Little Flying Man Is Here!

Little Flying Man Is Here!

Alaska.

Compared to other places, this was a desolate land, rarely visited by people.

Its most famous features were its dwindling gold mines and sled dogs.

But few knew that besides Alaskan dogs, there were also low-grade Deviants that a Celestial named Arishem had deployed on Earth thousands of years ago.

Ikaris hovered high in the sky and looked down. Beneath the thick snow, countless Deviants slumbered within the deep lake that remained frozen year-round.

The eleven of them had spent thousands of years fighting these things, their battle spanning nearly the entirety of human civilization.

"What exactly are those things..." Ikaris looked utterly grim as he lowered his head to stare at the claw marks on his chest. The wounds had long since healed completely, yet the shock the Xenomorph had brought him refused to fade.

It was the first time Ikaris had encountered a creature so similar to the Deviants, one that could grow as rapidly as they did, yet was fundamentally different from them.

He stood bathed in the falling snow.

At that moment, another figure flew over. He was not moving particularly fast, but his arrival carried an unmistakable, powerful pressure.

"Magneto?"

Ikaris frowned slightly. He had kept watch over human history, so he naturally knew this human. At the same time, he looked farther away and saw a red figure rapidly teleporting more Mutants over.

"Red Devil?"

Ikaris's frown deepened as uncertainty filled his expression.

From far away, Red Devil looked up, his gaze meeting Ikaris's. Then he revealed a meaningful smile.

Four thousand years ago, during Apocalypse's era, Red Devil had merely been an ordinary soldier under Apocalypse. He had since lived all the way into modern society, naturally witnessing all sorts of powerful individuals and countless major historical events firsthand.

In Ikaris's eyes, Red Devil was far more worthy of attention than Magneto.

"You're Flying Man?"

Magneto flew to a point not far from Ikaris and slowly spoke. His very first words made Ikaris lose his composure.

"Flying... what?"

"FLYMAN. That's what everyone calls you."

Ignoring the change in Ikaris's expression, Magneto could barely conceal his excitement as he quickly asked, "You're one of the Deviants, aren't you? How did you survive until today? Do you have an exceptionally long lifespan, or did you travel through time?"

"Magneto, watch your words. I, Ikaris, could never be a Deviant!"

"There's no need to hide it. Duva aside, even S.H.I.E.L.D. has confirmed that you're a Deviant." As Magneto spoke, a trace of fervor flashed in his eyes. His sharp gaze carefully examined Ikaris's body from head to toe.

Even S.H.I.E.L.D. was inclined to identify this guy as a Deviant.

Hmm, but that powerful body, those graceful lines, that flawless skin... they didn't seem to fit the characteristics of a Deviant.

Deviants—the name alone made it obvious. Their average level was lower than that of the Eternals, and their wildly mutated genes had resulted in bizarre appearances and abilities among their kind.

Ikaris looked far too exceptional.

Ikaris raised his voice. "I'm an Eternal! An Eternal born pure, perfect, powerful, and free of genetic defects!"

"An Eternal?"

Magneto frowned, and the warmth in his eyes faded. "As I recall, the Eternals were nothing more than homeless dogs beaten into disappearance by the Deviants. How could you be an Eternal? If you're an Eternal, how did you survive on Earth?"

"What nonsense are you spouting? If we Eternals hadn't constantly hunted the Deviants, how could you humans of Earth have lived so smoothly for these thousands of years?" The fury in Ikaris's chest ignited. "The Deviants are nothing but beasts that feed on humans. You're insane to sympathize with them!"

He had wanted to kill Duva and the Xenomorph to vent his anger, yet had failed to do so. Now this Mutant had inexplicably come looking for him and started spewing a load of incomprehensible nonsense.

Ikaris was actually several million years old, but Arishem had repeatedly wiped his memories and sent him to different planets to carry out missions. In reality, he only retained several thousand years of memories from after arriving on Earth. He knew little of Earth's more ancient history and was even less aware that a group of Eternals had fled Earth twenty thousand years ago.

"That's truly unfortunate. You're not a Deviant, yet you're still full of prejudice and insulting Deviants. You damned racist."

Magneto completely lost his patience. "Unfortunately for you, I happen to be the most extreme kind of racist."

Given his temperament, the fact that he had patiently conversed with this man at all was already rare. Once he confirmed that Ikaris was not who he was looking for, he became even more disappointed.

Eternals? What could Eternals do? These worthless things could do nothing.

"Since you've survived until today, you must have something special about you. Capturing you might give me a chance to find the real Deviants."

Magneto did not waste any more words. He had never been good-tempered to begin with, and since he sought a sense of identity from the Deviants, he had even less to say to an Eternal. He immediately attacked without hesitation.

A powerful magnetic field suddenly erupted. In Magneto's hands, it was as obedient as a well-behaved child, completely enveloping Ikaris.

Ikaris was unusually enraged. By the usual conduct of the eleven Eternals, they would not easily interfere in human affairs beyond matters involving the Deviants.

But now, Ikaris truly could not hold himself back.

Splat!

Golden Heat Vision blasted forth.

Magneto's expression was cold, clearly prepared for this. With a wave of his hand, countless pieces of metal surged in from all directions and blocked the Heat Vision.

On Earth, magnetic fields existed everywhere. Using them to manipulate the metal minerals scattered across the land was undoubtedly the most efficient and effortless way to fight.

But against an Eternal like Ikaris, Magneto was also using magnetic fields to interfere with Ikaris's physical form.

"Hm? You can fly freely without even using Earth's magnetic field?" Magneto was greatly surprised.

"Using a planet's magnetic field can at most make things a little easier for me. How could I possibly rely on something like that?"

Ikaris could fly by channeling his own immense energy. He could even fly beyond Earth, traveling through space with nothing but his flesh and blood! Just like Captain Marvel.

The battle between the two powerhouses officially erupted.

Ikaris moved at high speed through the overwhelming clouds of metal, firing golden Heat Vision in every direction. Everywhere it passed, it sliced through all matter and pierced countless incoming metal minerals.

But Magneto's power was not limited to controlling metal. He was also manipulating magnetic force, fiercely disrupting Ikaris's body's magnetic field.

An invisible web of energy appeared, tightly trapping Ikaris and compressing his room to move.

"You're like a sparrow flying everywhere. You'd be better off staying in a cage," Magneto said.

Ikaris continuously shifted his body and snorted coldly. Feeling discomfort welling up from within, he forced his way into the sky with his powerful body and looked down at Magneto from above.

The next second, he plunged downward. Magneto swiftly retreated as well. As far as the eye could see, countless substances fell under his control, surging toward Ikaris like an endless, mighty river.

The earth shook in every direction, as though the entire world had descended into turmoil.

The display was earth-shattering, but Magneto truly could not take down the formidable Ikaris right away. Suppressing Ikaris was easy enough, but killing him would take some time.

"Give up. My people are already here. You have nowhere to run," Magneto said.

One powerful Mutant after another was rapidly closing in on Ikaris.

"Run? You actually want me to run a second time?"

Ikaris's hair was disheveled. He gritted his teeth and let out a cold laugh before abruptly lowering his head toward the shattered frozen lake. "I'd like to see who'll be running next!"