Mutagen

From the sky, the aftermath of the events yesterday was too clear to see. Starting from the foot and around it, more than half of the mountain was turned into a burnt forest. Even though Mark called upon the rain to extinguish the fire, there was barely anything left. The only things that could be seen in the affected area were the charred trees and the blanket of ash on the ground.

It was quite scary to think that more than half of the ten-kilometer mountain became like that in less than a day.

Along the way, Mark\'s group also saw the team of warriors that were sent to hunt animals in the nearby mountain. It was not hard to spot as it was a large group of individuals with varying appearances. They were carefully marching down through the charred forest, being cautious towards any potential danger.

Looking at that group, Mark could not help but contemplate how different the society of Spirits here in the Philippines compared to modern human society. No, not only compared to humans, but it was also different from how the community of the same races was portrayed in other countries.

"Master is thinking about something deep again."

Amihan\'s voice entered Mark\'s ear. And of course, it would. As usual, she was sitting on his shoulder.

"It\'s not really deep, you know that." Mark gently knocked on Amihan\'s forehead with this finger. "I\'m just thinking how the Spirit Races looked barbaric compared to humans and other countries."

That was right. Even the conduct of individuals in the higher class was not refined at all. The Diwatas, the Royals, the Representatives of the Races, and even Bathala, all of them behaved the way they wanted, not keeping up any pretenses. Just like how that imprint did not keep up face and blatantly showed her hate towards him, who was a Demon.

Holding unto her forehead with both hands, Amihan was confused.

"But... isn\'t it just the same as humans in Master\'s country in the past?"

"Hmm... Now that you said it..."

Mark realized the part that passed his mind.

The societal structure that the Spirit Races had reflected the same of ancient Filipinos. Or at least, how they were portrayed by modern people.

"That\'s true, huh." Mark shrugged. "I totally forgot."

Well, it was not that Mark forgot. He was suppressing some memories in his mind that had some connection with the Deity of Bloodshed. After all, most of it was unpleasant. However, since it all happened in that same era of Ancient Filipinos, it just got suppressed together.

While talking about that topic, they reached the foot of the mountain where Mark ordered Chaflar to continue traveling on land.

They were traveling towards enemy territory. Even if they wanted to arrive as soon as possible, they could not risk getting found by them too early. Besides, even if it was not the Demons, the infected would definitely see them if they continued to fly along the way.

Although they could not guarantee that the large-bodied Chaflar would not be seen, the gigantic trees of the Spirit Dimension would hide them while traveling on land.

They continued moving south through the forest. And sure enough, it was not a pleasant experience.

Because they were hiding as much as possible, they had away from trails through the forest. Due to that, the path they were taking was too uneven. Not only trees but overgrown bushes and grass that was taller than a human blocked most of the way.

It was more or less a fantasy world, after all. Even in the Mortal World, places untouched by human civilization also looked the same.

Well, in the least, Earth did not have mushrooms as tall as trees and trees that moved every time a living creature passed by.

"Papa, look!"

Miracle called out, pointing at a huge tree that was riddled with small glittering stones. It looked beautiful, and that was why the little girl looked amazed.

"Just look and never approach one, alright?"

Mark said, patting Miracle\'s head.

"Why?"

"That\'s a monster. It might eat you alive."

Mark replied with exaggerated gestures.

"Ooohh."

Miracle\'s amazed reply made Mark sigh.

"Don\'t even bother doing that. Your children are abnormal."

Pefile remarked from the back. Everyone knew that Mark was trying to scare Miracle on purpose, but it would not work. Although the little girls were obedient children, these kinds of things would not affect them.

"The children are the same as their parents. That\'s what people say."

Amihan added, and none of them could refute it.

Looking at the girls and Mark, no one would be able to refute it. Mei was the same too. Although she was still afraid of contact with the opposite gender aside from Mark.

Traveling with a family of fearless Demons was a different experience itself for everyone. It was also the reason everyone here was able to sit down on Chaflar\'s back with ease.

The journey south became more or less sightseeing. In fact, it was the first time for the humans in Mark\'s group to actually enter a forest here in the Spirit Dimension.

During the first time that they entered this dimension, what they traveled through was a dead forest that barely had anything. The forest around the Eastern Moutain could not even be counted as they only passed through the trail that people mostly used.

And now, they were able to see sceneries that they had never seen in reality.

Of course, it was not all fun and games.

SLASH!

Green blood splattered on the ground as Mei slashed the monster in front of her. With a wave of her gun sword, she rushed towards another enemy.

On the other hand, the little girls also had their share of blood rush.

BAM!

Miracle\'s opponent flew towards the trunk of a large tree with the echo of its cracked carapace.

To the side, Abbygale could be seen jumping on her invisible barriers as she dealt with three enemies at the same time.

Monitoring the safety of the two was Iola. She was keeping watch on her little sisters to make sure that they would not be harmed.

The rest of the group also had their opponents. Although they could not contend with Mei or the little girls, they were able to take down enemies as a group.

And lastly, Mark, who was committing slaughter on the nest of the enemies, leaving carcasses at every step.

What were their enemies?

It was gigantic crab spiders. The smallest was about the size of a dog, while the largest that Mark was currently facing was as large as a two-story house.

"Tsk. There\'s too many of these pests."

Mark grumbled in annoyance. How many had they killed already?

Around Mark, there were already about a hundred decapitates bodies of spiders. However, there was still a lot of them appearing to surround him.

Mark\'s group did not intend to fight these enemies. However, after they killed the one that tried to ambush them, more and more appeared. It seemed that these giant spiders had some mechanics on searching someone that killed their kind.

It would be troublesome if these insects tried to chase after them while they continued their journey and decided to end this predicament at once.

BAM!

A loud sound echoed as the Spider Queen\'s foot hit the ground where Mark stood just now.

Mark glared at the spiders as he avoided the attacks that rained on him.

"IGNIS!"

Mark shouted as Ignis flew towards the face of the Spider Queen.

SPLAT!

"ROOOARR!!!"

The giant spider roared in pain as one of its eyes were pierced and burned by Ignis.

At the same time, Mark called out a crystal. And with a wave of his hand, blades of wind scattered throughout the surroundings. The attack only did not fell the spiders but also some smaller trees.

The Spider Queen was still alive, though.

"That big one had a very tough skin, doesn\'t she?" Mark complained. "Well then, let\'s see about this!"

Mark opened his wings as Ignis flew back to his hand. Without hesitation, he drove Ignis into another eye, and there...

CRACKLE!!!

Black lightning seeped into the body of the Queen Spider in a torrential flow. No matter how big it was, once its brain was fried, it would fall.

And as expected, the Queen Spider\'s stance crumbled as its large armored body fell to the ground.

At this moment, the remaining spiders froze. It did not take long, and all of them ran towards different directions like panicking people.

With the battle ending, everyone gathered inside the nest littered with dead bodies.

"Everyone alright?"

Mark asked, and fortunately, aside from being splattered with green blood, no one was injured.

"Seriously, you\'re a family of monsters."

Pefile remarked once more. Their group could barely handle several spiders at a time, but Mark\'s family was already on a rampage.

"Aren\'t you glad, though?"

Mark retorted, making Pefile speechless.

It was not wrong, though. These spiders were already more than enough to slaughter a whole tribe of experienced fighters. If Mark and his family were not here, the outcome would be different.

"Hmmm? Isn\'t this..."

Suddenly, Teremillio\'s surprised voice was heard.

"Is something wrong?"

Felenia asked.

"When we got attacked earlier, I thought that the spiders looked familiar. Now I remember."

Teremillio\'s words took everyone\'s attention.

"If I remember correctly, these spiders live in a cave near our kingdom back when I was still there. It\'s strange that we found a nest on the way. We are still far away."

His words made everyone feel strange.

"In any case, we should leave this place already. The ruckus we made might get the attention of anyone around here."

Mark suggested. It was the best move to avoid more complications.

And there, the bloody scene was left without any witness to tell what happened.

Unknown to Mark\'s group, several hours after they left...

***

Two figures appeared in the nest of the spiders. When the two appeared, the creatures that were currently feeding on the carcasses fled the scene in fear.

"Dualla, what in the world happened here?"

One of the figures exclaimed, looking at the bloodbath in front of him.

"Why are you asking me? I only urged you to rush here because my connection with my tamed pet got disconnected. To think that she died."

The second figure, Dualla, replied with a heavy voice. He then approached the dead Spider Queen, caressing its head gently.

"If I knew that this would happen, I would not have followed that Dregor\'s orders. I will ask that bastard for an explanation for this."

"Dualla, you should calm down."

"Then tell me, what should I do, Vol\'ur. My pet died. You\'re telling me that I should let this slide? Remember how hard it was to tame her?"

"I\'m not telling you to let it slide. But first, we should report this situation. You know how tough your pet is. Not just anybody could kill it."

After hearing Vol\'ur\'s voice, Dualla snorted.

Finishing that exchange, the two figures flew away.

***

Mark\'s group arrived at the foot of the next mountain. It was about nine kilometers away from the Stone Fortress.

"We are already near. Its just on the other side of this mountain, but it\'s better if we camp out for the night."

Termillio said while he showed the way to everyone. His suggestion was accepted without question. Even if he did not say it, Mark would say the same.

Without knowing the current situation of the Kingdom of Black Duendes, it was not possible to just barge in blindly.

"Is there any place we can camp out?"

Mark asked Teremillio.

The Duende thought for a bit before nodding.

"To the west of here. There should be a cave. It should be safe there since no one comes to that place at all."

And there, they traveled west. Now, it was no wonder that no one was coming here. The place was actually littered with poisonous plants.

It was good that Chalfar was armored and did not bother to charge onto the poisonous vines.

Soon, they arrived at the cave that Teremillio was talking about. Everyone prepared to camp out, except Mark.

"The night will be long, I guess."

He murmured while watching the dusk loom over the sky.