Ivan looked at the boy, thrown onto the road. He shook his head, as the three looked at him, readying their own spells. Taking a deep breath, Ivan revealed a paper doll, as he took his stance.

"Shikagami Torrent!", he shouted, as dozens of paper dolls flew into them. The three all dodged, however the paper dolls hit Bjork, the taller man. He shook them off, only taking minimal cuts to his body.

"You won't be able to land those tiny little dolls now, Dreyar!", he shouted. Clearly, the man had reservations with attacking a child, but not so much with a grown man, especially with one who he had beef with. Preparing his own spell, he yelled, "Rock Body: Phalange!"

And as he yelled those words, his fists took the appearance of stones, increasing his strength. Using them like boxing gloves, his already sturdy body was now near indestructible. Ivan dodged his attack, firing his Shikigamis again. But the blow was simply a distraction for Suzanne, who threw another gust of wind his way, taking him down. Bjorn then sought to finish the attack, going for Ivan's legs. But there was nothing left, and he realized it was simply an illusion created by the Fairy Tail Mage.

"You're the best of the Disciples, but none of you can hold a candle to me.", Ivan said, confidently. "One down, two to go."

"You'll regret stealing the Testament!", Bjorn shouted.

"It's useless on its own, my dear friend. Just one part of a treasure trove, but a part nonetheless.", Ivan said, grinning again. The man in front of him was a fool, hindered by both a lack of expertise, and a foolish sense of warrior's honor. He'd seen many like him, and they were all just as easy to defeat.

"Don't get too confident, you have a liability to protect.", Rhett, the leader, a thin man with short brown hair, finally spoke up. When Ivan had stolen the missing 30th Testament of the Book of Zeref, he hadn't been able to face this man, the strongest of the Black Disciples, a hidden order that worshipped the Black Wizard, a figure known to be the most evil of Mages ever.

"Liability? No, no, this boy is just an unexpected witness.", Ivan cackled, when he saw the boy still prone on the ground.

"You're a cold man, Ivan. That's probably the one thing I like about you.", Rhett said, readying his blow. His arm began to melt, as Ivan thought what he could be using. And he would soon find his answer, as it turned into a large mace.

"So you're just like our giant friend here."

"Oh, but I'm better."

Rhett's arm stretched, as it reached towards the Fairy Tail mage. Ivan dodged, but it was enough for Bjorn to scrape him with his fists. He barely stuck his landing, now finding himself cornered by the two dark Mages. Perhaps a tactical retreat was necessary. The boy would be left to fend for himself, but that was the least of Ivan's worries.

Kane, barely awake, finally summoned enough strength in himself to begin crawling away. He had suffered two injuries in the last month, the first of which had almost claimed his life. And as much as he wanted to kick his attacker's asses, he was scared. Scared that he'd die without ever even finding who he was. So he decided to run, and find help. Unfortunately, luck didn't smile his way a lot. Suzanne had noticed him, and she didn't plan on letting the boy get away.

"Don't even try it.", she said. He looked at her with terror in his eyes and tried to crawl faster. But the woman was quicker.

"Please..", he begged. But she didn't care.

"Airlock.", she said, as Kane found his face locked inside a helmet like dome, cutting off the air supply. Frantically trying to break it, he beat his fists against it, but nothing would work. Unfortunately, she wasn't done.

"Burning Air.", she invoked the second spell, as the dome filled with green gas, and as Kane made the mistake of breathing it in, he realized what it was. Poison, slowly but surely making his way to his lungs. He tried to hold his breath, but his lungs were parched, and he could do nothing to get out of it. His eyes watered, as his struggle weakened. And soon, his body loosened.

"No, please.", he struggled to say, but he couldn't. As he was about to give up, he tried to fight out of it one last time, and miraculously, he found his strength return to him. Forcing his fist to his face, he managed to crack the aerial barrier suffocating him. Suzanne was shocked, and tried to repair the trap, but it was too late, and with a second Kane blow managed to free himself. With reddened eyes, he looked at the woman, as amazed as he was.

He jumped out of the way of the next blow, realizing how much quicker and stronger he felt. Wiping the sweat off his face, he felt his mind racing, but somehow more composed. He'd have wondered what just happened to him, but it didn't matter. What mattered was beating the people who attacked him. Just as she threw another gust of wind his way, he was pushed back, but only barely. Lunging back at her, he missed by an inch, but leaving a crater in the ground.

Suzanna wasn't quite sure what had happened. The boy was mere seconds away from dying, but now he was not only back on his feet, but also a potential threat. And given Dreyar was legitimately a stronger wizard, she'd need to take care of the boy and then help her comrades beat him. But for all she could see, the boy just seemed to be simply using brute force.

Bjorn observed this as well. He knew he was unmatched in a physical battle, so it would make perfect sense for him to switch opponents. Pouncing at the boy, he was astounded to see the kid dodge, although barely. Suzanna understood the cue, and went to face Ivan.

Ivan found that trying to defeat the two brutes was difficult on its own, and one of them swapping out with a wind mage only made things more difficult. Facing both short and long range offense, he used his Shikigamis as a shield to prepare his defenses. He didn't have enough time or magic power to perform an Illusion again, and secure the Testament.

Rhett turned his right arm into a scythe, as he swung. A Melding Mage, he could shapeshift his skin into any form of weapon he wanted. This, along with his years of experience and a vicious streak made him a dangerous foe in the battlefield. And he could see that Ivan was trying to tire him out, instead of going on the offense. But Dreyar would learn that the one who'd be outlasted was him,not Rhett.

Kane looked at the massive man, who probably stood over 7 feet, and had a muscular body. But what drew his attention the most were his massive, rock like fists. The man was slower than Kane was, but packed a massive punch. Massive enough to leave craters wherever he smashed the ground. Kane knew he couldn't beat him by continuing to dodge, so he finally decided to attack. Leaping forward, he drove his fist into Bjorn's chest, and to the surprise of bo th, managed to push him back. However, he also left an opening, which the far more battle hardened Rock Mage could exploit.

"Rock Body: Cranium!", Bjorn bellowed, as his hands returned to flesh and bone, but his skull took on their stone form. Headbutting the boy, he aimed for a spot that would be damaging but not fatal. Kane fell to the ground, and as he caught his breath, he realized he wasn't feeling any pain at all. In fact, it was quite the opposite. It was like there was fire in his veins, and he jumped back up, kicking the giant in his ribs.

Now that he was back on his feet, Kane observed that his opponent's hands were peculiarly red. Deciding to go for them, he leaped, but Bjorn managed to pull them away. This just further confirmed Kane's suspicions, and he took the offense. Unleashing a barrage of punches on him, Kane managed to push him backwards. Bjorn wasn't used to being matched physically, and for something like this to be done by a mere child was infuriating. And he did whatever a man as overconfident in his abilities would do, he made a stupid mistake.

"Rock Body: Phalange!", he shouted, as his fists which were much easier to use in battle than his skull took on their rock form again. Kane expected this to happen, and hit him with a knee to his reddened face. It burst immediately, with blood squirting all over. Bjorn screamed, as the blood ran into his eyes. The scream distracted his partners who saw Kane pummel him with blows. Stopping when he saw the man had passed out.

Ivan deftly used the distraction to attack the two from behind, as they were looking at their incapacitated comrade. The Shikigami Bomb was unexpected, and it managed to floor them, if not take them out. He looked at Kane, who was already about to attack.

"Focus on the boy, he's a more immediate threat." Rhett said, back to his feet already. Ivan and Kane heard him too, and while the former planned a hasty escape, the latter was focused on beating them. However, neither plan would come to pass, as a massive beam of light shot out, defeating both of the dark Mages. And as Kane and Ivan turned around, they were shocked to see Makarov and Laxus standing there.

Kane looked at Ivan, remembering that he practically abandoned him in the beginning of the fight. Furious, he wanted to confront the man then and there, but then Makarov interrupted.

"We need to get these three out of here, and in custody before they wake up.", the Master said. All four of them agreed, and soon enough the intruders were incapacitated, and a message was sent out to the Magic Council.

"What just happened?", Laxus said.

"I-", Kane began to speak but Ivan butted in.

"They were part of a cult in Opal Town, son. I crossed paths with them and found they were a Dark Guild.", Ivan said. "They lost, and followed me home, expecting to ambush me."

"No, what happened to Kane?", Laxus replied. "He beat the hell out of that guy."

"I..don't know.", the dark skinned boy said. "The woman trapped me in this poisonous orb kind of thing, and then I just started feeling weird. Stronger, and faster, and I knew how to fight. I can't explain how."

"Poison? That's strange. No one has a reaction like you did to poisonous magic.", Makarov replied. "How did you get strong enough to beat a man twice your size?"

"Honestly, it's rather intriguing.", Ivan said. "As far as I knew, young Kane-chan here was not a mage, nor was he ever trained to fight Mages. Am I right?"

"Yeah.", Kane replied, wondering what the answer to this mystery could be.

Sup guys, here's another chapter of Mark Of Kane. I hope you all enjoyed it. Do follow, favorite and review!