"I heard someone calling for help, so I just came over," Gwen said instinctively. She had originally planned to head back to school through this neighborhood but happened to stumble upon this scene, prompting her to jump in without hesitation.

"By the way, Hode, doesn't this affect your fighting?" Wanda stared intently at Hode, who was subconsciously flexing his hands. Internally, she felt a pang of jealousy, but she held back from showing it.

Hearing Wanda's comment, Gwen suddenly remembered she was still in Hode's arms. Her face turned crimson, and thankfully she had her mask on; otherwise, it would have been too obvious.

"Thank you, Mr. Hode, but please let me down!" she quickly wriggled free from Hode's embrace, shooting out a web to cling to the wall of a nearby building.

"No problem," Hode replied, shaking his head while savoring the feeling from just moments before. After all, it hadn't been a long embrace, which left him with a slight sense of regret.

"Be careful, those three minotaurs don't seem like friendly creatures!" Although Wanda was a bit dissatisfied, she redirected her attention to the trio of minotaurs below. She had noticed the energy emanating from their eyes earlier.

"They're strange; black mist is coming from their eyes, and they can shoot something akin to laser beams," Gwen nodded in agreement. Had it not been for that sudden attack, she wouldn't have been knocked down so easily. The speed of that black mist was incredibly fast; even her spider-sense had not reacted in time.

As she said this, she couldn't help but turn her gaze toward Hode. She clearly recalled Hode's eyes also shooting beams of light.

"Wait a minute..." Hode scrutinized the minotaurs below, a frown forming on his face. They were not human transformed into monsters, but clearly, they were bulls that had been turned into humanoid forms! From their appearance, size, and the horns on their heads, it was evident they had once been bulls. Even their hooves looked distinctly bovine, and their horns seemed aged. If they had truly mutated, they would not resemble this.

"They're the product of dark magic!" Hode recalled similar dark magic he had encountered while reading the Darkhold. Coupled with the power of the phoenix within him, he had a heightened sensitivity to dark magic. Combining that with their appearance, he could ascertain the origin of these minotaurs.

"What?! They're not the result of biological mutation, but rather a creation of magic!" Wanda gasped in disbelief, her eyes widening as she looked at the minotaurs below.

"Yes," Hode nodded gravely. It was clear that this was a orchestrated event. Those who wield dark magic often possess a strong sense of purpose, indicating that this matter was far more complicated than it appeared to be.

"Moo!" The nearest minotaur struggled to pick up stones and hurled them at the group in the air with force, the projectiles making explosive sounds as they flew.

"Hey!" Wanda extended her hands with a shout, managing to deflect the debris. At the same time, Hode had already landed on the ground. Upon seeing Hode drop down, the three minotaurs were filled with excitement, their eyes flashing red. As the ground trembled, they charged quickly toward Hode.

"Be careful!" Although Gwen knew of Hode's strength, she couldn't help but warn him. During their earlier encounter, she had felt the formidable power the minotaurs possessed.

In the next moment, Hode executed a powerful kick, the force creating a sonic boom as it connected, sending the three minotaurs flying. They crashed violently to the distant ground, tumbling several times before finally coming to a halt. While they were not dead, they appeared battered and beaten.

"The strength is terrifying!" Watching this unfold, Gwen suddenly realized that, even in terms of raw power, Hode was the strongest she had ever seen. To this day, she had never witnessed Hode going all out.

"His strength has always been impressive," Wanda remarked, glancing instinctively toward Hode's midsection. She knew from experience that his strength was like an unyielding pile driver.

Moo! As the minotaurs that had been sent flying struggled to get up, they appeared more frenzied than before. Despite sustaining serious injuries, they showed no signs of wanting to stop.

"Is this the power of dark magic?" Gwen murmured, her eyes wide as she beheld the terrifying spectacle. It had surpassed her understanding, for under such circumstances, the minotaurs showed no signs of having their bodies affected at all. Meanwhile, they lowly roared, their eyes once again gathering that black ray of energy.

Moo! Three rays shot out simultaneously, merging in mid-air to form an even thicker black beam.

"Is that all you've got?" Hode said impatiently, pulling a nearby small truck in front of himself. As the black beam concentrated on the truck, a sizzling sound resonated. The vehicle was as if it had been splashed with high-concentration sulfuric acid, the metal corroding and forming a jagged black hole.

From the dissolving steel, it was clear that the ray's penetrating power wasn't that strong; its real terror lay in its corrosiveness.

"This has a corrosive effect?" Hode was taken aback; this was indeed unforeseen. Transforming bulls into this form required far more than just dark magic. Many materials would need to be prepared; otherwise, it would be impossible for the minotaurs to possess such strength.

He had initially thought these were mere nuisances meant to disrupt New York, unaware they were so formidable.

"It seems that the dark mages of New York are quite sophisticated," Hode smirked, speaking in a teasing tone. Meanwhile, the minotaurs, undeterred, continued to gather black beams, evidently intending to attack Hode from a distance.

"Oh? They actually show some sense of combat? Or is someone controlling these three minotaurs in real-time?" Observing their movements, Hode contemplated quietly to himself. Even though they had transformed into minotaurs, their intelligence shouldn't have increased.

"Forget it, I won't play anymore!" Hode shook his head, casting aside those scattered thoughts. His gaze sharpened, gathering energy into a dazzling beam that blasted forth, countering the three gathered black rays.

Boom!

At the moment when the two energies intertwined, the black ray was surprisingly obliterated in an instant.

Boom!

The golden ray instantly struck the three-headed beastman, sending him flying.

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