The room fell into tense silence.
"Bloody hell!"
Tiger scowled with mounting irritation.
"You should've told me this ages ago."
"I thought I was the only special one—otherwise I wouldn't have butchered so many idiots!"
"Think about Holmes—I fed that bastard's entire family through a wood chipper!"
"I'm a good person!"
His explosive tone dripped with bitter resentment.
"What?!" A voice burst out, equal parts incredulous and amused.
Tiger cracked his neck with audible pops, fixing big brother Arthur with a murderous glare.
The bastard was striking a theatrical "Oh God, save me!" pose, clearly mocking his heartfelt declaration with zero respect.
"Venom, come out and say hello."
Tiger's expression promised violence.
Liquid-black tendrils erupted from Tiger's neck like living shadows, spreading with predatory grace.
Razor-sharp teeth arranged like a meat grinder, paired with those terrifyingly pale white eyes, consumed Tiger's face entirely.
Under everyone's horrified, transfixed gazes, the nearly two-meter-tall Venom completely enveloped Tiger's body.
Broad, menacing shoulders and torso. Muscle-corded chest, abdomen, and limbs. The genetic oppression radiating from this creature nearly suffocated big brother Arthur, whose frozen smile had become a rictus of terror.
"Motherfucker!"
"Oh! Holy shit!"
"What the bloody hell is that thing!"
Amid the incredulous exclamations, tentacle-like black whips lashed out with lightning speed.
Before big brother Arthur could even twitch, Venom had suspended him upside down in mid-air like a caught fish.
A voice like grinding gravel echoed through the chamber—hungry, predatory, wrong.
"Eyes, lungs, pancreas... so many delicious treats. Which should I savor first?"
"Such a delightfully difficult choice."
The crimson, serpentine tongue dragged across big brother Arthur's chalk-white cheek, leaving glistening trails of alien saliva.
"Urgh..."
"Bloody... bloody hell!"
"What the fuck is this thing!"
"Tiger! You little psychopath!"
"This isn't funny! This isn't funny at all!"
"Put me down! Tiger!"
Big brother Arthur's voice cracked with genuine terror. Though his rational mind knew his brother wouldn't truly hurt him, the primal death-aura emanating from Venom triggered every survival instinct he possessed.
"Mom! Mom! Polly!"
"For fuck's sake, save me!"
"Save your poor son!"
He could actually feel his magical energy draining through the tentacles, his entire body growing weak as overcooked pasta.
Just as Arthur was about to disappear into Venom's meat-grinder maw, Mother Polly snapped from her stunned paralysis.
"Tiger! Bloody hell!"
"Can you hear me!"
"That's your brother! Stop this madness! Can't you control this son-of-a-bitch monster!"
Mother Polly whipped her wand from her coat with practiced precision. Magical energy crackled at the tip like bottled lightning.
"Expelliarmus!"
The spell struck Venom like a sledgehammer to the face. His massive, tooth-lined maw jerked away from Arthur with a sound like tearing metal.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa!"
"Madam, please! Remain calm!"
The tentacle restraints released Arthur instantly. He crashed to the floor in an undignified heap, gasping like a landed fish.
Venom raised both clawed hands in surrender, his voice taking on an almost comically conciliatory tone:
"It was merely a jest! Arthur is Tiger's brother, which naturally makes him my brother as well."
"You understand how it is—siblings always engage in these sorts of... twisted German humor exchanges."
Seeing Mother Polly still aiming her wand with lethal intent, Venom shrugged with exaggerated helplessness.
The monstrous features receded like a black tide, revealing Tiger's cold smile—tinged with unmistakable smugness.
"Relax, Mom. Venom won't harm us. He just... has a peculiar fondness for Arthur."
"Oh..."
Big brother Arthur hauled himself upright with shaking limbs, wiping cold sweat from his brow and releasing a shuddering breath:
"That's what I call dark humor, Tiger. I'm not laughing. Not even slightly..."
Even now, Arthur's powerful legs trembled like autumn leaves.
Mother Polly fixed him with a withering look before turning her attention to Tiger as he returned to normal.
Well, mostly normal. Venom's menacing little black head still protruded from behind Tiger's neck like a demonic shoulder angel.
"Tiger!"
"If you can't control this son-of-a-bitch monster, I'll ram an umbrella so far up your arse you'll taste the handle!"
"Then I'll open the bloody thing!"
Mother Polly delivered each word like a hammer blow, completely ignoring Tiger's expression as it darkened to match storm clouds.
"Honestly, Tiger, your Shelby Family threats are remarkably... practical."
"I'm genuinely curious to attempt it."
Venom grinned at Mother Polly with sycophantic enthusiasm, though to any observer, such a smile resembled a death threat more than charm.
"She's already done it..."
Tiger replied with flat resignation.
This explained precisely why he couldn't muster even a chuckle when facing Mother Polly's creative punishments.
"Lawrence! You worthless bastard!"
"Stop playing dead!"
"Don't make me chuck you in a septic tank!"
Mother Polly whirled toward the portrait with volcanic irritation. However, Lawrence had fallen into complete catatonia.
Like a computer experiencing a fatal crash.
He showed zero response for an uncomfortably long stretch.
Recognizing what Lawrence was attempting, Mother Polly gradually throttled her rage, lit a fresh cigar with sharp movements, and settled into patient waiting.
Big brother Arthur crept closer with renewed curiosity. "Hey, brother, what exactly are you?"
"I am your destiny, chocolate bean."
Observing the fascination on big brother Arthur's face, Venom couldn't resist licking his lips with predatory anticipation.
"Hahaha, you're bloody hilarious. Why do you call me chocolate bean, though?"
"Because I like you, sweetheart..."
"Oh, really?" Big brother Arthur stepped back half a pace, caught between flattery and awkwardness.
"That's... genuinely touching, but you should tell Tommy that."
"He'd absolutely adore you."
"Just like you clearly adore him. You are male, right? Sorry, I didn't notice earlier..."
Big brother Arthur chatted with mounting enthusiasm, completely oblivious to Venom's increasingly malevolent intentions.
The symbiote was already savoring imaginary flavors—wondering what it would taste like to devour them whole.
Just moments ago, Venom had made a delightful discovery: magical energy tasted infinitely more exquisite than ordinary human brains.
So what would chocolate beans infused with magical power taste like?
Mature symbiotes never limited themselves to single options.
Venom studied big brother Arthur with mounting hunger, viscous saliva pooling between razor teeth.
"Venom..."
Symbiote and host emotions flowed as one current. Sensing Venom's ravenous anticipation, Tiger shot him a reproachful glance.
"Fine, fine..."
Remembering Tiger's explicit prohibition, Venom immediately deflated like a punctured balloon.
Sulking like an enormous, wronged puppy, he slithered onto Tiger's head and whimpered pitifully.
"Don't expect sympathy, you idiot..."
Tiger paused, then sighed. "Alright. I'll buy you chocolate later."
"Oh yeah! Y(^o^)Y~!"
Just then, Lawrence in the portrait finally stirred back to life. Like consciousness returning to a corpse, even the painted background seemed to regain vivid detail.
"My apologies, Polly..."
"I didn't merely review three centuries of family history during our bloodline magic development."
Lawrence's expression had turned genuinely grim.
"I examined our complete records—six hundred years of Shelby Family documentation. We've never encountered anything like this."
"It resembles... it's almost like..."
Looking at his youngest son Tiger, Lawrence clearly didn't want to voice this terrible possibility, but truth demanded acknowledgment.
"An Obscurus..."
Just as he prepared to reveal this devastating diagnosis, another voice preempted him—ancient, weathered by countless years, yet surprisingly gentle.
"Who's there!"
"Bloody hell!"
Polly's wand snapped toward the voice's source like a striking viper, while big brother Arthur's muscles swelled to superhuman proportions as he shielded Tiger behind his protective bulk...
~~~~❃❃~~~~~~~~❃❃~~~~
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