340 Wild Battle, The Mark without Restraints and the Two Inheritors of the Crystals (1/2)

Day 54 – 12:25 PM – Industrial Area, South District, Bay City Settlement, Parañaque City, Philippines

Miasma blew like waves rippling on the ground in a large circle. In the center of that ripple, Mark's unsteady body stood, twitching and growling.

Both Gar'Vlam and Shin had to retreat because of the miasma. Especially Shin, since he had a weaker body than the flame demon. The dread he felt from the pressure emitted by Mark was too heavy.

”You bastard…” The gigantic flame demon growled. ”You should just lie down if you are dead already!”

Gar'Vlam shouted as he controlled the floating skulls in the air to attack. Immediately, hundreds of balls of fire were launched towards Mark who was just staring at the two without moving.

As the attack came, Mark hunched low with his arms dangling down. The blade of Flam that was still on his right hand hit the ground causing a metallic sound. Mark then raised his head looking at the balls of fire approaching.

When the first volley approached…

BURST! BURST! BURST! BURST! BURST! BURST!

The balls of fire burst apart. A volley after another, the balls of fire came in droves covering the area with bright light as they exploded. Mark was enveloped by hundreds of basketball sized explosions.

It might already have been a thousand or more when the rain of fire stopped. With that amount, the enemy should be dead already.

Or not…

To both Shin's and Gar'Vlam's surprise, the pressure they could feel never lessened and the rippling miasma never vanished. When the smoke from the explosions was gone, they saw Mark unharmed from the new attacks.

Mark stared at the two with his glowing eyes and his head lilted to the right. His hunched posture was still the same. However, six red tentacles could be seen swaying behind his back. On the end of each tentacle was a reddish-black colored blade.

ROOOOAAAARRR!!!

He released an inhumane roar from his throat. That could just be a simple roar on the outside but Shin immediately fell on one knee as he felt his head ache badly.

Shin felt a wet sensation on his nose and ears. As he touched it, he saw that his ears and nose were actually bleeding. He finally noticed, Mark was staring at them with his eyes fully red.

”Sh*t! It's that strange energy again.”

The swordsman realized. He was too focused on the heavy feeling he had and failed to notice the very same energy that covered the large area from before.

”Tsk.” Gar'Vlam clicked his tongue and spoke to Shin. ”Kid, I appreciate your assistance but retreat now. If you can prepare our escape, then do it. That bastard is just standing there not because he can't move. He's preparing for something.”

Gar'Vlam already realized. The enemy might have turned into a soulless one but it did not make the situation any better. Instead, it became more dangerous.

BURST! BURST!

As the flame demon finished his sentence, two more tentacles emerged from Mark's back. However, unlike the first six, the two new tentacles started to envelop his body. From his shoulders, the gelatinous blood spread to his arms and torso. Then it spread to his back, wrists, legs, face and the already torn wings. Even Flam was engulfed by the blood.

Still hunched, he looked like a figure totally covered in blood. The blood then wriggled as it started to take shape and hardened making a hideous looking armor filled with thorns and blades. Even the tentacles on his back changed into jointed limbs similar to a spider's or a beetle's which was filled with thorns. Flam was changed from a Flamberge into a reddish-black wide sword with spikes instead of a blade. Mark's face was covered with a mask that only covered the upper parts leaving his mouth and chin open.

CLINGK! CLINGK! CLINGK! CLINGK! CLINGK! CLINGK!

Metallic sounds could be heard as the six new limbs landed on the ground. The transformation only lasted for several seconds.

Mark then raised his head glaring at the two and then…

POOF!

Gar'Vlam hurriedly used the wide side of his sword as shield and put the sword in front of Shin.

It was because Mark suddenly disappeared from his initial position.

BAM!

The large sword was shaken heavily as Mark appeared in front of the sword with his metal limbs hitting it. From the loud sound, it was obvious that the impact was too strong that the sword held by the flame demon shook fiercely.

”Tsk. This Bastard aiming at you kid! Retreat now!”

Gar'Vlam shouted as Mark jumped away kicking the blade of the sword. Mark then landed on a pile of debris but before the two could blink, Mark vanished once more.

Normally, a trail of black mist could be seen. But as Mark appeared and disappeared now, it was not just a trail of mist but a thick wave of miasma bursting into the surroundings. It totally masked Mark's true movements making his attack very hard to predict.

VOOOOM!

Another burst of miasma scattered as Mark appeared behind Shin.

BAM!

Gar'Vlam blocked the attack once more. On the other hand, Shin took the opportunity to counter attack before he retreated. He unleashed several slashes at Mark with his katana.

CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!

All the slashes from the katana was blocked by one of the metal limbs. Seeing his attack blocked, Shin jumped back and started to retreat. As he retreated however, a wall of miasma appeared blocking his path.

Still, it was not enough to stop him.

Shin slashed the wall of miasma creating a large gap for him to go through. That slash contained his ability and rather than slashing the wall into two, it looked more like the miasma that his sword passed through was erased instead.

With that gap, Shin used his inhuman speed and ran away.