Taking out his pistols, Peter aimed at Hyde and opened fire. Hyde fled at great speed to avoid the bullets, but it was no use, as each bullet Peter fired struck a specific part of his body.
When Hyde reached some furniture, he struck one of the pieces with enough force to send it flying in Peter's direction.
Peter ducked under it and looked toward where Hyde was supposed to be, but there was no one there.
As he moved, he heard a laugh and turned around to see Hyde swinging toward him at great speed. Putting away his pistols, Peter pulled out two daggers from behind his back.
Once Hyde was close, Peter lowered himself and started running toward him with his arms outstretched, a wild smile on his face.
"Ready or not, here I come."
Once Hyde was close enough, Peter ducked under his arm and, as he passed, cut across his stomach and part of his side before finishing by slamming him into the bell.
Without wasting any time, Peter ran toward him, but Hyde broke one of the main beams and tried to use it to hit him. Dropping his daggers, Peter grabbed the beam tightly, making Hyde look at him in surprise.
Using the same beam, Peter ripped it from Hyde's hands and struck him with it, sending him crashing through the roof.
Before going after him, Peter picked up his daggers and put them away. When he jumped through the hole, he was immediately struck by one of the stone supports on the terrace.
"Hahaha! You're not so tough anymore, huh?" Hyde said, watching Peter struggle to get up after the blow.
But the moment Peter saw Hyde lower his guard, he stopped pretending, rushed toward him, and punched him in the chin hard enough to make him spit out several teeth and blood.
Taking advantage of the opening, Peter rammed into him, and they both fell from the building together.
As they fell, Peter punched him several times, and just before they hit the ground, he fired his grappling hook and swung away.
However, he could not prevent Hyde from grabbing onto him in the process.
Passing through one of the cathedral's stained-glass windows, Peter felt Hyde's grip beginning to loosen.
After crashing through another pane of glass, Hyde finally let go and began to fall. During the fall, his body slowly transformed back into Doctor Jekyll.
Splash.
Releasing the grappling hook and allowing it to retract into the gun, Peter looked at Jekyll's body for a few seconds as blood gradually spread across the floor.
Once he was certain it was over, he fired the hook again, latched onto another location, and swung away to avoid any further complications.
Landing on the rooftop where the Bat-Wing was located, Peter took in the entire panorama.
For a few seconds, he stood there contemplating the view until he suddenly remembered something.
"Cortana, where is Excalibur? I doubt it's actually where people say it is."
"Hmm. Wait a second."
While waiting for an indeterminate amount of time, Peter sat on the edge of the building and admired the beautiful view from that height. However, the moment was interrupted by the sudden feeling that someone was watching him.
Using his senses at full power, he looked in every direction and found absolutely nothing.
As a last resort, he looked upward, and the feeling immediately intensified, only to vanish like the wind a moment later.
The experience set off every alarm in his mind, but he stopped his thoughts from wandering further when Cortana returned with her answer.
"Well, it seems Excalibur is located in an underground area connected to the Queen's palace. Luckily for you, there is another entrance that would normally be used in case of an emergency. For us, it serves as a convenient way in. I went to the trouble of hacking their systems, so we have a green light to go where Excalibur is."
"Perfect."
Peter climbed into the Bat-Wing and headed toward a lake he recognized from a film.
Submerging, he navigated toward a sluice gate, which opened as he approached. Once inside, all the water gradually receded until there was almost nothing left, aside from a few small puddles.
Leaving the Bat-Wing, Peter ran along the path Cortana had marked for him on the minimap. He continued for several minutes until he reached a metal gate and waited a few seconds for it to open.
The moment he entered, all the lights came on.
Looking ahead, Peter saw the legendary Excalibur, the sword said to have been wielded by King Arthur. He slowly walked around the stone, examining every part of it in detail.
Standing in front of the sword, Peter grasped the hilt with one hand and was immediately met with a small electric shock. Releasing it, he used his helmet's scanner but detected no mechanism, so he grabbed it again, this time more carefully. When he did, there was no shock.
Before he could begin drawing the sword, he once again felt the sensation of being watched and looked around. The helmet's scanner detected nothing. Looking upward, he could still feel that strange sensation, but he ignored it in order to focus on the task at hand.
Using a little force, Peter pulled on the sword and waited for it to come free, but nothing happened.
Applying a little more strength, he continued pulling, and without realizing it, he gradually began using everything he had. He was surprised that even the hilt had not broken under the force.
"Peter, if you've satisfied your curiosity, I recommend we leave. You and I both know you won't be good enough to pull that sword from the stone. It might even be magically bound to the stone, so stop trying," Cortana said.
Like a fool, Peter did not stop trying. When he finally released the sword, he looked at his hand and saw that it had turned completely red, which surprised him.
Looking back at the sword, he frowned. This time, he grabbed it with both hands and applied all the strength he had. The force was so great that the floor beneath his feet began to dent.
Just when he was about to give up, Peter heard a whisper in his ear telling him that it was not time to give up yet.
Heeding the whisper, he applied even more force, and little by little, the sword began to emerge.
Slowly but surely.
How is that even possible? Cortana thought.
"GRRR... AHHHHHHHH!"
The moment Peter drew the sword, he felt as though an electric current had surged through his entire body. If he had thought Eel's shocks were painful before, this completely took the cake.
Once it stopped, Peter fell onto his back, and the feeling that someone was watching him intensified. It was as if they were looking so deeply into him that they could see what his very soul was made of, but the sensation lasted only a few seconds before disappearing.
"H-h-how is that possible? How did you pull the sword from the stone?" Cortana asked.
"It is surprising, is it not? That someone like him could pull the mythical Excalibur from the stone," said a voice.
Peter immediately recognized it.
"Ancient One."
"Cortana. Young Parker. It is incredible that you were able to draw Excalibur, even more so without being a blood relative of King Arthur. I wonder why the sword considers you worthy."
"I... gasp... I don't know..."
Peter slowly stood and tried to catch his breath. Looking to his left, he saw where Excalibur had fallen, so he walked toward it and picked it up.
"I don't know... how... gasp... it considers me worthy. Especially someone like me. I can't understand... gasp... How am I worthy?"
"Well, everything has a reason, Young Parker. I will take you home. You may keep Excalibur. I only came to see who the sword had deemed worthy to wield it."
The Ancient One looked at the weapon in his hand.
"I recommend keeping that sword hidden if you do not want to start a diplomatic war or become King, a position that would be torture for someone like you."
Peter did not ask how she knew who he was that was stupidity, but the mere mention of becoming King sent a shiver down his spine. He gave the Ancient One a nod.
Just as he took a step, Peter heard the sound of breaking glass. Knowing there was nothing of that kind in the room, he looked toward the sword and saw cracks beginning to spread across its blade.
Then it shattered into several fragments, leaving only the hilt intact.
"Well, it seems the sword did not withstand all these years. I am incredibly surprised. Forget what I said before about diplomacy and becoming King," the Ancient One said.
"A complete disappointment, it seems," Cortana added.
Crouching down, Peter picked up one of the fragments and felt a small electric shock. It was light and not painful, but enough to catch his attention.
Standing up, he looked at the fragment in his hand with surprise before tossing it toward the Ancient One. She caught it and examined it for several seconds before nodding.
"The magic of this sword has disappeared. Apparently, that was what allowed the sword to endure for so many years, but now that you have drawn it, all its magic is gone," she said before tossing the fragment back to him.
"Did you feel anything when you held it?"
"Not at all."
"Hmm."
"If you want, you can keep the fragments. Without magic, they are irrelevant."
Hearing this, Peter nodded gratefully, though he had been planning to keep them anyway.
"Well, with this finished, it would be advisable to return home."
The Ancient One then threw something toward him. When Peter caught it, he saw that it was a double-finger sling ring, the kind used by the Masters of the Mystic Arts to create portals.
"I suppose you know how to use it."
Peter nodded and put on the ring. With two rotations of his hand, he created a portal leading to the building where he had left the Bat-Wing.
Before entering, he created another portal beside the sword fragments, with the other end opening inside his laboratory. He threw the fragments and the hilt through before closing it.
After that, Peter and the Ancient One stepped through the first portal.
Creating another portal, Peter used a little magic to enlarge it and moved it toward the Bat-Wing, causing the aircraft to pass through and teleport into the Sub-Cave. Before closing the portal, he redirected it toward their own location, and once they stepped through, they appeared inside the Sub-Cave as well.
Peter removed his helmet and eye patches, allowing his face to return to normal. Taking off the sling ring, he tossed it back to the Ancient One, who caught it while giving him a smile, her eyes carrying a strange glow.
"Keep it up, Young Parker, and there may well be two Sorcerers Supreme in this world," she said before creating a portal and stepping through it.
"Ha ha. That's funny," Peter said before heading off to change his clothes.
....