Mark suddenly burst out laughing.
"Hahaha! Nice work, Bruce! I knew you wouldn't abandon me."
He glared at the Dark Soul Fighter Demons around him. "You evil bastards, don't underestimate the eggs between Bruce and me!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Mark fired strands of webbing in succession, swinging through the constantly rotating Mirror Dimension and dodging the Dark Sorcerers' ambushes along the way.
During the fight, the black-robed figures occasionally got hit by Demon-Hunting Darts unleashed by their own companions.
In less than three minutes, the black-robed figures' offensive had completely collapsed.
Crack, crack, crack!
Space shattered, and the Mirror Dimension stopped turning.
On an upside-down skyscraper, Mark surveyed the Dark Soul Fighter Demons' magical barrier, then raised his fist and slammed it into the ground.
Crack!
Boom!
With that single punch, the Mirror Dimension shattered completely.
Back in reality, Mark turned and immediately spotted the wounded Demon Dragon under a Dark Soul Fighter Demon's protection.
The Demon Dragon barely had any health left, but this seemingly strongest Dark Soul Fighter Demon was still at full health.
Mark thought this would be tricky.
Kaecilius, whose eyes were ringed with darkness, also realized something was wrong.
What exactly was that strange holy light?
As expected of my master's future enemy.
Things were getting interesting.
He sneered again and pulled the anxious Norman over.
"Don't worry. I'll get you out of here."
He traced a circle with one hand, and a ring of dark red sparks burst into bloom in the empty air before him.
Beyond the ring lay a barren landscape.
It looked like another world.
Norman's eyes filled with horror.
"Is that a portal?"
"You're not getting away!"
Mark drew Liana's Holy Light again. Utterly unafraid of firearms, Kaecilius raised his hand and pushed Norman into the portal.
But before the portal could close, a sudden breeze swept toward him.
"What?"
In a single instant, Spider-Man was right in front of Kaecilius.
He couldn't believe it.
If Spider-Man was this fast, why had he struggled against those Dark Sorcerers earlier?
Even Norman had managed to exchange a few blows with him.
Before he could figure it out, Mark shot webbing from his hand and forcibly dragged Norman back out of the portal.
"Evil Demon Dragon, your end has come!"
With a furious roar, Mark drew his clenched fist back to his waist.
A full-power punch!
Boom!
The blast from his fist tore through the dark sparks. A shock wave erupted and swept across the area. Kaecilius felt as though he were trapped in the eye of a storm, the terrifying force all around him threatening to tear his body apart.
Fortunately, Spider-Man wasn't targeting him.
He was targeting the terrified Norman.
"Noooo!"
Crack...
The punch sent pieces of green armor flying through the air.
Norman's body traced an arc a hundred meters high before crashing onto the coast at the edge of the city.
[You have destroyed the Demon Dragon Lair!] [Your stamina +100, health +100, overall strength +5] [One of your attributes, overall strength, has reached 10 points. You may visit the Demon Hunter Guild to collect your Intermediate Demon Hunter badge.]
After slaying the evil Demon Dragon, Mark saw the quest settlement screen appear before his eyes.
"So I only need one attribute to reach ten points to become an Intermediate Demon Hunter. Got it."
He pondered this for a moment, then looked behind him.
The Dangerous Class Dark Soul Fighter Demon had already fled.
Mark felt nothing but contempt for him.
"Looks like a mighty demon hunter like me scared him off. What a coward."
After that complaint, he checked the time.
He had spent far too long on this. It was time to log out.
He tapped the interface, and his head abruptly drooped.
Soon, Spider-Man began moving again and vanished in the blink of an eye.
At the mouth of a nearby alley, Kaecilius had been watching Spider-Man's every move.
Only after seeing that Spider-Man had no intention of hunting him down did he lean against the wall and slowly exhale.
Still shaken, he didn't seem entirely reassured.
He poked his head out to check the surroundings, then spotted the deep, circular crater left by that punch. His heart trembled again.
The blast from the punch alone had shattered the ground, leaving that terrifying mark.
Kaecilius couldn't help clicking his tongue.
"As expected of my master's opponent. Truly terrifying."
But he soon calmed down.
My master's power extended across countless multiverses. A mere bug with a little extra strength couldn't possibly threaten him.
What worried him more now was how he would explain his failed mission when he returned.
Norman was the demonic representative his master had chosen for this world.
Now that Norman was dead, Kaecilius felt he might still have a chance.
But as he opened a portal, he recalled Spider-Man's strange behavior and began to form a suspicion.
"Heh... it seems this bug has no idea how strong he really is. Even more interesting..."
Bleecker Street.
After logging out this time, Mark felt sore all over.
"Ow... looks like spending too long in the game takes a toll on my body, too."
He raised his right hand to rub his left shoulder and discovered that his muscles seemed firmer.
Just what I'd expect from ten points of overall strength.
He stood up and stretched, only to find that it was still nighttime.
"Huh?"
Mark checked the time before realizing what had happened.
"Oh, it's already the next evening."
He rubbed his stomach. "I'm a little hungry."
He opened his bedroom door, but Peter was nowhere to be seen.
Peter usually slept on the couch.
Mark was a little puzzled, but that didn't stop him from looking for food in the fridge.
Hearing the noise, Ben Parker came out of his bedroom with a coat draped over his shoulders. Seeing that Mark was finally awake, he relaxed.
"So it's not a burglar, just a hungry little kitty," he joked.
Mark turned around with a helpless expression.
"There's nothing left to eat."
Ben Parker pulled a bill from his pocket. "You slept all day. You must be hungry. Go buy yourself a burger."
Mark shook his head. "I have my own money."
Instead of taking the bill, he asked, "Where's Peter
?"
"He's still at Osborn Tower."
Ben Parker sighed. "The Green Goblin blew up Osborn Tower. A lot of people died. Peter's still at the memorial."
Mark's expression changed at those words.
"The Green Goblin blew up his own... blew up the whole Osborn Tower? Has he gone mad?"
Ben Parker sighed. "He must have. If you want, you can go find Peter. Harry should be there, too."
With that, he returned to his bedroom and gently closed the door.
Mark hesitated for a while, then decided to go take a look.
He took Ben Parker's car keys and drove away from Bleecker Street.
Ten minutes later, on Coastal Road.
"Clunk, clunk, clunk..."
The battered little car shuddered, and smoke billowed out.
Mark got out helplessly and stared in dismay at the little car, which was practically ready for the scrapyard.
"Now I'll have to pay for repairs again."
The game rarely awarded gold coins. Relying on it for those measly earnings wasn't a long-term solution.
He would have to find a job in New York.
Right, the three-thousand-dollar bounty on the Green Goblin would be just enough to buy a little car.
Mark decided to get the family a new car tomorrow.
Just as he took out his phone to call roadside assistance, he heard a faint groan coming from the shore.
After his attributes had increased, his senses had become considerably sharper.
Mark found a flashlight and hurried toward the dark shore, where he spotted a familiar figure in a huge crater on the beach.
"Norman Osborn!" he exclaimed in shock.
"Ma... rk..."
In the crater, Norman lay covered in blood, using every last ounce of strength to beckon Mark over.
Mark approached warily and examined the badly wounded Norman.
"Did Spider-Man do this?" he asked cautiously.
At the mention of Spider-Man, Norman's pupils trembled.
So Mark had known all along.
The next second, he coughed up a mouthful of blood and seized Mark's hand in agitation.
"Don't... don't tell... Harry..."
With those words, Norman's hand finally fell, and his eyes lost all focus.
Mark took a deep breath and slowly closed Norman's eyes, which had remained wide open in death.
"You killed so many people. Dying at Peter's hands was the best ending you could have hoped for."
Perhaps Norman had never had a second personality in the first place.
He had merely used it as an excuse to unleash the demon in his heart.