Mutagen



Day 341 - 1:32 PM - Final Defense Line, Ariake, Reclaimed City, Ruins of Tokyo

Everyone could only stare at the sky, enduring the deafening roars while watching the tyrannical storm.

The wind blew strongly, the waters waved violently, and the ground shook from time to time. All of these were effects of the Serpent God's rampage in the sky.

There was no doubt that the Serpent God had gone berserk. However, this fury of the Serpent God had no recipient. It flew around in the sky, struggling with something. It moved violently but unstably at the same time. Sometimes, it would fly straight up to the sky. Another time, it would crash onto the ground.

"AHHHH!!!"

Some people screamed in fright as the Serpent God flew too close, and one of its tails hit the barrier. While the tail was unable to damage the barrier too much, the collision caused a shockwave, which pushed some people to the ground.

The Serpent God then flew away, circling unstably before crashing down to the ruins of Tsukuda.

As the Serpent God flew away, the people who fell stood up, thankful to the barrier. If not for this barrier, all of them would have died already.

It was the barrier created by the Priestess at the last moment. It was what kept them alive now. And it was their only lifeline left.

Mark looked at the rampaging Serpent God. When it passed by just now, Mark felt its emotions. And surprisingly, there was nothing in its eight minds but pain. It was all because of unbearable pain.

That discovery left a small smirk at the corner of Mark's mouth. The situation might have gone to a dangerous turn, but it also meant that his risky move was not for naught.

And considering Mark was also a victim of a similar incident during his first encounter with Sinogo, he had an idea of what was going on.

Using the [Fire Manipulation Mental Crystal], which contained Gar'Vlam's original power, Mark burned and destroyed one of the Serpent God's eyes with the Demon Diety's Flames. Burs were the worst injury for beings with stupidly high regeneration rates, especially ones that left charred remains in their system. Not only would it hinder the healing, but it could cause other unsightly aftereffects.

For example, the situation the Serpent God was currently in.

After Mark used Gar'Vlam's flames to burn its eyeball from the inside, possibly also burning other things inside its head, it would surely leave charred tissues and residues. As the Serpent God's healing abilities kicked in, it was unable to remove those charred residues, causing the residues to get stuck within its body. 

The Serpent God's regenerating eyeball must have felt like there were stones and sticks lodged inside it. It was definitely a painful feeling.

But what probably made it worse and caused the Serpent God to become berserk was the fact that it had eight heads.

To living creatures, magical or not, the brain was the organ that would perceive pain. But to have multiple heads and multiple brains. It meant the creature would perceive a single instance of pain multiple times.

The Serpent God had eight heads. It meant that it would perceive a single source of pain eight times. This situation could be the likely reason why it reacted exaggeratedly to pain, even at attacks that could not even injure its scales.

And for Mark, he made the Serpent God feel the sensation of burning eyeballs on each head, causing its current berserk state.

While Mark was keeping his attention to the situation outside the barrier, the Priestess and the Empress approached with their entourage.

"It is good you are okay," The Priestess spoke. "Everyone got worried when you got sent flying more than a kilometer away before getting buried under an entire building-"

The Priestess' words abruptly stopped as her eyes fell on the item Mark held in his right hand.

"What's wrong with you?"

Mark asked.

"That."

The Priestess pointed at what Mark was holding.

And Mark's eyes fell on the item he held for the first time. He could not see it under the debris and only knew he was holding onto something like a pipe.

But what Mark did not expect was the item was actually a one-and-a-half meter long golden staff. On the tip of it was a golden ornament resembling a sphere with several rays around it affixed with several rings around it. Furthermore, it had a gorgeous appearance, as if it were a treasure beyond this world.

"A [Divine Artifact]!" The Empress chimed in while in shock. "Why would you suddenly have something out of this world in your hand!"

The Empress was pretty agitated. [Divine Artifacts] were items of the Gods of the Lost Era. It was far different from regular [Magical Artifacts] as these items contained the breath of the Gods that created them.

Without a doubt, the golden staff in Mark's hand was clearly exuding an aura far beyond a Deity like the Empress.

But how would something like this appear in Mark's hand? The Empress' surprise had a reason. It was because [Divine Artifacts] all disappeared when the Lost Era concluded.

As for Mark, he just glanced at the staff.

And then, he threw it to the Priestess.

"WAH!" The Priestess was surprised as she frantically caught the staff. "What are you doing!"

The Priestess also seemed to know the value of the staff, which was a [Divine Artifact]. She immediately examined the staff. She was trying to confirm if she caught it properly and did not scratch it.

But Mark's words the Empress and the Priestess even more.

"That's yours," Mark said to the Priestess, which made her froze. "Someone asked me to give it to you."

"Who?"

The Priestess asked.

"Sorry, but I can't answer that." Mark shrugged the question off. "Anyway, why don't you channel your magical energy into that? That might answer your question."

The Priestess still could not believe what was going on. All of a sudden, Mark just gave him a [Divine Artifact] out of nowhere. The shock she felt overwhelmed her far more than the danger before them caused by the Serpent God.

Even so, the Priestess injected her magical energy into the staff.

The next thing was that everyone around had to close their eyes as the Priestess became enveloped in blinding light.

"What is happening here?!"

The Prime Minister asked as he arrived. While covering his eyes from the blinding light and surrounded by guards, they made their way towards where the main forces gathered.

When the blinding light dimmed down, everyone looked in front of them in shock. Not only them, but the Priestess was also beyond bewilderment as she looked at her body.

The Priestess was wearing different clothing than before. Her usual white robes with golden ornaments were gaudy. Compared to the usual one, her current clothing looked simpler in design. However, its materials looked otherworldly, as if she was wearing a material woven from divine energy. Furthermore, there was a golden crown on her head, which seemed to resemble the sun. The center of her forehead also had a new marking, a golden sun.

But those features were not the most eye-catching. It was the floating shawl behind the Priestess, with ends circled around both her arms.

"No way... Not only a [Divine Artifact] but also a set of [Divine Vestments]."

The Empress muttered in shock with a little hint of envy. She then looked at Mark, seeking answers.

"These items... They are resonating with my blessing," The Priestess muttered. "This staff... It is for me and no one else."

The Priestess then turned to Mark.

"With this, I'll be able to protect everyone. I don't know how you got this, but thank you."

Mark just shrugged it. After all, it was his task to give it to the Priestess. It was not from him at all. But then again, Mark had his suspicions. Magwayen might be the one who asked him to give it to the Priestess, but it definitely did not come from Magwayen. Considering the shock of the Priestess and the Empress, it was impossible for such a divine item to be lying around in some random building for him to find.

Furthermore, the building that Mark crashed into was the food storage. One more reason not to find a divine item there. 

Even so, Mark did not bother to try and ask Magwayen. It was clear she would not just answer.

In any case, they got one new card they could use in this fight. It was, without a doubt, a good thing.

"Priestess."

The Prime Minister stepped forward.

"You're here," The Priestess turned around. "You won't stay inside your safe place anymore?"

The Priestess seemed to hold some contempt for the Prime Minister. It was not surprising, however. Part of the responsibilities in this mess lay on the Prime Minister.

With the clear contempt pointed his way, the Prime Minister could only sigh and accept it.

"I'll personally take command of the soldiers," The Prime Minister replied. "There's no point in hiding anymore. If we fail here, it will be the end. And I want to see that end."

That was right. It was the very final stretch. Worse, the rampage caused the Warship Susannoo to the west side of Ariake. It was not out of commission, but it sure sustained damages.

"Then, do your best."

The Priestess said as she turned to look at the rampaging Serpent God.

On the other hand, Mark took a seat nearby to remove his armor. Due to his crash, the armor was mostly in shambles. Even his helmet lost half of its front. That was why dust managed to enter his eyes while he was under the debris.

As Mark looked at his mangled armor, he could only sigh. He had a replacement, but the extra he had were the prototypes that had less function and effectiveness.

Mark looked at the Serpent God. He doubted the prototype armor would do any good to fight that beast.

But at this time, Mark felt a tug on his clothes to his left side.

Mark looked and saw a group of children, possibly from the shelter he crashed into. Three boys and two girls. Their ages seemed to be around seven to ten. They all took a brave stance to approach the frontline and tug on Mark's clothes.

"Do you kids need something?"

Mark asked, looking favorably at the five brave children.

"Mina," The boy that tugged on Mark's clothes spoke. "Mina said Uncle is a good person. So please, keep this."

Mark was confused. The name Mina did not ring a bell at all. But his heart suddenly went heavy as he saw what the boy put in his hand.

It was a red sash with the size to tie a child's kimono.

But if other people would see it as such, Mark knew differently. The sash was something familiar.

It was the sash of the [Zashiki-Warashi] who asked for food every now and then.

Mina seemed to be the name of that [Zashiki-Warashi].

"Where is Mina?"

Mark asked, which actually caused the children to tear up.

The sniffles of the children caused the people in the surroundings to look at them and Mark.

Mark sighed, knowing the answer.

"Mina. She protected us when those black creatures appeared in the shelter. She let us run away," The boy said. "I tried to come back to find her but only found this."

"We knew uncle is one that gave Mina food she always shared with us," The older girl of the group spoke. "That is why we wanted Uncle to take this sash. It's because Mina was very thankful to Uncle. But she never managed to say it."

Mark let out a bitter smile as he accepted the sash. So, that uninvited guest of theirs was already gone. And she also went bravely, just as brave as these children.

Normally, [Spirits] would thoroughly vanish when they died. But of the sash to remain, it seemed that Mina also wanted to leave a mark of her existence behind.

And now, that sash fell on Mark's hands as a symbol of her gratitude.

At the side, Mei and the girls also noticed the familiarity of the sash. Unfortunately, only Emika and Spera understood what the children were saying, and the two felt heavy-hearted.

As Mark grasped the sash to say thank you to the children, the boy asked him first.

"Uncle. Are we going to die here?"

The boy asked the question while looking at the Serpent God outside the barrier.

Mark then patted the boy's head.

"You all won't die here. We will defeat that monster, after all."

"We want to fight too!"

The youngest boy of the five said.

"You kids are still small, so you can't."

Mark replied.

"But them."

The youngest boy looked at Mark's daughters.

"They are special, you see? They are my daughters, and their father is strong." 

"Wish my father is strong too."

The younger girl said.

"Where are your parents?"

Emika chimed in and asked something she should not have.

"We don't have parents. The zombies killed them."

As the oldest boy answered, Emika could only shut her meddling mouth.

"Anyway," Mark changed the topic. "You kids don't have to fight. If you want to help, why not cheer or sing a song for us?"

"Sing? Do you all know how to sing?" The third boy muttered and asked the other four kids. "All I know are Kamen Rider songs."

And as Mark heard the boy, his eyes lit up.

"Why not a Kamen Rider song then? If not possible, an anime song will do too."

Mark asked. Clearly, he was just requesting stuff from the children.

But hearing that a Kamen Rider song would do, the third boy happily agreed and began singing.

Everyone around listened to it.

It was not the best, and it was just the short TV version of the song. But it was more than enough to encourage everyone around to continue fighting.

"Good job." Mark patted the boy's head. "Then, let me show you something."

Mark then stood up.

"Uncle? What are you doing?"

Emika asked.

"Just having some fun? And I'm going to change my armor anyway."

As Mark finished talking, Mark began showing the kids a few arm and leg movements. The adults around watched in interest on what Mark was about to show the kids.

And then, Mark shouted.

"HENSHIN!"

And then, his body was covered in black mist, to the children's and the audience's surprise.

When the mist exploded to nothingness, what came out was a fully armored Mark.

The children were appalled and amazed, staring at Mark with wide eyes.

What Mark did just now was usually an embarrassing action. But seeing the reaction of the children and the civilians watching as Mark lifted their spirits up, his act was nothing embarrassing at all.

In fact, Mark's interaction with the children raised the moral of the audience.

It was not the time to lose hope yet.

After all, they still had heroes fighting with them.