Chapter 28: Marcus Character Sheet

Appearance:  At the moment, has shoulder length brown hair put up in a ponytail, has jade green eyes, and a light beard. He stands at 5'9" (175cm) and has a muscular and lean body that has scars ranging from sword and spear slashes to arrows and shrapnel covering it.

Personality: Despite once being a former hero and considered an escaped felon, one would be surprised to find out that Marcus is an overall easy going and nice guy, able to get along with just about anybody. He's a little perverted and isn't one to shy away from a 'lucky pervert' moment, in fact, he yearns for them and would unabashedly stare at a half dressed big boobed lady and burn the image into his head. Behind this easy going exterior, however, is a young man of complex thinking, writing his inner worries, thoughts and insecurities inside a journal and occasionally sketching what catches his interest, be it nature or philosophy. Due to his time being isolated in prison, he's also an avid reader, reading books of various kinds, mainly manga and light novels. Not to mention, Marcus is also a family man, placing his family first, no matter what. 

Despite him being a former hero and having such convictions he doesn't consider himself a noble and upright person, instead, he considers himself more of a good 'bad guy.' If you're an enemy, he has no qualms about robbing, looting, kidnapping, ransoming, maiming and/or killing you if it means he can achieve his goals. This way of doing things made his foes fear him but it ultimately resulted in his allies fearing him as well. For the latter, this year turned to hate after the death of a close and dear friend.

Background: born from the union of a once aspiring music teacher and an office worker who unfortunately became drug addicts. Marcus stayed with them until he became involved in a near fatal accident that resulted in him going to the hospital to get stitches and have Child Protective Services called. Once he was taken, he was sent to Father Jefferson's orphanage and church where he met Alice, Paul and the other children. Over the years, Marcus began to notice that the church began to go into dire straits. There were leaks in the roof, plumbing was failing, meals were getting simpler and kids weren't able to get school supplies. Not wanting the family he gained and grew to love to experience such difficulties, he decided to do crime. It didn't matter what it was, robbing, selling, even shooting, he did it all to make sure that he or nobody else in the orphanage would ever go hungry. 

Magic Abilities: 

• Mana Manipulation Expert- due to training in the Heavenly Annihilation Arts, Marcus is able control his mana to an unbelievable level, able to cast spells from just about anywhere on his body and cast them with the utmost efficiency. This high level of manipulation also grants him the ability to walk on all manner of surfaces, be it water, walls, and mountains.

• High Mana Capacity- Because of Marcus's abilities, he's been granted a high mana capacity, if not one of the highest. He has enough mana to cast high ranked spells back to back with relative ease. Usually, one with such a high mana capacity would have a heavy and domineering presence but because of the seals on his body, his presence is suppressed and almost dismissive.

• Soul Lock- A three level seal that Marcus with the help of his master helped cast on himself to keep his power in check. The seals take progressively longer to unseal as the levels get lower. After each re-seal, Marcus will experience a bout of exhaustion due to his mana being taken away.

• Heavenly Annihilation Arts- A mystic lost art taught by Marcus teacher. It's based on the five elements of nature, water, fire, earth, wind, and lightning. These techniques push and allow the body to surpass its limits and become stronger. The more mana you absorb into your meridians and the more you temper your body, the stronger you'll become. 

  • Heavenly Annihilation Technique: Dance of the Lightning God- A set of techniques from the lightning branch of the Heavenly Annihilation Arts. Each movement, under the guise of being wild, random, and erratic, are actually filled with extreme accuracy, aiming towards the pressure points of the body. Covering his body with pseudo-lightning, Marcus is able to inject mana into these pressure points, restricting mana flow and ceasing moving of that said body part. If he wants to, he can rupture the meridians making that limb or body useless.

  • Revitalization- this ability uses mana to stimulate the cells within the body to regenerate at a much faster rate than usual. The more mana you dedicate to the wounds via Revitalization, the quicker the wound will heal. However, it's not a heal all, it can't heal dismembered limbs nor can it regenerate whole organs.

  • Cycling- the base that the Heavenly Annihilation Arts is based on. It is a technique where one absorbs mana within the air into their meridians and use it to temper and strengthen the body. Without it, the body wouldn't be able to perform the techniques the secret arts dictate and the person would either die or become severely injured. It's thanks to this that Marcus has such a strong constitution.

• King of The Dead- An umbrella term for the vast array of abilities this ability grants, it allows Marcus to manipulate his soul, and the souls of others. He can also summon souls back from the dead, see them, collect them, seal them, exorcise them, and if he wanted to, destroy them. This ability also allows him to drain the life force of a person and summon denizens and objects from hell. 

  • Soul Shackle- Marcus injects a part of his soul into a person's body and produces chains that prohibit their movement

  • Soul Spark- To use one branch of the Heavenly Annihilation Arts, Marcus can make his soul mimic lightning properties and use it to attack, stun and defend against his enemies.

  • Apparition- this ability allows Marcus's soul to leave his body and search things in secret. Meaning he's able to go through normal walls with ease. Keyword, normal.

• Gehenna's Flame- Purplish-black flames that are only found in the very depths of Hell. Depending on the intensity they can burn through steel and orichalcum like they were butter and at full power they can turn fully armored bodies into ashes in a matter of seconds. Marcus is able to use this with extreme precision, able to coat swords in this flame without burning the sword.

  • Gahenna's Flame: Fireball- A purplish-black ball of flames the size of a beach ball that Marcus sends at his enemies.

  • Gahenna's Flame: Hell's Wrath- a huge sea of devastating flames that Marcus spits from his mouth. It's so hot that it can cause objects within the vicinity of the flames to spontaneously combust.

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• Saint Muertas Call- One of Marcus's most deadly skills. It's able to kill anything with a 100 yard radius from where Marcus cast it. Be it air, plants or animals, even the soil. The only thing that's left after it's cast is a barren land devoid of all life. Because it makes no distinction between friend or foe and it takes a toll on Marcus's body after each use, Marcus only uses it as a last resort.

Physical Abilities:

• Extreme Stamina- Marcus is able to stay awake days on end with little to no sleep and can survive days with no food or water. This also allows him to do exercises for an insane amount of time and fight for long periods of time without rest, even after reaching exhaustion and being wounded.

• Extreme Speed- Thanks to Heavenly Annihilation Arts reinforcing his body, Marcus can reach speeds of a crazy degree, able to leave after images that can be used to fool his enemies.

• Extreme Durability- His body can attest to this.  

• Enhanced Vitality- due to having a high vitality, Marcus can recover from wounds that would take months to heal from in less than a week, hours if he's using Revitalization. This vitality is also found within his blood, able to sprout plants from the smallest of blood droplets. 

• Weapons Master- having never had a permanent weapon until Lilith came, Marcus had to use any and all weapons offered to him. He can wield the bow, spear, sword, dagger, and among other weapons quite proficiently. 

• Superhuman Strength- As shown when fighting the bandits, Marcus was able to cut them open with relative ease, opening one's chest with a dagger like it was nothing.

• Intense Bloodthirst- Having killed so many people during his time as a hero, Marcus has a bloodthirst that can intimidate the coldest of murderers. Just releasing a small fraction of his bloodlust can make a normal person pass out in fear or piss their pants.

Other Abilities

• Sketch Artist- Having been stuck in a cell for three years and only able to go outside for less than an hour a day, Marcus took up drawing to pass the time. Everyday he'd practice his drawing for a few hours by copying pictures he found  in books and borrowing books art related in the prison library.

• Enhanced Sensory Perception- Due to years of training, Marcus has developed a sixth sense that allows him to sense killing intent and identify one's mana signature and commit them to memory.

Equipment

• Vietnam War Era Lighter- An old and tarnished zippo lighter that Marcus received from his late great father-figure, Father Jefferson. It's one of his two only keepsakes of him. It has the numbers '71-'72 engraved on the top part of the lighter and the MACV-SOG on the bottom casing. 

His skills will come to light as the story progresses.

 

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