At this moment, the Spider-People finally noticed that among them was an unusual figure—someone who seemed incredibly formidable.
"Hey! Bat!" Peter Parker still had the presence of mind to greet Bruce, considering they had fought side by side earlier.
Miles and Peter Parker from Earth-1610 simultaneously moved to Bruce's side.
For some reason, standing next to Bruce made them feel remarkably safe.
"So, Bat, can you explain what you meant earlier when you said 'dying too easily'?" Peter Parker from Earth-616 leaped to Bruce's side.
Though he had only fought alongside this Bat once, having him as an ally was far more reassuring than dealing with the overconfident Ultimate Spider-Man.
"Something that can deceive your Spider-Sense, hunt Spider-People, and even traverse universes for its prey—do you really think it has no means of self-preservation?" Bruce's words were like a bucket of cold water dumped over all the Spider-People, snapping them out of the victorious atmosphere they had basked in after defeating Daemos.
"Impossible. He's dead." The Ultimate Spider-Man stepped forward, standing opposite Bruce.
However, given the height difference, he still had to look up at the Bat.
Bruce said nothing. He simply looked down at the Ultimate Spider-Man.
He knew this type of arrogant person all too well.
"I don't care who this guy is. What I do know is that this woman, Silk, is the root of all our problems." The Ultimate Spider-Man had no intention of continuing the conversation with Bruce. He turned away from him entirely.
The sudden appearance of a Bat didn't mean much to the Ultimate Spider-Man. After all, the Bat's readings were zero.
No matter how many Bats gathered here, they could never summon the Inheritors.
Right now, the most pressing issue was eliminating the so-called Bride—Silk.
"Her scent attracted them all here! So I think we should—" Everyone knew what the Ultimate Spider-Man was about to suggest.
But the Elder Spider-Man immediately shot down his request: "Stay away from her."
"It doesn't matter what any of you think. You're all just fumbling in the dark." As the Elder Spider-Man spoke, a pair of large hands crept toward him from behind, completely unnoticed.
"I am the only one who truly knows what's going on. You all better listen to me if you don't want—"
Before he could finish, the large hand covered his face, twisting his head back. Golden light began pouring out of his body.
It was clear—this Elder Spider-Man wasn't going to survive.
Once again, the golden light appeared, but this time, it wasn't just one figure emerging from it.
Three figures simultaneously materialized before the gathered Spider-People.
"Sorry, were you saying something just now?" The figure in the center sent waves of terror through the Spider-People—it was Daemos.
The very Daemos they had just killed.
"You'll have to forgive our brother Daemos. He has a habit of interrupting people." To Daemos' right stood a white-haired woman holding a dagger, dressed in a red coat, smiling wickedly at the Spiders before her.
"And being late. He always takes forever to get ready." On the other side stood a white-haired man in a red coat, wielding a long whip.
Clearly, both were members of the Inheritor family, and now Daemos had brought them here.
"Impossible! I killed him! You all saw it with your own eyes!" The Ultimate Spider-Man still couldn't process Daemos' reappearance—his corpse had been lying at their feet just moments ago.
The British Spider-Man wasn't interested in arguing. Facing Daemos alone had already been tough, and now there were two more Inheritors. Who knew what else might happen next?
"Everyone, through the portal! We're retreating! Now!" The British Spider-Man signaled the others to escape through the portal.
The Punk Spider-Man, however, was still fixated on Daemos' resurrection. "He came back to life? That &$%@#—how is that even possible?!"
Peter Parker called out to him, "Think about it later! Right now, they have three people!"
Realizing that the Spider-People intended to retreat, Daemos shouted, "Hurry up! Kill as many as you can before they scatter!"
But before Daemos could even finish speaking, the two red-cloaked figures had already lunged forward.
"I want that pig," the white-haired man shouted.
But the white-haired woman protested, "Not fair! I want the pig too! He looks plump and juicy!"
Jessica Drew from Earth-616 rushed forward to confront the three Inheritors. "I'll buy us some time!"
Peter Parker from Earth-616 tried to stop her, but in the next instant, a black tendril wrapped around Jessica and yanked her away.
The sudden development stunned all three Inheritors.
Jessica shouted, "What are you doing?!"
Taking advantage of their distraction, a massive black hammer smashed toward them. But having hunted countless Spider-People, the Inheritors weren't so easily hit.
However, the moment they made contact with the hammer, they realized—it was soft. Black tendrils spread across their bodies, blocking their vision completely.
They couldn't see where the Spider-People had gone.
Worse yet, the tendrils were trying to burrow into their bodies.
"What are you waiting for?!" Bruce's voice snapped the Spider-People into action, and they rushed into the portal one by one, escaping the universe.
Jessica Drew from Earth-1610 grabbed Bruce and pulled him through the portal with her.
By the time the Inheritors managed to rip the black tendrils off, the Spider-People were long gone.
"Damn it!!!" Daemos swore that he would torture the one responsible for this unexpected move to death in the most agonizing way possible.
Bruce's sudden intervention had completely caught the Inheritors off guard. They had assumed he was just an ordinary person, but now they realized they had been gravely mistaken.
And that seemingly unremarkable man had just cost them their chance to hunt down the Spider-People.
Earth-13, Central Park, New York.
This place had become a refuge for Spider-People, now known as the Safe Zone.
As the portal's glow filled the area, Spider-People emerged from it one after another.
"I killed him! I secured our victory! How did it turn into this?!" Even after arriving at the Safe Zone, the Ultimate Spider-Man was still fixated on how Daemos had managed to revive.
However, two others had already reached the same conclusion.
"Riley, you thinking what I'm thinking?" Scarlet Spider asked Ben Reilly.
"Cloning. It has to be cloning!" Ben Reilly answered decisively.
"They can clone themselves. They can come back as many times as they want." Scarlet Spider now understood how the Inheritors pulled it off.
"We need to open a portal according to their frequency." Ben Reilly had an idea, but it was an incredibly risky one.
"We're going to the place where that clone came from."
"As the two people here who understand this situation best, I guess it's up to us to go there and—"
"Three."
Jessica from Earth-1610 stepped forward, facing Scarlet Spider and the others. She spoke seriously, "There are three people here who understand this matter."
Bruce remained silent—it was Jessica's own decision.
"Boss," Jessica seemed like she wanted to say something to Bruce, but he simply shook his head.
Bruce didn't want to hear anything that felt like a pre-battle death flag.
"I trust you still remember that frequency." Scarlet Spider looked at Ben Reilly, who was adjusting his traversal device.
Ben Reilly chuckled and then activated a portal.
"Of course."
As the three Spider-People stepped through the portal, the rest of the spiders suddenly fell into an eerie silence. It was almost astonishing—who would've thought there'd be a day when Spider-People could stay quiet?
Suddenly, a weak voice broke the silence.
"Parker..."
It was the older Spider-Man that Peter Parker had brought back while escaping from 2099.
At this moment, he had removed his mask, revealing his aged face.
"Ezekiel?!" Peter Parker was utterly shocked at the sight of the elderly man.
"I don't have much time left, but you must listen." Ezekiel's voice was noticeably weakening.
"Don't worry, we have someone who can heal you."
Peter Parker still remembered when they first brought him to Earth-13, he had asked—why was this place a safe zone?
It was because, in this universe, there was a version of himself who had never relinquished the power of the Cosmic Spider.
As the Cosmic Spider, he could restore Ezekiel to full health.
"I'm not your Ezekiel. I come from a world where Morlun killed you. I made this ridiculous uniform and carried on your unfinished mission in— in your name." Ezekiel shook his head. He knew his own condition—even the Cosmic Spider couldn't save him.
"Wait. You know everything about the Totems and Morlun. What should I do?" Peter Parker asked anxiously.
Ezekiel's knowledge might be the key to their victory in this war.
"The Scion, the Other, and the Bride. Those three... they are the key to everything. Protect them. Otherwise, none of this will matter." Ezekiel fixed Peter Parker with a grave stare.
He was speaking about the most crucial matter to the Spider-People.
"The Bride? You always call Silk that! Why—" Peter Parker wanted to ask more, but it was clear that the man in his arms could no longer speak.
Ezekiel was dead.
All the Spider-People mourned the old man who had passed away in Peter Parker's arms.
Even Mayday, who had just taken her younger brother from the Cosmic Spider, couldn't help but lower her head.
The Spider-People that Ezekiel had brought back were even more grief-stricken, visibly in pain.
At that moment, Gwen suddenly noticed an out-of-place figure among the group of Spider-People—it was Bruce.
Bruce stood quietly to the side, observing the Spider-People like a silent statue, scrutinizing everything.
"Why are you here too?" Gwen landed beside Bruce, following his gaze toward the Spiders.
"Jessica. You took her." Bruce's words were direct and to the point, explaining his presence.
Gwen's initial excitement at seeing the Bat was somewhat dampened by his response.
She didn't know who Jessica was, but the name alone was enough to tell her that she was a Spider-Woman.
"Are you two close?" Gwen didn't know why she asked that question. Even as she spoke, she realized it was an odd thing to say, but she was curious about how Bruce would respond.
"My assistant," Bruce stated plainly. To him, Jessica had always been his most reliable partner.
For some reason, hearing this, Gwen felt oddly relieved.
She didn't say anything else and simply stood beside the Bat in silence.
Gwen knew that the Bat didn't like talkative Spiders. Even though she had a lot she wanted to say to him, she chose silence instead.
Just then, Jessica from Earth-616 walked up to Bruce and extended her hand. "Thank you."
Bruce shook her hand but didn't say anything in response.
Yet Jessica didn't leave Bruce's side. Instead, like Gwen, she remained standing there. However, unlike Gwen, she didn't watch the Spider-People—she focused on observing Bruce himself.
Gwen glanced at Jessica but didn't comment. After all, everyone had the right to choose where they stood.
Looking back at the Spiders, Gwen suddenly noticed a pair of eyes watching her.
"Hey!"
Gwen greeted Miles, who was standing among the Spider-People but hadn't stepped forward.
Miles hesitated but returned Gwen's greeting shyly before slipping back into the crowd, moving toward Peter Parker from Earth-1610.
Peter Parker from Earth-1610 didn't know what Miles had been through, but he recognized that expression on his face all too well.
He turned to look in the direction Miles had come from and, sure enough, he spotted Bruce and the white-hooded Spider-Gwen standing together.
He patted Miles on the back.
"It's just heartbreak. Everyone goes through it."
At that moment, a voice cut through the murmur of the gathered Spiders.
"Talk time is over!"
The Ultimate Spider-Man's voice silenced the crowd. He glared at the unmasked Peter Parker.
Peter Parker immediately sensed his Spider-Sense going off like an alarm.
He turned his head in confusion, meeting the furious gaze of the Ultimate Spider-Man.
"Don't you get it yet? This is war!"
The Ultimate Spider-Man roared at Peter Parker.
"And from this moment on, I'm in charge here!"
(End of Chapter)
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