In a museum curator's office, several Eternals clad in strange armor were gathered. After a long separation, they had finally reunited, but this reunion was destined to be incomplete—because their strongest warrior, Ikaris, had fallen in battle.
The atmosphere in the room was exceptionally heavy, with grief etched onto every Eternal's face. Over the long millennia, their ideologies had diverged; after the extinction of the Deviants, they had scattered to lead the lives they desired. Yet, they still cherished one another, for they were each other's only kin.
On this Earth, there were no other Eternals besides them. Every companion was infinitely precious. But now, one of them was dead—and it was Ikaris, the most powerful among them, killed at the hands of a mutant, a descendant of their enemies, the Deviants! This was something they could not tolerate.
Sersi, the Eternal with the power of matter transmutation, was the most devastated. Ikaris had been her partner for thousands of years. With her beloved companion dead, even her gentle nature was consumed by an endless tide of hatred.
"Ikaris is dead, killed by the Level 5 mutant known as the White Demon. We must avenge him!" Sersi said to the others, her voice trembling with rage. She wanted nothing more than to kill the White Demon immediately. However, her remaining reason told her that a reckless head-on assault was suicide; if even Ikaris could be killed, she was certainly no match in a fair fight.
Sprite, the Eternal who looked like a young girl in her early teens and possessed powerful illusion-casting abilities, spoke up excitedly: "Then what are we waiting for? Let's go and kill him now!" Sprite had harbored a secret crush on Ikaris for thousands of years; her anger was no less than Sersi's, but she lacked Sersi's wisdom and couldn't fathom the power gap between them.
Gilgamesh, the member with the fiercest temper, clenched his fists. His ability allowed him to channel cosmic energy into his hands to enhance his striking power. In a direct physical confrontation, his strength was even greater than Ikaris's. He nodded in support of Sprite. "We strike together. No matter how strong the White Demon is, we will kill him!"
Just then, Ajak, the leader of the Eternals, stepped in to stop them. As the leader of all Eternals on Earth, she possessed wisdom that rivaled Sersi's. While grieving for Ikaris, she had also realized the sheer scale of the White Demon's power. Although she was the leader, Ikaris was the strongest warrior; even if the rest of them fought together, they might only match Ikaris's output. If Ikaris was slain, it meant the White Demon had the capability to kill them all.
It was inconceivable. They had slaughtered the Deviants into near-extinction, yet a descendant of those creatures possessed such terrifying power. But the facts were undeniable.
"Regarding the assassination of the White Demon, we need a long-term plan." Before the others could protest, she pointed to a large screen displaying the footage of the battle between Aurelius Viremont and Ikaris.
"You've seen it. The White Demon's strength is enough to confront Ikaris head-on without falling into a disadvantage—something none of us can do. If we want to kill him, there is currently only one way: Sersi must make physical contact with him. She must use her matter transmutation to bypass his energy absorption and unmake him. However, according to SHIELD intelligence, the White Demon seems to possess a form of precognition; he likely knows all our abilities and weaknesses. He will avoid direct contact with Sersi."
Ajak continued grimly, "Therefore, relying solely on our current strength, it is nearly impossible to control him. We must wait, plan, and borrow other forces to exceed his expectations and strike him down! All this information came from SHIELD. They want to profit from our conflict with the White Demon. They even deliberately guided Ikaris toward him. They must pay a price for this, but for now, we will coordinate with them to kill the Demon. We will settle accounts with SHIELD once he is dead!"
Ajak's words carried the weight of her leadership, and her analysis was flawless. The Eternals agreed to a temporary alliance with SHIELD until the White Demon was eliminated.
After killing Ikaris and obtaining his energy core, Aurelius Viremont's energy point accumulation speed increased significantly, and his template integration progressed steadily. He spent his time practicing his skills, particularly the Portal he placed high hopes on.
Portals normally required borrowing mana from dimensional lords, but Aurelius Viremont possessed his own energy, allowing him to release them independently without becoming a "debtor" to a higher power. Having moved into another of Tony's seaside villas, he continuously cast portals to grind experience.
System prompts rang in his ears:
Energy Points +1
Six Eyes XP +1
Energy Absorption XP +1
Portal XP +1
Compared to his other skills at Lv.3, the Lv.1 Portal was easier to level up. Before long, the experience hit the limit, and the system chime echoed:
[Congratulations! Your skill Portal has leveled up!]
[Portal Lv.2 (1/300): Consumes mana to open a portal to any location previously visited. Mana can be substituted with energy!]
A flood of experience entered Aurelius Viremont's mind. His proficiency sharpened instantly; within moments, he reached the point where he no longer required a Sling Ring. He took the ring off his finger and tossed it into his pocket dimension, feeling a sense of relief—wearing that bulky, hard ring was never a pleasant experience.
With a slight flick of his finger in the air, a portal manifested instantly. It was far faster than at Lv.1. Aurelius Viremont was delighted; he attributed this rapid progress to his unparalleled talent and "hard work."
Opening his system panel, he checked his status. Besides the newly upgraded Portal, another skill was also on the verge of a level-up!
....
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