Buzz~
As the massive mech solidified, the roar of mechanical engines erupted, a pair of golden eyes blazing with dazzling light, illuminating the dark world.
Boom!!
In this world filled with unknown slime, the sixty-meter-tall mech crashed onto the soft "ground," its twenty-three thousand tons of weight mercilessly crushing grotesque, tumor-like growths.
Buzz~
The next moment, a boomerang-like weapon flashed, tearing a hundreds-of-meters-long gash through the dark world.
Roar!!
A ferocious beast's howl echoed, and endless gales surged through the breach, hellfire from the outside world streaming through to bathe the massive mechanical frame in light.
The mech's overall color scheme was black and silver, its chest plate adorned with a faintly glowing red web pattern, while golden webs decorated its waist and knees.
Its massive mechanical head was modeled after a spider, with a menacing red face and a vicious maw. The golden boomerang returned, embedding itself in the forehead, where a V-shaped crest shimmered with golden light.
Witnessing the colossal mech, Charlie's inverted triangular eyes widened, glowing bright blue.
"This is… Leopardon!"
This was the true invincible Spider-Man, straight from the Toei studios, with spider-sense capable of detecting danger within a fifty-kilometer radius, known as Four Hundred Aunt, who could slay any enemy with a single sword strike!
In the comics, every Spider-Man acknowledged this one's strength.
Though, it was often mocked for its odd quirk of engaging in hand-to-hand combat before delivering the one-hit-kill sword strike.
Under Charlie's expectant gaze, the giant mech gripped a massive sword, holding the hilt with both hands and thrusting it into the soft "ground."
One shot, one soul—War Soul God Sword!!
Buzz!!
Boom!!!
In an instant, the greatsword unleashed endless radiant lightning, its terrifying power whipping up a hurricane that swept through the dark world, shredding countless tumors in its path.
No one could withstand the terrifying force of this sword.
It seemed capable of splitting the heavens and earth, as if tearing through dimensions, shattering hell, and banishing all darkness and despair.
It represented invincibility.
And brought hope and light.
Roar~~
The beast's roars grew increasingly desperate, but as the dark world was torn apart, the deafening howls abruptly ceased.
Rumble!!!
The next moment, a terrifying explosion engulfed Charlie's world.
A pair of giant mechanical hands descended, shielding him from the devastating blast.
Amid an explosion akin to a nuclear detonation, the dark forest was stripped of its mysterious veil by the shockwave. Black monstrous birds fled in panic but couldn't escape being torn apart by the blast.
The black forest was razed repeatedly, leaving only charred, barren trees. Countless dark elves disintegrated into soul fragments under the heatwave.
In the distance, the volcano trembled, its crater spewing thicker plumes of black hellfire.
In the lava pools, pillars of molten rock shot skyward, the evil spirits within shrieking in terror. The Ghost Rider on his blazing steed, eyes flickering with fire, sat atop a skeletal horse that whinnied uneasily, sensing its master's trembling.
In the direction of the Bone City, countless evil spirits watched as the giant worm's body shattered into fragments, their expressions shifting from shock to fear.
"How is this possible!"
"Oh my gosh, Mephisto's beloved Hell Dragon Demon has been slain!"
"The sky is falling!!"
Seeing the massive robot burst forth, Old Steve's face lit up with excitement.
"Could it be Tony?"
Natasha frowned. "No way, that's not Tony's Mark Armor."
Old Steve mused, "It's different. If Tony won the Resurrection Match and gained advanced armor tech, he could've built a giant mech."
Barton, stone-faced, said, "Whatever it is, let's go check it out."
"Alright."
The group sprang into action.
…
At the outskirts of the obliterated dark forest, the giant mech gently set Charlie on the ground.
Then, under Charlie's gaze, the mech transformed back into the Marbella spaceship, and a war vehicle shot out, circling the sky before landing.
Boom~
The engine roared as the tokusatsu-styled GP7 war vehicle drifted to a stop in front of Charlie.
Whoosh!
A red-and-blue figure leaped from the vehicle.
The figure landed on the hood, striking a claw-like pose before crouching into a classic stance.
"The Messenger from Hell, Spider-Man!"
Charlie: "…"
Witnessing the absurd yet mildly embarrassing act, he froze.
"This is hell. You don't need to 'return' here," he said, face darkening.
Takuya Yamashiro glanced around, quickly standing and scratching his head.
"Sorry."
Then, he repeated the pose.
"The man who saves fallen souls, Spider-Man!"
Charlie: "…"
"As a Spider-Man, I'm grateful you saved me just now, but the dimensional wall is already broken. You don't need to stick to your original script. A lot of superheroes would mock this. Like, as a fellow Spider-Man, I really want to roast your poses, but I can't beat you, so I'm politely suggesting you fix it. Otherwise, you're embarrassing all Spider-Men."
Amid Charlie's rant, Takuya Yamashiro flipped to the ground, then shuffled toward him with goofy spider steps.
Yep, moves straight out of Naruto.
"Please stop. Can you tell me what's going on?" Charlie asked.
Pointing at the hellish volcano behind him, Charlie said, "This is some demon's hell. I need your help. Summoning you is my superpower."
Takuya nodded, then shook his head.
"I've already saved you. Please let me go back. I haven't finished fighting the Iron Cross Army."
Charlie scratched his head. "Well…"
He took a deep breath, his tone serious.
"Mr. Takuya Yamashiro, with great power comes great responsibility. As a Spider-Man, I ask you to help save the innocent souls in this hell."
"With great power comes great responsibility… innocent souls?"
Takuya's inverted triangular eyes gleamed. "Alright, let's become the men who save innocent souls!!"
He raised his hand, striking a few more embarrassing poses, then extended a fist, seemingly wanting a fist bump.
"Uh…"
Staring at the gesture, Charlie hesitated.
This chuunibyou stuff was cringe.
But to convince Takuya to help, he gritted his teeth and bumped fists.
"Alright, let's be the men who save innocent souls!" he said through clenched teeth.
He glanced around cautiously, relieved no one saw. As long as no one witnessed it, it wasn't too embarrassing.
Their fist bump sealed the agreement.
"What now?" Takuya asked.
Charlie looked at the hellish volcano. "The person I'm looking for might be there."
"Got it. Hop in."
Takuya leaped onto the GP7, waving Charlie over.
Charlie glanced at the spaceship hovering above. "I think that would be faster," he said, pointing.
Takuya thought for a moment. "Good point!"
He drove the war vehicle back into the spaceship.
Boom!!
The spaceship's thrusters flared, and Charlie quickly waved. "Wait, I'm not on yet!!"
"Sorry, hurry up!"
Takuya shot out a thick webline, and Charlie climbed aboard.
Boom!
The gloomy sky parted as the spaceship sped through, kicking up clouds of dust. In less than a minute, they reached the volcano's base.
Gurgle~
Before the ship could get closer, the hellish volcano erupted with endless hellfire, torrents of molten lava crashing down in an apocalyptic scene. But it didn't faze Takuya.
"Leopardon!"
He tapped the metal band on his wrist, and the spaceship transformed again.
Buzz~
Boom!!
The giant mech raised a shield adorned with golden webs, deflecting the falling lava and hellfire, which exploded into endless sparks upon impact.
Seizing the moment, the mech drew its War Soul God Sword.
"Here it comes!!"
From Charlie's perspective, "he" hurled the sword toward the volcano.
Buzz~
Rumble!!!
In an instant, the ten-thousand-meter-high volcano was cleaved in two by the sword's radiance.
For Leopardon, no problem was unsolvable with one swing.
Crack crack crack~~
"Ah!!!"
At that moment, the world dimmed, the volcano split open mercilessly, exposing its winding internal passages.
Endless hellish lava surged from the depths, plunging the world into fear and despair, with countless evil spirits screaming in the molten torrent.
Seeing this, Charlie's eye twitched uncontrollably.
"What are you doing?"
In the co-pilot seat, he turned to Takuya.
Takuya raised a fist. "To save innocent souls and slay all evil spirits, Spider-Man!"
"You're way too bloodthirsty!!"
Charlie lost it. "I'm trying to save someone! Save them!!"
"You split the volcano! The person I need to save might die! Use your spider-sense, quick!"
"Sense what?" Takuya asked, confused.
Charlie's face darkened. "You can sense when your girlfriend's in danger, so why not here?"
"She's just a friend," Takuya said, feigning shyness.
Charlie clutched his head. "Don't explain that now! Sense the innocent souls!"
"Sorry, there are too many. I can't pinpoint them."
"Oh, for f—! Can you do anything besides fight?"
"I can fix motorcycles."
"Bro, please, go fish them out!"
"Don't worry, watch this."
The mech's cockpit opened, and Takuya leaped onto Leopardon's shoulder.
"The man who risks his life for a promise, Spider-Man!!"
"Damn it, you don't need to pose right now!!"
"Uh, I'll watch it next time."
Takuya scratched his head awkwardly, then dove into the volcano's passages.
"Why… why does he repeat that flip so many times?"
Charlie kept roasting, but time was short. He shot out spatial webs, swinging into the volcano.
The split volcano was on the verge of collapse. Amid a fiery red volcanic base, Charlie dodged raining lava.
Following Takuya, he saw him trading blows with evil spirit minions and gave up roasting.
Multiversal Spider-Men always had such niche quirks.
Maybe that was the price of Spider-Man powers.
Charlie could only explain it that way.
As he thought, the electric spider on his chest sparked.
Zzt zzt~
Bang bang bang!
In a second, electric arcs flashed across the battlefield, turning evil spirit minions into soul fragments that vanished in the scorching lava rain.
Takuya froze, stunned.
"Charlie-kun, you're amazing!" He gave a thumbs-up.
Charlie rolled his eyes. "I'm just normal."
With that, he surged deeper as an electric arc, lightning-fast, yet Takuya's goofy little steps somehow kept pace without falling behind.
Da da da!
Suddenly, urgent hoofbeats echoed from the passage ahead.
Charlie sensed trouble.
Sure enough, a Ghost Rider on a skeletal horse charged with endless hellfire, filling the passage with flames.
Clang clang clang!
The Ghost Rider whipped out a hellfire chain, flames crawling along it like a dragon from hell, its roars faintly audible.
With no way to retreat and his heart pounding, Charlie didn't hesitate to pull Takuya in front of him.
"Giegie, save me!"
"Nani?"
Takuya, startled, tapped his wrist device. Leopardon's eyes glowed, and the War Soul God Sword plunged into the passage.
Rumble~
The sword pierced the volcano, shaking the passage. The hellfire dragon and Ghost Rider were consumed by the sword's edge.
Takuya exhaled. "Close call."
Behind him, Charlie peeked out, giving a thumbs-up.
"Giegie, you're awesome!"
"Watch out!"
Evil spirit minions lunged, and Takuya pushed Charlie aside, engaging them in a three-hundred-round brawl.
Charlie: "…"
This guy's nuts!!
Ignoring Takuya's theatrics, Charlie zipped around as an electric arc, searching nearby.
Finally, at the passage's end, he found something suspicious.
Before him stood a massive stone gate, dozens of meters tall.
The gate was sealed, etched with strange hellish runes that vaguely formed a number.
"This is…?"
Charlie guessed it might be Mephisto's soul collection.
Without hesitation, he crouched, right fist shooting from his waist with two hundred tons of force, slamming into the gate. The air exploded, shattering the surrounding passage walls.
Boom!!
After the deafening sound, Charlie slowly withdrew his fist.
He took a deep breath, staring at the unscathed gate, and fell silent.
"What are you doing?"
Takuya caught up, seeing Charlie "facing the wall in reflection," and casually pushed the gate open.
"Wanna go in?" he asked.
Staring at the effortlessly opened gate, Charlie staggered, clutching his chest.
"How… how did you do that?"
"There's a switch."
Takuya pointed at a groove on the gate. "Do you always open doors like that?"
He glanced at the metal shards on Charlie's fist, shaking his head.
This Spider-Man didn't seem too bright.