Mutagen

<strong>Day 240 - 10:02 AM - Mount Canlaon, Municipality of Codcod, Province of Negros Occidental</strong>

<strong>ROAR!!!</strong>

The battle was far from over.

The magical powers of Sinogo and the group led by the [Diwata] caused enormous damage to the surroundings. The large crater in the middle of the flatlands was the evidence of it. And, of course, the same went for deaths from both sides.

Fortunately, the magical creatures, unlike the [Infected]. They knew when to retreat and managed to reduce the damage to their side. The [Infected]? Not to mention retreating. They charged towards the center of the explosion killing more than countless into dust and injuring a few thousand others.

Even so... This damage was nothing to the [Infected]. Most of the [Infected] could not feel the pain, and a missing limb or two would not stop their charge forward. And most of all... Their numbers barely dwindled, and the magical creatures were still far outnumbered.

The worst thing, the leader of the magical army was now exhausted. She used all she had to fire that attack but ultimately failed to defeat the enemy.

And now, they were in a deep dilemma.

With the strongest [Diwata] they had exhausted, there was no way for them to fight the rampaging Sinogo.

But even so... There was no way they would just give up the fight.

The two [Diwatas] tasked to distract Sinogo flew towards the gigantic Crocodile once again.

It was the same for the army of magical creatures, who now charged towards the [Infected] army once again.

Once more, the battle ensued. This time, around and before the scorched crater.

The only advantage of the magical creatures was that they were far more intelligent compared to the [Infected]. Since the [Infected] continued to charge forward without regard to the terrain, many of them fell unto the crater. Although it was not that deep, its depth was more than enough to hinder the [Infecteds'] advance. The magical creatures used that opportunity. They began baiting the [Infected] into the crater, making it easier to attack the enemies without cover.

Even so, it was still not enough. Since many of the [Infected] were mutated, making their bodies sturdier and harder to kill, the magical creatures could not kill faster than the crater being filled with more [Infected].

***

On the other side, the spectators of the battle, Mark's group, received their leader's orders.

And although not everyone was happy with Mark's arrangement, they could only comply. After all, this battle was not like the previous ones they had. It was a fight against something that acquired a god's power.

After the members of the group received the orders, everyone moved with Mark's words echoing in their memories.

***

<strong>"Chimetrice will go with me to fight Sinogo."</strong>

***

Mark and Chimetrice alighted from the [Mini Cube] and flew towards the battlefield.

The arrival of the two came almost unnoticed. Most of the magical creatures were focused on the battle to notice them fly over the two opposing armies. Those that saw the two, however, thought that they were allies. It was not exactly wrong, but definitely not right either.

Mark and Chimetrice soon arrived where Sinogo and the two other [Diwatas] were locked in a battle. And, of course, the two [Diwata], and unexpectedly, even Sinogo showed negative reactions to their arrival.

Especially Sinogo, Mark was sure the giant crocodile was staring at him after he arrived.

And...

<strong>THOOOOM!!!</strong>

A beam of light fired toward Mark without warning, ignoring the two [Diwatas] trying to distract Sinogo.

This time, however...

"Damn, this bastard. You think that will work again?"

Mark grumbled after turning back from his misty form.

Unlike the previous time, Mark was carefully paying attention to Sinogo. He already became a victim of Sinogo's surprise attack once. He would be an idiot to fall unto the same trick twice.

Even so, it made Mark think. What in the world was Sinogo's problem? Sinogo shot the same attack at Mark before. Now, he did it again. No one would think that it was odd the previous time. However, there were two [Diwatas] around Sinogo. Why would he attack Mark instead?

And now...

<strong>THOOM! THOOM! THOOM!</strong>

Sinogo shot three more, smaller beams at Mark.

This made not only Mark but everyone around extremely suspicious about Sinogo. And also, of course, Mark.

"DEMON! What is filthy spawn like you doing in this place?!"

And there it was... The ingrained hostility of [Diwatas] towards the Demonkind.

The surprising thing, however... Only one of the two [Diwatas] showed such hostility.

"Chimetrice. Can you stall the guy below? I'll talk to these two first before they start attacking us from behind."

Mark said to Chimetrice amidst evading another beam.

"No problem."

Chimetrice replied as he actually stood against one of the smaller beams that shot at Mark and blocked it. Not only did he withstand the impact while in the air, Chimetrice only received a slight burn on his arms.

As expected, Chimetrice could handle this kind of attack. Gods ganged up on Chimetrice in the past and were never able to completely destroy his body. An attack from someone like Sinogo would not kill Chimetrice. Of course, killing Sinogo was one thing. Even if Chimetrice had the strength to fight and kill anything lower than a Deity, it was still questionable if he had enough power to kill those above.

This scene was a rather shocking surprise to the two [Diwatas]. They would be obliterated to dust the moment they got hit by that beam. Yet, Chimetrice shrugged it like nothing. They could not help but feel warier towards the two.

It was not only the two [Diwatas] who became surprised. It was the same for Sinogo, who had never seen anyone withstand his attacks upfront. His focus switched from Mark to Chimetrice instantly.

Sinogo switching targets was the best scenario for Mark.

***

<strong>"Ilia, the [Mini Cube] will be left for you to pilot. Approach the [Diwata] that seems to be the leader of this army. You will also handle the communication along with Zhiruo. Tell them that we are here to deal with Sinogo. That should be enough to tell them not to stab our backs."</strong>

***

Following Mark's orders, Ilia piloted the [Mini Cube] towards the central area of the magical army. She lowered their altitude and moved slowly to not alarm the magical army in a threatening manner.

Of course, the magical creatures became extremely wary, seeing the floating vessel that they had never seen before. Flying creatures began to block the path. However, their wariness allowed them to think of not doing any foolish moves.

While humans were afraid of the unknown, the same went for magical beings.

The [Mini Cube] slowly came to a halt as it reached the blockade. It made the magical creatures less wary.

This time, Ilia and Feng Zhiruo stepped out to the platform outside the floating vessel's door. Feng Zhiruo felt a bit nervous, but Ilia did not seem affected by the threatening demeanor of the magical creatures.

Even so, Ilia's appearance increased the wariness of the magical creatures. After all, she was also a Demon. An [Succubus] at that. A kind of Demon that could control the minds of males.

Not to mention Feng Zhiruo, who was a human.

Most of all... These magical creatures were not that powerful. As such, they could feel a bit of fear as they felt how strong both Ilia and Feng Zhiruo were.

"We are not enemies! We want to talk to your leader."

Ilia declared.

Exhausted from the previous attack, the [Diwata] leading the army was now on the ground to recuperate her energy. She was gritting her teeth in dismay. It was something uncharacteristic for a graceful [Diwata] to do so. And it just showed how much in a pinch they were.

The [Diwata] watched the odd floating vessel as if flew closer. She wished that it was not an enemy. They were already on the losing side of this battle. She did not want to have another threat to deal with.

And hearing Ilia's declaration, the [Diwata] floated from her position towards the line of the magical creatures blocking the floating vessel.

"[Diwata]. Are you going to meet them?" A [Sylph] flying beside the [Diwata] asked. "That is a powerful Demon. They might want to harm you."

"Do not fret," The [Diwata] replied. "That woman might be a Demon, but I don't sense any ill intention."

The [Diwata] floated to a certain distance in front of the floating vessel and declared.

"I am Alawana, the protector of this sacred mountain. State your intentions."

The [Diwata], Alawana, spoke in a graceful and dignified manner. She was doing her best to hide her current weakness. Allowing strangers to see her current state could spell trouble. Not only to her but to her people.

However, Ilia had already seen through her facade. Not like she cared.

<strong>BOOM!</strong>

Suddenly, the loud booming sound echoed. It made everyone turn to the east. Only to see the giant crocodile and his giant [Infected] proactively fighting something.

"It looked like Master already started," Ilia said and turned to Feng Zhiruo. "We better do our job too."

Ilia then turned to Diwata Alawana.

"I am Ilia, a [Succubus]. As I declared earlier. We are not enemies, though I'll not say as far as we are your allies. We are only here to participate in this battle, so I would like your people to avoid attacking us."

"For what reason?" Of course, the [Diwata] was suspicious of Ilia and her group's intention. "There is no need for you or your people to participate in this battle. Why would you join this fight?"

And to the [Diwata's] question, Ilia pointed her finger to the east.

"That," Ilia answered. "Sinogo is our target. We can't let that continue to exist. Once you and your people fall here and he reached your sacred mountain, he will grow stronger and attack other places. He will become unstoppable, and he will end up destroying this country. We need to stop Sinogo before that happens."

The [Diwata] and everyone listening fell silent. What Ilia said was true. This was not just a battle for their home. This was a battle with everything in this country, or probably the whole world, at stake.

Whether it be Spirits, Elementals, Humans, or Demons, their race did not matter. Everything would be in danger in the face of the rampaging godly being.

***

<strong>"Spera, go and fetch Aephelia, Jaeya, Bella, and Donna. I know Bella and Donna just arrived there last night, but we will need their help in this plan."</strong>

***

The [Diwata] could only agree with Ilia's proposition. There, the [Mini Cube] was allowed to land at the foot of the mountain. It was where the final line of defense was being built.

With the [Mini Cube] being on stable ground, everyone inside alighted, making the magical creatures and the [Diwata] surprised. It was a group of powerful individuals, composed of Demons, Humans, and even a surprisingly powerful [Sylph]. And most of all... Three Artificial beings, in the form of two animals and one humanoid.

"We managed to secure the area. I'll go do my task."

Spera said as she opened a portal, to the surprise of everyone around them.

"Go faster. Gege is fighting a dangerous enemy there."

Mei told Spera.

"Geez, you only worry about your husband. Chimetrice is also there, you know."

Spera said as she jumped into the portal to call reinforcements.

"That is..."

Diwata Alawana exclaimed while talking to Ilia.

"We are calling for a few reinforcements. Unfortunately, we can't call an army or something. But four people from our side should be enough to lessen the burden here."

Ilia replied.

"What do you mean..."

The [Diwata] was confused.

"I can't really give promises since the plan isn't mine," Ilia shrugged. "But just see for yourself once we prepared everything."

Surely, the [Diwata] and her people were extremely confused about what was going on. However, they were in a pinch, and they would gladly accept any help they could find.

On the other side, what the [Diwata] was worried the most about was the battle currently unfolding at the rear of the soulless horde. From what Ilia said, their leader and her master were there to fight Sinogo. Just how powerful were those two people to cause such havoc within the enemy lines?