Chapter 88: There''s No Way Out


    Ohario''s eyes widened as he saw what Marcus casted.


    ''What is that?'' He thought to himself. For a second, he forgot about everything else as he looked at the vermillion opening.


    Marcus was now able to freely cast portals if he wanted to, but the range of porting is still quite short.


    He then opened another one before cing Ohario''s hand into the first portal he made.


    Ohario couldn''t believe what he was seeing.


    The first portal was located to his right while the second one materialized in front of him. What stupefied him was that part of his hand appeared out of the second portal that Marcus created.


    These events all happened in under 8 seconds, but those 8 seconds were one roller coaster ride for Ohario.


    Marcus wasn''t finished. He then closed both portals, cutting part of Ohario''s arm in the process. He picked up Ohario''s arm and made it touch the nearby window.


    Marcus went into the Stone of Destruction together with Ohario, he then threw Ohario in one of the cages in the chamber and went out.


    Marcus'' day isn''t over yet so he''ll just have to deal with Oharioter.


    ----


    Ohario ass was on the cold ground. His breathing, erratic. He looked to his left, then to his right, and all he could see was the dark-blue stone walls. In front of him were a dozen or so vertical bars.


    He was trapped inside this poorly lit dungeon.


    He stood up and tried sting it down with spells, but nothing worked. Ohario dropped back down feeling weak. All he could think about was the vermilion-haired teen. Hatred bottled up inside him.


    "Could you quiet down?!" A shout sounded.


    Ohario jerked. He quicklyposed himself, crawled forward, and held tightly to the dark silvery bars. "Who''s there?!"


    He was d that someone else was here. He hoped that maybe, just maybe, this someone knows a way out.


    "Sit down and stop acting like a kid on a tantrum." The voice once again sounded.


    "What?" Ohario had a confused look.


    "HAHAHA," The voiceughed "There''s no way out. So just sit down and wait. He''lle back soon enough."


    The hystericalughter echoed inside Ohario''s mind. It gradually fueled the fear he already felt.


    ----


    Marcus thoroughly cleaned his hand, making sure to scrub it with soap for a minute or so.


    He dried his hands, fixed himself, and went out of thefort room looking as if nothing happened.


    He proceeded to meet with Emily and take her home.


    "Finished?" Marcus asked as he opened the door.


    Emily nodded. "Should we go home?"


    Marcus shook his head. "We can have a quick lunch first. Both Eva and Nexus are pretty busy so I don''t think they''ll have the time to join us."


    Emily chuckled. "Is that your way of asking me out on a lunch date?"


    Marcus wryly smiled. "I thought I was being subtle."


    The two went on to have lunch at a fancy restaurant.


    After lunch, Marcus dropped Emily off at home as he still had to go somewhere.


    Before Emily got out of the car, Marcus reminded "If something happens, call me right away. You could also use the ring."


    "Take care." Marcus smiled.


    Emily dumbfoundedly went out of the car. She waited until Marcus drove off in the air before walking inside, her lips curved into a smile.


    ---


    Marcus, who already changed his attire into something more appropriate, walked into Brawlrena. There were a good number of people inside.


    He looked around. The rings were being used, people were training with partners.


    Marcus walked towards the elevator.


    It''s been a week since hest visited Brawlrena and he nned on raising his rank on the leaderboards today.


    Marcus arrived on the top floor. The rings were currently being used. Rows and rows of seats were upied.


    Most of these people, however, were only here to watch the fights.


    Marcus went to the left side of the room and sat on one of the chairs rtively close to the ring.


    "Marcus." A man who looked to be around 21 years old called out.


    Marcus looked towards where the voice came from and nodded.


    "You have no more sses?" Leo, the one who called him out, proceeded to sit next to him.


    "I only took two subjects," Marcus answered. His eyes on the two people fighting in the ring.


    Before Leo could respond, Marcus asked. "Shouldn''t students in theirst year of school be busy?"


    Leo shook his head. "We''re actually free almost all the time. I for one only need to meet a few more requirements before I can finally graduate."


    "So that''s how it is." Marcus perched his elbows on his thighs and ced his interlocked hands beneath his chin. "How about Zoey?"


    "Uh," Leo tried to recall what she majored in. "Zoey probably is on the same boat as me, she just needs to finish a couple more things before she can finally graduate."


    Leo looked around, seeing that the ce looked quite rowdy from all the cheers, he offered. "There are unused VIP boxes, we can continue watching there."


    "It''s fine, I''ll be fighting in a while so it''s quite inconvenient to transfer now." Marcus declined. He already made a reservation to fight in the ring.


    "I see." Leo was surprised to know that Marcus would be fighting.


    "How''s the situation in your family? Anything thepany has to worry about?" Marcus asked.


    "Surprisingly no," Leo sat straight, a smile could be seen on his face. "My older brother is suffering from some kind of illness. Actually, I''m not sure if it can be considered an illness. It''s something simr to what soldiers go through after fighting in a war but worse."


    Marcus slowly nodded his head as he listened. Now he only had to worry about 3 families, namely, Strongwald, Frey, and Minser. He doesn''t fully trust Loo yet as he knows he only follows the money. The Minser''s could betray him at any point in time if his enemies would offer the right price, at least that''s how he saw it.


    "My condolences." Marcus softly spoke.


    "He isn''t even dead yet." Leo dryly chuckled.


    "Marcus Kauffman, please proceed to the unused ring. Fighter Marcus Kauffman, please proceed to the unused ring. Thank you." A female voice sounded throughout the room.


    Leo looked at Marcus who stood up "Can this be considered bullying?"


    "As long as I''m not enjoying it, then probably no." Marcus made his way down.


    The crowd looked at him. A lot of them recognized who he was. They soon started taking pictures of him while others told their friends who knew nothing about the vermilion haired teen.


    Marcus arrived at his side of the ring. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, waiting for his opponent to arrive.


    A man wearing a blue soon approached. He had a calm expression on his face like there was no pressure at all.


    He stood 50 or so meters away from Marcus.


    "Begin!" A referee on the side shouted.


    Vermilion colored lightning danced around Marcus'' arm as he charged forward, rushing towards his opponent.


    He had no time to y games as his time was limited.