Another round of attacks moved over Marcus like a wave and brought him more pain. He jumped and moved as erratically as he could, but the closer his enemies came, the more attacks hit their mark. Arrows, Piercing Crystals and other projectiles peppered his back and drained his endurance further. Marcus realized he had to get off the roofs to reduce the attack angles of his enemies. Another Plasmaball barely missed him and he jumped to the side, rolling down a roof until he dropped onto the street.

Heavy boots rushed to his location before he had even hit the ground. Two armed men came around the corner behind him and in the same second he could feel his back burn up and his shirt literally catch fire. Instead of running he turned and Burst charged the guy he believed to be the Firelord. The other man stepped between them, welcoming Marcus with a glowing Soul Weapon.

That weapon was still hazy and unstable and had nothing on the deadly instrument Marcus had seen not long ago. Marcus made a bet on his toughness and rushed right into the two men. In a spectacular crash, all three collided and the glowing sword failed to do more than superficial burns on Marcus' skin. A double Impulse Hammer pinned the two against the wall and Marcus did not hesitate to give them the Jack Hammer treatment. Seconds later more fiends entered the street from different directions, but by that time their companions were broken beyond help.

Marcus dropped the corpses and ran down the only road without an enemy. He could not outrun them, even with Burst. Too many of his pursuers had a good amount of dexterity and when he entered another small square he found his options cut short by approaching enemies. Only one small alleyway to his right was still open and Marcus rushed to escape the closing noose. BAM! Marcus stumbled back, dizzy and confused. He had just collided with the alleyway and it felt more like a solid wall.

It is an illusion Marcus!

Cursing and hearing his foes directly behind him, he Burst jumped backwards without looking. The trick worked and he crashed into two of the three attackers and threw them down. A piercing pain in his leg informed him a knife was stuck inside him. At the same time, the looming figure of a large man with an axe made clear he had to move quickly.

Before he managed to get up the fallen enemies held on to his arms with a steel grip, keeping him in place. The axe came rushing down, but Marcus' undamaged leg hit the man in the stomach and made him fly against the next wall. In the same moment a hand closed around his throat from behind, and powerful fingers tried to suffocate him. His arms were useless, but his legs were still free and he put them on the ground and used Burst.

The force of Burst made Marcus topple backwards and freed him from the grip of his enemies. Aching with pain Marcus pulled out the hooked knife and started to limp away, using short Bursts to increase his speed. On the other side of the square was a small church and he rushed into the sacred building to get out of the open. For a few seconds nobody attacked him and his leg had fully recovered by now. The peace did not last long. While Marcus was running down the aisle, the door burst open and three killers came rushing in. Still, Marcus had a good head start and he could see a backdoor not far away. He made a sprint for the small door, when the sound of glass breaking made him look to his right.

A black clad man had jumped through the large, colored glass windows and rushed right into Marcus. The moment they collided Marcus felt his whole body grow heavy, like he was made out of bricks. He tried to move but even with his muscles nearly bursting, his limbs moved in slow motion. Then Marcus saw it, a small paper talisman on his chest and he knew he had lost. The Onmyoji came back onto his feet after the collision and had another piece of paper in hand.

Protect your vitals! Don't give up Marcus! I will do something about the charm! Marcus could hear Xeen shouting in his head and with a last effort he curled up on the floor before another charm was placed on him and he was unable to move at all.

Four enemies in black started to lay into Marcus. Even with his defense position they found plenty to stab, cut and burn. He could feel a sharp blade pierce his throat and something else trying to break his spine while the rest of his body was butchered. This was the end. The moment he would lose control of Carapace or when his body stopped healing, it would be over. Pain was all that was left for Marcus.

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Pain and wrath, and it was the latter that made him aim to go out with a bang. Every piece of red energy he had left was compressed into a small ball inside Marcus stomach. Second after second he held out against the flood of pain and channeled all his rage into the small ball. This was it, his last moment. He saw faces rush by, people he loved and then-

HOLD ON! Help is coming! Xeen shouted over the pain and in the same moment Marcus' body returned to normal. Unclear why, Marcus just pushed out his arms and touched the bodies above him. The angry orb of imaginary red energy was floating right in the middle of the butchers.

Desperate and fading, Marcus saw his murderers stop for a second, unclear how he had managed to move again. Impulse Hammer. It was a weak excuse compared to its normal splendor, but the attack moved through one of his assailants and pushed him into the red orb. The inside of the church exploded.

A shock wave tore through the building and reflected off the walls. Marcus was pressed against the floor and his already dying body was hammered into the ground, bones breaking, organs tearing. The noise eventually died down and Marcus opened his blood crusted eyes and looked around. Besides a few walls, nothing was left of the church but debris. Under great pain Marcus pushed himself to his knees and watched how several of his enemies emerged from the remnants of the church. Coughing and aching, some had lost an arm or an eye, but they were still standing. Marcus could not stand anymore.

"Finish him," one of them shouted, and two killers staggered towards Marcus, blades at the ready. Marcus saw them coming and felt nothing. He had done all he could, fought with all he had.

You did well Marcus. You can rest now. Xeen whispered in his mind. A sudden burst of wind filled the ruined church and a shadow moved over a broken wall in the back. Marcus could not see what it was, but the screaming of his enemies told him enough. A second later eerie black flames flooded the church and devoured flesh and bones as well as armor and weapons. Even the stone was consumed by the horrific phantasmal flame, but it never came close to Marcus. A black phantasm with red eyes covered him from the mayhem, kept him safe like a small child.

Every breath hurt and Marcus felt so tired, he just wanted to fall asleep. His eyes closed and darkness crawled all over him. Steps, hands on his broken body, and from far away a familiar voice called "Marcus!"

Don't give into it. Fight against the darkness, Marcus. Your body is healing, your vitality is recovering your endurance quickly. Hold on!

For endless seconds all Marcus did was breathing. He could feel somebody holding him, and he knew her by her scent alone. Cherry gently stroked his head and talked to him with a soft voice, "It is okay now. You are out of danger. Relax and concentrate on healing. It will all be okay…." And she was right. Minutes passed, and the pain in his body started to fade, he opened his eyes and saw Cherry's smile. He tried to say something witty, but he was still too weak and instead he just gently pressed her hand.

Rin entered his field of view, and like Cherry she was in full gear. Blood covered the silver Cerberus on her chest. It was not hers. "Do not be alarmed. I will teleport us now," she said, with a short smile. A few seconds later Marcus was gently floating in the Italian sun. Smiles and tears welcomed him home and many watchful eyes kept guard over him as he recovered over the next hour.

Marcus was sitting on the couch in the common room and enjoyed being pampered by the whole clan and Cherry. "I thought I was done for. I even saw my life passing by," Marcus said, now with a much stronger voice. "I hope you saw me too," Janette said, with a smirk. She was smiling, but her hands were still shaking and her eyes were red. "Of course, you looked silly," Marcus answered with a jest and she laughed.

"Even to your last breaths you two will continue to make jokes." Cherry shook her head and scratched her scalp, the wig was still annoying her. "Thanks to you and Rin I can still make jokes," Marcus said, with a sad smile.

And I had nothing to do with it?

Of course, you saved my bacon, Xeen. You need to explain to me how you did it, once we have some time.

You are welcome and that we should.

Cherry was about to say something when a thunderclap echoed through the air. They waited and listened as seconds later fast steps closed in on them and the door to the room was thrown open. Kim stood in the door and stared at Marcus, his face was a grimace made of pain and rage. With large steps the Korean man crossed the distance and hugged Marcus tightly. Marcus could feel tremors running through the body of his teacher and he patted his back. "I am alright now." Ye-jun did not let go, but spoke with a pressed voice, "I thought you lost." Marcus nodded, "It was touch and go for a bit." Kim let go of Marcus and looked into his eyes.

"It was my fault, I should not have allowed you to continue using public transport. But I have never dreamed they would make such an open attack on you. Destroying a large passenger plane? Sending several kill squads after you, in the middle of the day in Europe? Insanity!" Kim said, and Marcus swallowed hard. "You know who is behind this?" He asked and Kim nodded, his lips a thin line. "The USA. More precisely, a certain part of the US government wants you dead by all means. In their minds you pose a direct threat to the continued existence of the USA," Ye-jun said, and Marcus' jaw dropped to the floor.

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