Mutagen



Day 341 - 1:12 PM - Boiling Sumida River, Kachidoki, Reclaimed City, Ruins of Tokyo

Everyone watched in surprise as the beam of light penetrated Gar'Vlam's chest. The hole began spewing flames uncontrollably. That sight made those knowledgeable conclude that the beam of light shattered the core of Gar'Vlam's current body.

But how did it come to this? There was a reason why Gar'Vlam was utterly shocked as he watched his newly acquired body go out of control.

It all started when Mark saw Gar'Vlam emerge from under the river in that giant form.

'He transformed? That's his real form?'

Those words were uttered by Mark in his mind.

What Mark did not expect was to receive an answer to those questions.

"That is not right," Magwayen's voice suddenly echoed inside his mind. "That is not a transformation. That Demon had a human-like body for a reason. It is due to him sacrificing humans to gain that body. However, that limits his capabilities. Transforming the body, for example. It is impossible for him with that body. It would not withstand the transformation, and he will lose it the moment he did."

'Then, what is that?'

Mark asked.

"[Manifestation]. That is what that is," Magwayen generously explained. "He manifested his full power to take its raw form. This will remove some of the limits of his current body. It would allow him to unleash attacks more powerful than previously."

"And... Be careful of that one."

Magwayen warned.

"Well... damn..."

Those words were uttered as Gar'Vlam unleashed the giant ball of flames at Mark, causing chaos to the entire battlefield.

'I don't think I have a way to defeat it easily like this.'

Mark spoke in his mind as he began dodging the next barrage of fireballs. While it might look simple, each fireball that Mark dodged could easily take his life. He was fighting a literal life-or-death situation at that moment.

However, Magwayen would not let her blessed one die easily.

"No. It is easier to kill that Flame Demon now since he did this," Magwayen explained. "Manifesting his power outward to create that giant meant form his body became unprotected inside. Chip away that shell and find his body. Then strike a quick fatal blow. You can do it since that giant body should not be able to feel the damage it received. It is supposed to be near indestructible. It should be since it should recover its damage due to being constructed with nothing but energy. But you have your [Miasma]. It might drain a large amount, but you should be able to at least poke a hole through it."

Magwayen supported Mark with tips and clues. This would have made Mark feel grateful. If not for Magwayen being one of the reasons why Mark was still fighting in this dangerous battle.

In any case, Mark could do it with his [Miasma]. However, Mark glanced at the giant eight-headed serpent that Amihan was defending against. He could not waste his [Miasma] here.

"Let's try something first."

That was Mark's decision as he took out one of his experimental inventions.

It was the bowling ball-sized spheres. To be exact, Mark called these [Particle Erasure Bombs]. He used the sphere [Mechids] as the base and took advantage of their ability to self-destruct. It resulted in these bulky bombs, which would destroy almost everything within its radius.

Mark took one out and threw it at the giant Gar'Vlam's stomach. The explosion caused Gar'Vlam to shake. But as Magwayen mentioned, Gar'Vlam could not feel the chunk of his body swallowed by the explosion and was now missing on his stomach. The chunk regenerated fast before Gar'Vlam could even notice it. But it gave Mark the result he wanted.

These bombs created from [Mechids] could destroy solid matter. Why would it not work on something that was not solid in the first place?

Furthermore, now that Mark was aware, he noticed that he could detect Gar'Vlam's emotions. Not from the giant entirely but from the chest of the giant.

And these factors gave Mark the chance to kill Gar'Vlam. 

The only other thing Mark needed was the element of surprise while preventing Gar'Vlam from destroying the surroundings even more. After all, Gar'Vlam kept firing those large fireballs where each could demolish an entire building. Letting those fireballs land in Kachidoki with the ongoing evacuation would make the reason they stalled the enemies pretty much worthless.

But then...

"Gege' we're back. We rejoined Spera," Mark's communicator sounded just in time, with Mei's voice on the other side. "The evacuation is nearly done. Miss Ren and the Black Lotus were already making their final rounds to look for refugees."

And that was how the plan began. Mark told the Priestess to block the fireballs from falling into Kachidoki while he made Gar'Vlam face the Reclaimed City.

Then, he threw the bulky bombs in succession, creating an opening in the manifestation's chest.

And through that opening, Mei used her new sniper rifle's enhancement and shot a beam of light through the chest of Gar'Vlam's current body.

Mei's regular bullet would not do. Worse, the [Crystal Converter's] beam was not only large but would lack both stealth penetrating power. And that came the new enhancement.

Mark enhanced Mei's [Shooting Moon Blade] using [Abyss Tech] into the new [AT-Etherbloom]. And this, what Mark called [Concentrated Shot], was an energy shot that combined six [Empty Mental Crystals] into one tiny energy beam. It had both stealth and penetrating power and was strong enough to penetrate through the annoyingly sturdy bodies of the [Mechids] that Mark's group fought around the [Mechid Factory].

And with Gar'Vlam's human-like body being vulnerable during the manifestation, there was not a single chance for him to defend himself against the surprise attack.

With the core of his new body shattered, Gar'Vlam was unable to keep it stable any longer.

Flames spewed out of Gar'Vlams wound and orifices. The giant manifestation began to uncontrollably shake as it started to deform. Slowly, the manifestation began to bloat.

And as Mark began to feel danger, Magwayen's voice echoed inside his mind once again.

"Right, I forgot. Killing the real body with the manifestation active will cause all the energy to be out of control. Depending on the manifestation, the result will vary. But looking at that, it will probably explode. Good luck."

"Oh, you piece of f-"

Mark almost cursed the Goddes as he turned around and fled with all his might.

While fleeing, Mark took out all his communicator and even the [Communication Talisman].

"Retreat!" Mark roared before turning to the talisman. "Priestess! Strengthen your barrier and retreat!"

Everyone who heard Mark's frantic roar immediately knew something dangerous was happening. Mei and the rest of the group immediately retreated from their position. The Priestess followed Mark's instruction even if she had to exert her powers more before retreating.

On the other hand, the Empress rejoined Yukine, who retrieved the injured Kouki before fleeing.

Mark swept down and grabbed Amihan, ignoring the Serpent God, who was angered by his intervention. He also did not forget to dip his hand into the water, pulling a massive amount of black mist into his body.

Lastly, Mark's instructions were passed on by the Ren to the rest of the Black Lotus, and they also retreated from Kachidoki as fast as they could.

As they all did what they could, the manifestation bloated and expanded. The humanoid giant became a giant ball of flames in a matter of seconds.

And then...

BOOOM!

The manifestation exploded. All the unrestrained might of the Flame Demon Deity was unleashed into the mortal realm.

A towering burst of flames swept through everything. The Priestess' barrier by the docks of Kachidoki held for a moment before shattering like glass.

Everything around five hundred meters from the center of the explosion turned into large crater in an instant. The immense heat burned and trashed everything within it. Even the Sumida River dried up from the surface to the riverbed.

But the worse had yet to pass.

Reuniting together, Mark's group, the Black Lotus, the Priestess and her entourage, and the Empress and her subordinates fled from Kachidoki as fast as they could.

However, after the explosion, the shockwave carrying high-temperature flames chased after the group.

The Priestess, Tsubasa, and the Priests and Maides erected barriers behind them as they fled. It hindered the shockwave but failed to fully stop the flames chasing after them.

Not everyone was capable of running fast enough. It would take a few more moments, and the wall of flames behind them would catch up.

The only way for some to survive was to leave those who were slower. That was what entered the minds of the Priests, Maidens, and some members of the Black Lotus. It was even the same for the Demons under the Empress.

They were ready to give up. The barriers behind would not stop the wall of flames at all.

Their hearts sank even more as they saw the dome of flames engulfing everything behind them. 

But at the last moment, Mark pulled a sigh as he stopped everyone as they stepped into the familiar roads of Toyosu. There was no point in running. The wall of flames was much faster.

And there, Mark nodded to Amihan, telling her to raise a dome-shaped barrier of wind to protect everyone here. He did not slack either as he used his [Wind Manipulation Mental Crystal] to assist Amihan, creating another layer of the wind barrier.

The wall of flames arrived, and the wind barrier managed to protect them. Everyone watched as their view of the surroundings changed from the buildings of Toyosu into nothing but a scene from hell.

Unfortunately, the flames from a dying deity would not just be stopped by a wind barrier. The flames did not manage to enter the barrier, but the temperature inside was rising rapidly. Even though Mark and Amihan were trying to regulate the temperature inside, it was not enough.

Giving another sigh, Mark raised his left hand. The ominous [Miasma] was released from his body and made another layer of barrier. However, it also darkened everything within the barrier.

Mark then gave the orders he did not want to do as the flames raged violently outside.

***

The explosion of Gar'Vlam obliterated more than half of the Reclaimed City. A five-hundred-meter crater destroyed the majority of Kachidoki and a quarter of the neighboring territory of Tsukishima.

Following the explosion, the shockwave of flames turned the territories of Tsukuda, Toyomi, and Harumi into a burning wasteland. It also engulfed a large area of Toyosu, laying waste to buildings within the business areas to burn into ruins.

A quarter of the entire Reclaimed City was laid waste by the death of a Demon Deity.

Within the raging flames, a woman in a gradient black dress walked with a smile. It was as if the flames of a dying Deity could not affect her in any way. Instead, she had a look of enjoyment, as if watching an exciting adventure movie unfold in front of her eyes.

But the woman in the gradient black dress was not alone as another woman, one clad in grandiose traditional Japanese clothing and golden ornaments all over her body.

The black-dressed woman felt the presence behind her but did not care. Both of them would not be able to do anything much in this world as mere avatars.

And the first one to speak was the woman in Japanese dress.

"As I had thought, there is a presence of another blessed one near mine. Is that blessed one yours, perchance?"

Finally, the black-dressed woman, no, Magwayen, looked behind her, laying her eyes on another God for a long while.

"Then, that Priestess is yours, is it? I did not expect this country's Goddess of Light to be still in contact with this world."

The woman in white stared at Magwayen's unfamiliar visage. Unfortunately, unlike the latter, she could not recognize this ominous-looking goddess.

"Fret not. There is no way for a Goddess of a higher plane to recognize one from below," Magwayen said, not ashamed about the difference in their status. "In any case, we are just Gods foreign from this world. We could not do anything but watch the show."

The avatar of the Goddess of Light, Amaterasu, frowned but did not say anything more. It was true. Those from the higher plane barely cared about those in the lower ones. But even with this difference in status, both of them were just visitors in this world at this moment.

There was only one thing they could do. That was to watch the scenes before them as they unfold.

After all, the show was far from over.

Both Goddesses looked up to the sky.

ROOOOAAARRRRR!!!

The unscathed Serpent God rose to the sky with a deafening roar, threatening the already ruined city.