Restart, Spider-Man!

"The match got delayed? That's never happened before."

"I think it's for the best. The Deadpool vs. Wolverine fight was getting boring—most likely, it would've ended in a draw."

In the stands, murmurs rippled through the audience.

Meanwhile, on the altar, as a red-and-blue figure appeared, Wade lifted Baby Fisk high, cheering at the top of his lungs.

"Spider-Man! Spider-Man! I love you~~"

Wade's excited shrieks immediately irritated those around him.

They were about to yell at him when projections of multiple Deadpools began materializing. Realizing it wasn't worth the trouble to pick a fight with someone they couldn't possibly outargue—or outfight—they wisely held their tongues.

On the altar, Xia Luo muted the chatter from the stands, leaving only the rhythmic sound of metal striking metal echoing through the arena.

---

"Clang~ Clang~ Clang~"

The altar was cluttered with scattered repair tools. At a simple workbench, a lone figure hammered away at metal parts.

The sharp, clear strikes overlapped with the iconic sound of forging in the Ten Rings' cave—a sound from the beginning of the cinematic universe.

It was the moment that defined Iron Man's origin.

As if sensing something, Infinite Tony stopped his work, tilting his head slightly with a frown.

"So soon? Another fight already?"

Hours earlier, his armor had sustained damage in battle, and he hadn't yet replenished the nanometal.

This wasn't enough time to prepare.

But when he turned and saw his opponent, he was surprised.

"Peter? No, you're Xia Luo Parker."

The sight of Xia Luo only deepened Tony's unease.

"No matter who's been dragged here, it's never good news," Tony sighed. "Or... maybe you're not the Spider-Man I know."

His eyes scrutinized Xia Luo carefully.

Xia Luo shrugged. "Long time no see. Our operation on Titan to help Thanos went well, didn't it?"

Tony's gaze softened, a faint smile tugging at his lips.

"So, you weren't tricked here by Mephisto?" he ventured, beginning to piece things together.

Xia Luo crossed his arms, a hint of curiosity in his expression.

"What did he promise you?"

Tony set his tools aside and sat on the ground with a weary expression.

"To be precise, Mephisto doesn't exactly lie—he makes deals. But deception is always part of the equation."

Xia Luo glanced at the clock. He remained silent, letting Tony continue.

"I went back in time and met my father," Tony said softly. "But I never had the chance to properly say goodbye to him. Mephisto offered me that opportunity."

"You accepted?"

Xia Luo raised an eyebrow. "You, of all people, believed him?"

Tony chuckled. "The old me wouldn't have given him the time of day."

"But after meeting you, I realized... death isn't necessarily the end."

Xia Luo's lips twitched.

Classic Stark. Every crisis is a result of his own reckless decisions.

"If it was just to see Howard, he wouldn't have needed your soul," Xia Luo pointed out.

Tony nodded. "Exactly. Mephisto wasn't that direct. He agreed to let me see my father's soul... but never specified when."

Xia Luo immediately understood.

"So, until you see Howard, you're stuck here in Hell."

"Right. As long as I haven't met him, I can never leave."

Tony gestured vaguely. "That's the deal I made with him."

Xia Luo frowned. "Are you even sure your father's soul is in this Hell?"

Tony's silence was answer enough.

"Got it." Xia Luo sighed. "I know what to do now."

"Wait—so your mission is to save me?" Tony asked, finally voicing his suspicions.

"Yeah," Xia Luo replied nonchalantly. "And it's not just me. Your teammates are here too."

"They're dead?" Tony tensed.

"You mean Natasha and Steve?" Xia Luo smirked.

Tony blinked, then chuckled. "Alright, no need to answer that."

Scanning the stands, he spotted familiar faces. "What's your plan?"

"Simple. Find Howard. Once you meet him, the contract is fulfilled, and you're free."

Xia Luo glanced toward the stands.

"Of course, Mephisto won't let Howard show up that easily."

Tony nodded grimly.

"There's even a chance my father's soul isn't in Mephisto's Hell at all."

"That problem..." Xia Luo trailed off, then suddenly grinned.

"...can be solved by asking."

"Asking who? Mephisto?" Tony frowned.

"You'd need to make a deal to see him—"

Tony stopped mid-sentence, his eyes widening in realization.

"You're not serious."

Xia Luo's grin widened.

"Oh, I'm serious. To get here, I skipped the line."

Tony's jaw dropped.

"If I lose this match, Mephisto will come to collect my soul," Xia Luo said with a chuckle.

"You're insane," Tony muttered, rubbing his temples.

"And you're rational? So, why are you here?" Xia Luo teased, earning an embarrassed groan from Tony.

"Let's... not talk about that," Tony muttered, taking a deep breath. "Look, I've still got matches left before my contract's up. I'll let you win this one. After you leave, find my father's soul and bring him to the stands. Then we win."

Xia Luo gave him a sidelong glance. "You'll let me win? Are you sure?"

"Of course."

"I mean, you can't win against me."

"Oh, we'll see about that."

"I took down Thanos. By myself," Xia Luo said matter-of-factly.

"What?" Tony's eyes widened. "Which Thanos?"

"The one who wiped out half the universe."

"So that bastard's here too?"

"Yep."

Xia Luo checked the clock. "Alright, time's almost up. I've got ten minutes left. I need to see Mephisto now."

"Ten minutes..." Tony facepalmed, exasperated.

"Spider-Man, we've already lost. Ten minutes isn't enough."

"Mr. Stark, you need to believe in miracles."

"Miracles... Oh, right, your special power is—"

"Shut up!"

Xia Luo shot a web at Tony's mouth, silencing him. He then pulled a pristine pair of white briefs from his waistband.

Opting to forfeit, Xia Luo raised the briefs triumphantly.

In an instant, Hellfire erupted from the altar's crevices, engulfing him in flames.

"No!"

Tony's shout echoed as realization dawned.

He did this on purpose!

In the stands, the audience erupted in boos.

"That Spider-Man actually forfeited!"

"His briefs are oddly fashionable, though."

---

Xia Luo arrived in a space ablaze with unending hellfire, the molten rock beneath his feet bubbling and churning.

From the dense black smoke, a graceful figure emerged—a man with an air of elegance, dressed impeccably in a black tailcoat.

"Xia Luo Parker, you've lost," the figure declared with a sly smile. "Your soul is mine now."

The old man's kind face was a facade, masking his true nature as Mephisto. Adjusting his attire with ceremonial precision, he exuded smug satisfaction.

"I was trying to think of a clever way to trap you, but you walked right into my hands. The Ancient Gods behind you won't interfere with our contract."

Taking deliberate steps forward, Mephisto extended his hand, ready to strip Xia Luo's flesh from his bones.

His intention? To transform Xia Luo into something even more terrifying than a Ghost Rider—a Wraith Spider-Man.

Xia Luo maintained a calm exterior, though anxiety churned in his heart.

Becoming Wraith Spider-Man would undoubtedly multiply his strength exponentially, but it would also bind him eternally as Mephisto's slave.

Just as Mephisto reached for him, Xia Luo stepped back and raised a hand.

"Wait."

"Oh? Are you afraid?"

"No," Xia Luo said, his tone steady. "I just want to know where Howard Stark's soul is."

"I'm under no obligation to tell you that," Mephisto replied coldly.

"So, all you know how to do is trick people?"

"What did you say?"

"I said, all you do is lie and cheat," Xia Luo sneered. "No wonder the other Ancient Gods look down on you."

"You—"

Mephisto's face darkened, clearly stung by the remark.

"Spider-Man, is that what the Ancient Gods told you?"

"Of course. Though I didn't believe it at first," Xia Luo said with a calculated shift in tone, softening his delivery.

"In my eyes, Mephisto is the most powerful lord of Hell—a conqueror who seized Satan's throne from the other lords. Your strength spans countless multiverses, placing you among the mightiest dimensional entities.

"If the Ancient Gods scorn you, there's only one reason for it."

Mephisto's expression shifted, a flicker of hope glinting in his eyes.

"They must be jealous," Xia Luo concluded with conviction.

"Yes, absolutely jealous!" he affirmed with exaggerated certainty.

For a moment, Mephisto's face betrayed a hint of awkwardness before he quickly masked it with a neutral expression.

"You have a good eye, Spider-Man. But even so, I must uphold our contract."

His mood seemed lighter, his earlier gloom replaced by faint amusement.

Xia Luo noticed the subtle change, mentally noting the details.

Someone as cunning as Mephisto wouldn't fall for simple flattery, but my goal isn't to earn his trust—it's to buy time.

Xia Luo sighed theatrically. "Still, you're not quite the Mephisto I imagined. You seem... petty."

Mephisto's smile became more curious than offended.

"Interesting, Spider-Man. You've piqued my interest. I'll be honest—Howard's soul isn't here. You're chasing a lost cause."

"Then where is it?"

"In a place you'd never expect..."

Before Mephisto could finish, the timer ran out, and Xia Luo vanished, reappearing in the familiar expanse of the Web of Life and Destiny.

Looking around the web's intricate threads, Xia Luo clenched his fists triumphantly.

"Yes! The resurrection match takes precedence over Mephisto's claims!"

The fact that the web could so easily pluck him from Mephisto's grasp spoke volumes.

Still, he wondered how long it would take Mephisto to realize what had happened.

Grinning, he selected the Restart option.

---

Sixth Resurrection Match

Xia Luo reentered the altar, once again facing Mephisto after a failed challenge.

"Xia Luo Parker, you've lost. Your soul is mine," Mephisto intoned, repeating his earlier line.

Xia Luo stroked his chin, studying him. "We've met before, haven't we?"

"What?"

Mephisto hesitated, caught off guard.

"You figured out I was watching you?"

"Pretty much."

Xia Luo shrugged. "Since you're aware of the resurrection match's mechanics, let me offer you some friendly advice—"

"You're threatening me?" Mephisto interrupted, his face darkening.

Cutting off Xia Luo's "warning," he raised his hand, unleashing an inferno of hellfire.

"Become my Wraith Spider-Man!"

---

"Buzz~"

But in the next instant, the hellfire dissipated, and Xia Luo was back in the Web of Life and Destiny.

His soul strength increased by another 1%.

Stretching with a satisfied yawn, Xia Luo grinned.

"Perfect. Mephisto hasn't noticed a thing. Now I can proceed without hesitation."

He clicked Restart, ready to continue the resurrection matches.

---

Recognizing the limits of his own strength, Xia Luo decided to consult Old Steve, Natasha, and Infinite Tony to devise a strategy for finding Howard Stark's soul.

After several failed matches and numerous restarts, a consensus emerged.

---

Hell Arcade.

"We have two options," Old Steve began. "First, we break the Hell dimension with sheer force. If we can extract Tony and let him meet Howard from another universe, the contract will be fulfilled, and Mephisto won't be able to claim Tony's soul ever again."

Xia Luo thought it over but ultimately shook his head.

"The Spider-Men I've summoned so far aren't even close to my strength. Breaking the Hell dimension is impossible."

Natasha suggested, "What if we remove Tony from the altar? Strange could rendezvous with us outside."

Xia Luo frowned. "The altar space is part of Mephisto's domain. Breaking it would be as hard as shattering the Hell dimension itself."

Even in his fight with Thanos, when the altar had fractured, it hadn't truly broken—it merely shifted to a new "challenger."

Not even the War Soul Divine Sword had destroyed the altar, so Xia Luo doubted he could manage it.

Barton, however, proposed a different solution.

"The Sorcerer Supreme can open portals to the Hell dimension. If we find Howard in another universe and bring him here to meet Tony, that might work."

"Another universe..."

Xia Luo shook his head again. "That'd take too long. If Mephisto notices your presence, he'll be prepared, making it even harder to reenter his domain later.

"And even if we manage to return, Tony will likely be moved somewhere else."

It was Peter Parker who finally sparked an idea.

"I've heard Mr. Strange mention that the multiverse and Hell dimension share similarities. They're both connected by common transit hubs.

"If we can access one of these hubs, we might bypass the Hell dimension's barriers and get Mr. Stark out."

"Transit hubs?"

Xia Luo's eyes lit up as the pieces clicked together.

"Perfect. I think I know exactly what to do."

---

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