CHAPTER 18: The Warriors' Dance (Conclusion)

CHAPTER 18: The Warriors' Dance (Conclusion)

With the strength he had left, Fénix lunged at Roberto with the desperate fury of a cornered animal. His fingers closed around the mercenary's neck, seeking to crush his trachea, but Roberto was quick as a snake. He twisted with an unnatural elasticity and threw Fénix against the wall with an impact that echoed through the ruined room.

Before Fénix could catch his breath, Roberto grabbed a piece of twisted steel beam—debris from the collapsed ceiling—and drove it into Fénix's abdomen. The metal sank with a wet crunch, tearing muscle and opening a deep but controlled wound. Blood gushed out, soaking his clothes, but his vital organs remained intact. Fénix gasped, collapsing to his knees.

"Never... underestimate..." he managed to spit out, with a crooked smile, before darkness engulfed him.

Roberto observed the unconscious body with clinical curiosity.

"Corajoso, mas burro," he murmured, wiping his hands on his suit. (Brave, but stupid.)

Outside, Alucard walked among the bodies of the Japanese soldiers like a poet in a field of poppies. His black suit was impeccable—not a drop of blood stained it.

"Boring," he yawned, examining his nails. "If this is the best Tokyo has to offer, we should go to Kyoto. At least the monks there know how to fight."

He entered the hotel just as Roberto turned toward the door.

"Well, Roberto," said Alucard, his voice a silky whisper. "Leaving Fénix as a bloody rag is... bad manners. If I return to Berlin without him, Enid will skin me. And I value my skin."

Roberto opened his mouth to respond, but Alucard was already upon him. His hand pierced Roberto's chest with the precision of a surgeon, ripping out his heart in one fluid motion. Roberto collapsed, his glassy eyes fixed in eternal surprise.

Alucard dropped the still-pulsating organ.

"Too predictable," he murmured, bending down to pick up Fénix. "Come on, pup. I'm taking you to a spa."

Fénix woke up in a dark wooden cabin, lying on a straw mat. The smell of cedar and damp earth filled the air. A candle flickered in a corner, casting dancing shadows.

Alucard was sitting on a stool, carving a piece of wood with a hunting knife.

"Where...?" Fénix's voice sounded rough as sandpaper.

"In the mountains of Nikko," Alucard replied without looking up. "Far from cameras and policemen with a hero complex."

Fénix touched his abdomen. The wound was closed—only a pink, sensitive scar remained.

"How long?"

"Three days. Your body is resilient, but even lycans need to rest." Alucard set down the knife. "Now, about your training..."

Fénix sat up with a groan.

"Training? Seriously?"

"Would you prefer I take you back to Enid? She's... upset." Alucard smiled. "Between destroying a five-star hotel and leaving a trail of bodies, I think she'd rather you had burned down an orphanage."

"How charming."

"I know." Alucard stood up. "Here, in this forest, you will learn to control what you are. No more little wolf tantrums."

Fénix looked out the window. The cedars swayed in the wind, ancient and wise.

"And if I refuse?"

"Then I'll leave you here for the bears to eat." Alucard opened the door. "Rest. We start tomorrow."

The door closed, leaving Fénix alone with the crackling of the candle and the weight of his new destiny.

At Enid Corp., Enid's office was a chaos of broken screens and scattered papers. She watched the Japanese news with bloodshot eyes.

"Idiot," she murmured, clutching a cup of cold coffee. "What possessed him to cause an international incident?"

"He should be here," she whispered, running a hand over her face. "Not with that demented vampire."

She dialed a number on her phone—Alucard's—but only got a busy signal.

"If anything happens to him..." she left the sentence unfinished, knowing threats were useless against Alucard.

The screen now showed Roberto da Silva—or what was left of him. Enid turned off the monitor.

"At least that problem is solved."

She leaned back in her chair, looking at Berlin's gray sky.

"Come back soon, Fénix. And come back whole."