Among the Eternals present, everyone except Sersi and Ikaris had essentially lost their ability to fight.
Lucas Reed's attacks were not like the ones in movies—where someone could take a punch, roll on the ground, and still get back up to continue fighting.
Ikaris, who had narrowly avoided the ki cannon, steadied himself once more. The look he cast at Lucas was filled with deep wariness.
'Since when did a monster like this appear among Earth's humans?'
Ikaris cursed inwardly, yet he still flew toward Sersi at top speed.
Faced with such a terrifying opponent, protecting Sersi came before everything else.
But in the next instant, Lucas vanished from where he stood.
Then, before Ikaris could react, a fist the size of a bowl suddenly filled his vision.
"Shit!"
Ikaris swore, golden light exploding from his eyes as his energy beams fired instantly.
This time, however, Lucas did not dodge.
Instead, he raised both arms in front of him and blocked the full output head-on, his feet continuing to step forward—one step at a time.
Seeing this, Ikaris' anger erupted. Golden veins of energy spread around his eyes.
At the same time, his body began to tremble violently, clearly operating beyond safe limits.
"AAAH!"
With a furious roar, the golden energy in Ikaris' eyes surged explosively, finally forcing Lucas to halt his advance.
But only for a moment.
After adjusting his stance, Lucas resumed walking forward again.
The first to fully regain consciousness—Thena and Gilgamesh—stared in utter disbelief.
This was the first time they had ever witnessed someone directly tank Ikaris' maximum-output energy beams.
Just who in the world was this man?
"We mean no harm—please, listen to me first!"
At this moment, Sersi hurriedly called out.
Lucas ignored her and continued pressing toward Ikaris.
Finally, just as Lucas' hand was about to clamp down on Ikaris' face, the concrete beneath his feet suddenly changed structure.
Lucas staggered slightly, forcibly stabilizing himself with ki.
Ikaris seized this brief opening, immediately cutting off his attack and retreating into the air.
Lucas turned his gaze toward Sersi, who now had both hands pressed against the ground, her expression extremely strained.
He swept his eyes over the Eternals lying scattered and battered across the area, a trace of disdain in his gaze.
Every Eternal present looked at Lucas with a mixture of incomprehension—and fear.
Since descending upon Earth, they had borne witness to humanity's long history.
For over five thousand years, humans had grown and evolved in their eyes, yet remained fragile beings—constantly cycling through birth, aging, sickness, and death.
To Ikaris and Druig alike, humans were little different from other animals in nature.
Yet now, from among those fragile humans, a being had emerged who could threaten their lives.
It was like observing ants for a lifetime—only for one day an ant the size of an elephant to appear, capable of tearing them apart effortlessly.
The shock to their worldview was immense.
Sersi hurriedly spoke again, her voice sincere:
"Mr. Reed, first of all, please accept our deepest apologies."
"In our pursuit of the Deviants earlier, we unintentionally destroyed your home. We truly did not mean to cause you such trouble."
"We fully understand your anger and dissatisfaction."
"But please believe us—we did not act with malicious intent."
Her tone now carried clear pleading, vastly different from the earlier calm and faintly superior attitude.
"Please rest assured—we will immediately rebuild your house," she continued.
"And we will offer our most sincere apology."
Lucas replied indifferently, "I don't care what your objectives are. Just make sure my house is taken care of first."
Sersi nodded repeatedly. "Of course. We'll begin right away."
If not for matters involving the Celestials—and the fact that the Eternals had, in certain ways, aided humanity's development—
Lucas might very well have slaughtered these alien constructs on the spot.
What followed, however, showed him the terrifying efficiency of the Eternals when working together.
Druig began by mentally influencing and dispersing the crowds that had gathered to watch from a distance.
Makkari, using her super speed, dashed about collecting materials and piling them beside Sersi.
Trees, stone, sand—anything Sersi touched was instantly transmuted into the required building materials.
The highly knowledgeable Phastos handled the fabrication of critical components using specialized metals.
Ikaris used the extreme heat of his eye beams to shape and bore large steel structures.
Gilgamesh relied on his immense strength to transport and assemble heavy components.
When mistakes occurred, he was also responsible for violently tearing things back apart.
Once most materials were delivered, Makkari switched roles and began assembling and transporting smaller components.
Sprite created a complete 3D architectural model, along with detailed assembly guides, ensuring that nothing was placed incorrectly.
Kingo inspected completed sections for quality—if something didn't meet standards, it was torn down and rebuilt.
Perhaps in an effort to curry favor with Lucas, Kingo inspected everything excessively, nitpicking several sections repeatedly.
Makkari and Gilgamesh nearly beat him up on the spot.
Under the astonished gazes of Elaine and Carrie, a brand-new house took shape at an unbelievable speed.
The design—provided by Sprite—incorporated the most advanced architectural concepts available.
What had once been a two-and-a-half-story old residence was now a four-and-a-half-story luxury villa, complete with balconies and a swimming pool.
As for the fact that its footprint was now more than twice the original size, Lucas chose to ignore it.
After all, this was a small-town area with wide spacing between houses—and Druig was already handling the neighbors' memories.
"Brother! This house looks way better than our old one! It'll be so much more comfortable to live in!"
Carrie exclaimed excitedly at Lucas' side.
Elaine rolled her eyes. "If you compare an old residential house to a luxury villa, then yes—it's obviously a huge difference."
Lucas, meanwhile, was quietly calculating how much money this incident had saved him.
"Brother, do you think Mom and Dad will even recognize the place when they come back?" Carrie suddenly asked.
"Don't worry," Lucas laughed loudly. "They'll probably have their jaws on the floor."
Seeing Lucas' mood visibly improve, the Eternals finally breathed a collective sigh of relief.
This disaster had—at last—been resolved.
___
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