Mutagen

Coughing sounds could be heard here and there. All around the settlement, most people\'s faces were covered. Whether it be face masks or just plain folded clothing, almost everyone seemed to be protecting their faces from something.

Fortunately, there was no pandemic happening within the walls of the settlement. However, it did not mean that the situation was any better.

To some, it was even better if a pandemic happened instead. In the least, the military would be able to address that and provide countermeasures.

Unfortunately, even the military was powerless in the current situation.

It was early in the morning when the sun should be up in the sky. Yet, it was rather dark in Bay City. There was no storm, although they got a drizzle of rain the other day. Instead of clouds in the sky, what covered it was a thick veil of ash. The surroundings had lower visibility as if everything was covered in a thin mist.

The roads, roofs, and many other things were covered with a layer of brown ash, inside or outside.

Many people were starting to have breathing difficulties because of the ash.

Even the drizzle of rain they experienced the other day was acid rain. Although it only lasted for half an hour, it caused substantial physical and mental damage to everyone.

It was all due to Taal Volcano\'s eruption several days ago.

Volcanic ash covered a wide area around the volcano, reaching even the northern parts of Metro Manila. The visibility in the streets was not optimal for travel, causing a stop in all activities, military and private, outside the settlement.

It was not a good situation, considering that the military was in charge of feeding their several thousand refugees in Bay City. If this continued for a prolonged duration, it was very likely for the settlement to face food and water shortage.

"This situation is not making any sense."

General Miguel Perez said, looking at the ash-covered skies from the window of his office.

The latest recorded eruption of Taal Volcano was in 1977, and it was not this devastating.

It was different in 1911, though. That was when the strongest eruption of Taal Volcano occurred, affecting even Metro Manila and had a death toll of more than a thousand and three hundred casualties. Nonetheless, it was not to the degree where the city was immobilized.

Did the current eruption of Taal Volcano exceed the one in 1911?

"It\'s not the strongest eruption of Taal Volcano, isn\'t it?"

Angeline Perez, know as Ange by her friends, voiced out. Within the room was not only the father and daughter.

Everyone with important roles and positions in Bay City Settlement was present to discuss the situation.

"It is not."

Someone interjected Ange. It was Professor Isaach Co, the head scientist in the settlement.

"What do you mean, professor?"

The General asked.

Professor Isaach then prompted Nia, his adopted daughter, and assistant, to distribute the documents she was carrying to almost everyone inside the office. The people immediately checked the information as Professor Issac began to explain.

"Since we concluded that Taal Volcano erupted, we began a few observations and tests. It\'s not really our field of expertise, so the results took longer than expected. We also compared the results with the data of previous eruptions. We concluded that it might be stronger than the latest eruption but definitely far weaker than 1911\'s."

"If the eruption is weaker, then how come that almost the whole capital is covered in volcanic ash right now?"

Another person asked. It was Major Alfred Lopez. The head officer in charge of the military rescue squads.

"Please refer to the third page." Professor Isaach replied. "There, you all can see the comparisons of the 1911 eruption and the current one. One clear difference is that the ash cloud during the 1911 eruption was witnessed to reach and spread over Metro Manila. I\'m pretty sure that none of us here saw such a scene. We are now directly affected by the volcanic eruption. What we are experiencing right now was more of a severe Ash Plume instead. The volcanic ash that Taal Volcano spewed is being carried over by the wind towards Metro Manila in extremely large amounts. That is what caused our current problems."

"This still makes no sense." General Perez rubbed the bridge of his nose. "We are currently amidst summer, and the southwest monsoon should be blowing. The ash should be blown towards the northeast. Not directly north."

"You are correct, general." The Professor nodded. "But it is better to throw logical thinking away in the current state of Earth. Please refer to the fourth page. At first, we assumed that there is a high-pressure area near the country, causing the wind to deviate from its natural direction. But, as you all can see there, our equipment detected irregular magnetic spikes in the surroundings. We don\'t know for sure, but there might be some unnatural phenomenon that caused this. We even believe that it is the cause for the weird changes in the wind\'s direction."

"Furthermore, please look at the graph below the page." Professor Isaach continued. "In the previous days, we observed extreme changes in the heights of low tides and high tides. The deviation reached about two to three feet more than the norm. Furthermore, it seemed to be swiftly increasing."

"Does this have to do with the moon?"

Ange asked. After all, high tides and low tides were directly caused by the moon.

"I wish that have to be the case." Professor Isaach shook his head to everyone\'s shock. "The unusual tide height I mentioned seemed to happen without the effect of the moon\'s gravity. High tides happen during the moon\'s presence, while low tides are the complete opposite. The change in the unusual tides only occurs day and night, disregarding the moon\'s position. In fact, it seemed the gravitational pull of the moon is also struggling to maintain itself by how the tides behaved."

This explanation gave everyone in the room a bad feeling.

"Just say what you want to say directly."

General Perez urged with a serious expression.

"There is something in space that is affecting Earth\'s magnetic fields. And by how the high tides continue to increase every night, that thing... is coming closer and closer to Earth."

***

Day 155 - 11:21 PM - Catanduanes Military Settlement, Codon, San Andres, Catanduanes

As prophesized, the Catanduanes Military Settlement was now enveloped in turmoil.

The previous night, General Padilla was found dead in his room. Leaving the General half-frozen and electrified to death, there was only one person capable of doing this. Of course, the person herself did not try to hide her doing.

Everyone in the military base was suddenly alerted by loud sounds of crackling electricity. It was accompanied by the agonized screams of the General. The soldiers tried to respond to the situation as soon as they could. But none of them were able to enter the General\'s room because of the shockingly thick layer of ice.

By the time the impenetrable ice melted and the soldiers managed to enter, all they saw was the dead General Padilla and a woman standing in front of his charred corpse.

It was Emellynn. The leader of the rebels, that was destroyed a few days ago.

Instead of escaping, however, her empty eyes after completing her revenge against the General turned towards the soldiers. And there, she killed.

Several dozens of soldiers that responded to the General\'s aid were killed on the spot. While she killed the soldiers, the witnesses said that she roared about the government and the military should cease to exist. It was as if she learned something she did not know before.

The situation could have turned into an uncontrollable situation. Emellynn was keen on wiping out all the soldiers from the settlement.

Fortunately, she was stopped by a group of strange people. And unexpectedly, the General\'s secretary, Vanessa, was with them. After pacifying Emellynn, however, the group left with the criminal. The soldiers were not able to do anything to them as they vanished under a veil of mist.

Now, the settlement was left without someone to lead it. The remaining factions took this opportunity to take the reign.

And, of course, there was no way that the Marcos Family would pass up on this situation.

An emergency meeting happened early in the morning. They needed to decide on who would lead the settlement quickly before anyone else snatched the position.

However, as quick as they tried to usurp the position, the falling out between the factions came faster.

The emergency meeting ended without proper result, and the factions started to gather their people.

Since it was not possible to get the position using diplomacy, they decided to use force.

As for the poor soldiers sandwiched between the fighting factions, they were lost. The military factions became the weaker ones due to the loss of the two military leaders. There were also the deaths that happened last night, further weakening their side.

The soldiers had no choice but to choose a side to join. However, the soldiers loyal to their duty decided to become neutral. They wanted to just stick to protecting the citizens.

Unfortunately, the factions had no plans of keeping soldiers who were not loyal to them. After a faction took the leadership of the settlement, it was very likely that they would be either chased out or had to flee for their lives.

***

Day 155 - ▋▋:▋▋ ▋▋ - Hidden Palace, Auraboros Japan Branch, Japan

The luxurious palace inside a hidden subdimension. It was the base of the Japan Branch of Auraboros.

In the mess hall, many members of Auraboros gathered for their meals. Most of them were definitely not humans, although were humans also present.

A certain group with three people gathered. They seemed to be tired as if it was not too long after they had a very long journey.

These three were no other than the group of Shin, Yoko, and Tsukiko. A well-known group in this branch for their unusual abilities, especially Shin. Someone who could cut anything with his sword.

"Haaah... Sh*t."

Shin slumped his back on his chair, sighing and cursing.

"Stop sighing." Yoko annoyedly complained. "Also, your curses are irritating."

"Just let him be, Yoko," Tsukiko shrugged. "You should understand since we all are in the same situation."

Yoko could not argue with that and fell silent.

Their previous mission failed horribly. The person that contracted them died. Although they managed to escort the Flame Demon Gar\'Vlam to Japan, all they managed to save was his spiritual body.

The worst part, they lost Spera.

Because of that, the portal that was hastily opened malfunctioned and brought them to the southern region of Japan. Without Spera, they had to journey their way back to Yamanashi, where the entrance to this place was located.

There were no vehicles, trains, or airplanes they could use. They could only travel on foot, gathering supplies as they struggled against the infected.

It was the worst experience they all had in their lives.

Fortunately, it seemed that they still managed to gain recognition after they brought Gar\'Vlam back. Even as a soul, a Deity level Flame Demon like him was a good asset.

While discussing their miseries, they were suddenly approached by a woman. It was a Demon Fox. She was Yukine, the vice leader of Japan Branch\'s intelligence group, Yuki Kitsune.

"What does the vice leader of the intelligence group want with us?"

Shin tiredly asked as the Demon Fox approached their group.

"The Empress granted you three an audience."

What Yukine said surprised not only the three but all the other people and creatures nearby.

Getting invited by the Empress, Tamamo no Mae, was a very rare and honorable event.

***

Day 155 - ▋▋:▋▋ ▋▋ - ▋▋▋▋▋▋▋▋▋▋▋▋▋▋▋

In an enclosed space with nothing but darkness, a single figure stood facing the nothingness.

"My spiritual body is still damaged. But soon, the Mortal and Spirit Dimensions will merge, and my recovery will come faster."

"I cannot help but anticipate." The figure laughed. "I wonder how far that bastard had grown after killing my puppet. Although it would have been fun if he was caught by the Eyes, which did not seem to be the case."

"And that [Body of Void]... Let us see if I can claim you the next time we all meet."