“Can I have some fairy dust?” Spike asked Elora.

“You want your final moments to be as high as a kite?” she questioned.

“Spot on! I wanna go all out- guns blazing, don’t you?” Spike replied.

The group seemed relatively calm, the undead had already started pouring out the mine and into the surrounding forest. It would only be a matter of time before they found them at the fort.

Elora rolled her eyes and blew it over Spike.

“What skills have we got left?” Tower asked.

Only Mute raised her hand.

“Ok, Sharp and Elora on the wall. Spike you stay up there too and then come down on my signal.” Tower ordered, “We will try and keep them from getting in the fort at all costs.

“Yes, Sir.” Sharp responded.

The route coming up the fort was a funnel, it then spread out to a large area before the Fort. Tower told Sharp and Elora to focus the funnel, himself and Mute would be on the ground dealing, pushing them back. If they can’t hold it any longer they will retreat into the fort and defend it from there.

“Shit,” Sharp said, “An ogre is coming up here.”

“Wait until it reaches the gate and then kill it, we want to delay the time as much as possible.” Tower said, “Are the refugees all in the fort?” he asked.

“Yes, nailing in the last pit of wood on the barricade,” Sharp replied.

“Alright,” Tower said as he walked up to the wall, “I’m not one for speeches but I think I’ll give it a go.”

Elora turned her camera on as he cleared his throat, “Well, it’s been a good few years, we’ve fought side by side through thick and thin. Sorry Elora, I know you just joined us for this mission but you’re still a part of the team.”

“That's it?” Spike said.

“Well, yes.” Tower said.

“We’re gonna die and that’s the speech you give? I’d rather Mute do it.” Sharp remarked.

The conversation was strange, it was filled with dark and sarcastic undertones. Elora was traumatised but they all seemed so calm.

“Fine!” Tower shouted, taking an authoritative pose. He stood at attention and placed his hands behind his back.

“We were nothing but castaways and orphans. We were recruited to the Unwanted for the skills we possess. We survived the grueling training, we survived over 100 missions. We survived this whole time, yet we’re going to die at the hands of some rotten undead!”

“Yeah! That’s it!” Spike shouted,

“Are we not the Unwanted? We laugh in the face of Death, for Death does not define us! We fight till we reach Valhalla and dine in Hel with the Einherjar!”

“Yeahh!”

Sharp fired an arrow up into the sky.

“So we’re gonna fight till the end! We’re gonna fight till we’re black and blue and red all over! For we are the Unwanted!”

The arrow came flying down and pierced the ogre’s head into the ground. The undead at the bottom noticed and began to slowly trudge up the hill. One pulled another and the horde was now climbing up the mountain pass.

Tower jumped down outside of the walls with Mute following shortly. He glanced back up his team on the walls and saluted them. Sharp and Spike saluted back while Elora smiled.

“I have to say, I’ve never been with a party like yours!” she shouted down.

“This is what the Unwanted are like.” Tower replied.

He and Mute then walked to the choke point. Tower brought out a huge shield and his trusty hammer.

Tower slammed it down and knocked on it twice.

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The horde approached over the steep incline between the rocks and shambled forward. Spike began to sing a final song as Tower’s grip tightened on his weapons. Mute held her sword to her side, only a short distance away from Tower.

Tower’s shield collided with the horde, using his incredible strength to hold them back as he swung his giant hammer into them. Dozens were dismembered and thrown down the mountain pass into their own kin.

Mute dashed around the Tower and sliced those that tried to pass to the side. Mana arrows and blue fireballs were thrown into the horde at the bottom causing mass casualties.

The horde never seemed to stop coming, constantly pouring out of the dungeon entrance. Sharp and Elora’s mana were dwindling, they downed mana potions without a care for the poisoning. The only thing that mattered to the group was to kill as much as possible, they would take down as much as possible.

Tower’s shield began to break apart. The force of the dead bodies piling up caused the wooden shield to splinter and crack. He threw it into the horde right as a mana arrow passed above. The shield exploded and wooden splinters impaled dozens of them.

Mute danced on top of their heads taking many of them down in an instant. A huge explosion was caused from down below giving Tower and Mute time to back off and recoup.

“The funnel’s lost!” Tower said. “Elora, concentrate on the peak while me and Mute deal with stragglers.”

Another huge fireball exploded near the peak causing tens of the undead to turn to ash. The fire didn’t spread far but enough so that it didn’t reach her two teammates.

The bodies began to pile up even further yet they kept coming over.

“Retreat!” Tower yelled with ragged breath.

Spike hopped down from the wall and opened the gate for them. They entered and Tower lifted the heavy beam of wood that went across the gate to hold it down.

He began to chuck everything he could in front of the gate- barrels, stones, planks, spikes, anything that could hold them back longer or kill them.

“Elora! Burn the top of the pile.” Tower shouted.

Elora didn’t need to be asked, blue flames wrapped around her hands and she laid waste to the top of the pile. At least 50 died but there were far more that came over.

“Give it everything!” Tower shouted.

Sharp began to rapidly fire his arrows, heads exploding with half a second between. The ones that got past were burned to a crisp or halted by sound waves. But even they couldn’t hold the horde for long and they piled up at the gate. They still continued to kill them, even Mute was throwing stones off the wall to kill them, she was struggling but giving it her all.

The barricade began to fall so Tower pressed his giant hands against the gate and held it back. He held it for what felt like hours but it was only mere minutes.

He buffed himself and his muscles bulged to keep up with the pressing force. His veins popped out from underneath his muscles as they tried to feed oxygen and mana to his muscles.

Tower’s muscles felt like collapsing in on themselves but he held strong. He was now the only defence between him and his teammates. An undead snout broke a small portion of the gate and stuck its mouth in. Its teeth clamped down on his wrist and released miasma into his bloodstream

Tower didn’t move his wrist and let the teeth tear into him, if he did then the undead would bust through and his teammates would die. He couldn’t let them.

His whole body ached and tears poured down his face, this was his last stand- his all. Tower screamed as his clothes were ripped off him. A magical tattoo began to form on his back. He felt power flow into his body

Congratulations! You have received a God Mark from Magni, God of Strength.

You have used absolute strength and perseverance to defend your teammates. Magni, God of Strength, has seen your tribute and you have received his Mark.

Magni sees you worthy to carry his Mark. Do not disappoint him.

+10 Strength

+5 Endurance

+3 Constitution

Active Skill- Shaker of Jotunheim.

Description- For a minute, every attack, footstep and any connection with an object or entity will cause shockwaves dealing base damage of 250 damage in a five metre radius.

Bonus feature- Using this skill in your transformation skill will triple the distance of the shockwaves and double the damage.

Cooldown- 1 Day

Cost- None(No cost from Mark)

Affinity: Giant

Your Stamina, Mana and Health has all been restored.

The tattoo was of him holding the gate, it was imprinted with magical ink and glowed golden like his royal blood.

Tower activated the skill and slammed his fist into the gate. The wood seemed to disintegrate into the undead on the other side. Hundreds of undead were sent flying away from the gate and off the mountain.

He looked down to his hands and felt the increase in power, it was something he had never felt before. He roared and charged forward to outside the gate. Every footstep he took caused dozens of undead to die, the powerful shockwaves dislodging their organs and bones.

Tower slammed two fists on the ground and the ground broke apart. It was like a meteor had just landed. The dust settled and there was only a pile of flesh and bones outside the gates. He roared again and charged down the mountain.

“What the fuck was that?!” Spike shouted.

“He just received a mark.” Sharp said calmly as he let two arrows loose into the sky.

“From a god?” Elora questioned.

God marks were given to those that impressed them. They were seen as the ultimate recognition of someone's area of expertise or achievements. They were only a known handful of them that publicly showed them off. She had just witnessed a gods doing in the flesh.

“I’m not sure how long that ability will last but we should head down there and push them back as much as possible.” Sharp said with a push of his glasses.

“Agreed.” Elora said.

The four of them charged out of the fort and down the mountain. To their shock, hundreds of dead were scattered around the path that led down to the dungeon. In the distance they saw Tower at the dungeon entrance keeping them back. Every punch and footstep killing five at once.

They raced down the mountain while Spike leapt with his loosened gravity. They arrived just as Tower’s skill deactivated. He fell down to his knees with ragged breath.

“C’mon,” Spike said as he threw Tower’s arm over his shoulder.