67

Chapter 67: The Mystery of Spider Silk

"Real hunters often appear in the form of prey."

Gwen swung the spider silk and hurried toward the attacked prison transport, recalling Black Superman's parting words. The final sentence echoed in her mind.

"Hunter and prey?" She murmured.

The Spider-Sense surged instantly, like donning a new pair of glasses, leaving Gwen momentarily disoriented.

At higher intensity, it could even induce slight dizziness.

After pondering for a moment, she quickly realized that the discomfort stemmed from her Spider-Sense vastly outpacing her other abilities and equipment.

The rapid enhancement of her Spider-Sense in such a short span was unbelievable.

And Black Superman, who achieved this, was undoubtedly even more extraordinary.

Gwen grasped the concept that Black Superman used intense stimulation to forcibly evolve her Spider-Sense, but understanding the method didn't mean others could replicate it.

It required not only tremendous power but also a deep understanding of Spider-Sense itself and a method to accurately interpret threat information.

This only deepened Gwen's confusion.

Who is Black Superman, and what is his agenda?

What exactly does it mean to be the "chosen one"?

Suddenly, her Spider-Sense blared an alert. Gwen froze, feeling a dart speeding toward her from behind.

She recognized it instantly.

These were Kraven's specialties. In the past, she had struggled against such tactics, but not anymore.

Still, Gwen watched helplessly as the dart sliced through her webbing.

She plummeted from the sky, barely managing to catch herself with a strand of spider silk before hitting the ground.

"Spider-Woman!" Kraven taunted from a perch above, surveying the scene.

"The hunt begins tonight."

"No surprises that you and Kingpin are working together," Gwen retorted, launching herself upward with spider silk. "You were involved in the Rhino prison transport attack too!"

Kraven deftly dodged her attack. "I merely seized an opportunity," he replied calmly.

His strategy was straightforward: never engage Gwen directly but instead wage guerrilla warfare.

Knowing he couldn't match Gwen's physical prowess, Kraven opted for hit-and-run tactics in the city's labyrinthine terrain.

Advance when the enemy retreats, retreat when they advance—utilizing unexpected ambushes and traps to whittle away at Spider-Woman's endurance and resolve.

This was why he had failed to capture Gwen in their previous encounters.

But not tonight.

Tonight marked the final hunt.

Kraven had meticulously laid traps to definitively eliminate Spider-Woman.

Watching Gwen approach, Kraven felt reassured. His last lingering doubts dissipated.

And so, the hunt commenced.

Kraven's tactics were not without risks, though.

The margin for error was slim; two missteps against Gwen could prove fatal.

Yet this was where Kraven excelled, honed by years of experience to walk the razor's edge.

Eventually, under Kraven's relentless pressure, Gwen stumbled into a bell tower.

Kraven stood atop the window Gwen had shattered, grinning malevolently.

"You can't escape," he declared, leaping down and signaling with a whistle.

From the darkness emerged several hounds that had been lurking.

Though Kraven's physical prowess paled compared to Gwen's, it still surpassed that of ordinary men, thanks to a vial of potent elixir he had consumed in his youth.

These hounds had been trained by Kraven for years, fierce, bloodthirsty, and fiercely loyal. Infused with traces of the same elixir, they possessed formidable strength.

"Let the hunt begin. Let Spider-Woman... wait, where is Spider-Woman?"

Kraven was baffled, realizing Gwen had vanished.

"She fell in here; there's no way she escaped so quickly..."

Kraven sensed something amiss.

The scripted hunt was unraveling, unsettling him.

He swiftly called his hounds and alerted the surroundings, but no sign of Gwen emerged.

"Spider-Woman! Where are you?"

"You can't run. I'll hunt you down myself!"

Kraven's voice reverberated through the bell tower, unanswered.

Suddenly, he hesitated, sensing a presence.

The scene shifted. Behind Kraven, Gwen emerged from the darkness.

Clutching the corner like a spider, her crimson goggles stood out against the night.

Boom!

Gwen landed hard, aiming for Kraven.

But anticipating her attack, Kraven rolled away just in time.

Annoyed, Gwen muttered, "Close, but not close enough."

Her Spider-Sense had warned her of Kraven's strike, yet she allowed the dart to sever her silk intentionally.

She wasn't just evading his hunt; she intended to capture Kraven as well.

Thus, she had played along with Kraven's theatrics, lulling him into a false sense of security until exposing his vulnerability.

"True hunters often assume the guise of prey."

Unfortunately, Kraven remained sharp, highlighting Gwen's still-developing skills—her counterattack had faltered.

"Hmph... Impressive, Spider-Girl. You still manage to surprise me," Kraven remarked through gritted teeth, rising to his feet.

Moments earlier, Spider-Woman had nearly caught him off guard at night.

"So, you've been toying with me? Haha... Never thought I'd be prey one day," he sneered.

"Just a minor counterattack."

"But it's too late," Kraven sneered, withdrawing a pill as his hounds encircled Gwen menacingly.

Gwen's Spider-Sense surged again, alerting her from all directions.

Frowning, she demanded, "What did you take?"

"An antidote," Kraven replied casually.

Suddenly, explosions reverberated throughout the bell tower, engulfing it in white smoke and obscuring their view.

From within the haze, Kraven's voice echoed, "During my travels, I once stumbled upon a fog-shrouded valley. The mist induced hallucinations."

"Further investigation revealed hallucinogenic toxins emitted by the local flora."

"From this, I derived a potent smoke bomb," he continued.

As Kraven spoke, his hounds lunged forward.

With heightened senses and preemptive antidotes, the mist held no sway over them.

Gwen deftly dodged their assaults, swiftly retaliating.

"It seems your fog isn't foolproof," she quipped.

"Really?" Kraven's voice taunted.

Gwen pinpointed his location and struck swiftly, knocking Kraven to the ground with a single blow.

But as she lowered her guard, she suddenly saw Peter lying there and was taken aback.

"Peter, what are you doing here?"

Her Spider-Sense surged again, prompting her to dodge instinctively, only to inexplicably trip on level ground.

"Looks like it's starting," Kraven remarked.

The hounds surged forward in a frenzy. Gwen's rhythm shattered, compounded by sporadic hallucinations—Peter, George, her mother... even Electro and the Lizard.

Besieged from all sides, Gwen leaped upward, scrambling to the bell tower's peak.

Kraven's darts followed, forcing her to dodge and leap across to the opposite beam. Only then did she realize the beam was an illusion—nothing but empty space.

She crashed hard onto the ground below.

"Surrender, Spider-Woman. There's no escape."

"Do you wonder why I chose this spot?" Kraven's voice echoed. "The bell tower's confines make it unsuitable for my direct combat."

"Enclosed by four walls, it traps the fog, ensuring its potency," he continued. "At this height, escape is impossible."

"This trap is custom-made to ensnare you..."

Kraven's voice trailed off, the mist hinting at Gwen's impending fate.

Gwen closed her eyes.

The fog, the illusions, the hounds—all vanished, leaving only darkness and her ever-alert Spider-Sense.

At this moment, it was her only anchor.

"Let's see how much Black Superman has improved you..."

She unleashed her Spider-Sense fully.

Kraven suddenly realized the tide had turned.

Spider-Woman had become razor-sharp and composed.

The fog no longer affected her; every move she made was precise and elegant, as if scripted.

Her intricate spider silk skills were on full display as she wove a web.

Before long, each hound pounced, ensnared and cocooned by her, hanging in mid-air.

Kraven felt a pang of envy.

He realized Spider-Woman now embodied the flawless hunter he had always aspired to be.

He had long considered himself the ultimate hunter, and the realization stung.

In that moment, Kraven sensed Spider-Woman's focus shift towards him.

Unnerved, he couldn't tell if she had spotted him through the mist, but he felt her gaze fixated on him.

How could this be?

Yet Kraven remained composed, knowing tonight's hunt had failed—Spider-Woman was beyond his grasp.

Escape was imperative now.

Nevertheless, far from disheartened, he felt a renewed determination. Next time, he vowed...

Bang!

A sudden explosion beneath his feet interrupted his thoughts, but it was too late.

As he attempted to retreat, Spider-Woman, still in the bell tower, had set a trap that ensnared him tightly in a peculiar binding of mysterious spider silk.

Kraven wished for death.