Rich, selfish, cruel, ruthless, cowardly, spineless. It's hard to imagine so many labels could be placed on one person.
This is Harry Osborn.
Growing up in a wealthy yet deceitful environment, Harry was too young and had never experienced the harsh realities of society. He was selfish and self-centered.
Even when Police had a gun pointed at his head, Harry didn't think he was wrong.
"How could I be wrong?
It's definitely this crappy world that's at fault!"
All the pain and fear of death combined into a burning hatred toward Kratos.
At this moment, his hatred for someone easily surpassed the "betrayal" of his childhood best friend.
He would never know that Anger spared him for now because he was still useful.
On a skyscraper, Anger smiled faintly: "Your father's men see you as a perfect scapegoat. Coincidentally, I think so too."
But when Anger noticed the commotion near the Empire State Building, he sighed.
"So busy!"
Gwen was locked in a fierce battle with a mysterious second Green Goblin.
Compared to Anger's ease, Gwen felt like she'd hit the jackpot—in the worst way.
Why was it that everyone was dealing with the Green Goblin, but Anger handled rookie Harry like it was a breeze, while the Goblin she faced was unbelievably tough?
This green-skinned, armored guy not only flew fast and smoothly, Gwen's web shots couldn't even hit him. Worse, he kept pulling bizarre gadgets from a freakish magic bag, hurling them at her.
"Boom, boom, boom!"
Gwen swore she dodged the pumpkin bombs that had just exploded—she was sure of it! But still, her body felt weak.
No matter how she twisted, turned, or shot webs, everything felt delayed, just slightly off.
That's how she ended up getting caught by the blasts of two more pumpkin bombs in a row.
These things, which looked like Halloween trinkets, packed a punch. They'd just blown a car-sized hole in the north wing of the Empire State Building, and before she realized it, the entire outer side of her left leg was scorched.
If it weren't for her extraordinary healing abilities, just the damage to her leg alone would've driven her into a killing frenzy to take out that Green Goblin.
"Ah!" Gwen screamed, doing seven or eight quick rolls to finally extinguish the lingering flames on her body.
Before she could catch her breath, a few Green Goblin boomerangs swooped in from another direction, hitting a blind spot in her senses.
By the time she heard the sound of glass shattering, it was too late—her right arm and rib cage had been struck.
Blood poured out, and a paralyzing numbness set in.
"Poisoned!"
Gwen was truly furious. "You bastard, how can you be so despicable!?"
"Despicable? Heh! I'll take that as a... compliment," the mysterious second Green Goblin sneered, without stopping his relentless attacks. He fired more missiles at Gwen.
"Hmph!" Gwen leaped back rapidly, shooting out a tight web as she moved.
By all logic, this web should've blocked the missiles.
But Gwen didn't expect the Goblin to be so familiar with her tactics. Several Goblin darts, faster than the web, tangled it up and yanked it out of place, letting the missiles sail through unhindered.
It felt like one of those "trap kills" people talk about.
Her reaction was a split second too slow, and the missiles exploded during her evasive maneuver.
In the final moment, all Gwen could do was curl herself into a tight ball, minimizing the damage as much as possible.
"Boom—"
The explosion shook three floors and eight rooms.
Gwen had already ducked behind a sturdy wooden desk, but the force of the blast toppled everything, slamming the desk into her. She groaned in pain as her lower back hit a protruding metal cabinet, and everything went black for a second. The pain was unbearable.
Barely hanging on to her senses, Gwen shot webs from her arms, anchoring herself and halting her momentum in a way no ordinary human could.
But before she could recover, the Green Goblin swooped in on his glider, brandishing a *Laser Cannon* and firing almost point-blank.
laser beam, representing pure energy, filled Gwen's entire field of vision.
The sound of the glider's propellers spinning at high speed hummed like the whisper of death.
For once, Gwen's face went pale with fear, a look of despair washing over her. At the last second, she pulled hard on her webs, using their elasticity to fling herself out of the line of fire—this was all she could manage.
As for surviving the blast? Gwen didn't have much hope.
Spider-Man was never known for invulnerability.
Then, unexpectedly—but not so surprisingly—help arrived.
"Ahhhhhh—"
A high-pitched scream sent a shiver down Gwen's spine.
To her shock and relief, the attack wasn't aimed at her.
sudden sonic assault was targeted at the floating Green Goblin.
Caught off guard, the Goblin stumbled in midair.
"Whoosh—"
What should have been a killing blow from his laser cannon barely grazed Gwen, hitting the concrete wall beside her. The high-temperature laser easily melted through the thick concrete, even vaporizing the steel rebar inside, leaving a near-perfect circular hole almost half a meter wide.
Sweat trickled down Gwen's back. If not for that unexpected interference, she'd have been finished.
Turning around, she saw two figures—covered in metal components like robots, yet distinctly female—rushing in.
They were wielding Uzi submachine guns, spraying bullets at the Green Goblin in the air.
Truth be told, the Uzi's firepower couldn't penetrate the Goblin's armor, not even enough to itch.
But their attack gave Gwen a chance to breathe.
Realizing they were likely allies, Gwen didn't waste time, firing a thick web at the Goblin.
She wasn't surprised when he dodged.
At that moment, the sound of chaotic footsteps echoed from nearby rooms as a horde of zombies rushed in.
"We'll handle the zombies!" the two mysterious "female robots" said in pleasant voices.
With that, they pulled out red canisters from their waists and hurled them at the zombies, igniting intense flames that engulfed the undead.
Two-thousand-degree flames really warm the heart!
Gwen noticed the thermite grenades—they were just like someone else used!
Just then, Kratos returned.
However, even his arrival didn't significantly turn the tide.
The Green Goblin... could fly!
When a highly mobile aerial combatant is buzzing around you, it's nearly impossible to catch him.
Atreus had tried to bait the Goblin into coming closer.
But compared to the rookie Harry, this Green Goblin was a seasoned pro, displaying patience and cunning like a hunter. This was no Harry Osborn.
Gritting his teeth, Atreus spat out a name through clenched lips: "Norman Osborn!"
(End of Chapter)