Quillon was not certain when things had started to go wrong, but he definitely sensed something strange happening.

The first sign was when parts of the Umbrashnul's army would randomly be consumed by bursts of light that seemed to have no source.

One moment they were perfectly fine, the next they were piles of ashes.

Though he was not much a conversationist, Quillon did try to get some information on this phenomenon from his opponent.

He was facing off against the second strongest Umbrashnul, and so far they had proven to be an adequate fighter.

She was small and lithe, and fought with four different types of blades, using her four arms to wield them all at once.

Quillon was reminded a bit of how Lyra approached combat, but she was definitely superior to his current foe.

The second strongest Umbrashnul was certainly powerful, but he felt that her bladework rang hollow. She was clear the type who used swords simply because they were a strong weapon. She lacked the devotion to the craft that Quillon and his master had.

"As if I have any reason to answer the questions of an assassin when they pertain to my king." The woman responded to Quillon's inquiry.

Of course, she did not realize that in her refusal to answer she had given Quillon all the information that he needed.

While he knew that Marcus would be the one to take on the Umbrashnul King, Quillon had still read the entire report on their enemies' top fighters.

He knew that the strongest Umbrashnul was suspected to have a damage mitigation skill, and from what Quillon had observed, he believed that it was actually a skill that allowed for the king to transfer damage to his vassals.

'Marcus must be pushing his opponent if they're forced to use such a skill. I'd better hurry up and finish my fight. It would leave me feeling hollow if she just burst into flames.'

For the next several minutes, Quillon meticulously dismantled his adversary.

His sword that was clad in light from an enchantment Marcus had added was capable of dealing damage to the shadow people, and he used the band storing light magic to break through any large attacks that he could not easily evade.

Eventually, he had his opponent on their last legs.

She had put up a good fight, but the difference in their overall ability was just too great.

'I was afraid that I might have to call on Aerial. Thankfully, that proved unnecessary. She's still recovering from the last time, and I know that she's still trying to adapt to the powers that Marcus gave her.'

Through their bond together, Quillon could tell that Aerial had undergone a massive change from when the two of them had first bonded.

It had happened even before he met Asher, the man that went by the name of Sword Savant.

Back then Aerial had just been a young spirit only just having gained awareness of the world around her.

Now, she was a powerful Superior Spirit or both wind and light.

'Perhaps she can become a Great Spirit in the future. I'd have thought such a thing to just be a fantasy a while ago, but Marcus has found a way to ascend beyond even such lofty existences. There's no reason the two of us can't as well.'

However, while Quillon was considering where the future might take him and his partner, Aerial stirred and then started screaming.

She had been in a state similar to hibernation inside of him, but now she was in greater distress than Quillon had ever felt her.

He tried to help her and figure out what was wrong. Yet, no matter what he did, Aerial only responded by screaming in anguish.

It was not much longer before giant green tendrils shot into the chamber and began engulfing every living thing in their path.

Quillon watched as the almost gelatinous things plunged into the ranks of the Umbrashnuls and dragged them inside.

Despite being resistant to almost everything except for light elemental energy, whatever monster had suddenly started assailing the Umbrashnul army was capable of overwhelming their natural racial advantages.

Even when they tried sinking into the shadows, the tendrils tore into the ground and ripped it out along with the Umbrashnuls.

It was horrifying to watch, and the screams did not make it any better.

At first Quillon wondered if this might have been the work of some powerful slime that had been attracted to the area by the war.

He had heard about the terrifying creatures that lurked in the depths of the Darklands, and this seemed similar to what they were capable of.

Naturally, it was not long before dozens of the tendrils were coming for him and his opponent.

Quillon found that it was easy enough to defend against the snakelike appendages.

He could cut them down with ease and he was more than quick enough to keep himself from being encircled.

The real problem was that no matter how many he sliced apart, more were always coming and the ones that he had destined swiftly reformed.

This eventually led to his opponent being caught, and Quillon watched as she wailed for help as several of the semi-liquid tendrils worked together to pin her down and drag her away.

Quillon was starting to believe that retreating and regrouping with the rest of his companions would be a good idea, when a ring of light suddenly washed over the entire area.

He was uncertain of exactly what the power was, but he recognized it as having originated from Marcus. He did not know anyone else capable of wielding such a powerful light.

Surprisingly, the ring was healing in nature, and while he was not really injured, Quillon felt the slight bit of exestuation he was feeling vanish thanks to the healing light.

The same could not be said for the Umbrashnuls.

While they were not killed, the light seemed to both harm and heal them at the same time.

This left them completely vulnerable and unable to react as the gelatinous green tendrils swooped down and scooped them up.

"Marcus must be fighting whatever this thing is. Did something happen to him? Is that why Aerial is in such distress?"

Quillon was uncertain of what was happening, but he knew whatever it was could not be good.

Luckily, Lyra and Roxene soon made their way over to him. It seems that they had come to the same conclusion as him and decided to regroup together over sticking to their roles in the war.

At this point, it did not really matter if the vampires were overrun by the Umbrashnuls. They had far bigger problems to worry about.

"I think Marcus might be in trouble. Together we should be able to cut our way through and reach him. I'm certain that he must be fighting against whatever this monster is." Quillon said as he sliced through dozens of tendrils that were coming towards him.

However, the response that he received from Roxene was not what he was expecting.

"Marcus isn't fighting that thing. That is Marcus. I don't know what's happened, but he's completely lost control."

Quillon's mind went blank for a second as he processed what Roxene had just said.

He knew that Marcus had some sort of shape shifting ability, but he had no idea that it could allow him to change to such a degree.

"This is just like the worst future I saw. What could have pushed him this far." Lyra mumbled so quietly that Quillon just barely picked up on it.

Unfortunately, it seemed that his friend had turned into a truly horrid monster.

Feeling his connection with Aerial, he could tell just how much distress she was in.

The power Marcus had given her linked the two together, and through that bond she was being forced to experience what Marcus was through. Quillon knew he had to do something to help her.

"If this is what he had become, then we'll just have to stop him. Permanently, if necessary."

Lyra looked aghast hearing Quillon's blunt statement, and even Roxene was unable to keep her usual cool expression and was visibly distressed.

Obviously, Quillon did not want to kill Marcus either, but if he had lost all reason and was just a creature that propagated destruction, it would be better to put him out of his misery.

"No, we can't do that." Roxene said authoritatively.

Quillon frowned, wondering if he was going to end up having to fight her as well. Though, if that happened, he doubted he would be able to stop Marcus. Even if he could beat Roxene, which he was not certain that he could, it would leave him too worn out to deal with the real threat.

"What do you have in mind then?" Lyra said, quickly latching onto whatever Roxene had planned.

It was clear to see that neither of them had the resolve to eliminate Marcus if it proved necessary. So, Quillon cast the idea from his own head. He would follow along, for now.

Though if it proved impossible to save their friend, he would not hesitate to drag Lyra and Roxene away.

After that, he would return to the surface and gather allies powerful enough to help him put Marcus down.