"Are you planning to kill them as well?" Kro demanded coldly, staring at Lucas.
"Why not?" Lucas replied indifferently.
"You warned those humans to leave the battlefield earlier," Kro said in disbelief.
"So why do you suddenly not care about their lives anymore?"
Having absorbed humans before, Kro had gained fragments of their knowledge. He knew that some humans were selfless—people who deeply valued the lives of their own kind.
Meanwhile, the SWAT officers aboard the helicopter were drenched in sweat, silently cursing Lucas for being far too cold-blooded.
As Lucas spoke, the glowing point in his palm condensed into a dense energy sphere infused with terrifying ki.
The violent energy fluctuations caused the ground to tremble slightly. Loose stones collided with one another, shattering into even smaller fragments.
At that moment, even Kro—hovering in the air—began to tremble uncontrollably after sensing the ever-growing threat below.
This was instinct—pure survival instinct. Even genetically modified lifeforms could not escape it.
Kro was certain of one thing:
If he did not abandon the helicopter immediately, he would be blasted into nothing but dust.
"Why… why did it turn out like this?" Kro muttered.
He could not understand how the same Lucas who had ordered civilians to evacuate earlier—who had chosen to protect humans—could now be so utterly decisive and merciless.
The energy sphere in Lucas's hand continued to swell, on the verge of detonation.
Panic finally set in.
The next instant, Kro burst out of the helicopter, trying to flee toward the rooftop of a nearby building.
But at that exact moment, energy flared in Lucas's palm.
A blinding white ki cannon roared forth.
In the blink of an eye, the beam pursued Kro with terrifying precision—like a guided missile—and caught up to him effortlessly.
"No—!!!"
Kro's pupils dilated violently, reflecting the ever-brightening white light.
The next second, the ki cannon surged forward like a monstrous maw, swallowing Kro whole—along with the tail section of the helicopter.
"Mayday! Mayday! Mayday!"
The pilot shouted desperately, struggling to stabilize the aircraft. But with the tail rotor gone, the helicopter lost balance and began to plummet.
The two SWAT officers in the rear turned pale. The mission had been dispatched too urgently—there had been no time to retrieve parachutes.
From this height, they had a ninety-five percent chance of dying.
Jumping was not an option either. That would only mean an even faster death.
As the out-of-control helicopter hurtled toward the rapidly approaching building, despair overtook them.
They closed their eyes.
One of them even drew a cross over his chest, praying for divine salvation.
Several seconds passed.
No pain came.
They opened their eyes—only to find that the helicopter had not collided with the building.
Instead, it was descending smoothly at a constant speed.
Moments later, it touched down safely.
Lucas released his grip and casually set the helicopter onto the ground.
Looking at the four people crawling out in shock, he said calmly:
"Next time you accept a mission, think carefully about whether it's worth dying for."
With that, Lucas rose into the air and departed, leaving behind four men who had narrowly escaped death.
---
Soon after, he returned home.
The moment Lucas stepped through the door, the Eternals hurried forward, their faces filled with concern.
"They're all dead," Lucas said, sitting back down on the sofa.
"It's over."
Carrie obediently brought him a bottle of cola. Lucas smiled and gently patted her head.
"Brother," Carrie suddenly said,
"when I saw those monsters earlier, I felt something… strange."
"Oh?" Lucas asked after taking a sip of ice-cold cola.
"What kind of feeling?"
"I felt like… I really wanted to eat them," Carrie said softly, swallowing as if unconsciously licking her lips.
The living room fell silent.
Every Eternal froze.
Lucas set the cola aside. A faint glow of ki appeared in his palm as he gently placed his hand on Carrie's forehead.
After a moment, he opened his eyes.
If he had only been suspicious before, now he was certain.
Carrie was Galactus's daughter—Galacta.
Something must have gone wrong in this universe, causing her to arrive on Earth in an infant state, where she was adopted by Lucas's parents.
The unique devouring trait within her body had just completely consumed the ki he had fed into her.
"Brother," Carrie said happily,
"your energy tastes really good~!"
Lucas immediately withdrew his hand. He had no desire to be drained dry—though he knew Carrie would never intentionally do such a thing.
"Carrie," Lucas said seriously, gripping her shoulders,
"you must never eat things recklessly."
"If you ever feel hungry, you tell me first. You are absolutely forbidden from eating living beings. Do you understand?"
Carrie nodded obediently.
"I understand, Brother."
The Eternals exchanged glances but quickly accepted it. None of them were ordinary beings to begin with.
Sersi sat down and said sincerely,
"Lucas, thank you. If not for you, we might all have died today."
She glanced at the unconscious Ikaris lying nearby.
"It was nothing," Lucas replied, waving it off and leaning back into the sofa.
"But Lucas," Sersi said hesitantly,
"I'm afraid you're going to face endless trouble from now on."
"Trouble?" Lucas chuckled and took a long gulp of cola.
After letting out a loud burp, he said lazily:
"If I dared to show my face in public, it means I already have ways to deal with whatever comes. You don't need to worry."
Sersi looked surprised, then smiled.
"Still—thank you. If you ever need anything, just say the word. The Eternals will never refuse."
Lucas crossed his legs and nodded.
A moment later, the doorbell rang.
Makkari was at the door instantly. After checking the peephole, she gestured toward Lucas.
"I know," Lucas said casually.
"Open it."
The door swung open.
A group of heavily armed police officers rushed in, securing the entire living room.
Only then did three officers in special uniforms step forward.
"Are you Lucas?" one of them asked.
"I am," Lucas replied calmly.
"We are U.S. Marshals from the Philadelphia Federal Court," the middle-aged, brown-haired man introduced himself.
"You are currently facing one hundred and seventy-five civil lawsuits and thirteen criminal charges. Please cooperate and come with us to court for formal processing."
Lucas set down his cola.
"And if I refuse?"
The marshal straightened and declared firmly:
"Then we will arrest you for obstruction of justice!"
"You want to arrest me?" Lucas slowly stood up.
A powerful pressure surged outward instantly.
Every marshal instinctively staggered back several steps.
Just as the brown-haired man recovered and was about to speak—
Screeching brakes echoed outside.
Arrogant voices rang out one after another:
"Step aside—FBI operation!"
"I'm with the CIA. Clear the way."
"Take your hands off me! NSA—do you see my badge? Get lost!"
"U.S. Secret Service! Don't move unless you want to lose that uniform with a single phone call!"
__
T/N:
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