Mutagen

The settlers spent the night peacefully. Or so they thought. But when morning came, the settlement hunters found many remains of destroyed robots in the nearby mountains.

It meant that the previous night was not as peaceful as it seemed. Worse, none of them had any idea of what could have transpired in the mountains last night.

And other than the mystery of the broken robots, they discovered an alarming event within their walls.

The [Fortuneteller\'s] son and daughter were both found unconscious in their rooms, writhing in pain and burning with a deadly-high fever.

Since [Mutagen] invaded Earth and the apocalypse began, it was not just humanity that was almost wiped out from the surface of the planet. Of course, animals faced the same circumstances. But not known to many, most pathogens, especially the weakest kind that cause common diseases, were wiped out because of [Mutagen] through various factors.

And now, only two possible reasons exist that could cause a person or animal to have a fever. One was if a person was experiencing changes, turning into an [Evolver]. The other was if a person was bitten by the [Infected].

Given that it was rather impossible that both the [Fortuneteller\'s] son and daughter were bitten, the most likely reason for this event was both of them becoming [Evolvers].

Furthermore, while the two were completely unconcious, it was not hard to tell that they were not bitten or [Infected] in any way. And their high fever aside, no other symptoms could be seen. For example, the sudden discoloration of veins present in all people bitten. Even [Mutators] have this discoloration in their veins before their bodies fully change. That discoloration was not present on the bodies of the siblings.

After realizing that the two were undergoing the process of becoming [Evolvers], it was not only their family members, but the whole settlement felt relieved. Back when the two were caught by the other rebel faction, things had not been optimal around the [Fortuneteller]. It was not wrong to say that she had a pretty bad temper, and it was the worse when the two were abducted. Things could become way worse if the siblings were somehow infected.

The [Fortuneteller] was the pillar of this settlement. It remained standing and safe due to her predictions. Things would turn bad for the settlement if they lost her support.

However, while they were relieved that the siblings were not infected, it was a total mystery why they suddenly became [Evolvers].

While there were some rare exceptions, the most common instance where a person became an [Evolver] was when they survived a deadly event desperately. Like how true evolution worked in the long run, the changes [Evolvers] undergo corresponds to what the person needed the most in that desperate situation.

A person who decided to flee would have a pair of legs capable of running fast or develop much higher stamina. Those who chose to fight could be gifted with higher strength. And those enveloped in anger could become stronger as their fury deepened.

It was the very reason why these people were called [Evolvers].

And for the siblings to undergo these circumstances at the same time, people could not help but feel strange and suspicious. But for now, they could only wait. There was no point trying to get answers from the unconscious siblings.

Unknown to all of the people in the Napo Settlement. The cause of the current state of the siblings currently stood on the roof of the hospital building, the central building of the settlement.

***

"Looks like them taking the crystals at the same time caused some commotion."

Mark said with his eyes closed, sensing the situation inside the building below him.

It was a good thing his two siblings trusted him and took the [Empty Physical Crystals] to become [Evolvers]. They also followed his instruction to take only one crystal each at a time. However, the two taking their crystals at the same time caused the commotion.

"Well, there\'s no use crying over spilled milk," Mark shrugged. "I just wish they don\'t go tattling on me."

And with those words, Mark turned into a surge of mist and vanished into the sky.

Mark appeared far outside the walls of the Napo Settlement. He took a last glance before entering the mountainous forest.

Right now, the mountains southeast of Napo Settlement were not peaceful, with many soldiers from Napo Settlement roaming the place to investigate the remains of the destroyed [Mechids].

As Mark walked around hidden with [Optical Camouflage], he came across several patrols of armed soldiers from Napo Settlement.

Mark then remembered the things that happened last night.

The previous night was quite a handful with [Mechids] scouring the entire island. It seemed that there were actually several batches of [Mechids] after the first one, which increased the number of [Mechids] they encountered. From what Mark remembered, they destroyed around two hundred [Mechids] in this mountain alone and more on the other areas near the center of the island.

Due to the number, the warriors under Diwata Iraya did not have enough time for the clean-up, not to mention that the [Mechids] were destroyed in different places. That was why the hunters managed to find the remains of the [Mechids] before they were removed and cleaned.

It was a situation that could not be helped any longer. The only good thing was these [Mechids] were far inferior to the ones that the magical creatures fought these past months. They were easy to eliminate. The only problem was the numbers and the time needed to find them.

That was why before everything turned for the worse, they must deal with the [Giant Mechid].

***

Day 252 - 12:21 PM - Magical Village, Unnamed Mountain, Municipality of Viga, Province of Catanduanes

Mark returned to the village of magical creatures after checking the situation with his siblings.

"Gege, welcome back."

Mei said to Mark with a smile the moment he appeared. Even at this point, it was mysterious how Mei seemed to know whenever he would leave or arrive. She could even find him despite being unseen within a certain distance.

Mark did not mind this strange trait that Mei had, however. No matter what, it was a nice feeling to have someone always waiting for him in his return.

"Papa!"

Miracle also called out while sitting on a chair around the dining table. It was already noon, and it was time to eat lunch.

Everyone was already gathered around the table when Mark arrived. Ever since the apocalypse began, lunch became a lively occasion for Mark with everyone around eating with him.

Mark took the empty seat at one end of the table. The seat to his right was empty, while Miracle sat to his left.

"How are your siblings?"

Mei asked Mark as she placed a wooden plate in front of Mark and served him lunch.

"They should be fine," Mark replied. "Though it also looks like the process of their evolution is taking longer than normal."

That was what Mark thought when he arrived to check on his siblings. When they managed to clear the [Mechids], he immediately went to check on them, thinking that they already turned into [Evolvers]. It was around six in the morning at that time. Both his siblings were already undergoing the process at that time.

Mark left the Napo settlement at past ten in the morning. Yet, neither of the two were waking up and were still in the process of evolving. Even the other people he turned into [Evolvers] only took three to four hours, seven hours at most. If not for the fact that Mark could tell that their mental fluctuations were already stable, it would have made Mark think that something went wrong.

"It\'s not surprising something went strange," Spera chimed in. "Your whole family isn\'t normal."

That statement from Spera was not something anyone would deny in this group. Even Bella and Donna already realized that Mark\'s ancestry was weird.

Mark\'s mother was the Napo Settlement\'s [Fortuneteller. His aunt, Gennie, was now a spirit living in this magical place. His ancestor, Aliya, a spirit from the ancient past. And lastly, Mark, who was now a Demon.

It sure was a weird family tree.

After serving Mark his food, Mei took the empty seat beside him. There, they all started to eat lunch.

"What are the plans now?"

At this time, Chimetrice spoke to Mark. The guy was not really someone who enjoy food. And to save time, lunchtime was a good time to discuss their future plans.

And to Chimetrice\'s question, Mark replied.

"The next thing we need to do is to destroy the [Giant Mechid]. We don\'t know its intention by sending those number of [Mechids] all over the island, but we should get rid of it before it can cause more trouble."

Everyone agreed with Mark\'s words. [Mechids] was dangerous, and the situation the previous night made things worse.

Given that there was also [Yasaws] watching the other human settlements on the island, they already heard of what happened to those settlements last night. The two larger settlements managed to defend themselves. As for the smaller settlements, they were all destroyed and wiped out.

Right now, there were only three places left on the island inhabited by humans and one inhabited by magical creatures.

"But what did that thing want to do by spreading [Mechids]?"

Donna voiced out a good question.

"Probably to create a [Mechid] that can wipe out everything in this island, possibly everything in the whole world."

Mark replied, making the sisters feel goosebumps.

The answer Mark gave was the conclusion he arrived at from analyzing the situation and the bodies of the destroyed [Mechids] sent to fight the magical creatures.

Although it might be not the exact case. However, the possibility was extremely high.

A [Mechid] that could wipe out everything in the world. Such a thought would terrify most people.

"I don\'t mind fighting it," Feng Zhiruo said to the side. "But won\'t it be reckless? We barely know anything about that thing."

Mark stared at Feng Zhiruo. She looked pretty desperate to get stronger since she failed the [Trial of Regrets]. However, it looked like she had yet to turn into a reckless battle junkie. It was a good thing.

"There\'s nothing much we can do in that regard, really," Mark replied. "We can\'t investigate it closely because of the radiation it emits. And from what I estimated, only me and Chimetrice can approach it at this point."

Mark\'s had his [Miasma] to protect him. It might not be enough for a large-scale attack, but it was more than enough to stop radiation from affecting him. On the other hand,  Chimetrice was barely affected by radiation. The two of them could closely confront the [Giant Mechid].

Unfortunately, while they could use this fact to investigate, it was not recommended. The [Giant Mechid] had already displayed a decent level of intelligence, and it would definitely find Mark and Chimetrice if they approached it to investigate. Even the [Mechids] that attacked last time seemed to have detection mechanisms. It would not be surprising if the [Giant Mechid] was also capable of it. If not, its minions certainly would.

"When do you plan to make your move?"

Suddenly, a beautiful voice entered their ears. It was Diwata Iraya, who overheard their conversation as she arrived.

Mark turned his head towards the [Diwata].

"Tomorrow."

Mark replied.

They spent the previous night without rest. It was reasonable if they needed on after a long night of battles. However, they could not rest too long or it would give the [Giant Mechid] a chance to make more annoying actions.

A day of rest before the battle. It was a reasonable decision.