He wore a reddish-brown robe and hood, with black feathers draped over his shoulders. Most importantly, he held a very peculiar magic wand in his hand. The wand had a thicker top and a thinner bottom, looking somewhat like a chicken leg, and there was a bird resembling a raven perched on its top.
On the chest of his cloak, a diamond-shaped red gemstone shone brightly. Stark recognized the glow as magical. Clearly, this was another mage.
He raised his wand and laughed, saying, "Fancy a drink at Karazhan?"
By this time, the crimson band controlled by Strange had already started to drift over. Shiller, wielding the bird-shaped wand, waved it once, causing Strange to be sent flying mid-air, floating for two seconds before crashing to the ground, where he lay dazed for some time.
Just as Stark was about to attack, he saw Shiller across from him, thrust his wand forcefully into the ground.
The Array lit up, and instantly, two puppet-like monsters appeared in the center of the hall, with black ravens circling the Array. Cornered by their combined efforts, Stark had no choice but to elevate his Mecha once again, to prevent himself from being shot down from the sky.
On the other side, the battle between The Ancient One and the white-haired old man Shiller had intensified. The Karmajit Palace was no longer sufficient for their fight, and both of them had burst through the roof, to continue their duel in the air above the Himalayas. For a while, the hum of clashing metal reverberated throughout the Himalayas.
Strange and Stark teamed up to combat Potions Professor Shiller and Shiller with the bird-shaped wand, while Peter was dealing with Daddy Shiller. At that time, Daddy Shiller was continuously hitting Peter's arm with a pufferfish, repeatedly admonishing, "Don't talk back to Daddy! Don't argue with Daddy!"
All Peter could do was groan in pain. He wanted to fight back, but seeing Daddy Shiller's skinny arms and legs, he hesitated and chose to flee instead.
Meanwhile, morale was very low at the base of the Spider-Men. They felt that if they didn't engage with the Successor Family, it would be them who would die. But against Shiller, their losses would be meaningless.
If Shiller indeed caused any trouble or threatened New York City, they could have been rallied by the idea of justice to fight against evil. However, the only thing Shiller had done in New York City was enjoying the view from rooftop. They didn't see any reasoning attacking him, besides, they had lost before, which led to a heavy toll today.
Most of the Spider-Men didn't have a naturally combative attitude, preferring to avoid conflict without a sense of duty or mission to spur them on. Especially considering the heavy losses they had suffered, several Spider-Men no longer wished to fight.
Originally, Captain Universe Spider-Man could have used the argument of "preventing the destruction of the universe" to persuade them. But because the information given by Eternity was incorrect, even Captain Universe Spider-Man himself was starting to have doubts.
The other Spider-Men had even less faith in this mysterious entity, making it even more challenging for them to carry out his orders.
Just as Captain Universe Spider-Man was about to try persuading them again, suddenly, Spider-Girl returned with news. She said, "Good news! We've gotten in touch with a very powerful ally who's on his way here. He should arrive very soon!"
"An ally? Who is he?" the Amazing Spiderman asked as he walked over.
"He comes from a rather remote cosmos, but he's extremely powerful and can even pilot a Mecha. I'm sure he'll be able to help us fight Solus!" Spider-Girl's voice was full of excitement, obviously having witnessed just how powerful this Spiderman was. She added, "I think he's just as powerful as that lucky kid we saw before..."
"Really?" The other Spider-Men gathered around. Shortly afterwards, Spider Silk strolled over, brushed a strand of hair from her face, and said, "The other party has confirmed the information. However, his Mecha might be too big to enter the base. We'll call on him once we get to the battlefield..."
"How are the personnel's rest and recuperation going?" Dr. Octavius Parker asked, only to hear Otto's voice coming from his communicator, "I'd prefer it if no one suddenly assigned us a foolish task that would disrupt our rhythm. I don't want to fight meaningless opponents nor bear meaningless losses..."
Touching his face, Captain Universe Spider-Man found himself unable to argue. He had to accept some responsibility for the great losses caused by the incorrect information.
Moreover, he was more inclined to deal with Solus first. After all, cosmic destruction was something that would happen far in the future. But if Solus was not defeated, the Spider-Men were losing ground every second.
"If we are good enough to move, we should set out to find Solus. This time we will definitely..."
Spider-Girl's words were interrupted by a resounding tremor from the perimeter of the base. The entire base started to violently shake, making it hard for all the Spider-Men to stay balanced.
"Get out of the way!!" The Amazing Spiderman shouted. His Spider-Sense went crazy triggering all the Spider-Men to scatter.
A massive figure appeared hovering over their base. A malevolent Solus, laughing evilly, seized a Spider-Man, sucking his soul and life force into him. Driven by hunger, he swung his arm again and again, grabbing Spider-Men to feed on.
"Stop him now, don't let him get near the injured!" Amazing Spiderman shouted: "The injured Spider-Men are defenceless. If he gets his hands on them, they're done for!!"
Spider Gwen jumped onto Solus's arm, hitting him hard. Solus winced in pain and swung his arm, throwing her to the ground. After picking herself up, she yelled at Amazing Spiderman across the field:
"We can't fight him here, the injured will be in danger. We have to get them out, now!"
"I will cover the rear with Captain Universe Spider-Man, you guys get the injured to safety!" said Amazing Spiderman, then charged towards Solus.
Spider-Girl, Spider Gwen, and Spider Silk wanted to join him, but thinking of the severely injured back at the base, they gritted their teeth, stomped their feet, and ran towards the injured.
Arriving at the resting grounds, they discovered that despite the Spider-Men's extraordinary healing abilities, two short days were not enough for those who had severe internal injuries to recover. Most of them could only lie on their beds, unable to move.
Spider Gwen managed to get one Spider-Man up, then said to Spider-Girl, "Activate the transmitter! We need to get as many out as we can!"
"But where do we go?" asked Spider-Girl, her voice tinged with urgency, "Where is safe? They can't handle much more of this!"
A loud boom interrupted her. Solus's arm tore off the roof, countless debris fell on the injured, forcing cries of agony from them.
Solus looked at the injured Spider-Men, who were unable to dodge the falling rubble. Reveling in their defenselessness, he let out a hearty laugh as if he was enjoying a meal that couldn't fight back.
"There's no time, activate the transmitter!!!"
In an instant, with a flash of light, Spider Gwen, Spider-Girl, and Spider Silk, along with a few injured Spider-Men, were teleported out of this universe.
The transmitter kept a record of its teleports. Without designating a new destination universe, they would be transported directly to the last universe the device had visited.
Upon landing, Spider Gwen, bearing injured Spider-Mens, met a pair of emotionless purple eyes staring at them.