This was the second time Peter had tricked Anansi, and it sent him flying. This time, a stunned Anansi didn't get a chance to recover because Peter immediately slammed the Mjolnir into his chest, then followed up with blow after blow, aiming each one at his head.
Ultimately, Peter was able to fool Anansi because he explained that this so-called wager was a "story." A story needs to follow logic, and naturally, it can be manipulated by logic. If it were a pure lie, Anansi would have had much more room to wiggle out of it.
"Eighty! Eighty!"
Another blow landed on Anansi's head, leaving him dizzy and disoriented. However, Anansi was unharmed, save for a few minor scrapes. He laughed as Peter continued to strike him again and again, catching each blow with his face.
Peter stopped his assault. He covered the entire mountainside where Anansi had been sent crashing with lightning. The Anansi he had been relentlessly beating then gradually vanished. The real Anansi, who had only rested for a minute or two, sat on the side, looking at Peter.
"Don't you get tired? Hitting me with that useless hammer of yours over and over?"
Peter looked at Anansi and countered, "What about you? Don't you find using illusions boring? I'll just find you every time."
Anansi laughed, stretching his limbs. It was obvious that neither of them could defeat the other. Anansi understood that the young man in front of him had a determined enough will that the battle would surely end with his own departure.
However, even though Anansi knew the inevitable outcome, it didn't mean he was willing to leave just like that. Even if he couldn't kill Peter Parker, who was wielding Mjolnir, he could still teach him a lesson.
"You know, compared to our kind... we're exceptionally outstanding. When you became the Spider-Totem, the power you received was almost unimaginably strong," Anansi said with a smile. "But there's one difference. You are human."
"And I was born a god."
He charged at Peter. Peter swung Mjolnir to meet him head-on, but he hit another illusion. Then, his back was caught by a strand of webbing, and Anansi spun him around several times in the air before throwing him. Before Peter could react, Anansi rushed forward and pinned Peter's face.
"You are just a Spider-Man among mortals, but I am the Spider-Man among gods!"
The two of them once again streaked across the sky above Hammer Falls and flew toward another mountain range. Old Man Hawkeye cursed, dug Deadpool out from under the rubble of a house, and shouted, "We have to go help!"
"Are you serious? That's clearly not a fight the two of us can get involved in." Deadpool, who had crawled out, said to Hawkeye. "Don't worry, Spider-Man never disappoints. After all, everyone's making money off him, right?"
"Who would beat their most profitable IP to a pulp while also using him as a pawn for someone else, right?"
"I don't care about that! I only care that an Avenger is under attack!"
Hawkeye yelled, pointing at the Fantastic Four's flying car strapped to the back of the Spider-Buggy. This thing was originally held by the Hulk Gang's kids. After they took out the Hulk Gang, Old Man Hawkeye took it back. The reason was simple: it could fly.
Deadpool looked at the flying car, stared for a moment, and then slapped his thigh. "A flying car? Say no more, I'll drive. Old Man Sanders, you just have to shoot. Shoot as much as you can. Aim for the one-shot kill."
"I've been alive for seventy years, and I've never missed," Old Man Hawkeye said, climbing into the passenger seat. "So having only one daughter definitely wasn't my fault."
As he was speaking, Old Man Hawkeye saw Ashley putting on her grandfather's old uniform, but without the mask. He was stunned and yelled, "What are you doing, you little brat?"
"So my asshole dad won't look down on me for the rest of my life."
Ashley retorted as she climbed into the flying car, which was now hovering in mid-air. She patted Deadpool on the shoulder. "Mister, drive."
"Alright, there's a line I have to say here, for our brave hearts." Deadpool took a deep breath, drove the flying car up into the sky, and shouted, "Freedom—!"
Peter, however, was not feeling free.
Anansi had been pressing his face into the ground, dragging him across an entire mountain. A five-meter deep trench was plowed into the side of the mountain range. If Venom hadn't suddenly reacted and knocked Anansi away, Peter probably would have been dragged for a while longer. He threw his hammer at Anansi, releasing countless bolts of lightning to prevent any illusions from appearing.
But Anansi didn't try to dodge Mjolnir from a distance. He had been standing right next to Peter the whole time. The moment Mjolnir flew back, he revealed his true self, shot webbing from his wrists, stuck it to Peter's chest, yanked him close, and punched him away.
"What are you now? You're not Thor! You're Spider-Man!" Anansi rubbed his hands together. Without looking, he reached behind him, caught the hammer Peter had summoned back, and slammed it to the ground. He then shot webbing from his wrist to stick Mjolnir to the ground.
"You have to know, I'm quite happy. As a mortal who has tricked the God of Lies twice, you're not bad. You've also found something that can stand against me, but you're not Thor. And not all Thors can stand against me. The power of a god depends on the strength of their reality. The only reason you can contend with me is because you're from the most powerful reality, Universe 616."
He walked over to Peter, grabbed a tentacle that Venom had shot out, and ripped a piece of Venom off.
"You win, kid. I can't kill you, and I can't bring this world into the Legion's fold, or alter your life." As Anansi said this, he raised his fist. "But I'm going to show you how badly you can lose when you cross a god."
Peter tried to stand up, but Anansi punched him back to the ground. As Anansi was about to throw a second punch, he sensed an arrow flying toward him from behind. He casually shot a strand of webbing to intercept it.
However, Hawkeye's arrow grazed the webbing and hit Anansi directly. It didn't cause any damage, but it did create a flash of light. As Anansi swung his fist, his body began to shrink infinitely.
"That was the last Pym Particle arrow. I was saving it for Astra." Old Man Hawkeye said, looking at the fallen Peter. "You got lucky, kid."
Two chapters in a row, so the protagonist doesn't get beaten.