Chapter 142

Nick Fury stood on the roof of the Empire State Building, watching as a red glow erupted over New York's horizon, followed by a crimson beam shooting straight into the sky. He raised his comms: "All units, attention! The so-called Bat Guardian has arrived. Surveillance systems active—prepare to initiate resistance protocol…"

Before he finished speaking, a dark shadow suddenly launched into the air from the top of the High Tower.

In an instant, a massive black storm swallowed the entire sky over Brooklyn. Black curtains spread outward in concentric rings, surging forward like an endless tide of dread.

Nick stood with his mouth open, lowered his comms, then cursed loudly. "Get me the New York Sanctum right now! What the hell is this damn Bat Guardian? Is he planning to destroy Earth outright? Are those wizards doing nothing?!!"

Around the High Tower, all armed personnel stared upward in stunned silence as a giant black sphere erupted, then collapsed inward—gradually coalescing into a monstrous creature over a hundred meters long.

As the terrifying black bat appeared over New York, Steve tilted his head and muttered to himself: "So the Bat God they spoke of… has truly arrived…"

Aside from Shiler, who watched from the rooftop, everyone else believed this was the Bat God of the vampires.

Of course, one other person knew the truth: the arriving vampire Mo Lun. But right now, he had no energy to explain.

The black Venom bat Peter had transformed into was Bruce's second-stage evolution—the same terrifying bat monster that had fought Shiler above the Living Hell.

In size, form, and aura, it surpassed ordinary human comprehension.

The Mo Lun family had traversed countless multiverses and seen many monsters. The universe was vast and full of wonders; Venom Bat's size was not extraordinary among them, nor was its appearance especially shocking.

Yet Mo Lun, the vampire, sensed what ordinary beings could not. In his vision, this Venom Bat's form was infinitely more horrifying than its visible appearance—its entire body wrapped in endless black tides, radiating a fear so chilling it froze the blood.

Even Mo Lun, who had journeyed through countless multiverses, had never encountered such tangible fear. The first wave of black tide hurled him backward to the roof's edge.

But soon, Mo Lun sought to strike first.

Members of the Mo Lun family possessed the innate ability to drain the power of other lifeforms. They relied on this combat style. The moment Mo Lun sensed danger, he activated his ability.

He extended one hand, just as he had done to drain Spider-Man's power, aiming to siphon the Venom Bat's strength.

But this time, unlike the pure energy he normally absorbed, as his power surged forth, endless darkness and terror flooded in with it.

In barely an instant, black energy shattered Mo Lun's mental barriers. Dead black mist poured from his nose, mouth, eyes, and ears.

This energy corrupted his consciousness and infected his blood. Mo Lun screamed in horror as his skin and muscles withered. He collapsed to his knees, his body undergoing terrifying transformation.

His skin turned dry and black like a true bat's, sprouting coarse hair. His forehead receded, his snout protruded forward, sprouting bat-like fangs and ears. Sharp wings grew from his back, and his hands and feet twisted into bat claws.

The Mo Lun infected by dark energy became a half-man, half-bat monster—but the change was not done.

As beings capable of traversing multiple universes, members of the Mo Lun family shared a unique psychic network, communicating across space and time through this innate connection.

But when this psychic network was breached, infection spread rapidly. Suddenly, a massive surge of dark energy flooded into the psychic terminal of this Mo Lun family member who had arrived on Earth.

Other Mo Lun family members sensed the change. Echoes rang out from the depths of the universe: "What happened? Answer us—are you in danger?"

In response, endless fear surged back. Across countless corners of the universe, every Mo Lun family member who had sent a signal underwent the same horrific mutation.

The Mo Lun who had descended to Earth, after his transformation was complete, felt the dark consciousness and terror fully consume his mind. He trembled, emitting a low, manic laugh. In his laughter, he screamed: "I am the Bat! I am the Bat! I am the embodiment of fear! I am the believer of fear! Death never changes—only fear endures! Hahahahahaha!"

Shiler observed this transformation from the adjacent rooftop. He did not know that the darkness deep within Batman's soul had already infected most Mo Lun family members, turning them into new believers of fear.

His only thought: Mo Lun, you're weak.

Where's the multiverse hunter you claimed to be? Where's the cosmic vampire?

But Shiler thought harder—perhaps Mo Lun wasn't weak. The darkness deep within Batman was nearly the primordial force of the DC universe, a transcendent weapon of the entire DC world. Any Batman who unleashed this darkness became an infinite-level villain of DC.

And when this power was preserved within Venom and brought to the Marvel universe to confront a single member of the multiverse-level Mo Lun family, it was like using an anti-aircraft cannon to kill a mosquito.

Unfortunately, this power's release was a one-time event, bound by many restrictions. Few could bear it. Perhaps only a hero with a pure heart like Spider-Man could retain his sanity after accepting such power.

In fact, Spider-Man was still sane right now—but he was terrified. Extremely terrified.

I woke up and became the Bat God himself. What do I do? Please answer—I'm in a hurry.

Almost every ordinary person on the ground believed the massive Venom Bat formed by Spider-Man was the true Bat Guardian. As for the half-man, half-bat monster beside him, they assumed it was just a mutated minion irradiated by the Bat Guardian's power…

Since only two people had witnessed this transformation—Mo Lun, now a mad fear believer, and Stark, now unconscious—no one knew this horrifying creature was actually Spider-Man.

"What do we do now?" Peter asked Venom internally.

"It's your fault! You did this last time—almost got us beaten by Captain Steve! Now we've made an even bigger mess. What do we do?"

"Nothing. Just stay put. Someone will come soon."

No sooner had Venom finished speaking than a cool, detached female voice sounded in Peter's ear: "Who are you? What are you doing on Earth?"

In Peter's vision, a sorcerer in a yellow robe appeared before him. In that instant, the surrounding space rippled. The clouds on the horizon froze completely—as if time itself had halted.

She repeated: "I am the Sorcerer Supreme of Earth, Ancient One. Who are you? Why are you here?"