A heavy night shrouded the entire rocket launch base. The darkness was ink-black, and the evening breeze carried the cold metallic scent of the grounds. Sentries' searchlights swept across the empty area at regular intervals, but failed to catch a trace of anything unusual.
A hunched, disheveled shadow slipped silently into the heavily guarded rocket launch site, using blind spots in the equipment and the cover of night.
It was Riot and its host, who had lain low for days.
The base was silent. The towering rocket launch gantry stood empty against the night sky. The interstellar rocket that was supposed to be ready and waiting for liftoff was nowhere to be seen; only the cold steel framework remained.
Meanwhile, Rimuru, Eddie and Venom were concealed in the shadows high above, some distance away.
Venom's senses had long since locked onto the familiar, violent presence of its own kind within the grounds. Wisps of dark symbiote energy drifted constantly through the air, unmistakably clear.
"Found him, boss! That's Riot's scent! No doubt about it!"
Venom's agitated voice echoed in Eddie's mind, full of the wariness and excitement of encountering another of its kind.
Following Venom's senses, Rimuru got a clear look at Riot's host. An icy chill flashed through his eyes.
It was nothing like the innocent little girl from the original story.
In her place was a disheveled middle-aged man with a haggard face and cloudy, crazed eyes.
Rimuru understood everything at once, fury surging in his heart.
The intense burden of symbiote parasitism steadily drained a host's life, consuming body and mind.
The little girl Riot should have targeted was too young and frail to withstand its parasitic erosion.
It didn't take much thought to imagine the outcome. Unless the little girl had been lucky enough to escape