Wakanda.
When Charlie returned with a disheveled Wanda and Pietro, Corrupted Charlie had just arrived as well.
Above the vibranium veins, Wanda and Pietro gaped at the sight of two identical Spider-Men, stunned.
"You…"
They rubbed their eyes, hoping they'd seen wrong.
But the truth was clear.
Corrupted Charlie glanced at Wanda. "You're not seeing things. We're twins," he said calmly.
Charlie: "…"
At those words, Sif, who'd accompanied Corrupted Charlie, paled.
"No, I can sense it—you're not Spider-Man!"
She darted to Charlie's side, glaring warily at Corrupted Charlie. "You deceived me!"
Corrupted Charlie: "???"
Noticing Sif inching closer to Charlie, he was speechless.
"I got cucked by myself?" He wailed to the heavens. "No!!!"
Charlie: "…"
He glanced at Sif. "What happened?"
Sif shot a cold look at the impostor lunatic. "He pretended to be Spider-Man, saved Asgard, and… said things to me I can't repeat." She turned away with a huff.
Charlie instantly knew Corrupted Charlie had stirred up trouble again.
He chuckled. "No worries. He and I… well, second personality, you get it?"
"Second personality?"
Sif, Wanda, and the others froze.
Who has a second personality that runs around jumping like that?!
Corrupted Charlie didn't bother explaining. He nodded toward Wanda and Pietro, asking Charlie, "How'd you handle them?"
If he recalled correctly, the current Spider-Man couldn't beat Chaos Magic.
Charlie produced his trump card.
The black Spark Lens!
"Already unlocked Chaos Mode for you. No need to thank me." He grinned.
Corrupted Charlie: "…"
So it came down to using his power.
Shameless!
He snorted. "Just got back from Asgard. Odin passed on a message from Loki—uh, not that Loki, the one I took out. The other Loki wanted to tell you… ugh, I can't keep them straight."
He shrugged. "Anyway, one thing: we've got one retry."
"One retry?"
Charlie frowned. "What's that mean?"
"No clue."
Corrupted Charlie said, "The Loki at the end of time must've seen something to warn us."
"So it's him."
Charlie mused. "These riddle-dropping jerks are the worst."
Corrupted Charlie stared at him. "Damn right they are."
"Why're you looking at me?"
"I'm not. I'm looking at myself."
"You just said you're not looking!"
"I'm not looking, period. You've got issues."
"You're saying I'm sick?"
"Of course it's you. You think it's me?"
"If I'm sick, then so are you."
"Hah! I'm not sick!"
"Patients never admit they're sick."
"That's for crazies."
"See, you admitted it."
"You're sick."
Sif and the others watched, unsure what to say.
But Sif was thrilled to meet the real Spider-Man.
Phew, she'd nearly been fooled.
Good thing she was sharp.
She thought to herself.
Soon, the bickering stopped.
"What's next?" Corrupted Charlie asked.
Charlie thought for a moment. "You go take out Mephisto."
"Me?" Corrupted Charlie pointed at himself. "Why him?"
"Swallow his Hell Dimension, find Xu Wenwu's wife, and we can get Shendu from him."
"Are you kidding?"
Corrupted Charlie scoffed, vanishing into the void.
Three minutes later, he returned.
"Done."
He displayed a dragon ring, absorbing Shendu's power with a thought.
"No~"
A scream echoed from the ring as it turned to ash.
The Bagua completed, Corrupted Charlie's aura surged several times over, his demonic energy growing stronger.
Charlie was speechless.
"That's just plain unreasonable!" he muttered.
Corrupted Charlie rolled his eyes. "This isn't some romance novel. Fists are what matter."
He clenched his fist. "No time to waste. Assemble the Spider-Men, take down the Inheritor Family, and seize the third-stage Totem Power. Now!"
Corrupted Charlie's efficiency was, as always, unmatched.
Charlie didn't dawdle either. Summoning a temporal spider, he quickly located the Totem Universe.
"Wait, I feel like I forgot something."
Before leaving, he recalled an unresolved matter.
Corrupted Charlie dragged him into the portal. "Move it! Stop dilly-dallying. Don't say I'm your dark side—it's embarrassing."
"Wait, there's really something—"
"Gone."
The two vanished into the portal, leaving Sif stunned.
"You're leaving? What about me?"
"Damn impostor, you didn't send me back!!"
Sif cursed. Wanda and Pietro quietly slipped away.
The trouble they'd caused hadn't been settled with the invincible Spider-Man yet.
The coffee shop was a bust—they'd have to work under the table now.
What a raw deal.
…
Totem Universe.
Inheritor Family.
In a room, Morlun lounged on a sofa, admiring Spider-Man head trophies on the wall.
These were his trophies from years of conquering the multiverse.
Countless Spider-Men had fallen to him, but only those on the wall left a lasting impression.
Today, an ominous feeling gripped him.
Something was coming.
Finally, as the room's firelight cast two shadows, he understood the source of his unease.
Spider-Man!
He caught the familiar scent.
Without turning, he tapped the sofa's armrest calmly.
"Didn't expect you to find this place. Impressive!"
His body shifted, the sofa turning automatically.
He faced two identical young faces.
Stunned at first, he smirked. "Twin Spider-Men? That's a new one!"
But their response was brutally direct.
"Too much talk. Die!"
Corrupted Charlie threw a punch, the eight demons' energy surging, forming eight ferocious phantoms that enveloped Morlun.
Roar!
Grr grr~~
Boom!!
With a deafening blast, the Inheritor Family's castle exploded under the demonic energy. Terrifying demon phantoms circled the sky as Morlun pushed through rubble, rising slowly.
His golden leech totem primed, Morlun's face darkened.
"Strange totem… no, this isn't totem power." He glared at the two Spider-Men.
Charlie ignored Morlun, grumbling about his dark side's lack of honor.
"Give a heads-up before attacking! I wasn't ready. Let the guy finish his opening speech—otherwise, people will think we only won by ambush. That's bad rep."
Corrupted Charlie shot him a look. "Now I get why you're always in the Resurrection Match."
Charlie blinked. "Why?"
"Because you're reckless!"
Corrupted Charlie sneered. "Unlike me, always so…"
Before he finished, a golden leech burst from the ground, swallowing him.
Facing an empty scene, Charlie blinked. "Always so what? Leaving mid-sentence? Rude."
His figure faded as the leech totem consumed his afterimage.
Boom!!
Roar~~
The leech totem swelled massively, becoming a golden beast hovering in the sky. The world darkened, shrouded in the leech's gold.
After unleashing the totem, Morlun eyed the "lucky" Charlie, his sneer growing cold.
"I admit you're strong, but our victory is decided by totem power. No amount of weird tricks can change that!"
"I'll give you that."
Corrupted Charlie's roar came from within the golden leech. Demonic energy raged, the eight demons' phantoms tearing at the leech's belly. Dark energy surged, and Corrupted Charlie burst from its abdomen, landing beside Charlie.
"But you missed something."
Corrupted Charlie formed seals, unleashing dark magic. Black webbing spread, piercing the void and dragging Spider-Men from across the multiverse into this world.
"Oh my gosh, what's happening?"
"Black webbing? So cool."
"Look! It's the invincible Spider-Man!"
"Two invincible Spider-Men?"
"Must be his clone."
"Damn, a black Spider-Man—I'm stealing his style…"
The Spider-Men's arrival turned the grim world noisy.
Corrupted Charlie ignored the chatter. Unlike these losers, he was a serious, powerful Spider-Man!
"Lend me your power!!"
He unleashed the Rat Talisman's power, raising a dark ring.
Charlie: "…"
This guy's copying me!!
The dark ring glowed with eerie red light. All Spider-Men except Charlie were enveloped in darkness, transforming into cards absorbed into Corrupted Charlie's ring.
Charlie backed away quickly.
He knew how dangerous that thing was.
Buzz~
The dark ring erupted with malevolent power, overwhelming the demonic energy. All Spider-Men's powers, including their totem energies, were forcibly absorbed into Corrupted Charlie.
Boom!!
Dark golden webs spread across the ground, tearing the void. The visual spectacle shocked even Morlun.
"That's… impossible. Even tons of low-level totem power can't…" He paused, noticing a strange totem spinning clockwise above Corrupted Charlie's head.
"What's that?" Morlun gasped.
"Country bumpkin, it's the Bagua!"
Corrupted Charlie sneered. The massive dark golden web contracted, merging into his suit as dark golden threads.
Boom!!
Like a nuclear blast, the third-stage totem power transformed, both powerful and alien, with an eerie aura that unsettled Morlun.
Amid his shock, unease crept in.
He'd never seen such a strange totem power.
Neither had Charlie.
He stared at the dark Bagua above Corrupted Charlie, eyes narrowing.
At this rate, the dark side would spiral out of control.
After Morlun, he might be next.
With that, Charlie stopped holding back.
But before he could act, the underground world of the Totem Universe stirred. Green totem energy began invading, prompting Corrupted Charlie's mocking laugh.
"Fin Fang Foom wants in on the fun? Let's fight!"
With a sneer, he clenched his fist. The dark Bagua split, forming a dark golden triangle embedded in his face, replacing his crimson eyes.
Boom!!
As the Bagua's power surged into him, the eight demons' phantoms condensed into ornaments embedded in his joints, limbs, waist, and chest.
"Dark Hour! Supreme! Strongest King!"
Corrupted Charlie celebrated his transformation, earning silent mockery from Charlie.
You say I love theatrics, but you're just as bad!
Still, that skin's got flair. The power shouldn't disappoint.
Fine, my turn!
"My go."
Under Morlun's baffled gaze, Charlie summoned the Eight Immortals' artifacts from the void, snatching the Rat Talisman from Corrupted Charlie.
With the Twelve Talismans orbiting his head, a radiant spider totem screeched and dove down.
"Rejoice! Most Benevolent! Most Virtuous! Power of the Eight Immortals! Twelve Talismans!"
The dazzling spider totem formed a brilliant suit covering Charlie's body. The colorful talismans embedded into the suit at his joints, limbs, waist, and chest.
The Eight Immortals' artifacts became miniature ornaments at his waist. Elios's Void Eye formed an inverted triangle on his face.
Buzz~
Aurora-like colors flashed in his eyes. Charlie clapped his hands. "Transformation complete. Time to list your sins!" He pointed at the stunned Morlun, his tone teasing.
Morlun: "…"
He glanced at the golden leech writhing in the sky, feeling helpless.
They both transformed—what about me?
Damn it!
I don't even know how to transform!!
He roared in fury. "All flash, no substance! Decided how you'll die yet?"
Morlun's eyes glowed gold, streams of light drifting as the sky's leech totem roared and dove.
Instantly, the grim sky was bathed in blinding gold, an aura of absolute destruction sweeping the earth.
This was the terrifying power of a thousand Spider-Men's totems, capable of annihilating any insect.
Yet, facing Morlun's desperate strike, neither Corrupted Charlie nor Charlie batted an eye.
Even without third-stage totem power, their forces from beyond the Marvel Universe ensured victory.
So…
In an instant, both moved.
Boom!!
Corrupted Charlie swiped the Water Demon pattern on his chest, summoning a crystalline water curtain that hung across thousands of miles.
Whoosh whoosh~~
The curtain isolated the battlefield. He swiped the other demon patterns, and Bagua symbols, carrying planet-crushing force, bombarded Morlun.
Simultaneously, Charlie tossed Lü Dongbin's sword from the Eight Immortals' artifacts, slicing the void toward Morlun's vitals.
Before the sword struck, he hurled the remaining artifacts, vowing to reduce Morlun to ash.
Rumble!!
Amid relentless bombardment, Morlun screamed. The golden leech totem couldn't withstand such bizarre power, visibly dimming, cracking, and shattering.
"No!!"
To his dying breath, he couldn't fathom why this fated battle ended so abruptly.