Mutagen

<strong>Day 147 - 9:11 PM - Port Area, Catanduanes Settlement, Codon, San Andres, Catanduanes</strong>

Along the walls overseeing the port area, the soldiers watched the spectacle happening at the gulf. The infected mysteriously retreated. The only thing the soldiers could do now was to observe the battle between two people and a gigantic monster.

Of course, they could try and shoot the infected that were still in sight before they reenter the waters. However, the General already ordered to cease firing. If the infected were retreating, let them be, and the settlement should not incur unnecessary aggression from them.

Still, it was imperative that no one should let their guards down. In this kind of situation, no one knew what could happen.

That was why everyone that could had to pay attention to the battle above the sea.

And to say, everyone had very complex emotions at this scene.

***

Fear

What if that gigantic abomination came and attacked the settlement? Would the walls even hold for a second? No, it would instantly fall, without a doubt.

There was not even a chance to think about it.

There was no need to think about resisting.

Even if they deployed all of their explosives and blew everything up altogether, there was no assurance that they would win.

Even if it did, there was no future to be seen for the settlement.

Only explosives could damage highly mutated infected and a lot of evolved animals. Using up all their explosives would cause the settlement to face destruction sooner or later.

But that was if the settlement itself managed to go unscathed by the intensity of explosion needed to eliminate that thing.

Definitely not. There was no way that they would win or even have a good ending.

***

However, despite the fear, there was also...

***

Relief

Those in the know felt relieved that, whatever that abomination was, it was a [Leader Type] Infected.

If that gigantic amalgamation of bodies attacked the settlement directly, it would have fallen immediately. However, it did not and would not.

Among the infected, there was a nature that was quite unique to [Leader Types].

It was, no matter what their abilities were or what size they had, [Leader Type] Infected tend to stay either behind or at the center of their horde. This type of infected would not move and attack unless certain conditions were met.

The first condition was if the [Leader Type] was under a stronger and more intelligent one. It could be another [Leader Type], a [Parasitic Type], a [Breeder Type] or maybe, the rumored [Monarch Types].

The second was when their horde was already wiped out or on the verge of collapse. Without other infected to command, the [Leader Type] would start attacking by itself. On the other hand, more intelligent [Leader Types] would likely flee when that happened.

And the third condition they knew was if the [Leader Type] was forcibly dragged out of hiding. This condition could happen if [Leader Type] was identified and was attacked directly, incurring its rage in the process or if it was lured out by any means possible.

As it appeared to be, the third condition was fulfilled by Mark, luring the [Leader Type] out of hiding. None of the soldiers knew what he did, though.

Another thing that made them feel relieved that it was Mark that lured it out and not them. Who knows what would happen if it was them that forced it to come ashore.

Even Andrew, who was shouting to find the [Leader Type] earlier, could only stay silent after finally seeing what he wanted to kill.

And despite the fear and relief, there was also...

***

Amazement

The people were amazed as to how Mark and Mei could confront that frightening creature face to face.

It did not matter that the two were capable of flight. It was because that alone would not give anyone the confidence or bravery to stand in front of that terrifying thing.

Even if they were capable of flight, they were unsure whether they could muster the courage. There was no need to say just having two people. Even if there were dozens of them, they would not have the guts at all.

There was no way they would try to face a being that was as tall as a building with their weak human bodies.

And yet, Mark and Mei were there, circling around the body of that infected and cutting off its disgusting tentacles.

And with that amazement, then came...

***

Envy

If they could fly like Mark and Mei and had the courage to face such an abomination, maybe, they would be the ones everyone was watching.

Maybe, they were the ones receiving everyone's admiration.

And yet, here they were, standing atop the walls with shaking knees.

Wishing and praying that that creature would just vanish and leave this settlement alone.

With meager abilities and very little courage, the only thing they could boast here was their cowardly will to survive.

***

Back at the gulf, Mark could only frown seeing how the infected returned to the sea.

Of course, there was absolutely no way that they were retreating. They were called by this [Leader Type] for a single reason.

And without a doubt, it was to forcefully enlarge its body further. Without a doubt, it realized that it would not be able to catch Mark at its current state. It might have thought that if it had a larger body, it would also become powerful. At the same time, it would replace the bodies that it discarded because of Mark's attacks. It was desperate to catch Mark to the extent that it widened the scope of its control, including the infected at the west side of the settlement.

"What a troublesome guy."

Mark murmured.

If it was like this, whitling away its body would take quite a while doing it manually.

WHOOSH! WHOOSH!

Several tentacles shot towards Mark's group, forcing everyone to get out of the way.

And for sure, Mark was right. This [Leader Type] already started to absorb the horde underwater. The sudden increase in the length of the tentacles was totally noticeable.

Unfortunately for this huge thing, however, it was lacking what it needed the most. It was speed. The larger its body became and the longer its tentacles grew, the more sluggish it moved.

Even though its tentacles reached Mark's group above, it already lost a lot of its momentum.

Well, it was only in Mark's perception, however. In fact, the tentacles just now were as fast as a raging truck. Regular people would have a hard time reacting to that, especially with how numerous those tentacles were.

Mark did not care about that speed, however. He was more concerned about thinking of an easier way to get the real body out.

"Sir, what do you plan to do with that thing?"

Berrak asked out loud. He could not move any closer to Mark because of the tentacles continuously swaying around them. His Thunderbird was way bigger than a human and was an easier target than Mark and Mei. Thus, he did not dare come too close.

Mark turned to Berrak. The Summoner had nothing that he could do here aside from one thing.

"How many of your pets can fly and attack at long range?"

Mark asked back.

"The ones I summoned this afternoon. That's all."

Berrak replied hurriedly.

"Then, summon them all and fly up. All you need to do is have your pets attack that thing as much as possible. Also get rid of the bodies of any infected you see, at least, destroy their spines."

Berrak could not understand what Mark was up to and why there were some specific orders. However, he could only nod. It was his fault as to why this humongous creature was here. Thus, he would do anything to help.

And with that, Berrak commanded Trua to fly higher. At the same time, he began to summon.

Everyone that was watching was surprised as magic circles bloomed like small fireworks in the sky. Their shock grew even more as magical beasts appeared around the bird that shot lightning before.

Except for the flying serpent named Baku, the other flying pets of Berrak were here once more. With a few words from their Summoner, the barrage of magic attacks towards the [Leader Type] infected began.

Bathed by harmful attacks, the choir of painful roars ensued. It was a wave of agonizing screams of pain, telling everyone what kind of torture they were suffering.

Mark frowned at the irritating sound entering his ears.

Each of the bodies that composed this gigantic amalgamation was connected by the [Leader Type]. Since the main part of the connection was the spine, it was likely to be a connection within the neural network of each body. It also allowed the [Leader Type] to control the bodies fully.

However, it came with a cost.

Even one body that felt extreme pain, every single body in this amalgamation would share it. The more its huge body was damaged, the more the bodies that composed it cried in pain.

Mark could not help but notice those details as Berrak continued attacking without pause.

And there, Mark had an idea.

If the [Leader Type] was this intelligent, then it was very likely that it was a Mutated Biter. A type of infected that had a body that was still functioning as a living human. It could definitely feel the same pain as the others had. In fact, Mark could sense its tiny consciousness slightly fluctuate at every heavy attack that its body received.

It appeared that it had high pain tolerance, however.

"Then, all we have to do is inflict too much pain that it could not endure."

Mark said, letting Mei hear his thoughts.

With a nod at each other, Mark and Mei also prepared.

"Mei'er, you can use up to two [Crystal Converters]," Mark spoke. "But avoid the center of the octopus-head-shaped part. That's where our guy is."

Mei nodded once more at Mark's instructions. While Mark used himself as a distraction, Mei set up the [Crystal Converter] on her sniper rifle.

And then, with a momentum that made everyone tremble, a huge beam of light, not any less bright than the sun, shot from Mei's sniper rifle.

The gallery could not help but cover their eyes, turning their faces away from the battle. It was painful to their eyes that already adjusted to the darkness of the night.

Nonetheless, a wave of ear-piercing cries forced their aching eyes to look back at the battle.

And to say, their mouths were hanged open.

The amalgamation started tossing around, causing large waves in the middle of the gulf. The movements of the monster were too strong that people watching on the walls that were about half a kilometer away from the battle felt droplets of water hitting their faces.

That violent reaction turned the calm gulf into a stormy looking one.

Even so, everyone felt that its reaction was not exaggerated, considering that it had a dump truck-sized hole at the bottom center of its body.

However, it was just starting.

THOOOOM!

Another beam of light forced everyone's eyes away from the monster.

Mei fired another [Crystal Converter].

Another wail of thousands of voices ensued. Those that heard it could not help but feel their hearts tighten. The voices of suffering and pain that were like it came from hell stirred up their conscience.

Even Berrak was severely affected, causing his summons to stop attacking.

Mark, on the other hand, could only frown deeper.

He stretched out his hands, activating [Wind Manipulation Mental Crystal].

Suddenly, it became quiet. The wails of pain vanished, and everyone snapped out of its uncanny effects.

"To think that this thing can do something like that..."

"Gege, is it a mental attack? But I'm wearing it..."

Mei asked as she was also affected a bit. It was strange considering that she was wearing half of the Agimat that could block mental attacks.

"Sort of," Mark replied, not letting his eye leave the giant trashing the gulf below. "It's not a magical one, though. That's why our Agimat could not block it. It seems to use irregular soundwaves like how music and sound effects can affect the mood of a scene in a drama."

What a tricky creature.

That was what Mark thought as he started at the amalgamation.

Fortunately, he already found several weaknesses. The only thing left was to force the true body out.