Riot was beyond terrified. The cold, alien dread creeping through him was something he'd never imagined he could feel. He regretted everything.
As the leader of the symbiotes, dying had always been a distant concept, something that happened to the lesser among them, never to him. In his mind, he had always been untouchable, destined to command and conquer without end.
He had assumed that even if Phage somehow integrated with a powerful host, their combined strength would only match his own at best. A fair fight. Something he could win by capitalizing on his experience.
Now, watching this yellow nightmare prowl before him, he realized just how wrong he had been.
Phage was no longer the original Phage. That much was obvious.
Not only had his host's physical power skyrocketed far beyond any reasonable expectation, but the symbiote itself had grown monstrously strong. Its very nature had shifted.
And there was something else, something that should have been impossible. Phage no longer seemed to fear high temperatures. Fire, heat, the bane of their kind, rolled off him as if it were nothing.
It was unheard of. Absolutely impossible.
But then again, impossible things seemed to happen frequently when it came to Phage. His body color was different from any known symbiote. His ability to split into three fully functional beasts with his host was beyond anything Riot had ever encountered.
So resistance to fire? Perhaps not so strange anymore.
The three huge dogs, hulking, muscle-packed monsters with slavering jaws, still circled him and Drake's shared body. Their pace was slow, deliberate, their movements radiating a predator's patience.
They weren't in a rush to kill. No, they were savoring this, stretching out the moment like a gourmet lingering over the scent of a perfect meal.
The once-fearsome Riot was reduced to something almost pitiful. Limbs lost, his high-and-mighty presence completely stripped away, he looked less like a warlord and more like prey cornered by wolves.
"No… Phage…" Riot's voice cracked, his pride crumbling into desperation. "Don't kill me! I, I'll give you the position of leader. You can be the boss of our race!"
It was a pathetic bargain, but the only one he could think of.
Drake, still technically his host, was of no use. The man's wounds had healed where Riot could mend them, but the limbs themselves were gone, and blood loss had long since knocked him unconscious. Riot was in complete control now, and completely alone.
The lead dog's lips pulled back in a disturbingly human grin.
"Hahaha… only you care about that position," it said, voice low and guttural. "I couldn't care less. All I care about… is delicious food."
Its tongue, long, rough, and dripping, slid out to lick the blood at the corner of its mouth. It shivered in pleasure, the taste alone enough to make its eyes narrow in hungry bliss.
To this creature, Riot wasn't just food. He was the finest delicacy.
Panic finally shattered the last of Riot's composure. He could already see how this ended for him, and it was not going to be clean.
In a sudden, frantic motion, he burst free from Drake's body, a silver mass of writhing tendrils, and hurled himself toward the edge of the platform. The cold ocean roared below.
If he could just make it into the water, maybe… just maybe…
But the hope didn't last a second. Tʜe source of this ᴄontent ɪs Nove1Fire.net
The three dogs had been watching him too closely. When it came to prey this rare, neither Doggo nor Phage ever let their guard drop.
Just as Riot's gelatinous form reached the edge, a massive paw slammed down from behind. Claws dug into the surface around him, pinning his body to the ground like a bug caught under glass.
He thrashed, tendrils lashing wildly, but it was useless. Even at full strength, he couldn't match Phage and Doggo together, and without a host, he was little more than a snack waiting to be eaten.
A sudden buzzing sound suddenly came from above.
The dogs froze, heads snapping upward in unison.
From the sky, a figure plummeted.
He dropped from Bumblebee like a meteor, boots slamming into the platform with a crash that made the entire structure shudder for a few seconds. Dust and sparks rattled loose from the metal frame.
A faint smile touched his lips as he looked down at the pathetic, squirming Riot under the dog's paw.
"Alright," Luke said softly, almost casually. "Go eat that man. Leave Riot to me."
He didn't need to be here, not physically. But the moment Doggo had caught Riot, something unexpected flashed across his mind.
[Ding~ The symbiote Riot is feeling a deep despair. At this moment, if anyone can save his life, he will recognize that person as his master and will never betray them.]
Luke's eyes had practically lit up. A free, permanent symbiote? Even if he didn't want it for himself, it would make a powerful gift. Or… he could even sell it in the grocery store for a ridiculous price.
The possibilities were too good to ignore.
Doggo and Phage, though clearly reluctant, obeyed instantly. They had no choice, Luke's influence was absolute. Even if he ordered them to self-destruct, they would do it without hesitation. Giving up a meal was nothing in comparison.
The enormous beast shoved Riot toward Luke, then the three dogs pressed together, flesh rippling and melting as they merged back into one monstrous form. First the shoulders and torso, then the snarling heads, until at last the hulking yellow body stood whole again.
And then, without hesitation, it swallowed Drake in one greedy gulp.
Apparently, it didn't want to risk Luke changing his mind.
Luke reached down, one hand wrapping around Riot's squirming form and lifting him easily off the ground.
The silver symbiote seemed to tremble, as if shivering. Being saved from a gruesome death left him almost eager, and he instinctively began to flow upward, ready to merge with his new master.
"Stop." Luke's voice cut through the moment like a blade. Cold, sharp, and final. "Don't integrate with me. Just stay by my side."
Riot froze mid-motion, forming a trembling puddle in Luke's grip.
It was oddly satisfying, seeing the once-proud leader of the symbiotes reduced to shaking jelly.
The ground beneath them suddenly trembled again. But this time, it wasn't because of Luke.
From the base of the towering rocket nearby, fierce flames erupted, white-hot and roaring. The countdown had ended.
But there was no crew aboard. No colonization mission. No future for Riot's species.
The rocket rose slowly, engines thundering, and Riot could only watch his grand plans burn away into the sky.
[Ding~ Congratulations to the host for participating in the Venom core plot: Venom vs. Riot. 5 plot points obtained.]
[Ding~ The system has accumulated enough points to level up. System promotion beginning.]
[Ding~ Upgrade complete. System is now Level 5.]