71 (CHAPTER 35: TWIST)

Purple Haze Assassination Clan has always been active for the past five hundred years. Their clever use of acid and venom has let them gain a high reputation amongst other assassination clan. One shallow cut is already lethal enough to end one's life, thus their work is always done fast, quick and clean.

Growing up as the third generation of the clan. Venom was always fascinated about these deadly beauties, and even more thrilled when he realize there is a martial arts that blends both skill and poison together. The poison hand technique, through soaking one's hand in a pit of poisonous sand for a specific amount of time each day, user is able to poison, create rashes, swells and even death by merely touching something or someone.

He was so into this that he even suggest this technique to the clan to use, but his idea was heavily protested by others. This is too dangerous, the Poison Hand technique is extremely painful and some didn't even survive the process, the rate of death is almost a hundred percent, only some lucky ones survive and live to be the legend. The clan couldn't risk it just for a wild dream of his.

So Venom created his own version of poison hand. It was more gruesome, but safer and not that painful if compared to the traditional method. This method consist of pulling off one's nail and dip it into poisonous lotion, after quite some time the poison will be embedded completely into the nail, then it will be relinked with the finger once more. And through placing a thin sheet of skin in between the nail and skin to relink, the user is able to avoid the pain and agony traditional poison hand user needed to experience.

But now, when a cobra was met with a living weapon.

Who would win?

Venom clinch onto the mechanical shoulder, trying to land a cut onto his head, but the mechanical arm twisted in an inhuman way and grab him by his neck before tossing him away like a bean sack. He landed on his feet and dashes towards Carl once more, leaping to avoid the chop from the arm and leap onto his back trying to his from the back, but Carl managed to grab his hand before the finger contact with his skin and smashes him to the ground.

Air escapes his lungs as the ground underneath him shattered. He has no time to scream in pain though, as a volley of punched were thrown towards him. He immediately leap out from the crater but a sidekick at his flank sent him flying to the edge of the arena. He could hear the bone of his hips crumbling like crumbled cookies, by the time he try to stand up once more, he found out he couldn't.

"Gave up kid, you will never win." Carl walk towards him and stare at Venom, Venom could sense the gap of their power is like the sky and the ground, and yet he didn't want to give up. This fight carries all his pride and honor towards his own martial arts, he couldn't gave up. He would never gave up.

"Never."

Venom stomp his hand onto the ground and leap towards him. With his last ditch effort he strike his hand towards him. Carl let out a sigh, too slow. There is no use of struggling, he lunges his fist towards him, and right when he thought that punch was a direct hit, something bizarre happened. Venom disappeared right in front of his eyes.

He turned into a smoke.

The crowd turn into smoke.

The arena turn into smoke.

Everything turn into smoke.

That calm attitude before totally disappear. His eyes widen, what the hell is this. "What is this!" He screamed, looking everywhere for his opponent, or maybe something or someone. But there is nothing, just the endless darkness that stretched beyond and beyond. "I am here." He heard a sound from behind, he turn around and threw a fist, but there is no one.

"I am here, right here."

"I am here, Carl."

"Hey, I am here!"

"Here, I am here!"

Voices echoed in the darkness, it seems to be everywhere. "Face me! Venom! Face me!!" He screamed, but the words didn't stop, it grew louder and louder, the voice dwell into his mind. He closes his eyes and cover his ears, but the voice seems to be in his mind. "Stop it!!" The voice didn't, louder, sharper, like worms squirming in his mind, eating his flesh. "Stop it!! Stop it!!!!" Carl screamed, his eyes grew white and finally, he loses consciousness.

The crowd beneath stage look at disbelieve. What they saw is beyond their imagination. Carl fighting against an enemy he couldn't even see. Waving his fist wildly and throwing kicks and punches at the thin air.

The fight before was all just a mere imagination.

In reality, he had already lost.

Venom look at Carl as the jury made the count, he would've won if he didn't made such a fatal mistake by looking down on him. If he didn't stay ego and give Venom the chance to destroy the swell, he would overpower him easily, almost dominatingly in terms of physical strength, speed and experience. And yet he didn't, he look down on the danger of his acid, and forgot that in this world there were poison that could trigger by the mere smell or even the looks of it.

He has won the battle but lost the war.

"TEN!!" As the referee finish his countdown, the crowd cheer in disbelief as the announcer declared: "The winner of round 2 is Venom!!!"