Chapter 668

In the office of Arkham Sanatorium, Schiller, Strange, and Loki sat on sofas in three directions, while Peter sat on the sofa in the fourth.

He sat with rigid posture, knees pressed together, hands resting on his thighs, occasionally glancing left and right or shuddering, because the three people before him were staring at him intently.

"You're saying he's saturated with faith energy—how come I can't see it?" Schiller asked, fixing his gaze on Peter.

"It's magic. Ordinary people can't… oh, wait—you absorbed Nul's power. Just extract it and attach it to your eyes, and you'll see." Strange demonstrated as he spoke.

His eyes flashed, emitting a soft glow, then vanished instantly, returning to normal—but now his vision had changed, revealing energy fluctuations invisible to ordinary eyes.

Schiller tried it and found he could do it too. He'd never considered this before; the fact that Spider-Man's origin was magic was easily overlooked. Back in DC, when he lacked mastery over that world's magic, he'd needed Constantine to enter the Spirit Sight—he'd forgotten that in Marvel, he himself was a mage.

Once he activated the magical vision, Schiller was momentarily blinded: across from him no longer sat Peter, but a massive golden orb radiating light.

"What's going on? Why is he glowing?" Schiller shielded his eyes with his fingers. Strange did the exact same thing. Loki sighed: "Can't you two dim the energy clinging to your eyes? It's blinding."

The two obeyed, reducing the energy to a thin film clinging to their eyes, and only then could they see Peter's true form. Schiller turned to Loki: "Why are you so experienced with this?"

"I'm a god. I didn't learn magic later in life—I was born able to wield this energy fluently, so I naturally know how to handle every scenario." Loki's gaze returned to Peter, studying him with interest. "This child looks like he's about to become a demon god. Where did he get so much faith energy? How many followers does he have?"

Loki and Strange both turned to Schiller. Strange spread his hands: "Schiller, I know you're the expert here, but this is ridiculous. Why would Peter need to become a god? He just started college. Even if he's destined to be a cosmic demon god, shouldn't he finish his degree first? I don't want my first demon god after becoming Sorcerer Supreme to lack a college diploma…"

"If I say I didn't do it, will you believe me?" Schiller offered weakly, but their expressions made it clear they didn't. He sighed and turned to Peter: "Have you eaten anything strange lately? Or met anyone unusual?"

Peter shook his head: "No, I've been normal—normal semester start, normal dates, normal gaming… oh, I didn't game! Not too late."

"If you're certain you didn't cause this, I could examine his soul—but we should find somewhere without anyone around..." Strange suggested.

"Somewhere without anyone around? What are you planning?" Schiller stared at Strange. Strange narrowed his eyes, scanning Schiller up and down. "What am I planning? Did you forget? When the soul leaves the body, the body loses control. If you're fine with that, should I start right here?"

"No, wait—my new sanatorium just got renovated!" Schiller immediately halted Strange's motion as he pulled out the Soul Vial.

About twenty minutes later, everyone gathered in Stark's lab. Stark rubbed his chin: "So Peter's symptoms aren't due to mating season—they're caused by occult influence?"

"Correct. And you might not know: Peter's mutation after the spider bite wasn't purely scientific—it likely involved magic too. Remember that guy who called himself 'Mol' during the Bat Invasion in New York Central?" Schiller walked aside and began flipping through his medical records.

Stark and Steve both recalled—it had happened not long ago, but their memories were hazy. Too much had happened lately; what once seemed earth-shattering now felt trivial, since the entire planet was preparing to step into the stars.

Stark recalled fragments he'd glimpsed during his ascension. He frowned, his expression turning wary, and ordered JARVIS to scan the surroundings, as if fearing someone was watching Peter.

He gave Schiller a look—the unspoken understanding of spoilers—leaving both men silent.

"He came to hunt Spider-Man. But the details remain unclear. For now, we should examine Peter's soul—just in case someone's tampered with him." Schiller summarized.

"Then why are we waiting?" Steve, alarmed by the possibility of sabotage, urged: "Start the examination now!"

"The problem is, Peter has Spider-Sense. If his soul leaves his body, his body will move on its own—and with extreme combat capability. Last time, he tore apart my clinic." Schiller sighed. Peter looked guilty. Schiller patted his shoulder.

"So we need a place without anyone around to extract Peter's soul—and we should all go. Keep him from escaping the no-man's-land, or he might endanger nearby cities." Strange pulled out the Soul Vial.

"You know who to call." Schiller glanced at Natasha, who had just arrived. She dialed Nick, and they settled on the desert of New Mexico—the very spot where Asgard's forces had crashed down.

Returning here, the destruction left by the Destroyer remained starkly visible. Loki stood on a rock, watching Spider-Man surrounded by the group, and said to Schiller: "You're overreacting, aren't you? Just a kid with spider mutations—why all this fuss?"

Schiller glanced at him: "Didn't you look more than once after you arrived?"

"I was too busy looking at Asgard." Loki shrugged.

Schiller picked up the radio: "Steve, pull back. Our Loki has some opinions on Spider-Man's combat strength—we should give him a chance…"

He shot Loki a mocking look. Loki snorted: "Even if I'm not an Aesir, even without those brutes' bodies, you're underestimating me. I've rarely fought personally lately, but that doesn't mean I can't handle a child…"

As he spoke, magic flared around him, materializing into an ornate robe. He gripped the air—a staff appeared in his hand. In a flash, he stood beside Spider-Man.

"Mr. Loki? Wait—why are you all backing away?" Peter looked around, realizing Stark and Steve were retreating, leaving only Loki in the center.

Peter stepped back two paces, staring at Loki: "Mr. Loki, you might not know—I'm extremely destructive when I sleep. You'd better…"

Loki smiled, flexed his wrist, twirled his staff, then swung it hard. *CRACK! Peter's soul was blasted from his body. Strange caught it in the vial and fled the battlefield at once.

The body collapsed, slumping to the ground. Loki stepped forward to inspect it—when suddenly, Peter's body *sprang* upright. The abrupt motion startled Loki; he took a half-step back, staring at Peter's face.

Without his suit, Peter's expression was clear: his pupils were gone, his entire eyeballs white. This was normal after soul extraction—Loki wasn't surprised.

What startled him was that the body moved on its own—assuming a defensive stance without a soul.

Though he spoke lightly, Loki knew his limits. Uncertain of Peter's magic resistance, he avoided direct offensive spells like missiles. Instead, he swung his staff, summoning a stone giant from the earth.

Several magical runes flared as the giant was enchanted—not with attack spells, but layers of "Fortify" and "Swift."

Seeing the stone giant, Peter remained frozen in defense. Loki frowned, wondering whether to shatter some stones to weaken the giant—worried he might injure Peter.

In Loki's eyes, Peter was still just a kid. Even by Asgardian standards, he and Thor were far older. Loki didn't rigidly follow Asgard's warrior honor—but he had no interest in bullying children.

As he hesitated, the stone giant attacked. Loki clenched a healing spell in his palm—just in case.

The massive giant raised its thick arms overhead and slammed down—*BOOM! Dust erupted. Loki narrowed his eyes—he knew the blow had missed.

As Loki searched for Peter's location, a faint wind hissed—then exploded into a furious gale. A piercing sonic boom shattered the air.

Around the giant, multiple afterimages swirled—not several, but one figure moving so fast the afterimages merged into a swirling shield encasing the giant.

*Swoosh-swoosh-swoosh! In seconds, silence returned. Loki raised his staff—when the giant *crumbled* into a pile of ordinary rubble.

Loki opened his mouth, stared at the shattered enchantment runes, and swallowed hard.

Loki tightened his grip on the staff—just as magic flared, his vision filled with Peter's fist, as large as a sandbag.

Loki gripped his staff, and in the instant the magical light flared, what appeared in his vision was Peter's fist, as big as a burlap sack.