No excuses, I missed an update yesterday, I'm sorry!
This chapter makes up for yesterday's, and there will be more chapters coming up, including today's and bonus chapters to make up for yesterday's missed update.
I suspect I'm really having a run of bad luck this year. My grandma and dad have both been hospitalized, and I'm having a lot of bad luck too. I even broke my leg while going out to buy groceries.
The entire family of three was ruined; their bad luck was simply outrageous.
That's good, though. I don't have to bother with part-time jobs anymore, so I can focus on writing in peace.
I'm a bit emotionally overwhelmed, and I apologize again to everyone.
The roar of the stone giant still echoed through the valley, causing fine pebbles to fall from the rock walls.
Peter leaped backward, his nanosuit's Silk shooting out from his wrists and firmly anchoring him to a tall tree trunk to the side. Using the pull, he drew an arc in the air, barely dodging the sweeping stone arm. The heavy fist slammed into the rock he had just landed on, instantly shattering the half-human-sized boulder into fragments that flew in all directions like shrapnel.
Inside the mask, JARVIS's data stream filled most of Peter's field of vision. Red markers were locked onto the few faintly glowing green dots on the stone giant's knees, shoulders, and neck—the energy core that had just been analyzed.
" Mr. Parker, the target's repair mechanism is operating at high speed. The damaged parts are regenerating. After destroying the core, please continue to suppress the damage and do not give it a recovery window." JARVIS's calm voice sounded in the headset.
Peter gritted his teeth, his chest heaving slightly. The suffocating feeling from the charity gala a few days ago resurfaced. He deliberately shook off the jumbled thoughts and focused all his attention on his opponent. He could clearly sense that his reaction was slightly slower than expected, and his explosive power was also a little weaker than usual. It was that fleeting half-beat difference that nearly caused him to be struck by the stone giant's fist several times. The unease that had been buried deep in his heart resurfaced.
"Understood," Peter replied in a low voice.
Launched a second time from the Silk, he swiftly circled around to the side of the stone giant, using his feet to gain momentum on the steep rock face. Like a cannonball, he pounced towards the glowing joint on the stone giant's shoulder, his clenched fist slamming down with all his might onto the ball of green light.
Bang!
A violent impact rang out, and the large rocky shell on the stone giant's shoulder shattered. Green energy sap gushed out from the cracks. The monster cried out in pain, letting out a shrill roar, and its massive body shook violently.
Peter was overjoyed, thinking he had landed a serious blow. But before he could even pull away, an astonishing scene unfolded. From beneath the ground, a continuous stream of grayish-green, viscous rock debris, like a flowing, living thing, rapidly converged on his damaged shoulder. The broken stones pieced themselves back together and solidified. In just two or three seconds, the shattered shoulder armor was completely restored, and the green light returned to its stable glow, as if the powerful blow had never happened.
Peter's pupils contracted slightly, and he immediately rolled backward to avoid the stone giant's backhand slap. The heavy hand struck the mountain wall, creating a deep crater.
"The recovery speed is far exceeding expectations!" Peter reported quickly, his eyes fixed on the constantly reassembling body. "The shattered parts can regenerate rapidly; mere physical destruction is not enough to achieve a decisive effect."
He didn't stop, constantly weaving through the rocks and trees of the valley. Silk wrapped around the stone giant's ankle, trying to restrict its movement. The high-strength nano- Silk were stretched to their limit, but the monster suddenly ripped them off, uprooting and flinging thick tree roots away. Peter seized the opportunity, leaping into the air and delivering a powerful kick to the core light spot in its knee. Rocks shattered, but the next second, dirt and debris surged up, and the wound healed once more.
He tried to attack from every angle, punching and kicking, using the surrounding rubble as projectiles to bombard its weak points. Each attack tore through the monster's body, but each time, its Earth Elemental body quickly healed all wounds. The valley was littered with the mess left by the fight, fallen trees, rubble everywhere, and dust flying everywhere. After a fierce battle, Peter's breathing became heavy, and his armor had several scratches from the rocks.
He was already sweating; his stamina was rapidly depleting, and the endless regeneration made the battle seem endless. The stone giant was tireless and felt no pain; it only knew how to swing its fists and stomp, treating everything in sight as a target for destruction. Several times, the massive stone fists grazed his body and crashed down, the force of the blows causing his mask to tremble slightly.
Peter landed atop a tall boulder, panting heavily, his eyes fixed on the Earth Elemental giant moving below.
From beginning to end, the mysterious figure clad in yellow-green armor and wearing a transparent fishbowl helmet stood quietly on the open ground at the edge of the battlefield, not participating in the fight, but simply observing. Green smoke swirled around his body, and despite the flying rocks around him, not a single fragment could get within half a meter of him. He tilted his head, as if calmly observing an experiment, watching the battle between Peter and the Earth Elemental monster.
Peter kept a close eye on the stranger, his vigilance remaining unwavering. He couldn't figure out if the man was an enemy or a third party. If he was an enemy, why was he hesitant to make a move? If he was an ally, why was he coldly watching him fight alone?
Just as Peter a solution, the stone giant took another heavy step and charged towards the boulder, about to smash the rock he was standing on to pieces with a single punch.
The mysterious figure who had been standing idly by finally made a move.
The green smoke surrounding him suddenly boiled and surged, transforming into dozens of thick smoke pillars that roared out like venomous snakes. The smoke pillars, carrying high temperatures, precisely targeted the core nodes on the stone giant's body that emitted green light. At the same time, the mysterious man raised his hand, and several energy orbs shot out from his wrist armor, heavily striking the monster's newly repaired shoulder and neck area.
The green smoke clung tightly to the stone giant's wounds, scorching the rocky body like strong acid and inhibiting the regeneration of soil and rubble. The originally rapid recovery speed suddenly slowed down, and the rock fragments that surged to repair the wounds carbonized and dissipated upon contact with the smoke, never to be pieced back together.
"Opportunity!" The mysterious man's voice came through the helmet, slightly muffled.
Peter seized the fleeting window, his eyes gleaming. He pushed off the top of the boulder, his nanosuit operating at full power. Two thick Silk precisely pierced the rock walls on either side of the stone giant. Using the pulling force, he accelerated his spin, his body forming a high-speed gyroscope. With the immense momentum, he simultaneously slammed his elbows into the two most important energy cores of the stone giant's knees.
Two almost overlapping loud bangs erupted.
The green energy core exploded instantly, and blinding green light leaked out wildly. Deprived of its energy supply, the massive stone giant froze abruptly, its entire rocky shell cracking and covered with countless fissures. Before it could even attempt to use Earth Elemental to repair itself, the mysterious figure unleashed another concentrated beam of green energy at its final core in the chest.
Boom--!
The massive four-meter-tall body completely collapsed, countless stones scattered all over the ground, and the remaining green light slowly dimmed and dissipated, turning into wisps of thin blue smoke that dissipated in the mountain wind.
The valley finally quieted down, with only the rustling of the wind through the trees and the slightly heavy breathing of the two people.
The battle is over.
Peter bent over, supporting himself on his knees as he gasped for breath. His mask slowly flipped up, revealing a face covered in a thin layer of sweat. His arm muscles were still slightly sore; the continuous high-intensity combat, coupled with the faint decline in his strength, had already exhausted him greatly. He raised his head, his gaze fixed on the mysterious figure not far away.
The other person slowly walked towards him, their yellow-green armor gleaming with a cool metallic sheen in the sunlight filtering through the trees, and the liquid flowing inside the transparent aquarium helmet swaying gently.
Peter instinctively straightened up, his hand hovering over his wrist armor, remaining vigilant as he cautiously assessed his opponent.
"Who are you?" Peter asked, his voice hoarse from the battle. "I've checked all the SSC's records of superhumans, but I couldn't find any matching information. And what exactly was that monster from earlier?"
The mysterious man stopped, raised his hand, and fastened the buckle on the edge of the helmet. With a slight mechanical click, the transparent hood, resembling a fishbowl, slowly lifted up and was removed.
A middle-aged man's face was revealed. His features were well-defined, with deep wrinkles at the corners of his eyes, marks etched by long-term pressure and suffering. His light brown eyes held a complex expression, a mixture of weariness, sorrow, and a sharpness honed by years of war. A few strands of light brown hair on his forehead were slightly disheveled, dusted with the dust of the battlefield, and he sported a neatly trimmed stubble. His face didn't convey ferocity, but rather a sense of vicissitude born from the destruction of his homeland.
He tucked the fish tank helmet under his arm, extended his right hand toward Peter, and tried to appear as friendly as possible.
"Judging from your fighting style, you must be Spider-Man from SSC, right?" The man's voice was steady, with a hint of tired hoarseness. "My name is Quentin Beck, you can also call me Mysterio."
Peter did not immediately reach out to shake hands, remaining vigilant and waiting for him to continue explaining.
Quentin Beck stared at the rubble left by the stone giant on the ground, his eyes dark and brooding.
"These monsters are born from the depths of black holes and are formed from the four fundamental elements of the universe: wind, fire, water, and earth. The one we just defeated was Earth Elemental aggregate; we collectively refer to them as the ' Elementals.'"
He paused, gazing at the distant, rolling mountains, his tone heavy.
"These creations are not appearing for the first time. Their shadows can be found in the mythological systems of various civilizations passed down by humankind: earth demons that cause landslides, fire monsters that ignite prairie fire, raging floods, howling wind spirits—many of those legends originate from their past devastation."
Beck turned his gaze to Peter and slowly recounted his experiences.
" The Elementals appeared long ago. They awoke one after another. I had a group of comrades who fought alongside me; we were the last warriors to resist the Elementals. We fought with all our might, but we still couldn't stop them. I watched with my own eyes as our homeland was reduced to ruins by the Elementals ' rampage."
As he said this, a look of sadness welled up in his eyes.
"All my former comrades have perished, and now I am the only survivor. I can only barely delay the awakening and growth of the Elementals. I have no way to resist them on my own. They will appear one after another, and if left unchecked, this Earth will eventually be destroyed."
Quentin Beck withdrew his outstretched hand, his tone sincere.
"Therefore, I hope to receive assistance from the SSC. Only by combining enough power can we have a chance to eliminate all the remaining Elementals and protect this world."
After listening to this long narration, Peter a heavy weight in his heart. The Elementals, a cross-world catastrophe, a threat that could destroy the entire Earth. The scale of this matter far exceeded what a teenager like him could decide. The reporter's words at the charity gala, "Take on greater responsibility," echoed in his mind once again.
He immediately spoke into the headset.
" JARVIS, you heard everything. This matter concerns global security. Can you contact the rest of our forces and gather everyone to discuss a strategy?"
There was a moment of silence in the headphones, before JARVIS's electronic voice slowly resumed after a short pause.
" Mr. Parker, I have conducted a full-scale communications screening. Thor's whereabouts are currently unknown, and a stable communication link cannot be established; Carol Vers is on an interstellar rescue mission in deep space, too far from Earth to return in the short term; Doctor Strange is working diligently to draw up and reinforce Earth's dimensional defense array to withstand the abnormal impact leaked from the multiverse, and is unable to spare the time to rush to the scene..."
With each name announced, Peter's heart sank a little lower.
"I have consulted with Mr. Stark. Tony Stark and Mr. Lynn. They have granted you the highest temporary authority in the SSC, and you are in full command of this incident. In the event of an extreme crisis, I will contact them directly through the highest emergency communication channel."
The words fell silent as the headphones went quiet.
The wind rustled through the trees in the valley.
Peter stood there, stunned, unable to utter a single word.
The weighty words "full authority to handle" weighed heavily on his shoulders.
Just days ago, on stage at a charity gala, he was bombarded with questions from reporters about his successor, and he fled the stage in a disheveled state, filled with fear that he couldn't bear the weight of the responsibility. Now, cruel reality has placed that burden squarely in his hands.
He looked down at his palms, the metallic sheen of his nanosuit shimmering faintly. The doubt that had been nagging at him, "Can I really do this?" surged up again. Detailed memories of distractions and his steadily declining strength flashed through his mind. What if he misjudged the situation? What if his abilities were insufficient, plunging the entire planet into danger?
Quentin Beck stood quietly opposite him, not urging him, but simply waiting for Spider-Man's reply.
The wind in the forest stirred up fine dust from the ground, and the faint sounds of cars passing by could be heard from the distant town. The atmosphere in the valley became silent and heavy.