One week later, beneath a pale London sky, Richard sat outside a café along the Thames, looking like any other well-dressed local enjoying a quiet afternoon. The river moved lazily behind him, tour boats gliding past as if the world had never known chaos. He wore a tailored coat and dark trousers in understated British style, blending into the city without effort. In front of him, a porcelain cup of coffee steamed gently in the cool air as he lifted it with calm, unhurried movements.
His appearance, however, was an illusion. Over the past week, he had not only changed his wardrobe but also altered the most recognizable feature about himself—his flowing silver hair. Using the "illusion camouflage" ability he had plundered from a mutant agent, he projected a holographic disguise over his body. The ability was currently at Beta level, capable of reshaping his visible image so convincingly that no one would suspect the predator sitting quietly among them.
In effect, the camouflage resembled the illusion-casting powers once displayed by the so-called water elves. The difference lay in scope and application. Their illusions could manipulate others or create large-scale environmental distortions, while Richard's ability was strictly self-contained. It was enough. He didn't need spectacle—only invisibility.
According to his plan, the last seven days had been efficient. He had crossed half the world and eliminated Ajak, Druig, Gilgamesh, Thena, Kingo, and Makkari. Each possessed extraordinary abilities far beyond ordinary humans, but none of them had truly challenged him. The hunt had been systematic, precise, almost clinical.
Ajak, Druig, and Kingo had fallen first. Their combat capacity was unimpressive, especially Ajak, whose primary ability was healing. As captain of their team, her authority exceeded her battlefield value. Druig's mental manipulation might have threatened someone else, but Richard wielded Alpha-level telepathy. Kingo's energy blasts were flashy, yet Richard could project destructive energy from both hands and unleash heat vision from his eyes. Against him, their resistance had been meaningless.
Gilgamesh and Thena offered more direct confrontation. Both specialized in close-quarters combat, channeling cosmic energy into formidable melee techniques. Still, against Dimension Slash and Eight Swords Flash, their skill meant little. If Richard had not been curious about Thena's technique, they would have lasted no more than a single exchange. Their defeats were inevitable the moment the fight began.
Only Makkari had forced him to adjust.
Speedsters were notoriously difficult to pin down. Though he possessed teleportation, her raw velocity complicated targeting and timing. During their clash, Richard briefly experienced what the enemies of the Flash must have felt—a blur of movement, attacks coming from every angle. Yet speed alone was not enough. Using Alpha-level magnetic field manipulation and gravity control, he constructed an invisible cage that compressed her movement radius until escape became impossible. Once confined, her options vanished. Moments later, she died beneath his blade.
Taking another sip of coffee, Richard mentally opened his updated list of abilities and mission progress.
Supernatural Powers: Hellfire, Soul Absorption, Healing, Mind Control, Super Strength, Energy Shapeshifting, Energy Emission, Super Speed, Immortality, Control of Cosmic Energy.
Mission Content: Kill all Eternal members on Earth. Current Progress: 7/10.
The acquisition of Immortality and Cosmic Energy Control had been unexpected. He had assumed he would gain healing and mental manipulation from Ajak and Druig, nothing more. Instead, he absorbed the core of what made the Eternals what they were. Their immortality mirrored his own Alpha-level regeneration plundered earlier, and their cosmic energy manipulation overlapped with his energy absorption.
These powers did not fuse automatically. They were not X-gene based abilities, so they remained parallel systems within him. Even so, overlap created enhancement. Immortality strengthened. Energy capacity expanded.
Before killing Ajak and the others, he had deliberately used telepathy to extract their memories. From Ajak, he confirmed that this Earth was indeed a seed world for a new Celestial. Deep within the planet, Tiamut gestated, destined to emerge in the future. However, based on Ajak's conversations with Arishem, that emergence would not occur for several years. The timeline posed no immediate disruption.
He finished his coffee, placed twenty pounds beneath the cup on the table, and stood. Without looking back, he walked away from the café and toward the London Natural History Museum.
The moment he arrived in London days earlier, he had located Sersi and the water elf through telepathy. Confirming their presence, he waited patiently near the Thames. There was no need for haste.
The museum bustled despite the lunch hour. Staff moved through corridors while visitors wandered exhibits of fossils and ancient bones. Richard ignored them all. He ascended to the second-floor rest area, his steps unhurried, controlled.
Sersi sat there with Dane Whitman, sharing lunch and conversation. She did not know that most of her companions were already dead. She did not know that only the water elf and Ikaris remained. If she had known, she would not have stayed seated so casually.
Richard stepped into view and immediately activated the mind control plundered from Druig. Though powered by cosmic energy rather than psychic force, the mechanism was similar to telepathy.
In an instant, everyone except Sersi froze.
They stood motionless—mid-step, mid-breath—like statues trapped in time.
"Who are you?" Sersi demanded as she rose, shielding Dane behind her.
Richard did not answer. Instead, he dismissed the illusion camouflage. His silver hair returned, unmistakable.
Recognition dawned across her face. Even without meeting him before, she knew the name that the world now knew.
"What do you want?" she asked.
"Nothing complicated," Richard replied evenly. "I'm here to kill you. By the way, except for the water elf and Ikaris, your companions are already dead."
Her expression hardened immediately. Whether she believed him fully or not, she sensed the intent in his tone. He drew the authentic Yama Sword from his system space, its edge gleaming with lethal precision.
Without hesitation, Sersi crouched and pressed both hands against the floor. The polished surface liquefied into swamp-like instability beneath them. However, Richard did not sink. He floated, hovering several inches above the shifting ground.
Realizing the trap had failed, Sersi turned and ran.
Her reaction time was sharp, but her speed was not.
Before she could take a third step, Richard appeared directly in front of her, golden energy lines spreading across his body like living armor.
Shock flashed in her eyes. The pattern was unmistakable.
"You're using Makkari's power," she said, disbelief breaking through.
"You're right," Richard answered calmly.
He did not allow further words. The Yama Sword moved like silver lightning, piercing her heart in a single, precise thrust.
For an ordinary human, that would have been the end. For Sersi, death required a fraction longer. In her final moment, she grasped the blade with both hands, attempting to alter it—attempting one last transformation.
Her hands dissolved before she could act.
Richard activated matter decomposition. He could not reshape matter as she could, but he could break it down to its fundamental state. Under his gaze, her body began to dissipate from the hands outward.
Within three seconds, Sersi vanished entirely.
Richard immediately activated his plundering ability.
New abilities acquired: Change Matter, Immortality, Control of Cosmic Energy.
Duplicate abilities detected. Fusion initiated.
Immortality and Control of Cosmic Energy enhanced.
Change Matter: Change the matter touched into another form.
.....
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