I looked at Peter, whose mask was off as he held his head. He couldn't stop hearing her voice — or the sound of her body hitting the ground.
Then I sensed her. Approaching at high speed.
My dark red eyes turned — Jean Grey stood at the edge, surrounded by a glowing yellow aura.
Jean Grey: "You…" Her tone was shaky. Horrified.
I looked at Jean calmly. "Why are you here, Jean Grey? Don't tell me you're here to catch me. Where are your friends? Because right now, I'm not in the mood."
Jean looked at me, her eyes softening. "I'm not here for that. I saw everything… what the Phoenix did — and everything about you."
I stayed calm. "And what if you do know about me, huh?"
Jean landed gently in front of me. "I understand now. Why you kill — it's because of your hatred, because you're lost. The Phoenix is trying to use you to reincarnate itself. I had no idea what it was doing… and now it's trying to absorb that woman's soul."
My eyes narrowed, ignoring the softness in hers. "Do you know where she is? I want to go back. I can't let her suffer."
Jean looked at me and nodded. "We can go together. If we destroy this fragment, it'll return to its original self — the one that's inside me."
I nodded and turned to Peter. "You stay here. You won't be any help in this fight — and those voices will distract you." My tone softened at the end.
Peter turned to me, pain in his eyes. "It won't stop… I can't unhear her voice…"
I chopped him in the neck, knocking him out cold. My dark red eyes stared ahead, glowing cold and angry as my aura surged slightly.
Jean's eyes softened as she sensed my emotions — sadness, anger, fear for Peter's mental state. She stepped forward and used her telekinesis to remove the lingering voice.
I turned to Peter, now peacefully asleep, and sighed. "Thanks… Maybe after this, you'll get what you wanted. You wanted to know me. You think you and I are the same…"
Jean smiled gently and nodded. "Let's go."
She placed a hand on my shoulder. We closed our eyes.
And then we appeared — in the astral plane.
A floating dimension torn by psychic storms and demonic flames. The Phoenix fragment hovered like a god, wings of golden fire pulsing as it tried to possess a woman's soul.
Jean and I arrived — one burning with psychic fury, the other radiating calm, endless power.
Jean Grey floated forward, her hair flaming like the sun, eyes glowing white-gold.
Jean: "It's feeding off her soul… We're out of time."
I stepped beside her, now in my Demon Lord form, my aura crackling with chaos energy.
Rimuru: "Raphael, analyze its structure."
[Raphael]:Analysis complete. The Phoenix Fragment is unstable. High probability of emotional destabilization if attacked with synchronized spiritual and abyssal force.
I smirked. "Good. Jean — ready when you are."
The Phoenix's voice boomed like thunder.
Phoenix: "You dare challenge cosmic rebirth? I am fire incarnate!"
Jean's voice rose, overlapping with the Phoenix inside her.
Jean: "You're a broken remnant. And I decide who burns!"
Boom!
Jean surged forward, a fiery phoenix avatar exploding behind her. She slammed her fists together and unleashed a telekinetic shockwave that cracked the dimension. The fragment roared and launched golden spears of flame and thought, reality warping around her.
I raised one hand.
Rimuru: "Universal Barrier."
The spears shattered like glass.
I vanished, reappearing above the Phoenix.
Rimuru: "Dark Lightning — Crimson Variant!"
A storm of red-black lightning hammered down, every bolt guided by Raphael's precision, tearing through corrupted cosmic code. The Phoenix shrieked, its flames flickering.
Jean's body crackled with energy.
Jean: "Let's synchronize!"
She dove, wings of light behind her. I flew upward, cloak flaring. In perfect anime fashion, our attacks crossed in an X-pattern:
Jean: "Psi-Fury Cannon!" — a mental blast of pure will and fire.
Rimuru: "Beelzebuth: Annihilation Drive!" — a devouring black hole of abyssal force.
The Phoenix fragment was caught in the center, its body warping, its essence twisting—
[Raphael]:Structure unstable.
I looked at Jean. "Now!"
Jean's voice echoed with fury.
Jean: "Back to the ashes from where you came!"
She threw her arms out and unleashed a Phoenix Burst — a massive golden explosion in the shape of a bird devouring its prey.
BOOM.
White light swallowed everything.
Silence.
The sky calmed. The woman floated gently down — free.
Jean hovered, eyes dimmed, chest rising and falling. "It's gone… this piece, at least."
I relaxed, smiling faintly. "Nice shot. Next time, let me take the lead."
Jean smirked. "Only if you can keep up."
I jumped forward and gently held Madame Web, sitting her down and looking at her.
Madame Web: "It seems you saved me, child… thank you."
I stared at her coldly, dark red eyes emotionless. "I don't care about your thanks. Fix Peter. Now. Fix what you've done."
She nodded and used her powers, removing the traumatic memories of Gwen's death — the voice and the screams — though Peter still remembered she had died.
I turned away without another word.
Madame Web: "What the Phoenix showed me… I see now it wasn't you. It was wrong."
I ignored her. Jean and I left, returning to the rooftop — where Peter was already awake.
"Good. She fixed you."
Peter looked at me, offering a thumbs-up and a hopeful grin. "So… did you guys win?"
Jean nodded, her voice soft with remorse. "We did. And… I'm sorry. For what the Phoenix did. It's my fault. I should've sensed it sooner. You shouldn't have had to go through all that."
I looked at her, sensing the weight of her guilt. "I don't get it. Why are you apologizing? It wasn't you. It was the damn bird."
Peter stepped in, trying to lighten the mood. "Yeah, Rimuru's right. Don't blame yourself, Jean. That thing's like… cosmic evil on steroids."
I turned to leave, but Peter placed a hand on my shoulder.
"Hey… you don't have to go back to Fury," he said softly. "You don't have to keep doing this. You don't have to kill."
I didn't look back. "Not this again, Peter."
Peter's voice was calm but firm. "I know they've hurt people. But killing them? That's not the only way. Give them a chance. If they mess up, you stop them again. And again. That's what we do — we keep trying."
Jean stepped forward, eyes warm. She reached out, gently taking my hand.
"He's right. You don't have to carry this alone. Let us try — just once. And maybe… you won't feel so lost."
I didn't pull away. I kept looking forward.
Even though Alexi never liked how the X-Men didn't kill the Purifiers — found it annoying and made him stop reading the comics — I finally said:
"I'll humor your idea. On one condition… If I see a villain kill, I'll cut off their hands — or their legs. But I won't kill them. Fitting punishment, don't you think?"
Peter blinked, surprised by how serious my voice was. "Okay… wow. That's… intense. But hey — not killing is a big step. I'll take it."
He gave a lopsided grin. "And, uh… I guess hand-cutting counts as progress?"
Jean didn't smile, but she didn't let go either. Her gaze stayed on me.
"It's not ideal. But you're trying — and that means more than you know."
She stepped closer. "Justice doesn't have to be gentle. But it has to be fair. If that's what you believe is fair… then we'll work with it."
Peter added, "As long as we're still trying to be better than them, I'm in. We'll stop the bad guys — your way, our way — just… together."
I gently pulled my hand away from Jean's.
"I gotta go. Fury's waiting. And I won't be killing — I promise."
I summoned my wings and blasted off into the sky, heading back to Hydra.
Jean said goodbye to Peter and returned to the X-Men, quietly happy.
She had made progress with rimuru