Alaric was standing in the air, watching the battle below and listening to them call each other by name. After thinking for a while, he remembered who Sersi was.
Alaric murmured: "They are actually Eternals."
This was truly something Alaric didn't expect. When he first saw the monsters causing earthquakes, he was confused. He even suspected whether those creatures were demons that had crawled out from the Hell Dimension.
Only when he saw Sersi did he realize that those monsters were Deviants.
According to the backstory, Arishem of the Celestials seeks inhabited planets in the universe, then plants the seed of a Celestial in them, which continues to grow by absorbing the life energy of intelligent beings on the planet.
Only when the new Celestial fully absorbs the life energy of the planet will it be born.
This method of birthing divine beings is called "Emergence."
Then, to eliminate predatory creatures on the planet and protect the survival of intelligent life, Arishem created monsters called Deviants, to reduce the presence of predators.
But he didn't expect the Deviants to mutate and begin devouring intelligent life.
Even Arishem didn't expect that.
So, to protect intelligent life and eliminate the Deviants, Arishem created a new race – the Eternals.
The mission of the Eternals is to destroy the Deviants and ensure the successful Emergence of a Celestial.
Therefore, every Eternal can manipulate cosmic energy: to create various weapons, alter the structure of matter, possess extreme speed, communicate with nature, etc.
And they all have eternal life, immortality.
They do not interfere in wars and events on the planet, letting civilization develop on its own, or providing occasional guidance.
Until the Emergence occurs; then their memories are erased, they go to another planet, and repeat the same cycle.
And now, Alaric had encountered the Eternals who were overseeing the birth of a new Celestial on Earth.
Moreover, since some of the Eternals had hidden their identity and lived among humans, they began to question their mission and wanted to protect humanity.
Because of that, they divided into three factions.
The Eternals led by Sersi want to protect humans and prevent the Emergence. Among them are Ajak, the speedy Makkari, and Phastos.
The neutrals are Thena, Gilgamesh, and Druig.
Those who want to continue the mission and enable the Emergence are Ikaris, Sprite, and Kingo.
And now, it seemed that due to the reappearance of the Deviants, some members of the Eternals would be forced to reveal themselves.
In Alaric's memory, Ikaris' goal wasn't just the Emergence, but to protect the civilization and life of the whole planet by killing all the Eternals.
That way, without the Eternals, they would no longer emit energy signals that lead other Celestials to come and judge Earth.
Especially since the dormant Tiamut deep within the Earth had already absorbed enough energy and might soon awaken.
In that case, the judge Arishem could arrive at any moment.
By then, Earth would be completely destroyed.
Therefore, as the most powerful among the Eternals, Ikaris believed that only the death of all Eternals could avoid the fate of being controlled by the Celestials and end the endless struggle with the Deviants.
Ikaris no longer wanted his memories erased over and over again, constantly falling into a new cycle.
But Alaric says: as long as the Celestials come, he has the power to drive them away.
Who is stronger, Alaric or the Celestials? Alaric himself wants to know.
"Dane! Run! I can't hold on any longer!"
Sersi was struggling to hold off the powerful Deviant, loudly urging Dane to leave.
Sersi, who hadn't fought in a long time, was no match for the enhanced Deviants!
Especially since she noticed that the surface of the nearby water was constantly foaming, more Deviants were surging toward them!
Alaric watched the battle below and was just about to intervene when suddenly a laser beam struck the Deviant and knocked it back!
"Ikaris!?"
Sersi was pleasantly surprised. When she saw Ikaris, whom she hadn't seen in a long time, a smile appeared on her face.
Seeing that, Alaric stopped moving and remained invisible.
"Sersi."
Ikaris answered briefly and rushed at the Deviant again.
As the strongest among the Eternals, Ikaris easily overpowered the Deviant.
But he soon discovered that these Deviants were different.
The damage he inflicted actually regenerated!
Moreover, this Deviant could absorb the cosmic energy that Ikaris used for attacks!
Bang!
The heavily wounded Deviant was knocked back into the river.
"Ikaris? How is it!?"
Sersi ran over worriedly.
"The Deviants have evolved." Ikaris looked grim.
The regenerative ability of this Deviant was very similar to that of their leader, Ajak.
Alaric, up above, looked at them thoughtfully.
These Deviants, if the Eternals couldn't deal with them, he would.
If Alaric guessed correctly, they were now trying to gather all the Eternals.
And as for these Deviants…
As soon as Ikaris knocked them back into the water, Alaric immediately enveloped them all with his mental power, activated teleportation magic, and threw them into the space of a black hole, where they were crushed.
"In that case, let's wait for everyone to gather so we can talk."
Alaric turned his head and looked at the river.
It seemed there was a leader among them.
The Deviants deep underground had already dug their way out and were heading in a specific direction.
Alaric thought the best course was to directly eliminate the dormant Celestial in the Earth.
Even if his current power wasn't enough, it didn't matter. He didn't believe that, once he reached the multiversal level, he wouldn't be able to handle them!
If you want to live in peace – stay where you are.
"Sersi… you?"
Dane hesitated as he looked at Sersi and Ikaris.
Sersi was momentarily worried.
Letting these monsters roam freely was also a disaster.
"Dane."
"Let's talk somewhere else."
Ikaris suggested.
The three of them agreed and turned to leave.
Seeing this, Sersi knew she could no longer hide her identity.
"The mutant race has evolved." Ikaris' expression was serious.
It seemed that now he too wanted to prevent the awakening of the Celestial.
Alaric watched their silhouettes retreat from above.
As for these Eternals, Alaric believed that everything would depend on which side they chose.
As for the Deviants, whether Deviants or Celestials, if they couldn't deal with them, Alaric would.
All that remained was to wait for all members of the Eternals to gather.