*Tick-tock!*
Sharp black tendrils pierced into Kratos's chest and limbs. While they hadn't completely penetrated his divine body, they had burrowed deep into his bones. Shimmering crimson blood, infused with radiance, trickled down along these tendrils and quietly dripped onto the ground.
Over a thousand black tendrils burst forth explosively in a 360-degree radius, leaving no blind spots. Those aimed downward pierced through the ground as if it were paper, forming upright, jet-black columns.
The tendrils that shot upwards pierced through the rooftop room of the Arena, with a few unlucky Grandmaster loyalists getting entirely impaled. One of the sharp tips barely hovered right under a Grandmaster's hips.
The tendrils aimed at the surroundings stopped just in front of the audience seats. If they had extended even half a meter further, they would have been enough to annihilate hundreds of lifeforms among the alien spectators.
Kyle was wide-eyed in astonishment. The power of these myriad tendrils left him momentarily dumbfounded. But without time to think further, his energy had been nearly depleted, and a sense of fatigue and weakness pervaded his body.
Even more seriously affected was Venom. His gliding wings, dark hood, and corneous membrane lifeform outer shell all melted away like snow meeting the sun. They transformed into countless viscous black fluids that flowed off Kyle's body, resembling blood as they dripped down.
At this moment, the only one maintaining their form on the dueling ground was Vis. It rapidly climbed up Kyle's back, stabilizing itself and transforming into a rocket backpack, emitting a faint blue exhaust flame that allowed Kyle to remain suspended in the air.
"Venom?" Kyle called out, waving his hand to transform the descending black fluid, which was Venom's main form, into a card. It then returned to the Card Space.
"Master, I've detected that guard Spaceships are converging on our location," Vis relayed through a message.
"In that case, let's play our final card," Kyle said, his eyes dimming as he looked weakly at Kratos, who remained unconscious and suspended in mid-air. Gritting his teeth, he continued, "No matter what, we must ensure the safety of this god."
Meanwhile, at the rooftop room of the Interstellar arena…
Grandmaster, still trembling with fear, kicked one of the nearby black tendrils to pieces. His face was filled with a dark and uncertain silence. His loyalists, who knew him well, were aware that he was seething with anger.
Slaughter, sensing an opportunity, stepped forward and spoke in a solemn tone. "Grandmaster, this man is unlike other challengers. He's nearly impossible to control by conventional means. Leaving him alive is a potential threat to Planet Sakaar. I suggest that we take advantage of this moment and ensure that he never leaves this dueling arena."
"Very well, I appoint you as the leader to handle this matter. You have the authority to mobilize the entire planet's security forces," Grandmaster agreed without hesitation, narrowing his eyes. "However, I have one condition: save the 'Demon King' Kratos."
"Yes!" Slaughter's face lit up with delight. He glanced at the chaotic scene in the dueling arena, then decisively turned and walked toward the exit. He entered an elevator and pulled out a communication device. "All guard Spaceships around the arena, block the arena off, and deploy several combat Spaceships to shoot down the challenger, the Tyrant, with laser cannons. Even if it means leveling the Arena to the ground, do whatever it takes!"
Slaughter didn't share with the guards any details about saving Kratos. For him, anything that hindered the mission to eliminate Kyle and Venom was a burden.
Kyle had to die!
The scene then shifted back to the Arena.
Due to the terrifying impact of the myriad tendrils, the audience seats were now in utter chaos. The noise was deafening as countless alien spectators panicked and rushed to escape. Several exits were jammed with people, creating various alien mountains.
"Vis, if we don't hurry, we'll be trapped here for good!" Kyle urged in a hushed tone. He hoisted Kratos's heavy body onto his shoulders and, aided by the rocket backpack on his back, maneuvered through the tendrils on the ground to avoid the incoming laser bombardment.
As the dense tendrils continued to be bombarded by the Spaceship's lasers, they were visibly diminishing in number, with no apparent escape route left.
"They're here!" Vis suddenly exclaimed.
In apparent confirmation of its words, a lightning-fast fighter jet ship, appearing like a streak of light, streaked into the Arena area. It veered through the chaos, its laser cannons calibrated and ready. In an instant, it targeted two guard Spaceships that were attacking Kyle and unleashed two shots.
*Boom!*
The two Spaceships were destroyed on the spot, erupting into roaring flames and black smoke. They crashed into the dueling arena, with secondary explosions turning the wide expanse into a sea of fire.
*Swoosh!*
With the rocket on his back propelling him, Kyle hoisted Kratos out of the inferno and soared into the sky. The fighter jet automatically opened its hatch to receive them. Even before the hatch could close, the engines at the rear of the aircraft roared to life and accelerated, propelling it at breakneck speed out of the Interstellar arena.
"Damn it!" Slaughter had just walked out of the elevator and witnessed this scene. His face turned ashen, and he yelled into his communication device, "They're trying to escape in an aircraft! All guard Spaceships, pursue them! Don't hesitate; just shoot down the aircraft with the people inside!"
"Understood!"
Numerous guard Spaceships stationed near the arena received the order and immediately revved their engines, speeding off in pursuit of Kyle's fighter jet.
Inside the high-speed fighter jet.
Kyle, having thrown the heavily injured and unconscious Kratos onto the cabin floor, collapsed beside the cold metal floor, gasping for breath. The genetic disease was taking advantage of his weakened state, forcibly stripping away the abilities of the Super Soldier.
Vis rapidly transformed into its robotic form and hopped into the pilot's seat. It plugged its hands into the aircraft's controls, completely linking itself with the aircraft's systems to have total control.
"Master, there are nearly thirty Spaceships pursuing us from behind. Should we engage or try to escape in a different direction?" Vis reported.
"Pay them no mind. There are too many enemy Spaceships. If we get caught in a firefight, we won't be able to escape," Kyle said, panting heavily. He relied on sheer willpower to remain conscious and laboriously pushed himself up from the floor.
"Circle around and buy me as much time as possible!" he ordered.
With a slight thought, Ability Cards scattered across Kratos's body materialized before him, radiating with a brilliant glow. Kyle didn't spare a glance for any other Ability Cards; his eyes were fixed directly on the Rare Purple Ability Card – **Godly Gene**.
He intended to become a god!
Although Kratos never appeared in the Marvel films, he existed in many spin-off games and comics. In this book's setting, Kratos' strength was on par with Thor, who hadn't yet awakened with his divine tool, the hammer, and he was only second to Hulk.
(End of this chapter)
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