Even as Eros maintained the viselike grip of the Triangle Choke, Joachim, with his last ounce of strength, managed to equal the odds. He used the hand that was trapped by Eros and wrapped it around his throat in a desperate, choking hold of his own.
They both struggled – labored gasps, and the occasional gurgles as the flow of oxygen was cut off. It was a contest of wills, a battle of sheer endurance as each man fought to outlast the other.
I sat on the edge of my seat, my heart pounding, as I watched a demonstration of peak manhood. Muscles bulged, veins stood out against flushed skin – it was a primal display of raw power and unyielding determination.
Seconds ticked by, as the two contract holders fought to maintain their chokehold. Sweat streamed down their faces, but still, they refused to yield.
And then, after what felt like an eternity, the inevitable happened. Eros' grip on Joachim's neck slackened slightly, and the Rail Tracer seized the opportunity, tightening his hold. Eros' eyes rolled back in his head, and he went limp.
But just as I thought Joachim had emerged victorious, the hulking killer's own grip loosened, and he too slumped on Eros, unconscious. Was this a draw?
After a mere ten seconds, I watched in stunned disbelief as Joachim's body suddenly began to twitch and jerk, his massive frame stirring to life even after what should have been a decisive draw.
"What a fight," Joachim rasped, a twisted grimace spreading across his bloodied face as he laid atop Eros' prone form. "Impressive, boy. Very impressive. But, I win, and it is time to die."
But just as the words left his lips, a horrific sight unfolded before my eyes. A hand burst forth from Joachim's chest, its fingers piercing straight through the man's sternum and clamping around his still-beating heart.
I recoiled in shock, my mind racing to comprehend the impossible scene. Eros had been clearly bested, yet somehow, against all logic, he had found the strength to deliver a deathblow. Was he pretending to be unconscious? Was that his last trick?
Joachim's expression morphed from triumphant to one of sheer terror as he realized his fate. He tried to struggle, to lash out at the hand that held his very life in its grasp, but his movements were feeble, his strength sapped by the brutal confrontation.
I sat there, my mouth agape, as the realization hit me like a sucker punch to the gut. Eros who had just moments ago been on the brink of defeat - was still unconscious when he carried out his devastating final strike.
This man, this Eros, had somehow programmed himself, right down to the very depths of his subconscious, to have one last ace up his sleeve. Even if he lost the fight, even if he was rendered unconscious, a failsafe had been put in place, like a mouse trap, a last-ditch effort to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.
Thirty-six trillion cells, all working in perfect synchronicity, all programmed to do their master's bidding, even when the man himself was dead to the world. It was a simple, yet devastatingly effective idea, one that had been planted deep within the recesses of Eros' mind, just waiting for the moment to be unleashed.
I couldn't wrap my head around it, couldn't fathom the sheer level of forethought and planning that had gone into this twisted scheme. Eros wasn't just some run-of-the-mill street fighter – he was a master strategist, a man who had taken the concept of contingency planning to a whole new level. This man is a real demon.
Eros had somehow managed to cheat death itself, to turn the tables on a natural-born killer even when all seemed lost. It was a mind-bending feat, one that left me questioning the very limits of what a human being was capable of.
After several minutes, Eros' eyes fluttered open, his gaze unfazed by the macabre scene that surrounded him. With a casual shrug, he pushed Joachim's lifeless body off his chest, then drew his blood-soaked hand from the gaping wound, Joachim's still-beating heart clutched tightly in his grasp.
I watched, as Eros regarded the organ with a detached curiosity, before tossing it to the side with a dismissive flick of his wrist. Then, his eyes found mine, and I felt a shiver run down my spine – a strange cocktail of respect and terror coursing through my veins as I took in the full scope of his capabilities.
"Well, my dear Yves," Eros said, while wearing a calm and self-satisfied grimace. "Did you enjoy the performance? What did you think of my little... contingency plan?"
I swallowed hard, struggling to find the words to express the maelstrom of emotions that threatened to overwhelm me. "Impressive, Diablo," I managed, my voice barely above a whisper as I began to applaud, slow and deliberate, like a mesmerized audience witnessing the grand finale of a twisted, macabre show.
Eros – no, Diablo – drank in the accolades, his posture shifting into an elegant bow, as if he were the virtuoso taking his curtain call. "Curtain falls," he announced.
Eros then moved with a surgeon's precision, his fingers deftly slicing into Joachim's carotid artery. I watched, transfixed, as he brought the gushing wound to his lips, drinking deeply of the fallen killer's blood.
And to my utter astonishment, I witnessed the impossible – Eros' wounds, the marks of his brutal battle, began to knit themselves slowly, the power of Joachim's lifeblood seemingly restoring the lithe fighter to full vigor.
Eros turned to me, and pressed a finger to his lips. "What you've witnessed here, Yves," he murmured, "is a secret between us. Blood is knowledge, you see."
I nodded mutely, mimicking the motion of sealing my lips shut, my eyes wide with a mix of reverence and trepidation. This was no mere parlor trick – this was the unveiling of powers not mentioned in the contract, a revelation that left me reeling in its wake.
Without another word, Eros turned and swept out of the wagon into the next.
It was as if I had been pulled into the pages of some twisted, supernatural thriller, a world where the rules of reality no longer applied. And as I watched Eros' retreating figure, I couldn't help but wonder – what other mind-bending revelations did this enigmatic figure have already discovered? What other secrets lay hidden within the depths of his twisted schemes? A mere half week and he already gathered all this knowledge.
One thing I am sure of is that this is only the beginning and I could only imagine what other horrors and wonders lay in wait, just beyond the veil of the known.