Inside the spaceship's cabin.
One second later, the game interface displayed Baby Kingpin's grayed-out card.
The Grandmaster froze.
So it really was just an ordinary baby?
"Spider-Man, you tricked me again," he said, his face darkening, vowing not to fall for it a third time!
Charlie looked innocent. "He really has a superpower, but your card was too strong. I didn't lie."
"What's his superpower?"
"Enduring hunger."
Grandmaster: "…"
He was speechless.
Next, the screen showed Surtur raising his flaming sword, plunging it into the snowy mountain. Endless magma erupted, spreading to surrounding peaks, turning Hokkaido into a fiery hell.
The apocalyptic scene shocked the world.
Global leaders watched helplessly. This game affecting the world exceeded their imagination.
Even gods were toys in Spider-Man and the alien's hands.
"Spider-Man failed again."
"The invincible Spider-Man can't keep making miracles."
"The world's on a destruction countdown. Time to activate the backup plan."
"Operation Noah's Ark is live. We must preserve humanity's spark."
Fireballs erupted worldwide, contrails piercing the atmosphere into space.
These ships carried humanity's hopes, embarking on a long cosmic journey.
The Grandmaster noticed the fleeing ships.
"Your fans don't seem to trust you," he laughed.
Charlie shrugged. "Interstellar expansion's started, you know."
"Enough talk, Spider-Man. Your turn."
"I know."
Charlie drew a card. "Friendly tip: I've claimed the entire ocean!"
Buzz~
The Pacific surged with towering waves. A regal figure in golden scale armor, Atlanna, stood atop, wielding the golden Trident. With a wave, she parted the sea, summoning terrifying deep-sea beasts to the surface.
Massive shadows loomed under the waves, their primal fear visible on satellite feeds, shocking global powers.
"This round's mine. Call them back!"
"Report: Earth's magnetic field shifted. We've lost contact."
"What?"
As powers regretted, the Grandmaster's face grew serious.
"Atlantis's aura… no, something's off."
He frowned, sensing an unfamiliar cosmic rule in the "Aquaman" on-screen.
While Marvel's Atlantis existed, DC's Atlantis carried subtle rule differences, detected by the Grandmaster.
Having lived eons, he thought he knew everything.
But this woman's Atlantean aura baffled him.
Cautiously, he glanced at his cards, selecting the safest one.
"Atlantis's King, Namor!"
Whoosh whoosh~
In the Pacific, a muscular man with a trident crested a wave, facing Atlanna.
Marvel's Aquaman vs. DC's Aquaman's mom.
The sea king battle loomed, thunderclouds gathering above.
Charlie watched calmly. "It'll take time to settle, but we don't need to wait."
The Grandmaster's fingertip glowed with a card. "Together."
"Obviously."
Charlie tapped a card twice. "London."
The Grandmaster nodded. "Fine."
Both played cards simultaneously.
St. Paul's Cathedral, two digital glitches hit the dome.
Crack crack~
Blood-red tendrils spread wildly. Hydra Steve, returned from hell, sought revenge on Spider-Man.
Clearly, Mephisto gifted Spider-Man's old foe to the Grandmaster.
Meanwhile, a shield's screech caused a sonic boom. As tendrils snapped, Captain Carter caught her returning shield. Strengthened by the Resurrection Match, she faced her old friend without mercy or surprise.
Hydra Steve's face darkened.
"Carter, how's it you?"
Carter's gaze was icy. "You're the one who won't stay dead."
Hydra Steve clenched his fists, severed tendrils regenerating.
"You can't beat me. Surrender!"
"Not so sure."
Carter tapped her wrist device.
Instantly, Kang's tech armor enveloped her, a dazzling energy beam piercing Hydra Steve.
"You—"
"Your weakness is your spine. I remember clearly."
"No!!"
As Hydra Steve's card grayed out, the Grandmaster drew another.
"Luck's on your side, but my deck's beyond your imagination."
"Come forth, Cosmic Tyrant!"
Buzz~
Purple-red Thanos landed on the Eiffel Tower. Charlie flicked a card.
"Invincible Thanos!"
Glitches flashed, and two Thanoses clashed earth-shatteringly—
No, one punch, and Charlie's Thanos turned gray.
Charlie: "???"
"What just happened?" he blinked.
The Grandmaster's lip curled. "Your Thanos is a bit different from mine, huh?"
Charlie nodded. "Kinda weak. You win this one."
The purple-red Thanos was stronger than expected.
No matter, he had plenty of cards.
Buzz!
In old Los Angeles, a massive magic web spanned the city. Supreme Peter sat cross-legged in the sky, weaving traps.
"Sorcerer Supreme, interesting."
The Grandmaster slid a card into the slot.
"A battle of Sorcerers Supreme!"
Buzz~
As the city's buildings inverted, Ancient One ignored the web's power, opening a mirror dimension.
In the geometric world, she summoned a golden disc, ready for close combat.
Worthy of a melee mage.
Charlie smirked.
No one could stop Ancient One's retirement plan.
The Grandmaster could trap one Ancient One, but would others approve of her effort?
As expected, Supreme Peter conjured countless clones, swarming and beating Ancient One to death.
Bang!
As she fell from a skyscraper, the Grandmaster fell silent.
He admitted to gambling.
Clearly, he lost.
"Again! Ghost Rider, Daniel!"
"I'm in, Johnny Blaze!"
At Merlion Park, two hellfire-clad Ghost Riders battled.
Before a winner emerged, Charlie and the Grandmaster kept drawing.
"From Mephisto's gift, Magneto Ghost Rider!"
"An old friend, then—Charles!"
"Eternal curse, Wolverine!"
"Old but tough, Logan!"
"God-Eater Tony!"
"You're ruthless—Tony with too much dark history."
"Symbiote Carnage!"
"Spider-Man's lifelong foe, Venom Parker!"
"Mobster Black Spider!"
"OG Spider-Man, the train-stopper!"
"Electro Max!"
"Amazing Peter, lightning-fast reflexes!"
"Rhino!"
"Plain-Jane Spider-Man."
"Charlie Parker, time for a combo card. Take this!"
The Grandmaster drew six cards. "The most evil Sinister Six!"
Charlie grinned. "Whoa, knew you'd pull that."
He flung several cards.
"Alien Fantastic Four: Ebony Maw, Cull Obsidian, Corvus Glaive, Proxima Midnight!"
Before winners emerged, both played again.
The pace quickened, the Grandmaster losing more.
But he wasn't worried.
"God-Slayer Gorr!"
A new clash began.
On the Kunlun Mountains, the Black Death Sword unleashed unmatched destruction. Charlie's face grew serious.
"No choice—Takumi Yamashiro!"
"It's Takuya!!"
Piloting Leopardon, Takuya Yamashiro raised the War Soul Sword. "The man who gave up fighting the Golden Crusaders for friends, Spider-Man!"
Boom!!
The sword cleaved the heavens, Gorr's card graying out.
The Grandmaster's brow furrowed.
How many trump cards did this guy have?
Before him, the world map was covered in Spider-Man's red-blue webs.
His territories were pitifully few.
Even the contested ocean was being webbed.
The situation worsened.
His gaze fell on the Antarctic ice.
"Death Goddess Hela!"
Charlie countered, "Thunder God Peter!"
"Chaos Wanda!"
"Soy Sauce Quicksilver Pietro!"
"Phoenix Force!!"
"Teen Wanda!"
"Five-Gem Vision!"
"Scarlet Wanda!"
"Celestial Brain, Ego!"
"Star-Lord, a mortal rivaling Celestials!"
"Super Skrull."
"Captain Marvel Carol."
"Captain Marvel Carol."
"Super Skrull."
Seeing Charlie's chaotic plays, the Grandmaster snapped.
"Are you mocking me?"
Charlie shrugged, innocent.
"Looks like I've won."
The Grandmaster gritted his teeth. "Fine, no more games. I'm getting serious."
"You should've been serious."
Under Charlie's gaze, the Grandmaster played multiple cards.
"Forget to mention—the game has no rules!"
His eyes blazed with mania.
"Copy card, revive card, fusion card, evolution card—consume all, Supernova!"
Buzz~
Gray cards turned to glitches, absorbed by a black card.
A dust-like particle spun, absorbing all power, expanding into a dark star in Earth's orbit.
Card characters across territories were sucked back into cards, vanishing into the void.
Crack crack crack~
Boom!!
The dark star swelled, collapsing space into a deep black hole.
Gravitational shifts halted Earth's rotation, triggering quakes and eruptions.
Ice collapsed, oceans reversed, the world plunged into despair. No one could escape this doomsday.
Countless lives perished, Earth fragmenting, drawn toward the dark star.
In the trembling ship, Charlie's spider-sense screamed, an unprecedented pressure suffocating him.
"That's… the Planet Devourer?" Charlie braced against the console, trembling.
The Grandmaster barely stood under the force.
This card ignored friend or foe, born for destruction.
Though pale, he laughed maniacally.
"Hahaha, not the Planet Devourer—just a machine made with his power.
Spider-Man, thanks for the material to start this final showdown."
Charlie glared. "It'll kill you too."
"So what?"
The Grandmaster, sweating, locked onto Charlie's deck, seeing his last card.
"Play your final card. I'm eager to see another miracle.
Defeat me, defeat this ultimate destruction, save your planet—hurry!"
Bloodshot eyes urged, "Show me your last card!!!"
Charlie's face calmed.
"Is this game really without rules?" he asked.
"What?" The Grandmaster froze.
Charlie drew his last card. "Really no rules?"
"Of course…" The Grandmaster started to deny.
But he hesitated, unable to answer.
Charlie spoke for him.
"I think the rule is you must win."
Pointing, Charlie smiled. "Because you set the rules."
The Grandmaster closed his eyes.
"Correct. You figured it out."
His tone calmed, eyes opening.
"It's one of the rules. For eons, no one's broken it.
But I want you to. Only invincible Spider-Man can keep making miracles, breaking this boring rule.
I'm tired of always winning. I regret it. Given a retry, I'd reject this dull game.
So, Spider-Man, show your true trump card.
My last chance, and yours."
He stared into Charlie's eyes. "I want to see how you'll defy fate under unbreakable rules.
The situation doesn't allow second place. Second is the highest loser. You can't afford to fail!"
Charlie shifted, the interface glowing, space turning to invisible walls binding him.
Contestants couldn't fight directly. The rules were unbreakable.
No one could defy them, not even the Grandmaster.
And as Spider-Man's friends knew, Spider-Man wanted everyone to follow the rules.