This scene was both eerie and comical—a shirtless, bald man standing in front of them, looking anything but normal. Coincidentally, Gwen was dressed in her Spider-Woman costume, like a princess who'd just escaped from a masquerade ball. Yet, behind her, a zombie Peter Parker was chasing her from above.
No one could easily explain the situation in a few words.
Gwen wasn't sure if this strong-looking man she'd instinctively sought out would help her.
All she could do was shout in a fearful, high-pitched voice, "Help! That monster behind me wants to eat me!"
If she could, she wouldn't call her childhood friend a monster, but he had turned into a zombie—what else could she call him?
The bald man glanced up, a hint of surprise flashing across his furrowed brow. He then made a decision: "A Spider-Woman and a zombie Spider? Interesting combination... I'll help!"
With that, he pulled out a red Molotov cocktail from behind his waist and threw it into the empty corner of a wall.
"Whoosh!"
A terrifying flame shot up three meters high.
Being quick-witted, Gwen immediately understood: the man wanted her to burn off the webs on her hands.
"No way, how did you know...?"
Spider webs fear fire! Even the special webs Spider-Man shoots can't withstand over a thousand degrees and will dissolve quickly.
Gwen had discovered this herself during tests. How did this bald man know?
Suddenly, Gwen felt like she had escaped from a tiger's den only to fall into a wolf's lair.
Before she could react, the bald man had already passed by her and lunged at the zombie Peter behind her.
"This was originally meant for you," the man's deep voice, filled with sarcasm, made Gwen's heart race even faster.
Clenching her teeth, Gwen rushed over and moved her web-covered hands closer to the roaring flames...
The man dressed in a Kratos suit was, of course, Atreus.
Compared to Gwen, he had countless things he wanted to complain about.
Why is it another zombie universe thing? When will this end?
It seemed like whenever he got close to a female hero, a zombie version of another hero would appear.
Encountering these zombie heroes was annoying enough, but it was worse when it was one of the agile types he least wanted to fight.
Spider-Man is the peak of agile heroes. Even though his agility might drop due to zombification, it wouldn't drop by much.
If Spider-Man didn't want to be hit, it would be tough to land a blow.
Atreus really didn't want to see Gwen get bitten, so he had reluctantly come here after receiving the message, without bringing the Lance sisters. If he couldn't land a hit, there was no way they would either, and they'd just be a burden.
Over there, seeing Atreus standing up for Gwen, zombie Peter stopped.
"Shriek—" It was a sound like a cat's hiss.
When Peter, head down and feet up, clung to the outer wall of an abandoned building, his eyes fixed on Gwen—those cloudy eyes filled with a vicious hunger—there was a terrifying intensity, even without his mouth opening. The mere grinding of his exposed teeth sent chills down your spine.
"Gwen... is mine... Only I can eat her..."
The eerie voice made Gwen's hair stand on end, and she felt an overwhelming urge to cry and run away.
The burly man chuckled and tilted his head, "Dead men should stay in hell; don't crawl up here and scare people. A good woman should be enjoyed by the living!"
Clearly, Atreus had provoked zombie Peter.
As soon as he finished speaking, zombie Peter's whole body sprang forward like a coiled spring releasing its tension.
So fast!
It was almost beyond Atreus's sensory limits.
In his vision, all he could see was a blur of red and blue rushing toward him.
All Atreus could do was instinctively dodge to the side.
He pushed his speed to the max, but could only barely avoid this claw swipe.
With a loud "crash," the two figures brushed past each other.
Zombie Peter, charging with such momentum, was just a hair's breadth away from grazing Atreus's skin. But alas, a hair's breadth was as good as a mile.
After spinning several times in the air, Peter skidded across the ground like a spinning top.
From a distance, Gwen noticed that the tiny barbs Spider-Man usually had on his fingers for wall-crawling were now at least two centimeters long—frightening claws.
She couldn't help but worry for the bald man. She bit her lip and moved her web-covered arms closer to the fire.
Over there, zombie Peter seemed furious that he hadn't landed a hit. His entire body crouched down, his head raised high, and he let out a beast-like roar.
"Roar—"
He seemed to realize that Gwen's webs were dissolving in the flames and that she would soon break free. Zombie Peter was very displeased. He suddenly abandoned Atreus and turned to lunge at Gwen.
"Huh?" Atreus noticed a pattern. It seemed like heroes from the zombie universe had a strange obsession with another "self"?
Facing Peter's lunge, Gwen bit her lip and thrust her hands into the scorching flames.
"Sizzle!"
For an ordinary person, such flames would cause at least burns. Spider-Man, with his superhuman recovery, could heal with a few drumsticks.
But for now, Gwen looked pitiful. Her once fair arms were now charred black. She endured the burning pain, and with newfound freedom, she shot her web onto a wall, yanked herself out of Peter's deadly grasp, and swiftly landed not far from Atreus.
The three of them faced each other, forming a sharp-angled triangle.
"Hey! Spider-Woman, got any good ideas? He's too fast—I can't catch him."
The implication was clear: they needed to lure zombie Peter into close combat. Otherwise, this would never end.
If he runs, and I chase? No way! I can't even see his taillights.
For some reason, from this big guy, Gwen sensed a bit of familiarity.
He seemed to know a lot about her and Peter?
It didn't matter! At least it meant that for now, he was an ally.
Gwen gritted her teeth, "He's coming after me."
Smart people speak concisely: one says he can't catch him, meaning a close-range kill is needed; the other says he's coming after me, meaning I'll bait him.
In an instant, they had devised a tactical plan.
"Roar!" Zombie Peter seemed irritated by their coordination. He swung his arm, and a long web stuck to a large trash can, the kind commonly seen on New York streets.
The trash can, weighing several hundred pounds, was hurled through the air by his monstrous strength in a swift and long arc, crashing towards Atreus.
To Gwen's surprise, the big guy was more agile than she'd expected. She saw him crouch and sidestep, and the trash can flew past him. The debris that exploded behind him didn't touch him because of his movement.
Gwen didn't hesitate any longer and rushed towards the man, "Grab my hand."
Atreus, however, wrapped his arm around her slim waist.
"What are you doing!?"
Ironically, it was zombie Peter who spoke.
Not only had his "wife" been taken, but now they were getting too close for his liking.
He couldn't stand it!
Zombie Peter was starting to lose it.
And when enraged, one tends to overdo things.
This lunge of his was so fierce that Gwen was momentarily stunned.
With five meters to go, his foul-smelling claws would reach Gwen. For Spider-Man, that's only a blink of an eye.
At this critical moment, Atreus hurled two red canisters.
He missed!
Even in his frenzied state, zombie Peter retained his high agility. With a slight shift of his body, he dodged the canisters without slowing down.
He didn't expect those Molotov cocktails to be pre-primed.
Perfectly timed to his speed, the Molotov cocktails exploded just as they grazed his body.
"Whoosh—"
**Raging Flames Instantly Engulfed Parker.**
Flames!
This is definitely the last thing Spider-Man would want to face.
Even though Spider-Man in multiple parallel universes has had experiences rushing into burning buildings to save people, it's undeniable that a blazing inferno severely hampers Spider-Man's abilities.
In Gwen's horrified gaze, the bald man in front of her didn't retreat but instead advanced. Taking advantage of the moment when zombie Peter was momentarily stunned by the flames burning him, the man lunged at him.
These were military-grade incendiary bombs using thermite.
The temperature could reach 4,000 degrees Celsius, easily enough to destroy an armored vehicle.
At the moment when zombie Peter was engulfed in flames, a size 45 boot rapidly filled his field of vision.
Have you ever seen a move called "foot from the heavens"?
It wasn't a Spartan kick, but it was even better than a Spartan kick!
Zombie Peter, like a giant fireball, was violently kicked backward, crashing straight into a nearby abandoned building.
When it comes down to it, no matter which version of Spider-Man, his health bar is only so long. He may have superhuman recovery abilities, but his body is still within the realm of human limitations. Just one hit, and his combat effectiveness is significantly reduced.
Atreus had no intention of standing idly by. He stomped the ground, and with such force that the bricks and stones of the street shattered on the spot.
He turned himself into a cannonball , charging into the ruins after Peter.
"Ah! I'm going to eat you…" Zombie Peter roared like a demon from hell.
Who knew that two strangely shaped titanium-alloy curved blades would follow him like a shadow.
"Slash!" The sharp war blades pinned zombie Peter against a thick beam on the spot.
The next second, immense force surged through…
When Gwen entered the ruins, the scene she saw was shocking: this incredibly fierce man was brutally tearing off zombie Peter's limbs from his decaying body.
(End of this chapter)