Mutagen



Day 341 - 1:40 PM - Frontlines, Ariake, Reclaimed City, Ruins of Tokyo

The dark, eerie mist began to spread outside the barrier as Mark's aura flared at the same time. His actions immediately caught the attention of those who detected the sudden change, especially the Priestess and the Empress.

After fighting alongside Mark, both the Priestess and the Empress learned some things about Mark's peculiar abilities. It was even more so for the Empress since she received reports from Yukine beforehand. However, they two could still not fathom how Mark was able to manipulate [Miasma].

Considering the common knowledge of those who encountered [Miasmic Creatures] before or those who dabbled directly with it, Mark sure was a peculiar existence.

It was a good thing that Mark was not a monster without reason. Or else, his [Miasma] alone could do more damage to the whole world than what the Serpent God could.

In fact, it was not only the two who noticed Mark's peculiarity. Everyone here had already seen those [Miasmic Residues] which caused countless deaths earlier. Those things and the black mist Mark was releasing right now had the same appearance. If not for the people here knowing that Mark was fighting with them to the point of almost dying, they would think that Mark was among the perpetrators of this catastrophe.

But those details were not important at the moment. As such, the two leaders of the Temple and Auraboros Japan Branch immediately approached Mark.

"Have you found out something?"

The Priestess asked Mark, eyeing the [Miasma] slowly but consistently spreading outside the barrier. Her eyes also showed surprise at how Mark's hands were outside but actually remained unscathed from the magical storm.

"Kind of," Mark replied without looking back at the two. "What we lack the most right now is a way to attack. But by the looks of it, I'll be able to go out without any problem."

The two stared at Mark upon hearing that. It meant that Mark would go out and fight, even if he was alone.

"Are you sure that you want to go alone?" The Priestess asked. "It's already hard fighting with all of us together."

And then, there was a sudden pause as a thought entered the Priestess' mind.

"No. I know I should not be saying this, but why do you want to continue fighting?"  The Priestess voiced out. "You are not from this country. I don't see any merit for you to continue fighting and risk your life."

What the Priestess said was quite true. There was no reason for Mark to risk anything. Furthermore, he could order Spera to bring them home now that the battle had become difficult. In fact, the Priestess was also thinking of asking Mark for help to utilize Spera's portals to escape. But it was a last resort. It was because there was no point in escaping if the absolute threat was still alive.

Finally, Mark turned his head to face the Priestess. And what came out of his mouth made the Priestess want to smack him with the staff in her hands.

"If you think there's no merit for me, give me some."

The Empress could only sigh. It was clear that the Priestess just gave Mark the chance to ask for something in return. The Priestess might be a great spiritual leader, but she was definitely a bad merchant.

Thus, the Empress could only chime in.

"Reserve the jokes for next time. Are you really going?"

"I am," Mark shrugged and replied. "So you two better do your best."

"There is no need to ask," The Priestess grasped her staff tightly. "I am always giving my best to protect our people."

On the other hand, the Empress just nodded in all seriousness.

The preparations continued.

Soldiers began running about, moving their tanks and artillery in position. The military also deployed cranes and heavy machinery to move the crashed warship. There was no need to fix the warship to a sailable degree. They only needed to allow the ship's cannons to face the right direction.

On the other side, the Demons under the Empress also began grouping up. All who were capable of ranged attacks were put in the attacking group, while the others were on support within a ritual circle.

The Temple also made preparations, and their participation was the most important in this round. Without them, all the preparations happening right now would be useless.

And lastly, Mark and the Evernight. Not all of them could do something in this situation, but Berrak, Louis, Amihan, and Mei should be able to do some things. And if they counted Spera's portals into consideration, many more things were possible.

As for Mark, from start to finish, he sat on the concrete beside the barrier and continued absorbing the magical energy outside into his own. He devoured the energy from the magical storm like a person starved for weeks. It was to the point where the black haze blanketed the water in front of everyone.

It was the first time everyone had seen such a thick and concentrated [Miasma]. It was eerie and terrifying to look at. While the [Miasma] stayed there absorbing the magical energy in the surroundings, everyone looking at the [Miasma] could feel their entire being getting sucked into it just by looking at it.

As for the Serpent God, it continued its rampage, even hitting the barrier with its body several times. One of the instances made everyone really scared. The Serpent God crashed into the barrier after falling up high from the sky, causing the strongest shockwave ever since its rampage began.

Even so, the preparations continued. It did not matter, even if they fell once or twice, but they still needed to stand up.

And finally, everyone did what they could. There was nothing else they could do.

It finally marked the start of the last defense.

As Mark felt two powerful presences approaching him, he stood up and looked behind him.

"We are ready."

The Priestess spoke.

"Our preparations are also finished."

The Empress followed.

Mark then turned to the people around the Defense Line. All of them were looking at Mark and the two. As Mark panned his eyes on the people, he could tell that they were all ready to put everything in this round.

"Well then," Mark smiled. "Let's start!"

With the signal given, the Priestess immediately returned to her position. It was the same for the Empress.

The Priestess stood at the very center of the formation. Priests and Maidens stood around her in fixed positions. And then, the Maidens raised their hands, shaking the bells they held. The Priests began waving the wooden wands in their hands.

And the Priestess, adorned with the [Divine Vestments] and the [Divine Staff], began dancing.

The sound of drums echoed, and the sound of windchimes entered everyone's ears.

One would think that it was the beginning of a festival. But no. It was the beginning of everyone's last struggle against the Serpent God.

The Priestess danced with serene movements. In every step the Priestess took, her feet left shimmers of light on the ground.

First, it was just the Priestess' steps. But then, it spread to the Priests and Maidens. And then to the drummers and assistants. Then, the lights continued to spread throughout Ariake.

The barrier glimmered as if dancing along with the Priestess. It was a beautiful sight.

At the same time, golden light flared in the back. For the second time in this battle, the Empress used her [Manifestation]. The golden fox towered over everyone. But her eye-catching appearance did not steal the eyes of everyone staring at the enemy in the sky.

The Empress turned into a giant nine-tailed fox, and the ground under her began glowing a different light. The Demons with ranged abilities stood at the front of the formation while the others stood around the Empress. They all stood within a pair of magic circles drawn on the ground. These magic circles allowed them to share and channel their magical energies together and support the attackers.

And lastly, Mark, who stood in the frontmost position.

As if not wanting to lose to the two, Mark's energy flared strongly. Furthermore, it was stronger than before. Even Mei and the others had never seen Mark exude such an amount of energy.

It was clear that Mark highly benefited in this situation.

Different from the beautiful lights of the Priestess and the golden flames of the Empress, Mark exuded an eerie dark visage. The area around him felt dark and cold. It was scary and uncomfortable to look at.

And then, as if Mark's aura was not enough, the [Miasma] by the water began to surge outside the barrier. It swayed around as if cheering, waiting for its king to receive its praise.

Mark stood by the barrier, looking at the wall of [Miasma] outside. He then turned his head, looking at his family.

"I'm off."

Mark said.

"Be careful."

Mei nodded as she and the children waved at Mark.

There, Mark took a step before leaping out of the barrier.

As Mark entered the embrace of the [Miasma], it immediately turned into a gigantic vortex.

Everyone who witnessed it felt scared as if they wanted to run away. However, their resolve to continue fighting made them hold their posts.

"Ignis."

They heard Mark utter a word. And to their surprise, a sword flew out of nowhere, following Mark into the vortex of black haze.

The vortex grew smaller and smaller. It was until it turned into a humanoid shape.

"[Materialize]."

Mark's voice echoed again inside everyone's ears.

Then, everyone felt strange.

If the people were sure it was Mark, they would not show much fuss. However, the humanoid was almost five meters tall. Mark was clearly not that tall.

However, as the haze began solidifying, they saw Mark's visage on the unfamiliar giant.

Mark looked behind him over his shoulder. He could see everyone was waiting for his signal. Mark then looked at his hands and moved his fingers while trying to get the right feeling of his body. After all, this would only be the second time he used the full power of the [Earth Demon Deity].

[Magical Energy Materialization]. It was the ability of the [Earth Demon Deity] they managed to kill during their fight with the [Tamawo]. It was also the ability Mark used to fight Sinogo.

And now, Mark was using it to fight the Serpent God.

But this time, it was different.

This time, Mark was overflowing with power.

"This time, I can fight to my heart's content."

Mark murmured.

"BEGIN!"

Mark shouted, raising his new sword, now merged with Ignis.

And following his shout, Mark soared to the sky, shooting toward the Serpent God.

BOOOM!

Following Mark's shout, the tanks and artillery also fired. It was the same for the Empress and the Demons, releasing their magical attacks at the same time.

But would their attacks reach the Serpent God? After all, the magical storm was surging outside the barrier.

However, as the attacks passed through the barrier, each and every single one, from the smallest bullet to the largest golden fireball, flew out encased inside a bubble of light.

The bubble of light protected the attacks from the magical storm, letting them fly toward their target.

As Mark flew up the Serpent God, the attacks from the Defense Forces flew past him.

Mark watched as the bubble-encased destruction flew toward the Serpent God.

The Serpent God, oblivious of its surroundings due to its pain and berserk state, received the attacks without resistance.

BOOOOOOM!!!

As soon as the first bullet made contact with the Serpent God's scales, explosions blanketed the sky.

ROOOOOOOOARRR!!!

The Serpent God roared. Its roar was louder and angrier than before.

And different this time, the attacks actually left scratches on the Serpent God's supposedly invulnerable scales.

The Serpent God faced the direction the attacks came from an absolute frenzy. It then spewed flames enough to half of Ariake.

Without hindrance, the flames blocked all remaining incoming attacks before reaching the barrier and spreading outward.

But what the Serpent God did not expect was a figure that waved through its flames.

"RAAAAAH!!!"

With a loud shout, the ominously armored Demon charged through the flames, stabbing another eye of the Serpent God.