CHAPTER 112: Hell in Berlin - Part 5

CHAPTER 112: Hell in Berlin - Part 5

Suddenly, the grate of a nearby sewer lifted with a metallic screech, and someone emerged from the shadows. It was Fénix. He climbed out calmly, stretching as if he had just woken from a nap, his ironic expression framed by the recent scar above his eyebrow.

"Well, well..." he said as he dusted himself off a bit. "A moment ago I felt a chill. I suppose, as always, I'm the center of conversation. How long has it been, Darem? Five minutes?"

Vanessa raised her eyebrows, surprised by the unexpected appearance, while Lucian smirked slyly. Enid, for her part, watched him with a neutral gaze, as if she had been expecting him.

Darem laughed with a fierce intensity, like a predator that has finally found its prey. His eyes shone with deranged pleasure.
"Finally. There you are, you bastard. You don't know how much I've waited for this moment."

Fénix looked him up and down, as if assessing a child excited by his first toy. He put his hands in his pockets, his gesture so casual it was insulting.

"So you were the big threat?" he commented sarcastically. "What a disappointment."

Darem took a step forward, cracking his knuckles.
"This time you're not getting away. We're settling this here and now. Just you and me."

Fénix sighed with feigned weariness.
"You really want to fight? I warn you, I get unbearable when I'm bored." A sly smile formed on his lips. "But alright, I've always liked giving people what they ask for... even if that includes a bit of pain."

Darem bared his fangs in a wild smile, eager for the confrontation.
"I'm going to enjoy every damn second of this."

Darem watched him intently, preparing for the confrontation, and then...

The roar of the broken city shook the ground beneath them. A deafening crash erupted as a nearby building, consumed by fire, collapsed like a house of cards. The structure fell between Darem and the rest of the group, separating them with a rain of rubble and dust. Several of the lab creatures were crushed under the weight, while flames spread violently through the newly created gap.

"FÉNIX!" Darem shouted from the other side, his silhouette barely visible through the flames and smoke. "We'll meet again, damn you! I swear it!"

Fénix, with sharp reflexes, pulled Enid aside at the last second, saving her from a concrete block that would have fallen directly on her. When the dust settled, they were both on the ground, her held in his arms.

For the first time in a long while, Enid seemed to lose that cold mask she always wore. Her eyes locked onto his, intense, almost trembling.

"You always arrive at the exact damn second..." she whispered, letting out a half-smile.

Fénix arched an eyebrow and replied with irony, though his voice carried a softer nuance.
"You know... I don't like repeating funerals."

She chuckled under her breath and rested her forehead against his for a moment, a brief gesture laden with complicity, almost as if she allowed herself to forget, just for a second, the war around them.

Fénix lowered her slowly, carefully, before standing up and brushing the ash from his jacket. The rest of the team, Vanessa and Lucian, quickly approached, coughing from the dust.

"And now what?" asked Lucian, still panting.

Fénix scanned the area with his gaze, his expression hardened.
"Where's Marcus?"

Enid responded without hesitation, her tone serious.
"He stayed behind. He insisted on looking for you; he must be somewhere in Berlin."

Fénix gritted his teeth.
"Then we have to find him. I'm getting him out of here."

Vanessa looked at him incredulously, shaking her head.
"Are you crazy? The city is hell right now; we won't last five minutes looking for him."

Fénix took a step toward her, his eyes blazing with determination.
"I'm not leaving him behind. Marcus is one of us, and as long as I breathe, this damn city won't consume him."

A metallic screech interrupted the tension. From the same manhole Fénix had emerged from, Anna appeared, covered in soot but with a smile that was still mischievous.

"Wow..." she said, brushing off her hands. "Why so tense?"

Fénix glanced at her, his blood still hot from the argument.
"I'm going to look for Marcus."

Anna arched her eyebrows and nodded without thinking.
"Then I'm going with you."

He tried to stop her, his voice harsher than usual.
"No. It's too dangerous. I'm not carrying another person in the middle of this chaos."

Anna took a step forward, fixing her eyes firmly on his.
"I learned from you not to back down, remember? I'm not letting you go alone."

Fénix held her gaze, measuring her conviction. Finally, he sighed, giving in with a slight, resigned grimace.
"Alright. But if you come with me, you follow my orders. No arguments."

Anna smiled sideways.
"Deal."

Lucian snorted, annoyed.
"Great, a pair of suicides."

Enid raised her voice, imposing herself as the leader.
"We will find a refuge and secure the area." Her eyes lingered on Fénix a second longer than necessary. "Don't be long."

Vanessa, Lucian, and Enid turned and began to move away, disappearing into the smoke and darkness, while Fénix and Anna stood ready to plunge into the burning heart of Berlin.

On the roof of a ruined building, enveloped by the night fog and the murmur of the wind, a sect gathered in the midst of a dark ritual. The full moon shone intensely, illuminating the scene with a spectral glow. Hooded and dressed in black, the members formed a circle around an improvised altar, where a middle-aged man lay bound with rusty chains. His face was pale, and his breathing, though shallow, betrayed that there was still life in him.

The occultists began to chant in an ancient language, their voices united in a monotonous tone that resonated in the darkness. The air was imbued with a feeling of expectation, a palpable tension that grew with each word they uttered. The goal of their invocation was clear: to bring back Marius, the former leader of the Lycans, a being whose existence had been surrounded by legends and fears.