Chapter 183: Xi Nian's Return, The Final Battle
Spider-Man stayed silent. He didn't argue, but his stamina was already running low.
The future of this world had indeed been changed. The collapse of dimensions would no longer happen. But Spider-Man's death—caused by the overwhelming threat gathered here—was still fated.
That much was predictable.
Right now, Spider-Man was already being pushed back by both the Green Goblin and the Prowler. And there were still too many villains here. If Kingpin and Lady Octopus joined the fight, then without Xi Nian and Gwen's help, Spider-Man clearly had no chance of surviving.
This was their underground base. Escaping would be near impossible.
Spider-Man wanted to protest again, but Xi Nian cut him off, his tone brooking no refusal:
"I'm the leader of this temporary team. Listen to me! Get out of here, now!"
"If you die, then our whole plan fails!"
The rainbow light on Xi Nian's body flickered more intensely. His figure was half-real, half-illusory. Even he didn't know how much longer he could remain here.
Maybe five minutes. Maybe one. Or maybe, the very next second, the altered timeline would pull him back to his original world.
"I understand!"
Spider-Man gave Xi Nian one deep look, then shot out his webbing without hesitation and swung rapidly toward the underground exit.
Zzzzz!!
The Prowler immediately fired up his energy engines, his dark cape whipping in the air as he turned into a streak of black light, rushing to intercept Spider-Man.
But halfway through his dash—
The Prowler's body suddenly jerked to a halt midair. He looked down in shock and saw a white strand of webbing coiled tightly around his ankle.
The line stretched down to the ground, held fast in the grip of a boy in a stealth suit.
One of Xi Nian's hands was still pinning the Green Goblin's head into the floor. His other hand was pulling back on the web that had caught the Prowler.
"While I still have some time left," Xi Nian said with a small grin, "why don't you villains stay here and keep me company."
"Kid… you're still far too green!"
The Prowler roared, diving down at Xi Nian in fury. The Green Goblin, too, lashed his giant spiked tail through the air with a thunderous gust, aiming to smash Xi Nian flat.
They had both decided: kill this reckless Spider-kid first.
…
"Spider-Man, you're not escaping!"
A sharp crack rang out. The control room's glass shattered as Kingpin—massive in his tailored suit like a human tank—burst through, showering shards everywhere as he lunged at Spider-Man swinging past.
Spider-Man twisted in midair, fired a second line of web, and just barely avoided the impact of Kingpin's body slam.
"Kingpin, guess we'll meet again some other time!"
He didn't linger. He knew Xi Nian and Gwen were buying him time, so he swung fast toward an underground tunnel exit.
One foot was already on the edge of the tunnel mouth—
When a hoarse voice echoed from the cavern behind him:
"Spider-Man, look what I've got!"
Spider-Man turned his head.
From the shadows stepped the fifth villain—after the Goblin, the Prowler, Lady Octopus, and Kingpin.
The upper half of his body was a bald, muscular man. From the waist down, he was fused with a monstrous, mechanical scorpion tail.
It was the cybernetic villain—Scorpion!
In his metal claw, Scorpion dangled a struggling black boy by the collar. The sharp stinger of his mechanical tail hovered just above the boy's head.
"Picked up some kid wandering around. Thought he was one of your sidekicks. Turns out he's weak as hell," Scorpion sneered, his single eye glinting. He turned to Spider-Man at the tunnel: "So tell me, hero—are you gonna leave this innocent little brat behind and run?"
"…This feeling…"
Spider-Man froze, staring at the boy. Then his teeth clenched, and he swung back toward Scorpion. "Put him down!"
"With pleasure!"
Scorpion hurled the boy straight at Spider-Man. But just as Spider-Man reached to catch him, the mechanical tail thrust forward, easily piercing through the boy's body—its true target was Spider-Man himself.
He wanted to kill them both in one strike!
Spider-Man's spider-sense flared, and his reflexes saved him. He twisted aside, avoiding the bloody tail, and cradled the boy in his arms. The boy's abdomen had been pierced, but it wasn't a fatal wound.
Spider-Man realized at once: this wasn't a mistake. Scorpion had deliberately wounded the boy but kept him alive—turning him into dead weight.
"Spider-Man, you're dying here today."
Kingpin's cold laugh echoed as he and Scorpion, licking blood off the stinger, closed in on the web-slinger carrying the injured child.
…
Meanwhile, at the center of the cavern—
The Green Goblin roared, whipping his spiked tail again and again, smashing down like a massive green whip, like a gigantic hammer. Each strike made the whole chamber shake violently.
And above, the Prowler unleashed blast after blast of purple energy from his gauntlets, bombarding the same spot, blanketing it with explosions until shockwaves rippled outward in every direction.
"It's done. He's finished!"
The Green Goblin's voice rasped. He could feel it—every blow of his tail had struck something solid. It was just… harder than expected.
"This kid thought staying behind gave him a chance to live? He's already dead!"
The Prowler stopped firing, staring at the five-meter-wide crater now smoking with dust and rubble.
But the words had barely left his mouth—
When two white webs suddenly shot out from the crater and wrapped around the Goblin's throat.
From the smoke burst a black figure, soaring up and swinging behind the monster's neck.
"No way!"
The Prowler's eyes widened in disbelief. The boy in the torn stealth suit hood, half his handsome face exposed, had survived their combined assault.
"Your attacks…" Xi Nian touched his chin thoughtfully, "how do I put it… tickled, at best."
"Get off me!!"
The Green Goblin's fury twisted his face. He swung his tail again, slamming it back toward the boy clinging to his neck.
But Xi Nian didn't move. He stood firm, not even trying to dodge.
"Goblin, stop—!"
The Prowler screamed suddenly, realizing too late. The two webs Xi Nian had wrapped around the Goblin's neck were tied around his own waist.
And this time, the strands were thinner, sharper—like steel wires.
Too late.
As the massive tail struck Xi Nian, the boy fired off two more lines of web in the direction he was about to be flung, then yanked with all his strength.
The combined force of the Goblin's tail and Xi Nian's superhuman pull turned his body into a living cannonball, blasting forward at deadly speed.
The wires went taut—
And with a wet snap, blood sprayed.
A massive horned head flew high into the air.
The Green Goblin was dead.
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