Saint Markus - Unleashed

In No Way Out, the third volume of the Markus Marbello saga, Markus's transformation into a fully awakened demonic being accelerates-driven by vengeance, forbidden love, and the quest for ultimate power.

After surviving burial alive at the hands of his father Bill "Daddy" Marbello, Markus claws his way out of the grave and exacts revenge by impaling Daddy with an iron fire poker. Gravely injured, he feeds on calves and later repeatedly drains a farm boy named Ricky over five weeks to regain strength. But his hunger is no longer just for blood-it is for destiny.

Markus reunites with his soulmate Labrenda, the only human who mirrors his dark passion. They elope in 1978 and move to Greenwood, Missouri, near Kansas City. Markus feeds secretly in the shadows of a local preschool while Labrenda becomes pregnant with his demonic heir. As the pregnancy progresses, her health deteriorates-her skin pale, her smile yellowing-proof that bearing a supernatural child comes with a fatal cost. Markus's predatory appetites intensify, driving him into dangerous liaisons, including one with a seductive coworker named Ashten, and another with a corrupt but wealthy priest called The Bishop, whose golden blood Markus drains while manipulating his mind with false memories.

But Markus's true obsession remains the Devil's Bible-the Sacred Writ that contains eternal dominion. To secure it, he fakes a separation from Labrenda and returns to CITH (Château In The Hades), the cavern beneath Knoxville. Before departing, he eliminates a threat: his younger sister Mona, who knows he is alive. He murders her and sinks her body into Pomme de Terre Lake, calling it a "necessary sacrifice."

Inside CITH, Markus drinks from the River of Blood, transforms back into Morbose, and slaughters six spelunkers before confronting Lucifer himself. In a brutal clash, he absorbs the Devil's Bible into his own body and escapes to Earth-breaking Hell's law and securing a new level of demonic evolution.

In 1983, Labrenda gives birth to their son Markus Almonte Marbello. But joy becomes horror when baby Almonte is murdered-killed by Rashma, Markus's ancient rival. Devastated, Markus buries his child in the Smoky Mountains, erases Labrenda's memory in a "divorce by amnesia," and seals the Devil's Bible away. With love now dead, only vengeance remains.