BOOM!!!
The thunderous impact reverberated across the urban landscape as Daemos felt his entire attack collapse against an immovable object. His razor-sharp claws, honed through centuries of predatory hunting, shattered like fragile glass against Ben's transformed skin. Each talon crumpled backward with sickening cracks, sending waves of agony through his hands as blood and tissue exploded from the impact points.
Ben's body remained completely motionless, an unshakable mountain of alien power, while Daemos staggered backward several unsteady steps, his predatory confidence evaporating like morning mist.
He had attacked with the fury of a saber-toothed tiger, but unfortunately failed to penetrate even the most basic defenses. Ben hadn't even suffered a scratch from the assault that should have torn his heart from his chest.
'How is this possible?' Daemos thought with growing horror and disbelief.
He had existed for centuries, stalking the most powerful beings across infinite realities, and had never encountered a Spider-Man capable of withstanding his attacks through sheer physical durability. Even when his prey transformed into monstrous spider-creatures, they relied on speed and agility rather than attempting to tank his strikes with raw defensive power.
Using chest muscles to resist his claws? What did this creature think he was, the original Ultraman defending against kaiju attacks?
This kind of impossible feat shouldn't exist in any universe!
But the excruciating pain feeding back from his broken hands, with bones visibly protruding through torn flesh, told Daemos that everything happening was absolutely real.
"Take my heart?" Ben's voice carried a slightly majestic quality that awakened the terrified Inheritor from his shocked stupor.
The massive red form loomed over Daemos like a crimson mountain, one enormous palm completely covering his face, which was twisted with surprise and fear. The thick arm, resembling the trunk of an ancient tree, lifted him effortlessly as if he were nothing more than a mewling kitten.
"You're not Spider-Man?!" Daemos screamed with desperate confusion. "What kind of monster are you?!"
He finally registered that the being confronting him wasn't some beast-like spider mutation at all, but an entirely different category of alien creature he'd never encountered, red skin that resembled living rock, four eyes blazing with emerald light, and heavy black and gold fur covering a frame built like the ultimate warrior.
"Who exactly is this?" Brix muttered with bewilderment.
Not just Daemos, but Brix and Bora were completely dumbfounded by the transformation they'd witnessed. Both siblings had clearly detected that Ben possessed powerful totem energy, but in the blink of an eye, that familiar spiritual signature had simply vanished, replaced by something entirely alien.
Was this still supposed to be a Spider-totem? They felt like they were being deceived and manipulated by someone claiming to be a fellow elder of the space community.
"How could he transform like that?" Spider-Cyborg asked as he struggled to his feet, one hand supporting his crooked head while liquid nanometal worked frantically to repair the damage throughout his systems.
Everything that had happened today was systematically destroying his understanding of how the multiverse operated.
"He just uses that watch, and then this and that happens..." Peter explained hurriedly as he leaped over to help Uncle Ben, who had been knocked aside during Daemos's initial assault.
"Uncle Ben, are you okay?"
"I'm fine," Uncle Ben assured him, accepting Peter's assistance to stand upright. "The kinetic absorption function of the Plumber uniform buffered most of the impact force."
While that was technically true, the reality was that Daemos possessed genuinely tremendous physical power. The numerical strength of the Inheritor family might seem insignificant when measured against cosmic entities, but they completely outclassed most Spider-heroes in direct physical confrontation.
Their ability to hunt Spider-People for over a century relied on much more than simply negating spider-sense.
"We need to warn Ben to be careful," Uncle Ben continued with obvious concern. "This opponent is extremely dangerous."
"You want Ben to be careful?" Peter asked with a strange expression, glancing at the dramatically different-sized combatants. He was thinking that if the Four-Arm didn't accidentally beat Daemos to death, it would represent considerable restraint on Ben's part.
"Oh, I understand," Peter said with sudden realization, snapping his fingers. "You want Ben to be careful not to kill him too quickly, right?"
But Aunt May and Miguel approached and shook their heads in disagreement. "That's not the issue," Aunt May corrected. "The watch Ben is using isn't the same as his original device."
"What do you mean?" Peter asked with growing concern.
Uncle Ben explained the situation with the Nemetrix and Ben plan to counter it.
"An Omnitrix he build himself?" Peter asked with obvious worry. "Will it actually work properly?"
He understood better than anyone just how sophisticated the technology in Ben's original watch truly was. When they had dismantled it in the sewers, even though he had followed Ben's instructions precisely throughout the entire process, Peter had still felt like a primitive human attempting to repair computer components with stone tools.
Therefore, he instinctively assumed that such miraculous technology would be nearly impossible to replicate.
"Trust him," Miguel said with absolute confidence. "He's the only Spider-Man who has successfully broken canon events in the Web of Life and Destiny, which means he can accomplish things that should be considered impossible. Our job is simply to do what we can, such as keeping watch over these two prisoners."
Miguel's words immediately drew everyone's attention back to Brix and Bora, who had been attempting to use the chaos as cover for their escape, apparently planning to abandon Daemos to his fate.
"How remarkably heartless," Peter observed as he quickly moved to block their retreat. "I think your brother would be quite hurt by such callous abandonment."
Meanwhile, Ben studied the Inheritor he held in his massive grip and felt a distinct sense of disappointment.
He had heard about the Inheritor family's reputation as Spider-Man's ultimate nemesis across the multiverse, space predators who had terrorized heroes for centuries. But actually encountering Daemos in person revealed that his capabilities were decidedly underwhelming.
Apart from his specialized totem-draining abilities, Daemos wasn't particularly impressive by space standards. He might be stronger than typical superheroes, but facing the Four-Arm, who could match the Hulk in raw physical power, made him seem almost pathetic.
If Ben chose to, he could twist off Daemos's head immediately and end this confrontation.
"The Inheritor, is this really all you're capable of?" Ben asked with obvious contempt, which clearly enraged the captured predator.
"Don't underestimate me, you monster who isn't even worth being called an insect!" Daemos roared with fury as he suddenly erupted with tremendous electrical energy, the power detonating in Ben's grip like a concentrated lightning storm.
BOOM!!!
Energy discharged in all directions as Daemos broke free from Ben's grasp, landing several meters away and fixing his captor with a stare that promised death and suffering.
Of course, he couldn't be defeated quite so easily.
While the Inheritors' initial power levels weren't extraordinary by space standards, their continuous hunting and consumption of totems over the past century had allowed them to accumulate vast quantities of spiritual energy.
This represented a formidable force that transcended normal multiverse limitations. The life force Daemos had absorbed over decades of predatory feeding had fundamentally transformed him, elevating him to the apex tier of enhanced beings.
At this moment, the injuries on Daemos's hands healed instantly as his claws tore through the air with piercing shrieks. Overflowing energy discharged from his eyes like serpentine lightning, crackling with barely contained power.
"Prepare to die!" Daemos attacked again with renewed fury!
"Now this is more interesting!" Ben's four eyes blazed with excitement and battle-lust.
As a Tetramand from the planet Khoros, the Four-Arm lived for combat and respected nothing more than worthy opponents willing to fight with everything they possessed.
Ben intended to eliminate Daemos and his family regardless, but he preferred to accomplish this through honorable battle rather than simple execution.
Daemos's aggressive response was exactly what he had hoped for.
In order to properly enjoy the confrontation, Ben didn't even consider activating the Ultimate Evolution. Even in base form, his strength was sufficient to match the Hulk at moderate anger levels.
Before Daemos could close the distance, the Four-Arm's massive arms began rotating like a mechanical meat grinder, fist shadows wrapped in sonic booms creating hurricane-force winds as they crashed into Daemos's approaching form.
BOOM!!!
In an instant, a humanoid projectile was launched across the urban landscape.
Daemos couldn't even process how many punches he had absorbed in the span of a single second. Within the blink of an eye, he had been propelled several miles through the air, crashing through three separate buildings before finally creating a deep crater in the asphalt street.
The Inheritor struggled to extract himself from the ruins, blood streaming from his ears while his chest cavity had been partially collapsed by the devastating assault. His accumulated totem power was working frantically to heal the damage, but the process couldn't keep pace with the severity of his injuries.
But Ben was moving faster than Daemos could regenerate.
The towering red figure leaped between buildings with fluid grace, crossing several kilometers in just a few bounds. Ben launched himself high into the air, his four arms twisted together like a massive war hammer raised overhead, then descended like a meteorite strike toward his stunned opponent.
Daemos was visibly panicking at the sight of the incoming attack.
If that devastating blow connected, wouldn't it reduce all his internal organs and bones to liquid paste?
Although he wasn't afraid of death itself, he desperately wanted to avoid dying in this particular manner. Once his current body was destroyed, his new resurrection wouldn't retain any of the accumulated totem power, the energy he had spent a century collecting would be completely lost.
In his panic, Daemos resorted to desperate measures. He began grabbing cars from the surrounding area and hurling them at Ben like a madman, vehicles weighing several tons and even commercial trucks weighing dozens of tons seeming weightless in his enhanced grip.
"Die, you freak!" he screamed while launching projectiles at high-speed train velocities.
Fortunately, the fierce battle had caused all pedestrians to evacuate the area, otherwise the collateral damage would have created a genuine humanitarian crisis.
Facing the automotive bombardment, Ben remained completely unshakable. He swung his four arms in coordinated patterns, instantly crushing the vehicles or compressing them into compact spheres like aluminum cans. The cars' fuel tanks exploded in mid-air due to the tremendous pressure, creating brilliant fireballs throughout the sky.
Through the flames and explosions, the Four-Arm suddenly bent his knees and kicked off from the ground.
BOOM!
In an instant, the road surface within a ten-meter radius collapsed entirely, while an enormous black shadow covered the sky above Daemos's position.
The Inheritor's blood seemed to freeze solid as crushing pressure from the Four-Arm made his brain go completely blank. He forgot how to resist, how to think, how to do anything except stare upward in absolute terror.
"Who... who are you?" he managed to whisper, but immediately discovered that his surprise was so overwhelming he could barely form words.
His constricted pupils focused on Ben's left chest, where the Ultimatrix device was clearly visible beneath the alien skin.
"So that's it... You also have a Nemetrix, no wonder you're so powerful..."
"Nemetrix?" Ben asked with sudden sharp interest, his descending fist stopping mere inches from Daemos's face.
"You seem to have said something quite revealing."
"It seems that implementing the Ultimate Evolution Module was the correct choice," Ben thought to himself.
But what genuinely concerned him was determining how the Inheritors had acquired Nemetrix technology in the first place.
If it was simply a matter of one Nemetrix device, then there wasn't much to fear. Ben's primary worry was that someone might be using the predator watch to manipulate the Inheritors into targeting him specifically.
Daemos's reaction seemed to confirm exactly that scenario.
"Although I despise that incompetent fool Morlun," Daemos said with a cruel sneer, "if you think you can extract any useful information from me, then you're severely underestimating my resolve."
"It seems someone definitely provided you with Nemetrix technology," Ben observed analytically. "Was it Dr. Psychobos? Or perhaps... Albedo?"
Ben could only think of those two possibilities. Apart from Vilgax, these individuals represented the villains with the most comprehensive knowledge about Omnitrix technology. But Daemos simply smiled and maintained his silence.
"I won't answer any of your questions," he declared with defiant satisfaction. "Just wait for the Spider Doomsday to begin! When we paint the blood of the Other, Bride, and Scion across the Web of Life and Destiny, every Spider-Man throughout the multiverse will be unable to escape their destined death, including you!"
"You possess admirable courage," Ben said with genuine respect.
He didn't particularly care about Daemos's threats and curses, but as an enemy, especially after transforming into a Tetramand, he actually admired opponents who displayed backbone and conviction.
Of course, this appreciation didn't affect Ben's decision to eliminate Daemos permanently.
The Inheritor was undoubtedly the most psychotic member of his family. Over the past century, he had murdered countless Spider-heroes and other totem-bearers. Beast, Wolverine, Black Panther, White Tiger, Black Cat... numerous heroes appeared on his predatory kill list.
Ben couldn't show mercy to such a bloodthirsty and unstable individual.
"Spider-Man will never perish," Ben declared as he leaned down and grasped Daemos's head with one massive hand.
He applied pressure with his fingers, distorting the Inheritor's facial features as he whispered in Daemos's ear like an avenging demon.
"I know you can be resurrected even after death. Go back and inform your family that they've made a terrible mistake by targeting me."
With that pronouncement, Ben squeezed Daemos's head between his five fingers like crushing an overripe fruit.
At the same moment, the core of his Ultimatrix began flashing red warning lights, and within seconds he had reverted from Four-Arm back to human form.
"Transformation timeout," Ben muttered with mild frustration. "I'm still getting used to the energy limitations."
This was precisely why he hadn't engaged in extended conversation with Daemos. The homemade Ultimatrix hadn't resolved the energy problem. Transformations still had time limits, and although it was possible to extend the duration, considering potential emergencies, it was better to conserve power for truly critical situations.
Meanwhile…
Three new bodies were being cultivated within sophisticated bio-generation machinery. In the span of moments, they developed from embryonic stages to full adult size, complete with all the memories and accumulated power of their previous incarnations.
The naked forms of Daemos, Brix, and Bora slipped out of the culture medium, the sticky substance coating their skin making them feel uncomfortable and nauseated as they adjusted to their restored corporeal existence.
"It's quite rare for all three of you to be killed simultaneously," Jennix observed with mild surprise and obvious amusement.
Daemos didn't bother responding to the comment. Instead, he stood upright, looked around the resurrection chamber, and asked with commanding authority, "Where is Father?"
"He departed for Universe 13," Jennix replied matter-of-factly.
"You should understand that many Spider-totems have begun forming alliances and organizing resistance against our family. This represents a concerning development that threatens our traditional hunting methods. It's time to bring true doomsday to these insects and permanently end that ridiculous prophecy."
"What happened to cause such a humiliating defeat?" Verna asked with obvious curiosity about their unexpected resurrection.
Hearing this inquiry, Daemos sneered with dark satisfaction and genuine concern.
"Tell Morlun to exercise extreme caution," he warned with the gravity of someone who had witnessed genuine power. "He's encountered something far more dangerous than any of us anticipated."