The red exclamation mark radiated danger. Mark had no time to think and immediately followed the arrow toward Bruce's location.
"Bruce, hang in there! I'm coming!!"
Leaping from treetop to treetop, Mark finally left the forest and saw the towering city wall ahead.
Atop the wall, a Green Dragon threw back its head and roared with reckless abandon.
Soldiers poured out into the city.
Terrified by the dragon, the soldiers fled in a panic, not daring to face the horrifying creature.
Below the wall, Bruce was roaring furiously at the dragon.
Seeing this, Mark hurried into the crowd and found Bruce.
"Bruce, don't be scared. I'm here."
He stroked Peter Parker's head to soothe him, then turned to look at the terrifying dragon.
[Green Flame Demon Dragon] [Level: Elite] [Health: 300]
"It's you again, you demon." Mark's eyes lit up.
Peter Parker: "..."
Oh no, Mark's having another episode.
A moment later, he snapped out of it and anxiously pointed at the Laboratory Building's outer wall.
"Mark... no, Mr. Spider, that guy took my classmate! Stop him!"
On the Laboratory Building's outer wall, the green Lizard Man was climbing upward, his long tail wrapped around a Blonde Girl.
"Is that...?"
Mark looked closely, and another notification appeared before him.
[Quest: Defeat the dragon and rescue the princess it abducted.]
"Great! Bruce, let's defeat the dragon and rescue the princess together!"
Mark immediately gave Peter Parker's head a pat.
"Bruce, use your Super Special Move! Shoot him down!"
Peter Parker: "????"
"Shoot? How? With what?"
The students nearby also cried out when they saw Mark appear.
"It's Spider-Man! He's with the lizard monster!"
"Oh no, run..."
The crowd erupted into chaos. When Professor Connors, who was climbing upward, heard "Spider-Man," his body immediately went rigid.
He looked down toward the foot of the building.
It really is him. Spider-Man!
Cold sweat instantly broke out across his forehead.
He would never forget the night he had been at the Demon Hunter's mercy.
Gwen Stacy, trapped in his long tail, seemed to notice his reaction.
She began to struggle.
Meanwhile, Mark was still patting Peter's head.
"Bruce, what are you waiting for? Go!"
"Me?"
Peter pointed at himself, looking helpless.
Dude, I'm crippled!
If he could have beaten the guy, Gwen Stacy would never have been abducted.
Seeing Bruce still barking uselessly, Mark guessed that Bruce might be sick.
"Bruce, since you're not feeling well, just watch closely."
"Watch what?"
"Watch closely. My... Demon Hunter Holy Light Fist!!"
Activate Quick Movement!
Activate Jumping!
In an instant, the red-and-blue figure shot out webs and swung upward, the tremendous force of his fist tearing through the air.
There was no holy light, however.
Faced with this supposed Holy Light Fist, Professor Connors did not dare meet it head-on.
He knew just how strong his opponent was.
Seeing Spider-Man rapidly closing in, Professor Connors shuddered and hurriedly flung Gwen Stacy away.
He fled in the opposite direction instead.
If he did not run, he would end up just like Norman.
That guy was still recovering at home!
Sure enough, the demon dragon's scheme worked.
The princess fell from high atop the city wall. After his punch missed, Mark abandoned his pursuit of the demon without hesitation and dove straight toward her.
The students who witnessed this stared tensely at the heart-stopping scene.
At last, Spider-Man drew close.
Webs shot from both his hands and anchored to the outer wall.
Launch!
The sequence of movements felt like pure bodily instinct.
High in the air, the wind howled.
Gwen Stacy's long hair whipped wildly, and even her vision seemed to blur.
Yet the intense sensation of free fall did not make her scream.
Because at that moment, she thought she saw it.
Spider-Man's figure slowly overlapped with someone else's.
Three years ago, he had thrown himself toward her just as recklessly...
A moment later, the sensation of free fall eased, and her vision cleared.
She saw him clearly.
So... it wasn't him.
Perhaps she felt a little disappointed.
By now, the webs Spider-Man had cast seemed to have become warm hands, completely enveloping Gwen Stacy's body.
But she was still falling.
The webs were nowhere near elastic enough to let her land safely.
At this rate, she would die.
"You're not going to die!"
Boom!
Mark roared, tremendous force erupting beneath his feet. As fragments of the outer wall scattered, the red-and-blue figure plunged downward like a cannonball, his speed soaring.
Just as Gwen Stacy came within a few meters of the ground, he finally caught her in his arms.
Boom!!
As Spider-Man landed with a thunderous crash and dissipated the force of the impact, Gwen Stacy heard a familiar voice from within his arms.
"I've saved you, beautiful princess."
That voice...
Gwen Stacy fell into a daze again.
She saw her reflection in the black, inverted triangular lenses.
Mark, meanwhile, saw his rewards.
[You defeated the demon and saved the princess.] [Rewards: Overall Strength +1, Overall Speed +1, Overall Defense +1] [You have earned the princess's favor.] [You have obtained the Demon Dragon's Fang!] [Demon Dragon's Fang: A material used to forge the Dragon-Slaying Sword.]
Looking at these, Mark smiled in satisfaction.
Although he had not slain the demon outright, the rewards were still pretty good.
He could not imagine how generous the rewards would be if he actually killed the demon.
Next time, I absolutely can't let that guy get away.
With that thought, he glanced toward where Bruce had disappeared and shook his head.
Bruce had not taken part in the fight this time, but Mark had driven the demon off on his own.
The Demon Hunter Set's stats were incredible!
Having saved
the princess, he did not intend to keep playing.
These skills consumed too much stamina. He needed a good rest.
With a thought, he clicked [Exit Game].
And so Spider-Man put Gwen Stacy down and ran off.
"Look, he's leaving."
Watching Spider-Man disappear into the distance, everyone finally snapped out of their daze.
"Oh my God! He drove off the monster and saved someone. Maybe he isn't that bad."
"He isn't an Unknown Evil Entity at all."
"The lizard monster was scared of him. I could tell."
"He isn't some spider-man. He's Spider-Man, a real hero!"
"Yes, that must be it..."
Seeing everyone change their opinion of Mark, Peter smiled with relief.
But a moment later, his expression turned strange.
"Oh my God, he carried her bridal-style! That's so romantic."
"I heard him. He called her 'princess.'"
"She's his princess. Oh my God, I'm going to faint."
"What a lucky girl..."
Hearing these envious remarks, Peter was utterly speechless.
You bunch of hopeless romantics!
This isn't some beautiful story about a princess and a knight.
He's just a patient!
As for Gwen Stacy, she simply stood there in a daze, seemingly unable to recover.
Until she saw Peter.
Before Peter could comfort her, she suddenly spoke.
"Peter, did you feel like Spider-Man... was a lot like Mark?"
"What?"
Peter's heart jolted. Did she figure it out?
No, this is a crucial stage of his treatment.
I can't let anyone disturb Mark.
Having his identity exposed would be the worst disturbance of all.
So he gave a dry laugh and said, his eyes darting away,
"How could Mark possibly be Spider-Man? You must be sick."
Seeing his reaction, Gwen Stacy had a hunch.
She knew Peter could not lie.
Nor did he know how.