Chapter 66: Kill Them All - Part 5

Venom swung his arm.

With enough strength to punch a round hole into a concrete wall, he threw a straight punch.

Carnage dodged the wild attack and swept out with his tendrils.

Venom’s skin was torn open, but… within about a second, the wound was gone.

Against the regenerative abilities of a symbiote, such minor injuries didn’t even count as damage.

Carnage wasn’t aiming for a fatal blow—he was aiming to wear Venom down through attrition.

Carnage stepped in for a follow-up strike, claws poised—only to have it blocked by Gwenom.

She grabbed that red arm and twisted it, then used the momentum to drive a kick toward his face.

But Carnage, his arm still held, swung it with brute force.

"Ah!?"

Gwenom was shaken loose, hurled straight into Venom.

"Ugh!?"

"Guah!?"

The two hosts and their symbiotes tumbled together and slammed into the wall.

When they landed, Venom was sprawled on top of Gwenom, who was lying on her back.

"Get off, you brat!"

"You’re the one who needs to move first!"

…It was obvious they had zero teamwork.

One was a willful—no, an overly willful alien symbiote; the other was a high school girl with almost no combat experience.

No way they’d get along, let alone coordinate.

"Tch, can’t get a bead on him…"

Off to the side, Herman was holding his gauntlets at the ready, but couldn’t lock onto Carnage.

The Shocker wasn’t some super-powered villain—he was just an ordinary man with high-tech gear.

His reflexes and visual tracking were average.

He simply couldn’t keep up with the superhuman battle raging before him.

Worse, if he carelessly closed the distance, Carnage could lash out with detached tendrils.

Herman couldn’t dodge or endure that.

At best, he’d be incapacitated; at worst, dead.

Unable to gamble with his life, all he could do was keep his distance and wait for Carnage to pause.

Spider-Man and Harry dove in with attacks as well… but were brushed aside and sent flying.

Harry was even bleeding.

At this point, it was almost a complete brawl.

Only Spider-Man, Venom, and Gwenom—those with exceptional physical ability—could keep up in close combat.

All four of them had roughly the same level of physical prowess… though Harry was clearly a step behind.

As for me, my physical abilities lag slightly behind theirs.

Without my vibranium suit, I wouldn’t even be able to fight Spider-Man.

And there’s no reason to think I could beat Carnage, who has power equal to—or greater than—Spider-Man’s.

Carnage… huh.

Seeing him brought back memories from the comics.

He’s Venom’s offspring, who learned from Spider-Man.

So naturally, he has strength and agility on par with them.

A copy of a copy—of course he would.

Their physical abilities are even.

But Spider-Man is at a disadvantage here, with his spider-sense nullified.

As for Venom… the gap comes from Carnage’s host, Cletus Kasady.

He was born a serial killer.

A man with a natural-born talent for murder.

Even before he became what he is now, he had survived by killing countless victims—gifts that included insight, danger awareness, combat instincts, and an unpredictable mind.

These are skills that Eddie Brock, a mere newspaper reporter, could never possess.

And Kasady doesn’t just wield Carnage well—no, Carnage is the dominant force, the two of them fully merged.

His host’s savagery is tightly bound to the symbiote’s nature.

In the comics, it took both Spider-Man and Venom working together to barely take him down.

That’s Carnage.

But this world’s Spider-Man… he’s still young.

A teenager with little battle experience.

And on top of that, he’s used to fighting weaker villains, holding back so he doesn’t kill them.

He’s rarely, if ever, faced an enemy equal to—or stronger than—himself.

…But why now?

Why am I remembering this all of a sudden?

It’s been like this for a while.

I’ve forgotten too much about my past life.

No… I have forgotten it—but sometimes, a trigger brings it all flooding back.

If I had truly forgotten, I shouldn’t be able to recall it so vividly.

It’s as if… a lock had been placed on my memories, and something just unlocked it—

No.

Now’s not the time to be thinking about that.

Most likely, in this world, even teaming up with Venom wouldn’t be enough for Spider-Man to win.

And Gwenom and Harry… their combat ability is lacking.

Without my vibranium suit… I can’t face Carnage head-on either.

…Tch. If only I had the suit.
It’s pointless to dwell on it, but the complaint slips out anyway.

On top of that, including me… none of us have much experience fighting as a team.
We’re not used to coordinated battles, so even with six people gathered, our total strength isn’t anywhere near six. At best, three… maybe two.
Even when we charge the enemy head-on, we just get in each other’s way and can’t attack properly.

Compared to that, what about Carnage?
…That thing is unmatched when it comes to fighting multiple opponents.
His tendril attacks can cover wide areas and strike in continuous waves.
He’s a nightmare to deal with.

Even if we have the advantage in numbers, this is why we can’t beat him.

So then—how do we win against him?

Exploit his weakness. That’s the only way.

And when it comes to the Carnage symbiote’s weaknesses… they’re fire and sound.

If it’s fire, we could rely on Harry’s weapons—those pumpkin bombs the Goblin used.
But… judging from the earlier fight with Riot, I doubt they’d be a decisive blow.
We’d need something much stronger—someone like the Human Torch or Firestar, who can truly command fire—otherwise it’s hard to inflict a fatal wound.

Then, sound.

That means Shocker’s Vibro-Shock Gauntlets are critical in a fight against Carnage.
Herman Schultz is an engineer.
If we get him to adjust the gauntlets here and now to emit a frequency the symbiote hates, his attacks could become a real threat.

The problem is his physical ability—it’s just normal human level.
That’s something I, the fake superhuman, can cover.

…But even if a shockwave tuned to the right frequency can restrain Carnage’s movements, stopping Kasady himself won’t be easy.

Carnage is fighting Venom, Spider-Man, and Gwenom.
…I move in close to Harry, who’s gasping for breath.

“Harry, got a moment?”

“Uh… ah, what is it…?”

He’s got a cut under his brow, blood running into his eye, and it’s clearly irritating him.
Even so, he glares at me through ragged breaths.

…Well, at least the fighting spirit’s there. I can work with this.

“Lend me your ear… I have a plan.”

“…I can trust you on this?”

“At least until we bring him down.”

I glance toward Carnage.

Spider-Man uses the recoil from his web to launch a flying kick—
—only for Carnage to grab his leg midair and swing him around.

“Uwaaaah!”

With a pitiful yell, he’s slammed into the ground, stone tiles shattering on impact.
…Yeah, that looked painful.

Realizing this fight can’t be won as things stand, Harry exhales deeply.

“All right, I’ll trust you. But only for now.”

“That’s enough. Also… Herman, get over here for a sec.”

“Huh? Me?”

While the other three buy us time, I issue instructions.
Not some idealistic “let’s work together” pep talk.
Just a simple sequence of precise actions.

This isn’t teamwork.
An impromptu team’s “coordination” is nothing worth trusting.
I’ll use them as pieces on the board.
They’ll move exactly as instructed.

No personal whims. Improv kept to a minimum.
That’s the best way.

Then I choose what resources to burn.
If we’re outmatched in strength and can’t coordinate, we’ll have to make up the difference with something else.

I can’t risk their lives.
So what’s the safest—and most disposable—thing we have right now?

The answer’s already decided.

…I slip a spherical object out of Harry’s bag.
After confirming the two of them have nodded, I head for the front line.

I draw a knife from my thigh and ready a shotgun in my other hand.

“Make me an opening. I’ll take him down.”

Through the mask, my voice carries.
Venom, Spider-Man, and Gwenom glance my way for just a moment.
Each of them understands we can’t win if this keeps up.

“OK!”
“Got it…!”
“…Tch.”

…the ones who answered were two.

One of them clicked his tongue, but… I’ll take that as agreement.

Venom swung his arm, trying to smash Carnage—only to be swatted away.

Gwenom hardened her claws to tear into him, but they were blocked by his tendrils.

Spider-Man shot out a web, hooking it onto Carnage’s leg. He tried to yank and trip him, but Carnage’s claw sliced the web apart.
Carnage swung an arm—and Spider-Man caught it with both hands, barely managing to hold it back.

Even so, the three of them were holding Carnage’s attacks at bay.

…Carnage is tough.
You can’t just force an opening against him.

And because I called out to the others earlier, Carnage is now keeping part of his focus on me.

That’s exactly what I wanted.

“All of you—clear out!”

I thrust my knife forward and charge straight in.
On the surface, it’s a reckless move.

The tendrils, their tips hardened into blades, lash toward me.
I twist my body, shift my stance, and drive a foot forward—blowing apart the nearest tendril with my shotgun.

But that alone isn’t enough to dodge them all.

I throw the shotgun aside and bring it up as a makeshift shield—

—and a blade-shaped tendril slices through my armor like butter, cutting deep into my body.

Not just the skin.
It shears straight through the muscle fibers.

For most people, a wound like this would send them writhing in agony.

…But with a healing factor, if you focus on the injury, you can repair only the essential muscles you need to move, and do it faster.
I leave the skin and blood vessels alone, fixing only what I need to keep going.

The surface wounds can stay.

Using the tendril itself as a springboard, I leap forward—knife reversed in my grip—and bring it down toward Carnage’s head.

“Fool…!”

But to Carnage, such a telegraphed attack is hardly a threat.

Once you’re in the range of his tendrils, all he needs is a swing of the arm.
His claws pierce my abdominal armor easily, driving several stab wounds deep into my gut.

…I hear Gwenom scream.
I hear Spider-Man’s sharp intake of breath.

But I don’t scream.
I don’t slow down.

I glance at Herman.
…He’s staring at me in shock, visibly shaken.

Tch. I told you I’d make the opening.
There wasn’t time to explain the details, but… anyone can see this is the moment.

Spitting blood, I shout to Shocker—

“Do it, Herman!”

The blood-muffled cry is filtered through my mask, coming out as a mechanical voice.
Blood has risen up into my throat, bubbling in my mouth.

I drive my knife into Carnage’s arm still lodged in my stomach.
Then I link it with my armor’s claw mechanism, locking it in place so he can’t pull free.

Herman snaps back to his senses.
Immediately, he raises his gauntlets.

Carnage realizes what’s happening and panics.
He tries to yank his arm back, but it’s useless.

In my left hand—the one without the knife—I activate the sphere I took from Harry.

A pumpkin bomb.

In an instant, an explosion erupts, followed by the sound of flesh sizzling.

“Ghh!?”

Inside the pumpkin bomb is a flammable adhesive, working like an incendiary.
It splatters everywhere as it burns.

Some of it’s stuck to my left arm’s armor plate, still burning relentlessly.

…This is… bad.
The shock… I’m about to… black out—

I bite down hard on my tongue.
The pain jolts me back, the taste of iron flooding my mouth.
I force my mind away from the burning agony in my arm.

It’s fine. The healing factor will take care of it.

The pain is only for now.

I glance at my left hand.
Luckily, the armor’s surface has barely taken any damage.
But this armor isn’t made of vibranium.
The heat that punched through is burning the arm beneath the alloy plating.

Feels like I shoved my arm into a toaster oven and turned it on.

The inner lining and my skin have melted into a messy pulp, fusing with the armor.

Herman is aiming his gauntlet at me—and at Carnage.

Yeah.
I create an opening, and he attacks with the gauntlet.
Too simple to call a strategy… but that’s the plan.

…But he doesn’t shoot.
Herman keeps the gauntlet raised, arm trembling, eyes locked on me.

Why isn’t he firing?
Don’t tell me—did he lose his nerve?

…No, maybe it’s because I’m too close. He can’t risk hitting me.

Carnage scrapes away the burned patches of skin and swings his claws.

There’s a ripping sound—flesh being severed.

Something flies through the air.
…It’s my right arm, the one holding the knife.
From the elbow down, still stuck to the blade embedded in Carnage, it’s been hacked clean off.

Losing my support, I’m flung to the ground—
—but I react instantly, jamming the wound straight into the pool of burning, volatile liquid explosive on the floor.

No time to let the healing factor work.
I cauterize the wound by sheer force, but Carnage is already raising his arm toward me.

‘You first!’

I try to defend myself—but my left arm is cooked to the nerves and won’t move.
My right arm is gone from the elbow down.

‘Tch—’

Carnage’s claws swing down from above—

—and suddenly, I’m yanked away.
The claws carve deep gouges into where I was just standing.

What pulled me… was web.
Spider-Man’s web.

…He saved me?

A split second later, a brutal shockwave slams into Carnage.

‘Gyaaah!?’

Damn it, Herman—too slow. Way too slow.

I’ll hit him later… wait, no arms.
Can’t feel the left, right’s gone from the elbow down.

…Guess I’ll kick him.

Herman keeps pouring the shockwave onto Carnage, who twists in agony.

“…Hah… go ahead, suffer all you want,” Herman pants, feet braced.

Carnage can’t take it—he retreats into Kasady.
As expected, shockwave attacks are devastating against symbiotes.

Kasady’s form is revealed… still in his prison uniform.
With the symbiote hiding inside its host, the shockwave’s effect is dulled.

He tries to bolt—

—and Harry grabs him.

“Guh!?”

“No way I’m letting you go!”

Serial killer or not, with all his murderous talent, Kasady himself isn’t superhuman.
Harry, on the other hand, is—thanks to the enhancement drugs.

Carnage, sluggish from the shockwaves, tries to intercept, but Harry’s faster.

Slamming Kasady to the ground, Harry whips out a syringe from his waist—and plunges it in.

“A—agh!?”

Kasady’s face twists in pain, his voice strained.
But the syringe isn’t filled with poison.

It’s just vitamin C.
…Well, sure, in extreme doses it could be toxic.

But against symbiotes, it’s a far more effective suppressant than most poisons.
When the vitamin C concentration in the host’s blood spikes, they can’t maintain their bond.
It’s just part of a symbiote’s biology.

Carnage lets out a scream and slithers out of Kasady’s body.

"I’ll tear you off!"

In that instant, Venom lunged forward, grabbed Carnage—and ripped them away from Kasady.
The sound of fibers snapping filled the air.

"Gyaaah!?"

Torn from their host, Carnage’s main body was flung straight into a wall.
The red, liquid-like parasite splattered against a scarred religious painting hanging there… then slid to the floor.

It fell right into the flames created by a pumpkin bomb.

"Ah—hot, hot… HOT!"

Carnage screamed as the fire consumed them.
Their body writhed, melting into a viscous mess, scattering great gouts of flame like some volatile liquid.

Kasady lay there, watching it happen.

"…Ah, ah, ah… no…"

The power he had gained was burning away right before his eyes.
Kasady was frozen in shock at the sight—while I looked down on him.

From right beside him.

"…Ah—"

Kasady noticed me.
But right after being torn from a symbiote he’d been deeply bonded with, his body wouldn’t obey him.
He could only turn his face toward me, his body still sprawled on the ground.

I moved to plant my foot on his neck—

"Hey—what do you think you’re doing!?"

—and was tackled by Gwenom.
We rolled together, slamming into a wall.

"…………"

I met Gwenom’s eyes in silence.

Spider-Man and Harry’s gazes toward me turned sharp.
Yes, until a moment ago, we had been working together.

But I’d told Harry already.
The only time they could trust me was until Carnage was dead.

"You were… about to kill him, weren’t you?"

"And if I was, what of it?"

I answered without the slightest hint of guilt.
From the beginning, I’ve never thought killing villains was “wrong.”

Scum who kill people deserve to be killed.
People like me… and people like Kasady—are better off dead.

"But we… we made a promise!"

…Ah, right.
Back in the police van, we’d said something about “capturing him alive.”

…To think she actually believed that.
Gwenom—no, Gwen—was starting to worry me a little.
Trusting the words of someone this suspicious-looking is never a good idea.

One day, she’s going to get conned by a swindler.
I couldn’t help but feel concerned—

"I thought you were really a good person…!"

…Honestly.
She has no eye for people.

"Of course it was a lie. Now—move."

With my one good leg, I shoved Gwenom aside, putting distance between us.
Spent from the fight with Carnage, she rolled across the ground without resisting.
…Harry caught her in his arms, and she went still.

Now, finally… or so I’d like to think.
Unfortunately, Spider-Man and Harry were clearly intent on stopping me.

Two against one… not doable.
In my current damaged state, killing Kasady while ignoring them would be difficult.

In that case, all I needed was more allies.

"Venom. You want to rip Kasady apart too, don’t you? Help me."

"Don’t you order us! …But yeah, I’m in. I’ll be the one to rip him apart!"

Venom looked like they could barely stand holding themselves back from killing Kasady.
Of course they did.
Even if they had some concept of “no killing,” their urge to devour evil outweighed it completely.

"Herman. What about you?"

"I… can’t bring myself to go and kill someone who can’t fight back anymore."

"I see."

His answer caught me off guard, but I nodded.

Fair enough.

Wounded—me and Venom.

Spider-Man, Gwenom, Harry.

…Not enough hands on my side.
If I could at least take one of them out of the fight…

"Nh… ugh…"

Gwenom groaned beside Harry.
She looked like she was in pain.

A moment later, an alarm sounded.
It was coming from Gwenom.
…Most likely, the sound of a phone ringing somewhere inside the symbiote.

"Damn it—Gwenom!"

Harry rushed to her without hesitation.

And then… the symbiote bond dissolved.

"It’s already been three hours…?"

Was this the time limit she’d mentioned before?
That’s what I guessed from Harry’s words, though the unexpected turn of events froze me in place.

Gwen, now unmasked, was dressed the same as at the birthday party.
Not like Harry’s agent gear—just ordinary casual clothes.

Blood trailed from the corner of her mouth.
Had she bitten it during the fight with Carnage?
The wound itself seemed to have healed thanks to the symbiote’s regeneration, but… it still looked painful.

That thought crossed my mind—

And in this place, there was one person who didn’t know her true identity…
yet was still her close friend.

Peter Parker—Spider-Man—stood there, staring at Gwen Stacy in shock.

---

I, Natasha Romanoff, had come to New York fully equipped as the Black Widow.

The reason was this—

"Shhh!"

I swung my electrified baton with a short, sharp breath.
It struck the green symbiote squarely.

Even as it staggered, whip-like tendrils lashed from its back.
I planted a foot on one of them, vaulted upward, and drove my heel into the symbiote’s head.

"Guah!"

The symbiote gave a small cry, and I pressed my right arm against it.
Then, I activated the Widow’s Bite on my wrist.

Sparks flared, jolting the symbiote’s host.

"Gyaaaah!?"

A death scream echoed—and the symbiote went still.
…It seemed the host inside had lost consciousness.

Catching my breath, I reached for a restraint device from the pouch on my belt—

When suddenly, the green symbiote tore itself free from its host and lunged at me.

"!?"

Caught off guard, I kicked the symbiote away.
It slammed into a wall and burst apart like a crushed tomato.

Then, oozing into liquid form, it slipped into a manhole.

…Through the gap in the cover, it flowed down into the sewers.

Got away.

But… without a host, a symbiote can’t even survive for long.
For now, I suppose I can relax a little.

"Seriously… ‘Just catch a murderer real quick,’ huh…? Nobody told me there’d be another symbiote—same as that girl."

The complaint slipped out, meant for no one in particular.

"…Could it be Cassidy, too?"

With a sigh, I holstered my electro-baton.

I’d been in New Jersey earlier today… but Nick Fury called, and I rushed straight to New York.

The mission: capture the escaped convict who killed Gwen Stacy’s father… and make sure she didn’t lose control.
That’s what I was assigned.

…And right from the start, I was thrown into a fight with a symbiote I’d never even heard of. Nothing going as planned.

Then—an explosion sounded behind me.

I instinctively covered my ears.

When I turned, the third-floor windows of a building had shattered.
Shards of glass, blasted out by the shockwave, rained down to the street and smashed into glittering fragments.
From that broken window, something viscous came hurtling out.

"Khh-kkyehh…"

It was a symbiote—burnt so badly its original color was unrecognizable.

A man stood at the edge of the window frame.
Black jacket, mask covering his mouth and nose… but even through it, I could see the sharp, hard look in his eyes.
In his right hand, he held a standard-issue S.H.I.E.L.D. firearm.

…No need for alarm.
He was one of ours.

He leapt down, driving his left arm into the pavement as he landed.
From that height, the impact should’ve been severe—but he didn’t so much as flinch.
No doubt thanks to the unique nature of that left arm.

I called out to him.

"Didn’t I tell you not to draw attention? Are incendiary grenades supposed to be subtle?"

"Couldn’t be helped. We’re dealing with a symbiote—hesitate, and it’ll escape."

"Ugh… fair point."

After all, I’d let one slip away myself.
And if you can’t confirm a kill, there’s always the chance it’s still alive.

I wondered what our paranoid, secretive boss would think about that…
Hopefully this wouldn’t drag me into yet another mess.

He stepped on the burnt, motionless symbiote at his feet.
…Definitely dead.

Then he looked at me.

"So, where’s your apprentice?"

"Apprentice? At least call her my subordinate… or junior."

Sure, I’d trained Gwen Stacy—but I’d never once thought of myself as her mentor.
I wasn’t the teacher type.
She was my junior at S.H.I.E.L.D.—practically a subordinate. That was all.

"Really? Funny… you two seemed close."

"…Hah. She’s at the church, over there."

I glanced at my handheld terminal.
The GPS chip implanted in her neck.
An invasion of privacy? Maybe—but that’s how dangerous symbiotes are.
The host included, they have to be monitored and controlled.
Not just by Fury—by a certain meddlesome Secretary of Defense, too.

"I see. Let’s move, Natasha."

"…Yeah. Let’s go."

With another sigh, I followed as he moved ahead.

He rolled his left shoulder, and I heard the creak of the cybernetic arm.