CHAPTER 116: Hell in Berlin-9

CHAPTER 116: Hell in Berlin-9

Marius lunged at Phoenix without warning, like a black bullet cutting through the air. Phoenix barely had time to raise his arms in an automatic reflex, shielding his face from the direct blow Marius aimed at his jaw. The impact was brutal, so much so that Phoenix's block barely managed to prevent the fist from knocking him unconscious on the spot.

The ground beneath Phoenix's feet cracked under the force of the collision. He staggered backward, still in shock, his mind caught between disbelief and the need to react. Every move Marius made was perfect, clean, calculated. There was something hypnotic about the precision of his strikes: as if Phoenix were witnessing a masterpiece of pure violence.

"What's wrong, pup? Lost your edge?" laughed Marius, taking another step forward, ready to continue his brutal assault.

Marius attacked again, swift as lightning. Phoenix could barely keep up. Every blow was like a sharp knife: it cut through the air and struck with devastating force, leaving no room for error. The sound of fists hitting flesh echoed through the empty tunnel like war drums.

Phoenix, with the reflexes of a seasoned warrior, finally managed to find an opening. With a grunt of effort, he pivoted his body and threw a punch straight into Marius's stomach. The impact was dry, causing Marius's torso to buckle slightly from the force.

But Marius's smile never faded.

"Good. A bit of spirit at last."

Before Phoenix could retract his arm, Marius grabbed his wrist with inhuman strength.

"You know what's best about bones?" said Marius, squeezing tightly. The crunch came before Phoenix felt the pain.

"They always break the same."

Phoenix's left arm gave way with a sharp, violent snap. The pain was immediate, shooting through his entire body like an electric shock. Phoenix let out a choked cry, feeling his bone snap in two. Marius released his arm as if it were nothing more than a broken toy, leaving it hanging uselessly at his side.

Phoenix stumbled backward, gasping as he tried to process the pain. His mind was a whirlwind of thoughts, but one thing was clear: Marius hadn't lost an ounce of his brutality.

"Come on, pup, don't disappoint me so soon," said Marius, looking at him with the same arrogant calm he had always possessed. "Is this how you're going to welcome me?"

Phoenix gritted his teeth, trying to ignore the pain in his shattered arm. He knew this fight was just beginning, and if he didn't get up fast, Marius would finish him without hesitation.

Phoenix clenched his fists and, without wasting any more time, threw his right arm forward with all his pent-up fury. The fist hit Marius's face with the force of a derailed train, the sound of bone crashing against bone echoing through the tunnel like thunder.

Marius was thrown backward, flying through the air like a puppet with its strings cut. His body hurtled through the space and slammed violently into a concrete wall with a dry thud, sending up a cloud of dust and debris. For a brief moment, everything fell silent.

Phoenix, panting, adjusted his stance, his left arm hanging uselessly at his side. The pain was still there, but he couldn't afford to be distracted. He knew Marius wouldn't be stopped so easily.

"You pack a good punch, pup." Marius's voice emerged from the rubble, filled with an unsettling calm, as if he had just woken from a nap rather than being thrown against a wall.

As he got up, Marius found something interesting beside him: two pieces of pipe, rusty and broken, but long enough to be used as improvised weapons. With a twisted smile, he grabbed both pieces.

"Let's see how fast you can dance, Phoenix," he said, as he began rubbing the two pipes together, making the rough edges grate and slowly sharpen. Sparks flew into the air, giving a metallic glint to Marius's face.

Within seconds, he had transformed the pipes into makeshift blades. With both hands gripping the newly created weapons, Marius's smile widened.

"Now things are going to get interesting."

Phoenix took a deep breath, adjusting his body position to compensate for his broken arm. He knew Marius didn't need tools to be lethal, but seeing him improvise so quickly gave him a clear idea: this was just a game to him.

"Ready to bleed?" asked Marius, raising both blades with a wild glint in his eyes.

Phoenix narrowed his, assessing every move. He knew the only way to survive would be to stay one step ahead, because if Marius kept up this pace, he wouldn't stop until he killed him.

And in the back of his mind, Phoenix knew it: in this tunnel, only one of them would walk out.

Marius lunged at Phoenix with inhuman speed, like a dark blur among the shadows. Phoenix barely had time to react, feeling the air shatter around him from the force of the movement. The blow was coming too fast.

"Faster than Alucard?" Phoenix thought fleetingly as he tried to read the trajectory of the improvised weapons. "I don't know, but damn if he isn't close."

One of the pipes shot directly towards his head. Phoenix twisted his body by instinct, leaning to the side at the last second. The rusty edge grazed his ear, just cutting a lock of his hair. But in that moment, Marius already had the second pipe ready.

"You can dodge one..." whispered Marius with a sadistic smile, "but the other will always find you."

Phoenix barely saw the glint of the second bar before feeling the impact. The pipe pierced his abdomen, going through flesh and muscle as if it were nothing. A searing pain spread from Phoenix's stomach, but he had no time to react as Marius twisted the bar inside the wound, wrenching a grunt of pain from him.

Marius didn't stop moving. Taking advantage of the moment Phoenix was doubled over in pain, he pulled the pipe from his abdomen and with a fluid, precise motion, used the other one to cut Phoenix's face. The rusty metal traced a deep, curved line, starting above his right eyebrow and descending to just below his left eye, like half of an unfinished 'X'.