Mutagen

<strong>Day 152 - 12:21 AM - Mountain Farming Village, Barangay Mabini, Municipality of Viga, Catanduanes</strong>

The explosion caused the dark clouds to be swept away from the sky. While the shockwave only reached several mountains, the sound was heard all over the island of Catanduanes.

If not for the absence of a mushroom cloud, some people would think that a nuclear explosion happened nearby.

Unfortunately, the Military Settlement in Codon could not bother about the sound at all. Like the Diwata had warned them, all of the remaining infected under the gulf began to come ashore. However, there were no highly intelligent [Leader Types] left to lead the infected.  Although it was dangerous and the soldiers could not let their guards down, it was not too troublesome, unlike the previous instance.

In the other coastal areas, infected marine animals also began to come ashore. Fortunately, not many of them were capable of moving on land. Because of this, the supposed infected free island was becoming infested by them once more.

***

At the ground zero of the explosions, dust, smoke, and other debris caused the visibility all over the area lowered to zero. It was not a surprising sight considering the intensity of the explosions.

Inside the thick smoke and dust, Mark stood still. Once more, his body was ragged to the bone. Although his [Blood Metal], [Swift Bone Armor], and even Crimson managed to protect the majority of his body, the impact of the explosion still gave Mark painful internal injuries.

PUFF!

Mark vomited out blood. His injuries were not fatal, but it was still severe. He might need to rest for several minutes to recover from this.

Still...

Mark stared at what his hands were holding.

"What a cockroach-like vitality..."

On his hands, Mark held onto a gigantic severed arm. It was no other than the arm of Lord Seis that Mark held to hold him in place.

As for the body, however, it was nowhere to be found.

Did Lord Seis die and turn to dust because of the explosion?

Mark sighed. Unfortunately, no.

"MASTER!!!"

A tiny cry was heard, coming closer to Mark's position. He then sensed that it was not only Amihan. Even Mei was coming.

"Haah."

Mark sighed as he threw away the arm he was still holding. He sat down on the ground with his aching body.

At this moment, Crimson detached himself from Mark and appeared on his shoulder. The little guy was also worried about Mark.

"Ah, right. You two, return inside."

Mark said, glancing at the two dimmed crystals unsteadily floating above his shoulders.

Both the [Photokinesis Mental Crystal] and [Wind Manipulation Mental Crystal] had their energies used up entirely. The two would be unusable for a day or two from now.

SWOOSH!

Suddenly, the dust and smoke were all blown away from Mark's vicinity. Without a doubt, it was Amihan's work.

"MASTER!"

Amihan charged at Mark, extremely worried. She hugged Mark's head, crying.

"Gege..."

Mei also arrived with a distraught look as she stared at Mark's current state. Without minding the dust on Mark's body, she gave him a tight embrace.

"You two, I'm fine." Mark coughed. "Don't hug too tight. It hurts."

"Also, you two. Before closing in the area, make sure that the enemy is already defeated. What you two did is dangerous."

Mark added, reprimanding the two.

Both Mei and Amihan nodded. But they did not take it to heart right now as they were more worried about Mark.

"Did he escape?"

Those were the words that came out of Diwata Iraya's mouth as she landed. Her eyes were fixated on the two severed arms on the ground. One was the arm that Mark threw, while the other was still chained to Morlkil that was already running towards the group.

Berrak landed with his Thunderbird. Looked at Mark with a troubled look while assessing the destruction that Mark caused.

Well, the whole place was leveled. What they were standing now was a crater about half a kilometer wide and five meters deep. The farming area of the village was all gone. Even the flowing river nearby was blocked by the debris and began to overflow on the abandoned ricefields.

"Well, that guy is pretty decisive."

Mark replied to Diwata Iraya, also looking at the arms on the ground.

"But it's not like I'll let him escape just like that."

Mark added with a satisfied smile.

***

In a forest more than one and a half kilometers away, Lord Seis was running as fast as he could.

In the last moment, Lord Seis severed his two arms to escape Mark's grasp and Morlkil's chains. He used his own energy beam to sever his arms. Because of this, the Lord of Demons managed to escape the direct hit of Mark's attack.

But even so, Lord Seis did not manage to avoid the attack entirely. Since it was already at the last moment that he decided to sever his arms, it was already late to entirely avoid the attack from Mark.

Thus, even though he did not die, Lord Seis was fatally injured.

The wings of Lord Seis were both gone. It left only the root of his wings on his heavily burnt back. Of course, both his arms were missing. The bones on his right leg were cracked. Lastly, there was a bloody hole and a chunk of flesh missing from the left side of his stomach.

"DAMN IT! ACK!"

Lord Seis cursed as he violently coughed out a mouthful of blood. Even his organs were severely injured, and his lungs were starting to get clogged with blood.

However, Lord Seis did not stop running even with his current condition. In his current state, even Diwata Iraya would be able to kill him. He needed to run as far as he could before he could feel safe.

Lord Seis continued to run for minutes and managed to cross several mountains. He was not far from the vicinity of Bato. Just another mountain or two, and he would reach a place where he could slowly heal his injuries using the Demonic energy that enveloped his territory.

Still, for some reason, Lord Seis could sense danger.

It made him think that the battle left a trauma in his mind, making him paranoid.

CRACK!

The bones on his right leg finally gave way, causing Lord Seis to tumble down the mountain.

"ACK!"

The sudden accident made Lord Seis spit out another mouthful of blood.

Lord Seis looked at his right leg. With its bones broken, it was twisted in a horrible way.

Even so, even with just his remaining left leg, Lord Seis continued to escape.

Of course, it caused him to fall now and then. This body was not in shape for him to jump around in one leg.

Finally, his body could not hold out any longer. After he fell down, Lord Seis could only drag his body under a nearby to sit down. He needed to rest a bit and continue to escape.

Lord Seis was already far from where the fight happened. This place should already be safe.

But then...

SWOOSH!

A sound of wind being torn apart entered his ears.

Being tired and injured, Lord Seis was late to react.

PSSH!

Lord Seis' eyes turned wide. A strange-shaped blade was embedded on his chest from his back. And then...

BAM!

"KACK!"

Blood sprayed from the mouth of the Lord of Demons. The sword burst into black flames, frying his organs and heart.

'Damn it...'

Lord Seis cursed in his mind. He had no energy to let out a voice anymore.

Then, he let out a smile.

'My wife... my child... I regret not being able to avenge you two, but... I'm coming now.'

***

Argrellius. It was the name that Lord Seis had until about forty years ago.

It was at the time that Lord Seis was still not a Demon.

He was not an elemental or a spirit. He was just a humble cave giant called Manangilaw.

Manangilaws were creatures known as hairy humanoid giants. Their bodies were covered in black fur, they had deep voices, and their faces were vicious-looking. In modern times, their kind fell into the category of cryptids, like the well-known Bigfoot.

Despite their scary appearance, however, these gigantic creatures were shy and harmless. They only hunt animals, fish, and shrimps for consumption and never humans.

The life of Agrellius was just as described as he lived with his family of three. He was together with his wife and child, living in Mount Isarog. It was quite far away from the island of Catanduanes if one was to say. Mount Isarog was located in Camarines Sur, after all.

It all changed in the 1980s.

Argrellius left their humble abode to hunt for food on that tragic day, only to come back to their cave to see it filled with human soldiers.

Hiding in the dark, he waited for the humans to leave. That was when Argrellius realized.

His wife and child were nowhere to be found.

They were caught by the humans, and the soldiers were scouring the mountains for him.

After all, if there were a mother and child present, there should be a father.

As a creature with low intelligence and afraid of humans, the only thing that Argrellius had in mind was to flee. And to say, his escape was not a smooth one. The soldiers found him and chased him to the point that he had no choice but to flee the mainland, swimming across the Langonoy Gulf.

That was when he found himself on the island of Catanduanes. The island where a Diwata was still known to reside.

Argrellius tried to seek the Diwata and ask for help. He wanted to rescue his family from the hands of vile humans.

He did manage to meet her.

However, Diwata Iraya was not convinced to do what he wanted. A Deity that was supposed to help the creatures of nature actually declined to help a poor creature like him.

The reason? Because it would cause a conflict against the humans.

Compared to two cryptids, the lives of more creatures weighed heavier.

Distraught, Argrellius wandered the island. He was angry at the humans. He was also furious towards the Diwata that abandoned him and his family.

That was when he met a powerful being.

The previous Lord of Demons on this island.

Due to an injury caused by a conflict between the Demons and Diwata Iraya's side a long time ago, the Lord of Demons was weakened and was only waiting for a suitable successor.

Argrellius was the one he was waiting for. A creature filled with hatred and malice towards humans and the Diwata that had forsaken him.

Inheriting the powers of the previous Lord of Demons, Argrellius became Lord Seis.

The first thing he did was to try and rescue his family. He ended up killing the soldiers that invaded his previous home.

After torturing some of the soldiers, a piece of awful news reached him.

His wife and child died after being experimented on by humans.

In a fit rage, he slaughtered humans in the mountain, whether it be soldiers or not.

However, that caused a large-scale assault of humans to be sent to dispose of him.

As Lord Seis had only received that ability at that time, he was still weak.

Thus, he was forced to flee back to this island and slowly build up the powers to dispose of the humans.

***

"So, that's his story?"

Mark asked Diwata Iraya while looking at the dead body of Lord Seis that Ignis painstakingly transported back.

"Unfortunately, yes." Diwata Iraya nodded with a regretful look. "I want to help him at that time... But..."

"You can't risk more lives only for the sake of two people."

Mark said, making the Diwata nod.

It was a pitiful story.

Mark knew a part of this story. There had been a rumor circulating during the 1980s where the soldiers caught two Manangilaws in Mount Isarog. Of course, the details were vague, and no records were known even on the internet.

It was very likely that the government erased and covered up the events that happened at that time.

In any case, the revenge that Lord Seis longed for remained unfulfilled. It was unfortunate. If only Lord Seis did not stand on the opposite side of Mark's camp.