Mutagen

<strong>Day 250 - 1:23 PM - Barangay Guiamlong, Municipality of Caramoran, Province of Catanduanes</strong>

Everyone was surprised by the scene that none of them had expected. Even Mark and Chimetrice were no exception. As for Bella and Donna, they were shocked to their core.

A giant quadruped [Mechid] with a prism-shaped body, more than three hundred meters in length and standing around twenty to thirty meters, was slowly moving around the mountains. Its body seemed to be made of light-colored metal and had a rather sleek design on its shape.

It was the largest [Mechid] that the group had seen so far, not to mention that it was second to the crocodile form of Sinogo in terms of size compared to everything they had encountered since the apocalypse started.

And this scene... Definitely did not make sense in the eyes of those who understood that situation.

The [Mechids] came crashing to Earth after the space debris exploded to pieces. If this thing fell unto this place with that size, it could decimate the whole island of Catanduanes into a sea of flames, and nothing would be left alive. Even the [Fusion of Dimensions] would not be able to stop such an event from happening.

However, the island was intact and perfectly fused with its counterpart in the Spirit Dimension.

But as they were in denial of that possibility, Mark noticed something.

The mountainous basin that the giant [Mechid] was walking around looked like a crater. It was just that the [Fusion of Dimensions] immediately covered the crater with everything that came from the Spirit Dimension, making it hard to discern that it was actually a crater.

Then... Did this gigantic thing really fall here from space? If that was the case, how did the island survive the impact?

Mark began calculating things in his mind, giving his face a deep frown.

There were many possibilities, but there was barely any concrete evidence to support any, and most of them contradicted each other.

It was also possible that this giant [Mechid] did land on this island, considering how much destruction the settlement of Codon suffered before the earthquake started. It was just that Fourth maintained the island from getting destroyed completely.

This was the most plausible explanation that Mark could think of so far.

"Doesn't it look like it's trapped?"

Ilia said, noticing something.

As Ilia said, the giant [Mechid] seemed to be trying to traverse out of the crater but failing to do so. It might have become mountainous, but the crater was still deeper than the normal land height of this island, adding to the height of the mountains surrounding the crater.

Furthermore, the giant [Mechid] was moving sluggishly. It was not wrong to say that there was a chance that the fastest man in history could outrun it on foot.

"It's broken," Mei said, with her eyesight clearly zoomed towards the body of the giant [Mechid]. "There's a lot of parts around its joints that had cracks, and wires are hanging out. There are also holes and missing spaces all over its body."

<strong>CRACKLE!</strong>

All of a sudden, everyone had to cover their eyes due to a bright flash of light.

The giant [Mechid] seemed to be trying to traverse the steep crater, only to cause its right front leg to release bright sparks of electricity. Not only that, but it almost toppled itself to the ground.

<strong>SPLAT!</strong>

As they looked once more, large amounts of black liquid began pouring out of the broken leg of the [Mechid]. It was something present in all [Mechids].

It was still unconfirmed as to what this liquid was, but Mark suspected it to be produced by the [Mechid Pathogen]. It was also possibly what was controlling the [Mechids].

Now that they saw it, they could not help but notice the skid marks all around the crater. Those marks were not hard to see, considering that the areas were bare with trees heavily trampled and broken. It seemed that this giant [Mechid] was trying to escape its natural prison all this time, only to fail again and again. The crater was also stained with that black liquid, proving how the giant [Mechid] was heavily broken down.

The black liquid also showed severe effects on the flora it covered. The trees inside the crater were all dying, seemingly poisoned to their roots.

"It can't see us here, can it?"

Bella asked in worry. The sisters had several encounters with [Mechids] while helping fight the [Infected] near Mt. Canlaon.

These alien robots were really hard to fight despite their small size and rarity. They could fire lasers, bulletproof, and the powders the sisters could release had no effect on them.

If this big thing could do the same, just how powerful would it be?

"I don't think it can. We're currently invisible outside," Mark replied before turning to Ilia and Chimetrice. "Just in case, let's fly further away. We barely know anything about the [Mechids]. It's possible that some of them have thermal sensors."

Everyone agreed with what Mark said. So far, the giant [Mechid] had yet to detect them since they were still far away. However, there was no benefit in risking it. It was better to be careful since they knew nothing about this [Mechid] at all. Who would know? This giant [Mechid] might have an arsenal of hundreds of lasers around its body, or worse, a wave motion cannon.

"Luckily, it's trapped," Spera said as they slowly flew further away from the crater. "If not, this island could be gone long ago."

The others could only agree to Spera's words. If that thing was released, it would possibly pose a threat no less than Sinogo, even in its current heavily broken state.

"Looks like we found another goal to do on this island."

Mark shrugged as he said those words. He really did not want to deal with something at a similar scale to Sinogo in his current state. While his body had recovered its strength, his [Miasma], his main weapon, was still too minuscule.

But then...

The lightbulb above Mark's head lit up as he suddenly turned to look at the giant [Mechid] once more.

The [Miasma] in Mark's body could convert and absorb any kind of energy into its own. However, the most efficient kind of energy for it to absorb was [Magical Energy]. On the other hand, other kinds of energy, like heat or light, would not really give that much [Miasma] compared to the amount absorbed. It was too inefficient that Mark would not bother at all.

Mark could probably behave like a plant and just absorb sunlight, but it would be more of a waste of time than actually finding another way to increase his [Miasma].

However, what about that giant [Mechid]? What kind of energy and how much was needed to allow something that big to continue moving? If Mark managed to get a hold of that [Mechid's] energy source, was it possible for Mark to recover a significant amount of his [Miasma]?

"Gege, you're thinking of something dangerous again, aren't you?"

Mei's voice entered Mark's ears in an annoyed tone.

It was not only Mei. Everyone in the [Mini Cube] was staring at Mark in exasperation. Bella and Donna might be oblivious to it since they were new to the group, but the others could already tell from time to time when Mark had something ridiculous inside his mind.

Mark shrugged in silence. He had no chance to win here.

Likewise, they would have to destroy that giant [Mechid] sooner or later. Like Sinogo, it could pose a threat. And not only to this island but to the entire country if they left the [Mechid] alone for too long.

In the least, it would not be going anywhere any time soon. It was in a broken state and would definitely not be able to repair its own since it seemed to have stayed that way all this time. Still, it was not right to be complacent as they had no idea what kinds of things the giant [Mechid] would be capable of.

While it could be nothing but a giant broken piece of junk, it could also be a gigantic fortress capable of launching barrages of laser beams.

It was not like it could pose that much of a threat compared to Sinogo. There was also no way that it would penetrate through the defensive capabilities of Chimetrice. But now that Mark had something in mind, he would rather plan things instead, or they might accidentally end up destroying everything without getting anything at all.

The [Mini Cube] flew away from the crater and straight up north. Their destination should be just a few mountains away.

After a few more minutes of flight, their destination was now in sight.

Yes, on sight, to Mark and Mei's surprise.

Diwata Iraya and the magical creatures of this island lived in a magical domain away from the prying eyes of the mortal realm. They still lived that way last time Mark's group visited this island.

But now, the entirety of Diwata Iraya's secret domain was now laid bare for everyone to see.

And unlike the beautiful and peaceful mountain sanctuary, it was before, it was now a magical mountain filled with defensive structures and fortifications. Furthermore, all the life in the mountain was now concentrated in a large village near the peak, unlike before, where the magical creatures under the [Diwata] were living all over the mountain.

As the [Mini Cube] flew closer to the village, Mark disabled the [Optical Camouflage] that hid it in the sky.

Of course, the sudden appearance of a floating vessel in the sky alerted everyone below. The village immediately gathered the warriors to prepare to defend it.

Even Diwata Iraya and the other core members of this magical group came out in a hurry. And to their confusion, the floating vessel in the sky just floated there without moving closer or leaving.

It was when two figures alighted from the vessel, alerting the people below.

But even just the silhouette of the winged man in the sky, Aliya immediately recognized her beloved descendant.

Mark and Mei landed in front of everyone. Only when they recognized the two that they put down their weapons.

Aliya, Mark's ancestor, approached the two before anyone else. It was no doubt that she was excited to meet Mark and Mei once again.

And there, the two were enveloped in a loving embrace.

"Welcome back! I missed you two," Aliya tearfully welcomed the two. "I am glad that you two are fine."

Mark and Mei could only look at each other with a smile while being embraced by Aliya.

Aliya was the only person they could call family that could shower them with love this way.

When was the last time the two remembered being embraced by their parents? The two could not remember. All Mark and Mei remembered were the times they were being scolded for minor mistakes and their lives being dictated to them.

Aliya's treatment of them sure gave them a warm and refreshing feeling.

"Aliya," Diwata Iraya did not want to break the happy reunion, but she had no choice as she called Aliya. "You can spend time with them later, but we have other important things to address right at this moment."

Aliya turned her head towards the [Diwata] and sighed as she let go of Mark and Mei. Still, she held the hands of the two as if fearing that they would suddenly run away. This time, everyone just let her continue holding the hands of Mark and Mei.

"Mark," Diwata Iraya called Mark and turned to the sky. "What is that thing?"

"Our transport. We had the opportunity to get something we can use to travel instead of riding on the dragon's back which is pretty uncomfortable."

Mark nonchalantly replied. The complete opposite of the reaction he gave to Aliya's embrace.

"I see..."

Diwata Iraya did not mind Mark's nonchalant reply and looked more interested in the floating vessel in the sky.

"Can I call it down?" Mark asked the [Diwata]. "The rest of our group this time is still there. We just stopped since you guys might attack."

Diwata Iraya then signaled her warriors to stand down and return to their work, leaving only a few as her usual guards. It was only when Mark signaled for the [Mini Cube] to land.

But at this time, Aliya suddenly blocked Mark while looking at him with worried eyes.

"What happened to you?"

Mark's great ancestor asked him, seemingly noticing both the good and bad changes in Mark's body.