However, the moment he stepped onto Earth-13, Solus sensed that not all of the aura here belonged to spiders.
If the spiders' scent could be described as delicious, then the other scent Solus picked up now was bitter.
This immediately put Solus on alert. He didn't know what exactly had happened on this version of Earth, but he was determined to ensure that nothing went wrong with what they were about to do.
Especially since this sudden, bitter scent was so unnerving.
Yet the other members of the Inheritors didn't notice anything strange—Morlun charged straight ahead.
He grabbed a Spider-Man and instantly drained both his life and his spider totem.
"That was way too damn fast," Punk Spider-Man exclaimed, clearly struggling to keep up with the speed of the Inheritors.
Ultimate Spider-Man frowned even more deeply. "Faster than our spider-sense!"
As for Jennix—the scientific maniac of the Inheritor family—his target wasn't even among the strongest of the Spider-People.
He sank his teeth directly into Spider-Monkey.
Spider-Monkey didn't even have time to react before all his life force was devoured.
Spider-Ham looked on at the Spider-Monkey he had only just gotten to know and shouted out in sorrow, "Monkey!"
At that moment, Captain Universe Spider-Man could no longer bear it—watching other Spider-Men from alternate universes die right in front of him.
Surging with cosmic energy, he shouted furiously at the Inheritors, "That's enough!"
He immediately began directing the others to retreat.
"Everyone, get away from them! Leave this to me!"
At his command, the other Spider-Men withdrew from the Inheritors as fast as they could.
"You were fools to come here. This is my world. Here, I possess cosmic power beyond your comprehension!"
Captain Universe Spider-Man clearly had great confidence in his abilities and shouted boldly at the Inheritor family.
His hands began to glow, and countless threads of cosmic energy turned into attacks, bombarding the Inheritors below.
To be fair, his attacks were effective. Jennix, who had just consumed Spider-Monkey, was obliterated by a single blast of cosmic energy.
But Solus merely raised a hand to shield his eyes from the blinding light.
"You and your family are just here to offer up your lives," Captain Universe Spider-Man said, as the vast universe seemed to materialize around him.
At this moment, he hovered high in the sky, like a god descending upon the world.
Solus merely gave a mocking smile in response.
"You know so little about us, little spider. Death means nothing to my family." He didn't care in the slightest that Captain Universe Spider-Man had just killed one of his sons.
Because Solus knew that his son would be reborn in another world.
"We conquered life and death long ago. Now, we are eternal." Solus looked up at the Captain Universe Spider-Man before him.
He wasn't lying. On Earth-802—
Inside a gestation chamber, a fetus was rapidly forming into the likeness of Jennix.
"Lord Jennix, are you alright?" Three researchers stood respectfully by his side.
"Smith, Madison, and Warren... I see. I'm back in the lab," Jennix said with a trace of emotion.
"Yes, sir." One of the researchers handed him a robe to cover himself.
"It's been a long time since I've been reborn." As the family's scientific genius, Jennix couldn't even remember the last time he'd been on the battlefield.
Nor the last time he had felt what it was like to gain a new body.
"Do you need something to eat, sir? Or should we prepare to teleport you back to the battlefield?" The other two researchers lowered their heads, avoiding eye contact, awaiting his instructions.
Jennix shook his head and began walking out of the cloning lab.
"Let my father and brothers finish this hunt. Honestly, it's beneath my dignity—I only got a monkey. What a waste of time. I have greater achievements waiting in my own world. Let's go. There's much work to be done."
Clearly, he had no intention of returning to Earth-13.
But what Jennix didn't realize was that outside his building, three Spider-People had their eyes locked on his secret base.
More specifically, their gaze was fixed on the cloning lab Jennix used to resurrect Inheritors.
"Jennix's stronghold: Baxter Building. Ready, boys?" Jessica looked toward the building that now bore the unmistakable marks of the Inheritor family and addressed the two Spider-Men beside her.
"Gotta say, pretty solid plan, Jessica," Ben Reilly nodded. "So, Clone Squad—let's roll!"
But Kaine immediately shot down the name. "No. We're not calling ourselves that."
Ben Reilly pouted. "Man, you're no fun."
"The spiders were nearly wiped out, Reilly. This isn't about fun. Let's move." Kaine's eyes were firmly fixed on the Baxter Building.
Earth-13.
Captain Universe Spider-Man was unmoved by Solus's words. In his eyes, Solus had brought the Inheritors here—
To die.
"Stepping into our safe zone will be your downfall, Solus," Captain Universe Spider-Man said, gathering massive energy for a devastating blow.
Solus, on the other hand, looked up at him floating in the sky.
"Spider… so many of you believe yourselves witty and humorous. That line of yours? Funniest joke I've heard yet."
It was true that Solus couldn't fly, putting him at a disadvantage against someone like Captain Universe Spider-Man, who could soar through the sky.
But the problem was—Solus's physical strength had already reached its peak.
"Safe zone?"
His words were followed by a deafening crack as the ground beneath him shattered.
With a single stomp, Solus fractured the earth, and as he launched himself into the air, chunks of rock tumbled behind him.
"There's no such thing."
Solus was already in front of Captain Universe Spider-Man, his expression twisted with fury.
He grabbed him directly and smashed him down from the sky.
"For us, you never had a safe zone!"
Accompanying that declaration were the figures of Solus and Captain Universe Spider-Man streaking through the sky like meteors. They crashed into the ground of Central Park, triggering a shockwave akin to a meteor impact, tearing up all the surrounding terrain.
Watching this scene, Bruce immediately understood.
Captain Universe had been too confident when facing Solus—so much so that he underestimated him.
But right now, what Bruce needed to do was protect as many Spider-Men as possible from falling into the hands of the Inheritors.
After all, judging by the current situation, the combat power of the Inheritor family far surpassed that of the Spider-Men.
At this moment, the British Spider-Man had already started using his dimensional wristband to contact the departed Peter Parker.
"Oi, Parker! It's me, Brit-Spidey, mate! Beam back over here!"
Peter Parker replied in his somewhat awkward British slang, "Cheerio—what's up?"
"Get back here immediately!" British Spider-Man had climbed to a relatively high spot to get a view of where Solus and Captain Universe had landed.
But the smoke was too thick—he couldn't see a thing. Whatever was happening in that cloud of dust was completely obscured.
All he could see was the cosmic energy radiating from Captain Universe Spider-Man.
"I'm on my way. Just trying to gather backup," Peter Parker replied, clearly unaware of the urgency in Brit-Spidey's voice.
"Forget backup! Whatever you're doing, stop it! We need everyone right now!"
It was only then that Peter finally picked up on the desperation in the British Spider-Man's voice.
"What happened?"
"The damn apocalypse just showed up."
Meanwhile, on the battlefield between Captain Universe Spider-Man and Solus, Captain Universe's hands were glowing with cosmic energy. He couldn't believe what was happening.
"This is impossible! I'm the most powerful being in this universe!"
The fact that Solus could hold his own against him had clearly thrown Captain Universe off.
But this was exactly what Solus had expected.
He bellowed at Captain Universe Spider-Man, "Only in this universe, Spider! But I am Solus—I am the Patriarch, the King, and the inheritor of the gods from across the multiverse!"
"I stand tall above countless worlds!"
But Captain Universe Spider-Man didn't care about any of that. All he knew was that, in this universe, he had to protect all Spider-Men.
He began channeling all his power—gathering the strongest cosmic energy in this universe.
As the smoke cleared, the sheer force radiating from Captain Universe Spider-Man shocked not only the Spider-Men but also the Inheritors.
"Father—!" Morlun looked on, clearly worried about his father.
But to the Spider-Men, this was an inspiring sight.
"Absolutely breathtaking." Even Ultimate Spider-Man couldn't help but praise the raw power emanating from Captain Universe.
Punk Spider-Man was so stunned, he could barely form words.
"Whatever you are, you cannot compete with this magnificent cosmic force."
The energy surging between Captain Universe's hands had reached a terrifying intensity.
But was Solus really afraid of this so-called cosmic force?
Not in the slightest. Solus didn't even give Captain Universe Spider-Man a chance to fully unleash it.
He grabbed Captain Universe Spider-Man's head and snarled at him:
"That precious, primitive power of creation you wield? You pitiful fool—that's pure life force!"
"It's a power my kind has always devoured. My children may not be able to stomach such vast energy, but I am the Patriarch of my race. My hunger knows no bounds!"
As he spoke, Solus opened his monstrous jaws and began to drain the cosmic energy from Captain Universe Spider-Man.
But the feeding process was suddenly interrupted.
Blood-red bats flew in from all directions around Solus.
He tried to touch them, but the moment he made contact, he felt his life force rapidly draining away—he was aging.
In the next instant, he quickly distanced himself from the bats.
Even just one of those blood-red bats made him feel his vitality slipping away.
Maybe he'd need to kill a Spider-Man just to replenish the life force he was losing now.
But to Solus, that loss was a mere drop in the ocean. What really mattered now was: who had just snatched Captain Universe Spider-Man from his grasp?
It had happened so fast, he couldn't even react.
And when he finally saw that person, he immediately realized where that bitter scent he had noticed earlier was coming from.
Now, mixed in with that bitter aroma was a stench of blood.
A figure in crimson armor stood before him—the bat symbol on his chest torn open by a bolt of lightning.
What kind of eyes lay hidden beneath that mask?
Blood-red light spilled continuously from within them, occasionally flickering with a golden glow that added a strange, almost eerie edge to his presence.
"Maybe I'm the one who's truly your opponent now."
(End of Chapter)
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