Marcus's eyes flickered with concern as he caught a glimpse of Darryl and Shift bolting up the stairs. He knew they had to be going after the source of the undead. He had noticed that his opponent wasn't using any spells to actively summon them and he was sure Shift had reached the same conclusion. Determined to buy them time and end this fight, Marcus decided to unleash his full power.
"Enough games," he muttered, his eyes glowing with an intense red light as he tapped into his aetheric abilities. The air around him shimmered, bending and warping as he exerted his control over space itself. With a swift motion of his hand, he created dozens of spatial blades, each one slicing through the air towards Viktor and his undead minions.
Viktor sneered, raising his bone sword to deflect the incoming attack. He commanded his undead to form a protective wall around him, using their bodies as shields. The spatial blades cut through the zombies with ease, dismembering them and leaving a pile of lifeless corpses in their wake. Viktor's eyes widened in shock as he realized Marcus's true power.
"You think this will stop me?" Viktor taunted, but there was a hint of uncertainty in his voice. He swung his bone sword, trying to fend off the relentless onslaught of spatial blades, but he was quickly becoming overwhelmed. Marcus pressed his advantage, warping space to increase the intensity of his attacks. He moved with fluid grace, each motion calculated and precise, determined to break through Viktor's defenses. Just as Viktor was about to call forth more undead minions, a loud crash echoed from above.
Both men paused, glancing upwards. A ripple of disturbance spread through the air, and suddenly, Viktor's undead minions collapsed, their connection severed. The oppressive aura that had filled the room dissipated, leaving Viktor alone with Marcus.
"No!" Viktor shouted, his eyes filled with fury. He turned to face Marcus, his expression twisted with rage. "What have you done?"
Marcus smirked, his stance unwavering. "It wasn't me. Seems your little nexus has been shut down."
Enraged, Viktor lunged at Marcus, swinging his bone sword with deadly precision. But without his undead to distract and shield him, Viktor was vulnerable. Marcus sidestepped the attack, using his control over space to create a distortion that threw Viktor off balance. Seizing the opportunity, Marcus launched a spatial blade directly at Viktor's chest. Viktor tried to deflect it with his sword, but the blade cut through, sending him staggering back. He clutched his chest, blood seeping through his fingers.
"This isn't over," Viktor spat, his voice filled with venom.
"Oh, it is," Marcus replied coldly, raising his hand for the final blow.
Before he could strike, a sudden, intense surge of energy erupted from behind them. Marcus and Viktor both turned their heads towards the source, sensing the immense power radiating through the base.
Constantine had completed the ritual. Jane's awakening was imminent.
Marcus's attention momentarily shifted to the surge of energy from below, his senses attuned to the completion of Constantine's ritual. That brief distraction was all Viktor needed. With a swift, calculated move, Viktor lunged forward, his bone sword slicing through the air and grazing Marcus's shoulder. Pain flared up, but it was more the shock of the attack than the wound itself that staggered him.
"You shouldn't have done that," Marcus growled, his voice low and menacing. The need to conserve power vanished from his mind, replaced by a burning desire to end Viktor's threat once and for all.
Channeling his abilities to their fullest, Marcus created a spatial distortion around him, readying his sword. The room shimmered with the raw power he commanded, and with a flick of his wrist, he summoned a barrage of spatial blades, each one aimed with deadly precision at Viktor.
Viktor tried to parry the onslaught with his bone sword, but Marcus was relentless. The blades came from all directions, warping and twisting through the air. Viktor's defenses faltered as he struggled to keep up, his movements becoming increasingly desperate as he stated getting slashes on his legs and forearms despite his attempt to parry. Every time he tried to reanimate his undead, an attack from Marcus interrupted him, leaving him with no other choice than to rely on his swordsmanship.
Marcus pressed his advantage, closing the distance between them. He combined his mastery of space with expert swordsmanship, his rapier a blur of lethal strikes. Viktor managed to deflect a few blows, but Marcus's relentless assault soon overwhelmed him. A spatial blade slashed across Viktor's thigh, forcing him to stagger back, and another sliced through his forearm, disarming him.
Breathing heavily, Viktor glared at Marcus, hatred burning in his eyes. "You... you think you've won?"
Marcus didn't reply. Instead, he conjured a spatial distortion behind Viktor, pulling him out of balance and drawing him closer. With a swift, fluid motion, Marcus thrust his rapier forward, piercing Viktor's chest. The necromancer gasped, blood bubbling from his lips as he crumpled to the ground.
"This is over," Marcus said coldly, pulling his rapier free and letting Viktor's lifeless body fall. He turned away, the intensity of his power subsiding as he focused on the surge of energy emanating from the chamber. Constantine had completed the ritual, and Jane's awakening was at hand. There was no time to waste.
Ignoring the pain in his shoulder, Marcus hurried towards the source of the energy, his mind racing with the implications of what had just transpired.
***
Constantine's breathing was ragged as he finished the ritual, the room around him thrumming with residual energy. Jane floated before him, still unconscious, but radiant with the power that had surged through her. He wiped the sweat from his brow, feeling a strange mix of exhilaration and exhaustion. Suddenly, a presence disturbed the delicate balance of the room. Constantine turned sharply, eyes widening at the sight of a lanky, sickly-looking man with greasy long black hair. The man's eyes gleamed with a dangerous light, and he was muttering something under his breath, words that sent a chill down Constantine's spine.
"Who are you?" Constantine demanded, trying to keep the tremor out of his voice.
The man didn't respond directly. Instead, his chanting grew louder, the words becoming clearer. "Exsurgat daemon infernum, et tenebrae devorent lucem. Apare pro me, Abaddon!"
The air around them grew colder, and Constantine felt a malevolent force gathering. He realized, with a jolt of fear, that the man was summoning something. Summoning a demon.
"Stop!" Constantine shouted, stepping forward. Murasame started glowing with a faint dark aura as he clutched it. He instinctively assumed a combat stance – something that the sword had imparted to him during their bonding; he now knew how to fight with it as if he had trained for years.
Xander merely smiled, a cruel, thin smile. "You're too late, boy. It's coming."
As if in response to his words, the air in the room shimmered, dark tendrils of energy coiling around Xander and then spreading outward. Constantine felt pressure in his chest, a suffocating weight that made it hard to breathe.
Jane's unconscious form flickered, the energy around her reacting to the dark magic. Constantine knew he had to protect her, but he was out of his depth. He had barely managed the ritual, and now he was faced with a threat beyond anything he had ever encountered. He reached deep within himself, calling on the power that had awakened when he fought the strange man in white. Purple and black lightning crackled around him, responding to his call. He stepped between Jane and Xander, his eyes narrowing.
"You won't harm her," Constantine vowed, his voice steady despite the fear gnawing at him. His eyes now shone a bright purple.
Xander's smile widened. "We'll see about that."
And then the room exploded into chaos as the summoning reached its climax, and a dark, hulking form began to materialize behind Xander.
The demon Abaddon was coming.