Earth-51821, Headquarters of the Spider-Army.
Accompanied by wave after wave of intense tremors, the four Spider-Verse Gods residing in the Pantheon stood up, exchanging bewildered glances.
"What's happening?"
The Web of Destiny was vibrating violently, as if its very foundation were under some colossal threat. Yet, on the other hand, Shathra had definitely not been broken free, because the Web itself hadn't sustained any structural damage.
This bizarre contradiction left the Spider-Verse Gods deeply perplexed. After thoroughly examining the entire Web of Destiny, Anansi offered a painfully awkward answer: "Uh, well, it looks like our tribal chief from Earth-616 is currently locked in combat with Chthon. At the very least, Chthon's energy is registering across the Web of Destiny."
"...Which Chthon?"
"The God of Chthonic Magic, the Lord of Darkness, the Primal Fire..."
The Sorcerer Supreme Spider-Man cut off Anansi's rambling. "What exactly is the situation? Has Chthon breached the Web of Destiny?"
"Not yet, but he is continuously tearing open rifts leading toward the Web of Destiny—the kind used for multiversal travel. The more he rips open, and the larger the tears become, the higher the probability that Chthon will infiltrate it."
"So, do we save him or not?" asked Phoenix Spider Jean Grey. She looked remarkably young, probably in her early twenties. Moreover, because she was one of the rare Spider-Totems who wasn't Peter Parker or a member of Peter Parker's immediate social circle, she often found herself failing to comprehend the erratic logic of the Peter Parkers.
The Sorcerer Supreme Spider-Man remained silent for a moment before turning his gaze toward the Phoenix Spider. "Can you even begin to imagine what would happen if the Chief fell into Chthon's hands? A God of Chthonic Magic gaining access to the celestial map and cosmic pathways of every living soul in the entire multiverse?"
"Perhaps we could persuade him to leave that place?"
"Then you truly do not understand what it means to be Peter Parker," the Black Suit Emperor Spider-Man chimed in from his seat. "Peter Parker will absolutely never back down. Because there is someone there he needs to fight, and more importantly, a reason he must fight."
Jean Grey looked left and right at the two Peter Parkers present. Are you guys suffering from some sort of mental illness?
"Which means, as long as we intend to proceed with our plan, we have no choice but to go help the 'Chief' deal with that damn Chthon."
The Sorcerer Supreme Spider-Man sighed after speaking. "Dealing with Chthon requires magic. I have to go. Phoenix, you're coming too. We'll need the power of life and emotion to counter him. But we also need someone to stay behind and guard this place; the Living Deadpool's condition has been unstable."
In theory, there were five Spider-Verse Gods, but the Living Deadpool Spider-Man was unable to deploy due to certain complications and required constant supervision instead. Anansi actively stepped up to take on this heavy responsibility. "As you all know, combat isn't my forte, so I'll sit this one out."
The Black Suit Emperor ignored Anansi and asked, "Where is the battle taking place?"
"It should be... Limbo."
"That place isn't covered by the Symbiote Hive-Mind network. Going there wouldn't make much of a difference for me, so I'll stay behind." At this point, the Black Suit Emperor suddenly realized something was amiss. "Speaking of which, the Web of Destiny is facing such a massive crisis, so why is Neith still nowhere to be found?"
"Pain is a human self-defense mechanism. When you feel pain, you know danger is present. For superheroes, this danger warning is even more crucial. Do you know what the good news is? The good news is that I don't need physical pain to know when I'm in danger, because I have my Spider-Sense."
"The bad news is that when danger strikes, the Spider-Sense never stops buzzing!"
Peter felt like he was talking to the Cloak of Levitation. While he was muttering to himself, he still had to extend both hands to unleash his abilities, tearing at the reality of this summoning space and attempting to rip the fractures wider. Consequently, he barely made any deliberate movements himself; he was entirely being dragged around across the sky by the Cloak of Levitation.
Strange's spell had significantly muffled the alarming intensity of his Spider-Sense. Wong, Brother Voodoo, and the Dark Cartel had begun casting spells to stabilize these reality rifts, but their efforts were yielding minimal results. Peter watched with his own eyes as a writhing, bright substance resembling magma coated the reality rifts, causing the fractures to actively mend themselves.
He knew that if left unattended, the reality rifts he tore open would slowly repair themselves, and Strange could cast spells to accelerate that process. (Peter could currently achieve this as well.) However, this was the first time he had ever witnessed someone actively utilizing another material to patch up a rift in reality.
The Cloak of Levitation seemed to be having a great time, yet it also appeared genuinely frantic. Peter was carried through the sky at an extreme velocity, flying all over the place. Whenever he glanced back over his shoulder, he could still see massive torrents of erupting magma surging toward his previous position.
Come to think of it, it was rather bizarre that the physical manifestation of Chthon, a God of Chthonic Magic, turned out to be magma.
Down on the ground, Strange was still making preparations. If Mephisto were to meddle in this mess, things might actually become a bit easier, given that Mephisto's magical prowess was vastly superior.
While directing the magic team to maintain stability, Strange was simultaneously delegating tasks to the others.
"Alright, Blade, Elsa, Moon Knight, Iron Fist... and of course, Ghost Rider. The few of you are responsible for keeping Belasco contained. Do not give him a single free moment to interfere with us. Remember, this is parameter number one."
As Strange spoke, he added, "Belasco primarily utilizes Chthonic magic. Aside from that, he possesses incredible physical conditioning and swordsmanship. I will handle the Chthonic magic aspect, so the rest is up to you. Remember, even without his Chthonic magic, you all saw his battle against Magik just now. He is terrifyingly strong. You had better rely on Ghost Rider to tank the damage."
"Also, remember that you hold a trump card: the Bloodstone."
"Don't worry," Elsa Bloodstone herself waved her hand. "If I feel like things are going south, I'll make a run for it myself."
Watching the team designated to fight Belasco depart, Strange then looked toward his next target. "Magik? I know you must feel incredibly drained and mentally exhausted right now, but next, I need you to do something that only you can accomplish. You need to defeat your counterpart in Limbo to secure your status as the Sorcerer Supreme of Limbo. I believe you can do it."
Illyana Rasputina sighed as she stood up. "You know what? I just took a look, and that version of me is forty centimeters taller! Forty centimeters! How am I supposed to fight someone that huge..."
That sounds like a personal problem.
Once everyone had departed, Wanda finally walked over to Strange's side. "What about me? What should I do? Deal with Belasco's Chthonic magic, or help Miss Rasputina confront her inner demon?"
"You are my trump card, Miss Maximoff. There is no need for you to act until the final moment."
Wanda nodded, then inquired further, "Then how do you plan to counter Belasco's Chthonic magic next?"
Smiling, Strange pulled out a spellbook that featured a human face growing directly on it.
"Oh, regarding that, I have far too many cards up my sleeve."
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