Seeing the scene, the blue light in Xia Luo's eyes dimmed slightly.
Going up against a magic user with physical attacks was a huge disadvantage.
Within the magic circle, Steve had already been dragged into the abyss by the dark hands.
Tony's armor was in tatters, and the black substance was spreading rapidly, unable to stop the relentless assault of the dark hands ripping it apart.
Seeing himself about to be pulled into the circle, he shouted at the top of his lungs, "Xia Luo Parker! That old guy said you have some insane superpower—now's the time to use it!"
At the same time, the armor on his shoulders popped open, releasing all the stored mini-missiles.
Boom, boom, boom!
In an instant, Dark Stephen was engulfed in a storm of explosions, and Xia Luo immediately activated his Venom mode.
Boom!!
With a burst of seventy tons of raw strength, four black spider spears shot out, aiming to obliterate Dark Stephen completely.
Crack, crack, crack
But as the ground beneath him transformed dramatically, Xia Luo found himself in a strange, shifting geometric space. His concentrated power struck nothing.
The land, trees, rocks, and night sky constantly morphed, flashing before Xia Luo's eyes like a kaleidoscope.
The next moment, the ground beneath him turned into a starry night sky, and Xia Luo found himself free-falling at incredible speed.
Bang!
With a dull thud, Xia Luo felt a searing pain throughout his body, as if he had crashed from a thousand meters in the air. It all happened so fast that he had no time to react.
From his view of the warehouse floating in midair, Tony, within the circle, was completely swallowed by the dark hands.
"Little Spider, it's just you now."
Dark Stephen walked across the mirrored dimension, gesturing slightly. Dark tendrils materialized from the void, binding Xia Luo's limbs, while chunks of earth floated in the sky, merging into a floating island.
Crack, crack, crack~
As the island hurtled down toward him, Xia Luo's face twitched.
He thought bombing bugs with missiles was crazy enough, but now someone was dropping an entire island.
He admitted he had been too confident.
Boom!!
With the island crashing down, Xia Luo was completely buried.
Amid the rubble, the light of the Mind Stone grew dimmer and dimmer.
[You have been eliminated. Resurrection not possible. Reward: Native Web Mode +1]
[17 retries remaining. Retry?]
Retry!
Third Resurrection Round.
Under the night sky, Xia Luo shot out a web, eager to test the new web mode.
Whizz~
The web, shimmering with a rainbow hue, latched onto a metal frame, standing out starkly against the darkness.
Other than the colorful glow, it was no different from a regular web.
Wow, and he hadn't even tasted Norman's rainbow candy.
Shaking his head, Xia Luo leaned back against the radio tower, recalling the scene of being crushed by an island. He couldn't help but feel a sense of regret.
Dark Stephen's black magic was unsolvable for now. Even with Spider-Sense's warnings, he had no time to react to such overwhelming danger.
This guy was the glitch of this resurrection round.
But if Dark Stephen was so strong, why didn't he just storm S.H.I.E.L.D. and wipe out the Avengers? Why wait until Tony and Steve left before making his move?
Nick Fury must be hiding something.
Xia Luo made a gesture in the direction of the Helicarrier before leaping off the tall building.
For now, he had to avoid dealing with Dark Stephen and focus on securing the Mind Stone.
Before long, at the Hamlet Street theater...
"Kneel, mortals of Earth!"
In the chaos, Horned Loki's staff pulsed, unleashing a divine pressure that swept over the crowd. Citizens dropped to their knees in terror, unable to look up at the fearsome figure.
Seeing this, Horned Loki's smile grew more arrogant.
He had lost his chance to become King of Asgard, but he could rule Earth as another kind of king.
The impending power filled him with excitement.
He began to belittle the humans around him with disdain.
"Admit it—you were born to be conquered."
Whizz~
A red-and-blue figure swung past, and Horned Loki's image shattered, his staff vanishing with him.
Crowd: "????"
"What did he just say?"
"What a weird fetish."
"I bet he's the God of Reindeer, so he likes being dominated."
"Yeah, it sure looks like it."
"Let's get out of here; that guy might come back."
With the threat gone, the crowd exchanged puzzled whispers before quickly dispersing.
On a nearby rooftop, Xia Luo toyed with the staff in his hand.
Next to him, Barton was just waking up.
"Who are you?"
The confused Barton had barely spoken before Xia Luo tapped his chest with the staff's tip.
Buzz~
Instantly, Barton convulsed and collapsed.
"Now I know how to do it too," Xia Luo grinned.
Not long after, Tuxedo Loki arrived at the scene. Seeing no sign of his other self or anyone else around, he was left scratching his head.
Where had this world's Loki gone?
"Hey, found you."
Tuxedo Loki spun around to see a young man in a red-and-blue outfit, holding the staff and greeting him with a wave.
"Mind teaching me how to use this thing?" Xia Luo gestured with the staff.
Tuxedo Loki's brow furrowed. "You stole this world's Loki's staff. You're a competitor."
"Yes, I'm Xia Luo Parker." Xia Luo introduced himself.
Loki stepped back, eyes filled with wariness.
Xia Luo Parker, so he was a competitor!
"I have no reason to teach you how to use the Mind Stone," Loki refused without hesitation.
"Really?"
Xia Luo fiddled with the staff, casually brushing over the gem. A beam of energy shot out from the tip.
Boom!!
A nearby shop exploded in a burst of flames.
Xia Luo looked surprised—what had he just done?
Tuxedo Loki's expression darkened.
"Is that a threat?" he asked, gritting his teeth.
Xia Luo scratched his head. "A threat?"
Tuxedo Loki took a deep breath. "I'll teach you how to use the Mind Stone, but only if you promise not to harm the people here."
Xia Luo: "?????"
What did he just hear?
Did he... become the villain?
He started to reassess the man in front of him. "As far as I know, you used to hate Earthlings, especially Earth's superheroes."
Tuxedo Loki turned and walked toward the street corner. "Yes, back then, I was too reckless. I did many things wrong, which affected Thor and Father..."
He didn't continue. It was his greatest regret.
If he could do it all over again, he'd never have been so reckless.
But there was no "do-over."
He could only try to stop this world's Loki from making the same mistakes and protect the humans Thor cherished.
That way, perhaps this world's Thor would have it a little easier.
He owed too many people.
He knew that wouldn't make up for the ones he had wronged.
But at least in this world, they wouldn't suffer because of Loki's actions.
A glint of murderous intent flashed in his eyes.
If he couldn't stop him, then he'd kill this world's Loki.
That would solve everything.
As for the person behind him, anyone capable of snatching the staff from Loki was bound to be troublesome.
He pondered his next move.
But Xia Luo quickly caught up, walking side-by-side with Tuxedo Loki.
"Where are you taking me?"
"Somewhere the other competitors won't find us easily."
"I don't think that's necessary. After all, you're just a clone."
Xia Luo's words made Tuxedo Loki's face change instantly.
How did he know?
---
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