Mutagen

Day 234 - 925 PM - Red Light District, Shinonome, Koto City, Tokyo

As usual, the Red Light District was bustling with nighttime activities. [Freelancers] that returned from a dangerous hunt, the skimpily clothed beautiful women, and even those rich people that only wanted to have a good time, many kinds of people littered the streets whether to afford the district's services or only to look around.

However, there were a few things different within the district this night.

First was the strange sudden inactivity within the only gay club in the Reclaimed City. This was the first time this situation occurred, which was very unlikely since the club was doing quite well. And it was all despite its uncanny reputation among the common populace. In fact, it was Tulip's greatest asset, supporting her activities as one of the Sub-leaders of Dawn, another reason why it was strange to see it closed without warning.

The second strange thing was...

It was Mark standing atop a building overlooking the central areas of Shinonome.

This was the first time Mark had seen a real Red Light District. There was no doubt that he was initially interested. After all, this kind of night district was something an Otaku would see in many anime settings. But now that Mark was near such a place, he regretted it.

An [Empath] like Mark should never go to places like this where he would feel like he downed an entire bottle of a potent aphrodisiac.

If not for Mark's [Mutator Trait] turning the absorbed emotions into nothingness, it might have been dangerous. Not for Mark, but well... he had a wife. He might be able to endure it in the opposite case, but it would still be an unpleasant situation.

"Let's just end this quickly..."

Mark murmured with his eyes red, sending seven humanoid silhouettes into the closed gay club.

And from here, the bustling Red Light District was disturbed by the sudden violent commotion.

Gunshots suddenly echoed from the closed White Swan Club. It was not just a single shot. It was as if an entire gang fight suddenly ensued from within the club without any sort of warning.

Mark sat on the ledge of the building with a blank expression, watching the chaos ensue below.

People began running to a safe distance from the club. Not all of them left the area but stayed to watch the commotion. The people's lack of self-preservation was nothing new in these cases. Even if the authorities chased these kinds of people away because it was dangerous, they would still stay and watch. And if something went wrong and the uninvited audience was harmed, it was the authorities' fault for not handling the situation properly. It was a stupid thing to see.

And it was much worse now that some people had superhuman abilities. They did not even feel any shred of fear in their minds as they watched the situation, confident that they could protect themselves from danger.

***

A few minutes earlier...

Tulip walked back and forth within her suite. The strange and dangerous feeling was somehow getting stronger. She even had her guns ready in her hands, flinching at any unexpected disturbance.

That behavior that Tulip showed made the underlings and the staff of the White Swan Club extremely confused. Nonetheless, they were all geared up, following the orders of their boss.

In the minds of Tulip's subordinates, there was no way that anyone would cause trouble within Shinonome, considering it was the territory of the unified Yakuza group, Dawn.

At this time, Tulip paused and shivered as if a cold chill attacked her spine.

"Boss? Are you alright?"

One of Tulip's subordinates asked her.

"I am alright," Tulip replied with sunken eyes. "Just keep your eyes peeled. Go to the hall and guard there."

The subordinate could only turn around and scratch his head. Like the others, he could not understand what was going on with their boss. Did Tulip hit some drugs or something? That was even stranger since Tulip hated such substances despite being a part of the Yakuza.

But then, the subordinate stopped on his steps. He stood in front of the door without opening it.

The other members present in the suite watched in silence. At first, they thought that the subordinate had something he had forgotten.

And a sudden chill enveloped the suite... No... The unusual coldness enveloped the entire club.

The subordinate by the door slowly turned around to face Tulip. His eyes were bloodshot in a literal sense as he raised the pistol in his right hand.

BANG!

And the subordinate fired his gun at Tulip.

Luckily, Tulip's sense of danger kicked in as she jumped out of the bullet's trajectory.

However, the subordinate did not stop at one shot and began shooting indiscriminately at everyone inside the suite.

They immediately took cover to avoid getting shot, although two others received wounds from the indiscriminate firing.

The subordinate fired his gun until it ran out of bullets. It was when the other subordinates took the opportunity to pin the man down to the ground.

"Touma, you bastard! What the f*ck is wrong with you!"

Another subordinate screamed at the man, who was pinned down.

However, they did not receive any reply as the man named Touma began having seizures while being pinned down.

"F*ck! I knew something was wrong!" Tulip exclaimed. "Get these two some medical help!"

Tulip ordered the others to help her two subordinates that got shot as they focused on Touma, who was still in the middle of his seizures.

But then...

BANG!

Another gunshot echoed, making everyone pause in disbelief. Tulip and the others turned their heads to see the subordinate trying to help the two that got shot fall to the ground, staining the floor with his own blood.

Just like Touma, the two injured subordinates now had bloodshot eyes as they raised their guns at every living person in the room.

Tulip and the others managed to take cover using the furniture in the room. But Touma was killed in the process as there was no one to help the guy who first turned strange.

"What the f*ck is going on?!" Tulip roared in confusion towards her hostile subordinates. "Are you bastards out of your minds?!

Of course, Tulip's roars received no reply, and gunshots were the response instead.

Something truly strange was happening. Tulip and her other subordinates could only give a violent retaliation as they fired their own gunshots at their attackers.

The assailants were taken down. However, a few more subordinates were injured.

Considering the previous circumstances, the uninjured became wary of those who received wounds from the gunfight.

But as they were waiting cautiously, gunshots echoed from outside the suite.

A shootout began among Tulip's other subordinates and the staff of the White Swan Club. The Yakuza members were one thing, but most of the staff were not well-versed in fighting.

Tulip and her subordinates inside the suite rushed out to find the dead staff and members of her entourage. And the people responsible were no one else but other staff and members of Tulip's faction.

With the same bloodshot eyes that looked as if glowing in the dark, they indiscriminately attacked everyone living they came across.

It was as if they were an [Infected].

However, that was definitely not the case. The dumb [Infected] could not use guns for the most part, and none of Tulip's people were bitten.

And more importantly... What was this chill that everyone was feeling? In fact, the entire interior of the club seemed to be a bit foggy.

But then, a moan entered everyone's ears.

"Diiiieeee...."

Tulip and those who heard the moan turned to the center of the club's main hall. Their eyes dilated as they saw a silhouette of a robed man who looked almost transparent. And as if waiting for their horrified reaction, six more silhouettes appeared around the hall as the crazed people fell to the ground in extreme seizures.

"G-ghost!"

One of the Yakuza members screamed in horror.

But Tulip stared at the first silhouette.

"Saizo?"

Tulip called out, causing the silhouette to raise its head. Despite how transparent his body was, his face was the same leader of the assassins that Tulip paid to kidnap a member of the Evernight group.

"Saizo! What is this? What is happening?!"

Tulip questioned the ghostly apparition in the center of the hall. However, the only response that she received was...

"Diiieee..."

Saizo moaned as he vanished.

All of a sudden, the subordinate beside Tulip raised his gun and fired at Tulip.

Tulip managed to dodge the surprise attack. However, her other subordinates did not, as the other six apparitions vanished, with another six of Tulip's subordinates turning hostile.

At this time, Tulip finally understood what was happening.

The assassins died due to the mission. And for some reason, they turned into vengeful ghosts trying to kill Tulip and her underlings.

***

Outside, the people were watching the closed club in wonder. It also seemed that some people had already called the authorities. Well, the members of Dawn in this case.

At this point...

BAM! CRASH!

The glass double doors of the White Swan Club slammed open, even crashing the glass due to the impact.

To the shock of the gallery outside, they saw the owner of the White Swan Club, Tulip, trying to run out of the club with blood staining her face and body.

Tulip looked extremely horrified as she tried to escape.

However, just as she took that one step out of the door, something caught Tulip's right foot. A hand grabbed it as the audience saw.

Tulip tried to pull her foot. But as she tried to do so, a gunshot echoed, making everyone flinch.

The boss of the White Swan Club fell to the ground as her left leg was pierced by a bullet.

"Help me!"

Tulip cried as she tried to crawl her way to escape.

A few people in the gallery tried to step forward to help, only to freeze as they watched the assailant unsteadily step out of the door.

With bloodshot eyes, it was Tulip's subordinate with the crushed arm. He was covered in blood, easily seen due to his white coat. The man raised his uninjured hand with a gun in it and, without hesitation, fired it at the crawling Tulip several times, ensuring her death.

The audience gasped in shock at the scene of the murder they had just witnessed.

There was no doubt that something was wrong. Some people immediately retreated while some prepared to subdue the assailant.

But then, to add more shock to the witnesses, the assailant pointed the gun at his own head and...

BANG!

Took his own life.

The members of Dawn finally arrived, only to see the results of everything that happened inside the White Swan Club.

It was a total massacre. Everyone within Tulip's faction present inside the club died, including the leader herself. They immediately tried to investigate, but the initial results only revealed infighting with no known cause.

And atop the building, Mark scoffed at the people below. The gallery was there only to watch. They were too shocked about the unexpected events in front of them and were unable to give a proper response to the critical incident. If they had responded faster, some people might have been able to save Tulip. Unfortunately, or fortunately for Mark, that did not happen.

"Good work," Mark said as seven humanoid silhouettes appeared behind him. "As I promised, you seven are free to go."

Mark's eyes turned red, removing the things he did to the souls of the seven assassins. With the vengeful curse lifted from them, the souls vanished, headed to the afterlife.

While feeling the souls of the seven go where they were supposed to, a familiar voice entered Mark's ears.

"Isn't that too much? They might have done something to offend you, but killing their entire faction might be quite overboard."

Mark glanced over his left shoulder. There, he saw the familiar person.

With traditional white clothes and a tall black hat, this person was the Shinto Priest present during his first encounter with the members of Dawn.

Mark did not say anything, but this guy was already here before he even started his revenge against Tulip. This person appeared and watched just as Mark arrived at this rooftop.

"Overboard or not, they deserve it," Mark nonchalantly replied. "They shouldn't have tried to mess with us in the first place."

"You are pretty fiery, aren't you?"

The Shinto Priest said with an interested expression in his eyes.

If any other man showed Mark that expression, he would have goosebumps. However...

"So, what do you want from me, Sir Priest?" Mark asked as he turned to face the man... "Or should I say otherwise? You're not a man in the first place."

The priest seemed to be surprised because of Mark's remark before he showed a feminine, playful smile. His figure blurred and shrunk.

And to Mark's surprise, the tall priest turned into a teenage-looking girl adorned with expensive traditional jewelry and a shrine maiden's clothing.