After rendering Morlun harmless inside the Sun, Joey flew back toward Earth with a growing sense of unease.
As far as his eyes could see, a brand-new set of problems had already arrived.
There was the Spider-Mech pilot from the EVA universe, Peni Parker, operator of the spider robot SP//dr.
There was Mayday Parker, the daughter of a Peter Parker from another universe who had long since settled down and started a family.
And there was Spider-Ham from the animal universe, Peter Porker, whose Spider-Man counterpart had literally become a pig.
A spider and a pig.
Peter Parker and Peter Porker.
Funny.
Looking at the pig-spider from afar, Joey unexpectedly found himself smiling despite his gloomy mood.
The character's name and concept managed to work as a pun in both Chinese and English, which was honestly quite impressive.
Unfortunately, stupid puns couldn't save the world.
This many Spider-People traveling together through the multiverse and following Morlun's trail could only mean one thing.
The Inheritors had been hunting Spider-Men across countless universes for so long that the Spider-People themselves had finally become aware of the threat.
To survive, they had begun gathering under the leadership of several experienced Spider-Men, forming teams and armies to fight back against the Spider-Hunters.
On one side stood a Spider-Army whose members could casually lift dozens of tons with a single hand.
On the other stood an immortal vampire family capable of traversing universes.
While it might seem like a relatively small conflict on the surface, it was ultimately a deadly war spanning hundreds, perhaps thousands, of universes.
At this moment, Joey desperately wanted this universe to stay out of it.
Not because he didn't care.
Simply because he already had more than enough problems on his plate.
"I'm afraid that's impossible."
Spider-Ham, Peter Porker, who barely reached Joey's knee in height, shook his remarkably intelligent pig head.
He understood Joey's mindset perfectly.
Who wouldn't want their universe to remain peaceful forever?
"The Inheritors almost never abandon their prey. As long as this universe's Spider-Man remains alive, those bastards will never stop targeting this reality."
Hearing that, the newly awakened Peter Parker visibly shuddered.
"So as long as I'm alive, my universe can never know peace? Does that mean I have to die?"
"What kind of stupid nonsense is that?!" x5
All five people present immediately rejected Peter's defeatist conclusion.
The Inheritors intended to exterminate every Spider-Man across the multiverse.
Who would willingly stretch out their neck and wait for execution?
"Come with us."
The one speaking was Peni Parker.
Despite being only a middle-school student, several brutal battles had already forged a maturity far beyond her age.
"We're gathering Spider-Men from across the multiverse to form an army. Together, we'll fight for our survival."
"We can protect you. And we'll defeat them."
"We'll free the entire multiverse from this family's grasp."
Peter Parker, who had only recently gained his powers and had yet to learn what 'with great power comes great responsibility' truly meant, couldn't help looking tempted.
"I..."
Imagine it.
You're a teenage boy right in the middle of your most impressionable years.
One day, you suddenly gain superpowers.
Then a mysterious girl literally falls from the sky and invites you to become a hero and help save the multiverse.
What high school student could possibly resist that?
"No. Peter Parker isn't going anywhere."
The first person to pour cold water on the idea was Joey.
"Calm down, Peter. You're not even old enough to drink yet."
From a purely rational standpoint, Joey could simply nod, hand Peter over, and be done with the entire problem.
The Inheritors located universes through Spider-Man's essential nature—the so-called Spider-Totem.
If Peter left, they would almost certainly never return to this universe.
But from a moral standpoint...
Joey couldn't bring himself to simply close his eyes and let Peter walk away.
He knew one thing with absolute certainty: the Peter Parker standing before him was not the protagonist of this story.
Without Joey and Starfire stepping in earlier, Peter would already be a dried-out corpse with his soul devoured by Morlun.
And by the time these three alternate Spider-People had arrived, Morlun might have turned the situation into a buy-one-get-three-free deal.
Sending a freshly awakened Peter off with them would be less a rescue mission and more a death sentence.
Even a one-in-ten chance of survival would be considered generous.
Internally, Joey cursed under his breath.
He already had enough problems.
Yet somehow he still couldn't bring himself to stay uninvolved.
Maybe that was what being Superman—or a superhero in general—actually meant.
If Tony Stark in this universe could throw himself into danger to protect Joey's world from war, then why couldn't he help this universe... and help this Peter Parker avoid becoming another victim?
"No. Peter has to come with us."
Mayday Parker spoke with obvious concern.
She had personally experienced what being Spider-Man could do to the people closest to you.
That was why she refused to leave this universe's surviving Peter Parker behind.
"If he stays here, everyone around him will be in danger."
"Don't think killing a few Inheritors will solve anything."
"We've already lost several friends."
"We've killed some of them before."
"And the conclusion we reached is that they can resurrect indefinitely."
"You're trying to fight enemies who move freely through time and space."
"During a single second in your universe, they might already be planning countless attacks from outside reality."
"You can't keep winning forever."
Before Mayday Parker could finish speaking, she and the other three Spider-People all jolted simultaneously.
Their Spider-Senses screamed through their nerves, warning them that danger was approaching.
A multicolored flash of temporal energy appeared directly overhead.
Before the interdimensional portal had even fully opened, a figure burst through it.
He looked strikingly similar to Morlun in both appearance and attire, but he was far larger and more heavily built.
His eyes burned with an even more deranged madness than Morlun's.
An endless hunger.
This was Daemos, Morlun's brother.
He had only recently learned that Morlun had once again returned defeated from another universe.
Unlike Earth-616, the universe famous for producing some of the strangest Spider-Men imaginable...
This was supposedly an uncataloged backwater reality.
What kind of monster could have handed his brother such a humiliating loss?
Curious, Daemos stepped through the portal.
The moment he sensed four Spider-People gathered in one place, excitement lit up his face.
Swinging his massive warhammer, he laughed loudly.
"My brother neglected to tell me there were this many delicacies here!"
"You've conveniently gathered together and saved me the trouble of hunting each of you down separately!"
In Daemos's eyes, all four Spiders present were premium prey.
Two women.
One strip of bacon.
And one freshly baked, straight out of the oven.
His worthless brother Morlun had somehow failed to capitalize on an opportunity like this.
Fortunately, everything now belonged to him.
"It's Daemos! Open the portal!"
Peni Parker immediately began operating the dimensional gateway, trying to evacuate everyone as quickly as possible.
Spider-Ham and Mayday fired webs toward Daemos in an attempt to slow him down.
The effort accomplished very little.
The arrival of Daemos caused the three experienced Spider-People to become visibly grim.
Before the portal finished opening, they shouted toward Joey.
"Let us take Peter Parker!"
"As long as he stays here, this universe will never be safe!"
None of them wanted to fall into Daemos's hands.
Unlike some of his more practical siblings, who focused almost exclusively on hunting, Daemos was a genuine monster.
He possessed all sorts of twisted, unhealthy obsessions regarding his prey.
His crimson eyes swept across the group.
Without hesitation, he ignored everyone else and brought his hammer crashing down toward Joey's head.
He intended to eliminate the irrelevant nuisance first.
Then he could slowly enjoy the feast afterward.
"I am going to enjoy your screams!"
"Get back a little, Starfire."
After giving the warning, Joey fired a burst of heat vision.
Daemos's enormous warhammer instantly melted into a stream of molten metal.
Then Joey rose into the air.
Planting both hands firmly onto Daemos's shoulders, he held him completely motionless.
No matter how violently Daemos struggled, he couldn't move even an inch.
"I bet you have a terrible relationship with your brother."
If Morlun had cared even slightly about his brother after spending several minutes marinating in solar winds, he never would have allowed Daemos to invade this universe alone.
What Mayday had said earlier also wasn't entirely wrong.
The Inheritors' ability to resurrect indefinitely made them an ongoing problem.
At any moment, they could invade Joey's universe from beyond reality itself.
Just like now.
Two vampires had already shown up within ten minutes.
At this rate, Joey didn't even need to wait for a prolonged war of attrition.
He was already tired of seeing these irritating parasites.
"For what I'm about to do to you, you should know that this isn't personal."
"Please consider it a warning."
"A warning about what?"
Though significantly larger than Joey, Daemos remained completely restrained.
Even while confused, he continued struggling.
His fists and kicks rained down on Joey nonstop.
They accomplished absolutely nothing.
The only thing he felt was Joey's immovable strength.
"Don't get too smug."
"Even if you kill me, I'll just come back."
He had already realized how troublesome this opponent was.
But that had never stopped him before.
He could always return.
Again.
And again.
And again.
Eventually, he always won.
"Heh. Good."
"I hope you do come back."
A new day had barely begun after Joey and Starfire's intimate night together, and yet another problem had already appeared.
The constant accumulation of headaches had pushed Joey's already poor mood even lower.
Faced with a creature like this, he decided there was no reason to keep restraining the beast inside.
Smiling pleasantly, Joey glanced back at the four Spider-People.
"Ladies and minors present."
"Please close your eyes."
Before he had even finished saying the words 'close your eyes,' Joey's hands were already moving apart.
Ignoring every scream in the area—including Daemos's—he calmly and methodically pulled Daemos apart down the middle.
Very slowly.
Very evenly.
Extremely evenly.
In fact, the weight difference between the two halves was probably less than a kilogram.
Who would have guessed a bio-field could be used with that kind of precision?
"Try to be more careful next time."
"If you decide to come back."
Even split cleanly into two pieces, Daemos was still breathing.
His monstrous vitality kept him conscious.
And only after hearing Joey's words did he finally understand the meaning of the warning.
If the Inheritors insisted on visiting Joey's planet...
Joey would happily provide every future invader with an equally horrific death.
Whether that threat would actually work on immortal vampires was another question entirely.
Honestly, Joey might have done it simply to vent some frustration.
But while the message's effectiveness against enemies was debatable...
Its effect on allies was far more immediate.
"...BLURGH!"
Everyone present except Starfire and Peni Parker immediately threw up on the spot.