Marked Ones: Advent of the Demon Prince

Fighting and shouting echoed through the stone halls of the arena in Seteste. When the explosion went off, every security measure in place failed simultaneously. All the prisoners were free to do as they wished without worrying about their equipment.

Even their cells had been weakened and were no longer protected by the barriers that kept them inside. Elven guards grouped together as best they could to fight against some of the stronger opponents.

Many of the Master Rankers had already had their restrictions removed due to the length of time in which they fought in the arena. Because of their length of time as well as the perks they had been provided, they were loyal to the arena and its leadership. However, the sheer number of Intermediate and Advance Rankers with years of experience made it hard for them to handle them all at once.

Kalliope chose to lead Lucius to her own cell as quickly as possible. Thanks to their advanced senses, they could avoid much of the fighting and only had to deal with a few enemies. For the most part, other slaves chose to ignore them, and their opponents consisted of occasional guards.

Lucius was not in a state to fight prolonged battles. Though he appeared tough and strong on the outside, Kalliope could tell from his breathing that keeping up with her was a little tough for him at the moment. His mana and strength were at full capacity, but the wound on his chest from the fire spell had taken its toll on his stamina.

"Don't worry about me." Lucius told her with a smirk. "I planned for this outcome. Take me to the reason you had to fight. I know they played on your softer side somehow."

Kalliope managed a weak smile at his words. She was tough and resolute, but as it came to other people struggling, she did have a weakness. Over their years together, she often encouraged him to look out for their subordinates. It was also her who wrote many of the letters home for lost soldiers. Lucius simply did not have it in him.

From taking that responsibility off his shoulders, Kalliope developed a more tender heart on the inside for others' struggles.

With all of the raging destruction around them, a surge of anxiety welled up inside of her. Kalliope was concerned that some of the other prisoners might try to take advantage of Ethi while she was lying in the cell. She was helpless at the moment and would be incapable of fighting back against even some of the weakest among them.

Kalliope's hair stood on end as a presence she was unfamiliar with suddenly appeared out of nowhere. There was someone with a strange scent that she did not recognize, but at the same time, she was unable to tell where the source was coming from. Noticing that she was on edge, Lucius placed a gentle hand atop her head, gently rubbing between her ears.

"Don't worry, she is with me." He assured her. "Snow, good work."

Strangely, after Lucius's words, an elf with pale skin, ice-blue eyes, and stark-white hair appeared from the shadows. She wore a beautiful set of cream-colored armor and had an ornate longsword on her side. Though the armor looked like one a front-line warrior might wear, something about it seemed different and lighter than even studded-leather armor.

Even stranger still, the moment Lucius congratulated her, the elf kneeled before him with her head down. Her eyes seemed unfocused, and her expression was almost as confused as Kalliope's. Lucius, on the other hand, did not react to the elf's strange actions.

"Lord Kane, congratulations on finding your mistress. I have found a clear path out. I suggest you follow me at once so we might escape."

"No!" Kalliope shouted. "We can't, I have to save Ethi."

Before the elf could continue to speak, Lucius held up a hand and nodded. "Let's go find your friend then."

Kalliope nodded and turned to continue toward her cell. Once again, the elf surprised her and managed to vanish from sight. Not only that, her scent trail immediately ceased as if she no longer existed. She quickly decided it did not matter and chose to continue to find Ethi.

The trip to her old cell took no time at all. Luckily, no one had attempted to break into the cell where the nearly unconscious Ethi had been laying. Everyone was focused on breaking out, so no one bothered to break into a different cell.

Ethi's breathing was ragged and her fever was just as high as before. For a brief moment, Kalliope wondered if the woman would survive, but shook her head clear of the negative thoughts so that she could instead focus on saving her.

Ethi was very light and easily fit onto Kalliope's back. However, this presented a problem. Lucius was not in the most prime physical condition with his wounds. Because of that, he was not able to carry Ethi with him and expecting him to fight would be out of the question for anyone that got within close quarters. Similarly, Kalliope could not really carry her because she needed to protect them.n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

As if sensing her concerns, Lucius smiled and began to look around, possibly for the elf girl named Snow. Suddenly, she appeared before them once more, seemingly popping into existence. Kalliope noticed that the sclera of her eyes had started to shift from their normal white to a dark gray with small dots of black.

There was also a strange aura around her and the elf seemed to be struggling with breathing.

Lucius was caught off guard at the elf's appearance but asked for her help anyway. She quickly agreed and took Ethi from Kalliope before vanishing once more. Both of their presences and scents once again vanished.

Clearly, her gaze had attracted Lucius's notice because he commented, "Don't ask me what's going on. I don't have the faintest idea how she's doing that or knows when I need her."

"Is she a new subordinate of yours?"

"She serves Corva, the elf enchanter and smith that I fought in the tournament. Do you remember the one with the hammer? Her. Anyway, let's move."

Kalliope nodded and took up a protective position in front of Lucius. Part of her wanted to think about the fact that Snow had referred to her as his 'mistress' as well as the fact he was treating her so gently. The last time he acted so kind was when she was injured. And the time before that was when they almost…

The smell of ozone filled Kalliope's nose. She quickly looked at Lucius who had a faint layer of mana covering his body and the odd bolt of electricity shot along its surface. His eyes were facing forward and glancing past her. In front of them was a man that she had seen a few times before.

It was jarring that he seemed to appear like the elf girl did, but the aftermath of his appearance was less strange. Kalliope could almost sense the residual mana of whatever spell he used to sneak up on them, where Snow's ability left no such trail.

"You're not going anywhere Titan… Mutt. Itorin likes you too much, so you will stay."

The man's voice was deep and throaty, contrasting his somewhat diminutive stature. The man also wore dark armor that was accented by loose fabrics. He held two daggers in his hands and had several more glistening under his belt.

"Careful, Lucius, this man is a Master Ranker." Kalliope warned. She could not remember the man's name but recognized him for the few times he would vanish into the shadows. Based on his skills alone, it was clear he used Dagger Arts and Dark Magic. However, he could have had more skills hidden that he did not show.

No matter what, the Master Ranker was very skilled and beyond Lucius's reach, even if he was not injured. Kalliope carefully brought her sword up to attention, ready for the man's attack. Even though she knew she could not face him, she hoped to buy some time for Lucius to escape.

"I'm not going anywhere." Lucius growled.

Dust fell from the ceiling as the stone halls shook. Kalliope could feel the faint cracking of rock beneath her feet. It seemed that Lucius had reached his limit on holding back and was starting to let his anger out. Perhaps he no longer needed to hold back because Ethi wasn't around?

"Are you threatening me, boy?" The Master Ranker laughed. "You are at least a century too young to be able to scare me."

The air grew thicker and more dense. Kalliope felt her breathing become slightly labored as she tried to maintain her calm. Her friend's anger was becoming harder to handle and she could not help but wonder if something happened to make Lucius stronger somehow.

The weight was even starting to put pressure on the Master Ranker. Kalliope could hear the impact of sweat on the stone beneath them as the man started to feel it.

"What is happening… How are you…"

The voice of the Master Ranker was drowned out by thunder reverberating down the halls. Kalliope could not help but wonder if there was something else at work or not, but either way, Lucius held his gaze fearlessly against the much stronger opponent.

Lightning crackled around his body, with occasional bolts striking the walls and ceiling. "I would retreat if I were you." He warned.

The Master Ranker laughed. "Why would I listen to you, boy? Sure, you have more mana than what would be expected, but you are still only an Intermediate Ranker. You don't hold a candle to me."

The man raised his hand directly at Lucius. "[Umbra: Dark Spear]"