The Phantom: Code Breaker

Chapter 37: On the Verge Of

Markus woke up and found himself in the middle of the city. Street lights blink under the dark night sky. Sirens wailing in every direction and the sound of the wind whistle on his ears as it blew strong from the west. Crashed cars and other debris scattered along the road making the scenery full chaos. The ground was uneven; cracks and holes were found in every direction and there was a huge cliff on the east side as if half on the ground had sunk leaving a deep abyss in the middle of the city. It is the very description of the "Real" world outside before he left for the virtual world.

"This scene looks so familiar, huh?!" he blurted "...it seems as if you foresaw the future of the city...Kirk." he added. "You creep." he glared at the guy standing in front of him. "How can you do this to those innocent people and cause destruction? How dark can your conscience had become?" Markus turned around trying to find his enemy but he hadn't caught an eye of him.

He wore an armored leather vest on top of what he wore before he entered the virtual world. It has a three-layered cover for protection just like what the SWATs are wearing. His sword hangs on his side. It was a 4-ft long black Katana. He drew it out from its scabbard and pointed it to his enemy when he finally saw him standing around 10 meters away from him.

"How was the trip, Markus?" Kirk asked neglecting to answer his previous question "...did you like the sword? I customized it to your liking." He walked towards a parked car in the middle of the road a few feet away from Markus.

He wore the same armor on top of his clothes. He was holding a sword like Markus on his right hand and a circular shield with him hanging on his left forearm. "Was it great or something?" he continued as he jumped above the bumper and stayed in the top of the car, extending his arms open.

"Ahh,, the trip was quite nauseous. " he spat on the crooked ground. "...thanks for the stun gun by the way." he replied sarcastically. "...Anyway, thanks for the sword, I kinda liked it.." he said with a grin.

"Then, you won't complain if I start ahead!"

Kirk charged towards Markus swinging his sword on his defenseless enemy. Their swords crossed each other leaving sparks and clenching sounds.

The crowd, who were stationed on top of the ruined buildings, was programmed to cheer for Kirk and boo his enemy. He really has won the crowd that ticks Markus' pride.

"I know they are pre-programmed AI's and they were set to do those stuff but---" Markus grit his teeth and stepped back. "It still annoys me when they side with him..."

Kirk was using a cheat to boost his every attack 200% greater than the usual that made Markus lose his ground and was pushed towards the end. On the other hand, Markus' attacks were normal and cannot instill much damage on his enemy that brought him to a disadvantage.

"Where are they? I need the weapon now." He thought. He desperately tried to shorten the gap he and Kirk had in terms of power in that VR. It was very tiring that he felt his arms losing strength in the real world.

He was immediately brought near the cliff in the east. He was thrown near the edge after a huge blow but thanks to a pizza delivery motorcycle he didn't fell off the cliff.

"You've changed and this is..." Markus said trying to remain conscious as he saw Kirk approaching his direction. He tried to raise his sword to block his face as the other hand supports his weight with the help of the motorcycle on his back.

"Ahh,, basically, I can do whatever I want in this field. You can't complain!" Kirk shouted as he came running. "I'm the game master and you're just a mere challenger, Hahaha! Here I go again!" he hit him again and again with his weapon rendering hits to his foe.

Markus was losing his breath as he lost his own balance and can hardly stand. His thoughts are turning foggy.

"Oi...stand up, I said stand! Stand, Markus. We're not done yet." Kirk kicked Markus on the gut and he crawled on the ground in pain. "Oh.. I forgot to remind you, the concept of pain is applicable in this world of mine" he walked back and forth in front of Markus. "I just changed it from pain resistance level 10 where you will only feel a pricking something on the wounded part of your body to pain resistance level 0 where everything you feel here will feel so real to the point where you'll wish you just need to die to ease your agony! Hahaha... isn't that interesting, ne, Markus?" he continued kicking him randomly." Well, you're hitting a while ago made my body throbs too, but I know, my hits are heavier in you, right? "

"How..." Markus tried to say something, but he can hardly say a word. He is still trying to recover from the damage he just received.

"You were about to ask, "How did I do it", right? Well, you know about the stimulus sent to our brains, right? The gear you just wore to enter this Virtual World was capable of sending stimulus registered as pain that will make you feel the same way it feels in the real world. Pretty cool, right? That new invention of Orion, the Gaea." he stopped and squatted right in front of Markus' face."No wonder ORION was on the top in terms of making and distributing technologies." Kirk gave a sarcastic laugh." Too bad that the heir of the company will end up dead because of their own techs."

"You have dragged yourself too deeply, Kirk." Markus tried to stand as he swings his arm, trying to hit his enemy but he stood and leaped away from him immediately. "You created this mess and brought everyone to ruins."

"No, you're the one who brought me this deep, Markus. So, take responsibility!" Kirk charged again and this time he hit Markus' head making it bleed, flowing like an open faucet. "If you haven't won the first round of the tournament, we could have proceeded smoothly with our plans. But you pompously challenged everyone and won the game!"

Markus lost sight for a while. He can't even hear the sound around him. He is losing his balance and tried to get hold of himself. He shook his head, but he can't take away the dizziness he felt giving him a hard time recognizing where his opponent is. He doesn't understand what Kirk was saying. "You fight unfairly, Kirk!" He shouted

"There is no FAIR in this world, Markus. Everything here is UNFAIR just like the real world! May it be here or outside, only the powerful, only the rich will be favored by the world. Nothing can be done by a peasant like me. But princes like you can do almost everything! I only wished to win that tournament and meet the guy who brought us to ruins. But then, I lost. So you have to take responsibility." Kirk looked up and said, "I told you, right? I made this game to defeat you! There is no way for you to win here, not even with your PHANTOM Algorithm!" Kirk charged again but this time Markus was able to dodge it. He is hardly getting his footing, but he pointed his sword to Kirk, ready to fight back.

"What do you think you can do in this situation, Markus? You're as good as dead, can't you feel it?" Kirk gave a devilish grin "... can't you feel it?" he repeated, now with much emphasis.

"What are you sayi---..." Markus felt more nauseous than before. His body feels so heavy that he even fell on his knees. He rose his head and gazed up but he can't even pull himself to meet his eyes on his opponent. Everything turned into a blur. "What did you---?" he managed to ask as he slowly fell to the ground.

"I just made you bleed to death, Markus. Your body in the real world might be suffering a lot, now... losing blood, turning paler and paler until you lost all your blood and you die, hahaha....and don't expect for help to come, they will never come your way, mark my word. You're as good as dead, you damn brat!" Kirk kicked him and he fell unconscious. "Your heroic sword has come to an end, idiot."

Kirk watched Markus fell on the ground, unconscious.