Sebastian was certain: the researcher was neither human nor mutant.

The spiritual aura radiating from him was distinct from both, permeated with an evil and chaotic essence.

However, Sebastian refrained from acting immediately. He shifted his gaze away and stood silently in place.

As Sebastian averted his eyes, the researcher furrowed his brow slightly. Moments earlier, he had sensed someone observing him, but when he turned, no one was there.

Now, with the feeling of being watched gone, he concluded it was either a figment of his imagination or a fleeting glance from someone nearby.

He trusted his disguise implicitly. His race's innate talent ensured that even the most formidable mutants of this world could rarely penetrate it, making discovery by others virtually impossible.

As one of the Sentinel factory's top researchers, he finished his meal with the colonel, stood, and returned to his laboratory.

The Sentinels, enhanced by their planet's advanced technology, had become their most powerful weapon on Earth. Soon, they would fulfill their objective and establish a new homeland.

He swiped his ID card, and the laboratory door slid open. Stepping inside, he prepared to continue researching Sentinel upgrades.

Suddenly, a shiver of alarm coursed through him. Before he could react, countless green threads of light unfurled from behind, infiltrating his body through his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth, seeping into his brain and soul.

Sebastian, gripping his wand, cast Legilimens, probing the researcher's memories.

Disregarding irrelevant fragments, he honed in on the memory of their arrival on Earth.

This alien species, known as the Debarli, were highly intelligent plant-based lifeforms. Their homeworld had been annihilated by the immense energy of a cosmic phenomenon due to Phoenix force.

These were the last Debarli, who had arrived on Earth and blended into human society.

After years of study, they determined that Earth's mutants were the primary barrier to their plan to reconstruct their planet, necessitating their elimination.

The Debarli infiltrated the military and uncovered the dormant Sentinel program. After extensive investigation, they were astounded and exhilarated by the potential of Sentinels augmented with Mystique's cells.

If they could produce such robots, they believed they could eradicate most of Earth's mutants within five years, seizing the planet.

Subsequently, numerous Debarli joined the military, capitalizing on the Apocalypse event to thrust the Sentinel program back into prominence.

They ultimately convinced the White House to authorize its reactivation. Now, the Sentinels were the mutants' greatest adversary. All that remained was the mutants' extinction, and Earth would belong to them.

Having grasped the full context, Sebastian delved deeper into the Debarli's memories, pinpointing the other five Debarli in the factory and the location of a covert Sentinel research facility.

With a flick of his wand, he summoned a spark of hellfire, amplified by the Ring of Harnessing Power's chaotic glow.

The spark ignited the Debarli, reducing him to ash in an instant, which scattered across the floor.

Without delay, Sebastian transformed into black smoke, surging from the laboratory toward the other five Debarli.

Unexpectedly, the Debarli were prepared. As he reached the second one, the factory's alarms blared, and Sentinels activated, locking onto Sebastian and giving chase.

Confronting two approaching Sentinels, Sebastian hypothesized that the Debarli possessed a telepathic-like ability, allowing them to detect a comrade's death within a certain range.

This explained their immediate response to the first Debarli's demise.

With a sharp wave of his wand, Sebastian cast Transfiguro , warping the metal floor and walls. Metal spears erupted, impaling the Sentinels and anchoring them in place.

His wand flared, and he fired two Reducto beams, striking before the Sentinels could encase themselves in diamond skin.

The beams pierced their heads, obliterating their central cores.

Bang!

Sebastian's body shattered into five crows, entering his Split Form. He directed them toward the remaining Debarli.

In Split Form, Sebastian's death raven duplicates boasted remarkable speed and strength, far surpassing human capabilities. Unless they faced Sentinels, they could navigate the underground factory unimpeded.

One duplicate focused in on a Debarli. Without pause, it accelerated, its wings slicing like blades across the Debarli's neck, decapitating him instantly.

The Debarli's body reverted to its true, alien form, startling the surrounding soldiers and researchers.

One by one, the remaining death raven duplicates swiftly killed the other Debarli, each revealing their true alien forms upon death.

When the final death raven located the last surviving Debarli, the other duplicates dissipated, merging back into Sebastian's core. He reverted to his human form, raising his wand toward the Debarli.

But at that moment, the Debarli abruptly pressed a button on a nearby console. Without a second's pause, the entire Sentinel factory erupted in a cataclysmic explosion, flames surging skyward, staining the clouds crimson.

Realizing their comrades might have exposed their identity, this Debarli had chosen to detonate the factory, obliterating everyone who witnessed their race's existence and erasing all evidence of their presence. Such fearless resolve and decisive action left Sebastian profoundly shocked.

Amid the explosion's inferno, Sebastian stood unscathed, wreathed in hellfire conjured by the Ring of Harnessing Power.

The mortal flames couldn't touch him due to wielding hellfire authority.

He stepped out from the ruins of the now-leveled Sentinel factory, glancing at the patrolling soldiers who had escaped the blast's radius and the Sentinels charging toward him.

With a flick of his wand, he transformed into a vortex of blue starlight, vanishing from the scene.

Simultaneously, in the suburbs of Washington, D.C., Sebastian emerged from the warped space, trailing wisps of smoldering flame.

According to the Debarli's memories, their leader was concealed here, hidden within the underground Sentinel research institute at the heart of Washington.

In the White House, the current U.S. President sat in his office, his face grim.

He had just received news that the Sentinel factory in New York had been infiltrated by mutants, who triggered its self-destruct mechanism.

The explosion obliterated one of the largest Sentinel production facilities, resulting in devastating losses, with all researchers and soldiers inside killed.

The President had been wavering on whether to expand the Sentinel program, but now, the necessity seemed undeniable.

"Humans and mutants… I can only choose humans," he muttered to himself, reaching for the phone to issue the order.

But the moment his hand touched the receiver, another hand materialized from thin air, pressing down on his. Starting from that hand, Sebastian's form gradually appeared before the President.

Seeing Sebastian materialize beside him, the President's face betrayed a flicker of fear and wariness. Quickly regaining his composure, he said with forced calm, "I'm curious. The White House's defenses are airtight, with mutant detectors everywhere. How did you get in?"

"It's simple," Sebastian replied. "I'm not a mutant."

"That's impossible," the President countered. "Humans can't possess your cloaking ability, unless you're telling me it comes from some high-tech device you're carrying."

Though he spoke of a "high-tech device," the President didn't believe it. In his mind, Sebastian was a mutant who had found a way to bypass the detectors.

"Whether you believe me or not, I am human," Sebastian said. "You must have a detector on hand. Why not test whether I'm a mutant or not?"

The President frowned, sensing the unwavering certainty in Sebastian's words, devoid of mockery or deception. Sebastian was genuinely confident he wasn't a mutant.

Intrigued, the President retrieved a detector and activated it, aiming it at Sebastian. The device remained silent, indicating Sebastian was an ordinary human, not a mutant.

The detector's result only half-convinced the President. He looked at Sebastian and said, "Whether you're human or mutant doesn't matter. What I want to know is why you've infiltrated the White House. What do you want with me?

"I'm here to tell you that the Sentinel program is driven by a conspiracy," Sebastian replied. "A plot targeting mutants and, ultimately, all of humanity."

"A conspiracy?" The President's eyes narrowed. "What kind of conspiracy are you talking about?"

Sebastian briefly explained the Debarli's scheme, detailing their infiltration and manipulation of the Sentinel program. But the President, listening to Sebastian's account, treated it like a joke, showing no real reaction. He offered only a few perfunctory responses, dismissing the claims.

Seeing the President's reaction, Sebastian sighed helplessly. "I expected you wouldn't fully believe me, but I didn't anticipate that, as the leader of a nation, you'd be so arrogant, showing no vigilance toward this matter."

"How am I supposed to believe something so absurd?" the President retorted.

As he spoke, he subtly adjusted his posture, his hand "casually" pressing a hidden alarm button under the desk.

But such small movements couldn't escape Sebastian's notice.

With a snap of his fingers, Sebastian cast Protego Spatialis.

A faint azure light enveloped the room, isolating it spatially, severing the office from the outside world.

Sebastian looked at the President, now visibly fearful, and raised his wand. "Fortunately, my power now allows me to cast this spell," he said. "Let's see how this magic compares to its previous incarnation."

Imperio!

The second of the three Unforgivable Curses from his past life, the Imperius Curse, seized control of the soul.