In an instant, the moment the people on the street laid eyes on Gnar, hundreds of symbiotes erupted from the ground, spreading wildly and blocking off the entire street. No one was spared. In an instant, the entire crowd was transformed into an army of symbiotes.
Eddie struggled to deal with the symbiotes swarming around him. These were all spore-like offspring split from Gnar. They were much weaker than ordinary symbiotes, even weaker than the Venom who had only recently arrived on Earth. However, there were simply too many of them. In just ten minutes, the surrounding city had been overrun by symbiotes.
The police who arrived after receiving the emergency calls panicked and opened fire on the monsters. The bullets couldn't inflict any damage at all. Only the flashes and noise caused them a little discomfort before they pounced on the officers and transformed them into more of their kind.
Of course, there were also unlucky people who were torn apart by the brutal symbiotes, their bloodied heads staring wide-eyed as though they couldn't believe what they were seeing.
For a time, all of San Francisco descended into hell on Earth. Silicon Valley, once a hub of technology and innovation, had become a hunting ground for black monsters. They slaughtered humans indiscriminately, and no one they spotted could escape. The victims' knowledge and wealth were completely useless in the face of such creatures.
Well... their brains might taste a little better than ordinary people's.
As the slaughter continued, Eddie tore apart a symbiote blocking his path. The absolute authority of the black-clad emperor made the surrounding monsters tremble. They sensed an irresistible presence from Venom, one comparable to Gnar's own.
It was like standing before another emperor in black.
Eddie quickly realized what was happening.
"Take them to the nearby neighborhoods. Saving people is what's important!"
He issued orders to the monsters that feared him, while simultaneously suppressing the authority of their symbiote leader. Gnar's original command was completely overridden.
That was the difference between ordinary symbiotes and Gnar's spore-like offspring. The former possessed independent consciousness and acted as individual life-forms. The latter... although they were also alive, were more like weapons—like computers that simply carried out whatever instructions were entered into them.
Eddie didn't hesitate. He spread his enormous black-and-red wings and soared over the city. His hoarse, rough voice echoed throughout the streets.
"Stop!"
The roar was like thunder descending from the night sky. The crazed monsters below immediately stopped beneath the command, staring fearfully into the sky, unsure of what he intended to do.
Gnar sensed the message from his offspring and looked up.
Venom's figure was fully exposed in his sight.
The withered body couldn't help but wonder whether it would tear itself apart from his manic laughter. A flash of scarlet cruelty crossed his pale, withered face as Gnar pointed frantically at Venom.
"How dare you come out! How dare you come out!"
Gnar had never imagined that a weakling who had dared to steal his authority would appear so openly before him and use that authority to command his children.
Arrogant. Insolent!
The symbiote dragon seemed to sense its master's anger. A mouthful of scorching dragon breath erupted from its disgusting, mucus-filled maw and shot straight toward the small figure in the sky.
But this was Venom!
Venom had endured hellish training and torture. Fire or anything similar couldn't hurt him so easily!
Eddie swept one hand through the air, dispersing the flames. Then his body plummeted.
Before the dragon's slow-witted head could even understand what had happened, its enormous skull was crushed beneath Eddie's foot.
Its claws suddenly plunged into the creature's abdomen. With a little force, its viscous internal organs spilled freely from the torn cavity.
The scene was almost disturbingly smooth.
"Ba-dum, ba-dum, ba-dum!"
Gnar clapped happily, the smile never leaving his lips.
"Elegant, beautiful, powerful... You're truly the most perfect symbiote I've ever created!"
Looking at the god before him, Eddie didn't dare relax. After instantly killing the symbiote dragon, he immediately put distance between himself and the God of Symbiotes.
His figure exploded backward.
His powerful back slammed into and killed several symbiotes along the way, and he finally stopped only after creating a full hundred meters of distance between them.
Eddie thought to himself that, at this distance, even a god shouldn't be able to reach him instantly.
Since there was no other choice, he needed to give himself enough time to react.
A hand silently pierced through Venom's abdomen.
Eddie felt a terrible pain suddenly spread from his heart throughout his entire body. A dry claw had seized his heart, bloody organs filling its palm.
The man dropped to his knees with a heavy thud, his eyes filled with disbelief.
Gnar smiled viciously and withdrew his arm, carefully feeling the active heart still beating in his hand. It was so delicious that he almost couldn't resist swallowing it in one bite.
"Just like this... you're twenty thousand years too early if you think you can compete with me for power!"
Gnar's arrogant laughter resounded throughout the city.
Meanwhile, Contempt and Chaos, who were still fighting, suddenly felt much lighter. Half of the oppressive sensation between the species and their king had vanished!
That wasn't a good sign.
Either it meant Gnar was dead...
Or it meant...
Without even thinking, Contempt immediately abandoned the group of symbiotes and fled.
Since Eddie was dead, his orders were automatically invalidated. The power of the God of Symbiotes was still firmly controlled by Gnar.
The huge number of symbiotes before her had become nothing more than ticking time bombs!
Chaos was truly in chaos.
Thompson not only had to protect the people around him, but also desperately resist the approaching symbiote army. His pupils reflected the scarlet circles on their faces, as though he were staring at a selection of fish dishes.
Damn it! They're not ramen!
The bustling city transformed into a wasteland in the blink of an eye. Buildings collapsed, bridges broke apart, and screams filled the air.
"Shit! I was still playing games with my buddies at the hotel! These guys suddenly barged in!"
Felicia dodged a symbiote's claws and nimbly ran onto the eaves, then continued fleeing across the rooftops.
The woman was wearing nothing but black lace underwear, while the white bathrobe around her upper body had been torn to pieces, the remnants hanging from her shoulders. She had no idea whether the symbiotes had done it...
Or someone else had.
Felicia suddenly stopped while running.
"Shit! Shit!"
The road ahead was completely blocked. Even the buildings had been reduced to ruins.
She glanced behind her and saw the group of enraged symbiotes still chasing her.
Felicia was completely trapped.
Was the famous Black Cat really going to be cornered by a group of dark monsters?
Felicia might be flirtatious, but she wasn't vulgar. Unfortunately, she had none of her equipment with her. If she were fully equipped, she was still confident she could escape the encirclement.
But now, an overwhelming sea of black shadows had blocked every possible escape route.
She was like a mosquito trapped in a spider's web, able to do nothing but buzz uselessly as the spider slowly closed in, preparing to devour her.
"Ah!"
The black shadows suddenly collapsed.
Harsh sound waves slammed into the building. The malicious symbiotes were shattered in a single blow, crashing heavily onto the roof and becoming unable to move.
Black fragments splattered across the woman's body and face, though they were almost impossible to distinguish from her black underwear in the darkness.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
A military helicopter hovered directly above the woman's head.
The battle had been too chaotic, and Felicia hadn't had the time to pay attention to anything else. Even the screams in the distance had been pushed to the back of her mind.
The one-eyed woman looked coldly at Black Cat and nodded.
Felicia saw her as well.
She and Scream were the only women in the Dark Avengers assembled by Justin. Neither had joined willingly, and both had been subjected to varying degrees of coercion. In the short time they'd spent together, however, the two women had developed quite a friendship.
Girls help girls!
"Put your clothes on."
Felicia obediently put on a coat and looked up at the military helicopter.
"You're still here? Aren't everyone in the military dead?"
Black Cat's tone was sarcastic.
Those officers had done little except enjoy their positions. Although they collected their salaries, they constantly shirked responsibility. Whether it was Justin or the man who came later, they claimed to be serving the country and its people, but in reality, they were driven by their own interests. Perhaps they had good intentions at times, but that was all.
Of course, Felicia didn't know that the laboratory where Scream had been imprisoned had already been turned upside down. By the time she left, it had been blown to pieces.
Renzo preferred to cut off loose ends rather than leave trouble behind. Otherwise, dealing with them later would be far more troublesome.
Only Scream and Renzo remained on this aircraft.
Alexey and Carnage had already been sent to other areas. Of course, Renzo didn't trust those two. They looked like the kind of people who would rebel at the first opportunity.
But did he have any other solution?
No.
Renzo had simply thrown them into the areas suffering the worst destruction. In order to survive, they had no choice but to fight and eliminate the symbiotes around them.
Renzo pursed his lips and smashed the helicopter toward the ground.
The sudden explosion of flames burned the nearby monsters. Their hoarse cries sounded like evil spirits shrieking in the dead of night. Sharp claws scraped against the glass, producing an unbearable screech.
As early as five minutes ago, Renzo had been unable to detect any signs of life from Eddie.
But Venom was still alive.
That wasn't too bad.
Looking into the distance, Renzo could no longer hear the manic laughter of the black-clad emperor. He locked his gaze onto that direction.
Venom's aura was extremely weak.
He could die at any moment.
Renzo couldn't afford to waste any more time.
"No matter how I look at it, you're just an ordinary creature. There's nothing particularly special about you. How dare you compete with me for power?"
Venom was being toyed with in Gnar's palm. Gnar casually pulled at him, examining the interesting creature.
Its life structure was indeed somewhat different, but there was much more to it than the symbiotes on this planet.
Venom couldn't speak at all. He was completely trapped in Gnar's hand and couldn't even control his own body.
He was completely at the god's mercy.
Eddie's body lay nearby.
Gnar was still quite interested in the man. How strange that an apparently ordinary human could cause one of the low-level life-forms he had created to become so powerful.
He had already devoured Eddie's living heart.
It was slightly astringent, slightly fishy, but the taste of blood made him linger over it, savoring the aftertaste.
Gnar suddenly stopped tormenting Venom and looked toward the sky.
A powerful aura was flying straight toward him.
Gnar had no doubt that it was coming for him.
An inexplicable curiosity welled up from the depths of his heart.
It was something he had never felt before.
If Eddie and Venom had merely aroused a little of his interest, then Renzo's appearance completely whetted his appetite, making him unable to resist wanting more.
Gnar stared greedily at the red-and-green figure.
The golden cloak billowed in the strong wind, while the tall, withered body was coated in a thin layer of golden light.
The God of Symbiotes' expression suddenly changed.
His figure abruptly retreated.
The ground beneath his feet, illuminated by the golden light, instantly turned into scorched earth, the devastation extending deep underground with no visible end.
"Where did the gem on your head... come from?"
The question came without warning.
He should have already dealt with all the Infinity Stones in this universe. From the moment they had appeared, those troublesome stones had been completely destroyed.
That had also cemented Gnar's supreme power and made him invincible.
But the object emitting the golden light was clearly the Mind Stone.
And there were two more purple and blue gems embedded in the man's chest.
If Gnar wasn't mistaken, they were the Space Stone and Power Stone.
How could he possess three Infinity Stones at the same time?
Renzo spotted Eddie's body at a glance.
His vital signs had completely disappeared. He lay alone on the ground, a hole torn through his chest, blood already flowing from the wound.
Renzo bent down, extended a finger, and dipped it into the blood-soaked ground. He gently brought it to his mouth and licked it.
"Ah, are you his friend... called..."
Gnar paused.
"Sorry. He died too quickly. I didn't have time to ask his name. But it doesn't matter. You'll be going down to keep him company soon."
The ugly man grinned as he squeezed Venom in his palm, raising him high and preparing to put him into his mouth.
Chap!
Gnar watched as half of his palm suddenly fell away.
Using the last of his strength, the little Venom had escaped through the crack in the ground.
Gnar wasn't angry at all.
He simply found it amusing.
Damn, did this creature really think the power of the Infinity Stones could compete with an ancient god?
Had the name "Gnar" gone unspoken for so long that these universes had forgotten him?
He remembered when the universe had first been born, when the Celestials had disturbed him while he slept.
Gnar had picked up the All-Black and killed them one by one with a single stroke.
The entire universe had trembled in fear!
Back then, Renzo hadn't even been born.
The Earth itself hadn't even been born.
"I'll make you pay the price," Renzo said calmly.
"Price? You really do like to joke."
Gnar walked toward Renzo.
"I've heard plenty of jokes in my life, but I prefer making them."
The enormous difference in their height forced Renzo to raise his head to look into Gnar's strange scarlet eyes.
"The last person who dared to provoke me like this was destroyed along with his planet."
Before he could finish speaking, Renzo punched.
A fist wrapped in purple light slammed violently into Gnar's protruding sternum.
At the same time, the black-clad emperor's palm dug into Renzo's heart.
Ding!
Gnar's expression suddenly changed.
His five sharp fingers bent at an unnatural angle, completely broken by Renzo's body!
Renzo's fist had already struck his chest.
The terrifying power of the Power Stone was far beyond mere words.
Even Chthon would have been embarrassed by such force, with half his body blasted apart and annihilated into the air, reduced to insignificant dust drifting away on the wind.
But Gnar was not so easily defeated.
As a demon who bore the title of God, he had earned that name through his strength.
Back then, he had carried the All-Black and fought from one end of the universe to the other. Even the Celestials had been nothing more than obstacles along his path, requiring only a little effort to overcome.
The gods whom Odin could barely contend with were, in Gnar's eyes, little more than noisy monkeys.
They could be troublesome and might leave a few red marks if he wasn't careful, but they were ultimately enemies on an entirely different level.
To him, fighting them was no different from killing chickens and dogs.
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