Eerie echoes rebounded off surrounding buildings, obfuscating how abundant the Blight Husk’s truly were. Marcus hastily searched for an avenue to escape, but each route blocked in totality by an endless horde of horrors. Whatever Mastermind was pulling strings behind the curtain, had systematically prepared this trap to catch those entering its territory.

Marcus’s self-confidence had blinded him to the truth; He’d been too gung-ho to truly contemplate about what could’ve awaited downtown. His hubris would likely get himself and Adrian killed, but he intended to at least give these monsters a run for their money.

According to the System and its’ quest, over a million of these creatures existed already, while even more continually came into existence. This meant that holding their ground and fighting it out wasn’t a viable option; even if each individual was a lower level than him. Planning would have to come later - for now breaking through Blight Husk lines came as a priority.

Marcus directed his mount towards a thinner portion of Husks - thinner being relative when that line remained at least ten bodies deep. Adrian lacked any true ranged options, but that didn’t prevent Marcus from hammering into the Blighted. Of his spells, Stone Throw by far won out on casting speed at only requiring a quarter second to manifest. Pairs of the spell launched from his hands with a cracking sound, before accelerating and making contact. Shards of grit fanned out from each connection, mowing down several Blight Husks at a time; it wasn’t nearly enough.

Horrific wounds appeared on every creature that was targeted, often they would die, but most of the destruction instead maimed. The effects closely resembled how grenades inflicted their damage, just with doubled kill range. Traditional handheld explosives are effective at causing injury within 15 meters, and death at 5; his Stone Throw spell caused injury at 20 meters, but the death zone spread up to 10. Alas it was akin to attempting to fill an Olympic sized swimming pool with a ladle. Blighted fell in droves before his magic, but positions once voided filled in from behind matching or exceeding the rate of death. Before long his summon had almost reached the horde’s frontlines, Marcus took one final action prior to contact – he molded parts of the bears armor over their legs, counting on it keeping them not only protected from casual swipes, but also from being dismounted; only swift death would occur in that event.

Crashing into a pile of flesh seconds later brought about ripples of devastation. Ursine flesh fought an uphill battle as clawed hands reached and slashed recklessly - cleaving narrow gashes into even quartz-armor. Marcus continually fed mana into the beast to hopefully stimulate enough healing, otherwise his summon would collapse under weak, but numerous blows. Adrian continued swinging at whatever unlucky Husk approached too closely; attempting to peel away any hanger-on’s while their mount pressed on.

Forward progress slowed to a crawl halfway through the encirclement, and even then, flanking Husks moved to reinforce weakening sections. Marcus yelled out to Adrian, “Buy me fifteen seconds and brace for impact.”

After his last set of level-ups, Marcus could now cast Unstable Earth Spines much faster than before - about 25% to be exact. Now, how many mana cones he could maintain at once would be learned now. Targeting an area ahead of them, Marcus flooded it with mana, preparing that zone. Rapidly the spell began to take shape, but not without cost. Blows rained down upon him, primarily on his legs and lower torso - most became blocked or missed due to their height, but several made solid contact. Each shock tore at his concentration, tearing portions of the spell apart. Fortunately, Marcus’s rate of construction outstripped Blight combatants’ damage output, otherwise they'd be toast.

In addition, he saved just enough mana capacity to trigger Capacitor Discharge; although what he’d expected to happen didn’t. Instead of multiplying how many cones existed, the ability strengthened and compacted each construct into a denser mesh. Marcus couldn’t spare any brainpower to study the phenomenon; upon lashing together a final cone he released his spell.

Rather than a single spine erupting from each mana construct, three appeared – amassing into a twenty-meter diameter circle. Furthermore, each of them was much thicker, and glowed cherry red - even before entering an unstable state. Just being near them had already started charring Blight Hulk flesh. Many abominations fled the heat, whereas copious others fell into the zone; shoved in by their relentless horde pressing forward.

“LAY DOWN FLAT!” Marcus shouted.

Praying that Adrian and his Constitution was high enough, he ordered his summon to charge through the inferno. Marcus utilized dregs of mana he retained to pull mass from his mount creating a makeshift barrier. A thin layer of stone pressed them down, quickly becoming uncomfortable as it too began reaching high temperatures. Skin of both passengers sizzled wherever flesh touched their protective sheet – not only painful, but also reducing health rapidly. Breathing came next, oxygen absorbed copious amount of heat; their gasping breaths burning at their lungs. Marcus wasn’t in good shape, not to mention Adrian.

Impacts washed through their bodies, a product of their steed slamming through not only Husk’s, but stone aswell. Seconds ticked by, and after an extremely long minute they had broken through not only the horde, but a field of fire. Marcus hastily deconstructed their shielding, letting in refreshing night air. Not all was peachy though, their mount had once again seen better days; molten sections dripped onto the ground. With a final shudder his summon fell over with a splat, further disintegrating into loose mana moments later.

Marcus looked behind him. While they still had pursuers, they’d bought themselves some distance. He glanced at his partner before simply saying, “Run!”

Marcus was utterly lost, without much light, making out any nearby landmarks became difficult to impossible. Reading nearby street signs, he was able to cobble together their rough location, they were near Interstate-25; shortly afterwards Marcus spotted portions of raised highway and headed towards it.

Entering onto an Interstate turned out to be easy; t having on/off ramps every mile or so proved useful. With an elevated position, Marcus finally found something to work with, he could see parts of MSU. MSU, or Metropolitan State University of Denver, sat smack dab in the heart of the city – only several roads over from his original destination, 16th street.

He’d recently – in the past half hour – been humbled to an extreme degree. Marcus was torn on what he should do next. His options were severely limited, he either continued pressing deeper into Downtown, trying to reach his family, or he could follow Interstate-25 back south towards his mother. Even now the number of Blighted climbed higher – converting citizens into horrors. Would his father and brother still be alive after over half of the population had already changed? Statistics put it at 50/50, good odds that he’d bet on… if he was alone.

He spoke towards Adrian, “What I’m about to do is reckless, stupid even. Now is the time to leav-“

Adrian cut him off, “I told you I was done being helpless! Have faith in me Marcus, I’ve had your back so far, why would I leave now,” he paused, “Not to mention you’re this city’s one hope of survival – unless someone else also figured out how magical voodoo works that is, “ Adrian finished slyly.

“Fine, but we need to find somewhere I can make us another ride, and to wait out night. Fighting those Husk’s was enough dissuasion for me to not seek conflict until daytime. If I remember correctly there’s an historical park just south of MSU; less than a quarter kilometer actually,“ Marcus said.

Upon obtaining Adrian’s go consent, they took off - traveling East, fortunately outpacing their pursuers, or maybe their controller gave up chasing them – for now. Monster populations within Denver proper were abysmal, culled by The Blight no doubt; he’d have to thank them soon.

Marcus had missed exactly when he’d started regenerated normally. He’d been ‘infected’, with notifications attesting that fact – which limited his recoverability. His status must have corrected itself around the time he’d finished the Crystal Lord path; somehow ‘restoring’ himself simultaneously. Burn wounds are excruciating. Not only do they blister, deeper burns can permanently destroy nerves and surrounding tissues. Marcus spent his next hour in pain, allowing charred skin to regenerate. Adrian’s condition was much worse, although he was trying to hide it. His attributes, including regeneration rates struggled to restore him into an ideal condition. Marcus hadn’t developed anything for healing others - Pyrrhic Cleansing could only be used on himself. In fact, he'd already deployed that spell to prevent any nasty infections; if System regeneration allowed that to happen at all.

Their journey's end came into view after an hour of light jogging blocked partially by MSU facilities. Combat remained sporadic, swiftly finished either by blade or bludgeoning depending on whom was closest. Entering the 9th Street Historical Park – as labeled by many signs – ended uneventfully, and they began searching for somewhere to hold up.

Clusters of buildings lined well maintained walkways, crisscrossing across park grounds. High volumes of greenery, primarily trees, filled any remaining open space, emitting an inhospitable air – casting long shadows as twilight approached. Nearby, most structures around had already been heavily damaged, but one endured mostly intact. The building resembled a classic gothic church, dominated by a pair of towers on its front façade. Stained glass windows were spread on each wall, miraculously in one piece; Marcus choose it as their destination.

Marcus found plaques labeled as - St. Cajetan's - placed nearby, giving the church a name. For a place of worship, he’d anticipated many individuals to flock towards it as a sort-of last haven; those who follow religion tend to seek answers from their deity after all. Thick wooden doors blocked their entry - nothing blunt force couldn’t solve. Marcus didn't want to destroy these doors, so instead of blowing them in with a spell, he simply pried them open with his staff acting as a crowbar. Enhanced attributes made quick work of his task, and with a crack they’d made it inside. What Marcus hadn't expected was to be met with screams of pure terror.

Several individuals broke from cover, and rushed towards Marcus, each holding improvised weapons. Luckily, recognition dawned on their faces once they’d seen his face, halting their mad rush. Apparently, this group has already encountered Blighted – initially they must’ve believed Marcus was one of them.

Raising his hands in the air, he spoke, “I’m sorry for intruding. My name is Marcus and I wasn’t aware anyone was left nearby; my friend and I just wanted someplace safe for the night before we moved on tomorrow.”

Haggard men and women snuck glances at each other – clearly unsure how this situation should be resolved. Sampling random people painted a picture of desperation; most lacked suitable classes. Those who rushed him were a smattering of novice warriors and random miscellaneous classes; one unlucky fellow even chose intern. A silent argument played across their eyes before someone finally stepped forward.

“Hello Marcus,” reaching out, shaking hands, “the name’s Gregory, or Greg for short - sorry for our rude greeting earlier. We’ve been spotting horrid monsters passing nearby – our response was purely reactional. After seeing you weren’t one of those things we’re relieved. Having been locked in this church for days, I can’t but worry about what’s happening outside. Can you tell us anything regarding the situation in the city?

“Greg, before I start explaining anything, how much do you all know about the System?”

“If you mean the strange screens that pop into our brains, not much. Outside of disposing of some extra-large rodents we’ve managed to avoid much confrontation,” dragging Marcus aside, out of earshot, “these people are terrified man, I’m barely keeping it together myself if I’m being honest - Please tell me some good news, “Greg pleaded.

Shaking his head, Marcus replied, “I’m afraid it’s probably worse than any of you could imagine. From how you reacted to seeing me, you’ve already seen Blighted Husks at the least. What you don’t know is that there are 1.5 million of them and rising. I’ve come here looking for my father and brother, both had last been seen on 16th street. Don’t lose hope yet. After concluding my search, for good or bad, I plan to organize a force to systemically purge the city of their filth."

“Good God… how do we fight anything that comes in numbers like that,” Greg whispered demurely.

“Tactics, preparation, and of course, magic," Marcus stated matter-of-factly.

Settling in for the night Marcus gathered everyone, repeating his speech on System basics once again – something he’d come to terms with doing repeatedly. Unfortunately, Marcus found no additional mages in this group, nor any class on par with Adrian’s, not to mention his. He told them about his underground shelter located in Littleton - a suburb of south Denver and instructed them on how to get there. Conversation stretched late into the night, robbing them of sleep until well after midnight.

Marcus managed to convince three-dozen people to leave early the next day; rendezvous with his mother’s group. Several stragglers refused to leave - he simply left them alone after trying to further prod them, but to no avail. Those who were leaving would follow Interstate-25 ten miles south before entering Littleton, their target. Unsuprisingly, Greg stepped into his leadership role with minor trepidation before falling into the rhythm shortly after.

“So long as you don’t leave the road and remain quiet there shouldn’t be anything left to stop you from making good time. Adrian and I cleared most of your path, but don’t become apathetic – that’s how you die. Good luck Greg and tell my mother I love her.”

Soon afterwards, Marcus left with Adrian – continuing their trek. Marcus had long since recreated his mount; still lacking intelligence unfortunately. They remained unbothered, even as 16th street became visible, but rather than a cleared road, deep ranks of Blight Husks prevented any hope of a clean entrance. Each layer remained motionless, and vigilant – guarding against any approaching threats. More worrying than the Blighted themselves, was a gargantuan alien structure that latched on-to surrounding buildings. Fleshy growths covered two stories of what Marcus assumed was a Distortion Vat facility; something he wasn’t prepared to face.

Low-ball estimates put about 150,000 Blighted nearby if each row continued from where he lost sight of them. Marcus would need to thin their numbers before even considering approaching the structure safely. With that in mind he began to plan, but before anything else his status awaited – notifications a-plenty.