Times Square, New York—one of the most prosperous and crowded intersections in the world.
Normally, the massive digital billboards flanking the square would be broadcasting advertisements for luxury brands, leading the global trends in fashion and technology. But today, almost every single screen had been hijacked by a breaking news broadcast that had absolutely nothing to do with fashion.
Eddie Brock, a rapidly rising star in the journalism world, stood before the camera. His expression was unprecedentedly grim.
"The situation has escalated beyond human comprehension. The White Demon has evolved to a point where he can withstand a direct hit from a tactical nuclear warhead! Humanity's conventional arsenal is officially useless against him!
"Even worse, the White Demon operates entirely on his own chaotic whims. He is fundamentally unbound by any societal rules or morality! Just days ago, he unleashed a terrifying purple sphere that completely erased the White House from existence! Prior to that, during a clash with the X-Men right in the heart of Washington D.C., he unleashed a localized gravitational anomaly that rivaled the destructive yield of a nuclear bomb! "That apocalyptic repulsive force obliterated miles of the city and resulted in tens of thousands of casualties! This is, without a doubt, the most devastating terrorist attack since 9/11—and the scale of destruction is hundreds, if not thousands of times worse!
"Yet, what is truly shocking is that despite his ruthless, mass-murdering nature, he specifically spared the pro-mutant protesters during his rampage. Because of this, legions of 'White Demon Supporters' are springing up across the globe. Cult leaders are even forming literal religions worshiping him as a living god!
"It terrifies me to ask this... but are we truly going to surrender the future of humanity to the whims of the White Demon? Are ordinary humans destined to become slaves to mutants? Where does humanity go from here?!"
In the center of Times Square, a handsome, chiseled man stood perfectly still, his eyes locked onto the giant screens broadcasting the apocalyptic footage of the White Demon.
In just a few minutes of watching, he had gathered everything he needed to know about the target. The most powerful mutant on Earth. A remorseless mass murderer. The destroyer of the White House. The monster who terrified the military, altered the global geopolitical landscape, and was rapidly earning the title: The Extinction of Humanity! Massacring humans on such an apocalyptic scale was absolutely unacceptable to the Eternals, whose sacred, cosmic duty was to protect humanity!
Even if the White Demon wasn't technically a Deviant, his actions had officially placed him at the absolute top of the Eternals' kill list!
As the strongest warrior of the Eternals, Ikaris glared at the screen one last time.
The footage showed the White Demon hovering above the molten glass of the nuclear crater, laughing maniacally and casually flipping off the orbital satellite.
This mutant absolutely cannot be allowed to live. If he isn't stopped, millions more will die! Besides... aren't mutants technically just an evolutionary offshoot of the Deviants anyway? That's all the more reason to execute him!
Gripping a bizarre, high-tech device that had just been covertly handed to him by a SHIELD operative, Ikaris recalled the coordinates the agent had provided. He shot into the sky like a rocket, breaking the sound barrier as he flew toward the Malibu coastline!
Ikaris' flight speed was immense. In no time, he arrived hovering over Tony Stark's cliffside mansion. The moment he arrived, he looked through the shattered glass and saw the White Demon standing amidst a pile of freshly incinerated human ash!
The White Demon clearly noticed his arrival. The boy looked up at him, a deeply cruel, amused smile spreading across his face.
Just as I thought. He is a monster. He must be executed immediately, or the Eternals' sacred mission will forever be compromised! Hovering high above the mansion, Ikaris looked down at the White Demon with absolute, aristocratic arrogance and delivered his judgment:
"Mutant. You deserve to die."
Despite the global news broadcasts hyping up the White Demon's terrifying power, Ikaris absolutely did not believe this boy was stronger than him. He was the apex predator of the Eternals! He feared no challenge, least of all some lowly, mutated descendant of the Deviants!
...
Meanwhile, onboard the SHIELD Helicarrier.
Nick Fury and Phil Coulson were intensely monitoring the live satellite feed of the Malibu mansion.
Ikaris had successfully intercepted the White Demon. If everything went according to plan, a titanic clash was inevitable!
"Coulson," Fury asked suddenly, his single eye fixed on the screen. "Do you genuinely believe Ikaris can defeat the White Demon?"
Coulson answered carefully.
"If he were fighting entirely on his own? No. He has no way to breach the White Demon's absolute spatial defense; victory would be impossible. However, with the 'Spatial Disruption Device' engineered by Dr. Reed Richards, he should be able to bypass the barrier and actually inflict damage. With that advantage, his odds of winning are significant!"
Hearing Coulson's assessment, Fury remained unconvinced.
While Dr. Reed Richards' Spatial Disruption Device was a marvel of theoretical physics and would undoubtedly have some effect, Fury absolutely refused to believe the White Demon would fall that easily.
Who knows what other god-like abilities that monster is hiding? Or how much his powers have evolved since Washington? ...
Back in Malibu, the moment Ikaris appeared in the sky, Su Mu instantly recognized him.
Ah. It's Marvel's discount Superman.
This Eternal, named Ikaris, possessed a power set remarkably similar to Superman: he could fire cosmic energy beams from his eyes (heat vision), possessed super strength, super speed, invulnerability, and flight.
However, all of his stats were drastically inferior to the actual Man of Steel, and he lacked the bio-electric aura and the ability to infinitely scale his power by bathing in yellow sunlight.
Even so, he was incredibly powerful. He was undeniably the heavy hitter of the Earth-stationed Eternals!
Initially, upon seeing Ikaris, Su Mu was quite pleased. He had just upgraded his Limitless to Level 4, and he desperately needed a durable punching bag to test it out. Those HYDRA agents had been way too fragile to properly gauge his new spatial dominance!
But the moment Ikaris opened his mouth and delivered his arrogant, self-righteous judgment, Su Mu was instantly annoyed.
Excuse me? What kind of discount-bin knockoff are you to talk down to me like that?
Without a microsecond of hesitation, Su Mu vanished from the living room and instantaneously materialized directly in front of Ikaris in mid-air!
Ikaris clearly hadn't anticipated the White Demon's speed to be this incomprehensibly fast. Before he could even react, a fist violently slammed into his face!
BOOM!
Accompanied by the apocalyptic roar of black-red lightning, Ikaris' handsome face violently warped under the kinetic impact of the Black Flash! A spray of golden Eternal blood erupted from his nose!
He was instantly blasted out of the sky! The sheer, overwhelming kinetic force sent him breaking the sound barrier backwards, violently crashing into the Pacific Ocean and kicking up a massive tsunami dozens of meters high!
Sinking deep into the freezing ocean waters, Ikaris' previous arrogance and contempt were completely wiped clean. Only three chaotic thoughts remained in his concussed brain:
Who am I? Where am I? What the hell just happened?!
Thanks to the absurdly dense physiology of the Eternals, taking a Black Flash straight to the face wasn't enough to permanently incapacitate him.
He instantly rocketed back out of the ocean, hovering above the churning water. He stared at the white-haired demon, his expression now completely serious.
The White Demon is far stronger than I anticipated! However...
Ikaris pressed the button on his belt, activating the Spatial Disruption Device. At the exact same moment, his eyes flared with blinding, golden cosmic energy, firing a devastating blast of cosmic rays directly at the White Demon!
The White Demon will never expect his invincible spatial defense to be neutralized! My cosmic rays will blow a hole straight through his chest!
The Spatial Disruption Device hummed to life, actively scrambling the local spatial coordinates. As expected, the cosmic rays completely bypassed the absolute perimeter of the Limitless, screaming directly toward Su Mu's physical body!
Seeing his beams about to pierce the demon's heart, a victorious, triumphant smile began to spread across Ikaris' face.
But suddenly, he realized the White Demon was looking at him with a deeply mocking, sarcastic grin.
The blinding cosmic rays that were supposed to vaporize his flesh hit Su Mu's chest... and were completely, effortlessly absorbed into his body, unable to inflict even a single scratch!
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