On the island, Brock was still shaken. The Symbiote on his body had gradually coalesced into a ghostly face and had started to intimidate him.
It told him that the relationship between them now was something like that of a master and a mount. Unfortunately, Brock discovered to his horror that he was the mount… and the master was Venom!
Just as he was feeling depressed, a man with black wings slowly descended from the sky.
Brock and Venom both looked up at him, their mouths slightly agape; it was like the two of them were watching God arrive as a duo.
"Ahem… sorry to interrupt your harmonious bonding," Arthur said as he landed. He tapped something on his body and instantly changed into a different set of clothes.
Brock's eyes went wide as saucers. "You!!"
"I told you, we'd meet again," Arthur replied with a faint smile, then turned his gaze toward the mass of Symbiote.
At that moment, the Symbiote vanished from Brock's body at incredible speed, clearly having no intention of interacting with Arthur.
Arthur mused silently for a moment, and Brock asked, "Aren't you going to bite his head off?"
"…You're probably talking to the guy inside you, right?"
Arthur felt his words were starting to twist in circles.
Brock looked at Arthur. "If you're some kind of angel, then this thing on me, is it a demon straight out of hell?"
The "demon" was having none of that. Though Arthur couldn't hear exactly what it was saying, its reaction was clear: in the next instant, black tendrils burst out from Brock's body, slamming him against a nearby building and pinning him there with no intention of letting him go.
With no other option, Brock shot Arthur a pleading look.
He didn't know who this oddly named man from the East really was, but clearly, Arthur was his only hope of salvation.
After all, that descent-from-the-sky entrance just now wasn't fake.
Arthur's lips curled into a slight smile. "Show yourself. Let's have a talk, shall we?"
"We have nothing to talk about!!!" Brock's voice suddenly roared out harshly.
"That's not necessarily true," Arthur replied. "If you're as strong as you think you are, you should be able to sense the vast difference between us."
"Buddy, whoever you are, just don't piss him off," Brock said quickly. "And if you've got a way to save me, then please take action fast, because I'm the one suffering here!"
"Don't rush. We have to take this step by step," Arthur said seriously.
Brock felt like dying. Take it step by step? He was the one being possessed by a demon, not Arthur. Of course Arthur wasn't anxious, but what about him?!
As Brock was spiraling into panic, black substance once again began to seep from his body. In a flash, it formed a half-body manifestation, and Venom, descending from above, looked down at Arthur from on high.
He opened his mouth full of rotten teeth, with no lips, and looked truly terrifying.
Venom stuck out his tongue and said to Arthur, "If you don't want to become my next meal, then you'd better, "
Before he could finish, Arthur suddenly grabbed his wrist and, with a powerful motion, smashed him into the ground.
But before Venom could hit the ground, black tendrils exploded outward, bracing against the earth. In an instant, at least eight black tendrils shot toward Arthur from different angles.
These black tendrils looked strange , soft and flowing, yet they could instantly become sharper, harder, and more lethal than blades!
Just as they were about to strike Arthur, in the next second,
Arthur vanished.
Venom was stunned, just in time to see Arthur appear overhead, black wings unfurled, hovering mid-air. Arthur smiled and said:
"Why must we fight? It seems like there's no real reason for conflict between us."
His answer was a sudden eruption of black matter, as Venom leapt into the air, his massive fist following right behind!
"What a shame."
Arthur snapped his fingers, and in the next second, a tremendous pressure descended from above.
That force instantly slammed Venom hard onto the ground!
"ROAAAAARRRRRRR!!!!!!!"
A furious roar erupted from his throat, definitely not a human sound, but more like the howl of a savage beast. He struggled to his feet, fighting back against the pressure.
Arthur gave a nod. "Not bad."
With just a thought, he increased the pressure, an even more crushing force came down from the sky.
Under that immense weight, Venom's resistance collapsed completely.
His body was crushed down, flat on the ground, utterly unable to move. He couldn't even open his mouth to roar.
Arthur descended from the sky, landing right in front of him:
"You see? Without cooperation, you clearly won't be treated kindly. If you can't even resist one of my basic tricks, what makes you think you can fight me at all?"
Venom was still clawing at the ground, legs kicking in vain.
But it was all completely useless.
Arthur raised his palm, and a tongue of flame surged forth:
"From what I know about you, sound waves between 4000 to 6000 hertz cause you serious, even lethal harm, right? And you're also extremely vulnerable to fire… hmm, shall we test that out?"
Venom bared his teeth, grinning fiercely.
To be fair, that expression suited him very well, he was practically made for it. Though he didn't say a word, the look clearly meant: he absolutely refused to cooperate.
Arthur rubbed his chin. This was turning out to be tricky.
If he won't cooperate, then how can this be resolved?
"Might as well just kill him…" Arthur muttered. The fire in his hand responded to his intent, slithering out like a fire dragon, baring its teeth as it rushed toward Venom.
In an instant!
Venom retreated back into Brock's body, vanishing from the surface without a trace.
Arthur waved his hand, and Brock finally let out a huge sigh of relief: "He almost crushed me to death!"
"…," Arthur suddenly realized, the most troublesome thing about Symbiotes is that they always have a hostage at their disposal.
And if you wanted to reach an understanding with a Symbiote, purely using threats and destruction didn't seem to be meaningful.
So what about diplomacy?
Arthur thought for a moment and asked: "Brock, do you understand your current situation?"
"I've got a parasite!?"
"I think I understand now why Venom doesn't like you much. No one likes being called a parasite." Arthur explained,
"He's a Symbiote, a lifeform. He comes from outer space. They possess immense power, but on their own, they can't access or use that power. So they always need a host… someone like you."
"So then what? He's going to eat me?"
"That depends… on whether or not he's satisfied with you," Arthur said with a wink.
"So basically, you can't actually save me, right?" Brock was filled with despair.
"Not exactly." Arthur smiled. "If you're willing to come with me to a certain place, then there might just be a way."
(End of Chapter)
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