"Really!?"
"Will you strip me of my abilities?"
As soon as the topic of taking away the Eternals' powers appeared, Sprite was the first to agree.
For years she had dreamed of freeing herself from her tiny body.
As a girl, condemned to live for thousands of years without ever growing up, without ever experiencing love, this was the worst punishment for her.
"???"
Aron was a little confused.
But the words had already been spoken.
And once spoken, they could not be taken back.
It was a word given, even though now it stung him that he had carelessly let it slip.
He was not the type to later cowardly take revenge on Sprite, so he simply waved his hand.
"Alright, a few of you survived. Thank this big guy behind you." Aron clapped his hands and said that to the remaining Eternals.
But…
Thena was unconscious, and Druig looked completely lost, almost without his own will.
The only ones still standing were Gilgamesh and Makkari.
Makkari, who couldn't speak anyway, so her hand gestures meant nothing to Aron.
"You…"
Gilgamesh, hatred in his eyes, was holding up his right arm, broken all the way to the shoulder.
He wanted to say something, but then a voice echoed in his ears.
His face shifted between anger, disbelief, and finally resignation.
"Yes."
In the end, Gilgamesh helplessly nodded.
Then he looked at Aron and, after a long hesitation, said bitterly:
"I'm sorry. We were reckless."
The words of apology barely crossed his lips.
A huge, strong warrior, a man of nearly two meters of muscle and strength, stood before Aron with tears in his eyes.
How could this even be described?
If you can't win, fine, that's understandable.
But being forced to apologize to someone who had beaten you?
And all while you were actually the victim?
The worst part was that when all this ended, his own leader would still scold him.
In the end, he had to apologize to the man who had humiliated him.
"I really… Damn it!"
Gilgamesh looked as if his heart had broken.
Makkari at the same time received Tiamut's order.
"Abba Abba Abba Aba…"
(What about Kingo and Phastos? Did they really die so meaninglessly?)
She tried to convey the message through gestures, but got no answer.
"..."
Aron raised an eyebrow.
"Maybe Tiamut can talk to you through a spiritual link? And doesn't see your hand signs at all?"
Watching Makkari desperately waving her hands reminded him of those endless signs and handseal moves from the anime Naruto.
"Abba?"
Makkari froze at that moment, as if she had been seen through to her core.
"Alright, the culprit is dead, the crisis is over."
Aron didn't care what the Eternals thought.
If they didn't agree, they would fight again and lose again.
He turned and approached Tony, tapping him on the armor.
"If you see all this, doesn't it really cross your mind to fight?"
"Next time don't complicate things."
"If you have free time, you could help me develop a few more games. By the way, did you create that Matrix I told you about last time? Hurry up, I'm waiting to play."
"..."
Tony just stared, helpless.
For Aron this might indeed have been a trifle.
But for the Avengers?
To take down one Ikaris, they would have needed to call Thor, maybe even more of them.
Of course, Tony didn't say any of that aloud.
He only cursed inwardly.
When he heard Aron once again bringing up his gaming company, Tony's face briefly froze with shame.
But he quickly snapped out of it and regained confidence.
"Don't worry, you'll be able to play."
(Progress on the game's development: 0%)
Tony patted the reactor on his chest and said it with confidence.
"Good. I just hope you won't trick me and make some new map just to mess with me."
"Don't worry."
(Folder hasn't even been created yet.)
Just when both of them thought it was all over…
Sersi, who had just been squatting on the ground wiping away tears, suddenly lifted her head.
Aron had almost forgotten that there was still one Eternal on his side.
Good thing I didn't notice her while I was arguing just now, he thought.
"Kingo… Phastos…"
Sersi fell to her knees, grieving for her fallen companions.
As Makkari had shown, the true culprit had been Ikaris.
The deaths of Kingo and Phastos had been completely meaningless.
But even amidst her grief, Sersi did not forget that something even more important remained.
"I'm sorry… I mean, even though Ikaris is dead, the crisis isn't over."
"The reason why Ajak, even in the face of death, still wanted to join forces with you humans, was to prevent an even more terrifying threat."
Sersi's eyes were red, but her voice was clear as she conveyed Tiamut's words.
"Although Tiamut willingly remains in the womb of the Earth and doesn't want to be born… still…"
"The Celestial who planted the embryo in the Earth is the same one who sent us here."
"The Judge – Arishem."
"He is the most merciless among all Celestials. Once he decides a world is worthless, nothing can stop him."
"No matter what we try, He will immediately destroy the Earth and force Tiamut into premature birth."
"Not even Tiamut himself can change Arishem's decision."
"But… Arishem is also the Celestial who is the easiest to persuade, because he never acts out of personal emotions. If he believes the Earth has value, he will leave on his own."
Sersi said it all in one breath.
That meant only one thing, Tiamut was not the final threat.
The real enemy was another Celestial – Arishem.
Arishem the Judge.
"This is really something special…"
Aron's face darkened after hearing it all.
He had finally defeated Ikaris, connected with Tiamut… and now he had to deal with the judgment of a being that acted like a divine judge?
It was like he had just become a judge on a village level, and already they were forcing him to go face the universal court, Aron thought bitterly.
"What kind of shitty Celestial… Don't I already have enough problems on Earth?"
"Is that judge you're talking about really that powerful?" Aron's eyes flickered with determination.
If he couldn't take him down alone, he could gather others.
Maybe the Ancient One was no longer at his peak, but his battle experience was still immense. If the conflict escalated, even Odin would have to intervene.
And if even that failed… then flip the table!
Summon every monstrous force in existence and let everyone go down together.
"Give up that idea, Aron."
Sersi sensed the dangerous spark in his eyes and immediately warned him.
"Celestials are unbeatable. They are beings on the level of Single universe."
But Aron only smiled when he heard that claim.
"Level of Single universe? Sounds to me like just another demonic god from some other dimension."
His gaze sharpened, and the cynicism vanished from his tone.
"Remember, nothing is unbeatable."
"Especially not those who claim to be gods."
Aron's eyes were serious, ready to face Arishem if necessary.
–––
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