The fight between Marcus and Doflamingo was intense and as he watched it up close, Nicholas realized just how far behind Marcus he was. Over the next ten minutes or so the two clashed together repeatedly as Doflamingo slowly pushed Marcus back with his overwhelming power. Marcus held on through the relentless onslaught and besides the fact he didn't have an opportunity to attack himself, he wasn't injured.
A few times during the fight Nicholas thought he found the right opportunity to attack. But every time he rushed forward to attack, Doflamingo would send a powerful attack that would force him back. Even with those minor distractions, Doflamingo could easily handle Marcus at the same time.
The fight quickly settled into a stalemate with Doflamingo being unable to do anything to Marcus, while Nicholas couldn't do anything to help. Time seemed to slow to a crawl as neither side could gain an advantage and Nicholas started to wonder when help would arrive. Nicholas's momentary slip shouldn't have been an issue, but it was at that same moment Doflamingo decided to change tactics.
Doflamingo didn't even spare Nicholas a glance as his right hand pointed in his direction and a thick glowing orange string shot towards his face. Nicholas's eyes widened when he realized he became a target and he attempted to dodge but the string was incredibly fast. Just before it reached him, Marcus appeared in front of him and deflected the attack with his sword. The string shot past Nicholas's head and he felt the incredible heat that radiated off it as it passed before it drilled a hole through one of the distant trees.
Marcus pulled back towards Nicholas as he said, "If you can't keep up, you should get out of here… I won't be able to fight properly if I need to protect you."
Nicholas frowned as he said, "Sorry, I won't get distracted again."
"Fine. Just try not to die then." Marcus said as he deflected a few more attacks aimed at both of them.
Nicholas nodded before he coated his arms in haki and rushed forward as he punched away the incoming attacks. Marcus stepped back as he let Nicholas take over defense and settled into a stance. Marcus's conqueror's haki flared as his sword greedily ate it all before Marcus flashed forward and launched a massive air slash filled with conqueror's haki towards Doflamingo.
Both of Doflamingo's hands whipped forward as he yelled, "OVERHEAT!"
Two thick super heated strings raced forward to slam into Marcus's air slash and for a moment they froze in the air. Power crackled between the two attacks until the strings shattered apart like fragile glass as the air slash destroyed them before it continued towards Doflamingo. His arms swiped upwards desperately as ten prismatic strings shot out and clashed with the incoming attack at the last moment.
Doflamingo struggled against it as Marcus disappeared from view and just as he deflected the attack. Marcus reappeared next to him as he slashed across Doflamingo's chest leaving a deep gash that poured blood. Instead of retreating, Doflamingo lashed out with his arms as he brought the prismatic strings down onto Marcus. Marcus flashed backwards and blocked the attack with his sword which he skillfully used to help himself retreat.
Marcus landed next to Nicholas slightly out of breath as he asked, "Nice job, let's do that again."
Nicholas nods in agreement, his eyes still focused on Doflamingo who was glaring at both of them as strings quickly stitched his flesh back together. Doflamingo's anger filled laughter filled the grove before he sneered, "I'm done playing around, I'm gonna kill both of you now!"
Doflamingo stomped his right leg on the ground and large chunks of the ground turned into strings before it shot towards both of them. Marcus's eyes widened as he slashed forward and yelled, "He awakened his devil fruit, watch out he can turn everything in the environment into strings!"
Nicholas's eyes almost popped out of his head as more of the ground turned into strings and formed a large wave. The wave surged forward as it collapsed over top of them both before Marcus's conqueror's haki flared and he slashed at the wave of strings. The wave split down the middle which allowed Nicholas and Marcus to rush out of it as it crashed down around them.
Marcus didn't stop though as he sent another powerful slash towards Doflamingo and rushed behind it as it cleared the way forward. Nicholas followed his example as he coated his arms in haki and charged behind Marcus in his wake. As Marcus's first air slash started to falter under the massive onslaught of strings, Marcus paused for a moment to send another one forward.
The new air slash pushed forward as the original one lost all its power and Marcus followed along behind it. Unfortunately Doflamingo widened the gap between them as more of the ground turned into strings before it shot towards them. This cat and mouse game carried on for a few minutes before Marcus paused again. Instead of just sending a normal air slash, Marcus pushed his conqueror's haki into his sword before he sent a powerful attack rushing forward.
As soon as the attack finished, Marcus wasted no time and charged towards Doflamingo from a slightly different angle than the slash. Marcus's sword blurred as he deflected an uncountable number of strings while his massive air slash rushed forward on a similar path that forced Doflamingo to stay in place as he defended himself. Nicholas ended up sticking with Marcus and only needed to dodge a handful as they both closed in.
Within moments Marcus was in front of Doflamingo as the man used most of his power to stop the massive air slash. As Marcus's sword flashed towards Doflamingo, his right hand swung downwards. Sparks flew as Marcus's sword clashed against five multicolored strings connected to Doflamingo's right hand. Locked in combat on two fronts, Doflamingo had no way to defend against Nicholas.
Nicholas, who was only a step behind Marcus, flashed forward as Doflamingo was locked together with Marcus and his two attacks. Nicholas concentrated all the haki he could into his arm as it slammed right into Doflamingo's face. Doflamingo's glasses cracked as he stumbled backwards from the heavy blow, but it broke the stalemate and Marcus was able to land another gash on the man's torso.
Unfortunately Doflamingo finished dealing with the massive air slash and was no longer pressured from it. So he quickly turned his full attention towards Marcus and Nicholas as one hand shot out attacks at each person. Marcus parried it without much issue, but Nicholas struggled as his hands snapped forward to punch each attack as it came. Luckily for Nicholas most of Doflamingo's attention was focused on Marcus so he was able to deal with everything sent his way.
Marcus was able to power through Doflamingo's attacks but was unable to close the distance to retaliate. The only positive was that Doflamingo himself wasn't able to gain any distance because of the constant pressure he was under. Just one slip in his concentration would be enough opportunity for Marcus to counter attack.
The new stalemate lasted for a few minutes before Doflamingo decided to target the weaker of his two opponents. His right hand sent haki coated strings raking downwards towards Marcus while his left hand shot out five multicolored strings towards Nicholas. Nicholas luckily guarded against the attack at the last moment as he crossed his haki coated arms over his chest.
Marcus took that same opportunity to send a powerful slash towards Doflamingo's chest, as it easily cut through the haki coated strings in the way. Unfortunately Doflamingo jumped backwards when he attacked Nicholas so the attack missed. The air blade Marcus's attack created at least landed, but it only caused superficial damage.
Doflamingo completely ignored the new wound as both of his hands shot forward and he snarled, "OVERHEAT!"
Two large strings rocketed out of his palms towards Nicholas and Marcus. The attack was too fast for Nicholas to dodge and he ended up blocking it with his haki coated arms and chest. Marcus on the other hand was able to dodge the attack aimed for him before he flashed to Doflamingo's side and attacked.
Doflamingo was forced backwards to dodge as Marcus's sword barely cut his waist but his attack on Nicholas was already finished. Even though Nicholas blocked the attack, it was still something he couldn't properly handle and it quickly broke through his defense. Nicholas's arms were crushed into his chest as he was blasted away by the attack. He quickly disappeared into the distances, his fate unknown as the attack basically acted like a jet engine for his body.
Marcus had no time to think about Nicholas as he rushed forward again to attack, but Doflamingo sent out two powerful attacks to stall him before he kneeled slightly and touched the ground with both hands. The ground all around Doflamingo instantly turned into strings and started to spread quickly as he said, "Ever White!"
Within seconds the ground for over a hundred yards around Doflamingo turned into strings and started to lift into the air like a massive wave. Doflamingo's face looked manic as he raised his arms up and the string wave started to split up into thousands of individual pieces. Marcus attacked frantically as he tried to cut through the wall of strings between him and Doflamingo. But for each string he cut apart another one appeared to replace it.
As Marcus attempted to break through, the strings hidden in the back started to bundle together as they formed up into thicker strings. The strings braided together before the tips of the completed strings turned pitch black as they were coated in Doflamingo's haki. Doflamingo focused his gaze on Marcus after thirty of the haki coated strings were finished before he whipped both arms in Marcus's direction as he yelled, "Flap Thread!"
All the strings sharpened into arrow points as they flew towards Marcus at the same time as if released by a firing squad. Marcus gritted his teeth as he turned back into a blur and his sword clashed against the incoming attacks. Marcus's sword moved so fast that it looked like a solid black oval in front of him as he deflected the incoming attacks. For over five minutes straight Marcus held out against the endless assault of strings before he retreated for the first time in the fight.
Marcus was over a hundred yards away from Doflamingo as he stopped to catch his breath. That last attack had pushed him to his limits and he was getting tired. He could definitely keep fighting, but at this point he knew, one mistake and he was dead. Marcus steady his breathing as he glanced towards Doflamingo, who was currently stitching himself back together.
While Marcus hadn't landed a decent hit in the past few minutes, Doflamingo's own movements kept ripping his stitches apart. It also wasn't the only thing Doflamingo was doing, as Marcus watched, more and more of those arrow strings braided together by the second. As soon as Marcus recovered, his breathing technique started again and he slowly took a stance.
Even though he was far away, Marcus started flooding his sword with his conqueror's haki as he prepared the strongest attack he's ever tried before. He needed something that could break through Doflamingo's current forest of strings so he was overcharging his strongest attack. In the distance Doflamingo noticed Marcus's stance and his fingers twitched as the strings around him trembled in anticipation.
Marcus's sword turned pitch black as streaks of purple lightning gathered around it like a storm. After a few moments Marcus's sword started trembling from the power he was forcing into it and he tightened his grip on its hilt. After a few more seconds Marcus felt it, his sword was at its limit and couldn't take any more of his haki. Marcus didn't stop though as he kept pushing haki into the blade as every muscle in his body tensed.
A moment later Marcus stepped into his attack as his sword swept forward and a terrifying air slash form. Doflamingo's eyes widened as he saw what looked like a tear in reality form in front of Marcus before a massive air slash rushed towards him. Doflamingo's both arms whipped forward as two Overheat attacks exploded from his palms and the forest of strings shot forward to protect him.
Within less than a second both attacks clashed and it was clear Marcus's overcharged attack was stronger. Doflamingo's defense quickly crumbled under the overwhelming power as he continued to send attacks towards the ominous air slash that shot out purple lightning. Doflamingo should have moved the moment he saw the attack, but his pride wouldn't let him run from some little brat.
Marcus wasn't idle either, after his attack was launched he trailed behind in its shadow. His sword was already humming as he forced his haki into the weapon. His first attack cleaved through Doflamingo's defense, but it weakened with every inch it moved forward. When it looked like it was about to fully collapse, Marcus slashed forward with another attack.
His second one wasn't comparable to the first at all, but it didn't matter. When the second attack collapsed, he was already in front of Doflamingo and he attacked with abandon. Doflamingo coated his arms and upper body completely in haki, but some of Marcus's attacks still broke through his defense. Marcus's sword moved like a black blur and blood flew as Marcus did his best to kill his opponent.
Doflamingo wasn't just defending though, he also attacked back as strings from around the area attacked Marcus. It forced Marcus to defend and attack at the same time just like Doflamingo. Their fight was close and all it would take is one mistake and someone would pay a heavy price. Marcus ended up being that person as his arms faltered for a split second and a string slipped through his defense and pierced into his chest.
It was a losing battle after that as Marcus tried his best to hold on, knowing he just needed one solid attack to win. But that first string was the beginning of the end and soon a second one landed and broke through his armament haki. More quickly passed through his defense and within moments Marcus turned into a pin cushion.
Marcus tried to move, but some of the haki coated strings pierced completely through him and into the ground, locking him in place. Doflamingo's attacks finally finished as his crazed laughter filled the air before his enraged face focused on Marcus. Doflamingo looked nothing like his normal confident self, his clothes were in tatters and his body was covered in wounds that poured blood. Some of which were deep enough to show bone and his internal organs. Marcus kept struggling to break free but his strength was quickly fading from his body and he didn't have much energy left. The fight had already pushed him to his limits and if it wasn't for the strings holding him up, he would already have collapsed to the ground. Doflamingo stepped directly in front of Marcus and slowly raised his palm inches from his face as he said, "Die!"
As Doflamingo's hand stopped in front of his face, Marcus couldn't help himself and started to laugh. Just before Doflamingo's attack went off, Marcus's sword that was still in his hand greedily sucked haki from him before it yanked free of his grip. Marcus had already focused whatever haki he could into defending himself, but the last thing he thought he saw before his whole world turned black, was the ghost of a woman holding his sword in front of his face as she blocked the incoming attack.