Chapter 209

"Riot taught that human a great deal about the symbiotic race; using that knowledge, he performed countless experiments on me, even extracting symbiotic factors from my body to create many insane offspring capable of infecting humans."

1200ksw.

"They weakened me terribly. That human wanted me to bond with an ordinary person so he could run new experiments on me. I didn't want to, but I had no choice—if I gained a host, even an ordinary one, perhaps I could find a chance to escape."

"When I discovered Venom had bonded with you, I was utterly hopeless—you were worse than an ordinary human. But then I didn't expect..."

The Phantom Devil asked Peter curiously, "Why are you so strong? Based on my understanding of ordinary humans, you shouldn't possess this kind of power."

"I don't know," Peter shrugged. "We need to stop those two first. Let me think..."

Peter shot a strand of web at a nearby building, swung over the heads of the two fighting monsters, and stuck himself to the glass curtain wall of a building across the street. "Good—it's late at night, so there's hardly anyone here. Otherwise, evacuating the crowd alone would've been a nightmare."

"Hey, wait—why are they running?"

Peter saw that Riot, finally pushed too far, unleashed a burst of speed and leapt across an entire street, fleeing in another direction.

"We have to catch them!" the Phantom Devil said anxiously. "Riot's a war fanatic, and Venom's a madman—if they keep fighting, all of New York will be destroyed!"

As Peter chased after them, he asked the Phantom Devil, "You seem to know humans pretty well?"

"I told you—before you, I bonded with several ordinary humans. My first host was a nurse. I worked alongside her in the hospital for over a month..."

"I have to admit," the hoarse female voice said, with a touch of tenderness Peter could almost hear. "Humans are the most fragile intelligent race I've ever seen—and yet, also the strongest."

"Enough, Peter," the Phantom Devil's tone grew somber. "I'm not a power-type symbiote like them, but I have unique abilities they lack. Let me take control of your body—I'll get us to them."

The moment Peter agreed, the scene before him began to blur backward. In the glass of a storefront window, he saw himself become a translucent shadow, hurtling through the air at incredible speed—in a single breath, he was already ahead of the two monsters.

"I'm the weakest in power among the Cosmic Agents—but also the fastest," the Phantom Devil's voice echoed in Peter's mind. "I can fly through space without any external aid, faster than some starships."

"I can teleport, become invisible, and split into clones—that's why I'm called the Phantom Devil."

"Cool—"

Peter had barely finished his comment when he saw the two monsters turn a corner and sprint toward Greenwich Village. The Phantom Devil prepared to fly again, but Peter shouted, "Wait! I need to make a call..."

"Mr. Strange..."

Meanwhile, in the Sanctum Sanctorum, Strange raised his arm to shield himself from flying debris and shouted to the sorcerers, "Evacuate the ordinary people first!!"

"Wait! I'm about to sign a contract!" a man in a suit yelled from behind his desk.

One of the sorcerers yanked him aside, dodging falling ceiling fragments, then picked up the phone he'd dropped and yelled into it, "Sorry! We've got a situation here—call you back later!"

Suddenly, a phone on Strange's right flew into the air. The employee who'd been holding it stretched out his arm, shouting, "Wait!! Mr. Mephisto, let's talk this out—it's an act of God, please calm down..."

The phone emitted a burst of violent noise—like demonic curses—then a cluster of hellfire erupted around it. Mephisto's voice roared through: "Strange! What the hell are you doing?! Didn't I tell you I'm negotiating with Satan tonight?! My consultant needs to be available all day! I already paid the deposit..."

Strange flicked his crimson sash, yanking the phone down and holding it to his ear. "Sorry, Mr. Mephisto—someone attacked the Sanctum Sanctorum..."

"You know these staff are all ordinary humans. To ensure their safety, we must suspend operations and evacuate them first."

"You damn humans! My negotiation's at its critical point! We were just discussing land prices near the central magma pool!! This affects my profits for the next hundred thousand years—and you're telling me you're shutting down?!"

As Strange opened portals for other sorcerers to evacuate civilians, he sighed and explained, "But this truly is an act of God—two monsters the size of mountains attacked here..."

As he spoke, Riot swung a punch that collapsed a nearby building, shaking the Sanctum Sanctorum violently. Strange staggered. "Now half the building's collapsed—we won't be able to operate until it's repaired..."

Mephisto cut him off: "Wait—you said two monsters?... old on!"

The flames around the phone vanished. Before Strange could understand what the Lord of Hell meant, his crimson sash suddenly jerked violently, breaking free from his control. Behind him, a financial advisor screamed.

"My computer!!! I spent two hours on that report!!!"

"Oh, yes—I'm terribly sorry... Mr. Surtur, we've had a bit of an emergency. My computer just got crushed, so the data you requested will be delayed by two days..."

Strange watched the crimson sash before him slowly curl, then—*BANG! —transform into a question mark.

Strange took a deep breath, pulled out his phone, and called Wong: "Wong, the Sanctum Sanctorum is in crisis. I need you to go to Asgard and use their Rainbow Bridge to broadcast a cosmic message: the Sanctum Sanctorum has suffered an act of God and will be closed for three days..."

At that moment, Venom leapt high and lunged forward, slamming Riot into the Sanctum's roof. With a thunderous crash, the last remaining half of the ceiling collapsed. Strange sighed. "These monsters are too destructive. We'll close for a week... no, two weeks."

The crimson sash before Strange slowly straightened, then—*BANG! —became an exclamation mark.

At that instant, Spider-Man landed between the two symbiotes. As they briefly separated from their brawl, Peter stretched out his arms and shouted, "Stop!! Don't fight anymore!!!"

Riot completely ignored Spider-Man. He opened his mouth wide at Venom: "Venom! You madman! What does my conflict with the Cosmic Agents have to do with you? Why won't you leave me alone?!"

Venom stared at Riot, his voice rising from a growl to a shriek: "Because I am Venom... I am REVENGE!!!!"

Spider-Man glanced left, then right. The Phantom Devil whispered in his mind: "Looks like both of them are insane. We..."

Instantly, Spider-Man's spider-sense flared. He rolled forward, dodging as the two monsters—black and gray—crashed into each other like boiling oil meeting ice. Symbiotic factors splattered everywhere; the shockwave obliterated surrounding buildings.

Strange leapt from the second floor, clutching his crimson sash. The remaining sorcerers followed him, their defensive spells flashing wildly.

Though Strange was merely an apprentice, the sorcerers behind him were the pillars of Kamar-Taj. As soon as the two monsters collided, they whipped their sashes, forcing them apart.

On the other side, Spider-Man shot a web to trap Riot's leg. The Phantom Devil shouted in his mind: "Riot's the strongest of the original symbiotes—don't fight him head-on!"

Before she finished, Spider-Man crouched slightly, yanked the web backward—and the massive gray monster crashed to the ground. Peter stepped back and pulled again; Riot was dragged several meters.

The gray monster turned, ready to rise. Spider-Man took a deep breath, coiled the web around his wrist, and swung his arm hard. Riot flew like a meteor hammer.

It was deep night, and this was a commercial street in Greenwich Village—no one around. No risk of collateral damage. Spider-Man, unrestrained, spun Riot in the air twice like a cowboy lassoing a steer, then hurled him away.

The Phantom Devil immediately said: "Starting today, I'm a power-type symbiote. Let's go—beat them up!"

Spider-Man's purple form blurred. In a flash, he reappeared behind Riot and punched him squarely in the back of the head. Riot, barely risen from the ground, flew away again.

When a hero with immense strength gains extreme speed, he becomes nearly invincible. And the Phantom Devil didn't just give Spider-Man speed—she granted him invisibility, teleportation, and unlimited flight.

Previously, both sides were ground fighters: you punch me, I punch you. Even if knocked back, you could recover during the opponent's approach.

Now? Spider-Man punched Riot, vanished, punched again, vanished, punched again—no cooldown, no delay. Uppercut after uppercut. Even when sent airborne, he kept flying and chaining attacks. Riot became nothing but a punching bag.

Spider-Man was enjoying himself when his spider-sense and the Phantom Devil's voice screamed simultaneously: "Watch out!!!"

Riot roared, unleashing a powerful blast of wind. The Phantom Devil teleported Peter away, landing them atop a nearby building.

Without external force, Riot—who couldn't fly—should have fallen to the ground. But a black curtain caught him. From his back, layers of dark energy spread, swirling into a vast, pitch-black vortex.

The Phantom Devil's voice grew grave: "Before he departed, N'Kral granted him the chaotic power born at the dawn of the Seventh Universe—the strongest force N'Kral ever wielded, the source of his immortality..."

"Fall back—this power can't be countered by brute force alone. We need to first..."

At that moment, Spider-Man sensed a faint tremor beneath his feet. Then, from the distant horizon, the roar of a motorcycle echoed. Where infinite flames blazed, a hoarse whisper rose:

"You... are guilty!"