Eros was tied up tight. He struggled a few times, only to find that the spider silk was absurdly tough; the more he struggled, the tighter it cinched.
"So, regarding that art of time management you mentioned earlier." Peter began his post-match speech, rambling on, "Have you calculated how many minutes it would take to break free from my spider silk?"
"I'll bet my physics class credits that you'll need at least an hour. By the way, did no one tell you when you were a kid that you should never just wander into a spider's web? That's common knowledge; even elementary school students in New York know that. I suggest you watch more 'Animal World' when you have time."
Peter looked up and shouted into the sky, "Mr. Grandmaster! I have completely subdued him! I've won this match!"
The Grandmaster's exaggerated voice responded to Peter's call, "Wow! What an unexpected ending! It seems our Spider-Boy..."
"Wait a second."
A calm voice interrupted the Grandmaster.
It was Eros.
Although he was tied up tight, there was no sign of a loser's dejection on his face.
On the contrary, he had regained that elegant and composed posture.
"You are truly very smart, Peter." Eros's voice was disturbingly calm. "Your tactics were perfect. Utilizing the environment, setting traps, wearing down my patience. As a warrior, I acknowledge your strength."
Peter turned back, looking at him warily, and said, "You lost. Just wait obediently for the referee to announce the result; don't think about pulling any tricks."
"Lost? No, Peter. I don't think so." Eros shook his head slightly.
Peter frowned. "Are you bluffing? You can't move anymore, Mr. Eros."
"Peter, do you remember what I did to you earlier?" Eros smiled elegantly.
"Mind control?" Peter chuckled softly. "Don't waste your effort. My will is unbreakable now. Don't even think about using those despicable tactics to influence me again."
"I know I can't influence you now." Eros looked at Peter with a knowing smile. "But from the very beginning, what I intended to influence wasn't just you..."
Peter's Spider-Sense suddenly exploded without any warning!
And this feeling was very familiar, just like what he had experienced moments ago.
"What's going on..."
Peter shot out spider silk, leaped to a high vantage point, and looked into the distance.
At this moment, the ground began to tremble.
At first, it was just a slight tremor, and the gravel on the ground began to jump.
Immediately after, the shaking became violent, as if a tectonic movement was brewing in this city.
Rumble—!
From the direction of the broken bridge, a heaven-shaking, Earth-shattering roar echoed.
"That is..." Peter's eyes widened.
Roar—!
A sky-shaking roar erupted, and the construction materials burying the giant beast were sent flying by an irresistible brute force.
Huge steel components tumbled through the air, smashing entire city blocks.
The urban behemoth had broken free from its restraints.
Peter shouted at Eros in disbelief, "What did you do?!"
"You know, Peter, I am an expert at manipulating emotions." Eros explained with a smile. "When we were fighting it together earlier, not only was I hitting it with my fists, I was also planting my emotional pheromones on it."
Peter thought thoughtfully, recalling the scene of fighting side-by-side just now.
Eros did indeed have some redundant movements; he was always intentionally or unintentionally getting close to the giant beast's head...
As if to confirm Eros's words.
Woo-roar—!!
The giant beast's roar tore through the sky.
Its massive body stood up from the ruins, and the blue dorsal spines on its back lit up in sequence, once again erupting with blinding light.
It turned its huge head, and its cold, vertical pupils pierced through several city blocks, locking onto Peter's position.
"Oh, hell..." Peter's scalp tingled. "Has it lost its mind?"
"No, it hasn't lost its mind." Eros smiled wickedly. "Its mind, right now, is me."
The giant beast took a step with its thick lower limbs, and every step made the ground tremble.
The skyscrapers in its path were easily smashed to pieces like cardboard boxes.
Like a giant doomsday bulldozer, it headed straight for Peter.
"It's coming, Peter." Eros kindly reminded him.
But it was too late.
Boom—!!!
The giant beast's atomic breath erupted first; the long-suppressed anger made this blast even more terrifying than before.
"Run!"
Peter didn't hesitate for a second, instinctively firing his spider silk to catapult himself away.
Almost the instant he left, the energy blast pierced through the spot where Peter had just been standing.
But the terrifying shockwave generated by the explosion still sent him flying violently.
He crashed through the wall of an office building and landed heavily inside an abandoned office.
"Cough, cough..."
Peter struggled to climb up.
His suit was damaged in many places, revealing the bruised skin underneath.
But soon, the suit was covered again by liquid metal, repairing it as good as new.
He stumbled to the broken window.
The scene outside made his heart tremble.
The entire upper half of the building had been vaporized by this terrifying energy.
Along with the super spider web that Peter had set up, it had all been wiped out in this devastating blow.
The giant beast strode forward, its thick claws spreading slightly.
Eros landed steadily in the palm of the giant beast, and then the beast gently lifted him onto its head.
Looking down from a high vantage point, Eros gazed at the smoke and dust drifting below, brushing off his clothes, still maintaining that elegant and composed posture.
The battle situation reversed in an instant.
The gamblers in the stands who had placed heavy bets were full of excitement, feeling that there was hope to win back their money!
"Hahaha! Well done! Starfox!"
"Now that's a surprise! I knew Thanos's brother couldn't lose so easily!"
"So thrilling! This bet was worth it!"
The Earth audience, who were just celebrating victory a moment ago, were now all plunged into chaos.
That alien was not only powerful, but now he also possessed a World-destroying ancient behemoth as his mount.
This was simply not a situation a high school student could handle.
"Shameless! This is so shameless!"
"He's actually controlling a monster! Isn't this supposed to be a one-on-one gladiatorial match!"
"Where's the referee! Where's the Grandmaster! This has to be a violation, right!"
The expressions of the heroes on the staging platform also turned very ugly.
"Damn it!" Thor slammed his fist onto the railing in anger, "I should have been the one to go out there! I have plenty of experience fighting big guys like this! I could chop off its head with one axe swing!"
"I have that kind of experience too!" Star-Lord Quill complained sourly from the side, "I've fought bigger monsters than this, okay? They should have given that kid's spot to me a long time ago."
Smack!
Nebula unceremoniously slapped Quill on the back of the head, sending him staggering.
"Shut up, Quill." Nebula glared at him, "Now is not the time for you to brag about the past."
Steve ignored the arguing, turning his head to look at Tony Stark with a worried face.
"Tony, Peter said earlier that you guys prepared a secret weapon... does it work?"
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