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That jet-black venom came without any warning.
There were no energy fluctuations, no spreading killing intent, and not even Peter's vaunted Observation Haki gave any warning.
Because this was not a physical attack at all.
It was a curse.
A malicious curse from a dying god.
The black liquid struck Peter's back with precision, penetrating his clothes and seeping into his skin.
In that instant, Peter felt as if his spine had been injected with an entire tube of liquid nitrogen.
Cold. Numbness. Then, it began to spread.
The scent of death started from the point of contact, spreading throughout his body at an unstoppable speed.
His spine lost sensation first, followed by his left arm, and then half of his torso.
Gwen, whose Spider-Sense had been enhanced by Celestial Energy, was the first to react.
"Peter!"
She exclaimed, rushing forward to check on Peter.
But before she could reach him, Thor, who had just been healed by the Shun Shun Rikka, grabbed her wrist:
"Don't go over there; that curse is not as simple as you think!"
"This is not something your healing ability can handle!"
Thor looked at Peter, who was covered by the curse, a pained expression appearing on his face.
He thought of the prophecy: "On the day the Serpent breaks its chains, only the Son of Thunder can end it forever."
"But after the Son of Thunder kills the Serpent, he will fall to the Serpent's venom within nine steps."
Was it because of his own incompetence that Peter had become the victim of the prophecy in his stead?
Thor felt truly ashamed before Peter, but in this situation, what could he even do?
This was a curse capable of erasing even gods; let alone him, even his deadbeat father, who had already fallen into the Odin Sleep, probably couldn't break it.
Seemingly noticing Thor's ugly expression, a twisted, maniacal smile finally bloomed on Cul's old face, which was barely recognizable as human anymore.
"Cough... cough cough, hahaha..."
The laughter quickly turned into violent coughing, and more black liquid gushed from his mouth and nose.
Yet he still stubbornly tilted his head back, staring fixedly at Peter with his one remaining, mostly unfocused slit pupil.
"You think... you've won?"
"Even if I die, I will drag you, this detestable Midgardian, down with me!"
These words were broadcast across the globe.
The hearts of countless viewers instantly jumped into their throats.
They had just been cheering wildly for The Arbiter's victory, only to see this scene in the blink of an eye.
The comment section was instantly flooded with panic.
"No way? That's impossible, right? That's The Arbiter! How could he die on the eve of dawn? What the hell is this!"
Ignoring everything, Gwen shook off Thor's hand and rushed to Peter, the Shun Shun Rikka on her hands glowing with a soft light that covered Peter's body.
She attempted to eliminate the curse facing Peter directly by using the power of rejecting reality.
But in the face of this god-slaying curse, the Shun Shun Rikka seemed somewhat insufficient; no matter how hard Gwen tried, the curse showed no signs of receding.
Beside her, Felicia watched this scene, feeling as if her heart had been gripped by an invisible hand.
Sif gripped the Excalibur in her hand tightly, her knuckles turning white.
Daisy's lips were pressed into a thin line, her chest heaving violently...
Just when everyone's hearts were in their throats because of the curse Peter was facing, and the atmosphere at the scene, which had finally relaxed, became incredibly heavy once again,
A voice completely shattered the existing atmosphere at the scene:
"I say... you haven't forgotten that I have my own built-in recovery ability, have you?"
As he spoke, Peter reached out to gently wipe the tears from Gwen's face, then turned around and faced Cul with a kind smile:
"Drag me down with you? Is this your final trump card?"
The next second, a warm white light suddenly shone from Peter's body.
It was the Horse Talisman being activated on its own at this moment.
The soft white light flowed rapidly along Peter's meridians; wherever it passed, the spreading aura of death was expelled, purified, and annihilated inch by inch.
His right hand, which had lost sensation, regained feeling.
His paralyzed right arm regained its strength.
The toxins that had invaded his torso were completely cleared.
It took no more than three seconds.
Peter went from his near-death state back to being lively and energetic.
Seeing this, Cul's slit pupils trembled violently.
He opened his mouth, wanting to say something.
But only more black liquid gushed from his throat.
His life force was fading at a rate visible to the naked eye.
"This... how is this possible? You were clearly just..."
"Clearly just looking like I was about to die?" Peter finished the sentence for him, his tone clearly carrying a hint of suppressed laughter:
"That was, of course... just to tease you~"
"How about it? Was there a moment just now where you felt like you had reached the pinnacle of life?"
Pfft~
Watching Peter's expression, which was clearly holding back laughter, Cul's complexion changed drastically, and he spat out a final mouthful of dull, golden divine blood.
After this final source of power was spat out, the light in Cul's eyes dimmed completely.
His body began to disintegrate from the tips of his limbs, turning into fine, dark green light particles that scattered in the air.
The dignified God of Fear, in the end, was actually... annoyed to death by Peter!
Silence. A silence that lasted for a full three seconds.
Then, the whole world erupted.
Cheers erupted simultaneously from every corner of Earth, piercing through screens, walls, and all physical barriers.
Above the ruins of Buenos Aires, the dark clouds began to dissipate at the same moment.
Sunlight shone down on the Earth once again.
Those who had been shrouded in fear for days couldn't help but walk out of their shelters, looking up at the sky, one by one moved to tears of joy.
Peter also walked to the scepter left behind by Cul.
The moment his finger made contact with the scepter, a familiar system prompt sounded in his mind:
[Golden sacrificial item detected: God of Fear's Scepter]
[God of Fear's Scepter: Cul's exclusive divine artifact; not only does it possess authority over fear energy, but it also provides additional power amplification for abilities like black magic and necromancy, making it the most precious artifact in the eyes of black mages.]
[Selling price: 150,000 sacrifice points]
Looking at the scepter in his hand, Peter hesitated for a moment before choosing to sacrifice it directly.
This thing was of no use to Peter, and no one around him was skilled in things like black magic.
The only one who could be remotely related to it was Wanda, the natural wielder of Chaos Magic.
But for Wanda, she already had her own exclusive weapon, the Darkhold, so this scepter wouldn't provide much help to her.
Instead of letting it gather dust, it was better to turn it into warm sacrifice points.
With a flash of light in his hand, Cul's scepter vanished instantly.
Thus, the Fear Itself major event was declared completely over.
Just as Peter was about to turn back to announce to everyone that the event was over and that they could go back to celebrate and relax, a golden pillar of light landed three meters in front of him without any warning.
It was exactly the same as when Peter had arrived.