Wednesday frowned: "What do you mean?"
Rowan ignored Wednesday and suddenly raised both hands!
In an instant, Wednesday felt an invisible, immense force clamp around her throat, violently slamming her entire body against a thick oak tree behind her!
Thud!
Her back crashed heavily against the tree trunk, the impact rattling her internal organs as if they had been displaced.
A powerful telekinetic force, like an invisible shackle, pinned her tightly to the tree, her feet off the ground, making it difficult to breathe.
Simultaneously, a painting floated before her, depicting a girl in black holding a sword, standing within a burning academy.
"My mother!" Rowan's voice trembled slightly with agitation, "She was one of the most powerful seers in Nevermore's history! Twenty-five years ago, she painted a picture! A prophetic painting!"
His eyes grew paranoid and fanatical: "In the painting, you! Wednesday Addams! Holding a sharp sword, standing in the midst of Nevermore Academy engulfed in flames! You are the embodiment of destruction! You will make everything burn to ashes!"
Wednesday was stunned.
"All because of a painting?" Wednesday's voice was filled with incredulous mockery, "You believe I'm the source of disaster because of a twenty-five-year-old doodle?"
"It's not a doodle!" Rowan shrieked, "It's a prophecy! I must stop you! For the academy! I must... eliminate you before you cause irreparable damage!"
"Wait, was the falling gargoyle statue also your doing?"
Wednesday immediately thought of the gargoyle statue whose falling trajectory didn't follow the parabolic formula.
If Victor hadn't coincidentally pushed her out of the way that time, she might have really died.
"Who do you think you are?" Wednesday forced the words out with difficulty from between her teeth. Despite being at an absolute disadvantage, her sharp tongue remained as cutting as ever, "A savior? Or just a poor wretch driven mad by his mother's outdated prophecy?"
Rowan's face twisted with rage and the strain of using his ability: "Shut up! You know nothing! As long as I deal with you, the academy will be saved! It's all worth it!"
He concentrated, applying increasing pressure. Black spots began to appear in Wednesday's vision, and the air in her lungs was slowly squeezed out.
The shadow of death had never felt so clear.
Suddenly, Rowan seemed to be flung away by something.
Wednesday fell to the ground, coughing violently, greedily gasping for air, while also looking up.
A massive, hunched, muscular monster slowly emerged.
It had inhuman, twisted limbs, and its sharp claws were stained with fresh soil and... dark red bloodstains.
It growled lowly, drool dripping from its maw filled with sharp teeth, its yellow pupils fixed intently on Rowan.
It was that monster! Wednesday recognized it as the very monster from her psychic vision!
Rowan was terrified out of his wits. Instinctively, he activated his ability again, attempting to push the monster away with telekinesis.
But it was too late.
The monster's speed was unimaginably fast. It lunged forward, its claws tearing through Rowan's fragile defenses as easily as ripping paper, seizing his shoulder and chest.
"No—!" Rowan let out an agonizingly shrill scream.
Wednesday watched helplessly as the monster, right before her eyes, tore Rowan in half like a ragged doll.
Blood sprayed out like a torrential downpour, staining the ground and trees. Even a few drops of warm liquid splashed onto Wednesday's pale face.
Entrails and shattered bones were scattered everywhere.
The monster let out a satisfied, low roar.
The monster seemed completely uninterested in Wednesday.
After the bloody feast, it merely swept a cold glance over Wednesday, who stood frozen under the tree.
There was no killing intent, no greed, not even a trace of curiosity in that gaze. It was as if she were just a human-shaped rock or an insignificant dead tree.
It growled once more, seemingly preparing to leave the area.
However, just then—
Drip.
A drop of viscous liquid fell onto its muscular, blood-soaked back.
Drip.
Another drop fell onto the scattered bits of entrails by its feet.
The monster's massive body jolted abruptly. Its beastly instincts instantly put it on high alert.
Both it and Wednesday snapped their heads up simultaneously, looking towards the dense canopy above.
Right on the tree trunk above them, a shadow darker than the night itself was perched.
It was Venom, fully transformed.
Its enormous, powerful black body seemed condensed from melting shadows, with fluid yet ferocious muscle lines covered in white, twisted spider-web patterns.
Its iconic, massive maw layered with sharp teeth was exaggeratedly agape, drool dripping like tar.
Its huge white eyes were locked onto the monster below, burning with pure, wild hunger and the thrill of the hunt.
This was the first time Wednesday had witnessed Venom's complete, unleashed form in reality, not in a psychic vision.
Without the usual buffer of Victor's daily madness and chatter, the Venom before her now exuded the aura of the most primal, apex predator.
Merely perched there, its silent pressure descended like a tangible force, making the air thick and suffocating.
Hunter. A being at the top of the food chain.
That was Wednesday's first thought upon seeing Venom. Any language seemed pale in the face of such pure biological dominance.
"Oh..." Venom's voice was no longer its usual teasing baritone. It transformed into a grinding, hunger-filled rumble, as if countless grains of sand were rubbing together, causing leaves to rustle, "So fragrant... this scent... wild! Primordial! Full of strength!"
Its huge white eyes narrowed. Its long tongue licked over its terrifyingly sharp teeth, producing a grating sound that set teeth on edge.
"Hey, big guy," Venom addressed the monster below, which had also entered a defensive stance and was emitting a threatening growl, revealing an even more "brilliant" and terrifying smile.
"Let's make a deal... you smell amazing, like premium chocolate mixed with Kobe beef and adrenaline... let me have a taste, just a tiny bite, okay? I promise it'll be quick, won't hurt much."
Its tone even carried a bizarre sort of "politeness," but the content was enough to make any living creature's hair stand on end.
The monster clearly understood this "dining invitation" from a higher position on the food chain.
It abruptly reared up, unleashing an even more ferocious roar. Its muscles tensed, claws extended, adopting a posture of full defense and counterattack.
It sensed a lethal threat.
Wednesday leaned against the tree trunk, holding her breath.
The scene before her exceeded all her expectations and calculations. A showdown between monsters was about to erupt right before her eyes.
Unlike last time, she was no longer a mere spectator; she was standing right in the center of the stage.
Venom's attention seemed completely captured by the monster. It leaped down from the tree, landing without a sound, its massive body surprisingly light.
"Don't be so stingy..." It advanced step by step towards the monster, the greed in its voice almost overflowing, "Just a little nibble on the head... you look like you could... regenerate pretty well, right?"
The response it received was an ear-splitting roar and a viciously swung claw!
The battle erupted instantly!
There was no evenly matched fight, only a one-sided, suffocating domination.
The monster's savage attacks, capable of tearing human bodies apart, landed on Venom's dark, viscous form as if hitting the deepest quagmire. All the force was effortlessly absorbed and dissipated without a trace.
The claws slashed across, failing to leave even a single mark.
Venom couldn't even be bothered to dodge, merely watching its futilely struggling prey with amusement.
Several black tendrils, tougher than steel, shot out like giant pythons.
They easily wrapped around the monster's limbs and neck, tightening abruptly, pinning its massive body firmly in mid-air, rendering it immobile.
"Oh, if that's all you've got," Venom's voice was full of disappointment, but more so a kind of condescending cruelty, "seems I don't need your permission after all."
Its massive, tooth-filled maw opened exaggeratedly, aimed at the Hyde's frantically writhing yet helplessly trapped head. Drool cascaded down like a waterfall.
"Well then, let's eat."