Mutagen

Day 323 - 11:21 PM - White Swan Club, Shinonome, Koto City, Tokyo

It was almost midnight. While most of the Reclaimed City was dead asleep, Shinonome was at its liveliest.

Shinonome now served as the Reclaimed City's nighttime entertainment district. Clubs, casinos, and even brothels, Shinonome had it all. It was not surprising since it was a district managed by the Yakuza group, Dawn.

Given that even more people wanted to release stress in the current times, these uncanny businesses were still earning an exceptional amount of income. Most of it was due to many [Freelancer Groups] visiting these establishments after a mission outside the Reclaimed City.

And within one of the most popular nightclubs, the White Swan Club, a kind of hostile atmosphere in the owner's suite.

The owner of the White Swan Club was a muscular man in a black leather coat called the alias Tulip. Was it quite an odd alias? That was not surprising for people that knew him... no, her.

There was no secret to those the frequent Shinonome what kind of place the White Swan Club was. It was where the ugly ducklings would become beautiful swans at night. Yes, it was a Gay Club.

And Tulip was an Okama. A woman in a man's body or a man with a maiden's heart, these descriptions fit her. Either way, she was an unusual existence in the world of Yakuza, heavily driven by extreme males. However, she had the strength, wits, and connections. As such, Tulip managed to keep a good standing among her followers.

Unfortunately, the accursed apocalypse tore down her group. And now, Tulip was nothing but one of the lowest-standing leaders of Dawn. It would have bothered her that much. After all, her gender orientation was pretty much scorned in this field. However, what made things worse was the fact that the current leader of Dawn was her younger brother. A younger brother who looked down and ignored her.

Dawn was ignoring Tulip's existence and was looking down on her.

That was where Tulip's current frustration came from. Her faction shrunk, and her influence plummeted.

Tulip needed to do something. Something that would stand out over the other groups that made up Dawn.

And that was when the attack of the [Mutated Hornets] happened.

Inside her suite, Tulip impatiently sat on her chair. The followers she sent to fetch some people went back injured. Her right-hand man turned into a cripple. She knew that what she was doing could bite her back. However, the desperation weighed far heavier than her reasoning.

Impatiently tapping her right foot on the floor, Tulip looked at the carapace on the table in front of her. Many people would be familiar with this carapace. It was the carapace of a [Mutated Hornet]. It had near-metal flexibility and durability. Lower caliber bullets could not even penetrate it.

However, Tulip saw it clearly when that rumored group cut through the bodies of the [Mutated Hornets] as if they were cutting through tofu.

Tulip wanted those weapons and equipment. With those things, the other groups within Dawn would have no other choice but to acknowledge her.

At first, Tulip thought it was the crafts of the blacksmith the Black Lotus Group always commissioned. They tried to contact the blacksmith, who was already dealing with the same misconception from others that witnessed the happenings during the attack.

That was the reason why Tulip could only act now, a few days late after the same group moved out of the Black Lotus Group's cradle.

And as it turned out, it would not be easy to order that group around as they were fearless, unintimidated by Tulip's henchmen.

And as such, Tulip sent assassins. Not to kill but to kidnap. She needed to know where those weapons and equipment came from. As such, she needed something to hold onto to threaten that man who almost killed her followers. She needed to know where those weapons and equipment came from.

***

Day 324 - 12:01 AM - Evernight Base, Kachidoki, Chuo City, Tokyo

At exactly midnight, a group of assassins ran through the alley behind the new base of the rumored group called Evernight.

Professionals in their field of work, these assassins knew what they were jumping into.

The group called Evernight was being watched by a handful of powerful people. However, none of them had made any crucial move so far. Thus, these people would be glad to see others test the waters and not interfere.

It might not be a good feeling to be the ones testing the waters, but they could not disobey the orders they were given and paid for.

With their noiseless footsteps, the assassins carefully approached the back door. To no surprise, the door was riddled with multiple locks from the inside. Fortunately, such locks were nothing challenging to people in their field of work.

Although it took a bit of time, the locks were dismantled, allowing the assassins to open the door.

But then, the leader of the assassins raised his hand. Not to command his group to enter but to stop.

The assassins looked past the door. The scene inside was strangely dark.

"Boss, isn't it too dark inside?"

One of the assassins asked the leader.

But before the leader could say anything, another assassin whispered.

"It must be because the ones living here covered every door and window on the first floor."

The assassins recalled that fact. All windows and doors on the first floor were covered and barricaded, disabling anyone from peering through and looking at what was inside. It was a logical thought. However, the leader could not shake the eerie feeling.

Shaking away the unnecessary thoughts, the leader raised his hand again.

And from there, all of them entered the darkened hallway within the restaurant.

The group carefully moved. The tasks within their minds echoed, checking the surroundings and the corners.

Well, what surroundings? What corners?

After the assassins entered the door, they all froze on their toes.

The assassins could not see anything.

They tried to look behind them. However, there was only darkness. The door they had just entered, they could not see it.

Without a doubt, this darkness was not ordinary. The assassins all lost their sense of direction. It was an awful mistake. They should not have turned their bodies around to find the door. They should have just stepped backward and retraced their steps.

The moment they turned around, they lost their sense of direction because they could not see anything.

One of the assassins had a good idea. It was to immediately reach for the walls. Since the hallway was small, it should allow them to make out the surroundings they could not see.

However, before that assassin could touch the wall, they all lost footing. They suddenly felt like falling. The darkness and the sudden fall. Even the best assassins should not be able to resist and scream in fear.

Unexpectedly, the fall did not last. It was just around a few meters drop. Some of them fell into unsightly positions, but none of them were heavily injured.

But when the assassins finally saw their surroundings, their eyes dilated.

They were nowhere in a restaurant or any kind of house at all.

Three stone walls, a cold stone floor, an unfamiliar ceiling, and a row of black-colored metal bars on one side.

The assassins found themselves inside a dungeon cell, to their horror. They had no idea how in the world they got here.

Then, they heard footsteps, making the assassins reflexively take their daggers out.

And there, the assassins saw two people walking outside the dungeon cell.

"Welcome, intruders."

The man outside greeted the assassins.

Seeing the man's appearance made the assassins recognize him immediately. It was the leader of the rumored group, Evernight. The leader of their targets. Beside him was one of his members. She was the woman that used a sword during the combat examination.

It finally registered in the assassin's minds. They walked into a trap. An unfathomable trap far beyond their understanding.

***

Mark stared at the group of assassins. They all wore robes that covered their entire bodies and cloth masks that covered their faces. While these assassins were already inside the cell, they were still dangerous. Who would know what they were hiding within those baggy robes of theirs?

"Seven people, huh..." Mark murmured before calling out to the captives. "Hey, who sent you people. Just fess up so we can end this quickly."

"You think these people will speak?" Spera voiced out her thoughts beside Mark. "Assassins are usually trained to maintain silence."

As Spera had said, Mark was met with silence. And then, one of the assassins suddenly spat something out of his mouth toward Spera. Was it a last-minute retaliation?

Mark immediately extended his hand and grabbed the projectile that the assassin spat out. Seeing Mark's actions, the assassin's eyes gleamed a bit as if he had succeeded in something.

What the assassin spat out was a poisonous needle. There was no need for the needle to pierce. The poison could affect anyone through touch. In fact, as Mark opened his hand, the skin on his palm began to corrode. It was quite a powerful venom.

However, Mark only sneered at it. His regeneration kicked in. In a few seconds, the damage was repaired. The poison was rendered useless, causing the assassins to grimace in shock. There was a rumor that Mark had [Rank 5 Regeneration], but no one had thought that it was this powerful.

The assassins glanced at each other. It was their decision and farewell. At the same time, all seven assassins crushed something within their mouths and fell to the ground, lifeless.

Mark and Spera stared at the corpses inside the cell. Both of them were not concerned about what had happened at all.

"You going to try that now?"

Spera asked Mark.

Mark did not reply. Instead, he entered the cell and closed the door. Standing within the cell, surrounded by the corpses, Mark began.

Closing his eyes, Mark's [Aura of Death] immediately enveloped the dungeon cell.

Spera stepped back. It was not the first time Spera was seeing this, but the [Aura of Death] was really eerie up close.

Inside the dungeon cell, Mark took out seven cylindrical containers. Each was about the size of a large sardine can, only with a metal lid at both ends and a transparent glass body.

Both his hands enveloped with the [Aura of Death], Mark reached out to the empty space around him. It was as if catching something.

And within his hands, a white orb with a somewhat ethereal appearance akin to a flame could be seen.

Mark smirked as he stuffed that white orb into one of the cylinder containers. He repeated the action six more times with a cruel glint in his eyes, filling all the containers with white orbs of different sizes.

In the middle of it, Mark saw the first orb shiver. It was akin to someone unconscious waking up. The orb floated, confused until it saw Mark and what he was doing.

The white orb finally realized what was happening. It began to shiver in fear as it tried to fly around its container, trying to shatter the glass that confined it.

"It's no use," Mark said to the orb. "I already told you guys to fess up so we can end this quickly. You didn't listen. So... Let's take it the long way, shall we?"

The white orb inside the cylinder began to panic. Like a loose rubber ball, it began to bounce around its container. However, while it was able to touch the walls of its container, its hits had no force behind them.

Mark soon retracted his aura and went out of the dungeon cell. In his hand was a chain linking seven containers containing panicked white orbs that had yet to succumb to their fates.

"Looks like it worked nicely," Spera said, staring at the orbs inside the cylinders. "I thought it could fail. It's the first time we tried this on a sentient being."

"Yeah, it's kinda different," Mark replied. "Their souls are more intact and easier to gather than animals and insects."

"Is that so?" Spera was intrigued. "Anyway, I feel pity for the animals and the insects, but I don't feel anything for these guys, somehow."

"These guys are enemies, after all," Mark shrugged. "There's no need to feel pity on people that tried to bring us harm. These pricks picked the wrong people to offend."

Those words made the white orbs... No... The souls of the assassins shiver. They picked the wrong job. And now, they were captured by unfathomable beings where death would not be the end of their suffering.