Chapter 141: The People Are in Dire Straits

"Using the same sand to create something, I can let ordinary people ascend to godhood, while you can only seize their bodies."

"You think you’re a god. Then tell me, do you bleed?"

A calm voice belonging to Orion Cross came from Apocalypse’s mouth.

"Ah!!! Lowly mortal, get out of my body!!!"

Apocalypse was furious beyond measure. He stared straight ahead into the empty air and roared at the top of his lungs.

Everyone present could sense the rage and despair surging through Apocalypse’s body.

He had always been the one controlling others. Even someone as powerful as Charles, a powerful psychic, had been unable to escape his grasp.

Yet now, En Sabah Nur, Apocalypse, the God, Jehovah, Ra, a being who had taken on countless divine identities, had actually been controlled by an "ordinary human" who was not even a mutant.

Even his own roars could only be released with Orion Cross’s "permission."

"What should we do now? Attack while Orion has Apocalypse under control?"

Diana looked up at Apocalypse, who was thrashing and roaring wildly as if he had lost his mind.

"No. He should have his own plan. Besides..."

Raven shook her head lightly and glanced toward Psylocke, who stood in the distance. "He said earlier that if he controls someone, he also experiences their sensations. If we attack Apocalypse..."

Raven’s meaning was obvious. If they attacked Apocalypse, all the pain would be shared with Orion Cross, who was controlling him.

Raven knew very well that Orion Cross was not the type to fear a little pain.

But knowing that Orion Cross had another plan, she was not about to let the others attack Apocalypse and interfere with him.

"That’s right. Mental control does have that side effect. Charles told me about it."

Hank nodded beside her, confirming Raven’s words.

"Back then, he and Magneto were facing a mutant who could absorb all forms of energy. Charles was the only reason they managed to stop that person from using his ability, and Magneto was then able to drive a coin straight through his brain. Charles told me what it felt like. It was as though Magneto had attacked him instead. The coin was churning inside his brain. It was excruciating."

Hank recounted the past with a grim expression, then raised his head and looked toward Orion Cross, who remained motionless beneath the platform. "Unless absolutely necessary, we should avoid attacking Apocalypse."

"Find something and hold on tight."

Just as everyone was staring at Apocalypse, Orion Cross suddenly opened his eyes and turned toward them.

"Huh? You can talk?"

Diana was startled by Orion Cross’s sudden voice.

It was not just Diana. Everyone else also looked at Orion Cross in astonishment.

"Why wouldn’t I be able to talk?"

Orion Cross looked at them with equal confusion. "I’m the one controlling him. He isn’t controlling me."

"Then why were you sitting there with your eyes closed and not moving at all?"

Raven asked in bewilderment.

Everyone had assumed that Orion Cross was using all his strength to suppress Apocalypse. Yet now, not only was Apocalypse completely under his control, Orion Cross could even spare the attention to chat with them?

"Eyes closed? That was just because operating two lines of sight at once feels strange."

Orion Cross finally understood what they had been thinking.

They had assumed that, like when Charles and Apocalypse had clashed, he was trapped in a battle within a mental world.

In reality, controlling Apocalypse was as simple to Orion Cross as using a mouse to control a cursor.

As long as the opponent was not on the level of, or beyond, the Phoenix Force, possessing psychic abilities was effectively the same as having an "interface" that allowed Orion Cross to plug in his own "mouse."

Apocalypse called himself a god and had taken on the identities of countless gods, but in reality, all his abilities were still nothing more than the result of ordinary mutant genes.

Naturally, he had no means of resisting.

"Can you hurry up? Having two different viewpoints is really weird."

Seeing everyone standing around without moving, Orion Cross urged them on.

"We’re supposed to find something to hold onto?"

Diana looked around, then leaped onto a pillar and grabbed onto a recessed section of it.

On the other side, Beast followed suit and grabbed another pillar.

Although Psylocke had deliberately kept her distance and pretended not to listen to Orion Cross and the others, she still took action. She condensed a purple energy blade in her right hand and stabbed it into the wall, anchoring herself in place.

"What about you? Do you want me to help?"

Raven walked over to Orion Cross and asked.

"If you still have a spare hand, then I’ll leave my body to you for now."

Orion Cross chuckled and spread his arms.

Hearing the ambiguous wording in his statement, Raven rolled her eyes. She wrapped her arms around his body, grabbed a support beam with one hand, and pressed Orion Cross beneath herself.

"Everyone holding on?"

Orion Cross’s voice returned to Apocalypse’s body.

The moment his voice fell, the entire pyramid began to shake violently.

Feeling the tremors beneath them, everyone remained surprisingly calm.

When Orion Cross had told them to hold on, they had already guessed that something like this was coming.

What puzzled them was what exactly Orion Cross intended to accomplish by destroying or transforming the pyramid.

Could he be planning to use the continuous energy output of the solar disk to destroy Apocalypse?

As everyone clung to the pillars and beams, speculating about Orion Cross’s plan, the entire pyramid suddenly began to tilt.

"What is he trying to do? Turn the pyramid upside down?"

Hanging in midair while gripping a pillar, Hank shouted.

"Looks like your guess was right!"

With a leap, Diana vaulted onto another platform and steadied herself.

Raven, however, was having a much harder time.

She had originally assumed that Orion Cross was merely going to make a huge commotion and cause the pyramid to shake.

She never imagined that he intended to turn the entire pyramid upside down.

Now, what had originally been her holding Orion Cross down had become Orion Cross pressing down on her instead.

Even worse, there was nothing behind her. The moment she let go, she would fall straight toward the tip of the pyramid.

Fortunately, after the Ascension Ceremony, her physical strength and endurance had increased dramatically. If this had happened before, she genuinely would not have been able to hold on.

To keep Orion Cross from sliding off her, Raven had no choice but to wrap both legs around his waist and secure him in place.

"What are you trying to do?! Stop!!"

Sensing the changes in the pyramid, Apocalypse’s voice, which had been filled with rage all this time, finally carried a trace of fear.

At the same time, the nations around the world that had received Apocalypse’s "declaration of war" used the last few remaining satellites to witness the spectacular sight unfolding over Cairo.

Apocalypse’s pyramid had already been a great wonder in its own right. Now, under Orion Cross’s control, the entire pyramid floated into the sky, forming an inverted triangle that looked like an object from beyond the heavens.

"What should we do, sir?"

"Request permission to launch nuclear weapons!"

"Sir, have you forgotten? Twenty minutes ago, all weapons of mass destruction around the world were destroyed."