Chapter 670: The Spider's Web Miracle (Part 2) (Patreon)

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Although the issue at hand pertained to Peter and Venom, neither of them was present due to their excessive excitement, having already engaged in physical combat. Consequently, several symbiotes had refrained from joining, choosing instead to monitor their activities in the space battlefield.

The individuals who had arrived included Schiller, Stark, Steve, Strange, Natasha representing S.H.I.E.L.D., and Connors, who was well-versed in biology.

Strange conjured an enigmatic magic circle in the air, composed of various polygons with a circular outer edge adorned with numerous sharp arrows. The others present couldn't comprehend the intricate design, prompting Strange to explain:

"Earth is unique, and as such, its inhabitants are also exceptional. Human belief is a valuable resource for demon gods. Even those demon gods who no longer seek to bolster their power do not mind having an extra source of sustenance, such as the Lord of the Deep Crimson Dimension.

"However, to prevent these demon gods from indiscriminately proselytizing and disrupting Earth's ecosystem, Sanctum Sanctorum bears the responsibility of containing the outward flow of human belief. If human belief were to spread freely, these demon gods would undoubtedly launch even more aggressive assaults on Earth."

With a wave of his hand, the magic circle gradually dissipated, transforming into a spherical representation of Earth, with countless golden traces in the skies above it.

"Is this Earth's magic defense network?" Stark inquired, recalling it from when they purged Earth of demon gods.

"Correct. This system serves not only as a defense against foreign demon god invasions but also as a barrier to the outward flow of human belief. It does not completely sever the connection, only filters out the majority."

"It also acts as a monitoring system. If the flow of belief attributed to a particular demon god suddenly intensifies, it signifies that the god may be making moves on Earth. This is why The Ancient One, the sorcerer, is quick to identify disruptive demon gods within Earth."

"I see," Natasha remarked, crossing her arms. "So, it's a trap? Demon gods come to Earth for belief, but as soon as they gain followers and belief multiplies, Sorcerer Supreme detects it and follows the belief trail to confront them."

Strange nodded and gave Natasha a thumbs-up. "Correct. Very astute. In essence, that's the idea."

"No wonder when I heard the story of Sorcerer Supreme, I wondered how she managed to expose the demon gods," Connors commented with a sense of awe. "It's clear that relying solely on force won't suffice. Wisdom is required."

"From this defense network, I can examine the flow of belief within Earth. I extracted the Power of Belief from Peter and compared it to the previously recorded beliefs in the network."

"And the result?" Schiller inquired.

"We found no identical belief. In other words, this belief has never appeared before, and it does not belong to any demon god that we know. The Power of Belief projected onto Peter is unique."

"What could this mean?" Stark asked, looking puzzled. "Could Peter be a new demon god?"

"I found it strange too, so I conducted a thorough investigation," Strange explained, gazing at the spherical model of Earth. "Whether transmitted from Earth or projected from outside, this network should leave traces. Strangely, Peter's belief seems to originate from a different layer."

Upon hearing this, Schiller began to piece together the puzzle in his mind. He began to explain, "Do you all remember the Bat Invasion incident?"

"Perhaps Nick and I never told you the whole truth, but the fact is, it was a plot we orchestrated to make the vampires believe in the existence of a Bat God. This was to provoke them into attacking New York unprepared. I made Venom merge with Peter to create the Venom Bat, the enormous bat monster you saw in the New York skies."

"Wait, so you created that?" Steve asked with wide eyes. "Do you realize how many people died because of it?"

"If I hadn't done it, and the vampires invaded New York when fully prepared, even more lives would have been lost," Schiller said calmly. "As I mentioned before, the vampires had plans for this. If they had infiltrated quietly, the consequences would have been far worse. Luring them out early and catching them off guard was also part of the plan."

Steve paused for a moment, seemingly about to argue, but Stark nudged him, prompting Steve to sigh and acknowledge Schiller's point.

After all, reason told him that if those massive bats had launched a full-scale attack on New York after thorough preparation, it wouldn't just be a matter of a single bridge; the entire city would be embroiled in a fierce battle.

"But the key point is that this was the only time when Venom and Peter made a connection. And this connection involved what's referred to as a God, aligning perfectly with the Power of Belief."

"The problem is that Bat God was fabricated by you. So, who would genuinely believe in it?" Strange voiced his confusion. "Humans consider this monster their enemy. Even if a few eccentric individuals want to worship it and desire the world's destruction, the belief of one or two humans is not enough to generate such a concentrated Power of Belief."

"I think we need to bring Peter and Venom here and ask them what really happened," Schiller suggested, saying, "Only the two of them probably know the whole story."

When both of them were summoned, Peter could still communicate somewhat, but Venom had resorted to incoherent growling. Eddie was struggling to control him and constantly banging his head against the wall.

Fortunately, dealing with the deranged Venom was relatively manageable. A few symbiotes, along with Steve, managed to restrain him. Peter made an effort to recollect the events and then said...

"I remember, a bald sorcerer dressed in a yellow robe appeared, and Venom was saying something like 'three times five times...'"

"Peter, focus and try to remember every detail, word for word, if you can. It shouldn't be too hard for you," Schiller guided Peter, and soon enough, Peter remembered the scene vividly.

At that moment, when The Ancient One descended, her attitude was far from friendly. She froze time right after their meeting, seemed somewhat puzzled, and then started meditating, apparently communicating with some presence behind her.

"She sat cross-legged and mumbled for a while, talking about 'Totem... Beast Totem's power... a new-born Totem.' I couldn't make heads or tails of it," Peter shook his head, appearing somewhat perplexed, and continued, "After that, she started bargaining with Venom, saying something like 'I can lend a hand with the new-born Totem, but it'll cost you tenfold.'"

Strange and Schiller exchanged a glance. Strange repeated, "Are you sure she said 'new-born Totem'?"

Peter nodded and said, "Correct, she repeated it several times, so I remember it quite clearly; those were the words."

Strange wore a knowing expression. After Peter left, he began to educate the others on what the Beast Totem truly was.

"In simple terms, it's a mysterious power that exists within the space, but it's not confined to a single space; it exists above the space," Strange said, glancing at Stark, who subtly nodded, indicating he had encountered it before.

"No one knows how Totems come into being, but Totems select different individuals to bestow power upon them while gaining belief from their actions."

"Peter was chosen by the Spider Totem," Stark spoke up, and Schiller added, "He was destined to become Spider-Man, whether he was bitten in a laboratory or at home, or on the road; it's because the Spider Totem chose him."

"But, I didn't see any 'new-born Totem,'" Stark expressed his doubts, "Isn't the Spider Totem something that chose Peter Parker a long time ago?"

"Perhaps, indeed, a new-born Totem has appeared," Schiller mused, "Although Batman, represented by the Bat God, is artificial, bats as a species have existed in the world before. They are a part of the Beasts. Hence, the birth of a Totem is not unexpected."

What Schiller didn't mention was that the bats represented by Batman were different from wild bats. Batman's bats carried attributes like 'darkness' and 'fear,' and similarly, Venom, which once parasitized Batman, might carry some mystical attributes, leading to the emergence of a unique Bat Totem. This also made sense.

"Now the only problem we need to deal with is figuring out where this belief comes from," Stark speculated, "Since the Beast Totem doesn't originate from within the space, it can absorb belief across different spaces. Therefore, Peter's belief may not come from this space. This explains why Earth's defense network didn't detect it; it might originate from a higher dimension, beyond the network's reach."

"Since we're making this assumption, we should verify it," Schiller said, turning to Stark, extending his hand, and saying, "Give me your magic source; I need to charge it."

"Are you saying..."

"Just go up and take a look; that'll clear things up."

"Can't you go up?"

"I'm just an ordinary person."

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Next Chapter>>Chapter 671: A New God Emerges in Space (Part 1)