Mark slammed both hands to the ground, channeling his mana deep into the earth.
"Ash Manipulation: Ash of War!"
Dark spears forged from compressed ash erupted upward, skewering toward the assassin like jagged fangs.
The assassin's eyes widened. "Igneous, get us off the ground!"
The chained dragon obeyed, flapping its massive wings and lifting them both into the sky. The assassin grabbed the glowing chain mid-air, laughing as the beast swung him onto its back.
"Wheeeeee!" he howled, landing with a thud. "This is fun!"
Mark pointed up. "Rosemary, take the them!"
"I'm on it!" she shouted, eyes glowing as she raised her hands.
"Force Magic: 10× Gravity!"
An invisible weight surged downward. The air thickened. The assassin and the dragon plummeted, the added pressure dragging them into the awaiting ash spears.
CRACK!
The dragon roared in agony as its thick hide was pierced, dozens of holes ripping through its body. Blood sprayed, but the assassin only laughed through the carnage.
"Hahahaha! The pain feels sooo good! Trying to kill me? Oh, don't threaten me with a good time!"
Still hidden behind a tree, Mark smirked.
He extended a finger, guiding one of the spear tips to shift shape—sharpening it into a flying blade. It sliced through the air like a guillotine, striking the glowing chain.
CLANG! SNAP!
Mark grinned. "Yes! The chain's severed!"
The assassin turned his head, his voice venomous. "I can hear you, idiot."
Mark stepped out from the brush, not the least bit phased. "Yeah? Well, you're too late."
His hands clenched.
"Explosive Ash."
BOOOOM!!
Every ash spear ignited in a chain explosion, lighting up the forest in a hellish blaze. The shockwave tore through the trees, fire swallowing the assassin and his dragon.
Chunks of charred meat and scales rained from the sky.
Mark stood there, catching his breath, eyes wide.
He exhaled.
"Yes!!"
His enemy was reduced to ash.
Mark dashed out from behind the tree, racing toward the clearing.
"Yo, Rosemary! You good?!"
But before he could get close, Rosemary screamed, "Mark, take cover—he's not dead yet!"
Suddenly, from the smoldering smoke, the assassin lunged forward—his burnt skin and broken bones rapidly regenerating. With a savage gleam in his eyes, he shot toward Mark, dagger aimed straight for his heart.
SHINK!
Mark instinctively raised his hand, letting the blade pierce through it to protect himself.
"AAAGHHH!!" he howled in pain, blood splattering across the grass.
The assassin grinned, whispering into Mark's ear as he twisted the blade.
"Iron Magic: Spike Ball."
The dagger morphed into a brutal ball of spikes, shredding Mark's hand into a bloody mess.
"HHHAAAAAAGGHHHH!!" Mark's scream echoed through the forest.
"Your screams are so... delightful," the assassin whispered, his tongue trailing along Mark's cheek. "Now... you die."
He raised the spiked weapon, ready to finish the job—
"Force Magic: Song of War!"
A wave of ethereal sound blasted across the clearing. In an instant, the assassin's body was yanked off the ground and suspended midair, locked in front of Rosemary.
The assassin chuckled despite his position. "You know you can't kill me, right? Drown me, burn me, crush me... I'll survive it all."
Rosemary scoffed. "Oh, I know. That's why I'm not trying to kill you."
Glowing seals flared across the assassin's skin—tattoos of containment—as Song of War took effect, binding him completely.
"You know this won't hold me for long," the assassin growled.
Rosemary narrowed her eyes. "Yeah... but I don't need long."
She darted forward, grabbing Mark by the waist.
"Hang on!"
WHOOSH!
Her mana flared into a radiant blue-and-white aura, surging like flames around her body. With a sharp sonic boom, she shot through the forest at incredible speed, carrying Mark in her arms.
As they zipped through the trees, she shouted over the wind, "Mark! Can you seal your wound?!"
Mark gritted his teeth, sweat pouring from his forehead. "Yeah... I think so."
He raised his mangled arm, activating his ability through sheer will.
"Ash Transmutation!"
His severed limb slowly reformed, reshaped by ash and mana until it resembled a new hand.
But something was off.
Mark flexed his fingers. They moved slowly, stiffly. "I fixed it... but the nerves aren't fully connected yet."
He stared at the limb. The color had changed—his hand was now an unnatural, charcoal black.
"I... I can't change the color. Dang it "
The new hand twitched, foreign and incomplete.
"Other than that, you're okay, right?" Rosemary asked, her voice filled with concern.
Mark nodded weakly. "Yeah, I think I—"
HURK.
Without warning, Mark vomited all over Rosemary's back.
"Ew—EW!" she shrieked in disgust, immediately dashing toward a nearby cave.
She gently placed Mark against a large rock and knelt beside him. "Mark, what's wrong?!"
He didn't respond.
His eyes rolled back, turning a cloudy white, and his limbs began to twitch unnaturally—stiff, jerky, like a puppet on tangled strings.
DING.
> [You've been poisoned. The dagger was coated with Desert Dragon Venom.]
Mark's breathing grew shallow, his body trembling. He forced out one last command with what little strength he had left.
"Ash Manipulation: Siphon."
Streams of ash flowed through his veins, slowly absorbing the venom from his bloodstream.
The moment he activated the skill, his body collapsed—completely unconscious.
Rosemary's heart dropped. She rushed to his side, pressing her ear against his chest.
Ba-dump... ba-dump...
His heartbeat was weak—but still there.
She tore open her satchel, quickly grabbing a syringe filled with green healing elixir .
Without hesitation, she jabbed it into his thigh. "Come on, Mark. Stay with me!"
The healing elixir surged into his body, immediately easing the venom's effects. His ash ability continued to work, now supercharged by the medicine.
Rosemary watched as his color slowly began to return. The faintest sign of life flickered across his face.
She let out a shaky breath, brushing sweat from her brow. "You're gonna make it... Mark."