CHAPTER 219: The Hunter Became the Prey - 3 END

CHAPTER 219: The Hunter Became the Prey - 3 END

Selene's eyes snapped open. The physical world returned like a violent impact. Dust was still floating in the air, the lights flickered, and the echo of the tunnels vibrated against the metal walls. In front of her, Fenix was still shaking, as if his body were fighting against something internal.

Pain ran through Selene's body. The pieces of metal that had pierced her were gone, but the blood was still flowing. Even so, vampire regeneration began closing the wounds at great speed. She breathed deeply, clenched her teeth, and managed to stand up.

She looked around and saw a metal bar torn from a fallen structure. She took it with both hands, testing its weight.

—Good… —she murmured, advancing a step.

Fenix raised his head abruptly. His muscles tensed unnaturally. A wet crack ran down his back and, in a blink, his body deformed until it once again adopted its uber lycan form. The creature let out a roar that shook the tunnel and launched itself directly at Selene.

She barely had time to raise the bar.

The impact was brutal. Selene rolled along the ground, driving the bar into the floor to stop her sliding. She got to her feet and charged at him, leaping with all her weight. She managed to hook onto his neck, wrapping her arm around it while trying to drive the bar between the muscular plates.

—Come on, Fenix! —she growled, squeezing hard.

The uber lycan responded with a violent charge against a wall. The blow knocked the air out of Selene. Fenix hit her with a direct punch to the side. Then another. And another. Each impact was like a hammer against her ribs.

Selene spat blood, but did not let go.

—Not… yet… —she gasped.

Fenix roared and twisted his torso with colossal force. Selene was sent flying several meters, crashing against the metal floor. She rolled uncontrollably until she ended up face up, dazed.

Joe took a step forward, driven by instinct.

—Selene!

Lucian quickly stepped in front of him.

—Don't get involved —he said in a tense voice—. That fight isn't for you. You can't do anything there.

Joe clenched his fists, powerless, watching as Selene tried to get up while Fenix's enormous silhouette moved toward her again.

At that instant, the uber lycan's body creaked and deformed again. The monstrous mass folded in on itself until it recovered the human silhouette. Fenix stood panting, his skin still steaming and his left eye destroyed, covered in blood.

He advanced slowly toward Selene.

From his perspective, she seemed motionless, lying on the ground, her chest barely rising with breath.

—It's over… —he murmured with a crooked smile—. Don't get up, I'll spare you the pain.

He leaned in a little more, approaching confidently.

In that second, Selene's eyes snapped open.

With an explosive movement, she raised the metal bar and thrust it forward with all her strength.

The tip pierced through Fenix's frontal lobe.

A dry, wet sound shook the air.

—Gah…!

Fenix staggered backward. The bar protruded from his head, soaked in blood. His jaw began to tremble uncontrollably. A thick thread of drool fell from the corner of his lips.

His eyes, once dark and charged with fury, began to lose color. First they clouded, then turned completely white.

—N-no… —he stammered, incoherently.

Foam began to pour from his mouth as his body went into violent spasms. His legs gave way and he fell to his knees, hitting the ground hard. His muscles contracted erratically, as if his nervous system had been completely thrown into disorder.

Fenix ended up collapsing onto his side, writhing among convulsions, breathing irregularly, his gaze lost and empty.

The tunnel fell silent, broken only by the death rattles of the body convulsing on the cold metal.

In Fenix's mind, the world began to crack.

The darkness trembled like a building about to collapse. Fragments of memories, voices, and sensations peeled away from the environment and dissolved into the void. In front of him, the monstrous uber Fenix still retained his imposing height, but his body was coming apart in shreds of shadow, like smoke dragged by an invisible wind.

Fenix breathed deeply.

For the first time in years, he felt something close to relief.

—We did it… —he murmured, with a faint smile—. We really did it.

The uber Fenix took a clumsy step forward. His knees gave way and he ended up kneeling, with no trace of arrogance or fury left. His voice, once deep and dominant, sounded broken.

—No… don't erase me… —he begged—. I protected you… I carried everything… have mercy…

He raised a trembling hand toward him, like a child asking for help.

Fenix observed him in silence for a second. His eyes no longer reflected fear, but a firm calm.

—You didn't protect me —he replied clearly—. You locked me away. You used my pain to justify your violence. You stole twelve years of my life.

The monster lowered his head, panting.

—Without me you're nothing… —he insisted in a thread of a voice—. The world will break you again…

Fenix took a step forward.

—The world always hurts. That doesn't give you the right to become an executioner.

He placed himself in front of him. The uber Fenix could barely hold himself up. His body was already almost transparent.

—I don't need a cage to keep going —he continued—. I need to take responsibility for what I am, for what I did, and for what remains to be repaired.

Without hesitation, he raised his foot.

The monster raised his gaze one last time, his eyes full of fear.

Fenix stepped down hard.

The uber Fenix's head disintegrated under his foot like shattered glass, exploding into a cloud of shadows that dissipated into the air. The rest of the body collapsed instantly, evaporating until no trace was left.