Chapter 716

In an instant, like a firework exploding over New York, every Spider-Man was blasted away; the tops of all New York skyscrapers were sheared off, and every cannon and surveillance device Peter Parker had placed on their rooftops turned to powder.

Peter's outstretched hand froze; he swallowed hard and walked over to the recently flung Amazing Spider-Man. "Didn't your spider-sense go off?"

"It did—but too late."

The Amazing Spider-Man got to his feet. "We ambushed him. He countered with nothing more than a thought. Even if our spider-senses rang, we couldn't dodge in time. Luckily, this move has no real offensive power—if it did, we'd be dead…"

But then the Amazing Spider-Man noticed Peter turning back, his face filled with shock. Following Peter's gaze, he saw the figure who had repelled them all now gathering a massive black sphere in his hands.

Then the figure extended one hand; the sphere floated slowly into the air, and every Spider-Man's spider-sense erupted in frantic alarm. Captain Universe Spider-Man shouted: "Stop him!"

"!"

Red Bee shot Peter toward the sphere at blistering speed—but as he neared it, he realized the black sphere emitted a colossal gravitational pull, drawing everything nearby toward it.

"Don't come closer! He's trying to trap us all!"

"!"

But it was too late. Many fast-moving Spider-Men had already drawn near the black sphere, their limbs flailing as they were dragged in.

Though Captain Universe Spider-Man didn't know what the sphere was, he knew he had to destroy it. He rose into the air, his body glowing with white light, tiny specks of radiance appearing behind him.

In an instant, his fist shattered the air—a punch infused with eternal power—crashed into the center of the black sphere. Captain Universe Spider-Man felt no contact, but Peter, pinned by the pull, shouted: "It's working! The gravity's weakening! Attack the sphere!"

All Spider-Men lunged forward, unleashing their most powerful techniques against the central black sphere—but soon they realized the things being pulled in weren't just Spider-Men. Countless fragments of buildings were being drawn too.

These fragments, controlled by gravity, converged toward the center, then clung to the Spider-Men like parasitic tumors, locking them inside rigid shells of debris, immobilizing them.

Peter used Red Bee's speed to fight the crushing gravity and help other Spider-Men shed the debris—but this drained both him and the symbiote terribly. They wouldn't last long.

Only Captain Universe Spider-Man's energy attacks inflicted any real damage on the black sphere, weakening its pull. Every other Spider-Man's strikes had no effect whatsoever. The combined assault of dozens was less effective than one of Captain Universe's blows.

Realizing energy attacks could harm the black sphere, Peter immediately thought of using magical energy—but he didn't know magic. As he panicked, he suddenly remembered: he couldn't cast spells, but his wand could.

He fumbled for his wand, recalling the incantation Professor Shiler had taught him, channeling his inner magical energy into the staff.

The wand stored not only support spells but also powerful offensive ones. Peter recalled the incantation, found one capable of destroying the black sphere, raised the wand, and swung it hard toward the sphere, shouting:

"Expelliarmus!"

Instantly, the gravitational force binding him lessened. Peter kept casting the spell, relentlessly striking the black sphere.

During a pause in his attacks, Peter looked down—and saw Shiler on the rooftop, staring up at him. Those eyes sent a chill through Peter.

Shiler's eyes had no whites; the entire eyelid interior was a pale violet, layered with concentric rings. The pupils were surrounded by deeper purple. When those eyes fixed on someone, a deep dread always rose.

Peter squinted, studying closely—he realized this Shiler was far younger than the doctor he knew, appearing only in his twenties.

More importantly, three black nails pierced his nasal bridge, two more pierced below his lower lip, a long black nail ran through each ear, and numerous black ear studs lined both sides.

Combined with his gaze, this appearance was terrifying. Peter realized Shiler wasn't rushing to attack—he seemed to be observing the swarm of Spider-Men surrounding him.

But Peter knew they had to eliminate the black sphere first.

Most Spider-Men were ground-dwellers; trapped in midair, they had almost no defense. If Shiler below changed his mind and decided to strike, they'd be finished.

Peter accelerated his attacks. Captain Universe Spider-Man did the same. The two energy powerhouses poured out everything—and soon, the gravity weakened to near imperceptibility.

But then, Shiler, still standing atop the skyscraper, suddenly formed a strange gesture. Peter's spider-sense peaked to its maximum—Red Bee yanked him instantly from his position.

"Whoosh! Whoosh!" Several rocket missiles exploded where Peter had just been. Hovering midair, Peter stared—and saw Shiler's figure now floating above.

His wrists had vanished; each hand had become a cluster of rocket launchers. As rockets fired in rapid succession, explosions bloomed one after another in the air.

Spider-Men who had just escaped the gravity now fell under Earth's pull—unprepared, the rockets struck them all. Dozens were wounded instantly.

The wounded Spider-Men who fell were snatched up by Otto's mechanical tentacles and tossed aside. Otto, having just repaired his own tentacles, joined the battle and shouted:

"Captain Universe Spider-Man! Give us your power—just like you did against the Heirs! Hurry!"

Captain Universe Spider-Man frowned—he sensed this opponent was formidable. He closed his eyes, gathered his strength, and white light flickered across the bodies of the surrounding Spider-Men.

Empowered with eternal energy, the Spider-Men surged toward Shiler—but Shiler vanished from his spot with blinding speed, reappearing to thrust forward with devastating punches.

Fortunately, the Spider-Men's spider-senses let them dodge his attacks in time. Peter noticed Shiler, still attacking midair, was frowning—he realized pure ambush wouldn't land a hit.

Suddenly, he froze midair and made another strange gesture. The Spider-Men heard him shout: "Spirit Summoning Technique: Eight Delayed Birds!"

Instantly, every Spider-Man's spider-sense blared again. Countless giant birds with razor-sharp beaks appeared in the air, darting at terrifying speed.

The Spider-Men could still dodge the birds using their spider-senses—but each dodge shattered their formation. Meanwhile, Peter and Captain Universe Spider-Man had already closed in on Shiler's flank.

One was even faster: Spider-Man Parker, with his four tentacles, used them to coil and launch himself from the top of Parker Industries, hurtling straight at Shiler.

But as he neared, he saw Shiler's face twist into a cold smirk.

Parker tried to dodge—but it was too late. Shiler lunged forward, seized his arm, and in an instant, drained every ounce of the energy Captain Universe had given him.

Like discarding trash, Shiler hurled Parker across to the opposite building, then shot upward with blinding speed until he stood above the setting sun.

In his hand appeared a black rod. He tossed it lightly upward—and countless shadows swirled around him. As he plunged downward at breakneck speed, dozens of black rods shot out like arrows.

"Doctor Shiler!" Peter screamed. "No! Don't do this!"

Spider-Men scrambled to dodge—but the summoned Eight Delayed Birds had already blocked nearly all escape routes. Instantly, several Spider-Men were pierced through limbs by the flying black rods, rendered combat-ineffective.

Shiler turned his head. Beneath the fading sunset, his pale violet eyes held no emotion. Before him, wounded Spider-Men fell like raindrops. Peter stared into those eyes, disbelief etched across his face.

Shiler turned away, no longer looking at Peter. Peter watched him make another gesture—and the brilliant sunset glow dimmed. A vast storm cloud gathered over New York.

When the raindrops fell, Peter felt a chill. Then he saw the familiar figure vanish beyond the horizon.

Captain Universe Spider-Man exhaled in relief—but his expression grew heavier. He flew back to the Parker Industries rooftop. The Amazing Spider-Man was helping Spider-Woman move the wounded.

"Last time against the Heirs, three Spider-Men died, twenty-six were wounded. We barely got everyone back on their feet. This time, over forty are injured—all puncture wounds. Who knows how long they'll need to recover?"

Captain Universe Spider-Man sighed. Then Otto walked over. "Your intel was wrong. You told me his special ability was just turning into gray mist. Who told you that?"

Captain Universe Spider-Man frowned deeply, then turned his gaze to Peter. Peter was helping Spider-Gwen pull a black rod from a wounded Spider-Man's body. Seeing the Captain's stare, Peter said:

"Don't look at me. The Shiler I know only turns into mist and knows a few spells. I've never seen these abilities before."

"Then let's just go after Solus ourselves!" Spider-Gwen stood up. "This isn't fair!"

"Shiler won't harm any Spider-Men. If we don't provoke him, he won't come after us. Even if we had, he held back—and he left on his own. So why not go after the real enemy of the Spider-Army?" Gwen was clearly dissatisfied.

"But if we let him keep doing this, the entire universe will collapse from instability."

"Do you still believe what the Eternal told you?" Spider-Gwen raised her voice. "He didn't even tell you what powers the enemy has! How do you know he's not lying?"

"I…" Captain Universe Spider-Man sighed helplessly, looking at the sea of wounded on the ground. He was beginning to waver.

According to Parker, this Shiler had clearly been in this universe for some time—and no one had been hurt. If they hadn't provoked him, he'd just stood on rooftops watching sunsets, bothering no one. Compared to the Heirs, who hunted Spider-Men across the multiverse, he was practically harmless.

Originally, Captain Universe Spider-Man thought: Solus was an incredibly powerful enemy. If helping the Eternal eliminate him was the price, it was worth it.

But now? Even defeating one Shiler was this hard. According to the Eternal, countless Shilers waited across the multiverse for them to capture. Who was hunting whom? It was far from clear.

"For now, return to base. Regroup. Plan our next move."

"I'm going back to my universe," Peter said, turning. "I still have work waiting there."

He activated his transporter and vanished. The Amazing Spider-Man shook his head, then turned to Captain Universe Spider-Man. "You shouldn't have doubted him. Teenagers are especially sensitive."

Captain Universe Spider-Man shook his head. "It was just instinct. When he comes back, I'll apologize."

Meanwhile, back in his own universe, Peter heard Stark's roar:

"Grab him!"

"!"