Mutagen

Day 367 - 11:24 AM - Kajen, Pati Regency, Central Java, Indonesia

Luna shouted for everyone to get ready for battle.

But then, she realized. How in the world were they going to fight that gigantic creature?

Although they could already feel the ground tremble from the giant's footsteps, it was clear that it was still far away from the group. Unfortunately, considering how massive that thing was, trying to gauge the distance became too difficult without high-tech equipment.

The giant might be just one creature. But it was the size of a small mountain. The peak of its forest-covered back should be between three to four hundred meters from the ground. And from where everyone was looking, its width should be over half a kilometer.

It was the first time everyone here had seen such a large creature.

Well, except for several members of one group present, that was.

"That's huge..." Spera commented. "It's bigger than that golden crocodile, isn't it?"

"Hmmm... I don't think so," Mark replied. "Sinogo might be lower in height, but he's longer. If that's another mutated turtle, its body can't be that long."

"Uncle," Emika chimed in. "Is that a [Evolved Animal] or a [Mutated Infected]?"

"[Infected], without a doubt," Mark shrugged. "I don't think any sane animal will move in the direction of an erupting volcano for any reason."

Mark then observed the mountain-like shell of the [Mutated Infected Turtle]. A stupid but possibly brilliant idea entered his mind.

"Spera," Mark glanced at Spera as he called her name. "Go home for a bit."

Those words made Mei and his other members look at him. But then, he gave his order.

"Call Aephelia."

Now, everyone understood what Mark was planning to do.

Aephelia. The loyal made of Freed from Eriellis and the only living survivor of their planet. Now, being the fourth in command in the Mountain Base, behind Mark, Mei, and Odelina, she became one of its pillars due to her ability to control the [Infected].

Although Aephelia's ability had limits, and she could not control all kinds of [Infected], there was no reason not to try.

"I'm going," Spera nodded. "I'll be quick."

"Be faster than the quick you are thinking," Mark suddenly spoke as Spera was about to leave. "Looks like the turtle isn't alone."

Gasps could be heard as the intensity of the danger in front of them suddenly rose.

If it was just the giant turtle, there might be a chance. They could just run away if they could not fight it.

But now, hundreds of shadows flew from the forest-covered mountain on the giant turtle's back.

"Birds?"

Someone voiced out, looking at the shadows in the sky flapping their large pairs of wings.

"No way..." Nelia, who had the best eyes among the Moon Chasers, felt fear. "[Infected Birds]! They are all [Infected Birds]!"

Nelia could not help but shiver as the clear view of seemingly rotting, boil-covered birds entered her eyes. It was surprising that these birds could still fly with the condition of their bodies. While their flight was unstable, no one could deny these birds were flying.

With the appearance of the [Infected Birds] from the mountain-like shell, running away was not an option anymore. And being in the middle of the burnt wasteland, there was no place to hide.

"Don't panic!" General Wijaya shouted. "Gather around! As close as possible! Then crouch as low as you can! It will be easier for us to protect you all if you all gathered in one place!"

General Wijaya's orders were the only option they had right now.

But in the worst case...

General Wijaya turned to Mark's group, only to feel confused.

Where did the girl with portals go?

General Wijaya wanted to ask Mark. However, the members of Evernight were on the opposite side of the crowd.

"General! The enemies entered the firing distance!"

The soldiers were already in position. It was the same for the members of the Moon Chasers, Fire Fighters, 3rd Wave, and Bladeshifters. The soldiers and those with guns would attack the [Infected Birds] in the air while the others would protect the non-combatants when the [Infected Birds] tried to sweep down to attack.

But before the first shot fired at the enemies, everyone froze.

A familiar voice entered everyone's ears.

"Leave this to us."

Everyone could not help but turn their heads to the owner of the voice.

Mark was already walking to the front. On his shoulder was the pretty popular fairy.

"Are you sure? Can you really do it?"

Luna asked as she approached Mark with her friends in tow.

But a flash of light appeared as Luna's Keris transformed, and Melfiss appeared without warning.

"If this guy decided to make a move, then you can rest assured."

Melfiss said to Luna.

"This is unexpected."

Mark said, looking at Melfiss. But the latter did not say anything more and just ran behind Luna to hide from him.

"This isn't the time to chit-chat!" A soldier shouted before turning to their General. "General, your orders!"

But General Wijaya did not say anything and only shook his head. In fact, General Wijaya was unsure if they would survive this encounter on their own. Even if they did, the sacrifices would be immense. Even if the entire surviving army were here, it would be questionable to defeat the current enemy.

KRAAAAOAAK!!!

The broken screeches of the [Infected Birds] echoed as the horde flew closer.

With the enemies getting closer, everyone gripped their weapons tighter. The non-combatants began cowering as the broken screeches entered their ears. For obvious reasons, the sounds these [Infected Birds] made were far more scary compared to [Infected Human] moans and groans.

The horde of [Infected Birds] was now close enough for everyone to see their disgusting appearances clearly. Any closer and the soldiers would start firing by reflex.

"Amihan."

Mark faced the horde and spoke. Amihan, sitting on his shoulder, waved her hand as if she was swatting something quickly away from her.

Then, the scene before them became painted with a mixture of the brownish color of feathers, the red color of blood, the greenish-black color of rotting flesh, and the yellowish-green color of splattered pus.

The hundreds of [Infected Birds] flying in the sky just now fell to the ground. The [Infected Birds] were not just killed. They all turned into minced meat in the blink of an eye.

"This..."

The soldiers were beyond speechless as they saw the unbelievable scene before their eyes.

"YES!"

"WHOOO!!!"

On the other hand, the others rejoiced.

But to their surprise, Mark continued to walk forward, leaving the vicinity of the group.

ROOOARR!!!

The threat was not over. There was still the mountainous turtle.

But unexpectedly, the turtle suddenly began shaking its gigantic body. At first, it was a confusing scene to look at. After all, why would it do that instead of continuing to move forward to its targets?

It did not long for everyone to see the answer for themselves.

One after another, silhouettes of different creatures fell from the back of the giant turtle. The small mountain on its back did not only carry [Infected Birds] but all sorts of [Infected] creatures.

"NO WAY! Did these [Infected] develop symbiotic relationships?"

The loud voice of Dr. Willis entered their ears after he blurted out his assumption.

It was not rare for the [Infected] to form groups or hordes. Some horde had leaders while others just gathered and traveled together.

However, it was definitely different compared to the giant turtle and the riders on its back.

After the [Infected] fell from the back of the giant turtle, they stood up as soon as they could. It seemed that many of the [Infected] got injured from the fall, but injuries did not matter much to the [Infected]. As long as they could move, they would move.

The horde sure was quite an assortment. A few examples were dogs, cats, snakes, birds with broken wings, giant rats, pigs, cows, and even humans. The majority of them were mutated, only having a few characteristics to distinguish them from their past appearances. It sure was a threatening lineup.

With their feet or hands touching the ground, the horde ran forward. In their eyes, there was nothing but the group of fresh food in front of them. Most of them easily ran past the giant turtle. The giant turtle was not fast on its own. It was only because of its size that it could traverse large distances at its every step. But compared to the full sprint of the other [Infected], it was slower.

"Just how many are there?"

Bajing voiced out as the scene before them was nothing but [Infected] rushing towards them.

"There really is a lot, huh."

Mark said as he stared at the second wave of enemies. It was likely that this turtle carried more [Infected] compared to the number they fought in the destroyed Bay City after the [Fusion of Dimensions].

"Ignis."

Mark called out his [Demon Sword], which appeared out of nowhere and flew into his right hand. He then glanced at Amihan sitting on his right shoulder.

"I want to try something."

Mark asked Amihan and began to whisper to her.

"Huh?" Amihan tilted her head. "But Master, will that work?"

"Well, if it doesn't work, we can just do something else."

Mark replied.

"If you want to."

Amihan nodded and left his shoulder. She then hovered in front of his left shoulder as Mark took out something from his [Spatial Ring] and held it up with his left hand.

Mark raised the item so that Amihan could also touch it.

It was the [Butterfly of Knowledge]. The powerful item Mark caught which could enhance magical powers when held.

But this time, Mark and Amihan held the book at the same time. It was a mystery if it would work or not since they had never really tried it before, and it was something Mark thought of while tinkering the previous night.

When they held the book together, nothing felt unusual. Well, they had yet to use any magic, after all.

"Alright, I'll start."

Mark said as he pointed Ignis toward the incoming enemies and began visualizing the magic he wanted inside his mind.

There was a reason Mark was trying to do it this way.

Mark could not use [Wind Magic] without the help of the [Wind Manipulation Mental Crystal]. However, the [Mental Crystals] and the [Butterfly of Knowledge] would not work together. For the butterfly to work, the energy needed to come from the person holding the book.

The goal of this experiment was to try using Amihan as the energy source while casting magic through Ignis as the medium and Mark serving as the channel.

And as Mark began visualizing and Amihan began releasing her energy, their eyes lost focus. It was the sign of the butterfly channeling the incantation into their heads.

There, the two of them began chanting incomprehensible words in unison. Words that only they could understand at the time it was being chanted.

"From the Goddes of the Wind of a faraway world to the God of Chaos, the king of otherworldly beasts..."

"The channel through different worlds connected by this enigma..."

"To the blade of the beast's tail, the elemental winds conjured..."

"Swift, strong, condensed, sharpened..."

"The fusion of three worlds... Creation of the sharpest unseen blade..."

"[Wind Maiden's Beastial Blade: Dimension Tempest]..."

Everyone watched with mouths agape as the wind picked up in the surroundings. A silhouette of an eight-headed serpent flew out of Mark's sword before each head stretched out and shot toward the incoming enemies. Then, the eight heads exploded into nothingness.

And the next thing they saw was all the enemies, except the giant turtle, all turning to dust as their bodies were cut into countless pieces.

Nothing remained of the horde with more than a thousand [Infected]. It did not matter what species they were or what mutation they had. They all vanished without a trace.

"Wow... what's that?"

Spera's voice echoed in the silence. It seemed that she returned in time to see the spectacle. However, everyone's eyes were focused on the woman standing beside her instead. It was because an unfamiliar maid suddenly appeared.