D-Dead?
The blonde Valkyrie was unable to calm down for a long time, the stormy waves raised in her heart, until that rotten flesh-like aura followed the dry desert breeze and poured from her nasal cavity into her throat, only then did she slowly come back to her senses.
Forty or fifty powerful Deviants had actually been killed by this man in an instant.
Even among their race, Ikaris, who possessed the strongest strength, would not find it easy to accomplish this, let alone in an instant.
"Considering that I saved your life, don't you plan to introduce yourself?" Ichimaru Gin lightly put away his blade, as if he had only done an insignificant little thing, and asked with an unchanging smile.
The blonde Valkyrie looked at him with complicated eyes and said: "Thena... you can call me Thena."
"Mm..... it sounds very similar to Athena's pronunciation, very fitting for your performance." Ichimaru Gin smiled and praised.
"I am Athena." Thena hesitated for a moment and opened her mouth to explain: "Actually, five thousand years ago, I used this name for a period of time, and later it was recorded by people and evolved into the current Greek mythology."
"Five thousand years..."
Ichimaru Gin's narrowed eyes slightly opened a slit: "Sounds like you seem to have lived for a very long time."
"At least longer than you know." A trace of loneliness flashed across Thena's face, as if she was unwilling to say more on this topic, and instead asked: "Earlier you said you wanted to know about the Deviants. May I ask the reason?"
"Of course~"
Ichimaru Gin hid the shock in his heart and smiled: "But are you sure we should talk here?"
Thena swept a glance at the minced flesh nearby and laughed despite herself: "You're right, this place simply stinks to death. Let's talk inside the house. I happened to bake a pie. If you don't mind, you can try some."
The two came into the cave-style house.
Ichimaru Gin roughly swept a glance over the interior and found that although this place looked worn-out, the furnishings inside were quite ancient.
Many antiques worth tens of millions or even hundreds of millions could be seen almost everywhere here. Even the earthen jar holding clear water was made with ancient Egyptian craftsmanship, and most of them came from all over the world, many relics left behind by civilizations.
After enjoying the sumptuous food, Thena poured herself a glass of red wine. It was unknown from what era it came, yet it could emit a heavy fragrance that filled the entire room.
Originally, she wanted Ichimaru Gin to try it as well, but unfortunately, she was sternly refused by the latter, and in the end she could only regretfully enjoy the fine wine alone.
"Six thousand years ago..."
Using the slight drunkenness brought by the alcohol, Thena slightly brewed her emotions. Her eyes showed a bit of haziness, as if she had returned to that initial time, and then she slowly narrated the story of the Deviants.
In her description, the Deviants were a terrifying kind of creature. No one knew where they originated from. They only knew that this group of terrifying monsters were predators at the top of the food chain, treating all intelligent lifeforms as their food.
Planets that had once given birth to Deviants all ended with the extinction of intelligent lifeforms as their final outcome.
The warriors of their Eternals, under the command of the Celestial, roamed through the universe, searching for intelligent life planets where Deviants had appeared, eliminating the disasters brought by the Deviants, and helping intelligent life establish civilization and make it flourish.
There were ten Eternals who came to Earth. They arrived on Earth several thousand years ago, helped the humans of that time establish civilization, taught technology and knowledge that suited their progress, and completely eliminated the Deviants.
"Wait..."
Ichimaru Gin raised his hand and interrupted Thena, asking in confusion: "Since you eliminated the Deviants, why did they appear again?"
"I don't know..." Thena bitterly shook her head and said: "At that time, we were all certain that the Deviants had already been completely eliminated. I also don't know... why they would appear again."
"There's one more question." Ichimaru Gin narrowed his eyes and asked: "If you were certain at the time that the Deviants had already been eliminated, why did you still remain on Earth?"
"This... I also don't know."
Thena shook her head and said in confusion: "Logically speaking, after eliminating the Deviants, we should have left this planet, but at that time Ajak... she was our leader, said that nothing had been completed yet, and we still had to continue staying here."
"Sounds like... perhaps she already knew that the Deviants had not been eliminated?" Ichimaru Gin guessed.
"Perhaps..."
Thena sighed and said: "Ajak is the Prime Eternal. Only she can contact the Celestial Arishem. It should have been the Celestial who told her."
"Even you don't know the source of these Deviants?" Ichimaru Gin could not help asking again: "Could it be that you have never gone to search for their origin?"
"This... someone once mentioned it."
Thena hesitated for a moment, then shook her head and said: "The Celestial's mission only has one thing, and that is to eliminate the Deviants and protect intelligent life. He does not allow us to search for the Deviants' origin."
"Interesting..."
Ichimaru Gin habitually narrowed his eyes, as if he had associated it with something, and with a playful smile, said: "Have you never thought about why the Celestial does not allow you to search for the Deviants' origin?"
On one hand, he required the Eternals to protect humans and eliminate all Deviants. On the other hand, he ordered the Eternals not to investigate the Deviants' origin.
This kind of operation...
As long as one had a brain, they could guess that the origin of the Deviants could not be separated from that Celestial, right?
Thena fell silent for a moment. In fact, they had long had such guesses, but due to the Celestial's majesty, they had always buried them in their hearts.
"The Deviants... let's not mention them for now." Thena led the topic in another direction, staring at the man before her as she asked: "You are so concerned about the Deviants' matters. What is the reason?"
"If I must say... it is probably curiosity." Ichimaru Gin smiled and said: "For this kind of monster that feeds on humans, I really want to know their origin, so I followed their traces and found my way here."
"Too much curiosity will kill you sooner or later." Thena hesitated for a moment. Considering that she had been saved by him once, she ultimately still opened her mouth and warned: "The origin of the Deviants is not something you can pursue. If it is only because of curiosity, I advise you to give up."
"Perhaps you are right."
Ichimaru Gin looked deeply at her and said faintly: "But please do not forget that I am a human. If I do not find their origin and allow this kind of creature to reproduce, the human world will be destroyed by them. This is an outcome I am unwilling to see."
"We will protect you!"
Thena frowned and said.
"Is that so?"
Ichimaru Gin laughed aloud and said: "You Eternals may be very strong, but one day you will leave Earth. If the Deviants appear again at that time, humanity will once again face annihilation. At that time... what will you do?"
Thena was speechless.
"For humanity..."
Ichimaru Gin opened his eyes and sincerely looked at Thena, saying: "Please allow me to follow you, find the Deviants' origin, and completely eliminate them, all right?"
"This..."
Thena hesitated indecisively. Allowing a human to go search for the Deviants' origin, if it attracted Arishem's attention, then the problem would become huge.
"If you are afraid, I can search for the Deviants' origin by myself, and I alone will bear the consequences." Ichimaru Gin continued: "Believe me, all of this is for humanity. You also don't want to see humanity end up eliminated by the Deviants, right?"
Thena looked at Ichimaru Gin's sincere eyes, and ultimately was still moved by this man. She silently nodded and said: "All right. From humanity's perspective, there is no problem doing this, but I cannot provide you help. I hope you can understand."
"It's fine, I alone will bear it."
Ichimaru Gin nodded and smiled: "However, in order to find the Deviants more easily, I will have to stay here for this period of time. I hope you will not mind."
...
...
...
Las Noches.
Aizen sat on a throne piled from white bones, one hand supporting his cheek. Those brown eyes were half-closed, revealing traces of slightly cold clear light: "Eternals, Deviants, and Celestial Arishem, it really is becoming more and more interesting. What do you think? Gin."
"A crude lie, that's all."
Ichimaru Gin's projection flickered for a moment, revealing a fox-like cunning smile: "The Celestial behind the Eternals and Deviants must be hiding an even greater secret. I think... perhaps it has something to do with intelligent life."
"An experiment?"
Aizen tapped the throne's armrest and said faintly: "Continue investigating. If my thoughts are correct, the Celestial spoken of by the Eternals should be conducting some kind of secret experiment. The existence of the Deviants and Eternals cannot be separated from intelligent life. You can start from here."
"Understood, Lord Aizen."
Ichimaru Gin grinned and said: "Looks like I have to return to my old profession again."
"I believe in you, Gin."
Aizen's gaze was deep and dark, the corner of his lips curving upward as he said: "After all, you are the only man who once deceived me."