed the Phoenix.
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