Wednesday frowned. "What do you mean?"
Rowan didn't answer. He suddenly raised both hands!
Wednesday instantly felt an invisible, massive force choke her, lifting her off the ground and slamming her violently against a thick oak tree behind her!
Thud!
Her back hit the trunk hard, shaking her internal organs as if they had been displaced.
The powerful telekinetic grip was like an invisible shackle, pinning her firmly to the tree, feet dangling, breath shallow.
At the same time, a piece of paper floated in front of her face. It depicted a girl in black holding a sword, standing amidst a burning academy.
"My mother!" Rowan's voice trembled with agitation. "She was one of the most powerful seers in Nevermore's history! Twenty-five years ago, she drew this! A prophecy!"
His eyes turned paranoid and fanatical. "In the picture, that is you! Wednesday Addams! Standing amidst the flames of Nevermore Academy! You are the embodiment of destruction! You will burn everything to the ground!"
Wednesday paused.
"Just for a drawing?" Her voice was filled with incredulous sarcasm. "You decided I am the source of a catastrophe based on a doodle from twenty-five years ago?"
"That is not a doodle!" Rowan shrieked. "That is a prophecy! I have to stop you! For the Academy! I must... eliminate you before you cause irreversible damage!"
"Wait. The falling gargoyle... that was you too?"
Wednesday immediately thought of the stone gargoyle whose trajectory hadn't matched the parabolic formula.
If Victor hadn't happened to push her, she might actually be dead.
"Who do you think you are?" Wednesday squeezed the words out through grit teeth. Despite being at an absolute disadvantage, her tongue remained as sharp as ever. "A savior? Or just a pathetic worm driven mad by mommy's outdated prophecy?"
Rowan's face twisted with anger and the strain of using his ability. "Shut up! You know nothing! As long as I get rid of you, the Academy will be saved! It's all worth it!"
He concentrated, increasing the pressure. Black spots began to dance in Wednesday's vision; the air in her lungs was being squeezed out bit by bit.
The shadow of death had never been so clear.
Suddenly, Rowan seemed to be flung away by something.
Wednesday fell to the ground, coughing violently, greedily sucking in air. At the same time, she looked up.
A massive, hunched, muscle-bound monster walked out slowly.
It had twisted, inhuman limbs, and its claws were stained with fresh soil and... dark red blood.
It growled low, saliva dripping from a maw filled with razor-sharp teeth. Its yellow pupils locked deadly onto Rowan.
It was the monster! Wednesday recognized it as the exact creature from her psychic vision!
Rowan was scared out of his wits. Instinctively, he activated his ability again, trying to use telekinesis to push the monster away.
But it was too late.
The monster was unimaginably fast. It lunged forward, its claws tearing through Rowan's fragile defense as easily as ripping paper, digging into his shoulders and chest.
"No—!" Rowan let out a scream of absolute agony.
Wednesday watched helplessly as the monster, right in front of her face, tore Rowan in half like a rag doll.
Blood sprayed like torrential rain, dyeing the ground and trees red. A few drops of warm liquid even splattered onto Wednesday's pale face.
Viscera and shattered bones scattered across the ground.
The monster let out a satisfied, low roar.
It seemed to have no interest in Wednesday.
After the bloody feast, it simply swept an indifferent glance over Wednesday, who was frozen under the tree.
There was no killing intent in that look, no greed, not even a trace of curiosity. As if she were just a humanoid rock, or an irrelevant piece of deadwood.
It growled low, seemingly preparing to leave.
However, just then—
Drip.
A drop of viscous liquid landed on its muscular, blood-stained back.
Drip.
Another drop landed on a fragment of viscera near its feet.
The monster's massive body suddenly froze. Its beastly instincts went on high alert instantly.
Both the monster and Wednesday looked up sharply at the dense canopy above.
perched on a branch directly above them was a shadow blacker than the night itself.
It was Venom, fully transformed.
His massive, powerful black body looked like it was condensed from melting shadows. The muscle lines were fluid yet terrifying, covered in white, twisted web-like veins.
That signature giant mouth, filled with rows of serrated teeth, was grinning exaggeratedly. Saliva dripped down like liquid asphalt.
His huge white eyes stared dead at the monster below, burning with pure, wild appetite and the thrill of the hunt.
This was the first time Wednesday had seen Venom's complete, liberated form in reality, rather than in a vision.
He merely perched there, yet the silent pressure came down like a physical weight, making the air feel thick and suffocating.
Apex predator. An existence at the top of the food chain.
This was Wednesday's first thought upon seeing Venom. In the face of such pure biological oppression, language felt pale.
"Oh..." Venom's voice was no longer the low baritone laced with banter. It had become a hungry rumble, like grinding gravel, shaking the leaves. "It smells so good... The scent... Wild! Primal! Full of power!"
His giant white eyes narrowed. His long tongue licked across his jagged teeth, making a bone-chilling scraping sound.
"Hey, big guy," Venom flashed a "brilliant"—and terrifying—smile at the monster below, who had also entered a defensive state and was emitting threatening growls.
"Let's make a deal... You smell fantastic. Like top-tier chocolate mixed with A5 Wagyu beef and pure adrenaline... Let me have a taste. Just a small bite, okay? I promise to make it quick. It won't hurt... much."
His tone even carried a weird "politeness," but the content was enough to make any living creature's blood run cold.
The monster clearly understood this "dinner invitation" from a higher tier of the food chain.
It suddenly reared up, letting out a violent roar. Muscles tensed, claws extended—it assumed a stance for full-power defense and counterattack.
It sensed a fatal threat.
Wednesday pressed her back against the tree trunk and held her breath.
The scene before her exceeded all her expectations and calculations. A duel between monsters was about to erupt right before her eyes.
Unlike last time, she was no longer a spectator. She was standing in the center of the stage.
Venom's attention seemed completely captivated by the monster. He leaped down from the tree, landing silently. His massive body moved with abnormal lightness.
"Don't be so stingy..." He approached the monster step by step, the greed in his voice almost overflowing. "Just a gentle bite on the head. You look like... you can regenerate, right?"
The response was a deafening roar and a violently swinging claw!
The battle erupted instantly!
There was no back-and-forth struggle. Only a one-sided, suffocating beatdown.
The monster's violent attacks, capable of tearing a human body apart, landed on Venom's black, viscous body like hitting a deep swamp. All the force was easily absorbed and dissolved into nothingness.
The claws swiped through, leaving not even a scratch.
Venom didn't even bother to dodge. He just looked at his struggling prey with mockery.
Several black tendrils, tougher than steel, shot out like pythons.
They easily wrapped around the monster's limbs and neck, tightening violently, pinning its massive body in mid-air, unable to move.
"Oh, is that all you've got?" Venom's voice was filled with disappointment, but mostly a condescending cruelty. "I guess I don't need to ask for your permission anymore."
His giant mouth, filled with razor teeth, opened wide, aiming at the Hyde's frantically twisting but helpless head. Saliva dripped down like a waterfall.
"Well then... Itadakimasu."