Marked Ones: Advent of the Demon Prince

Paul and Lethen woke up about fifteen or so minutes after Lucius' powers calmed down and returned to the normal scope for a Beginner Rank. It was simultaneously fortunate and not that he did not have access to such strength all the time, but if he did, his back would simply be a large target and nothing more.

When the two men did wake up, they came outside and saw the body of the man from the mist and his severed hand that Lucius was holding onto. He wanted to put it in his storage ring, but apparently there was a block built into the enchantment that prevented the collection of human body parts.

To be fair, that felt like a smart move, otherwise murderers and assassins could simply hide their kills and that would be a nightmare for everyone.

The city official was also deceased, having died of blood loss from his self-inflicted blunt force trauma. The party did a cursory scan of the area surrounding the camp and ended up finding the bodies of the previous adventurers that had come here. They were pierced by various kinds of weaponry, but none of the weapons that caused the damager were found.

This was absolutely due to the mark of the mist that the man used.

Jen, Paul, and Lethen gathered the bodies together and when they did Rena stepped up to start the pyre. They also burnt the unknown man's corpse, but did so separate from his victims.

Lucius was feeling a little tired from all the effort he went through, but did find some spare cloth that he wrapped the hand with so the random merchants waiting to enter the city on their return would be scared out of their minds.

The walk back to Lelvern was completely devoid of anything interesting or entertaining. The normal sounds of the forest had returned to the areas that were once silent and it became quite the relaxing walk. No one felt like discussing things at the moment, but Lucius definitely felt eyes sizing him up.

Before, when he was a novice, he did well in holding his own in fights against those stronger than him. This was mostly due to his mana manipulation ability that he had learned from Master Wally. It allowed him to shift the mana drawn in by his Arts to other parts of his body to enhance it beyond what the Art would call for. It made his attack strength and speed nearly impossible to predict.

If one paid attention, you could tell that it was happening, but it was impossible to tell the actual distribution ratios. Essentially you knew you were being messed with, but you never knew exactly how. Now that he added in his ability to use Thunder magic in, along with his mark being able to be activated, he was confident that with training, he could stand a good chance against other opponents.

In fact, as he was now, with his training and abilities, he was pretty sure he could take down an Alpha Deer alone and with ease. Lucius mentally noted that he had a personal task to complete when they returned to Pelith. The deer that he fought personally was long deceased…but fighting another one in the woods back home would still feel like a form of victory over his old foe.

Rena rushed up to walk side by side with him for a little while. Everyone had been hanging back out of habit and concern. If they really wanted to kill him, they absolutely could right now.

"So, your mark…you said you learned about it somehow?" she asked. Her bright green eyes locking onto his intently.

"Yes. I carry an inverse mark. The Mark of the Abyss and its opposite, thee Mark of Celestia." Lucius answered. He made sure his words were loud and clear enough to be heard by the rest of the party.

"Can you use it now?" Rena continued.

"Sure…if I want to pass out. Though, I should be fine to activate each ability once when it comes time to file registration of my mark at the guild. I can do that there right, Jen?"

The leader of their group chimed in, "Yup. You got it. You can file it with the guild and they will file it with the government on your behalf. I'd be careful though, kid. People aren't going to like that you have a mark that bears the name of the land of the gods. Kind of a built-in paradox.

As if you are claiming the blessing of the gods while being steeped in demon blood."

"I know. But I cannot lie. Besides, their activation phrases prove my point."

"Oh? Your mark abilities require an activation phrase? That is quite rare." Jen pointed out.

Lucius simply nodded and continued walking with Rena at his side. Every so often while walking together, the backs of their fingers and hands brushed against each other, as if tempting him. To try an experiment, he stuck out his pinky slightly and made sure that his hand made slight contact with hers. Rena quietly reciprocated and wrapped her pinky finger around his.

They continued like this, awkwardly holding each other by their smallest fingers until they finally reached the gates of Lelvern and separated from each other. They were able to move to the front of the line with the pass they received earlier and though it was getting close to closing time for the gates, they were able to quickly make it through.

One of the guards who examined their goods though was given a slight shock when Lucius revealed he had a severed human hand in his possession, but they allowed him passage given the circumstances in which they came into possession of it.

They quickly moved through the streets which started to bustle with night life. Bars started to open their doors and different inns started setting up tables outside of their buildings where temporary stalls used to be in order to accommodate the increased traffic that dinner rushes usually brought them.

No matter how many times he saw it, Lucius was still extremely uncomfortable with the city. Every sound and smell blended together and they were nearly impossible to separate and gave him a migraine. He did think to ask one of the full-blooded beastmen he saw at the guild when they first arrived, but they simply laughed at him and told him he would get used to it.

However, he thought that would be a bad thing.

"Hey guys. Do you mind if we turn the quest in tomorrow? I need to talk to Rena about something." He looked to Rena with a serious gaze and she returned one that was a mix of confusion and a hint of anticipation.

"Uh huh. That's no problem. Right boys?" Jen said while elbowing Paul and Lethen at the same time. They both reeled from the strike.

"Yeah, sure…also, boss you are suppose to elbow someone when they aren't answering…we didn't even get a chance…" Lethen complained while Paul nodded in solidarity and rubbed his gut.

The three of them rushed on ahead, leaving Rena and Lucius alone in the streets. Well alone was a strong word, but they at least weren't being paid any mind by the people moving by them.

Lucius pulled his friend over to the side of the road to get out of the way of traffic and to gather together some courage for what he was about to say.

"Rena… I know…" He stumbled and swallowed the lump in his throat. "I know this might be presumptuous of me. And if so, I'll accept any punishment…but… if there's a chance… I wanted…"

Lucius paused, the lump returning. This was much harder than he was expecting this to be.

"You wanted to?" Rena prompted. Her deep red hair framed her gorgeous face, all of which was accentuated by her glistening, green eyes. She was the absolute representation of beauty in Lucius' eyes. Until now he refused to let himself see it. He always thought she was gorgeous, but it was as if he was finally looking at her and really seeing this truth for the first time.

"Gah!" He yelled. "Rena… I love you."

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