The symbiote's abilities are somewhat beyond expectations, but for now, it seems to only have super-fast regeneration and rapid learning.
Generally speaking, there aren't many ways to deal with such an ability. You either find weaknesses in the mental or willpower aspects and win with words, or you continuously cause damage to exceed the limits of its self-healing ability.
So cutting the symbiote in half is not the end, but a beginning.
"Godslayer, Morning Star."
A thought flashed through his mind, and the Godslayer in his other hand, emitting a golden light, instantly transformed from a giant sword into a large spiked ball.
Su Ming stepped on the symbiote's lower half to prevent it from merging back together, then began to chop wildly.
The Nightfall Giant Sword caused gashing injuries, and the Godslayer dealt blunt and piercing damage, making the symbiote seem clueless.
Repaired an arm, the leg was chopped off; repaired the leg, the head was gone.
Not to mention the spiked golden ball, with each smash not only breaking bones and severing tendons but also leaving numerous holes oozing black fluid.
It wanted to extend its tentacles to counterattack, but the already prepared Su Ming chopped them off one by one. The tentacle attack speed was fast, but its growth from the symbiote's body was not as quick.
"The same moves are useless against a Saint Seiya!"
Su Ming continued to chop wildly, while mocking the symbiote, even though it probably couldn't understand him. Yet, he found it hard to resist making snarky comments.
Dr. Holloway poked his head out from behind cover.
Xiaohuzi moved and tilted his head.
He saw Deathstroke seemingly frantically "whipping the corpse," with a low hissing laugh; it couldn't be rabies, right? A bit scary...
Holloway jumped down from the rooftop with his dual guns, getting a little closer to observe, finally realizing what was going on.
"Need help?"
"No, keep your distance. Its attacks are very fast, you won't be able to dodge them."
Maintaining a high-frequency attack, calculating space, and also talking, Su Ming inevitably got a bit careless.
The Morning Star Hammer accidentally hit an awkward spot, probably the nether region, between the four legs.
Uncertain if the symbiote had intestines, it wasn't visible from the outside, but the massive round ball of the Morning Star Hammer seemed to have sunk in quite a bit...
"Ow!!!"
The symbiote's originally crescent-shaped eyes instantly turned full moon, its whole tongue protruding, wildly flailing like a snake in the air.
A wailing echoed through the mountains.
"Hiss..."
Dr. Holloway also inhaled sharply, feeling the external chill climb up his spine.
"Emmm.....hmm!...hey!"
Exhaling with force, Su Ming exerted himself twice, and only with his strength could he pull out the Morning Star, quickly checking it over. Fortunately, there wasn't any yellowish stuff on it.
Just a lot of black blood, with some red faintly mixed in.
Although unsure why, that strike clearly hurt the symbiote's host, even the self-healing ability couldn't cover such pain, causing it to scream.
Hurting the host can hurt the symbiote, as it is a parasitic organism. Through bio-nerve connections, there's this drawback. Perhaps the symbiote itself doesn't feel pain, but the host's pain converts into bioelectric signals, transmitted through nerves.
However, this was the enemy's weakness, and Su Ming had no qualms about exploiting it during battle.
"Godslayer, Scythe!"
The Godslayer instantly transformed into a long-handled scythe, and Su Ming unhesitatingly swung again at the same spot, leveraging the hooked and curved tool skillfully.
"Ow!!!!"
"Daring to attack me earlier, today you will witness the power of Earthlings..." Su Ming sneered, shaking the scythe, and forcefully withdrew it: "Godslayer, Drill!"
"Ow!!!!"
"Godslayer, Giant Eggbeater!"
"Ow!!!!"
..........
Dr. Holloway clenched his jaw and averted his gaze; with each weapon transformation by Deathstroke, the symbiote let out a scream the next second.
Even for a seasoned surgeon, he'd never seen such torture.
Like a hiccup, the symbiote let out a scream, and the doctor instinctively turtled his neck, dodging sideways: "Ugh...uh...ugh..."
"Snap."
Suddenly, a different sound was heard, and the doctor turned his head.
It turned out the Magic Floating Cloak had returned, trembling slightly as it floated in mid-air, a wooden barrel falling to the ground, spilling a clear golden liquid.
If Holloway could hear the cloak's thoughts, he'd surely realize it too was engulfed in fear.
'What kind of nonsense is this? Scared my seeds fell off.'
Su Ming heard the noise too, glancing over.
"Oh, so it was lamp oil, the mages' methods seem rather ordinary."
He had already known the weaknesses of the symbiote were sound waves, flames, and strong electromagnetism, which would prevent the symbiote from fusing with the host, leaving it in an extremely weakened state.
He had thought the mages would use some magical means, intending to seize the opportunity to see if there were magic props to snatch, but it turned out just lamp oil, such an ordinary thing.
He guessed the plan was to trap the symbiote in a cage amid a vast sea of flames, akin to Hell's methods.
"Hey, Doc, kick the barrel over."
Su Ming was not particularly interested in torturing the symbiote; he was merely stalling for time, waiting for the cloak to return, and attacking the enemy's weakness was the best way to do so.
Couldn't you see that after targeting the weakness, the symbiote couldn't put up any resistance?
"Ugh, oh."
Dr. Holloway steeled himself, walked over to the broken barrel, and although it had a corner shattered, its cylindrical shape mostly remained.
He laid it on its side and kicked it, the thing rolling towards Su Ming while still leaking oil.
Calmly continuing his attack, Su Ming retrieved a lighter from his pocket. Smokers did have the advantage of readily available fire whenever needed.
Grabbing the barrel, he casually sprinkled some on the symbiote, bent down, and ignited it.
"Sss..."
A continuous hissing sound came, and the symbiote bubbled and flowed down from the host like it was being boiled.
The red firelight illuminated Su Ming's mask and armor. He stood silently by, weapon in hand, ready to quash any rebellious notions the symbiote might have.
Perhaps out of fear, or perhaps it learned something from this unprecedented pain, the symbiote didn't resist, instead gathering itself and swiftly shedding from the host, transforming into a pool of black liquid outside the fire's reach.
Its true form looked like a large puddle of tar, except with a large mouth on it.
Su Ming gripped the Nightfall Greatsword, noting there wasn't much oil left after the spill, and as the symbiote left, the host itself should still be alive. Once the nerve connections were severed, even the least intelligent being would regain control over its own body.
The flames gradually extinguished, revealing a creature covered in white fur.
Once probably pristine white, it was now blackened by smoke and fire, its original color only discernible in select areas like the armpits.
It had ordinary hands and feet but was significantly larger than a human, appearing like a long-haired giant.
"Hmm? I thought it'd be a gorilla or a monkey, did not expect it to be a Himalayan Yeti, these mages sure have a sense of play."
As he surveyed the Yeti lying in the fire's remnants, Su Ming's gaze lingered on the creature's tailbone, noticing the wet, blood-red fur, causing a twitch at the corner of his mouth.