The aura of Muzan had completely vanished into the complex sewer system of New York, but the mess left behind was only just beginning to ferment.
"Roar—!"
A Police officer who had just turned into a demon had eyes completely covered in blood-red. He shoved aside the colleague attempting to support him, his twisted claws lunging straight for the other's throat.
His strength had become unusually immense. The pushed officer staggered back a few steps, and before he could react, another demonized Police officer lunged from the side.
The civilians on the street had only just recovered from the battle between Spider-Man and Muzan when they were immediately terrified out of their wits by this even more primitive and bloody scene, screaming as they scattered and fled once again.
"Damn it!"
Spider-Man cursed, unable to spare a thought for his own physical exhaustion or for Mikoto behind him.
With a flick of his wrist, a strand of webbing precisely stuck to the officer about to have his throat torn out, pulling him violently backward and narrowly avoiding a fatal strike.
"Hey! Snap out of it! You're Police officers!"
Peter shouted at the few monsters who had completely lost their sanity, but the only response he received was bloodthirsty roaring.
"They aren't anymore."
A cold voice came from behind him. Mikoto walked over and stood shoulder-to-shoulder with him.
Her gaze swept across the demons lunging at the civilians, sparks of electricity flickering in her tea-colored pupils.
"Peter Parker." She didn't look at him, her voice devoid of emotion. "You owe me an explanation."
"Uh, isn't it a bit—at a time like this?"
Before Peter could finish his sentence, a demonized Police officer had already charged at them with speed far exceeding that of a normal human, sharp claws slashing down at their heads.
Peter subconsciously wanted to push Mikoto away, but Mikoto was faster than him.
Blue-white electric arcs exploded with her as the center, forming an invisible electric net.
The moment the lunging demons made contact with the electric arcs, their entire bodies convulsed violently, foaming at the mouth, and then they collapsed to the ground one by one, completely losing the ability to move.
The current precisely paralyzed their nervous systems without causing fatal damage.
A stray demon lunged at Mikoto from the side, sharp claws swiping toward her neck.
"Look out!" Spider-Man shouted, but it was too late to shoot any webbing.
Mikoto didn't even turn around. The ground beneath her feet erupted as countless black iron sand particles, as if possessing a life of their own, shot into the sky and coalesced behind her into an impenetrable black shield.
"Clang!" The sharp claws raked against the iron sand shield, sending blinding sparks flying, yet failing to leave even a single scratch.
"Get lost." Mikoto said coldly.
The iron sand shield instantly morphed into a wild black whip, lashing out at the demon with speed far exceeding its reaction time.
With a dull thud, the demon was whipped flying over a dozen meters, slamming into the wall, where it also convulsed and passed out.
The entire process was clean and efficient, even possessing a sort of violent aesthetic.
Spider-Man watched in astonishment. He knew his sister was strong, but he never knew she was strong to this extent. Controlling electricity, manipulating iron sand—this was completely beyond his scope of understanding.
"—Inopportune?" Mikoto retracted her hand and finally turned her head to glance at him, her eyes complex. "I think the timing is just right."
"Fine, I admit everything you said is right." Peter raised both hands in a gesture of surrender. "But can we control these 'former colleagues' first? I really don't want tomorrow's newspaper headline to be 'New York Police Go Mad En Masse, Spider-Man Stands By and Watches'."
Mikoto hummed, which counted as tacit agreement.
The situation was urgent; neither had time for extra conversation, but a strange rapport quietly formed during the battle.
"The one on the left is yours!" Peter shouted, his body already launching out like a cannonball. His webbing stuck to a lamppost, carving a beautiful arc through the air as he kicked away a demon that was about to attack a passerby.
That demon was kicked seven or eight meters away, slamming into a wall, yet it climbed back up as if nothing happened, its speed and strength having received a terrifying boost.
"The physical durability of these guys isn't right!" Peter landed on the ground and immediately used webbing to entangle the opponent's feet, pulling hard to trip it.
"No kidding." Mikoto's voice rang out. She had appeared in another direction at some point, hands spread open as a blue-white electric net rapidly formed in front of her.
"Electromagnetic Grab!" With a low shout, the Police guns, handcuffs, badges, and even belt buckles worn by those demons were seized by an invisible giant hand, violently yanking them into mid-air.
The metal objects twisted and deformed, binding them tightly together to form a bizarre "human ball."
"Roar! Roar!" The trapped demons struggled frantically, but the metal tightened more and more under the influence of the electromagnetic force, leaving them unable to move.
"Wow." Peter whistled. "That move is really cool. By the way, they won't be strangled to death by their own handcuffs, will they?"
"They won't die." Beads of sweat began to seep from Mikoto's forehead; the energy consumed earlier combined with controlling so many targets simultaneously was quite a burden for her. "That man's blood altered their physiological structure; their vitality is as strong as a cockroach's."
Just then, the last stray demon—the one originally attacked first—bypassed their defensive line and charged into an alley filled with panicked passersby.
"Oh no!" Peter's expression changed.
"I'll go!" Mikoto prepared to chase after it immediately.
"Wait!" Peter grabbed her. "The alley is too narrow; your electricity might cause collateral damage! I'll go!"
After saying this, without waiting for Mikoto's reply, he pushed off with his legs, his body clinging to the wall as he ran up the side of the building in a few steps, disappearing into the shadows of the rooftop after a few leaps.
Mikoto watched his disappearing back, bit her lip, and ultimately chose to trust him.
She turned around and focused all her energy on controlling the demons in mid-air, while simultaneously emitting weak electromagnetic waves to disperse the Police and civilians who were still dazed, clearing the area for Peter.
In the alley, screams rose and fell one after another.
The demon was extremely fast, rampaging through the narrow space. A man who couldn't dodge in time was clawed in the back, his skin immediately torn open.
Just as it was about to lunge at the next target, a large web descended from the sky, firmly trapping it.
"Hey, buddy, you've violated traffic rules. You can't speed on the sidewalk."
Spider-Man descended while hanging upside down, his hands ceaselessly spraying webbing, wrapping the demon layer by layer until it became a giant white cocoon, leaving only futile roars and thumping sounds.
Done.
Peter breathed a sigh of relief and was just about to hoist the "cocoon" up when his Spider-Sense suddenly pinged.
It wasn't a warning of danger, but a—peculiar sensation.
He looked down and saw the man who had been clawed lying on the ground in agony. At the torn wound on his back, wisps of black energy were spreading, and his eyes were starting to turn red.
He was turning into a demon too!
Peter's heart sank. That man named Muzan—his blood could actually spread like a virus!
He didn't have time to think. A strand of webbing shot out, precisely sticking near the man's wound, attempting to use the resilience of the webbing to stop the spread of the black energy. But this was clearly futile.
"Use electricity!" Mikoto's voice rang out at the alley entrance.
She had finished handling the situation outside at some point and walked over quickly, immediately understanding the situation upon seeing this scene.
"Use high-voltage current to destroy the foreign cells in his body! Hurry!"
"I don't have electric shock abilities!" Peter panicked.
"Use mine!" Mikoto ran to below him and raised her hand. "Use your webbing as a conductor!"
Peter understood instantly. He immediately shot another strand of webbing, one end sticking to the man, the other end extended toward Mikoto.
Mikoto grabbed the end of the webbing and, without hesitation, transmitted a precisely controlled current through it.
"Zzz—!" The blue-white electric light followed the white webbing like an electric snake, instantly darting onto the man's body.
"Ah—!" The man let out a shrill scream, his body arching violently. Wisps of black smoke rose from the wound, and an indescribable stench filled the air.
Peter watched nervously; he could feel the vibration as the current passed through the webbing. Mikoto's control over the current was terrifying—she had to ensure the intensity was enough to destroy the foreign cells while avoiding electrocuting the ordinary man to death.
A few seconds later, Mikoto cut off the current.
The man collapsed to the ground, unconscious. Although the wound on his back remained gruesome, the ominous black energy had vanished, and his reddened eyes had returned to normal.
Success.
Peter and Mikoto both breathed a sigh of relief simultaneously.
The alley returned to quiet, with only the sound of sirens coming from afar.
Peter jumped down from the wall and landed beside Mikoto. He looked at the chaotic street, at the demons bundled up like zongzi with webbing and metal, and at the unconscious man on the ground, momentarily at a loss for words.
"So—" Mikoto broke the silence. She raised her head, her tea-colored eyes staring intently at Peter's mask in the dim light. "My 'brother', don't you think it's time you had a proper talk with me?"