Restart, Spider-Man!

Crocodile Loki's slit-like pupils contracted. "What dirt?"

"Metal dirt!"

With that, Xia Luo tore off a piece of nano-metal from his arm, then rubbed it mercilessly into Crocodile Loki's eye.

"Oh no!! You vile insect, how dare you treat a great god this way…!"

Crocodile Loki wailed, thrashing wildly. Xia Luo seized the moment, grabbed the croc's throat, and delivered a hard punch to its head, making little golden stars swirl around its dizzying gaze.

Yep, totally cartoonish.

At the same time, the massive crocodile began to fade, shattering into green particles that dissolved into the air.

Although Crocodile Loki was left dazed, Professor X's condition showed no improvement.

"Ungh…"

Within seconds, Professor X's body gave a tremor before his head fell limply forward.

He was dead.

Logan's face darkened, grief settling over him once more.

"Huh?"

Xia Luo frowned, puzzled by the professor's sudden death.

He carefully examined the limp Crocodile Loki in his grasp, still uncertain how it had killed Professor X in its weakened state.

Meanwhile, the Ancient One watched with a touch of disappointment. She had prepared her parting words, but then… things took this turn.

Still, with the matter resolved, she'd have to find another chance to exit gracefully and give a plausible explanation for her students.

The Ancient One's gaze landed on Loki's horned crown, still glittering.

"That's an artifact that repels psychic attacks. The stronger the psychic energy used, the more intense the backlash."

Hearing this, Xia Luo suddenly understood.

Professor X hadn't been drained by Loki's spirit form—he'd been killed by the artifact's backlash.

During the previous resurrection round, Professor X had amplified his psychic powers with the dragon bone fossil, leading to instant death. This time, with no amplifier, he held on for a few extra seconds.

He had successfully saved the Ancient One from a death wish—but lost Professor X in the process.

Not ideal. Better luck next time.

Soon, the Ancient One retracted the dimensional space, and the ruined buildings swiftly reverted to their original state through her magic.

Honestly, real estate must be the worst business for a sorcerer.

"Please, take a seat."

Back in the elegant pavilion, the Ancient One invited everyone to tea, while pulling out another can of soda for herself.

She made no effort to hide it, since Wong was preoccupied with restraining the wretched crocodile.

Despite being a god, Crocodile Loki had severe limitations. Aside from its giant form, its real body was rather weak and easily bound by Wong's chains.

Elsewhere, Old Man Steve quietly took in the sights of Kamar-Taj as they walked, then leaned over to Xia Luo.

"You know, Strange isn't the Sorcerer Supreme here yet. I could… give it a shot."

"A shot at what?" Xia Luo raised an eyebrow.

Old Man Steve straightened up, chest puffed with pride. "Becoming the Sorcerer Supreme Captain."

"But the Ancient One's still alive."

"So, um… would you mind taking her out?"

"That's not funny at all."

"Sorry, I'm out of practice. Not as witty as I used to be." Old Man Steve sighed, casting an envious glance at Wade, who, despite being half his original size, was still stitching up his torn suit with fierce determination.

"Man, that guy's hilarious. Wish I could be like that."

Agent Carter gave Steve a sidelong glance. "That's not humor—that's resilience."

"No one could be tougher than a two-hundred-year-old still playing hero!"

Meanwhile, Xia Luo expressed his interest in learning more magic.

The Ancient One agreed without hesitation.

"Of course, I'll personally teach you."

"Really?"

"Of course. Not that you'd be able to learn it."

Xia Luo: "..."

"Why?" he asked, his expression darkening.

The Ancient One's gaze turned thoughtful, a faint smile tugging at her lips.

Xia Luo instinctively clutched his chest. "You know, Thanos isn't half bad. Strong, got a good grip on his empire, even a cosmic-level CEO vibe. You could always give him a look. No need to fixate on a poor little spider—technically, I'm still just a kid."

The Ancient One paused, seeming to consider it.

"Wait, you're seriously considering it?" Xia Luo's face twitched.

From what he knew, the Ancient One might have been… flexible?

The Ancient One, caught in her musings, shook her head.

"Thinking of Thanos reminds me of Strange, and how he was once ensnared by darkness. And that reminds me of my own plans for retirement…"

"Stop!"

Xia Luo raised his hand to halt the Ancient One, then turned and promptly tossed Wade out of the pavilion.

"Oh my god, even though you're so cruel to me, I still love you~"

Thud!

The heavy thump from below reassured Xia Luo, and he turned back around. "Alright, now there shouldn't be any mysterious interference. Please, continue."

The Ancient One blinked. "Had I been saying a lot?"

"Just a little."

"Hmm, then that's a relief. The Sorcerer Supreme should indeed be sparing with words."

She collected herself and began explaining.

"The reason you can't fully grasp my magic is because my powers come from the ancient god Vishanti… among other sources."

"By channeling Vishanti's powers, I can access a portion of its abilities—this is what we call white magic. As for black magic, we'll cover that another time."

Xia Luo nodded. "So, the Spider-Man Supreme can only learn magic specific to his own ancient god."

"Correct."

"And what about the portal magic?"

"All the ancient gods possess some form of it. The one empowering you would naturally include such an ability, considering that portals are a basic spell—no special technique needed."

The Ancient One didn't look optimistic, but Xia Luo wasn't ready to give up.

"So, if the ancient god I follow happens to know dimensional magic, I should be able to learn it from you, right?"

"Possibly, though it's a long shot." The Ancient One looked at him thoughtfully. "I sense that your magic stems from a unique totem—this limits what higher-level magic you can learn, let alone perceiving dimensional space. Unless your ancient god decides to grant you a few more spells personally."

With a resigned sigh, Xia Luo understood her meaning.

Becoming the Sorcerer Supreme Spider-Man was going to be a long road…

It was clear the Ancient One's path was closed to him. But Crocodile Loki, on the other hand…

Standing up, he walked to the pond.

Wong, with his expression fixed and his eye twitching, was watching quite the scene unfold.

Despite having only half his body left, Wade had apparently joined in on the interrogation.

"Speak up! Are you going to talk or not?"

"If you don't start talking, I'll be forced to use the most vicious fish-slaying techniques on you."

"Hurry up, my patience is running thin."

"My smile has taken on a disturbingly sinister curve—it's a dangerous sign!"

Pinned against a chopping board, Crocodile Loki's jaw was firmly bound by golden chains, his eyes full of despair and helplessness as he faced this bizarre "interrogator."

But his mouth was chained shut. How was he even supposed to speak?

The real horror began as a shadow loomed over him.

In wide-eyed terror, Crocodile Loki watched as Xia Luo drew a sword from Wade's back and pointed it menacingly toward… certain sensitive areas.

"Deadpool, you're slipping," Xia Luo smirked. "They say neutered pigs have better flavor. Crocodiles should be the same, don't you think?"

Crocodile Loki: "!!!!"

Wade clutched his face in despair. "No! Why didn't I think of that? How could I be so useless?!"

Unable to take any more, Wong spoke up, making Crocodile Loki tear up with relief. At least there's one decent person here.

"Is it alright if I get started on the cooking now?" Wong asked, retrieving a boning knife from behind his back as he prepared to start dinner for his fellow sorcerers.

Crocodile Loki: "..."

This world is devoid of love!

"Just a few more minutes, Wong," Xia Luo said with a grin. He released the magical chains on Crocodile Loki's mouth. "So, what kind of fish do you aspire to be? A beautiful one? Or maybe… a tasty one?"

Crocodile Loki's eyes darted frantically. "If it's up to me, I'd like to be a fish that contributes to society."

Xia Luo raised an eyebrow. Alright, going for moral values now?

"Wrong answer. Let's try that again."

"A beautiful fish," Crocodile Loki said, deflated.

"Good. To be that kind of fish, you have to offer some emotional value. Now, what can you do for me?"

"I can… help you raise fish."

"To raise your sister!!" Xia Luo shot him a dark look.

"I only have one sibling, actually."

"Right." Xia Luo turned to Wong. "I'll leave him to you. Light on the oil, please. I prefer it mild."

"Wait!" Crocodile Loki wriggled in panic. "I can swallow those artificial suns for you and help destroy Hydra."

"Perfect."

Xia Luo grinned. "Can I trust you on that?"

"Absolutely! I never lie."

"Wong, we're adding to the menu. I'll take a fried crocodile tail."

"Hold on! I can use my spirit form to take out the artificial suns—you just need to control me."

"Oh, really?" Xia Luo feigned interest. "Alright, you've earned my trust."

Then he checked the time and sighed in disappointment.

"Unfortunately, the artificial suns are already going out of control, so that trust will have to serve as lunch."

"Wong, crocodile sashimi should be just right for something like him—he shouldn't have parasites."

"Of course, trust my cooking skills."

In that moment, Wong's smile became downright sinister in Crocodile Loki's horrified eyes.

"What are you doing? Get away from me!"

"Relax, a little pain is normal."

"Nooooo!!!"

After savoring the crocodile banquet, Xia Luo soon received a notification that the mission had failed.

---

After dealing with Crocodile Loki, Xia Luo brought him to the skies over the Okinawa base.

Watching Xia Luo's webs somehow anchor him mid-air, Crocodile Loki looked baffled.

"Is someone holding the other end of the web?"

"I'm not answering that," Xia Luo replied, pointing to the airbase below.

"Go ahead—show them what you're made of!"

Crocodile Loki nodded. "Understood. I only hope you'll treat me better after this."

"Relax. Everyone who's been a friend of Spider-Man knows that deep down, he's a good guy."

At Xia Luo's urging, Crocodile Loki's body began to glow, emanating a dazzling green light.

The emerald radiance cascaded down like an aurora, enveloping the entire base.

"What is that?"

"It's beautiful…"

"Mom, I believe in the light again!"

"Fool! Remain on alert—something's happening."

"Yes, sir!"

As the soldiers moved into position, the green glow gathered into the form of a colossal crocodile.

"Roar!!"

Its roar shook the earth as it opened its gaping maw, its pull powerful enough to drag everything nearby into its mouth—artificial sun included!

"Oh my god, that's one big fish."

"No!"

As the base's weapons vanished down the creature's throat, a few sparks glimmered momentarily before fading. Watching this, the officer gritted his teeth, immediately activating the artificial sun's self-destruct.

Boom!

Brilliant light erupted as a wave of searing heat engulfed the entire base.

And high above in the webbing, Crocodile Loki's body flickered with an ominous green glow.

"Hmm… not as tasty as magic energy, but it's filling," Crocodile Loki said, finishing with a contented belch.

Seeing this, Xia Luo felt a sense of unease.

"You're full?"

"Yep."

Instantly, Crocodile Loki froze.

A crocodile that could devour all the artificial suns? That was a good crocodile.

But if it could only handle one…

It was just a dead fish.

As expected, Xia Luo quietly opened a portal.

"Tell Wong I'm craving fish."

"Wait!" Crocodile Loki's jaw stretched into an awkward grin, trying to appear friendly.

"I could help you with other things, like…"

"Die!"

"…Pie?"

Crocodile Loki blinked, considering his options. If it meant survival, maybe it wasn't so bad…

---

The Twelfth Resurrection Attempt.

Stark Tower, Tony's lab.

Inside, the Time-Space Monolith sat on the workbench as Dr. Otto handed two energy-filled dragonbone fragments to Tony.

Without a word, Tony placed one fragment by JARVIS's server and strapped the other to his own head.

The server whirred to life as virtual interfaces flickered, running calculations at lightning speed.

Meanwhile, Tony's mind was racing, his hands moving rapidly as he scribbled complex equations across a chalkboard.

Otto, also strapping on a fragment, began refining the data for the artificial sun project.

Xia Luo watched this scene, silently observing without interrupting.

This was his plan.

Since he couldn't prevent the artificial sun from going critical, he would use the Monolith's amplification capabilities, combined with the brilliant synergy between these two geniuses, to perfect it.

It wasn't a foolproof plan, which was why he'd also sought out the Ancient One and Crocodile Loki in other resets.

But neither of those turned out reliable.

Xia Luo's hopes had to rest here once more.

Even with the dragonbone fragments' aid, twenty-four hours still wasn't enough time for Tony and Otto to finalize their calculations.

So with each reset, he'd been saving the data, allowing them to continue where they'd left off each time, avoiding the need to start from scratch.

Though progress was rapid, Pepper stood outside the lab, visibly anxious.

The dragonbone fragments were pushing Tony's mind to the limit, his neurons firing so intensely that his brain was suffering irreparable damage. His eyes and nostrils had begun to bleed black, and his face was contorted in a hideous grimace—he could collapse at any moment.

Dr. Otto, enhanced by Hydra's strength, fared better; his healing abilities allowed him to hold out longer.

As for JARVIS, even the world's most advanced server struggled to match the raw creative intellect of Tony and Otto. In this situation, its efficiency couldn't quite keep up.

Seeing Tony on the verge of collapse, Xia Luo deftly knocked Pepper out to spare her the pain of seeing it.

After all, it was his persuasion that led Tony to join this mission.

If Tony died, it would be on him.

Thud!

In the next moment, Tony collapsed, lifeless, while the fully-immersed Otto remained oblivious.

"We're so close… so close. Rose, our dream is almost realized, it will be!"

---

Unauthorized Access Detected!

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Transmission complete.