Mark hadn’t played a lot of baseball as a kid, but now, at least he knew how the ball felt being knocked around senselessly. When he slammed into the ground, he had enough force behind him to crack his teeth together and lose the remaining breath in his lungs. The world spun, and Mark tasted copper on the back of his throat, but he grounded himself in his spell. He refused to lose [Sculpt Mana] on account of the veritable sea of Corrupted now pressing up against his small battered prison.
Something landed above with a crunch, Mark had an idea of what, but his mind was spinning.
The wound on his shoulder had already stopped bleeding and was well on its way to healing when a serrated blade punched through the dome once more, attempting to spear him through the forehead. The blade stopped just shy of touching his skin, but Mark got a close-up look at the dull ragged edge running along the length of metal.
Roland stood above him wiggling the hilt in an attempt to pry him out. Mark was vaguely aware of the bloodlust and sheer joy on his face as he planted a foot on the construct to get a better purchase.
A breath carried away the last of the pain and Mark narrowed his stare at the man above him. Mark was angry but at the same time, he didn’t have time for this guy. The [Animated Mind] floated next to Mark's chest faithfully. Then it hummed goodbye and popped like a soap bubble as Mark pulled all the remaining energy from it.
Mark's glare must have been sign enough because Roland froze and shot backward.
Just as a spear of steel arrived to skewer him.
Prana banished Mark's vertigo and his construct expanded outward, pushing everything back with a symphony of breaking bones and flying bodies.
Getting [telekinesis] working again Mark attempted to crush Roland, but the guy saw it coming and kept moving too fast to pin down. He did however remain in the area, dashing in and hitting Mark's dome when her saw an opening. Each time he did, Mark had to push more power into the shield.
Roland was playing the long game and Mark couldn’t afford to be drawn into his pace. He was still doing fine but he would be the loser if things continued at this rate. Where had the guy even come from?
Mark's rational side took over and banished any unnecessary thoughts. He was in the worst possible situation, up against the worst opponent for him. Not to mention he had no idea who the other enemy was, but if they were half as strong as Roland then his people were in trouble. He could only hope their numbers gave them the advantage for now.
[Light control] flared into existence and chased the Corrupted man down. Now that he wasn't hiding, Mark had a target. Faster than he could react, an orb of light shot out and fixed itself to his neck.
Mark didn’t feed the Mana needed to burn the guy, but kept the orb bright enough that it would be a definite hindrance to his vision.
Roland screamed in surprise and frustration, but Mark extended his hands and released twenty [Force bolts] at once in a spray of bullets.
Because of the light blinding him at least half hit him center mass. Roland staggered back, but the damage could not pierce his rough gray flesh.
A grunt turned to a spiteful snarl, and Roland charged Mark. Pulling his construct in Mark reshaped and condensed it into an opaque armor and jumped back. The average Corrupted were hardly worth worrying about when he had this much energy surrounding him. But the main reason Mark had pulled his shield in was to remain nimble, he couldn’t just sit there and take what Roland had to offer.
Even if his speed greatly outmatched Mark it was the only response Mark could think of to his charging attacks.
Roland dove after Mark and in response, Mark tucked his arms in and jumped back. Of course, he got hit on the back swing but one out of two wasn’t so bad.
Mark's shield shook with six resounding hollow thuds.
The next hits came as expected, and this time Mark managed to get his buckler in the way. Whether it was because of the light, or his quick thinking the round shield on his forearm deflected the blow, which only served to illicit another scream from Roland.
The next few exchanges were all downhill from there. Mark could see the attack coming, and even withstand them if he got his arms up in time. However, most of the time Mark’s reactions were just unable to keep up with the guy's speed. Not to mention the power behind his swings, which would have sent Mark reeling if he hadn’t stabilized himself with the construct.
Roland saw this and just upped his speed, weaving around Mark's guard as though it didn’t exist.
Deciding he had had enough, Mark allowed the force from the next attack to send him flying.
In the air, Mark stole a glance at his line and saw a huge gap and chaos as their fighters tried to repair the break. The woman he’d failed to kill was ripping off chunks of herself and throwing them at his fighters. Tiny, sinister creatures reminiscent of a beatle littered the area, attacking whoever they came into contact with.
Catching himself Mark turned and dug his heels into the ground slowing his retreat and pulling the staff from his back.
Roland didn’t even slow down and crashed into Mark, who managed to block with the center point of his weapon. The force rang out across the rod in Mark's hands, making him grip it tighter.
The Corrupted man's face was a twisted mask of fury and excitement, he was about to say something when Mark’s attack arrived.
Mark had hidden the spear from earlier on the ground now with his full attention on him it approached from behind and sunk between Roland’s shoulder blades.
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Mark didn’t waste time or words and began to expand the metal in an attempt to rip the man apart from the inside.
Roland’s eyes bulged from pain, but then against Mark’s expectation he leaned back onto the spear and slammed his legs into Mark's center mass.
The maneuver was so unexpected and reckless that Mark didn’t have time to brace.
And was sent rocketing backward through the horde, losing control of both the spear and orb of light.
The world spun until Mark could regain his bearings, but by the time he rightened himself, Roland had already ripped the spear out and a significant amount of flesh with it.
A wolfish grin curved his lips and his already pale skin became many shades darker. Mark only just noticed the changes and Roland was once more pressing the attack. This time though he was even faster, readjusting his stance Mark got ready for him.
An explosion at the defensive line went off but Mark ignored it, focusing in on Roland’s mad dash. He had to come up with something, now, but Roland just kept pushing his speed advantage and Mark couldn't keep up. Every exchange weakened Mark a bit, it was time to make a desperate play.
Snapping the staff to his back Mark lowered his stance to brace for impact, an invite, Roland went for it without hesitation.
At the same time, Mark funneled a good portion of his remaining Mana into [Earth control] and Manifested a large amount of stone around himself. He sent columns of the rock at Roland who cut through it like a jackhammer. Mark threw one last wall of earth at the man and then wrapped it around himself in the shape of a cube.
As expected, Roland pierced right through the obstacle, his speed barely slowing. The space now blocked out most of the light but Mark didn’t care, he could just see the silhouette of the man approaching as he covered the space in a secondary construct and applied pressure.
Roland’s speed slowed instantly, Mark poured more power into the construct and attempted to crush the man.
They were so close now, that when their gazes locked they could see each other's thoughts moving behind them. One was set and determined while the other was hungry and bordering on madness.
Mark poured power into the effect and Roland’s moment continued to slow, but not quick enough, the hit was coming. Mark thought he was ready, but then a pulse of Corruption came from Roland’s. hand. He fired a bolt at Mark at point-blank range, but this one was different. The detonation expanded and filled the space but the damage to the stone was minimal, instead it had a much greater effect on Mark's shield. The Corruption targeted the Prana in his barrier, greatly weakening it for the blade that descended towards Mark’s neck.
Pins and needles prickled across Mark's entire body as death approached.
Mark wanted to pour more power into the shield, but even if he released his mental limit now, it still wouldn’t be enough. Too much of his energy was going into slowing the guy down, any further spells would break what little hold he had. His buckler was on the other side and wouldn't make it, and his staff was too far.
So Mark did the last thing he could think of, he brought his elbow up to guard his neck and used his other hand to reinforce it. Roland had slowed down enough that he managed to get his arms up just as the blade crashed into the inch-thick pane of force.
It stopped the first and second hits, but could only slow the third. The fourth, cut into the skin of his biceps, and the fifth sunk into Mark's flesh, parting his muscles. The sixth and final reverberation, chipped into his bone, sawing three-quarters way through it, before coming to a halt. The arm took a moment to register the pain but when it did, it spread like gasoline on the surface of water, igniting as it went.
Warm blood flowed down Mark's arm and soaked into his chest armor, but he refused to acknowledge it. Power churned around the two of them, both now locked in place by the other.
Even in this situation Roland’s smile only wavered for a second before he ground out.
“I don’t get it, you people are insane. I for sure thought the only threat was Jonathan. So I was relieved when Mother told me I just had to kill you, Mark. Oscar was right though, you are the weakest and strongest, even with all this prep you still refuse to die.”
Mark's pupils dilated. He had so many questions. How did he know their names? Was Oscar working with them? Who was Mother? But it was taking everything he had to keep the pain locked away and the spell going. Words were a luxury he couldn't afford right now.
Mark gradually managed to pull together enough power to call to his [Earth control]. Cracks spread throughout the room and the walls broke down and reshaped themselves into large spikes. Purple light flooded back in and the Corrupted outside tried to get in, only to skewer themselves on the sphere of barbs.
Bringing the shards closer, Mark moved them into position around Roland, who was now pulling ragged breaths through his teeth and darting his eyes around in search of an escape. He looked desperate, and all too human for Mark's liking, but all Mark needed to do was to think back to the graveyard Perry's base had become, and the cold lifeless body of Jana, and his reservations vanished.
Mark pushed the stone forward and at that moment Roland flared his power one more time in an attempt to wiggle free, and if he had started sooner he might have made it, but Mark gave him no time to make a comeback.
The shards plunged into his body, but he tensed his powerful muscles halting the shard's progression.
Another explosion lit up the entire space with silver light, temporarily overpowering the purple glow in the room, and sending shadow fleeing to all corners of the room. This one was easily the biggest ripping of power he felt yet, causing a low rumbling in the cavern walls, but Mark was too busy to even register what was going on before the light faded one more.
The pressure behind Roland’s blade grew, and Mark’s arm protested, but he just increased the Mana behind the earth.
The two were locked in a slow battle for dominance where either side could die at any moment. Then like the jaw of an iron maiden snapping shut the pressure became too much for his body and Roland became riddled with holes.
Right away, the pressure from the blade eased, but Mark didn’t let up and flared the stone to spike outwards like roots burrowing into the soil.
It was the right decision because Roland was somehow still alive, waiting for Mark to lower his guard. He suddenly strained his muscles for one more explosive burst, pushing the blade the remaining way through the bone and easily sheering through the remaining muscle.
The blade only stopped when it got to the bone of Mark's fingers. Roland tried to give one last guttural laugh even with stone barbs piercing his lungs, before he hunched over, his full weight resting against the stone.
Mark was losing a lot of blood, but didn’t move until he was certain he felt the last twisted life leak out of Roland’s body. A residual shiver went down Mark's spine and he could only be thankful for the large amount of Resistance he had. The blade had still cut through him like butter, but it was because of his high attributes it had slowed to where it did, instead of severing his head from his neck.
Retrieving the power from his outer construct Mark flooded his arm with Prana. Luckily his force armor was wrapped around his body and Roland had only damaged a portion of it, so Mark’s severed arm remained in contact with his body. That made for a much easier time when he wanted to reattach it. Mark was doing exactly that when the world around him exploded with Aura. It was eerily cold and promised a grim end to everything in its path.
Mark had not even recovered and was still in his cage of earth, but he knew Jonathan had arrived.