Marked Ones: Advent of the Demon Prince

"Stay inside!" Lucius shouted towards the cabin as the mist began to press in around him. The glow from Rena's light spell was dimming slightly, but it seemed she was trying her hardest to keep it going, even though she likely could not see through the barrier that now separated them.

He glanced around the shrunken space that was maintained for him thanks to the light spell. He could not hear anything from his surroundings, yet he could tell that the man was watching him from the mist. The pressure exerted by this person's hateful gaze was immense.

"You were not one of the ones who imprisoned me. You did not starve me. You did not hate me simply because of this mark…not like the hunters did. They got what they deserved. They earned their punishment."

Lucius tried his best to locate the man from the sound of his voice, but it seemingly came from every direction at once. He kept his head on a swivel, looking for anything that would give him a sign of where his enemy was located. A faint whistling sound echoed from behind him, which he recognized for an attack and dove to the left.

Where he was standing was a massive, five-foot long spear that seemed to be made out of the same fog as his surroundings.

As soon as it had appeared it vanished and rejoined with the barrier that had created it. More whistling sounds filled the space, forcing him to jump out of the dirt. First there was one, then two, then three. Soon the entire circle was becoming filled with these vanishing spears.

"[Forsaken Arts: Weapon Breaker]!"

He focused on another of his hidden skills, making his weapon glow golden. Using some of the sensation he had felt when using his Thunder Magic the first time, he urged nearly seventy percent of the mana forming to spread through his whole body, leaving only the remaining thirty percent to concentrate in the weapon as intended.

Lucius had long since mastered the skill of mana manipulation, but this was the first time he used it across his entire being, instead of just specific areas.

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The sensation was indescribable. It was eerily similar to what he remembered when using the Beast Arts, but there was another sensation…a feeling that he was missing something…however there was no time to focus on that.

As more spears continued to launch at him from all sides, he felt his speed and reaction time nearly triple. The concentration of mana in his weapon was not enough to actually break the weapons, but he was granted the speed and power to knock them back into the fog.

"How are you doing that… no matter. When in my mist, my every desire can be created! You cannot win!"

'I need more. At this rate, I will be skewered.' This thought played repeated through Lucius' head as he jumped, ducked, sidestepped, and parried countless weapons and objects made from his opponent's mark. He was assailed by spears, swords, boulders, animals, and countless different things that materialized long enough to hurt him before vaporizing yet again.

'Fuck. If I don't get through this, Rena is next.' He thought. 'Okay, I can't break these objects, I might as well switch to dodging. I'll equally distribute the mana everywhere now. That should give me enough extra speed.'

His entire body was now bathed in a dull glow. Every inch of him was flowing with mana as though it were a second skin.

'Hi there kid. Been awhile.' A dark, yet teasing voice pierced through Lucius' mind.

'Grimm. What do you want?'

'You are so close to a breakthrough. Close enough for me to sneak a little chat without my old buddy Luz holding us back. Figured I could help you…with a push over the edge. Free of charge, its your own power after all.'

'Do it, but if this hurts Rena in any capacity…anything at all…'

'Down, lover-boy…use the mark…then it'll become clear.'

Lucius continued to dodge the different things being thrown at him while he conversed with the dark creature in his head. The attacker was getting angry and had begun roaring and screaming incoherently. The attacks continued to pick up in speed and intensity.

"Okay, let's give this a go… [Abyss Break: Cloak of Darkness]"

The very shadows themselves seemed to rise to Lucius' command and shot towards him, covering his weapon, armor, and extremities. Some stayed at his feet, stretching upwards to deflect some of the attacks that he was struggling to dodge.

"Oh this feels familiar… Oh! That's what Grimm meant… I see…" When his mark activated, and the shadows enveloped him, he maintained his control over the Mana for his Art. This intensified the feeling of missing something. There was only one thing left for him to add.

Lucius stopped moving and willed the shadows cloaking him to hold off the attacks for a few moments. He focused on the part of his mana that contained the Thunder Magic compatibility and willed it to come forth. For the moment, the one that came to mind was the one that gave him the sensation of filling his whole body with mana in the first place. "[Tempestas: Lightning Charge]"

Lucius felt the combination of the Arts and Magic, both made of two different kinds of mana, swirl together in his body. Encapsulating the two, was a different power from that of mana. It was the source of whatever empowered the marks. They danced together and merged with one another as they began to merge into a single sensation.

Lucius opened his eyes, that he had subconsciously closed. Even he could tell that his irises emitted a dull glow, barely containing the strange power welling up within him.

A wave of energy exploded outward from the boy, instantaneously dispersing all of the fog that filled the area. The camp and the forest were completely clear of whatever this man's mark had done.

He looked at the source of the problem coldly. The scrawny man with scraggily long hair quaked in fear, hurriedly looking around as if unaware of what had happened to his power.

Lucius uttered a single phrase; perhaps one that had not been heard by the world in eons. Though his voice was a mere whisper, it was as if reality itself shuddered weight of his words.

"[Primordial Ascension]"