The backstreets roared with chaos.
Steel clashed. Concrete shattered. The air trembled with every impact as buildings cracked and collapsed under the force of the fight. People who were too slow, too unlucky, were caught in it cut down by stray blood projectiles or crushed beneath falling debris.
It didn't matter.
This place never cared.
"Still haven't surrendered? Surprising for a Frenchman," I said, grinning through the exhaustion. "But you're gonna lose anyway."
I lunged forward.
Evan reacted instantly.
A wall of crystallized blood surged up between us thick, jagged, pulsing like a living organ.
CLANG!
My blade struck it and stopped cold.
"Tch."
I clicked my tongue, tightening my grip.
"Stop hiding behind walls, you damn bat!"
I drove my fist forward instead.
The impact cracked the structure, veins of red splintering across its surface before it shattered, fragments scattering like broken glass.
I stepped through it.
Rebellion snapped back into my hand, and I swung fast, clean, lethal.
Evan blocked, but he was already being pushed back. His feet dragged against the ground, carving deep lines into the pavement.
"Pesky cattle!" he snapped, fury breaking through his composure. "I will not lose to a mere Fixer!"
If it wasn't for this E.G.O… he'd be right.
I smirked.
"Keep telling yourself that."
He jumped back, creating distance. Blood gathered behind him, forming spikes sharp, waiting covering every blind spot.
Smart.
But not enough.
I threw Rebellion straight at him.
Evan's eyes sharpened. Another blood wall rose instantly in front of him but that wasn't the point.
My hand shot forward.
My fingers pierced the wall.
Not cracked.
Not dented.
Pierced.
They sank through like claws tearing into flesh. I grabbed hold and ripped.
The wall split apart violently, torn in two.
Evan's eyes widened.
"Caught you."
I was already there.
My hand clamped onto his shoulder, the other gripping his head, fingers digging in deep. His body tensed too late to react.
"You little WORM!"
I didn't let him finish.
My jaw opened too wide, too sharp, teeth no longer human.
And then I bit down.
Hard.
Flesh tore.
Bone cracked.
Blood burst out, hot and thick, spilling over my face as I ripped his throat open with my teeth.
Evan choked not screaming, not yet just a broken, strangled sound of disbelief.
I tore his neck apart and spat the flesh aside.
"You dirty fucker…" he rasped, voice barely holding together. "You're not even human… or sane at this point…"
I laughed low, breathless.
"Who the hell is sane in this fucked-up place?"
I threw his body aside like trash.
It hit the ground with a dull thud, twitching faintly.
In my hand his head.
I lifted it, staring into his lifeless eyes.
For a moment… there was nothing.
No hunger.
No arrogance.
No madness.
Just emptiness.
"…Huh."
My grin slowly faded.
The adrenaline drained, replaced by something quieter. Heavier.
The city around me was still burning.
Buildings collapsing. Distant screams. Sirens getting closer.
And there I stood.
Holding a severed head like it was just another job done.
"…Damn."
I exhaled, long and slow.
Blood dripped from my chin.
From my hands.
From everything.
"Guess that's it, huh…"
For a second just a second I thought about Roland.
About that look on his face.
About what he said.
"You look like that thing…"
My grip tightened slightly.
Then I scoffed, shaking my head.
"Yeah… not dealing with that right now."
I tossed Evan's head aside. It rolled across the broken pavement before coming to a stop, staring up at nothing.
Silence slowly crept back in.
Only the crackling of debris remained.
I turned away, dragging Rebellion over my shoulder.
"Another contract done…"
But my voice didn't carry the same energy as before.
"…and somehow it feels worse than the last."
I walked off into the ruined street, leaving the corpse behind.
Not looking back.