If this were -a classic fairy tale, it would feature a shining knight in silver armor battling a terrifying, fanged dragon.
Unfortunately, this was reality. Spider-Man's symbiote suit already gave off a dark, intimidating vibe on a good day. Amplified to the size of a skyscraper by Pym Particles, Giant-Venom was an absolute nightmare. Compared to the sleek, majestic terror of the black symbiote dragon, Venom looked like the real monster in this fight.
But a lack of visual appeal didn't stop Venom from charging forward and driving a massive, skyscraper-sized fist directly into Grendel's jaw.
"UPPERCUT!" Peter yelled from inside the biological cockpit.
It wouldn't be entirely accurate to say absorbing Riot's Codex brought Venom nothing. While Venom hadn't inherited Riot's shape-shifting blades, he had absorbed the downloaded memories of Grant Ward's elite S.H.I.E.L.D. combat training. Peter and Venom had previously only received basic self-defense tips from Uncle Ben and a few sparring sessions with Captain America. Now, wielding the close-quarters combat mastery of a top-tier black-ops agent, Giant-Venom was systematically dismantling a space dragon with flawless martial arts.
Venom wasn't the only one eager to beat up the Kaiju. The Hulk leaped into the fray, delivering a massive, earth-shaking punch to Grendel's stomach.
Grendel howled in agony, swatting the Hulk away with a massive, razor-sharp claw. The Hulk crashed through a city block, roared, and prepared to charge right back in.
"Stop! Hulk, stand down!"
Tony Stark, currently locked in a desperate, repulsor-firing dogfight with the symbiote-possessed Captain America, shouted over the comms.
The Hulk skidded to a halt, pointing a massive green finger at the dragon. "Why?!"
"What if you accidentally kill it?!" Tony yelled back, dodging a vibranium shield throw.
That was the terrifying tactical tightrope the Avengers were currently walking. They couldn't afford to go all out. If Grendel died from blunt force trauma, Knull's consciousness would instantly awaken.
In fact, the battlefield dynamics were highly suspicious. Since the black tidal wave had flooded Manhattan, Knull's avatar was entirely absent. Only Grendel had shown up. The answer was chillingly obvious: Knull wanted them to kill the dragon. He was deliberately withholding his power, hoping the Avengers would swarm Grendel and execute it, thereby breaking his cosmic seal.
He's waiting for us to mess up, Peter realized. Venom has to eat it alive.
Grumbling in frustration, the Hulk pivoted away from the dragon and bounded off to settle some scores with the symbiote-possessed Wolverine and Colossus instead.
Venom began the gruesome feeding process, grappling Grendel by the neck and brutally tearing off a massive chunk of alien flesh with his jagged teeth. He swallowed it whole. But Grendel thrashed wildly, its sheer size and power making it impossible to devour quickly.
High above the city, Thor's lightning struck relentlessly. The Thunder God acted as a divine clearing mechanism, eradicating the oceans of black sludge flooding the streets, but he carefully ensured not a single stray volt struck Grendel. He was just waiting for the right opportunity.
With just over a minute left on the molecular stabilizer's timer, Venom channeled high-voltage bio-electricity through his massive claws, grabbed Grendel's wings, and violently ripped them off.
The dragon shrieked. In desperate retaliation, Grendel unhinged its jaws and unleashed a concentrated torrent of pitch-black, living fire directly into Venom's chest.
Having no inherent resistance to extreme heat, Venom howled in agony. The towering black giant was blasted backward, crashing heavily into a high-rise office building. Thankfully, real-world steel and concrete were much sturdier than the cardboard buildings in tokusatsu movies; the structure groaned but held Venom's weight.
Venom pushed himself back up, shaking the rubble off his shoulders. Peter checked the HUD.
Sixty seconds remaining. Venom let out a deafening, earth-shattering roar. Searing white bio-electricity began to violently arc across his massive black musculature, sparking with the residual, divine signature of Thor's power.
Hovering in the storm clouds above, Thor laughed heartily. "HAVE AT THEE!"
The God of Thunder raised Mjolnir, pouring an endless, blinding torrent of lightning directly down into Venom's body. Giant-Venom's skin practically boiled with the sheer voltage. Enduring the blinding pain, Venom planted his massive feet, stood firm, and crossed his arms in a perfect 'plus' sign.
A colossal, blinding beam of divine lightning and bio-electricity erupted from Venom's crossed arms, colliding mid-air with Grendel's torrent of black fire in a spectacular, city-illuminating beam struggle.
"This... this is just... this is too abstract," J. Jonah Jameson stammered.
Standing on the chaotic frontlines, the veteran journalist rubbed his disheveled hair, completely unable to maintain his usual, hard-nosed professionalism. He looked at the black dragon on the left, and the lightning-firing Venom on the right.
Jonah turned his camera toward his own bewildered face. "Folks watching at home... is that Godzilla?!"
Miles away, sitting safely in Queens, Gwen Stacy watched the live feed and couldn't help but sigh, pressing a hand to her forehead. She knew Peter was a massive tokusatsu and anime nerd, but she never expected him to literally cosplay Ultraman on a global, live television broadcast. It was completely outrageous.
She had been terrified for him all night, but seeing him pull off a stunt like this proved he was in his element.
"It's alright, Aunt May. Peter's going to be fine," Gwen said comfortingly. "He called this morning to say the Avengers rescued him, remember?"
"But... sigh. What kind of lab did that boy go to yesterday?" Aunt May fretted, wringing her hands as she watched the apocalyptic battle on the screen. Uncle Ben stood silently beside her, his hand resting reassuringly on her shoulder.
While Gwen was confident in Peter, her heart ached with worry for her father. George Stacy was still somewhere in that infected city, holding the line.
"NOW, SPIDER-MAN!"
The roar didn't come from Thor. It came from Doctor Stephen Strange, who had suddenly appeared via a sparking portal on a nearby rooftop. He hadn't joined the physical brawl; he had been hyper-focused on monitoring Grendel's exact life-force using the Eye of Agamotto, ensuring the dragon's HP didn't accidentally drop to zero.
Upon hearing the command, Venom instantly cut the lightning beam. He lunged forward through the smoke, tackling the half-dead dragon to the ground.
Venom unhinged his massive jaws and bit clean through Grendel's neck, severing the dragon's head. He didn't stop. Moving with terrifying, primal speed, Venom rapidly tore the thirty-meter beast to pieces, swallowing the Klyntar biomass chunk by massive chunk.
In exactly thirty seconds, the colossal space dragon was entirely gone. Devoured.
A moment later, the Pym Particles reached the end of their half-life. The red shrinking energy washed over Venom, rapidly condensing the giant back down to his original, three-meter size.
Thor touched down on the ruined street, lifting Mjolnir as he prepared to congratulate the Spider.
"Wait," Strange commanded, throwing his arm out to physically block the Thunder God from taking another step. "Do not approach him, Thor."
Venom remained crouched on the cracked asphalt, his head bowed. A low, unconscious, guttural howl ripped from his throat.
Suddenly, the sleek white spider emblem on Venom's chest violently morphed, bleeding into a jagged, blood-red hue—the exact symbol worn by Knull. A pair of massive, terrifying symbiote wings ripped out of Venom's back. The black sludge began to writhe and deform irregularly, spiking and bubbling as a dark, ancient presence fought for control.
Strange lowered his hands, his expression grim.
"The physical battle is over," Strange said quietly. "But Spider-Man must now suppress Knull's cosmic will from inside his own mind. If he fails... the King in Black takes his body."
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