Leave The Monster Alone

"Hey, can you open this door for me? I am a little busy and in need of assistance." one of the weakest excuses but mark had panicked when he had realized that the other might leave him here alone and stuck inside.

"This door? Alright" the other opened the door somehow and Mark knocked him out with swift moves. He did feel sorry for the other but not enough to not be able to justify his actions.

He would make it up to the other somehow in the future.

He had to hurry and find Kuro before Zeno ended up finding the other. It should not be that difficult for Mark to do since he knew this place well enough already. And he had an even bigger overall advantage over Zeno, his bond with Kuro which was leading him deeper into the base. He could feel Kuro at the other side of the corridor. 

In the end, it had been Kuro who found him rather than the other way around. She came blazing in and knocked the wind out of Mark with her tackle. It hurt, but only for a little while before Mark balanced himself and felt the healing factors inside start to work. 

"Be careful with me. You don't want to knock me out, do you?" Kuro just gave him an even harder push at those words, her playful side coming out now. She evidently did not care much about what he thought since he had the core inside him. He was stronger than her currently and they both knew that. 

"Fine, have your fun first. Then we need to make another plan. Convincing Zeno is no longer a possibility" Which was a shame but it happened anyway. Now they needed another strategy to take care of things. One which will be more reliable.

There was a message on Mark's system which surprised him and he hesitated to check it out. What if it was something bad and he made it worse by checking it? Should he take the risk? In the end, he decided to risk it since his instincts did not make a push for him to avoid it. 

It likely meant that it would not harm Mark much. At least, that was what he was counting on to make it work but knowing his luck, that was not an outcome he would be getting. 

When he licked up the message, he instantly preferred his earlier thought out the outcome to this mess. A single line was conveyed to him by Liam and it held so many implications. Mark could absolutely not make any mistakes here. 

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The attacks started and the war seemed to be looking over our head

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This news was one Mark had not wanted to see but he could not escape it now. The war was upon them and it fell to Mark to correct it for the time being. If Zeno was not willing to listen then Mark would make him listen. That was just how things were for now.

"Alright, time to make it all work. Let's find Zeno first and this time I will not be taken by surprise" The base was restricting Mark now. His core was working against him in this safe zone and he felt the pressure to obey the rules.

"I wonder if you feel this pressure as well or if it is only me?" Mark's question was met with a small growl of agreement but with what he did not know. There was too much emptiness in the space around then. They finally began moving through the base once they had cloaked their presence. 

It was not difficult to find Zeno either, his aura screaming his location to Mark and he just decided to follow after it. There was no way they could lose the other now, not with how things were turning out to be and it was only a matter of time before they had everything ready on their side. 

"Kuro, distract him and keep away" The cat jumped down at Mark's words, her body making a barrier between herself and the opening at her other side. Zeno did not look startled to see her, just after her moment which was expected. The other likely knew that Kuro had been there all along. 

But if he knew about Mark or not, that much was up for debate but Mark had a feeling the other did not know about his escape just yet. An advantage he had but for how long would it last exactly? 

"Welcome. I was looking around for you and you decided to greet me. Mark trained you well but too bad that he is on the other side" Zeno did not sound regretful at all. He sounded mocking and Mark did not appreciate that even a little bit. 

Kuro took a small swipe with her paws which the other dodged with ease. His eyes showed arrogance as he challenged the other and Kuro took him up on that challenge. She only needed to guide him outside and it would be all over for them.

"Just a little more, just a little more Kuro. Hang in there" it was not like the other could hear him but Mark still cheered her on. It was lucky for them that Zeno was an idiot who could not figure their game plan out or even if he did, he decided it was alright to follow after Kuro. 

it made it easy to manipulate him and get him outside and it seemed to be working. They were almost outside before he seemed to realise that something was wrong and stopped moving. He looked down at the boundary line and his face twisted into a frown.

"A good attempt on your part indeed and a cleaver one as well. Surely, a beast like you didn't come up with it. Do you have another companion I am unaware of" the other asked, his tone flat and emotionless.

Mark realised that the gig was up and there was no way to make Zeno cross the threshold by any normal means. They had to get innovative with this and Mark had an idea about what he could do to make the other cross the line without going over the top.

But he had to do it fast before the other stepped far away from the line. Zeno was still taunting Kuro from a few steps away from the baseline but that did not mean he would stay there forever. Mark had to take advantage while he still could.

He decided to tackle the other and it took Zeno by surprise. They both stumbled over and were thankful it was enough to knock the other out of the base's range. Zeno realised as soon as he stabilised himself and made an effort to go back inside but it was already too late.

As soon as he had stepped outside, he had lost this game they had been playing. Now Mark was in charge and he had the right to make decisions. His aura blazed over the whole space, making Zeno stumble and pinning him in his place. He had lost this fight now and they all knew it.

"I'm sorry that it had to come to this. You should have helped us when you still had the chance to" Mark's voice did sound sorry and the other sneered at him for that. What kind of person was Zeno to not lose faith even in this situation.

"You do not know what kind of power you are going against. He killed a divine beast, one of the four and you think you can defeat him? You are delusional and I refuse to de for your mistake" There was fear mixed in that voice which Mark understood. It was difficult to imagine this situation for anyone.

"You are the one who doesn't understand. Do you really think that person will care about what will happen to you once he is through this world. Do you even know what they are looking for?" Mark tried to make the other realise just what kind of situation they were in. he expected the other to lose hope but the other smiles a small smile.

"Of course I know what they are after. All that anger, all that aggression. Isn't it obvious that they want revenge?" Zeno spoke it like he was sure about this fact but Mark was not so sure. Revenge did not seem like the motive here.

"I've spoken to our god multiple times now and I can tell. Underneath that calm facade lies a monstrous rage that seeks to dominate everyone. They are dangerous and angry" Mark did not know what to make of it.

In the end, there was nothing he could do even with this information. It changed nothing for them, nor gave them an advantage. Time was of the essence and it was stiffening as well. They had only so much they could handle before they retaliate as well.

If the god was angry, so were his people.