Mutagen

Day 192 - 3:32 PM - Night Everred Spirit Tree Subdimension, Mountain Base, Mount Malabito, General Nakar, Province of Quezon

Two days after the birth of Brynhildr, Mark finished assembling the other two golems.

While building the remaining two, Mark also tested the capabilities of Brynhildr by making her his assistant. And to say, even Ilia and Chimetrice were surprised by the results. It seemed that the three [Golem Cores] the girls received from Bathala were not just regular ones.

Brynhildr was capable of learning things and not just follow what Mark programmed in her core beforehand. Unfortunately, she was not some extremely intelligent being. While it was considered learning, it was more or less just the process of memorization.

As a test, Mark made Brynhildr learn a few commands that he did not program in her core. At first, Mark showed her how to perform the commands. Afterward, she was capable of doing it on her own.

However, there were limitations. As a creation incapable of free will, Brynhildr could not perform what she learned on her own. Well, unless a command was given beforehand, she would respond depending on the condition given.

Furthermore, Brynhildr was unreliable in following intricate and complex orders. It was not surprising, considering she was a model of golem that was not made for creating things.

In any case, the fact that Brynhildr could learn was already a huge thing for a golem. All of the crafted golems that both Illia and Chimetrice had seen before were incapable of that.

On the other hand, summoned golems seemed to be an exception. These kinds of golems were practically living beings. They might be dumb, incredibly dumb, but they were capable of learning on their own.

After piecing up the two remaining golems, it was now time to activate the two.

Now, what stood in front of Mark were two, rather uncanny, golems.

One was a rabbit, about a meter tall. It was large enough to let a three-year-old child ride its back. There was no need to think. This golem was for Miracle.

Both Abbygale and Miracle requested pet-like golems. In particular, Miracle had quite an interest in rabbit-like creatures. When a rabbit-like creature appeared in an anime they were watching from time to time, her attention was pasted on the monitor.

It was the reason Mark built this one. Furthermore, Mark also used the pelt and skin of animals they hunted before to make the rabbit golem. While it looked a bit strange, not only its size, but it had features that did not belong to rabbits, for example, horns, it did not look anything else but a [Mutated Animal].

On the other hand, the next golem was a canine-feline hybrid. It looked a lot like a domestic dog, a Shiba Inu, to be exact. However, it had the claws of a cat as its primary attack method. It was also made with agility in mind. It was all so it could catch up with Abbygale's speed even a little.

Of course, aside from its appearance, these golems hid other functions. After all, while Mark took the request of the little girls, he aimed for their safety with the help of these golems.

The last thing to do was put the cores of the new golems and test their bodies for adjustment. In fact, even Brynhildr needed some parts to adjust. There was some uncanny stiffness in her arms, and Mark wanted to make her arms a bit more flexible because of her second function.

Not only Mark but the other four people were waiting for the two golems to move.

But as Mark held the two cores, he froze.

"We should get out."

It was not only Mark. Chimetrice also sensed what Mark felt and spoke.

The other three were confused. They were, after all, in the middle of an exciting event. But then, for Mark and Chimetrice to react oddly, something might be happening outside.

Even the orb of light, the consciousness of the Night Everred Spirit Tree, appeared and circled around Mark, conveying its panic.

As Chimetrice suggested, the five of them went out of the subspace as fast as they could. The moment they went out, what they saw was the people staring in the sky.

"Gege, the barrier."

Mei was also outside, seemingly just arrived to call Mark.

"I felt it too."

Mark replied as they moved to a location that they could see the sky.

Regular people could not see the barrier. Those that had [Magical Energy] could sense it.

This time, however, everyone could see the barrier. It looked as if a gigantic cellophane sheet covered the base like a bowl.

"What in the world is going on?" Jaeya exclaimed as she joined Mark's group. "Bro, do you know?"

Jaeya asked Mark, who was observing the sky silently.

"The barrier is vanishing."

Mark replied.

Like electronic gadgets, sometimes these items show malfunctions at the end of their lifespan. In theory, the scene that was happening at the moment was the same.

The barrier was exerting the last of its energy, causing the distortions at its final moments.

And as expected, the cellophane-like scene began to blur even more.

Slowly, under everyone's eyes...

The odd scene in the sky vanished.

At the same time, the feeling of safety that everyone had reduced. No one could understand why they were feeling nervous that the scene in the sky vanished. They should have calmed down since it was gone, but they were feeling the opposite instead.

"Boss..."

Huey approached Mark, unable to voice out what he had in mind.

Mark, on the other hand, took a deep breath. Unlike before, the air felt uncomfortable.

"Tell everyone to stay alert," Mark spoke. "The protection the Eyes gave us ended. The days from now on won't be as safe as yesterday."

"Yes, Boss"

Huey nodded.

***

Day 192 - 7:00 PM - Recreation Area, Mountain Base, Mount Malabito, General Nakar, Province of Quezon

It was time for dinner in the base. But now, everyone was gathered in the recreation area for an emergency meeting.

Currently, everyone's attention was on Huey and Odelina, who were both Mark's left and right hands in the base.

There was nothing much to brief everyone. Nonetheless, knowing that the leeway humans had ended and the real threats of the new world would be felt was more than enough to make everyone a bit nervous.

It was the natural reaction. No one knew what would happen from now on.

And the unknown was what humans feared since the olden days.

In the least, the preparations that everyone gave their efforts in gave them the confidence to survive.

Still, no one could forget the feeling they had when the barriers finished. The feeling that no one was protecting them anymore, despite not actually knowing what was going on at first.

Mark, on the other hand, was just keeping his silence on that phenomenon. Nonetheless, he had a vague idea.

The magical abilities of the Eyes originated from the emotions of humans. As such, it was the same power that made those barriers. When the barrier vanished as it drained the last of its energy, the emotions from the energy were released. Those fluctuations were what everyone felt.

In the first place, humans could not handle a heavy concentration of different emotions at the same time. Those that felt as such would feel paranoid and threatened, not knowing how to handle such.

Watching the people gathered in front of him, Mark sighed.

"Looks like it begins here."

Mark murmured.

Even Mark was unsure of what would happen from now on. Surely, the base was safe due to the layers of defenses that it had. But like the other day, a group of [Infected Tikbalangs] managed to get near the base. If not for Felicia and Louis present at that time, there might be some deaths among the workers.

Unexpected things could happen at any time. No matter how prepared a person was, it was not sure that they prepared for every event that could happen.

While those thoughts lingered in his mind, Mark felt someone hold his right hand. The soft sensation made him give another sigh as he looked to his right.

Mei was looking at him, nodding slightly.

There was no need to say some cheesy dialogue like "you are not alone" or "we are here, everything will be fine."

Just her clear eyes made Mark stop thinking about negative things.

Look towards the future and charge through all the walls.

After all, none of them wanted to lose what they had at this moment.

Mark shook his head. He might have become an [Evolver], a [Mutator], and a [Blood Demon]. His demeanor had undergone drastic changes.

Nonetheless, he was still the same old depressive Mark, who did not even know how to face the future.

***

Unfortunately, while the Mountain Base was just doing a meeting, the other human settlements on Earth were facing a huge dilemma.

With the barriers gone, the [Mechids] could now attack them.

In most places, the [Mechids] might not be many. However, not all the settlements had the firepower to fight against these high-tech invaders from space.

Most of the [Mechids] were impervious to smaller firearms, while those that were easier to kill could shoot lasers from a distance. In the worst, it was the combination of the two.

In just a few hours after the barriers vanished, hundreds of small and medium-sized settlements were either destroyed or abandoned.

Those that managed to salvage their vehicles or those that were capable of running fled their settlements.

Those who were weak fell prey to the metal blades and laser weapons of the mechanical menace.

The scenes that happened in the first few days of the apocalypse were renewed in everyone's minds.

The fear...

The helplessness...

The regrets...

The pain...

Everyone was questioning the heavens.

Why was this happening to them?

Unfortunately, those questions would remain unanswered as only a few would be given the answers.

Their cries of agony that echoed towards the night sky would vanish along with the wind.

All that was left were their lifeless bodies, eyes wide open, and the expressions before their death frozen on their faces.

However, the current fight was not only for humans. Magical races had already been fighting the [Infected] and the [Mechids] long before the barriers for the humans vanished.

Some of the good-natured tribes provided shelter for the humans they decided to save.

Now was not the time for the magical races to deal with their prejudice against humans. Both were in the same boat, fighting the [Infected] and the [Mechids].

With the help of the magical races, many human groups managed to survive the collapse of their settlements and bases.

Now, most of the living humans learned a lesson.

The most dangerous places on Earth at the moment were where the human cities were before.

Those cities were not only infested by the [Infected] at this moment. For some reason unknown, there were more activities of [Mechids] in such locations.

Thus, many human groups were forced to take a gamble.

Fleeing their settlements and bases near cities, they traveled through forests and up the mountains.

Surely, they would encounter [Evolved Animals] and [Mutated Animals] along the way. But it was not as bad as the current situations within the ruins of the cities.

***

In the dimension that oversaw Earth, the hooded figure let out a sigh.

She turned towards her back. Twenty-six figures stood waiting for her orders.

"The one month we gave humans had ended." The Observer spoke. "This event will mark the start of human extinction if it was left alone."

The Observer panned her eyes to the twenty-six figures.

"Go forth, my apostles. Guide your chosen people. It is still not the time for Earth to end, so as humanity."

Those words echoed into the ears of the twenty-six figures as they vanished from the white world that they were in.