And it was a dead Spider-Man!
A Spider-Man laid out on a dining table like a gourmet meal!
Seated at this long dining table were several figures dressed in medieval aristocratic attire.
They were elegant, holding knives and forks, feeding on the Spider-Man. They cut bloody chunks of meat from the Spider-Man on the table, placing them in their mouths to chew, their faces filled with ecstasy.
From Loki's level, he could naturally see clearly that as they consumed the Spider-Man on the table, these people's power was gradually increasing...
Clearly, they were a family that fed on Spider-Men and absorbed their power!
This made Loki's brow furrow even deeper as he murmured, "Those who play with time will inevitably be played by time. Not even I am an exception..."
It wasn't surprising Loki said this, because in the timelines he controlled, there was absolutely no information about this family that fed on Spider-Men!
It was as if they didn't exist in the timeline at all!
Rubbing his temples, Loki continued watching.
In the ancient castle, it wasn't until the Spider-Man on the table had been mostly consumed by the family—leaving behind little more than a skeleton—that the long-haired man leading them put down his knife and fork. Only then did the others reluctantly do the same.
The long-haired man at the head of the table elegantly wiped the corners of his mouth, picked up a goblet filled with Spider-Man's blood, stood up, and raised a toast to the others.
"Everyone, today our Inheritor Family awakens from a long slumber. There is one piece of good news and one piece of bad news. Which would you like to hear first?"
The long-haired man speaking was named Morlun, the current leader of this 'Inheritor Family'.
The others were members of the Inheritor Family.
Aside from the only man present who hadn't eaten the Spider-Man's flesh during the bloody dinner—a man wearing a full-coverage round helmet who remained silent at Morlun's words.
Upon hearing Morlun's words, the others acted as if they hadn't spoken in hundreds of years, hurriedly and noisily voicing their opinions.
Some wanted to hear the good news, some the bad news; there was no unified opinion at all.
Seeing everyone arguing incessantly, Morlun grew impatient and raised his hand.
"Enough, stop arguing. Actually, the good and bad news are related. I'll tell them together!"
At this, no one in the family had any further objections, and they all leaned in to listen.
Seeing this, Morlun nodded with satisfaction. After taking a sip of the blood in his cup, he spoke leisurely:
"Ever since that damned Kang the Conqueror of the TVA established the so-called rules to protect the sacred timeline, our behavior of traveling through various Universes to hunt Spider-Men was noticed by the TVA. They even tried to prune our Inheritor race, forcing us to go into slumber to hide ourselves..."
"But... just a short while ago, I sensed a new possessor of Spider Abilities traveling through the Multiverse. Because of this, I woke up and awakened all of you. Do you know what this means?"
The others looked at each other and shook their heads.
Bang!
Morlun looked around at everyone, a bloody smile curling on his lips as he slammed both hands onto the table:
"This special Spider-Man can travel through the Multiverse at will. This shows that the TVA's time rules have changed. They will no longer prune 'erroneous' travelers. We can continue hunting Spider-Men!"
Upon hearing this, everyone in the Inheritor Family—except for the still-silent helmeted man—erupted in excitement!
They hadn't enjoyed the delicious taste of a Spider-Man for countless years. Catching the Spider-Man of this Universe for the whole family to share upon waking up today wasn't even enough to fill the gaps between their teeth!
You have to understand that in the past, they used to dine on one Spider-Man per person!
Once the morale was sufficiently roused, Morlun raised his hand again to quiet the family members. The smile on his face vanished, replaced by a somber expression:
"What I just said was the good news. Now, it's time for the bad news..."
The Inheritors, who were just moments ago filled with bloodlust and itching to hunt a hundred Spider-Men to break their fast, felt as if a bucket of cold water had been poured over their heads.
After the carrot, Morlun began to use the stick, saying in a heavy voice:
"The bad news is also related to that special Spider-Man traveling through the Multiverse. As the era of the Council of Kangs' rule over the Multiverse ends and a new multiversal era begins, the prophecy left by our ancestors is about to commence!"
Hearing this, everyone in the Inheritor Family looked terrified. Even the helmeted man, who had seemed indifferent until now, could no longer remain calm and turned his gaze toward Morlun.
Two Inheritors dressed in red, both with white hair—Bora and Brix—said in unison:
"Morlun, you... you mean the prophecy that a Spider-Man will destroy our Inheritor Family?!"
Morlun nodded indifferently.
"Exactly. I can feel it. With this mysterious Spider-Man traveling through the Multiverse, that prophecy has officially begun..."
The tall Daemos looked fierce and suggested:
"Then what are we waiting for? We used to hunt Spider-Men across various Universes precisely because the prophecy said that at some point in the future, a Spider-Man would destroy our Inheritor Family. Since the prophecy has already begun, we must strike first and kill the Spider-Men of all Universes!"
Hearing this, the others all echoed Daemos's words.
"The threat must be eliminated, of course..." Morlun first nodded in agreement, but then shook his head:
"But we have only just awakened from our slumber and are still in a weakened state. Our strength is not what it used to be. And since that mysterious spider can travel through the Multiverse, he certainly won't be simple!"
"Right now, we cannot blindly hunt that mysterious spider. Otherwise, if we are not careful, we might cause the prophecy to be fulfilled prematurely. Therefore, we need a meticulous plan."
The other Inheritors calmed down upon hearing this, intending to listen to Morlun's plan first.
Morlun didn't keep them in suspense at such a critical moment. He held up three fingers: "I have divided the plan into three parts..."
"First, we need someone to scout the Universe of that spider who traveled the Multiverse and triggered our family's destruction prophecy. We need to see just how special he is and how strong he is. Any volunteers?"
At this, everyone fell silent.
Just as Morlun said, they were all in a weakened state. No one wanted to face a powerful spider prophesied to destroy their family in this condition!
Finally, the helmeted man, who had been silent all along, stood up and spoke his first words since waking: "I'll go..."
Seeing the helmeted man volunteer, everyone was somewhat surprised. However, their gaze held no admiration, only mockery.
Bora, who had been terrified by the start of the destruction prophecy earlier, said disdainfully, "Karn, weren't you unwilling to participate in our family's hunting before, looking at us with that hypocritical face of yours?"
"What now? Realizing you're going to die, so you can't keep up the act anymore? Hahahaha!"