Chapter 62: Kill Them All - Part 1

Rain pours down.

As if the city itself were weeping… from pain, fear, and repeated scars.

Only the sound of raindrops echoes through the silence. Red and blue lights flash alternately, cutting through the darkness.

A police officer in a blue and black high-waterproof raincoat looked up at the sky.

Glaring at the clouds with a curse under his breath, he let out a sigh.

…I was watching that scene from the rooftop of a building.

My jet-black Nightcap suit is perfect for blending into the shadows. I observed the officers’ movements from behind a water tank.

…I don’t know where Cletus Kasady is. He’s likely acquired some kind of superhuman power, but even the nature of that is unknown.

Lack of information leads to unexpected trouble. The priority is to eavesdrop on their conversations and gather intel on his location and powers.

Running blindly through the city will just waste time—especially for someone like me, who lacks detection abilities.

New York is vast. Searching by feel would be sheer recklessness.

…Something’s coming.

And it’s making a hell of a noise.

With a crashing roar, it charges forward like some massive beast.

I grab the shotgun strapped to my back and focus on the street below.

Suddenly, a police vehicle is flung into the air. It crashes into a wall, then falls to the ground. A heavy thud echoes out, followed by an eruption of flames.

Four officers. Two vehicles.

There should’ve been officers inside the vehicle, too... but judging by that crash, survival seems unlikely. Crushed to death from the impact, burned alive, or killed by carbon monoxide inhalation—none of them are pretty ways to go.

What appeared next was a massive gray figure. Tar-like skin. A huge, torn mouth.

No doubt about it—it’s a symbiote.

The gray symbiote swung its arm, charging the officers.

They panicked but managed to return fire several times.

But it was pointless.

Bullets struck its skin, but it didn’t even flinch. That liquid-like flesh is incredibly resistant to shock and slicing damage.

One of its tendrils snatched an officer.

“No—!”

Crunch.

It bit off the officer’s head.

The body collapsed to the rain-soaked pavement, blood gushing from the neck. The blood mixed with the rain and flowed down into the sewers.

That’s when another officer seemed to realize resistance was futile.

“Y-You monster!”

Screaming, he threw away his pistol, turned his back, and ran.

But there’s no way a human can outrun something physically superior. A tendril grabbed him and reeled him in.

I watched the entire scene.

Without emotion, without mercy, without meaning.

I didn’t feel the need to help. I have no intention of risking my life for someone else.

I’m no hero.

And I recognized that gray symbiote.

Reaching back into my memory… I remembered. But not from some comic lodged deep in my head. It was a memory from this life.

That gray one—I saw it once when I was guarding a Life Foundation deal alongside Herman.

There were five vials of liquid inside a briefcase. One of them was gray, labeled: Riot.

If that was a symbiote, then this one must belong to the Life Foundation. The name… is Riot.

Riot opened its mouth. I thought it was going to eat the guy, but… it was doing something else.

“Hey, you… do you know where Kasady is?”

The voice was low, heavy—clearly not human. Looks like they’re also after Kasady.

“I-I don’t know! There’s no way I’d know!”

With that, it became clear neither the officer nor Riot had the information I wanted.

…Then there’s no reason for me to stick around.

While Riot’s focus was still on the cop, I decided to slip away.

They have sharp instincts and strong detection abilities. If I’m spotted, it’ll be a hassle.

“I see… then you’re no longer useful.”

As Riot spoke, the officer’s scream rang out.

I felt no pain in my chest. I had no obligation to save him.

…And then, just as I stepped onto the building’s edge—

Something darted across the edge of my vision.

A black, feminine-shaped symbiote.

…A figure I knew very well.

Gwen Stacy.

My eyes followed her.

Gwen, fused with a symbiote, leapt at Riot and kicked him. Her thin legs carried a force you’d never expect, and the nearly two-meter-tall giant was sent rolling.

At the same time, she stretched out a tendril and caught the officer.

“You… what are you? You’re not Kasady…”

Riot stood, completely unscathed. Black veins pulsed through his gray body. His fury was plainly visible.

…This is bad.

I climbed on top of the water tank and looked down at the two symbiotes.

At that moment, the option to “leave” was no longer in my mind.

---

On reflex.

Yes, on pure reflex—I kicked him.

I couldn’t just stay hidden.
I couldn’t just stand by and watch.

I know this thing—the gray symbiote in front of me—isn’t Kasady.

I also know this wasn’t part of the original mission.

But… watching someone about to die right in front of me… there’s no way I could just ignore that.

“Gwenom!”

I hear Harry’s voice from behind.
He jumps off his flightboard and lands right beside me.

…I’ve asked Harry to call me “Gwenom” while we’re out in the field.
It’s to protect my identity… though honestly, the names “Gwenom” and “Gwen” are so close that it probably makes no real difference.

Still, better than nothing.

“You jumped out so suddenly!”

“Sorry—I just couldn’t wait.”

I gently lower the unconscious officer to the ground, then turn to face the gray symbiote standing before me.

Its pure white eyes narrow into a sharp glare, locking onto me.

It’s… nearly two meters tall.
Much bigger than me.

“Gwenom…? Never heard that name before. You’re not one of the Foundation’s symbiotes, are you?”

…“Foundation”?

The word’s unfamiliar, but I don’t let that show.

“And who exactly are you? Why are you attacking cops?”

“Hmph… if you’re not one of the Foundation’s symbiotes, then bringing you back… will earn me a bonus. No doubt about it.”

He completely ignores my question, muttering to himself.

Then, his face twists into a crude, twisted grin.

He’s laughing.
Brutally. Vilely.

Looking at me like I’m some lower lifeform not worth respecting.

“Doesn’t matter if the host dies… I’ll rip you off her and bring you back anyway.”

As he points at me, countless tendrils sprout from his back.
Each one is sharpened to a spear-like point.

…This isn’t good. He’s clearly more skilled at controlling his symbiote body than I am.

“You’re pretty violent for a first impression… Harry, I need cover.”

“Got it. But try not to do anything too crazy, okay?”

“Obviously…!”

I shoot out a thin tendril like a thread, embedding it in the wall.

Using it like a grappling line, I launch myself through the air, closing in on the gray symbiote.

I sharpen my claws and swing down, trying to rip him open.

The gray symbiote transforms his arm into a mace-like shape and swings back.

Our attacks collide.

“Guh—!”

I’m knocked back and crash into a streetlight.

…He’s stronger.

The gray symbiote is bigger than either of us. In a clash of raw power, mass wins.

The streetlight breaks from the base and crashes to the ground.
Its lamp head shatters and bursts apart.

The gray symbiote doesn’t miss the opportunity and charges at me.

Running on all fours like a beast.

At that moment, a black, bat-shaped knife pierces into the symbiote.
Harry’s throwing weapon.

“Don’t interfere… Once I rip her off, I’ll deal with you nex—”

Suddenly, the gray symbiote’s head explodes.

Flames erupt, burning its skin.

Harry’s weapon was a modified Razorbat.
It has a core of igniting liquid and an explosive trigger.

He explained it to me once during training… but this is my first time seeing it in action.

“GAAAAAH!?”

The symbiote lets out a distorted scream, writhing in pain as its skin burns.

Symbiotes are weak to sound and fire.
I know this very well—I'm bonded with one myself.

I use the opening to recover and quickly cut down the streetlight pole at my feet with my claws.

A makeshift spear.

The cut edge is sharp and deadly.

Then, I hurl the metal spear straight at the gray symbiote.

It tears through the air, flying toward the hulking creature.

“Don’t underestimate me!”

But the symbiote stretches out a tendril from its back and swats it away.

The metal pole is deflected and slams into a nearby wall, embedding itself.

…What power.

I really thought I’d landed a solid hit.

“Haah… You damn pests…”

The symbiote glanced at me, then glared at Harry.

The tendrils on its back morphed into a large, spiked spherical shape.

"I'm gonna crush you first!"

The symbiote extended its previously folded legs and leapt into the air.

It grabbed the concrete wall with both hands and tore into it like it was butter.

Then, without pause, it hurled the shattered chunks of concrete at Harry.

"Tch!"

"Take this!"

Harry dodged on instinct, but several chunks still hit him.

Even with his enhanced physical abilities from the strength serum, Harry couldn’t fully evade the widespread shrapnel-like concrete fragments.

I ran toward the gray symbiote—

Suddenly, the sound of a siren rang out.

And it was loud—very loud.

It came from a police car parked behind us.

Even though one officer inside was dead and the other unconscious.

My body shuddered, and I collapsed forward.

Symbiotes are weak to fire and sound.

Our bond became temporarily unstable, and I couldn't move my legs—I couldn’t even stand.

Sound is fatal to us.

But that weakness applies to the gray symbiote as well.

Just as it was about to charge at Harry, it trembled and slammed into the wall.

...So the bond between it and its host must be even stronger than mine.

The sound was affecting it more severely.

The gray symbiote spotted the patrol car producing the sound and raised its arm to strike—

Just then, I noticed it too.

Someone was there, wearing a black mask.

He held a handgun I’d never seen before in his right hand, resting the barrel across his left arm for support.

He aimed the muzzle at the gray symbiote through the shattered window frame of the open police car door.

A flash of muzzle fire erupted in that instant.

Almost simultaneously with the gunshot, the bullet struck Riot.

But the symbiote had taken no damage from the police officer’s earlier shots.

I wondered if this attack would also prove useless.

The man quickly reset the muzzle, which had kicked upward from the shot, slamming it back down using his left arm.

Clang—a dull metallic impact rang out.

Then, he fired again in rapid succession.

"Gh—Gah!?"

Riot let out a pained groan.

For some reason, it was taking damage now.

…Could it be because the siren destabilized the bond?

It couldn’t absorb the impact of the bullets, and the host was suffering the damage directly.

Another shot. And another.

Each one landed precisely in the same spot, over and over.

"Grh—Agh!?"

I’d done some firearms training myself, but… his precision was on another level. It’d be absurd to even compare.

He was definitely a professional.

Completely different from an amateur like me.

...Could he be the reinforcement agent Fury mentioned?

The gray symbiote, riddled with bullets, convulsed and collapsed.

The man in the black mask cast a quick glance at Harry.

Harry noticed and rushed over to the symbiote, pulling a syringe from his waist.

Without hesitation, he plunged it into the gray giant’s body.

…That was the suppressant—an ultra-concentrated vitamin C compound—meant to be used on me.

It renders a symbiote completely unusable for over 24 hours.

…I can personally attest to its effectiveness.

The gray symbiote let out a scream as it retreated into the host’s body.

The host was a rough-looking man dressed in dark blue clothing—something like a security guard’s uniform.

The man in the black mask confirmed this, then operated something inside the patrol car.

Immediately, the siren stopped, and I was able to breathe again.

"Ugh… ngh… I feel sick…"

Even though it was only for a short time, having our weakness exploited so thoroughly had left us both drained.

It felt like I’d been stuck in a rocking car for hours… my stomach churned.

Harry used a restraint device to bind the unconscious symbiote host, then approached the man in the black mask.

"..."

The masked man silently watched.

"Are you... Redcap?"

Redcap?

I tilted my head at the unfamiliar term.

But… Red? He’s wearing black though. And I couldn’t really understand why Harry seemed so on edge.

I mean, he did help us… doesn’t that make him an ally?

"...Nightcap," he responded, in a neutral, robotic voice.

...Huh?

So, not the same person Harry was talking about?

"No... you've turned black, but you're still Redcap—"

"I'm Nightcap now."

He cut Harry off without leaving any room for argument, and Harry gave him a confused look.

Then Harry glanced at me.

But I didn’t even know who this "Redcap" person was in the first place, nor did I have a clue what was going on. Looking at me for answers wasn’t going to help.

Harry let out a sigh.

"Fine, fine. So? What do you want?"

Still on alert, he pressed the question.

"I want her help," Nightcap said, looking at me.

"Eh? Me?"

"Yes. I’ve heard symbiotes can sense each other... is that wrong?"

"Ah, well… probably?"

Using Gwenom’s power, I’d been able to sense a bad presence lingering around the city. Following that led us to the gray symbiote.

So if that ominous feeling really did come from a symbiote, then—

"…Wait. That would mean… there are lots of symbiotes in this city?"

My words made Harry’s face tighten in surprise. I couldn’t see clearly through his mask and goggles, but that’s how it felt.

"I wasn’t certain, but… it seems so."

"'Seems so'? Don’t tell me this whole mess is your doing."

Harry snapped at him, irritation in his voice. …Maybe they don’t get along?

"No. I’m not involved."

"I don’t trust you. So, you’re planning to use Gwenom’s detection abilities… and once you find the symbiotes, what then?"

That’s true. Using me to locate symbiotes is just a means to an end. His actual goal is still unclear.

"I’m tracking Cletus Kasady."

"Kasady…?"

We were after him too.

But what does hunting symbiotes have to do with Kasady?

"Kasady has no connection to the symbiotes," Harry said.

"He—Riot—was trying to steal one. Their goal is to secure symbiotes not under 'the Foundation's' control."

"'Foundation'?"

Come to think of it… that gray symbiote—Riot—had also mentioned the "Foundation." But I didn’t really understand what that meant.

Still, Nightcap ignored my confusion and continued speaking.

"Those who came to retrieve the symbiote are also targeting Kasady."

At that moment, Harry and I both understood.

"In other words, Kasady is likely bonded with a symbiote too."

"...Then why? Why would a symbiote… is it from your so-called 'Foundation'—"

"No, that’s probably a coincidence. They're strict when it comes to symbiote containment. …It’s more likely another rogue symbiote is behind this."

Nightcap looked straight at me as he said that.

…Huh? Why me?

"Hey, wait. I’ve never even met Kasady—"

"Wait… could it be him?"

Harry cut me off with a nod.

"Venom."

That name sounded familiar.

In my head, Gwenom was screaming, “Papa!”

I’d never met him personally, but apparently, they knew each other.

“Most likely. Some form of contact occurred, and a bond was formed. If you're going after Kasady and the symbiote he's bonded with… then it's a case of fighting fire with fire. You’ll need a symbiote’s help.”

“…I see.”

Seeing Harry nod, I nodded too.

There were some unfamiliar words, but… anyway, the person in front of me—Nightcap?—seemed willing to cooperate.

“Then, let’s work together…?”

I reached my hand out to Nightcap—

“H-Hey, you! Come here!”

Just as I tried to offer a handshake, Harry grabbed me by the collar and dragged me into an alley.

“W-What? I was just trying to shake hands, since we’re working together—”

“You don’t know how dangerous he is.”

Harry said that with a serious—no, almost frightened—expression, and I was stunned.

It was the first time I’d ever seen Harry make a face like that.

“D-Dangerous? But… he’s a good person, isn’t he?”

“…No. Not at all. He’s… a killer.”

“A killer?”

But he saved us?

“He once stabbed one of his own teammates to death. He’s killed a number of people. He’s a hitman.”

“A h-hitman…? No way…”

Someone like that—like out of a spy movie—someone who makes a living by killing?

Honestly, I couldn’t believe it.

“I’m not joking. He almost killed me too… You really shouldn’t trust him.”

“Uh… okay. Got it.”

He was so passionate, so serious about it, that I could tell Harry meant every word. He was truly on edge.

And not exaggerating—he really saw this man as dangerous.

He was warning me, trying to protect me from harm.

…But still, I couldn’t bring myself to see him as a bad person.

Because he helped us? No… it was more than that.

What was it? A gut feeling, maybe… I just didn’t know.

“…Still, it’s true that we don’t have the strength to handle this alone. We’ll stay alert, keep our guard up… but we’ll accept his help.”

“…That’s a complicated stance to take.”

When Harry and I returned to the police vehicle, Nightcap turned his face toward us.

“Finished talking?”

“Yeah… we’ll work with you.”

“Good.”

Nightcap sat himself down on the hood of the police car.

He turned toward me and opened his mouth.

“Then, the location of the symbiotes in this area—”

“W-Whoa!?”

A sudden scream rang out.

…Looked like the unconscious officer had woken up.

His legs had gone weak—he was scooting backwards while still sitting.

Harry hurried over and started talking to him.

“A-Are you okay?”

“Huh!? What? …Ah, y-yeah.”

Shivering, he cast a glance at Riot’s unconscious host lying nearby.

…In that state, he probably wouldn’t realize the man was the creature’s host.

“Th-There was a huge monster just a moment ago, right!? Do you know where it went…!?”

“Oh, about that—”

Just as Harry opened his mouth, the officer turned toward me.

“A-Ahh! The monster!”

…Monster?

Ah—right… I was still fused with Gwenom.

Can’t really blame him.

“P-Please, calm down…!”

“Eek!”

Harry tried to speak to him, but the officer remained in a state of panic.

Then, without warning, the officer reached for his waist—

And drew his handgun.

The barrel was aimed at me.

His finger was on the trigger.

I realized—he’s going to shoot.

It was the first time I’d had a gun pointed at me… especially by a civilian.

That’s why I froze, unsure of what to do, my mind clouded with hesitation.

And then—

I felt a chill from behind.

I immediately turned around—and saw Nightcap, gun in hand.

Harry’s words from earlier flashed through my mind.

He’s not a good person.

The gun in Nightcap’s hand was aimed straight at the police officer.

“Wait—”

The gunshot rang out, echoing through the night streets of New York.