Mutagen

Day 152 - 12:03 AM - Catanduanes

As midnight struck, everyone on the whole island witnessed a night they had never seen before.

The people in the Military Settlement in the southwest...

The members of the Neutral and Peaceful Factions of the Rebels on the north...

The exiles of the Demons in the east...

And even the Demons left in their base in the southeast...

...All of them went out in the open to gaze at the ominous display in the sky.

The night should have been dark. It was supposed to be that way, especially on this provincial island. However, the entire island was now being illuminated by a red light coming from the sky.

In the sky, the thick dark clouds had begun to turn reddish as they spread out across the island and the bodies of water around it.

It was an ominous sight that made most of the people that witnessed it afraid.

In the Military Settlement, the General called for an emergency meeting. Everyone important, even the politicians were called out due to the unexplained phenomenon.

It was not only the people in charge of the Military Settlement that was on the move. Even the officers and important people among the two remaining factions of the rebels called a meeting of their own.

Even the exiles in the east, the people closest to the center of the phenomenon, could not help but think of any possible measures.

The only different ones were the Demons in Bato. Witnessing the ominous sight in the sky, they all kneeled and prostrated.

The humans were in panic. None of them knew what was happening. In the meetings of the different factions of the island, everyone was in a heated discussion.

But then, another strange sight came before them as a black-skinned child appeared in each meeting room in the different parts of the island.

Of course, due to their agitation to the unknown situation, some of them took threatening measures to the child. Backing away from the child, they aggressively asked who they were. Unfortunately, the children did not open their mouths. It was not like they could not. But even if they spoke, the humans would not understand them.

That silence, however, was taken offensively by some. A strange black-skinned child wordlessly standing in one place. Especially in a room that they were not supposed to be in. It was a scene often seen in horror movies.

Some people took out their guns. The idiots even fired. However, were they unable to do anything. An invisible wall blocked their bullets before falling to the ground.

The only place that took the event differently was the Neutral Faction of the rebels. It was true that some people almost took out their weapons. However, Madam Grace, their fortune teller, told them to stand down.

Unable to do something to the strange children, they finally took their time to observe.

Of course, cautiously.

Then, at the same time, the children took out a crystal ball. No, rather than a crystal ball, it was more like a crystal flower.

But then, the children shattered the crystal ball by their feet.

Another surprise came as a figure of a beautiful woman appeared from the shattered shards of the crystal. The woman with a flower crown and a white dress stared at everyone in the room.

Of course, the people felt wary.

"Fret not." The woman spoke. "We have no ill intentions."

Well, the people did not believe her immediately.

"I am Diwata Iraya, the Diwata protecting this island for generations."

The woman introduced herself to the people before her. It led to different reactions, of course.

Some tried to ask questions, but Iraya shook her head.

"I'm not here to answer all of your specific questions. I'm just here to say that the cause of what was happening on the island was the Lord of the Demons that dwelled in the south. We are amidst fighting him, and I declare that none of you should step into the fray. We know that you humans might send people to investigate the situation, but it better not happen. All you have to focus on are the incoming threat from the bodies of water around the island."

"That's all I have to say."

And there, the figure vanished. Unexpectedly, the children were already gone, and none of the people noticed at all. Some tried to pick and see the shattered remains of the crystals but the shards soon vanished like magic.

The humans were left confused. There were a lot of questions that were left unanswered.

However, if what that Diwata said was true, it meant that there were strong forces currently fighting on this island.

Nonetheless, everyone was confused. What was the incoming threat that she spoke about?

However, it did not take long at all.

Alarms rang from all three human settlements.

Once more, the infected were rising from the sea.

***

Day 152 - 12:09 AM - Mountain Farming Village, Barangay Mabini, Municipality of Viga, Catanduanes

"Hah."

Diwata Iraya inhaled deeply as she opened her eyes.

"Done?"

A voice came in front of her. It was Mark that was standing before her.

"It's done. I informed the humans of the incoming threat and not to try and investigate what was happening here."

Diwata Iraya replied.

"Good then. It's better if none of them appear here and strengthen that guy even more."

Mark said with a frown.

Since the phenomenon in the sky covered the whole island, it was very likely for humans to send people to investigate. However, they could not let that happen right now.

It was because of Lord Seis.

Currently, all the Demons on the battlefield were annihilated together with the majority of the forces under Diwata Iraya. However, it was neither Mark nor Diwata Iraya that was the culprit.

All of it was done by Lord Seis himself.

No one knew why he killed his own minions at first.

The only thing Mark and the others saw was that everyone was swallowed by the torrential storm of energy that Lord Seis released.

Now, that storm of energy enveloped the whole battlefield, forcing everyone to retreat outside its vicinity.

As for those that were swallowed by the storm, they all turned to unrecognizable pieces of flesh before turning to dust.

The storm of energy continued to rage, disabling everyone from coming close. It was not wrong to describe it as a tornado about a kilometer in diameter. The only difference was there was no wind at all. All everyone could see was a dark mist surging around at fast speeds.

At the center of the storm, Lord Seis floated still.

That was when Mark noticed. Lord Seis was absorbing the energy of everything in the vicinity. He was able to notice it since he had Miasma which had the same ability.

The answer became clear.

Lord Seis was raising an army not because he needed them to fight. He only needed them as disposable batteries that could give him the magical energy he needed in the future.

And now was one of the times that he needed it. It was because aside from Diwata Iraya, a few more strong beings were present.

This answered the question as to why Lord Seis did not seem too affected by the death of his subordinates. Even at their death, he could take their energies for his own.

With Lord Seis absorbing these energies, Mark told Diwata Iraya to inform every settlement on the island not to approach this place. It was not a desirable situation if humans came were because of their curiosity and ended up becoming fuel for Lord Seis.

Of course, it came with the risk of exposing Diwata Iraya's existence. But for Mark that knew that the fusion of Dimensions would happen soon, this thing did not matter anymore.

"Do we really need to do that?" Diwata Iraya asked Mark. "I don't think that humans would be able to reach this place in a short time."

"Many humans gained various uncanny abilities," Mark replied. "Who knows if they had someone capable of reaching this place before we could even finish the fight?"

At those words, Diwata Iraya fell silent.

It was true. With the current situation, it would be hard to say that they would be able to finish Lord Seis quickly.

"In any case," Mark turned to Diwata Iraya. "You never told me that that guy had this kind of troublesome ability."

And to that question, Diwata Iraya frowned.

"I'm sorry, but I had no idea either. The past Lords definitely did not have this ability. It might be something that Argrellius awakened on his own."

Mark could only shrug. In the first place, this was the first time that Lord Seis and Diwata Iraya fought each other. Lord Seis had not been the Lord of Demons on this island for too long. It just had been about forty years since he became the Lord. At this time, most magical races were already in hiding, and there was no way that they would be able to have a direct clash like this without being found out by humans.

All the information that Diwata Iraya told Mark was about the past Lords of Demons. After all, being the Lord of Demons was not just a title for the strongest. It was actually being inherited from person to person. In this case, the abilities of the previous Lords were being transferred to the next one.

Since Diwata Iraya did not have any idea about what was happening right now, it was very likely that it was something that Lord Seis learned lately.

In any case, it was a rather powerful ability. If Lord Seis continued this and managed to absorb all the energy that created the storm, his abilities would rise further. Probably, he would become even more powerful than Diwata Iraya.

And, of course, Mark could not let that happen.

"Boss!"

At this time, Berrak arrived, riding on his Thunderbird.

"Have they retreated?"

Mark asked.

"Yes!" Berrak replied. "They were brought away to the Sanctuary."

Sanctuary. It was what Berrak call Diwata Iraya's Domain.

Mark made everyone retreat when Lord Seis began rampaging. It would be bad if any of them got caught with the energy storm. The only ones left here were him, Mei, Diwata Iraya, and unexpectedly, Morlkil.

"Then you should go back."

Mark told Berrak to return.

"No, I'm staying." Berrak shook his head. "I might not be able to help to fight that Demon. At least, I can provide support. Remember, I might be a summoner, but I also have other magical skills."

"Do what you want."

Mark said, making Berrak smile.

"The question here is, what are we going to do?"

Diwata Iraya said with a frown.

Fighting Lord Seis was one thing. However, they still needed to get past this energy storm. Unfortunately, none of them had the ability to do that. Everything that the energy storm touched turned to minced meat instantly. Although they were stronger beings, the most that they could was last for a few seconds.

"The only thing we can do is wait." Diwata Iraya added. "But at that time, it would be questionable if we can still fight him.

"We might not be able to enter." Mark smiled. "But it did not mean that we can't do anything."

Mark then turned to Mei.

"Look for a good position and prepare to snipe. I'll give the signal."

"Okay."

Mei nodded and flew away.

Diwata Iraya then approached him.

"What are you going to do?"

"Just watch and prepare to fight."

Mark said as he flapped his wings. He then flew forward to the storm and landed just in front of it.

And there, Mark released his trump card.

Diwata Iraya and Berrak were shocked. Being people that had a strong connection with magical energy, it was impossible for them to not recognize what Mark was doing.

At the ground, Mark smiled with both hands stretched forward.

Miasma began to envelop the outer perimeter of the storm while the [Psycrystal] on his wrist began to absorb the energy crazily.

The storm was made of rampaging energy. What Lord Seis was absorbing was also energy.

And to Mark that had two means of absorbing energy...

"It is a grand buffet."

Mark grinned.