Chapter 17 - Marcus

In the grand living room of the opulent mansion, an air of faded grandeur once reigned. Crystal chandeliers, once aglow with dazzling light, now hung ominously, their elegance marred by crimson splatters. The room, once adorned with lavish tapestries and exquisite oil paintings, now bore witness to a macabre tableau of chaos and destruction.

The opulent furniture, once meticulously crafted with the finest materials and intricate detailing, now stood as silent witnesses to the unspeakable violence that had unfolded. Plush velvet sofas and armchairs, once inviting symbols of comfort and luxury, were now stained with the lifeblood of those unfortunate souls who had fallen victim to such violent force.

The polished marble floors, once reflecting the grandeur of the room, now shimmered with a grotesque sheen. Footprints of blood, evidence of frantic struggle, marred the once flawless surface. The delicate patterns of the rugs, woven with care and precision, were now concealed beneath a gruesome layer of crimson.

The walls, once adorned with exquisite artwork and framed mirrors, now reflected a haunting scene. Shattered glass and twisted frames lay scattered amidst the carnage, remnants of a once elegant ambiance now shattered by the savagery that had transpired.

In the heart of this chamber of horror, stood the young boy, his presence at once ethereal and foreboding. Bathed in the eerie glow of his otherworldly power, his eyes shimmered with an unholy light, betraying the darkness that had consumed him. His very presence seemed to distort the air around him, the weight of his deeds hanging heavily upon the room.

The lifeless bodies of his victims lay strewn across the room, their stillness in stark contrast to the opulence that surrounded them. A twisted tapestry of life extinguished, their once vibrant forms now reduced to mere husks. Each life ended, snuffed out in the the mindless rampage.

As the boy stood at the center of this scene, a chilling silence enveloped the room. The once vibrant living space had been transformed into a haunting theater of death and despair, a testament to the devastating power of his unleashed psychic powers. In the face of such grotesque beauty, one could only shudder at the unimaginable depths to which the human soul could sink.

"H-HELP!!! HELP ME!!! MARCUS LOST IT!!! PLEASE!!! HELP ME—!!" A horrified and bloodied boy called out desperate as he crawled backwards on his buttocks, unable to take away his widened eyes towards the unconscious maniac who killed his cousins, uncle, auntie, and his father. He was nearing the door when he shouted this but with just a mere flicker of a hand, his head imploded into a bloodied pulp, joining the other corpses littered around as his body slumped on the marble floor. 

The young Marcus' glimmering gaze flickered to the side as the wall exploded on his right, sending him flying with violent force outside the mansion and sending him hundreds of meters towards the forest of gigantic oak trees outside. He stopped himself, floating and is about to raise his opened hand without a change of expression to retaliate from the perceived enemy but an invisible force forcefully closed his hand and another distinct force, quite weaker in strength but is enough to pull him crashing down to the ground, he quickly got on all fours trying to stand up but a barrier quickly formed around him, completely encasing him inside in an uncomfortable position. As he's about to break it with his immense level of power, more than a dozen other barriers formed together on top of one another, strengthening the first barrier even further. 

"Marcus…! You are a danger to this family…" One of the female psychics claimed with anger on her face, while clearly struggling to keep the barrier from breaking alongside eleven other psychics. This woman is Marcus' cousin who's also a God-Kin, Modesa. She is a direct offspring of a High-Ranker, making her extremely powerful, but after Marcus was born, who doesn't even have a High-Ranker parent—with his parents being one of the weakest of the family but still powerful compared to other climbers nonetheless—she was left bitter, since this twelve year old boy is more of a prodigy than her, one of the very lucky few to have such powerful parents.

The one leading them, their uncle who is currently a Ranker of floor 102, instructed them with a deep, commanding voice. "Hold the barriers! Just keep him in there! We'll wait out his rampage!" While most of them are clearly struggling against Marcus' unconscious state, even this Ranker, the young boy is beginning to overpower their combined powers.

"H-how did this happen!?" One of them asked with a nervous tone.

"Yuhen said the other kids were calling Marcus a monster… that must be what triggered him." 

"But isn't he really a monster?!" Modesa shouted.

Another panicking family member shouted at them, "S-shut the fuck up and keep holding the barrier! If Marcus escapes that, we'll all die here!"

As they all continued to struggle, an individual flew over them, shouting with a frantic tone. "W-W-WHAT THE HELL… ARE YOU ALL DOING TO MY SON!!" He lashes out, plucking out one of the colossal trees and hurling it towards his brother, nieces and nephews. "Strengthen it more, I'll deal with Marco." The Ranker instructed to his nieces and nephews. "Yes, uncle…!" They all responded in a somewhat absent minded tone with soft voice since they are all burning their mental energy trying to fortify the barrier even more. 

The uncle, Lydus, went on to confront his brother Marco, flying towards the latter while stopping the tree that he hurled and throwing that tree aside with telekinesis. Lydus restraint his brother with his psychic powers, and since Marco is nowhere near the level of a Ranker, he is no match, but just this hostile act showed a black tally being inscribed on his left palm. "Shit…" He exclaimed. 

Since his brother is only level 50, and Lydus being level 102, he's experiencing Penalty, from now on, he must be cautious in acting and needs to stop his brother with minimal time as possible. Doing the same to Marcus doesn't incur Penalty for him, since while Marcus is haven't yet been a Climber, he's already powerful enough to contend against a Ranker and is somewhat even stronger, so this Penalty doesn't apply when subduing Marcus.

"Keep your cool, Marco!" Lydus shouted to his brother as he approached him face to face.

With anger seething on Marco's face he berates his older brother, "Keep my cool?! I can face any injustices you fuckers are doing to me and my wife, but doing this to my son…! My son!" He was shaking from anger.

"Do you not get it? He killed two of our brothers and five of his cousins!!! And you're saying we're doing injustices to you guys?!"

"Yes! Yes! And those bodies down there? Those sre not enough to pay for our hardships in this family…! How I wish Marcus had killed more of them earlier!" 

This angered Lydus to the core paired with Marco's maniacal smile as he said that. He immediately hurled Marco down to the ground with his telekinesis, causing the ground to shake as the latter crashed down. But despite this, Marco was still alive, albeit with crushed and broken bones all over his body. Lydus looked at his palms and saw there are now six of the tallies, five on his left and one on his right palm. "Tsk!"

But moments later, he could feel a frightening gaze, "Marcus…" He looked hurriedly towards that direction. Marcus' power is rising exponentially, seeing this, he hurried back down to assist with the barrier. It's only been five minutes since Marcus started his rampage, the last time this happened was when Marcus was still five-years-old. But his power isn't as strong as he is currently and his rampage only lasted eight minutes, only doing minimal damage at that time.

"STRENGTHEN IT MORE!!!!" Lydus shouted as cracks slowly began to appear on the first barrier with their surroundings violently shaking this time

Crack…

Crack…

The first barrier was broken.

Crack…

Crack…

The second barrier followed.

With each crack, accumulating and subsequent breaks of the barriers around Marcus, they all are getting on their edge, each of them unanimously agreeing on killing Marcus this time subconsciously. With minimal power of his telekinesis, Lydus moved Marco out of the way, tossing him away from the battlefield. He already used telepathy to have someone take Marco for treatment and even ordered the servants to contact the Patriarch, by this time, that exalted person must already be quite close to arriving.

Crack…

Crack…

The thirteenth barrier broken up, some of Marcus' cousins are already tearing up, knowing that facing him is basically a death sentence. "I don't want to die yet… I don't want to die…" one of his male cousins mumbled.

As the fourteenth barrier was shattered, they immediately hurled against Marcus their strongest attacks, with Lydus immediately tossing five massive trees towards Marcus. Lightning, rocks, and blasts of energy were thrown at Marcus all at the same time. 

"Hiiekkk!!!" The previous cousin exclaimed, since Marcus is already right beside him and grabbed him by the face, Marcus lifted him up while flying as he desperately tried to open Marcus' fingers with all his might to free himself, using his telekinesis at the same time, but it wasn't enough..

"Shit! Put him down!" One of them hit Marcus with a wave of energy but before it hit, Marcus blasted the guy with a wave of telekinetic force, effectively erasing him from head to waist in a fraction of second in a gory fashion as his blasted bits were thrown all over the place.

"NOOOOOOO!!!!!!" One of the women shouted, as she hurled lightning mindlessly, her psyche broken up as she's traumatized by what she had witnessed just now.

Lydus pushed his nephews and nieces aside as he took on Marcus' full might in a losing matchup. They traded blow for blow but only he was injured in the battle of telekinetic force since Marcus have barriers coating his body so he sustained minimal damages.

The others continued bombarding Marcus desperately with their abilities with little to no effect as Marcus paid no attention to them, bringing Lydus to his knees and aiming his opened palm towards his uncle's terrified face. "Please…" Lydus cried out faintly as due to Marcus' potent telekinesis pinning him down, he can't even move his lips properly.

As Marcus was about to blast his uncle. An immense force, far more powerful than his blasted him towards the ground from above.

...

"Ah!!!" Marcus screamed as he woke up, immediately sitting upright. He looked around, finding himself in a clearing, seeing destruction everywhere, trees that looked the same during his final rampage in the De Vera mansion are uprooted and havoc are evident all over the forest.

He heard a male voice, "You're finally awake..." He looked on his right and saw Andres with a metal chair sitting leisurely while looking at the sky. 

"Wha…what happened...?"

"We fought, and you lost, it's that simple." Andres said nonchalantly

"How long was I asleep?" Marcus asked, confusion written all over his face.

"For two hours, I think." Andres replied without batting an eye.

"Is that so? So this means…"

Finally looking, he asked, "You're keeping your promise, won't you?"

"Of course… We're allies now." Marcus shrugged with a slight smile, surrendering to his fate of being this man's ally.

"Good." Andres then finally stood up and offered a handshake down to Marcus. "Let's go, comrade." 

Marcus smirked as he reached too for a handshake, "Heh…" he shaked it briefly and Andres helped him get up with a firm grip.