Mutagen

Day 360 - 3:26 PM - Market Area, Southside Peak, Muria Sacred Fortress, Mount Muria, Central Java, Indonesia

Everyone around the market could not believe what they had just seen. A little girl killed the rampaging giant that the soldiers could not even damage with their guns.

And as the giant turned to dust, no one noticed the figure that jumped in the sky until he landed beside the little girl.

The man then raised his right hand and clenched it. Then, six pikes, each around twelve inches in length, with intricate designs, flew into his hand from six directions of the destroyed area of the market. No, the pikes did not fly. The pikes were pulled with a thin string, showing that the man might have erected those pikes around the area without anyone noticing.

After retrieving the pikes, the man lowered his body and checked the little girl's leg.

"Does it hurt?"

The people heard the man ask the girl in a language they could not understand.

"A little."

The little girl answered.

There was no doubt the little girl's feat was something unbelievable. It would be no surprise if she incurred some injuries from the backlash of her own attack.

On the side, the soldiers were confused about the man who appeared out of nowhere. However, they knew that the man was with the little girl, considering the actions they showed. Furthermore, the two of them conversed using the same language the locals could not understand.

"Check the injured and count the casualties!"

The leading officer shouted at the still-able soldiers after confirming that the battle ended.

After giving his orders, the leading officer approached the man and the little girl, who was now with someone familiar to them. It was Bajing, the third in command among the Moon Chasers of the 38th Settlement.

"Excuse me," The leading officer called to the three. "I want to inquire about the situation."

The leading officer was clearly being polite. He was unsure about the strange man, but he clearly saw the little girl's strength during the fight. This girl might be powerful enough to compete with many powerful people in the fortress, and that strength was more than enough to warrant respect despite being young.

But before the leading officer could get a reply from the three, a voice interrupted him.

"There is no need to ask them. I'm already informed of the entire situation."

The leading soldier turned his head and saw the owner of the voice. He immediately stood and saluted.

"Captain Wahid, Sir, what did you mean?"

Captain Randy Wahid. He was the leader of the soldiers tasked to guard the laboratory. He was also in command of the patrol troops, to which the leading officer belonged.

"Literally what I said," Captain Randy said with a stern tone, clearly in a bad mood. "A monster snuck into the fortress and took Dr. Murni's identity. This giant that turned to ash is that impostor."

"Sir, you mean the rumors..."

The leading officer voiced out.

"The rumor that started from the 41st Settlement turned out to be no mere rumor. It said that a man figured out and captured the impostors. That very man in the rumors is the one before us."

The leading officer followed Captain Randy's eyes, focused on the man beside the little girl.

At this time, a large number of military vehicles began to arrive. However, as Captain Randy looked at the emblems on the vehicles, he could not help but frown.

"What is happening here?! Why is the market destroyed?!"

A rather stout, middle-aged man in a military uniform came out of one of the vehicles and shouted.

"Out of all people, he's the one who arrived first."

The leading officer also did not have a positive opinion about the new arrivals.

"Take care of our soldiers. Also, let them go. There's no need to question them on site," Captain Randy said to the leading officer while looking at the little girl who killed the giant. "I'll take care of that pig- I mean, I'll take care of General Hadi."

The leading officer nodded. He did not want to approach the fat General, either.

"Thank you for stopping the giant," The leading officer thanked the little girl before turning to the man and Bajing. "You can go. Just go before General Hadi notices you three. We might have more questions later, but we can just contact Miss Bajing. Or, maybe, Miss Luna, correct?"

"You can do that," Bajing agreed. "They are with us, anyway."

After that exchange, the man picked up the little girl, and they immediately slipped out. The eyes of the gallery were still on them. But, at least no one tried to block the way of the girl who beheaded the giant with a single kick.

***

Mark kept silent while observing the surroundings. 

That fat General seemed to be deeply scorned by their own soldiers. He must be something notorious within the fortress.

In that case, did not want to be entangled with that guy either. Besides, his [Empath] abilities were already warning him of how shallow that General was as a person. He did not even pay attention to the soldiers who were transporting the injured passing right in front of him.

After leaving the market, Mark, Abbygale, and Bajing regrouped with the members of the Moon Chasers, who tried to support the battle. The four were looking at Abbygale with reverence. They were surely amazed at how the little girl destroyed the giant alone.

On the other hand, Bajing walked with them in deep contemplation. It was not wrong that she and Abbygale had similar abilities that relied on their speed and leg strength. The only difference was that Abbygale solely relied on her kicks, while Bajing had enough arm strength to use a dagger. 

Bajing knew she was much weaker compared to the little girl. She did not even do anything in this fight.

However, Bajing gripped her fists. She was not disheartened. Taking the little girl as her inspiration, she would grow stronger from now on.

When the group returned to the hospital lobby, it was almost empty, with only the staff left behind.

Instead, they saw Luna and the rest in front of the front desk. Furthermore, Luna was already carrying her niece.

It was clear what Luna was trying to do.

"Is it already fine to check her out of the hospital?"

Bajing asked Mark who treated the little girl.

"The only problem with her is that she won't wake up, right?" Mark replied. "Since that's the case, aside from a few implications for laying on the bed for too long, she should be fine. Well, I'm no doctor. If there are other physical problems, I can't give a concrete answer for that."

With that conversation, Mark and Bajing arrived at the front desk.

"You okay, Bajing?"

Limabela asked her friend.

"I'm fine. Though, I almost got hit by a stray bullet. Luckily, I managed to dodge."

"Then, it's good," Limabela nodded and sighed. "We saw what happened from the window upstairs. I can't believe that the kind Dr. Murni is one of those charcoal-skinned pricks. He must have been having fun tricking us all this time."

"There's no one to blame among us," Nelia chimed in. "I admit, I only partly believed what I heard from you girls last night. But seeing what happened now, I can't doubt it anymore. And we don't know when Dr. Murni was replaced."

The three fell silent. The day they first met Dr. Murni was still fresh in their mind. The doctor was a kind and diligent person. He even treats injured children for free in his free time. The kind doctor did exist before he was replaced by a monster.

"Is there still no answer? How long are we going to wait?"

Luna's voice was becoming louder, making the nurses at the front desk feel the pressure.

"We already sent someone to contact the director. Please wait a little more. He might be in the middle of an experiment."

The nurse nervously answered.

"They can't check her out?"

Mark asked Luna.

"They should be able to, but they don't want to." 

Luna replied with a deep tone of displeasure.

"We are happy that your niece finally regained consciousness, but there are still proper procedures if you want to check her out of the hospital," The nurse explained. "Furthermore, she had just woken up, and her body was still weak. She still needs to undergo rehabilitation after being comatose for too long. Bringing her out of the hospital immediately would not recommended for her health."

"Staying in this hospital is not recommended for my niece's health, should I say," Luna frowned even more. "The doctor in charge of her was the one who prolonged her coma. Should I wait for her to just mysteriously die inside your unsecured hospital?"

"I'm sorry, but we also have our orders to follow."

The nurse did not witness what happened outside, although they heard the commotion. Thus, she did not believe what Luna was saying. However, instead of arguing back, she was trying to handle the situation professionally.

At this point, Luna began gritting her teeth. She was getting angrier by the second.

The members of the Moon Chasers became concerned. The calm Luna becoming angry was definitely not a good sign.

But then, a hand grabbed her shoulder.

"Calm down."

Mark said as he channeled his [Spirit Healing] through his hand. No one noticed, but his eyes were focused on the tips of Luna's hair, which already had a silver tinge.

In an instant, Luna's anger died down to the point that even she was surprised.

"What did you do?"

Luna could not help but ask.

"Just calm down," Mark did not answer her question. "Your niece is already getting scared."

Luna looked at her niece she was carrying. The little girl was awake, but since she was still weakened, she was just silent and was barely moving.

"Sorry, Shasha, did I scare you?"

Luna's eyes turned affectionate as she asked the little girl.

Seeing Luna calm down, everyone around sighed in relief. Even the nurses looked at Mark in gratitude after the pressure of Luna's anger on them vanished.

"Alright, we will wait," Luna said to the nurses. "But don't try to convince me to let my niece stay in this place longer."

The nurses felt relieved as they saw Luna's group leave the front desk and take seats in the waiting area.

Still, the nurses were confused, too. What was causing the director to take too long?

After five minutes of waiting, the noises coming from the footsteps of several people were heard from the hospital's entrance.

The nurses looked, thinking it was the director.

Luna and the rest also looked at the entrance.

However, what entered was a familiar person from the military.

"General Wijaya?"

Luna voiced out.

It was not just General Wijaya. Patrol Captain Randy Wahid from earlier was also present.

General Wijaya looked at Luna's group, specifically her niece, and nodded in greeting. He then turned and walked toward the front desk.

"Good afternoon, General. What can we do for you?"

The nurses respectfully greeted the General.

 "Allow the little girl's discharge."

General Wijaya said, pointing his thumb over his shoulder in Luna's direction.

"Sorry, General. But without the director's permission, we can't issue her discharge."

The nurse apologized. The discharge might be easier for other patients, but it was different for Luna's niece due to various reasons, but the main reason was the deal between Luna and the government.

But to the nurses' surprise, General Wijaya's expression grew solemn.

"There was no need for that bastard's permission. Director Agung. No. The bastard probably impersonating him suddenly disappeared after Dr. Murni's impostor was killed in the earlier commotion."

"What?!"

The nurses were alarmed. They might not believe Luna's words, but it was different if the words came from General Wijaya.

"Just discharge the girl," General Wijaya repeated. "If anything goes wrong, I'll take responsibility."

"Y-yes. We'll handle it immediately."

The nurses finally began working.

Then, General Wijaya and his entourage approached Luna's group, although the General was looking straight at Mark and Abbygale sitting on his lap.

With the Captain around, it was clear that the whole situation had been relayed to General Wijaya.

"Miss Luna, I'm sorry about the unfortunate situation."

General Wijaya gave Luna a heartfelt apology.

"You don't need to apologize, General. It's not your fault."

Luna said sincerely.

"Thank you," General Wijaya thanked Luna for her words before turning to Mark. "And Sir, Can we have the promised conversation sooner? Your exploits are already circulating together with the rumors about the impostors you caught at the 41st Settlement. Many witnessed what happened in the market. Some knew the doctor and saw him turn into that giant. Now, the hospital director also vanished. I know things are already serious. We urgently need more information and handle the situation before the situation spirals out of control."

Mark looked at Luna's group before turning back to the General.

"Alright. After leaving the hospital, Luna's group will be claiming the items they traded with you yesterday, so we will have time to talk until they finish loading everything into the vehicles."

Hearing Mark's words, General Wijaya agreed. As long as he could get even a few concrete answers, he was fine agreeing with Mark's decisions.