Mutagen

As usual, the morning in the apocalypse was early.

But today, their morning was even earlier. After all, Mark\'s group and the rescued people still had to travel on the road. They wanted to reach the end of this journey as soon as possible.

Even before the sun had risen, the cooks were already working on cooking their breakfast. It was the most important meal of the day, and everyone needed as much energy as they could have to reach their destination.

It was not hard for everyone to wakeup, though. No one managed to sleep deeply at all among the workers.

Last night, Mark intercepted the danger on his own. It might have been catastrophic if Mark did not detect it beforehand and the Feral Demon Children targeted their parents instead. There was no way that these saddened parents would be able to resist the calls of their children.

In the worst case, the parents might go berserk due to the mental attack they could receive and end being hard to handle.

The workers did not receive any direct damage. However, the screeches that the Feral Demons created were too loud. It alerted the ones that volunteered to guard and some of those asleep. Those awakened by the screeches ended up waking the others to enable everyone to act if it became an emergency.

Fortunately, the workers did not move out without instructions from Mark\'s group. They patiently waited until they received any order. Well, they received none in the end.

Mark dealt with the problem, after all.

When Mark returned, some of the workers gathered the courage to ask Mark what happened. Of course, Mark did not tell them the truth and just replied with a short...

"Monsters."

Well, it was not a lie either. Anyone and anything out of the norm could be called a monster, depending on the context. Feral Demons were definitely one.

The workers did not ask further as Mark went away to meet with Mei and the girls. In the least, they thought that the danger was dealt with. It was because Mark returned from the direction of the eerie screeches.

When it was time to leave this morning, though, the workers could not help but notice the three tightly sealed plastic dressers that were now tied to Chaflar\'s body.

The workers were even more curious when they heard some muffled growls and thumping from inside the dressers.

Mark did not bother feeding the curiosity of the workers. It was better to make them imagine things on their own.

Luckily, the growls that the three children made sounded more like a beast than a child. It made the worker\'s thoughts stray away from the truth further. The only one that Mark had to take care of was the leader of the Feral Demon Children. It seemed that the mental attack and the mimicking voice came from her. That was why her improvised shipping crate was also covered with a thin film of Miasma to block her powers.

For the plastic dressers that Mark used to encase the three children, these piece of storage furniture was not hard to find. It was more affordable for them to buy plastic furniture for storage and other things. That was why Mark managed to find some since this area of Catanduanes was on the lower economic side. Mark just had to trim some parts of the dressers to make it more like a casket that could fit the three children.

Of course, the contents of the caskets were not a secret to Mei and the girls. Still, the reaction of Iola, Abbygale, and Miracle towards the children was quite cute. It looked like even the mature Iola was wary that Mark would add another daughter. For them, they did not want more competition. These odd girls... really...

Nonetheless, the three were relieved when Mark cleared their misunderstanding. Furthermore, he said to treat the three Feral Demons more like exotic pets. It was not a wrong approach since Feral Demons were more or less feral beasts.

Aside from the events last night and the curiosity of the workers, everything else went as usual.

They continued following the road south like they did yesterday, leaving the Municipality of San Miguel and entering the Municipality of Bato.

The more they get nearer to their destination, the workers feel more excited. Soon, they will arrive at the Military Base. All their worries would finally be washed away.

Mark could even hear some of them talking.

Maybe, they could find their family members there. If not, they could ask for help in finding their other family members, especially their children,

Mark could only shake his head. Even if the Military agreed with that, the chance of finding their children was next to none. Even if they really managed to find any, it would be questionable that they could still call those their children. All the children captured by the rebels might have become Feral Demons already.

Along the way, the workers also began talking about the sea. Being captives for months, none of them had seen the sea for a long while. A lot of the workers were not really farmers but fishermen. The sea was their life, and they longed for it badly.

The Municipality of Bato was the southeasternmost part of the Island of Catanduanes. Its north and west side were surrounded by mountains, while the east and south were all seashores. Furthermore, the Catanduanes Circumferential Road would travel along the seaside once it turns west to Virac, Catanduanes.

While the workers had high spirits, Mark became wary of the surroundings.

The workers did not know anything. It was not like they could be blamed for it.

Right now. Aside from the Anti-Government Rebel Territory, the Municipality of Bato was the most dangerous part of the island. Even the Military was aware of the dangers. However, the Military had no concrete explanation of what was happening in this part of the island. They could only dismiss it at unexplainable infected activity and told everyone to proceed with high caution while approaching this area.

Mark, however, knew what was going on in this area. And to say, encountering the children last night was not a total coincidence.

The Municipality of Bato had already fallen to the hands of the Demons in this island. It was their territory, and anyone entering it could be subjected to their machinations.

Because of the Apocalypse, these Demons became more active. There were lesser humans to hunt them, and they could always pin the blame on the infected. Of course, they were also having a bit of a problem. It was because there were also lesser humans for them to prey on.

That was why soon enough...

"Gege."

Mei whispered with a frown.

"I know."

Mark smiled, patting her head.

Not only the two. Even Amihan, Chaflar, and the little girls, with the exception of Emika, noticed the eerie feeling in the surroundings.

Soon, in the middle of the morning, the road suddenly turned foggy. It made the high spirits of the workers dampen. They could not help but raise their weapons, ready for any battle that could happen.

The fog was not too thick. The workers could still see the road in front of them. What made them warier, however, was the fact that Mark\'s group disappeared behind the mist.

"[Ocular Obstruction], huh," Mark spoke. "You guys sure are cautious."

Mark and Mei turned to the side. Mei almost raised her weapon to shoot, but Mark blocked her and shook his head. Mei could only stand down. It was the same for the girls.

From the thickest area of the fog, two figures emerged.

One was a handsome man. He had tanned skin, but it just complimented his exotic appearance. This person looked perfectly human at first glance if no one could detect the malicious aura around him. He was also wearing clean clothes.

The second one was the complete opposite. It was a thin emaciated-looking man with a vulgar-looking face. He walked hunched, and his eyes had a piercing stare as if he was looking at your soul. He was also half-naked, which was a sight for sore eyes as his bony body looked horrible.

"Esteemed Demons. Your faces are unfamiliar. I assume that you did not know, but you are stepping into the Silvestre\'s territory. You all must go back."

The Handsome Demon said.

"Before going back, these humans are ours for taking. Take it as compensation for trespassing in our territory. Hehe."

The Ugly Demon added.

But then, Mark smiled, to the confusion of the two.

"You two are mistaken. I know that this place is the territory of you Demons."

"Then..."

The Handsome Demon tried to speak but got interrupted as Mark continued.

"And I don\'t care." Mark took a step forward. "We are just passing by. If you two don\'t want any trouble, you better step to the side. I don\'t have any business towards you Demons... Yet."

The two Demons frowned towards Mark\'s threatening attitude.

"Esteemed Demons. I don\'t think that it is a good idea for you to oppose us.."

The Handsome Demon warned but in the least, he was being cautious. The Ugly Demon, however...

"Hoh..." His vulgar eyes fell on Mei. "We will forgive your attitude just now, but you have to leave that woman. Hehehehe-urk!"

The Ugly Demon did not finish his creepy laugh. His eyes went wide as his face was already grasped by someone.

"Bad decision."

Mark whispered to the Ugly Demon\'s ears.

BAM!

The Ugly Demon\'s body lost balance as Mark smashed his head to the ground without hesitation. With a loud sound, the ground shook. The Handsome Demon could not help but jump away as a two-meter wide crater formed in the middle of the road.

And, of course, the Ugly Demon\'s body laid there lifelessly with his head smashed to bits and pieces. There was not even a chance for the bastard to scream before his death.

"Tsk."

Mark clicked his tongue while flicking his hand. It was covered with disgusting blood and brain matter. He then conjured black flames on his hand, burning the filthy things away before turning to the remaining Demon.

"You want to end up like him?"

Mark asked, kicking the headless body towards the Handsome Demon.

The Handsome Demon frowned. However, it seemed that he was not that concerned about the death of the Ugly Demon.

"Please, don\'t worry. He deserves it for behaving haughtily while being weak himself." The Handsome Demon replied calmly. "However, the territory is still off-limits to Demons that did not belong to our clan. I request for all of you to go back."

"I don\'t care about your rules." Mark shrugged. "We are passing by wherever we want. If you want to follow the steps of that guy, then, continue to block our way."

The Handsome Demon frowned. However, he was unsure whether he would be able to block Mark\'s group at all. He was not even able to react to Mark\'s movements at all. Mark already had his companion in his grasp before he was able to notice him move.

"Unfortunately, I can only admit my incompetence this time around. But expect to hear more from our clan."

The Handsome Demon warned as his body was enveloped in thick fog. Then, the fog in the surroundings vanished. Even the dead body of the Ugly Demon was missing. The only things left were the crater that Mark created and the blood inside it.

"W-what happened?"

The workers noticed the crater that Mark was standing on.

"Don\'t worry. There are just a few bugs lurking around." Mark said nonchalantly. "Let\'s continue."

Mark\'s group then continued on the way, forcing the workers to follow suit. Still, they noticed the blackish-red blood on the crater and were sure that it was not just some bugs.