Days as a Spiritual Mentor in American Comics Chapter 6048 - 5064: Fighter’s Fate (10)

The atmosphere at the dining table was very cheerful. Martha and Jonathan enthusiastically talked about the farm stories. Diana was also very interested. The Amazon was not a farming civilization, and after coming to the big city, Diana hadn’t interacted with the land again, but stories of sowing and blossoming always brought peace of mind, and no matter how many times heard, they never got old.

Diana also began speaking about art appreciation, effortlessly recounting the background stories of each antique. When she mentioned her professional field, her mature and confident aura was very captivating. Clark watched with a somewhat blank stare and had to be nudged by Jonathan’s elbow to remind him not to be so overt.

After the meal, everyone was very happy. Diana glanced at her watch and said, "Although I’d love to visit the cathedral with you, today happens to be the day for fitting the bridesmaid dress, so I must go to the tailor shop to take my measurements and won’t interrupt your family gathering."

The Kents stood and embraced her again. Jonathan watched her back and turned to Clark, saying, "She reminds me of your mother when she was young. When she was still in school, she was the most captivating girl at the town’s agricultural market..."

"I know, Dad," Clark said a bit helplessly, "to get the opportunity to visit her family’s farm, you bought over a hundred dollars’ worth of things at her stall, and even carried a sixty-something-pound pumpkin home by yourself..."

They laughed together. When they came out of the restaurant, the weather was a bit overcast but just matched the city’s neoclassical atmosphere, making it not too sunny to walk down the street, which was great for sightseeing.

The restaurant wasn’t far from the cathedral, so they chose to walk there. On the way, the Kents marveled at Forward York City’s urban planning. You know, in America, large cities rarely have greenery on their streets, as they prefer to concentrate all trees and lawns in parks, so enjoying the shade provided by street trees was a novel experience. Despite the lack of sunlight, the dappled shadows created by the trees, along with the damp and fresh air, was delightful.

Before they reached the cathedral, the towering Gothic spires were already visible from afar. Even though the entire city was quite classical, this overly retro and massive cathedral seemed like an out-of-place monster, as if it shouldn’t exist in the real world but more like a creation in a dreamscape.

Focusing on those layered spires gave the impression of the sky cascading downwards, and the ground appeared inverted. The dizzying Gothic lines and the splendid stained glass windows made one unconsciously hold one’s breath, evoking more awe than admiration.

It was the first time Clark stood on the ground to observe this cathedral, and for some reason, he felt a bit uncomfortable. When flying in the air, he didn’t feel the building was large, but standing on the ground, the sense of oppression doubled, making it hard to breathe.

Clark did not have any aversion to religion because the church members in his small town were very kind, and the small church was a place where everyone gathered to deepen their relationships. When he was little, his favorite activity was making communion wafers, and his parents would always praise him for doing a good job.

Hence, such a solemn and magnificent cathedral didn’t feel friendly to him. The sense of oppressive grandeur felt more like a meticulously calculated coercion, which didn’t foster genuine belief but instead revealed some superficial intimidation.

However, the Kents were quite impressed.

"I’ve always heard that the cathedrals in Europe are very big and beautiful, and now we’ve finally seen one," Martha said as she made the sign of the cross over her chest. "I heard that these are built with stone, let’s get closer and have a look."

Compared to Martha, Jonathan was not as enthusiastic. Nonetheless, he followed his family into the church. The church was indeed stone-built, and the surface patterns appeared to be hand-carved. The stained glass seemed somewhat modern but provided better light transmission, offering a faint view of the church’s interior.

But as they got closer to the cathedral, some people began to notice the family of three, and soon an agent came over to inquire. However, after seeing Clark, they didn’t forcefully drive them away; they just reminded them to be careful.

Clark found it a bit odd that the security here was so strong, with a team of agents passing every few seconds. What was there to be cautious about? Besides, the wedding hadn’t even started; what was the need to attack a church?

"Let’s go inside," Martha said, "Every week I go to church to thank God for sending you to me. Today I also want to pray for you to heal quickly. I’m not sure how the Father here is and whether he’s more amicable..."

Clark didn’t think much of it and followed Martha inside. Just entering was even more breathtaking: An almost boundless dome, towering columns carved with numerous Bible stories, and an extraordinarily grand statue of Jesus, even the podium was much larger than those in ordinary churches. The family of three was temporarily rendered speechless in awe.

Regaining his senses, Clark noticed a few people standing behind the podium, all dressed in black, initially mistakable for fathers. Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be the members of the Mutant Brotherhood.

Clark immediately became vigilant, no wonder the agent reminded him to be careful; he wasn’t informed beforehand that there would be mutants here.

Clark didn’t want to have a bias against mutants, but ever since Forward York City was built, it was the mutants causing many incidents.

Not to mention they weren’t governed by the Rebirth Alliance and could appear anywhere, fight without reporting, demolish with impunity, just dealing with the disruptions caused by awakening mutants was enough to give Clark a headache.

He could also understand that some young mutants couldn’t control their powers when they erupted, but innocent bystanders were truly unfortunate. Walking innocently to work, suddenly bombed into the sky and landing in a hospital, sometimes not even Superman could get there in time. Seeing such incidents frequently, whenever Clark saw a mutant, he was on high alert, fearing they’d cause another explosion.

Moreover, now his parents were behind him, and the Kents were ordinary people; just a gentle touch from these mutants would be fatal to them.

"What are you doing here?" Clark asked in a deep voice.

His tone wasn’t very friendly; on one hand, he was emotionally down due to a recent injury, and on the other, he was extremely worried about his parents’ safety, scared to pieces, ignoring his tone.

The faces of the people behind Magneto quickly darkened. They hated discrimination against mutants the most, yet Magneto’s expression didn’t change, maintaining that serious and indifferent demeanor. He only gave Clark and his parents a slight glance, his old and deep voice resonating in the cathedral with an added hint of divinity.

"The Rebirth Alliance is short-staffed, and the mutants are here to help."

Clark opened his mouth, inwardly complaining, mainly blaming Carter for not informing him. Had he known the mutants would come, he would never have brought his parents along.

The Kents keenly noticed the atmosphere was off. Jonathan quickly pulled his son’s arm. Martha was a little confused, but when she saw Magneto’s silver hair, she still whispered to Clark, "Don’t be like this, Clark, you need to respect your elders."

Clark thought: Mom, your sight isn’t very good. This guy happens to be a wanted criminal who’s been on the papers. However, since the cities have merged, Magneto hasn’t caused any trouble, so the newspapers stopped reporting on him. It’s normal Martha doesn’t recognize him.

Just as Clark was thinking this, he saw Martha step forward to shake hands with Magneto. Clark’s scalp tingled with anxiety, and he hurriedly rushed forward to pull Martha back: "Don’t!"

However, Jonathan behind him held onto him. Clark anxiously looked back at his father, and Jonathan helplessly shook his head at him.

Magneto extended his hand to shake hands with Martha. His expression and demeanor were very graceful; as long as you ignore his identity, anyone would consider him a dignified elder.

"Hello, madam, I’ve heard much about you," Magneto said. "We understand better than anyone how difficult it is to educate a naturally powerful child to be so excellent and kind. A great land nurtures great people. If all the parents in the world were like you two, that would be wonderful."

"Oh, you’re too kind." Though Martha said this, she was quite pleased. Her happiness stemmed from the fact that Clark must have mentioned the couple to his superpowered friends; otherwise, this old gentleman wouldn’t have asserted right away that they were Clark’s parents, and even talked about their education of Clark.

This made Martha feel both proud and touched. Even though they were considered farmers, compared to the truly wealthy in big cities, they were still a step behind in terms of background. Many are ashamed to mention their small-town origins and don’t like bringing up their farming parents, but clearly, Clark wasn’t like that. This proved their success in educating Clark.

Clark was a bit bewildered; he never talked to mutants about his family matters. In fact, he hadn’t met Magneto much. And he didn’t look much like the Kent couple, though judging from the age, the possibility of being his parents was high, but mentioning the land didn’t seem like it came from no knowledge.

Clark didn’t lower his guard; instead, he became more vigilant. Why are mutants investigating him? Could it have something to do with the previous attack he suffered?

Yet Clark dared not act recklessly. He had long known that in this universe merged with theirs, the experiences were far greater than theirs. Almost everyone inside was more experienced, and even without mentioning Magneto’s formidable abilities, his experience in all aspects far exceeded Clark’s. Recklessly offending him was not advisable.

"Mom, didn’t you say you wanted to pray?" Clark said, "Let’s go find the Father; if he’s not here, then he’s probably in the backyard..."

"Oh, alright." Martha also noticed the atmosphere was a bit strained. She smiled and nodded at Magneto, then walked with Clark towards the backyard.

"What’s wrong, Clark?" Martha asked, "Does that gentleman have any issues?"

There were too many issues. Clark didn’t know where to begin. He pursed his lips and said, "They’re mutants, a bit... unstable. It’s best to have less contact with them."

"Have you seen them lose control?"

"Some of them," Clark said. "Magneto doesn’t easily lose control, but he used to..."

"Used to what?" Martha was a bit persistent.

"He used to be a terrorist," Clark had no choice but to say directly.

Martha didn’t show any fear; she just asked, "What did he do?"

"He destroyed many American military bases, fought against superheroes, and possibly almost destroyed the cosmos or something like that."

"Then why did he do that?"

"For mutants," Clark said. "He felt someone was persecuting mutants, and he wanted to resist."

"Did he participate in WWII?" Jonathan asked, "I can tell he fought. Judging by his age, he should have at least participated in WWII, right?"

Clark nodded and said, "He was in a concentration camp and should have fought on the WWII battlefield, but I don’t know the specifics."

"You seem a bit afraid of him," Martha observed Clark and asked, "Can’t you handle him?"

"Pretty much," Clark was reluctant to admit. "It’s not the ability; it’s that he... he’s very smart, and there are many of them."

"Should we leave now?" Martha suggested.

"No, it’s okay, Mom." Clark took a deep breath as certain shadows lingered in his heart. He paused and looked at Jonathan, "Dad, you accompany Mom to find the Father. I have some questions I want to ask them."