Mutagen

<strong>Day 253 - 9:19 AM - Moutainous Crater, Municipality of Viga, Province of Catanduanes</strong>

Everyone on the northwestern peaks watched their vision darken. It was not because the weather was changing for the worse. The reason was the swarm of [Mechids] that finally returned to the crater. They could see hundreds of [Mechids] swarming from the outer perimeter of the Mountainous Crater, not to mention the flying ones. All these [Mechids] might be the inferiorly built ones, but their numbers were not something to joke about.

The warriors already had a hard time fighting a portion of these [Mechids]. Facing this large number of enemies, while possible to win, would definitely cause a large number of casualties on their side.

And having casualties more than allowed was not something they wanted. That was why they chose a defensive battle in these mountainous peaks than an offensive one in the first place.

They already lost a lot of people in these several months of fighting. Another massive loss among their warriors could spell an end to the village. They should at least wait for Diwata Iraya to fully recover her lost prowess before they incur such a situation.

"Shouldn't we need to help Master fight those?"

Amihan hovered beside Mei and asked.

However, the latter shook her head. Mark already told her not to do anything, lest they stir a hornet nest they could not win against. It was already fortunate that the [Mechids] decided to ignore them, although it could become a predicament for Mark and Chimetrice.

It was at these times Mei wished she was stronger to stand beside Mark in this kind of predicament. However, she understood that, while she was stronger way above normal people, her current abilities and skills had their limits. In this kind of situation, the current Amihan would be more of a great help than her. However, since Mark had not called for Amihan, Mei decided not to let the little [Sylph] blindly join the dangerous fray.

At the side, Thirteenth stared at the situation silently while gritting her teeth. She could only watch on since no one here could explain what was going on. Although it was really not surprising if anyone gained any kind of ability with Earth's current state. However, Mark getting new powers was not that shocking either, considering Mark had already turned a tribulation into his own strength beforehand. He also had abilities to take away the magical and psychic powers of strong entities he fought and killed.

Nonetheless, Mark acquiring the power of death, even just its aura, was something that was not supposed to be possible. At least here on Earth. Even among the Demon species, none of them was able to control the power over death.

Although death was the end of all living things, it was a natural process. As such, only negative energies left by the death of those with resentment and regrets could form. No other kind of energy would be produced at that time.

In the current era, the only individuals who governed over the power of death were the [Guides], who managed the souls of the departed.

Thus, it was impossible to get ahold of the power of death.

There was only one era where such a thing was possible. It was the lost era converted into legends and myths. The era where the Gods of Death and the Underworld came to Earth along with other Gods from other foreign realms.

The multiple eyes of Thirteenth squinted in annoyance. Now that she thought about it, there was actually one possibility. The reason why Mark was currently enveloped with the [Aura of Death].

Magwayen. The Ancient Visayan Goddess of the Underworld. The Goddess who somehow managed to maintain a connection with this world despite the fact that she had already returned to her realm.

Thirteenth already knew that the members of Mark's group received a blessing. However, it was a protective one and was only enough to help them not to get killed instantly in unexpected circumstances. It was not much of an issue and was likely received through a trial and not directly given by a foreign God. After all, the energy within the blessing was not pure, weak, and convoluted.

However, the [Aura of Death] around Mark was different. Not only in level but in terms of purity. Worse, it was getting purer and purer as time passed.

Everyone began to notice their vision darken once again. But this time, it was in a literal sense. As they all looked at the sky, dark clouds began to gather, and rather eerie-looking lightning strikes could be seen in the sky.

It was not the first time the people of this island had seen such a spectacle. Back when the Demons were active on this island, Lord Seis' attempt to step into Deityhood resulted in a worse-looking phenomenon where a spiral of Demonic Energy was made.

As she saw the sky darken, Thirteenth had a complicated expression. It was a sign of a tribulation. Mark already caused three tribulations in the past. They had a hard time pointing out the first, but the second happened when Mark surpassed the limit of a common [Empath] while he was in New Jersey. The latest one was when Mark decided to take the power of the previous tribulation into his body which also warranted a trial from the world itself.

Now, Mark was clearly going to another tribulation.

Thirteenth sighed as she turned her head towards the ball made of the [Aura of Death].

A blessing, even from a foreign God, would not necessarily trigger a tribulation. A blessing could not be controlled, after all, and more or less just an enhancement, even if it was something that carried the power of death.

But Mark...

His existence was all kinds of wrong.

Mark's body could handle [Miasma] as his own. He was also an [Empath] that surpassed the limit of what anyone could have. While unexpected, even the not-so-smart Thirteenth understood. It should be no surprise now that his body turned his blessing into something he could control.

It was probably something that Magwayen did not expect either when she gave that blessing.

At this time, the ball of mist began to shrink. It meant that Mark was already in the process of taking this power into his own.

The surroundings rumbled [Aura of Death] slowly shrunk. Strangely, the fear that everyone had felt until now vanished. The disappearance of that fear clearly showed that Mark was slowly getting his new power under his control.

<strong>RUMBLE! CRACKLE!</strong>

Thunder could be deafeningly heard while lightning with a deep shade of purple crackled in the sky.

Those who stood witness to this unfathomable event watched in silence.

The [Mechids] continued to attack the ball of mist to no avail. In fact, they attacked in a way that could not be described as anything else but frantic. It seemed that despite being machines, they understood the severity of the situation for their kind.

As the attacks of the four remaining [Fighter Mechids] left no effect, the other [Mechids] joined the attack.

The spectators could only cover their eyes as bright rays of lasers shot towards the ball of mist from all the [Mechids] capable of firing one.

However, as the bright lasers dissipated, the ball of mist did not show any sign of being disturbed.

Mei sighed in relief. She could still feel Mark from inside that ball of mist. Nonetheless, she began to worry. The mist might be protecting Mark from the attacks. But as the mist shrunk further and further, it would soon reveal Mark, exposing him to the attacks of hundreds, possibly thousands, of [Mechids] aiming all over the crater.

From below the crater, Chimetrice mowed down as many [Mechids] as he could. Since most of the enemies were now concentrating their attacks on Mark, Chimetrice had an easier time destroying them. Unfortunately, the number was just massive. Even he needed a lot of effort if he was to destroy every single one of these annoying pieces of moving metal scrap. And Chimetrice definitely did not have enough time to destroy all the [Mechids] before Mark emerged from the ball of mist.

Still, Chimetrice gazed at the sky. This was the second time he had seen a tribulation form, and it was on the same person. Furthermore, it was to give a trial to a being that somehow grasped the power of death. Life sure was filled with surprises.

Sure enough, the ball of mist shrunk to the point that those who watched were getting nervous. Mei wanted to help, but Mark insisted on making them stand by through the ring.

And then, the ball of mist became small enough that something popped out of it.

As the [Mechids] continued to try to attack the ball of mist, that thing that popped out of it was hit immediately.

<strong>CLANG!</strong>

The spear-wielding [Fighter Mechid] managed to get a hit, but its spear was actually repelled.

Mei and the others stared in surprise and confusion.

"An egg?"

Amihan voiced out her unsure thought.

Now hovering in the sky was something of an ovoid shape. That was why Amihan thought of an egg the first time she saw it.

However, it was too large for an egg. It stood about four meters from the tip to the base. It had a pitch black color and seemed to have a flesh-like texture.

Seeing that something came out of the mist and the spear-wielding [Fighter Mechid] was repelled, the army of [Mechids] fired another volley of lasers.

This time, these lasers were sure to hit something.

But then, the space trembled.

A pillar of purplish lightning shot from the sky, swallowing the "egg" whole.

The tribulation began.

With the pillar of lightning enveloping the "egg," all the lasers were rendered useless. Furthermore, the energy from the pillar knocked everything within its radius away.

Like meteors, the four remaining [Fighter Mechids] close to the "egg" crashed toward different areas of the crater. The impact of the crash of the four [Fighter Mechids] was too strong that several weak tremors could be felt even from the opposite side of the crater.

The pillar caused the space to tremble, also knocking all flying [Mechids] from the sky and damaging many [Mechids] below.

Everyone covered their ears and strained their eyes. The roar of merciless thunder and the brightness of the powerful lightning began to hurt their senses.

The pillar was several times stronger than the previous ones. Furthermore, rather than a flash, it was more like a pillar of lightning poured from the sky.

"Gege..."

Mei was extremely nervous now. She tried to watch the situation without turning away, but the scene was too much for her sensitive eyes. If she forced herself, it would not be a surprise if she permanently injured her eyes.

As such, Mark told Mei that he was fine. Mei's ring repeatedly vibrated as her beloved reassured her of his situation.

Then, from within the pillar of purple lightning that struck the "egg," black mist, flames, and lightning began to spread. As if consuming the purple lightning, the black anomalies grew.

Seeing that, Chimetrice nodded. Mark was clearly taking advantage of the tribulation to restore the [Miasma] he had lost before. Unfortunately, the energy from the tribulation was a bit of a pure kind of energy. It was not as pure as holy or divine energy, and that was why Mark would be able to absorb it. However, despite how strong the tribulation was, it would not restore Mark's [Miasma] to full recovery.

Even so, it was a huge leap for Mark in restoring his [Miasma].

The pillar of lightning finally vanished after who knows how long. It numbed everyone's sense of time, and it felt like an eternity.

When the pillar of purple lightning vanished, the black anomalies began retreating back to the "egg."

With the stolen senses brought back, Mei and the others immediately turned their heads to see the "egg."

It was still there, floating in the sky. Even after being hit by that powerful lightning, it seemed undisturbed.

Then, it finally showed movement.

One after another, a strip of the "egg's" fleshy shell began to peel off.

Six times. The shell peeled off six times.

It was when everyone realized that it was not a shell. Those were six wings, each spanning around two and a half to three meters in length. The wings were too large it each of them could cover an average human's body when folded.

Those six wings were attached to a humanoid figure. It was Mark, of course. There seemed to be no change in his stature. However, he was now half-naked, with most of his armor seemingly broken for some reason.

Mark's current half-naked state allowed everyone to see the markings that now spread out all over his arms. At first, it looked like the markings formed flames around his arms. However, it did not feel like flames as the ends of the markings seemed to fade like mist.

It also seemed that his pitch-black hair now had a grayish hue, joining the reddish highlights that it had.

"Hah..."

Mark breathed out as he finally opened his eyes. His eyes were all black, except for his pupils, which glowed the same as before.

He then stretched his back, falling his gigantic wings once. The wings that turned ethereal before gained a physical form once more, but with different shapes and aura. As he did his stretching, the wings swiftly shrunk to their previous size.

Then, everyone realized and became confused.

There were few changes in Mark's body, and they could not feel anything from him at all.

But Thirteenth stared at Mark with wide eyes.

It was that thing that was strange. They could not feel anything from Mark. Even her, an [Eye], could not feel anything.