Listening to Peter, Daredevil's face—hidden beneath his cowl—betrayed a flicker of awkwardness and embarrassment. Still, as a hardened vigilante of the night, he had his pride.
"That was just an accident," Daredevil muttered. "I'm not that easy to kill."
"Oh? Is that so?" Peter asked.
No sooner had Daredevil finished speaking than Peter appeared in front of him like a bolt of lightning and threw what looked like an ordinary punch.
Daredevil was shocked. He hadn't expected the man—wearing a Peppa Pig mask, no less—to attack him so suddenly and violently. After all, he felt no hostility toward Peter. But there was no time to dwell on it. With the aid of his superhuman senses, Daredevil forced his reaction time to its limit.
He instinctively leaped back, hoping to avoid the punch. Yet Peter's speed was far beyond anything he had anticipated.
Realizing he couldn't fully dodge, a wave of dread swept over him. Desperately, he raised his cane to block the blow. But the outcome was inevitable.
Even the Lizard—far stronger than Daredevil—couldn't endure a full-strength punch from Peter. What chance did Matt Murdock have?
Though Peter held back, using only about 50% of his strength, it was enough. The punch dented Daredevil's cane into a deep V-shape.
But Peter's fist didn't stop there. Momentum carried it forward, slamming directly into Daredevil's chest.
In an instant, Daredevil was flung through the air like a ragdoll, smashing against a nearby wall with a bone-rattling crash.
"Pfft—!"
The impact made him cough up blood as he crumpled to the floor, disheveled and dazed. A flash of terror crossed his face.
Now he understood how Peter had managed to throw Curt Connors so far with just his bare hands.
This guy was a monster—his strength was absurd.
Thankfully, Daredevil had used his specially reinforced cane to absorb most of the force. Otherwise, he wouldn't have just spat blood—he would have been dead.
Terrifying. Absolutely terrifying.
He'd thought Peter was exaggerating, but now he realized the truth: this masked man could easily kill him.
As Peter walked toward him, Daredevil felt an oppressive aura press down like a mountain. He was rooted to the spot, unable to move.
Curt—when transformed into the Lizard—had nearly crippled him with brute strength. But Peter? Peter immobilized him with aura alone.
The difference between them was enormous. Curt was strong, but Peter was on an entirely different level.
It was laughable he'd ever thought they were equals.
"Still think you're not that easy to kill?" Peter asked with a smirk, staring down at him.
As he spoke, Peter extended his sharp claws. A cold gleam shimmered on their tips, sending a chill down Daredevil's spine.
"I admit, you're very strong," Daredevil said through gritted teeth. "But I mean you no harm. I think… I think you can sense that."
He spoke honestly. After facing Peter's overwhelming strength, he understood that this man wasn't trying to kill him. If he had wanted to, he already would have.
The attack seemed more like a show of dominance.
And Daredevil was right.
Seeing him admit defeat, Peter didn't attack again. Instead, he said something even more unnerving:
"As expected of a lawyer—you're quite eloquent."
"!!!"
Hearing Peter suddenly mention his profession, Daredevil froze.
"You… who exactly are you?" he asked, shaken.
Peter grinned wider.
"Mr. Matt Murdock, you don't need to be so shocked. You'll find out who I am later. But first, answer me this…"
Peter crouched slightly, his tone sharpening.
"You seem to know Curt Connors quite well. But from what I know, he was just a university professor. You're a vigilante. You shouldn't have any connection with him. So why did you go to his house? Why did he attack you? What exactly happened?"
Daredevil's heart thundered in his chest.
Peter had used his real name—something only a few trusted people knew. Matt prided himself on keeping his identity secret. But Peter saw through him completely. It was as if he were transparent to this man.
That wasn't just dangerous—it was terrifying.
For a vigilante like Matt, a compromised identity didn't just endanger him. It endangered everyone he cared about.
This wasn't a simple interrogation—it was a threat.
Under normal circumstances, Matt would never divulge his findings. But now? He had no choice.
Because if Peter really wanted to silence him… he could.
"I started investigating after noticing a spike in missing homeless people near Hell's Kitchen," Daredevil began, reluctantly.
"I traced the disappearances to Lizard. Turns out, with Kingpin's funding, Curt set up a secret lab. He was abducting the homeless and using them as human test subjects.
Most of them died. A few survived, and they were taken to Kingpin Tower. I don't know exactly what for, but knowing Kingpin, it's not good.
To figure out Lizard's identity, I followed leads to Curt Connors's home. I was just testing my luck. But before I could even knock, Lizard attacked me. That confirmed it—Lizard is Curt.
And the rest… well, you saw it."
Daredevil's expression twisted in frustration. He'd worked hard for this information, and now Peter had forced it out of him. To make matters worse, the man wore a ridiculous Peppa Pig mask. It was humiliating.
He, Daredevil, was being toyed with by a man in a children's mask. Unbelievable.
"So, Curt created multiple Lizard monsters using his serum?" Peter said, voice grim.
No one knew the danger of the Lizard Serum better than he did. An unstable dose would amplify a person's darkest traits and turn them into monsters.
One Curt had already caused chaos. Multiple Lizards? Catastrophic.
"Lizard Serum?" Daredevil raised an eyebrow. "So that's what he was working on? Seems like you know Curt better than I do. You're not just some stranger… Are you—?"
Before Matt could continue, he sensed a chilling hint of killing intent from Peter.
His instincts screamed at him to shut up, and he obeyed.
He realized something vital: the more he knew, the more danger he was in.
Peter wasn't bluffing. He might genuinely kill him to protect his secret.
"You really want to know who I am?" Peter teased. "How about I take off my mask and show you?"
Then he paused. "Oh, wait… you're blind."
"…" Matt Murdock.
"Well, never mind. Even if I showed you, you couldn't see me. So, how about I whisper it in your ear?"
Peter leaned close.
Matt's face turned pale. He jumped back and waved his hands quickly.
"No, no, I don't want to know! Really, I don't! Keep it to yourself!"
Peter chuckled.
"Really? Not curious at all?"
"Not even a little!" Matt insisted.
Peter grinned. "Good. Because I really don't want to kill you. Not yet, anyway."
"Thanks… I guess?"
"Now, one last favor," Peter said. "I don't want people knowing I killed Curt. So…"
"Got it. I did it."
"You're a real one," Peter laughed. "If I ever get caught, I'll make you my defense attorney. Consider it business support."
"…You're insane," Matt muttered.
Ignoring him, Peter patted his shoulder and leapt off the Empire State Building in a single bound, vanishing into the night.
Matt exhaled deeply, tension draining from his body.
"Who is that guy? Forget it. The less I know, the safer I am."
Looking down at the Lizard's corpse, Matt sighed. Then, after a moment of hesitation, he kicked it off the building.
Screams erupted from below.
That same night, headlines screamed: "Daredevil Kills Lizard!"
In a run-down house in Queens, Peter soaked in a bathtub, sipping red wine as the news played on TV.
"Daredevil killed Lizard," the reporter announced.
Peter raised his glass with a smirk.
"Little Red, you've really taken one for the team," he muttered with a grin, closing his eyes.
Within his sea of consciousness, the energy bar now read: 12%.
As he'd suspected, the rate of growth didn't rely on body count—it depended on the scale of chaos he caused.
Fighting Daredevil and making him take the blame had earned him +2%—without a single kill.
It confirmed everything.
As long as he stirred trouble in the Marvel Universe—especially involving high-profile figures—he would earn this strange energy.
And once the bar hit 100%, he could extract a new dimensional world… unlocking its technology, knowledge, and power.
This was his path forward.
The old Peter had played it safe. But now? He had a golden finger. Playing nice was over.
If causing trouble fueled his power, then trouble he would cause.