Peter Parker's heart was filled with fierce reluctance. Was the superpower he had just acquired simply going to go to waste like this?
"No, I refuse to accept an ending like this!"
He roared inwardly, even though the agonizing pain throughout his body and his out-of-control limbs were relentlessly reminding him that it was already beyond his power to save the situation. Peter Parker was on the verge of following in that gentleman's footsteps, plunging into the abyss of death!
At that critical moment, a voice suddenly echoed from afar:
"Spider-Man, leave the rest to me."
The owner of this voice ought to have already passed away; Peter even suspected it was a hallucination of his own. Yet, when the Lizard stopped in its tracks, Peter was certain he hadn't misheard! That gentleman was actually still alive!
"How is this possible?!" Peter Parker shouted in shock.
"I said, didn't you hear me, you ugly monster?" Zhongsu wore a sneering smirk at the corner of his mouth, staring defiantly at the Lizard.
The Lizard looked at Zhongsu with some confusion. Why had this little nobody suddenly reappeared?
"Who on earth are you?" the Lizard emitted a low growl.
"I am Zhongsu, and I'm here specifically to deal with you," Zhongsu answered without a hint of fear.
"You? By yourself?" the Lizard laughed with contempt.
"Try me and you'll find out." A resolute gleam flickered in Zhongsu's eyes.
Professor Connors had originally been a man of exceptional intellect. But after transforming into the Lizard, his intelligence plummeted drastically, turning him into a monster driven solely by the instinct to destroy. Seeing Zhongsu return from the dead, he merely paused for a fleeting moment, then charged fiercely straight at Zhongsu, eager to tear the puny bug before him into pieces!
Seeing this, Peter shouted anxiously: "Run!"
Yet what happened next left him dumbfounded and utterly incredulous!
In the dim night, the Lizard let out a deafening roar. Though its massive physique was cumbersome, its charging speed was extraordinarily ferocious. Its figure, resembling a moving mountain, brought with it a crushing sense of oppression. Every step it took made the ground tremble, and every breath felt like the prelude to a storm.
Zhongsu, however, appeared exceptionally calm.
"Hah, nothing special." He merely stretched out a hand lightly, seemingly commanding the surrounding air so that no object could come near him. A calm gleam flashed in his eyes, as though he had anticipated all of this long ago.
Skill—Thunder Binding.
Peter watched this scene without blinking, as the Lizard was about to slam into the seemingly frail man. In Peter's imagination, that man's physique should have been as fragile as paper, shattering at the slightest touch.
Yet reality defied his expectations.
The man's arm, though slender, was as hard as steel, blocking the Lizard's impact. The Lizard's immense strength seemed insignificant before the man, crashing against him like ocean waves against a boulder, forced to retreat in despair.
Zhongsu's mouth curved up slightly into a faint smile. "You're really weak, little lizard." He looked at the Lizard before him.
What was going on here? Peter's heart was filled with confusion. The world seemed to have turned strange, and he began to doubt his own eyes. Everything he was witnessing exceeded all his comprehension.
"What is happening to this world?" he muttered to himself. "Why has it suddenly become so strange?" he continued to ask.
No one could answer Peter Parker's doubts, save for that man, who still stood calmly in place as if everything were under his control. His figure appeared exceptionally resolute under the dim yellow light, perfectly resembling the world's last guardian.
A sense of unprecedented awe welled up in Peter's heart. He abruptly realized that what he was facing was likely not just an ordinary man, but a being possessing extraordinary power. This man might very well be the guardian of this world's secrets—a hero in the truest sense of the word.
At that exact fraction of a second, Peter's worldview completely collapsed. He began to understand that mighty powers and mysteries he had never even imagined might still be hidden in this world. And he had only just touched the tip of the iceberg of this mysterious realm.
Zhongsu stood silently in place like a motionless mountain, his posture upright and unshakeable. His gaze was cold and sharp, like the biting frost of winter, exuding a chilling aura.
The Lizard frantically lashed out with its claws before Zhongsu, attempting to launch an attack. Yet no matter how hard the Lizard tried, its strikes could never pierce that invisible barrier, unable even to brush against the hem of Zhongsu's garment. Every attack was easily blocked, as if it were facing not a human, but an indestructible Demon.
"Put a little more effort into it; who knows, maybe next time you'll actually touch me." A trace of disdain laced Zhongsu's voice, his words mocking the Lizard's futility. His tone was chillingly calm, as though the Lizard's efforts were nothing more than a farcical show in his eyes.
The Lizard's fury ignited, its eyes filled with rage and unyielding resentment.
"Rooaar!! Rooaar!! Rooaar!!"
It glared fiercely at Zhongsu, gritting its teeth as it roared: "Damn human, don't get so full of yourself!"
Its roar echoed across the empty clearing, carrying boundless anger and reluctance. Yet, Zhongsu's face remained entirely expressionless. His gaze was cold and composed, as though the Lizard's angry howling meant nothing to him at all.
The corner of Zhongsu's mouth ticked upward into a faint, mocking smile. He said softly, "What? Can't take it anymore already?"
His words pierced into the deepest recesses of the Lizard's heart like a sharp blade. His mockery only intensified the Lizard's fury and deepened its frustration. The Lizard tensed every muscle in its body and unleashed its absolute maximum strength, thrusting forward. Yet those few fleeting centimeters felt like an uncrossable chasm; no matter how hard it tried, it could not close that tiny gap.
After toying with the Lizard for a while, Zhongsu grew bored. "Hah, I'm bored of this now."
A flicker of impatience crossed his eyes as he converted his energy into a surge of pure dark magic, wrapping it around his body to form a protective shield. This shield radiated a suffocating aura of darkness that made one's blood run cold.
"Game over, Lizard."
Zhongsu's voice was piercingly cold, sounding like a decree from the Netherworld. His gaze stared at the Lizard with icy indifference, devoid of the slightest shred of mercy.
The Lizard looked at Zhongsu in terror, its voice trembling as it said, "No! You can't do this to me!"
Its eyes were filled with fear and despair; it finally realized it was facing an opponent it could never defeat. It had once believed it could match Zhongsu with its own strength and cunning, but now it saw how naive and laughable its thoughts had been.
Zhongsu smiled with contempt and said, "This is the gap between you and me. You were never destined to be my match."
His words were brimming with confidence and pride, as though he had already foreseen the ending. He knew this battle's outcome had been sealed from the very beginning—the Lizard simply hadn't realized it until now.
As the words left his lips, he released the dark magic. That overwhelming power instantly blasted the Lizard backward.
The Lizard's body carved an arc through the air before crashing heavily onto the ground, groaning in agony. Its body had suffered severe trauma, and blood continuously poured out, staining the earth red. It tried to struggle back to its feet, but in vain; it could only lie on the ground, watching helplessly as Zhongsu walked toward it step by step.
Zhongsu slowly approached the Lizard, looking down at it from above with a cold and majestic gaze. His voice was low and powerful, carrying a hint of warning, as though he were disciplining an unruly child.
"Remember, never challenge an entity stronger than you. Otherwise, bear the consequences!" Zhongsu's words revealed an unquestionable domineering aura.
"Watch out, play with fire and you'll get burned."
The Lizard lay there in utter despair, its body trembling slightly as the light in its eyes gradually faded away. Its expression was one of terror and helplessness, as if it had finally comprehended the vast chasm between itself and Zhongsu.