After Marcus' first strike against the undead scepter, the Ghost King attempted to keep his distance from him.
Hundreds of baleful specters flew out of the top of the malignant weapon and flew towards Marcus.
Each one was between level forty and level fifty and possessed dangerous abilities that could easily kill most people with a single touch.
Nevertheless, to Marcus they were simply a minor inconvenience. With his phantom pressure he crushed their souls a dozen at a time and realized them from the eternal torment that they had been experiencing trapped within the undead scepter.
"Eclipse Reaper."
Channeling all of the power of his Supreme Skill into his scythe, Marcus unleashed one of his strongest attacks and ripped through the defensive powers that the Ghost King was attempting to protect himself and his weapon with.
He then swung his forging hammer again and slammed it into another weak point in the undead weapon.
More minor cracks spread out from the point of impact and a dreadful screech resounded through the area.
In response Ariba cast a powerful spell he had been preparing to eliminate Marcus in one go.
"Polar Abyss."
An unbelievable wave of cold energy erupted and froze everything in its path as the Ghost King released his tier nine ice magic spell. Even his own conjured minions were not free from the effects.
Still, despite the immense power behind the spell, it failed to stop or even hinder the individual that it was meant for.
"Flame Emperor."
Wreathed in dark purple flames, the ice that had frozen everything else retreated away from Marcus.
The frost continued to squirm and move to consume him, but the immense heat he was generating kept it at bay.
"That one managed to give me a little scare. Thankfully, I'm pretty used to deal with ice magic already." Marcus said with a smirk.
Arriba responded to his taunt with another horrid wail meant to destroy the souls of those that heard it. Never since he became a ghost king had he been so insulted.
In rapid succession he conjured several more spells ranging from tier four to tier six. They lacked the power of his Polar Abyss but were able to be launched quickly.
A fierce volley of attacks sped towards him the second Arriba and the undead weapon keyed in on his new location.
Unlike before, now they did not commit their all to offense and were wary of Marcus' Dark Portal and Light Speed Movement unique skills.
"Why won't you obey me?!"
His hand raised; the Ghost King had been trying to control Marcus since their first clash.
Normally he should have been able to command most undead weaker than him, and his ability was especially potent against other ghosts.
Thankfully, Marcus being a great spirit as well as having the Sound Mind unique skill protected him from having his will suppressed by Arriba. Had he still only been an unbound ghost like when he first arrived on Mirrion, his fate already would have been sealed. Instead, all he felt was an annoying buzzing sound in his head.
"Death Dance."
After maneuvering around the battlefield and avoiding several attacks, Marcus was confident that he could reach his target again and activated one of his attack skills to cut his way towards Arriba.
The fearful Ghost King slipped into the ground below to attempt to escape, but he found this trick to be useless against someone that could just as easily slip into the earth.
Easily catching up to his fleeing enemy, Marcus used his spectral arm to grab Arriba and hold him in place momentarily.
Still, intangible the undead weapon sent several deadly attacks at Marcus desperately, but he evaded or blocked all of them.
With another mighty blow he smashed the scepter with his hammer.
The force of the blow caused small fragments to break off the abhorrent creation, and weapon and wielder went flying upwards back towards the surface.
Marcus followed close behind, ready to unleash a barrage of attacks against the undead weapon until it finally was annihilated.
Except, just before he could deliver the finishing blows his danger sense started blaring in the back of his mind.
Heeding the warning he was receiving; he stopped his momentum and flew backwards as quickly as he could.
A second later he watched a giant amethros mace head attached to a chain fly past him.
The powerful strike crashed into a nearly collapsed wall and shattered it into dust. Showing just how much force was behind the blow. Had Marcus taken the attack, he would have been dealt quite a bit of damage.