[i]Scowling, Markus noticed that the presence hadn’t seemed to abate in the slightest despite him having gained miles from the tree he’d first noticed the presence at. Slowing down as he glanced around, it wasn’t too hard to notice the faint glow of a “firefly” drifting through the foliage above him. It came to a halt as he fully stopped and hovered in place, no doubt observing him for its master. This would make things difficult… 

For one reason or another the powerful being hadn’t set out to reclaim its own from Gold Village, but out here in the wild forest away from the human settlement? He wasn’t ready to bet it would stay within the confines of its barrier if he hurt its kin while it watched. It didn’t seem like he’d be able to get rid of its observer either, as Markus was almost certain he had destroyed the original. Sighing, he turned away from the “firefly” and continued on his way through the forest, trying to pick up on any trace of anyone that might have left the barrier. While he was severely limited in what he could do combat-wise he’d still be able to complete his primary task of scouting out the Dragon’s response.

Even with his enhanced speed and senses though, the forest surrounding the barrier was simply too large for him to cover by himself. Every moment he wasted trying to circle around its perimeter only forced him to widen his search area as any possible targets made more ground. So… if he couldn’t find them then his other option would be to force them to show themselves. 

With a slight frown as he didn’t enjoy pointless destruction like this, Markus gripped his weapon with both hands and exhaled. When he breathed back in it was deep enough that the air around him literally swirled as he drew it inside. Muscles like coiled metal flexed and an unnatural tinge of red began to swirl around his feet as it rose up to engulf his entire body. The color was drawn to his weapon's edge where it seemed to gather, forming a neon red glow on the metal. With a small huff, he slammed the weapon against the tree's trunk. Despite its size, the weapon was not nearly long enough to bisect the tree cleanly, it was large enough that even half a dozen men wouldn't have been able to hug its trunk. Yet the blade nonetheless carved through the ancient wood with ease before he brought his weapon around for another swing, and another, and another. Stepping around the massive tree, Markus carved his way through the trunk bit by bit. And when he had made a full circle, the tree groaned as the damage proved too much; forced to give as gravity took control. 

Jumping backwards and away from the toppling tree, he watched for a moment as the skyscraper of a tree finally fell. There was something oddly alluring to watch about it, as the heavy mass brushed and crushed aside any tree that tried to stop its descent. It made a racket as it fell, branches and smaller trees cracking and splintering. To call what happened when it hit the ground a racket would have been quite the understatement. His vision was jarred by the shaking of the ground underneath his foot, while he watched as a cloud of dust settled around the fallen tree.[/i]

“Shit... Well that should get people’s attention,” [i]he muttered as he listened to the sound of birds taking flight for miles on end due to the disturbance. He stepped forward towards the fallen trees and jumped onto its trunk, landing softly as he surveyed the surrounding carnage; waiting to see if anyone would show up. As he did so though, he rubbed at the back of his helm sheepishly. The falling tree had managed to clear about two hundred feet of trees in the direction it fell, and done so very messily. While he had intended to cause some havoc, it certainly hadn't been on this scale.[/i]