After instructing Tony to keep the pressure on the military, Peter didn't waste another second. He stepped into the air, using Moonwalk (Geppo) to propel himself downward, returning to the rooftop of Stark Tower in a blur.
The moment his boots touched the concrete, his expression darkened.
The rooftop was a graveyard of twisted metal and broken bodies. The Scorpion and the Slayer brothers lay unconscious amidst the rubble.
But it was the sight of Gwen and Bullseye that made his blood run cold.
They looked like they had fought a war of attrition. Bullseye's limbs had been shredded by the Wheel of Fortune's mounted machine guns; he was currently pinned to a crumbling wall by the sharp protrusions of the glider, unable to move.
Gwen, however, was in no better shape. Her suit was tattered, and a metallic playing card was embedded deep in her shoulder.
Most alarming was a puncture wound on her arm that had begun to swell into a sickening shade of deep purple and blue.
Scorpion's neurotoxin.
With a flick of his wrist, Peter recalled the glider. Placing a hand on its cold surface, he instantly synced with the Wheel of Fortune to review the battle data.
Gwen should have won easily. Her power level far eclipsed these four. But her "No-Kill" rule had been her undoing.
Because she hesitated to strike a lethal blow against the Scorpion, the villain had found a split-second opening to graze her arm with his venomous stinger.
The neurotoxin had slowed her reflexes, leading to a cascade of hits from the Slayer brothers and Bullseye's lethal projectiles.
If the Wheel of Fortune hadn't intervened at the critical moment, Gwen might have been swarmed to death on this very roof.
Seeing the girl he loved wounded like this, Peter's mercy evaporated. His icy gaze landed on Bullseye, who was writhing against the wall like a maggot.
Noticing those eyes—cold, bottomless, and devoid of any human warmth—Bullseye felt a primal terror. He tried to scramble away, his broken limbs dragging uselessly against the floor.
In the blink of an eye, Peter was over him, his hand clamping around the assassin's throat like a hydraulic press.
Realizing he was out of options, Bullseye spat a hidden razor blade from under his tongue, aiming for Peter's jugular. It was a desperate, final gambit.
Peter simply tilted his head. The blade whistled past his ear, harmless.
Sensing the reaper's scythe at his neck, Bullseye gasped out a plea: "Wait! I surrender! I'll work for you... I know Kingpin's secrets... I can help you take—"
Crr-ack!
Peter didn't care for the monologue. With a casual twist of his wrist, he snapped Bullseye's neck. A piece of trash who enjoyed torturing the weak had no place in the Shadow of the Kinkou.
[Sacrificed Item: Bullseye's Combat Suit... +500 Sacrifice Points.]
He tossed the corpse aside like common litter and knelt by Gwen's side.
"You really are something..." Peter sighed, his voice a mix of frustration and heartbreak as he pinched Gwen's cheek. "How many times have I told you? Kindness to your enemies is cruelty to yourself."
"I... I just thought..." Gwen's voice was faint. The Scorpion's toxin was no joke—a few milligrams could kill an elephant. Only her spider-physiology had kept her conscious this long.
"Save your breath."
Peter's palm glowed with a soft, white radiance as he pressed it against her wounds. The power of the Horse Talisman surged.
The jagged tears in her skin knitted together instantly, and the violet discoloration of the toxin vanished as her blood was purified.
Within seconds, Gwen was completely restored. Once he was sure she was okay, Peter turned his gaze toward the other three villains.
As he stepped toward the Scorpion to finish the job, Gwen lunged forward and grabbed his arm.
"Peter, don't..." Her voice was a trembling plea.
Peter stopped, looking back at her. His brow furrowed almost imperceptibly.
"They..." Gwen bit her lip. "They can't fight back anymore. Can we... can we just give them to my father?"
Peter remained silent, the air between them growing heavy. It was the first time Gwen had seen him look at her with such clinical detachment.
It terrified her, making her feel as if he were drifting to a place she couldn't follow.
"Give them to my dad," she repeated, her voice shaking. "The law will give them the punishment they deserve."
Under his mask, Peter's expression twisted into a cynical smirk. The Law? The law was a suggestion for the rich and a revolving door for the superpowered.
Gwen reached out, her hands trembling as she pulled the mask from Peter's face. She searched his eyes for any sign of madness.
Finding only calm, she threw her arms around him, burying her face in his chest.
"I'm scared, Peter. I'm scared you're becoming someone I don't recognize anymore... someone lost to the violence."
Peter froze, then let out a soft, dry laugh. He finally understood. Gwen wasn't a "Saint" who couldn't bear to see bad people die; she was a girl who was terrified that the boy she loved was losing his soul to the abyss.
He stroked her back gently. "Relax, Gwen. That will never happen."
"Don't forget I have a scale in my heart—I know who is beyond saving, who can be reformed, and who must pay for their crimes in blood. That's why I created the Shadow of the Kinkou in the first place."
Gwen relaxed slightly, but she couldn't let it go. "But... why can't you just let my father and the courts handle it?"
Faced with such innocent faith in the system, Peter smiled sadly. He pulled back slightly, holding her shoulders, his tone turning light, almost playful.
"Gwen, since you have so much faith in the law... how about we make a bet?"
🌟 The story is already written… waiting to be unleashed. Claim early access on Patreon: Patreon.com/kazama677
🔓 You hold the keys to bonus chapters:💬 10 reviews ignite 1 bonus chapter🔷 60 Power Stones summon another
🔥 Your power determines how fast the tale unfolds.