I have added this story to my Patreon. You can support me and read the 40 latest and advanced chapters there. It also fed and motivate me to write more chapters!
Link: Patreon.com/Heroicverse
—------------------—
At this moment, in the streaming rooms broadcast across major global video websites.
Countless viewers were staring at their screens, completely unfazed by the villain's escape.
Having been through so many crises, everyone had blind confidence in Homelander's strength.
The live chat was scrolling frantically with interactions from netizens.
[ Rest in peace, Homelander-wannabe. GG ez. ]
[ Homelander: You call that flying? Cute. ]
[ Homelander: I'll give you a 3999-meter head start. ]
[ Hey little Peter Pan, look behind you, you've been locked on! ]
[ Run? You think you can run after provoking our big boss? Even if Jesus himself came today, he couldn't save him, I said it! ]
[ Blind guess, how many seconds can the alien Peter Pan withstand Homelander's laser shampoo? ]
[ Alien Peter Pan: I was so scared at the time. ]
...
While the netizens in the chat were frantically spamming and enjoying themselves, the rest of the Eternals were facing a different, tragic scene.
Druig lay powerless on the ground.
Ikaris's attack had been too sudden; Druig hadn't even had time to summon his Eternal suit for defense.
High-energy cosmic rays had pierced directly through his chest, shattering the core energy matrix within him.
Golden cosmic energy was leaking from every part of his body, turning into specks of starlight and dissipating into the air.
Ajak knelt beside him, her hands pressed tightly against Druig's wound.
A golden healing light flickered desperately in her palms, attempting to stop the fading of his life.
But the energy she poured in was like water flowing into a bottomless pit.
Druig's skin was turning gray and lifeless at a speed visible to the naked eye.
"Don't waste your energy, Ajak." Druig lifted his hand with difficulty and grabbed Ajak's wrist.
Ajak shook her head, continuing to channel the golden light in her hands. "Hold on, Druig. I can fix you."
"The core... is shattered." Druig's gaze swept across this group of family members he had spent seven thousand years with, and a relieved smile rose to the corner of his mouth.
He looked at Ajak, using his last bit of strength to instruct her: "The Amazon... my people. Help me... take care of them..."
After saying this, the light in Druig's eyes extinguished, and he fell silent forever.
Ajak's hand dropped powerlessly, and tears fell.
Kingo also gave up on the interview, came before Druig, and joined the others in mourning.
Sprite hid in the distance, taking in the whole scene.
Her eyes were red, and the sorrow in her heart was evident.
After thousands of years of companionship, Druig was like the family member she often bickered with. But now, he had become a cold corpse.
But she knew she had no right to go up and mourn. Not since she had made her choice, the choice to stand on Ikaris's side.
Sprite raised her hands, and a layer of transparent illusion covered her entire body.
She concealed her figure and walked towards the cordon on the outskirts of the warehouse.
She had to leave now, because she could no longer face her former family.
Media reporters on the perimeter were still taking photos frantically, and Vought's Superheroes were maintaining order.
Sprite, relying on her invisibility ability, stepped silently across the yellow warning cordon.
Just as she was about to blend into the crowd.
A strong arm suddenly reached out from the side and accurately grabbed her by the neck.
"Ugh!"
Sprite let out a muffled grunt of pain, her feet left the ground, and she was lifted into mid-air by one hand.
The illusion covering her disintegrated inch by inch, and her petite body was directly exposed to the air.
"Playing at invisibility in front of me?"
Shabby looked at the struggling girl in his hand and sneered.
"Your luck has run out, little girl. I'm the ancestor of this kind of thing."
Sprite grabbed Shabby's arm with both hands and kicked her legs in the air, but she couldn't break free from this man's iron grip.
Shabby carried Sprite and strode to the distracted Quicksilver not far away.
"Hey, buddy. Making the team's security perimeter look like a sieve—that doesn't sound like your style."
Pietro had been boredly chewing gum, but seeing Shabby suddenly pop up in front of him, he jumped back in shock.
"Fuck!" Pietro spat out his gum and stared at Shabby with wide eyes, "Shabby? Where the hell did you pop up from?"
He slapped his head hard.
"God, a second ago I completely didn't remember you, bro! I thought our The Seven had always only had six people!"
While Pietro complained loudly, his actions were not slow at all.
With a "swish," he circled around Sprite.
Before Sprite could react, Vought-made electronic shackles were already locked onto her wrists and ankles.
"Done." Pietro clapped his hands and said to Shabby. "I kinda missed you, bro. And then I didn't, you know, I just can't remember you, haha!"
Shabby ignored Pietro's terrible joke. He just gave a cool smile and said:
"But the shadows will remember everything..."
"This World doesn't just need heroes who accept cheers in the sunlight; it also needs abyss hunters like me. Darkness... is my best medal."
After saying this exclusive line designed for him by Homelander, Shabby pressed the button on his wrist.
The optical camouflage module on his new suit activated, and his body merged into the air and disappeared.
Pietro looked in the direction where Shabby had disappeared and shook his head with some amusement.
But a second later.
Pietro's eyes suddenly became confused. He looked left and right with a puzzled expression on his face, then looked down at the shackled Sprite on the ground.
"What the hell, how did you end up at my feet?" Pietro asked, frowning.
Sprite sat on the ground, equally confused.
She remembered clearly that she had been fleeing while invisible just a moment ago and was about to cross the warning line, so how did she suddenly end up shackled and thrown in front of a member of The Seven?
She couldn't remember at all what had happened in between.
...
High in the sky.
Ikaris was flying at supersonic speed, his goal clear:
Alaska, the Northern Ice Fields.
He knew that the Deviants had not all perished.
A large number of Deviants were still frozen under the glaciers of Alaska.
They were a group of monsters created by the Celestials, born purely for slaughter.
Originally, they were just meant to clear out the top predators on incubating Planets to ensure the reproduction of intelligent life.
Later, for their own evolution, the Deviants began attacking indiscriminately.
And their original mission as Eternals was to slaughter these Deviants.
Ikaris knew very well that he alone could not deal with Homelander, nor could he deal with those Eternal companions who had already betrayed Arishem the Judge's will.
He needed helpers, needed some heavy-duty bait to attract their attention.
When the time came, whether it was the heroes led by Homelander or the Eternals like Ajak, they would all be held back by these Deviants.
He would then be able to free up his hands to find the infinity stones and ensure Arishem the Judge's plan proceeded smoothly.
This was the most effective stalling tactic he could think of.
Soon, a vast white World of ice and snow appeared in his line of sight ahead.
Ikaris lowered his altitude and arrived above an ice valley.
Because of global warming in recent years, the ice fields had melted quite a bit.
Ikaris looked down; the solid ice was no longer as thick.
This saved him a lot of time.
Ikaris hovered in mid-air, golden light glowing in his eyes.
Two high-energy cosmic rays shot out from his eyes, sweeping directly towards the glacier below.
"Sss— —"
The moment the rays touched the ice surface, thick white mist rose up.
"Hey, is there treasure down there, little Peter Pan?"