Chapter 65: Kill Them All - Part 4

Shattered fragments of stone hurtled toward me.

I could dodge them easily.

It’s true that my Spider-Sense doesn’t react to Venom or Carnage. But that’s because they’ve adapted to my abilities.

Flying debris from a broken wall, though—no matter the cause—doesn’t count as one of their powers.

I dodged the flying stone—

“Ugh!?”

A sharp jolt of pain.

A red needle was stuck in my shoulder.

…It was the tip of one of Carnage’s tendrils.

He severed it, hid it among the debris, and launched it at me.

I never imagined he could do something like that.

I immediately tried to pull it out—

…the tip of the needle was barbed like a fishing hook.

If I yanked it out by force, the surrounding skin would get shredded too.

…But I had no choice.

If I left it in, it’d slow me down.

I braced myself and yanked it out—ouch! That hurt!

I nearly teared up.

I clenched my hand.

Okay.

It still feels a bit off, but it’s not so bad I can’t move it.

I put some distance between us and hid behind the wall.

Carnage walked forward, glaring at where I was hiding.

H-He shouldn’t have seen me yet… I think…

“Come out, coward… what, running away?”

“I’m in the middle of a tactical meeting, sorry.”

As I tossed back a quip, I switched the cartridge in my left web-shooter.

Cartridge No. 4—shockwave.

…Venom was vulnerable to sound.

Apparently, that’s a common weakness among symbiotes.

Then Carnage, standing right in front of me, should be just as weak.

Time to hit him with some vibrating airwaves.

“A strategy meeting all by yourself? Idiot… I’ll split you in two so you can actually hold a proper conversation!”

One deep breath—focus.

“Yeah, I’d rather you didn’t do that!”

I leapt out from behind the wall and fired the shockwave blast from my web-shooter.

“Guh!?”

The unexpected attack caught Carnage off guard.

His red skin peeled back, revealing the host inside—Kasady.

I shot out a web to reel Kasady in—

“You noisy little pest!”

The tip of one of Carnage’s tendrils, sprouting from Kasady’s back, detached and launched at me.

But it wasn’t the size or shape of a needle that’d just sting a little if it hit.

It was a small hand axe.

Larger than my upper arm.

If that hits me, I’m dead for sure.

And with my Spider-Sense out of commission, there’s no way I can dodge it at the last second.

“Damn it!”

I disabled the shockwave and reflexively shot a web to the ceiling.

I yanked myself upward, dodging with a huge, exaggerated movement.

I was so scared of dying that I gave up the attack and focused entirely on evading.

And that decision came at a cost.

Carnage was already right in front of me.

“Cra—!”

Then his hand plunged into my gut.

“Gah…!”

He opened his fingers, his claws sharpening, leaving five puncture wounds in my abdomen.

Then he slammed me into the ceiling. Stone carvings shattered on impact.

My vision flickered.

For a second, I almost blacked out.

He scraped me across the ceiling like a rag doll.

The decorative stone cracked and crumbled around me, slamming into me with each jolt.

Then he hurled me to the floor, tearing through an expensive-looking painting replica as I crashed and rolled.

I—I can still breathe.

But the shock must’ve stunned my body, because I couldn’t move for a moment.

My joints creaked.

I rolled and forced myself upright, planting one hand on the floor to steady myself.

My eyes locked on Carnage.

…He was licking the hand smeared with my blood.

Ugh… gross.

I’ve fought a lot of people who wanted to kill me, but… it’s been a while since one actually tried to eat me. And he’s humanoid.

That’s beyond disturbing.

“There’s a clear power gap between us. If you just let me eat you, you won’t have to suffer so much.”

Carnage taunted as he licked his bloodstained claws.

“Sorry, but I’m gonna have to pass… I’m not your afternoon snack.”

I tried to play it cool, but I couldn’t suppress the pain in my stomach.

The pain I could tolerate—but I couldn’t flex my abs properly.

“Yeah… You’re the appetizer before Father.”

I tried to jump back, to gain some distance—

Just then, a door beside Carnage creaked open slightly.

“Mm!?”

Carnage snapped his head to the side. I followed his gaze to the door.

The barrel of a gun poked through.

And just behind it was Redcap, half visible.

…Wait, no? That’s not right?

He usually wears a red mask, but today it was completely black.

Maybe it’s someone else?

…Still, how many people go around dressed like that?

The visible barrel—it’s the same shotgun I’ve seen Redcap use before.

The distance between Carnage and the door was practically nothing.

Point-blank—

A thunderous boom.

The shotgun blast.

It fired before Carnage could even react.

He was blown away.

Symbiotes don’t take much damage from bullets.

But they do get knocked back by the impact.

Which is why he couldn’t stop himself from getting thrown.

Then, from behind me, I heard a familiar voice.

“You alright, Spider-Man!?”

I turned around at the voice—huh?

Harry was there.

He had goggles and a mask on, but it was definitely Harry.

“W-What are you doing here?”

“Ah… just tagging along with a friend.”

“A friend?”

I glanced at Redcap.

He showed no signs of letting his guard down, staring hard in the direction Carnage had flown.

He looked cautious… and maybe a little surprised.

He wasn’t following up with another attack. He just kept his eyes fixed on the spot.

“You’re friends with him?”

“No. With one of his fellow agents.”

I’d heard from Jessica that Harry had been taken in by S.H.I.E.L.D.

But I never imagined he’d actually become an agent.

…He could’ve told me.

Harry knows that Spider-Man is really Peter Parker, so it’s not like he’d ever say, “I don’t know how to contact Spider-Man!”

Whether he didn’t notice the look I gave him—or was deliberately ignoring it—he pulled out something like a syringe from his waist and jabbed it into me.

…No idea what kind of drug it was, but he was probably treating me.

There was a rustle of movement—someone behind Redcap.

“Oh, did we get him? That was easier than I thought.”

A familiar voice and face appeared behind Redcap.

“Herman…?”

Brown suit, yellow armor, and gauntlets on his hands.

Herman Schultz—the Shocker.

“You’re looking rough, Spider-Man… but I told you, I’m not ‘Herman,’ I’m Shocker. Call me that again and I’ll deck you.”

“Ah, right…”

I didn’t have the energy to argue.

I’d just taken a bunch of painful hits in a row.

And I’d lost a lot of blood.

Just then, rubble came flying from where Carnage had been blown away.

“Hmph.”

Redcap instantly deflected it with his armor.

Apparently, chunks of wall stone weren’t enough to leave a scratch.

…And neither was the shotgun.

Even that wasn’t enough to damage Carnage.

“Whoa there.”

Herman fired a shockwave from his gauntlets, blasting the debris away.

The cloud of dust cleared, revealing Carnage.

Not a scratch on him. Still full of energy.

“...Carnage, huh?”

Maybe he was finally able to look at the enemy clearly—Redcap’s voice sounded almost surprised.

It was a mechanical voice, so I couldn’t read the emotion… but still.

He knew Carnage’s name.

…And I just learned it myself, a moment ago.

“More pests, one after another!”

Carnage lashed out with his tendrils, smashing apart the walls.

The room and hallway were blasted into one big open space.

…Carnage was good at wide-range attacks.

And his flying tendril strikes were hard to avoid without cover.

He was reshaping the battlefield in his favor.

Then, a dark silhouette sprang out from behind Redcap.

Small—looked like a woman.

She soared through the air and delivered a flying kick straight to Carnage.

“Guh!?”

Carnage tried to swat her away in surprise, but before he could, she struck his body with her other leg.

Using the recoil, she flipped and landed near Redcap.

“No good! That didn’t do a thing!”

“...He probably can’t be taken down except with fire or sound.”

The way she was talking with Redcap made it clear they were allies.

She had a humanoid body, fused with a symbiote.

Her mouth stretched wide like a hood, and her tongue dangled like a necktie.

“…Harry? You know her too?”

“Yeah, she’s part of S.H.I.E.L.D.”

Huh?

Even though she’s bonded with a symbiote?

“I’m sure you two could be friends.”

“Think so…?”

Honestly, I’m not too confident about that.

I mean, she’s bonded with a symbiote just like Venom…

But—wait, more importantly—

“What even is this group!?”

“Ah, this is…”

The black symbiote-bonded woman and Herman gathered at Redcap’s side.

“…Well, I guess you could call it the Anti-Cletus Kasady Alliance or something.”

His vague phrasing made me tilt my head a bit—but still, having allies gave me a small sense of relief.

…My breathing was starting to steady.

The wound felt better, too.

Probably thanks to that shot earlier.

When I stood up, Harry looked at me with concern and called out.

“…You sure you’re okay? That was a pretty deep wound.”

“Of course. I’m used to this kind of thing… I’m still good to fight.”

I brushed the dust off my legs and stepped closer to Redcap.

“I’ll help. We’ve got the same goal here, right? Redcap?”

When I called out, the black helmet turned toward me.

…Not that I could tell what he was thinking at all.

“It’s Nightcap.”

“Ah, right… Nice to work with you, Redcap.”

“…Yeah.”

He seemed to give up on correcting me again… and gave a nod. Then, the rest of us turned to face Carnage.

What do you call this kind of thing again?

Ned used to talk about it when playing online games… right, a raid battle, wasn’t it?

Carnage let out a roar—and split his tendrils apart.

---

"Hey, Venom. Weren’t you a little out of line earlier?"

"Eddie... they’re underestimating symbiotes way too much."

We were running along a corridor one floor above the noise.

"They’re not the kind of opponent you can face like it’s some kind of game, dragging kids into battle. I don’t want anyone dying because of me."

"...Because you’re not confident you can protect them?"

"No. I just don’t want anyone holding me back."

About sixty percent of that was him being too embarrassed to be honest. The other forty was the truth.

I nodded at Venom’s words, and we positioned ourselves above the room where all the noise was coming from.

The fight between them and Kasady should’ve already started. I could sense the presence of a symbiote through my connection with Venom.

It was like a prickling sensation at the back of my neck.

We peeked through a crack in the floor beneath us.

On one side... there was Herman, Red Cap, and two kids. Wait—Spider-Man was there too.

If we’d jumped into that mess, Venom probably would’ve gone ballistic. He still yells at the TV every time a news segment features Spider-Man.

And the one they were facing... was a red symbiote.

Most likely, it had to be Cletus Kasady.

Worried by how unusually quiet Venom had gotten, I opened my mouth.

"Alright, Venom. Here’s the plan. As soon as Kasady gets directly underneath, we’ll smash through the floor and make our grand entrance—"

"We’re leaving, Eddie."

"What?"

My legs started moving on their own, ignoring my will entirely.

Stomp stomp stomp—we were headed straight for the door out of the building.

"H-Hey! Venom, what the hell!?"

"This is worse than we thought. The Red one’s bad news!"

"Red? Oh, you mean that red symbiote merged with Kasady? Come on, we can—"

"No! Absolutely not!"

"...You're running away?"

"Yeah! I am!"

I was so shocked by how openly he admitted it, I couldn’t help but speak up.

"What the hell? Are you that much of a coward!?"

"Eddie! You’re—"

We stopped moving. Venom separated from me and turned to face me directly.

"You’re going to die."

"...What?"

"And of course, so will I. We pull back for now. We prepare, make sure we can win—absolutely win—before going back in."

Venom, unusually... no, more like for the first time ever, was actually sounding timid. It stunned me.

That alone told me just how serious this was.

Still, I spoke up.

"Wait—what about the others? They’re still fighting!"

"Not my problem! Doesn’t concern us!"

"Doesn’t concern us...? What, even your kid? That, uh... G-G-Gwenom, or whatever?"

"There’s no such thing as a parent-child bond between symbiotes... If there was, I wouldn’t be trying to kill Carnage."

"Carnage? Who the hell is that?"

"The thing merged with Kasady! It’s the name I pulled from the hive mind."

"The hive what? Hey, hold up, explain this properly!"

"That doesn’t matter! What matters is he’s stronger than us!"

Venom slammed his fist into the wall, shattering it.

"Stronger... than us?"

"That’s right! If we fight him, we’ll definitely lose, Eddie... and you’ll definitely get eaten alive. He’s after the codex inside you... Is that what you want? I don’t."

"Venom..."

"If you get it now, then we’re leaving. Yeah—let’s break into S.H.I.E.L.D.'s warehouse and steal some weapons. We’ll gear up and—"

"You don’t need to worry about me. We’re fighting, Venom."

Venom flinched and froze in place, locking eyes with me.

"You’ll die, you know."

"We’re supposed to be... Lethal Protectors, right?"

"...Yeah. We are."

"Then tell me—if people weaker than you are still fighting… is it really okay for you to run? Aren’t you supposed to be a protector?"

"...But—"

"I know you want to fight. You hate running away, don’t you?"

After a pause, Venom gave a small nod.

"Of course I do."

"You’ve got enough pride to say you’d rather die than run... so why do you think you need to retreat now?"

"............"

"You really don’t want me to die that badly, huh?"

"That’s not it."

"It’s alright, Venom. We’re one. If we die, I’ve already made peace with that... Besides—"

Our eyes met.

"We’re not gonna lose. Right?"

Venom’s gaze sharpened—sharpened with conviction.

"...Yeah."

His mouth curled into a grin, tongue unfurling.

"Yeah, you're right!"

Venom enveloped my body, returning us to our original form—pitch black, brutal, and ready.

We quickly returned to our previous spot.

After a deep breath, I laid out the plan to Venom.

"Alright, Venom. The plan is—"

"Drop in right now and kick his ass!"

"Wait, huh? Hey, wai—"

We smashed through the floor, dropping straight down onto Carnage from above.

Carnage looked up and locked eyes with us.

"You came, Father!"

"I’ll rip you to shreds!"

Our right arm slammed into Carnage’s face. His tendrils pierced through our body. We stomped him down and followed with a hook to the jaw. Chunks of his outer skin splattered against the wall.

A tendril morphed into an axe and swung toward us from above.

"I’ll kill you and devour you, Father!"

"The one doing the eating is me! You’re the one who’s dying, you ungrateful little bastard!"

We raised our arm and struck the axe-like tendril. It veered off and slashed into our shoulder, but only grazed the surface—no real damage.

But then he grabbed us and hurled us into a wall.

We twisted in midair, but the wall couldn’t take the force. We were sent crashing into another room.

...The others were watching us and Carnage with a slightly stunned, wide-eyed look.

"Hurry up and back us up!"

At that, Gwenom let out a sigh.

"Jeez, you really are a handful, Daddy..."

Even as she said that, she sharpened her claws into knife-like points and stood at our side.

"Stop calling us that weird name! We’re—"

We stomped the ground, cracking it beneath us.

"VENOM!"

"Yeah yeah."

Together, Gwenom and we lunged at Carnage.