Ninth Resurrection Match.
In the Hell Arcade Hall, Charlie chose to challenge a particularly tricky opponent.
Buzz~
Hellfire spread out, and Charlie's figure appeared in the altar space.
On the spectator stands, the crowd yawned in boredom, some even opting to leave early.
Spider-Man vs. Ant-Man—this matchup had no appeal whatsoever.
As expected, with a burst of blinding light on the altar, Charlie's figure vanished in an instant under the shrinking effect of light and shadow.
No, not vanished.
He had been shrunken by Pym Particles.
At this moment, in Charlie's eyes, the altar had transformed into an endless mountain range riddled with ravines. A massive, dark swarm of ants surged from the "mountains," surrounding him in a vast "basin."
Atop the lead giant ant, Scott removed his helmet, his gaze sizing up Charlie, who was encircled by the ant army.
"Spider-Man?" Scott frowned slightly.
Charlie's mask retracted, revealing a youthful face.
"Hey, I'd like to discuss something with you."
Seeing that this Spider-Man wasn't the one he knew, Scott relaxed a bit.
"Sorry, this isn't a place for discussions. Only one of us can stay here."
"One?"
Charlie pointed at the overwhelming ant army surrounding them. "You sure it's just one?"
Scott scratched his face awkwardly. "Uh, don't sweat the details. Point is, I can't lose. I don't want to die in this cursed place."
"Relax, you won't die. Can we talk?" Charlie called out again.
Scott shook his head, his eyes wary.
"Sorry, I swore an oath once—I won't let Spider-Man beat me with his web of words again. So, I'm not listening to you."
With a sharp cry, the dense swarm of ants surged toward Charlie like a tidal wave.
Crack crack crack
In an instant, the ants' legs trampled the ground, kicking up a storm of dust and sand.
Endless sand rolled in, gradually engulfing the ant army.
"Whoa, are ants Spider-Man's natural enemy?"
Charlie chuckled lightly, then launched himself into the air, firing spatial webbing while switching to his arc form.
Zzzzt~
Boom!!
The sky roared as electric arcs zigzagged through the air, closing in on Scott in the blink of an eye.
"What the—?"
Scott's face paled in shock. "What kind of Spider-Man is this?"
Immediately, he tapped the device on his wrist. Pym Particles glowed faintly, and Scott's body rapidly expanded in a shimmer of light.
Buzz~
Boom!!
The next moment, the giant Ant-Man raised his right foot, a colossal pillar-like foot descending from the sky.
The sky darkened, a massive shadow looming over. Charlie's form turned into an electric arc, darting into the "mountain range."
Rumble!!
In an instant, the world seemed to collapse, like the end of days.
Hiding in a crevice of the altar, Charlie clung to the back of a giant ant.
He patted the ant's armored back, his palm suddenly sprouting dense bristles.
"Buddy, when's the last time you took a bath?"
With that, Charlie leaped off the ant's back, transforming into an electric arc and weaving through the altar's crevices.
As the shadow in the sky gradually dissipated, Charlie shot a web, locking onto the giant's pant leg, and silently climbed up the titan's body.
Meanwhile, Scott, back to normal size, lifted his foot to inspect the ground.
Perhaps due to nearsightedness, he crouched down, searching for Charlie's body.
"Strange, did I squash him flat? Amen~"
Scott knelt on the ground, offering a brief, devout prayer.
Zzzzt~
Suddenly, his wrist device flickered with faint electric light, and Scott's instincts screamed danger.
"Oh no!"
With a shout, his wrist device activated automatically, consuming a bit of stored Pym Particles. His body shrank to ant size in a flash of light.
"No!!"
As the shrunken Scott plummeted, an electric arc flashed, snatching him away in an instant.
"Oh, sh*t, how could you activate the Pym device while shrunken? That'd take at least a hundred tons of force!"
In high-speed motion, Scott stared at Charlie, his face full of disbelief.
Charlie, now holding the stolen device, landed in a valley within the altar's crevices.
"Sorry, I'm Spider-Man and Hulk."
With that, he kicked a nearby boulder to pieces, leaving Scott stunned.
"Y-You, don't do anything reckless! I was just messing with you earlier."
Scott forced an awkward smile, surrendering without hesitation.
Charlie tossed the Pym device in his hand, smirking faintly.
"Now can we talk?"
Scott lowered his head, a bit embarrassed. "Honestly, there's not much to talk about. I've already lost, and time's running out."
Charlie waved him off. "No, you've got time. I said I'd concede later."
"Huh?"
Scott looked stunned. "You were serious?"
"Of course. Spider-Man never lies."
"I can trust you, but not Spider-Man. Well, the Spider-Man I know—that guy's not trustworthy."
Scott sat on the ground, rubbing his sore neck.
"Alright, what do you want to talk about?"
…
"Quantum Realm."
"What?"
Scott's expression shifted. "Who told you about that?"
"Doesn't matter."
"Fine, doesn't matter."
Scott took a deep breath. "The Quantum Realm is a terrifying place. Why are you asking about it?"
Charlie sat beside him. "If we can enter the Quantum Realm, we might be able to escape this hell."
At those words, Scott's face lit up briefly before turning complicated.
"No, that's impossible. The Quantum Realm is worse than hell."
"How bad could it be?" Charlie asked, curious.
Scott sighed. "I don't know."
Charlie: "."
"What are you talking about?"
"I don't know what I'm talking about."
Scott shook his head. "I haven't truly entered the Quantum Realm, but it's already terrifying enough.
That place has no concept of time or space. Everything I saw was constantly changing. I couldn't sense anything around me—it was like I lost all sense of existence. My mind felt like it was merging with that place.
If I hadn't gotten lucky, I'd probably be stuck there forever.
Not forever in the usual sense—eternally. In that world, I'd live forever, meaninglessly."
At this, Scott's face twisted in fear, his body trembling.
Seeing this, Charlie said seriously, "Alright, I won't force you. The choice is yours, and you're not my only option."
"I'm not going. Never will." Scott refused without hesitation.
"Fine. Lend me a few vials of Pym Particles. Don't worry, I probably won't get the chance to return them."
Charlie didn't wait for permission, taking the stored Pym Particles from the device and tossing it back to Scott.
Scott didn't object. "I've got plenty more."
"You've learned to make Pym Particles on your own?" Charlie asked, curious.
Scott nodded. "Yeah. To ensure the game's so-called fairness, Mephisto gave me the time and equipment to make Pym Particles.
But from what you're saying, the Scott you know hasn't figured it out yet?"
Charlie shrugged. "I don't know the guy, but a friend of a friend does."
Scott thought for a moment. "I'll tell you how to make them. If you get out, you know what to do."
"Sure, I'll look after your wife and daughter," Charlie promised readily.
Scott's face darkened. "I meant give the method to the Scott in the other universe. He'll take care of it. You don't need to get involved."
Charlie: "."
"Fair enough. It's a solid plan. After all, it's Scott. Your green hat will shine a lot brighter."
With that, he stood and said to Scott, "Help me grow back… no, make me bigger. I'm going up."
"Up?"
"Yeah. Up there's Thanos. I'm going to fight him again."
"You're no match for him."
"I've already beaten him once."
"Then why fight again?"
Charlie wagged a finger at Scott's question.
"You don't get the importance of connections. The more teammates we have in the Quantum Realm, the better our chances of finding an exit."
Hearing this, Scott looked thoughtful.
"I'll help you. Count me in."
"You… changed your mind?"
"Of course. If you can convince Thanos to join, I think this plan's solid."
"Damn! So you weren't scared of the Quantum Realm—you just thought I wasn't reliable."
"You caught on quick. But how are you getting up there?"
"By fighting my way up, obviously."
"Oh, that's insane."
Soon, light flickered, and Scott's body returned to normal size.
Charlie's body, amplified by Pym Particles, began to grow rapidly.
Rumble!!
As his size surged, Charlie's strength easily broke into the thousands of tons.
Watching the ever-expanding red-and-blue giant, Scott swallowed hard.
"Your body can't handle this. I think you should stop."
Charlie waved him off. "No, I can keep going."
In the movies, Ant-Man's initial giant form was only a dozen meters tall. By Endgame, Scott could grow to thirty meters.
Beyond adapting to Pym Particles, it required a strong physique to handle the strain of gigantification.
If an ordinary Scott could reach thirty meters, Charlie's current physique could likely hit hundreds, maybe even a thousand meters.
He was far from his limit.
With that thought, his nano-suit began to exude a blood-red mist, the strain of gigantification partially offset by the power of Hydra.
Seeing this, Scott could only increase the output of Pym Particles.
And so, amid the crowd's gasps, Charlie's head smashed through the ceiling of the altar space.
Buzz~
In an instant, hellfire surged, and the spectators' view was swallowed by thick flames.
In the altar space above, Thanos, eyes closed in meditation, felt the ground quake beneath him.
Hellfire churned endlessly. Thanos' brow furrowed, and he retreated to a corner without hesitation.
The next moment, from the surging hellfire, a massive head broke through the altar. A pair of enormous, inverted triangular eyes glowed with faint blue light.
Thanos stared, his face struck with awe.
"What a big bug."