Mutagen

Day 138 - 5:47 AM - Mount Malabito, General Nakar, Quezon Province, Philippines

Mark stared at Fourth with his eyes half-closed from fatigue. Not only was he too tired to respond to her, but he also did not know what expression he should show in this situation. It was entirely unexpected that she would appear here right now. Comparing the previous circumstances, he completely fused with Freed's Psychic ability, or when Chiyo, the Night Everred Spirit Tree, was born, he believed that the events this time was more discreet.

"HEY! I'm talking to you!"

Fourth approached Mark in an agitated manner since he was not replying to her.

"Can you pipe it down? I'm tired."

Mark complained, making the girl speechless.

"I know I should feel amused that you can actually talk to someone like me that way. But right now, I can't!"

Fourth was raising her small voice.

"Did you know that you caused the flow of energy to become unstable for several hundred-miles!!! Do you know where I came from before I got here?! I'm in Indonesia, and I finally found another eligible candidate! But I had to stop meeting her immediately because I saw that lightning strike, soaring in the sky all the way from this place!"

Mark was quite surprised after hearing that. He remembered that there were some streaks of lightning shooting off from his body earlier, but he never expected that those were able to reach other countries.

"But that's only lightning."

Mark reasoned.

"Only lightning, you said? ONLY LIGHTNING?! YOU SAY THAT HUNDREDS OF LIGHTNING BOLTS AT A TRIBULATION STRENGTH SOARING THE SKY ONLY LIGHTNING!"

Fourth was definitely agitated. As she shouted her concerns, even the temperature in the surroundings was getting colder.

"So, are you going to kill me?"

Mark suddenly asked with his half-closed stare.

That question, however, made Fourth freeze.

"I-I-I..."

Fourth was at a loss for words. She was agitated, but she did not have that intention. Instead, she was worried.

"What are you worried about then?"

Mark asked another question, which made Fourth even more silent. She did not expect that he could tell what she was feeling.

And then, with deep breaths and her vertical eyes blinking, she asked Mark.

"What kind of God are you aiming for?"

That question suddenly came out of nowhere, making Mark unable to reply.

"I'm sure you already know the potential you and your partner have, right? The potential to step into the realm of Deities or even become Gods. Then tell me. What kind of God are you aiming for."

With those words, Fourth stepped even closer.

"I have no ability to see what specific skills you have, but I can tell how much chaotic your existence is. Not only me, anyone in the realm of Deities or above would be able to tell. Last time, I still didn't mind it. But after three days, your existence became even more chaotic. In this course, there's only one thing you might end up. A Deity or God of Chaos."

Mark's half-closed eyes fully opened. That was unexpected information from this girl in front of him.

Still...

"God of Chaos? That doesn't sound bad at all."

Fourth's eyes opened wide.

"Y-YOU! Do you know what you are saying?"

"What? That's the issue here. I don't know what you are talking about at all. If you are talking about a Primeval God, I don't think there would be any issues. But I guess you are talking about a literal Chaotic God. Either way, I'm fine with any of the two."

Fourth stared at Mark, stumped. She was feeling amused at Mark but troubled at the same time.

With a sigh, she started to explain.

"I'm talking about the literal one, The Deities, and Gods of Chaos. There's very few in Earth's history and literature, but they do exist in other universal dimensions. And they were among the most hated kinds of Gods."

Hearing up to that, Mark smiled.

"I guess I can see your point there. Chaos... unpredictable and unstable. Am I right?"

Mark's words made Fourth nod.

"Deities and Gods of Chaos wield powerful abilities over different elements in existence. You can say that they were strong enough to sit just below Deities and Gods of Creation. But still, because of their chaotic nature, no one could predict their course of action. In a tick, they could be good Deities and Gods, but in another step, they might turn evil."

"Well, that's just perfect for me, don't you think?"

Mark asked.

"Y-YOU! ARGH! I DON'T KNOW ANYMORE!"

Mark's question made Fourth start to throw a tantrum.

But then...

"Fourth, you are being unsightly again."

A strict-sounding female voice sounded as someone's existence slowly solidified in Mark's detection.

Mark raised his head while Fourth turned behind her in a startle.

"Third! What are you doing here?!"

Fourth exclaimed.

Several meters above the mountain, a woman wearing a black Kimono floated like a ghost. She had white hair and blue eyes that shined even under the sun. Like Fourth, she had three eyes on her face, but it was unexpectedly arranged in a way that one would expect of someone having a third eye. She had a cold expression on her face as if she was an embodiment of strictness.

And to Fourth's question, the woman replied.

"And why won't I be? Remember whose area of jurisdiction is above yours?"

Fourth could not retort at all. The Eye in charge of East Asia was Third, after all. And considering the situation, there was no actual need to ask why she was here.

It was obviously because of Mark.

"I came to check where the disturbance is coming from, and I found the lead going to your area of jurisdiction. There is no rule for us no not enter other's territory so I kept on going. It is quite unexpected for me to see you here, though."

"Rrrrr..."

Fourth stared at Third with subtle groaning from her mouth.

That was when Third's eyes fell on Mark.

"Care to tell me what THAT is?"

Sure enough, Mark's existence also intrigued her.

"It's none of your concern! GO HOME!"

Fourth shouted. It seemed that the little girl did not have close connections with this woman.

Hearing that, Third frowned.

"As usual. You don't have any ounce of beauty at all."

"That's none of your business!!!"

That definitely irked Fourth. It seemed that she also hated that fact, given that she had a terrifying arrangement of her eyes.

"It's disgusting to see how you two bicker like this."

Suddenly, another voice echoed.

Both Third and Fourth turned to the source of the voice. Mark was the same.

There, another woman stood by the shade of a tall rock. Leaning on that rock, it was a woman with eight eyes. Her eyes were arranged like a Funnel-web Spider's eyes. She was wearing tight fitting clothes made of questionable material. She looked scary, especially with her greenish-black hair that seemed to ooze of poison.

In any case, although she called the behavior of Third and Fourth as disgusting, her appearance suited the word more.

"Twelfth."

Third frowned.

"What are you doing here too!!!"

Fourth cried out.

"Isn't it obvious? The same as her." Twelfth pointed her chin towards Third. "Still, I didn't expect to see something like THAT here."

Of course, this disgusting woman was referring to Mark.

Seeing the appearance of the two new Eyes, Mark turned to Fourth.

"Is this what you are truly worried about?"

"Not exactly." Fourth was about to cry. "I didn't expect these to to be overly curious and come here either."

Mark could tell why Fourth was very bothered. Not only were these two intruded in her area of jurisdiction, but these two were stronger than her, especially that woman called Twelfth.

However, there was nothing that could be done now. Like Third that was in charge of East Asia, this Twelfth might also be in charge of a nearby territory. Most likely, Oceania considering that she appeared from the East direction and Third appeared from the North.

In any case, things became troublesome for Fourth.

Mark wanted to leave. Just Fourth alone would make him feel that he was walking on the edge of a blade, not to mention three of them. However, Mark was still numb. He could barely move a muscle.

That was when...

With a flash of bright light, Mei surprisingly appeared beside Mark. There was no warning at all, even from Mark's ring. Furthermore, she was in full battle gear and with her new ability in full display. She even brought Ignis with her.

"Mei'er, what are you doing here?"

Mark was quite surprised by her sudden appearance. And by the looks of it, it was not long since she woke up and already headed here.

"Aimee said that Gege might be in danger. I came rushing first. The others will come later."

Mei replied, glaring at the unfamiliar women in front of them. She was familiar with Fourth, seeing her three days ago, and Mark said that she was not an enemy. It meant that the danger might come from the two unfamiliar women.

Hearing that, Mark became troubled. If they were really to fight these Eyes, it would be questionable if they would win at all.

"Master!" Ignis's voice echoed in Mark's mind. "Are you okay?"

"My body is all numb, but I'm fine, regardless," Mark replied. "Anyways, can you intercept the others and send this."

Mark then created a rectangular plate of [Blood Metal] with letters inscribed on it.

"But..."

Ignis hesitated to leave just when he had just arrived.

"I'll trust you on this alright?" Mark hung the plate on Ignis with a metal hook. "It's better if they don't come here."

Hearing that he was being trusted, Ignis flew away carrying the metal plate. It should be a message to stop the others from coming here.

p "You have some interesting toys, don't you?"

Twelfth spoke to Mark, seeing Ignis fly away. She was also looking at Mei, quite amazed.

On the other hand, Third...

"H-h-HOW!" Third shouted. "How can such a beauty exist!!!"

There was no need to ask. Third was staring at Mei, wide-eyed.

That stare, however, made Mei feel shivers on her spine. With her reflex actions, she tried to hide behind Mark as much as she could.

"Fourth, tell me." Mark frowned. "Is that one a pervert?"

"Ah, um..."

Fourth did not know what to reply.

Instead...

"How disgusting."

Twelfth straight up said while staring at Third's unsightly behavior.

Those remarks made Third snap out of it and realized that everyone here was looking at her with disgust.

"Ahem... Pardon my unsightly actions."

Third said, fixing her posture. Nevertheless, her eyes were still stuck onto Mei.

"The tense atmosphere is suddenly gone, huh."

Fourth murmured, amused as she assessed the sudden change in the situation.

"Can we just leave?"

Mark asked Fourth...

"I want to leave too, you know? It's not amusing to be left here alone with these two."

Fourth wanted to do the same.

However, it would be difficult to do so. Especially since Mark and Mei got the attention of the two. And as it was Fourth's territory, she could not leave Mark and Mei alone.

"Seriously, this is all your fault, you know that?"

Fourth was blaming Mark.

"In any case, we're leaving. All you three are Eyes. Sort this yourself."

Mark said as he nodded to Mei. Mei then grabbed onto his arm as they both turn into surge black mist that moved fast down the mountain.

And of course, the three Eyes stared surprised. Mark and Mei suddenly vanished like that, leaving barely any traces.

"HEY! DON'T LEAVE ME ALONE HERE!"

Fourth cried out.

In fact, she could leave immediately since she could instantly move from place to place up to a certain distance. However, she could not leave Third and Twelfth alone, lest they do some unwanted things in her territory.

Seriously, things became complicated because of Mark's carelessness.