To be honest, Venom never imagined that the sacred weapon of the symbiote race would end up in the hands of a girl.
No wonder he had always felt fear around her.
Their kind's artifact wasn't just meant to slay gods—it could slaughter its own kind as well. Once it went berserk, forget gods, even every last symbiote could be wiped out.
That was why the Black Necrosword was one of the most feared, yet most coveted, artifacts among all symbiotes. Only the strongest, most iron-willed symbiotes could wield it.
After saying this, Venom retreated.
Eddie asked in shock,
"Just how powerful is your kind's relic?"
"Well..." Venom actually paused to think before replying.
"If I could use it, my chances of winning just now would have flipped."
Earlier, Venom had said his odds were infinitesimally close to zero. Flipped around, that meant even in a one-against-three fight, Riot and the others' chances of victory would be reduced to nearly zero.
"A divine artifact that strong?!" Eddie was stunned.
"But you can't use it?"
Venom: …
He had already said it—without immense willpower, no one could wield it. Otherwise, it wouldn't just kill gods, it would kill everything, including its own kind.
Because this weapon existed only for one purpose: to kill, kill, and kill.
It was forged by Knull, the God of Symbiotes, with his own hands.
Created specifically to slaughter the Universal-level Celestials.
The symbiotes' weaknesses to fire and high-frequency vibrations also originated from the process of forging this blade.
In other words, the Black Necrosword and the symbiotes were twin-born, two halves of the same essence.
Symbiotes could reshape their bodies into weapons at will, but the Black Necrosword was a weapon fixed permanently in that form.
At its core, it was a symbiote itself.
...
Meanwhile, after hearing how powerful the artifact was, Peni, Cindy, and Mayday all crowded around Gwen to take a closer look at the Black Necrosword.
Each of them could feel the weight of death radiating from the blade.
It wasn't simple hostility.
It was as if... it carried the intent to kill everyone.
"It feels so vicious," Mayday said timidly.
"Mm-hmm." Peni nodded in agreement. She too felt its menacing presence, like an aura warning others to stay away.
Cindy, however, wasn't seeing it for the first time.
Her very first meeting with Gwen had begun with this sword.
"Since it's a Symbiote artifact, Gwen, where did you get it?" Cindy couldn't help but ask curiously.
"I don't know." Gwen shook her head. "Lorien didn't want it, so he gave it to me."
"...."
The three girls fell silent at once, staring at Gwen with dead-fish eyes.
Gwen blinked.
She realized she had phrased that a bit too bluntly. Quickly, she sheathed the Black Necrosword and said, a little embarrassed,
"Ahem, don't mind the details. Lorien has plenty of things he doesn't want. Once you're close with him, he'll definitely give you stuff too."
"Really?" Peni's eyes sparkled like stars.
"Really... probably," Gwen said after a pause.
Come to think of it... Lorien had only ever given gifts to the women closest to him.
That meant only Wanda and herself.
Even Hela hadn't received anything from him.
If you asked Hela directly, aside from the essence, she couldn't name a single thing Lorien had ever given her.
Still, the essence was no small gift.
At the very least, it had restored Hela's divine power to an astonishing level—she had simply been pretending to hold back, all while enjoying the benefits.
Forget it. Never mind. Just leave it at that for now.
Clang~!
At that moment, glass shattered with a sharp crash.
Everyone turned their heads.
Riot, Scream, and Phage had already leapt out of the rocket launch center.
They landed on the track and sprinted together toward the rocket.
Eddie saw this.
"No!"
Eddie's face instantly shifted into Venom's monstrous form as he roared.
"They absolutely cannot board that rocket!"
"Then are you going?"
Venom hesitated for a moment. Then, gritting his teeth, he growled with resolve.
"I'm going!"
Eddie transformed fully into Venom and launched himself off the tower, leaping straight toward the three Symbiotes.
"Rooaaarrr~~~!"
...
Meanwhile, nearby, Gwen held back the three girls.
"Don't rush. Activate combat mode."
At her words, Peni, Cindy, and Mayday all froze.
"Gwen, what combat mode? These are just suits..."
"Combat mode engaged."
"!?"
The three of them were stunned. What was that supposed to mean?
The next moment, a brand-new sensation surged into their awareness.
Up until now, they had only been using Daily Mode—just the normal battle suit, good for things like web-slinging.
But there was another setting: Combat Mode.
Gwen explained from the side.
"Lorien told me about this not long ago. Don't you remember? He said he'd design weapons for each of you. Turns out the battle suits already had the function—it just needed the program to be activated."
"!?"
Seeing their expressions, Gwen smiled.
"Alright, try it out. Each of you pick a Symbiote, and you can get used to combat mode while you're at it."
Peni climbed out of the Spider-Mech Warrior's cockpit.
Like the others, she activated combat mode.
Shing~!
In an instant, six massive spider spears burst from the backs of all three girls.
They loomed behind them, sharp and menacing—yet with a strange elegance.
"Whoa!"
Mayday's eyes widened in shock. She tried moving them and quickly realized they were as flexible as her own arms.
"It feels exactly like part of my body!"
Cindy tried as well and found the control seamless. With just a thought, the spider spears moved instantly, almost without delay.
"This is amazing!"
Peni twisted sideways, craning her neck and sticking her little butt out as she examined the spider spears sprouting from her back.
On the Spider-Mech's display, even the machine projected a dumbfounded expression.
Spider-Mech: "(O`A´O)!!"
Gwen stepped forward, clapped her hands twice, and said,
"Alright, let's move. Pick your targets. Peni, don't go solo—stay in the mech and back up Venom. I need to see what you're capable of first. No fighting alone."
"Ah?!" Peni yelped, covering her butt as she hopped back. "Fine, fine, I get it."
Gwen needed to gauge her combat strength. Symbiotes were brutal opponents—rushing in recklessly and getting hurt would be the real disaster.
"Let's go."
"Go!"
Gwen raised her hand, and the others slapped it in turn.
Then they leapt into action.
Up in the air, Cindy pointed at Phage.
"I'll take that one."
Mayday glanced around. All the Symbiotes looked the same, so she pointed at Scream.
"Then I'll take that one."
As for Peni, she didn't have a choice. She had to assist Venom in fighting two at once.
So it was Spider-Mech Warrior plus Peni, and Venom plus Eddie, against Riot and Norman Osborn.
That made it four against two.
Yeah... and everyone had stand-ins.
...
As Venom let out a roar before the station, Riot, Scream, and Phage all turned their gaze toward him.
Eddie screamed inwardly.
"Why did you roar? Wouldn't a sneak attack be better?"
"Sneak attack?" Venom snorted disdainfully. "Venom never sneaks!"
"..."
Facing Venom's righteous declaration, Norman Osborn asked from within Riot's body,
"Which one of you is it?"
"Trash."
Riot dismissed him outright.
In its eyes, what threat could Venom possibly pose? Among the symbiotes that had come to Earth, he was the weakest of the bunch. What threat could that worthless thing pose?
Instead, its gaze shifted to the four figures on the platform behind Venom. It sensed a hint of danger emanating from them.
"Who are they?"
Facing Riot's question, Norman Osborn snapped,
"They are the Spider-Alliance."
"Half our previous plans were ruined by them!"
"Especially that one in the pink suit!"
Riot nodded upon hearing this.
"With 8 minutes and 30 seconds left, I'll tear them ap—"
Before he could finish, three pairs of spider-spears suddenly extended from behind the three women on the platform.
After a brief exchange among the four, two of them leaped straight toward Riot. Another followed close behind. The last one trailed slowly, but she was the one Norman Osborn despised most.
The speeds of the two in front actually surpassed Venom's. They whizzed past him and flew straight toward Scream and Phage behind Riot.
At that moment, Scream and Phage were still running alongside Riot. Mayday and Cindy instantly kicked the two symbiotes flying, then pounced to beat them senseless.
Riot was about to shout—
The next moment, another figure slammed into his face with a bellow.
"Thud~!"
Venom sent Riot flying with a single headbutt, and the two of them wrestled on the offshore platform.
"Thud!"
"Thud!"
From the instant they collided it was nothing but fists—no words exchanged—until, after trading several blows, Venom was booted away by Riot.
Only then did Riot roar in fury.
"Venom! You traitor! You're helping other species invade the symbiotes!"
Venom scrambled to his feet.
"Roar~! I've grown fond of this world! I won't let you return and expose it!"
With that, Venom lunged again, ready to continue the fight.
But Venom's body contained almost no weapon genes. The instant he closed in, Riot's hand morphed into a massive blade and drove it at Venom.
"No!"
"Thud!"
Venom barely processed it before his body was pierced through by Riot's blade.
Riot held Venom aloft on the edge as he struggled and declared,
"Trash is trash. Even here, you're not necessarily the strongest. Since you betrayed the symbiotes, then—"
Thud~!
Riot's words were cut short as a heavy blow struck its back, flinging Venom away.
"Boom~!"
Riot stumbled forward several heavy steps.
"Roar~!"
It snarled, swinging its blade as it whipped around.
Clang~!
But the massive blade only smashed into the ground. Not far away, a red Spider-Mech had already leaped clear.
The mech's arms spun two circular blades, like chainsaws. Through the cockpit window, a little girl in combat armor sat inside, her spider spear tapping rapidly across the mech's control buttons.
Peni exclaimed excitedly from within,
"With the spider spear, my reaction speed is at least twice as fast! Go, little spider, let's take it down!"
Zzzzzzzzz!
Under Peni's control, the Spider-Mech Warrior's chainsaw discs accelerated. Intense electrical arcs and pulsating light waves burst from the blades—clearly weapons from 3145 technology.
On the Spider-Mech suit's display, Little Spider's expression popped up.
"(>x<)!"