Mutagen

The young [Diwata] was waiting for Mark\'s triumphant return.

There was no need for Diwata Danaya to come out while waiting. She could stay inside her abode. However, a few things were lingering and troubling her mind.

"There is no need to be perturbed."

An apparition appeared beside Diwata Danaya. Of course, it was no one else but the imprint of Diwata Luwalhati.

"Ancestor..." Diwata Danaya spoke, keeping her eyes on the mountains to the north. "How can I be helpless at times like this? I am the current protector, the Deity of this mountain. But I can\'t do anything but wait. We are lucky that we have someone to ask for help... And right now... The only thing we can give in exchange is the most important thing we had."

Diwata Danaya\'s voice was full of doubt as she continued.

"Although we decided to offer the core because of the broken seal, it also meant that the Ancestor\'s existence would reach its end."

Diwata Luwalhati floated to Diwata Danaya\'s side and looked at the same mountains to the north.

"Mine existence is nought but borrowed." The apparition replied. "I am not thy true Ancestor. I am just a remembrance. A piece of remembrance left to guard the core. May it be now or the unseen future, mine existence would fade."

Diwata Luwalhati turned to the scene below the fortress.

"I yet have other doubts about Demons. If giving them refuge would be a wise decision... Or... If that Pure-blood Demon by the name Mark could warrant our trust. Unfortunately, an imprint like me, molded with hate towards Demons, had no ability to gauge trust in that accursed race. That is why I had chosen thou and that princess of the soil to decide. If the path thee had chosen was correct, it would be a perfect end of mine duties as the guardian of the seal."

Diwata Luwalhati then turned to Diwata Danaya.

"And lastly, do not belittle thyself."

Those words made Diwata Danaya turn to her Ancestor as the imprint of Diwata Luwalhati continued.

"Us, beings one with nature, excel at protection and not aggression. The first of our race was created by Bathala to protect the sacred lands. After the predecessor ended their duty, a new protector would be born anew. In the past, I... No, the true Luwalhati protected this mountain and the expanse of nature around it. Then came thy predecessor. And now, thou. Thyself was doing far better than Luwalhati at thy age. The young Luwalhati frolicked in these mountains without care or responsibility, doted by the creatures around her. Only when the accursed Demons attacked, killing her beloved subjects, she woke up to her duties as the sacred land\'s protector."

"Thou had no need for such stimulus," The imprint smiled. "Thou grew attentive, responsible, cautious, but with a kind heart and a good judgment. Thou is far better than Luwalhati and your predecessor, Malaya."

Diwata Danaya was quite teary after hearing the compliment from Diwata Luwalhati. The one before her might just be an imprint left by her true Ancestor. Nonetheless, it did not make the compliment lighter or shallow, as the imprint shared the same outlook as the original.

At this time, the two were interrupted by a sudden wave of magical energy. It was not only the two. Everyone that was sensitive enough to magical fluctuations within the Stone Fortress was perturbed by the sudden outburst of magical energy.

While everyone that noticed the fluctuations felt afraid and confused, the two [Diwatas] faced the direction where it was coming from, realizing who the energy might have belonged. It made them wonder what was going on with Mark for him to cause such a strong magical fluctuation.

The magical fluctuations from the north stopped after a minute or so. This was the sign of either Mark finishing his work or getting defeated. Of course, Diwata Danaya believed that it was quite impossible for the latter scenario to happen.

However, there was nothing but complete silence after the fluctuation stopped. This made Diwata Danaya pretty nervous about the outcome.

An hour passed. Only then did the two [Diwatas] spot a silhouette flying towards the Stone Fortress from the mountains north of the Stone Fortress.

It was the first time for Diwata Danaya to see the current wings that Mark had. And for the imprint of Diwata Luwalhati, it would be the first time she would see Mark with his wings. And despite the different circumstances of the two, they were both shocked.

The reason was not Mark\'s wings having a different appearance. It was because the two could tell the concentrated aura of death that those wings contained. In the first place, since Mark was purposedly hiding it, the two did not realize that Mark had obtained a blessing connected to the powers of death. And now that it was exposed, it was no surprise that the two showed such reactions.

But most importantly, Mark was flying while dragging a pair of baggage midair. Tightly tied by the chains Mark was holding, two spheres dangled. To be precise, these two spheres were gigantic eyes.

Mark was not in a hurry as he flew towards the Stone Fortress. As such, more creatures within the vicinity of the fortress saw Mark. Some looked in awe, while some stared in horror. The eyes he carried might be eye-catching, but for the magical creatures, his wings took more attention.

Three pairs of wings, pitch black and emanated a sinister aura. It was the proof of a [Pure Blood Demon]. A monarch or royal blood within his race.

While to the non-Demons, these wings signified terror and danger, to the Demons, it was akin to commoners seeing a king of a foreign kingdom. That was the reason for their awe as they gazed at the man flying in the sky.

Amidst the commotion of the people below, Mark spotted the two [Diwatas] at the top of the fortress. It was hard to miss them as their long white dress stood out with the stone background around them. He then carefully dropped the eyeballs outside the walls. The fear stemming from Mark\'s presence made the guards up the walls extremely wary of Mark. Some of them recognized him. Nonetheless, their instinctual fear got ahead of them as they aimed their bows.

"Halt. Put down your weapons."

The voice of Diwata Danaya echoed into the guards\' ears. That voice carried a soothing aura that calmed the scared guards.

It was then that Diwata Danaya could be seen while floating in Mark\'s direction.

Diwata Danaya\'s eyes were focused on the eyeballs that Mark brought back. The eyeballs tied with chains were actually larger than them.

"These are..."

Diwata Danaya voiced out in awe.

"The giant\'s eyeballs," Mark spoke before Diwata Danaya could finish her question. "I thought I should bring back some evidence that I finished the work properly."

The eyeballs of the Metal Giant. There was no other proof that would best these enormously-sized items.

Diwata Danaya had a lot of questions. However, as she looked at the surroundings...

"This is not a proper place for a conversation. We should return to my abode."

Diwata Danaya said to Mark, to which he agreed.

The young [Diwata] led Mark over the wall while not forgetting to set up people to guard the eyeballs outside.

***

Back within the abode of Diwata Danaya, Mark answered the questions posed to him. What happened after Mark set off, the actual cause of this mess, the possible reasons for the giant\'s behavior, and why it took Mark another hour to return.

"So, these things are the reason..."

Felenia said while staring at the [Latcher] that Mark laid on the floor to show to them.

After all, who would not feel disgusted after Mark iterated everything he saw. A parasitic [Mechid], capable of clustering on a host\'s head. It was such a disgusting scene to imagine.

"That aside... you sure took your time looting..."

Spera questioned Mark. She was left alone in here, after all.

The battle Mark against the [Latchers] ended far before he lifted the barrier of [Miasmic Lightning]. It meant that when the fluctuation of energy vanished, Mark could have just gone back to inform everyone of the good news. However, Mark did not and spent another hour scouring the battlefield for possible loot and stuff.

"We can\'t just waste these kinds of stuff," Mark replied. "And if that giant isn\'t too big, I want to carry it home."

The Metal Giant\'s skin was an impressive material. It managed to cause problems to the Stone Fortress just because of its impossibly tough skin. Mark had no problems killing it because of his [Miasmic Lightning], bypassing the skin and damaging the rest of its body. If Mark had anything to compare to that metallic skin, it was the body of the larger [Mechids]. A body strong enough to endure high-end explosives and even tank shells.

It just meant that it was a material close, if not on par, with the metals that made up [Mechids]. Fortunately, this giant was here and not in Catanduanes. If the Metal Giant or something similar were present in Catanduanes, it would have been a disaster due to the [Mechid Factory].

Sadly, Mark\'s [Spatial Ring] only had around a five-meter cube area. There was no way he would be able to fit a giant about thirty meters tall inside its storage. Furthermore, since Mark retrieved as many [Latchers] as he could, his storage was already filled up. He did not even manage to get all the still intact [Latchers] and decided to destroy the remaining ones instead.

As for the corpse of the Metal Giant, Mark had no choice but to leave it behind after talking out its eyes as proof. It could be carefully dismantled, but the process might take a few days because of how big and heavy it was, not to mention the toughness of its skin.

Nonetheless, Mark was not that carefree. He made sure to damage the insides of the Metal Giant so that if there were [Latchers] that remained in the area, they would not be able to use the Metal Giant\'s body.

"Do you want the body to be retrieved?" Diwata Danaya suddenly offered. "We could likely send people to move it where we can keep an eye on it."

Now that the threat of the Metal Giant was gone, Diwata Danaya could give such suggestions.

"It would be nice if you could," Mark had no reason not to accept the offer. "Just be careful of the [Latchers]. Although I killed all that I could find, we don\'t know if there are still [Latchers] in the area."

"I will make sure to inform our people," Diwata Danaya nodded and continued. "Then, would you want to receive the core?"

Diwata Danaya already steeled herself. She gave the imprint a serious look and received a nod in return.

The imprint of Diwata Luwalhati was ready to end her duties today.

***

Mark and Spera were brought to the deepest parts of the Stone Fortress. Along the way, they met Teremillio and his harem. The curious group also followed to the sealed chambers and looked at the interior of the chamber in awe.

"Wait," Diwata Luwalhati said as they approached the vicinity of the sealing pillars. "I will put a temporary seal on the core to prevent its temperature from rising."

The core of a Deity-level [Flame Demon] was extremely hot. The sealing pillars were preventing the temperature from rising, but it would be a different matter once the core left the seal.

"There\'s no need for that."

Mark said as he took a step into the sealing formation.

Diwata Luwalhati was annoyed, but she did not stop Mark, wanting to see how he would handle the core.

Mark grabbed the core with his bare right hand. Despite still being sealed, the surface of the crystal-like core was as hot as lava. Mark\'s palm actually smoked as it touched the surface of the core.

But to Mark, such heat or burn did not matter. His hand released a cloud of [Miasma], which enveloped the core while his palm began to heal on its own. Mark then gave the core a tug and pulled it out of the sealing formation. The [Miasma] kept the energy and temperature in check, allowing Mark to successfully retrieve the core.

Diwata Luwalhati was still annoyed, but she was also impressed.

It was when Mark gave the imprint a few words that made her freeze.

"Use your remaining energy to spend time with Danaya."

Those actions from Mark made Diwata Luwalhati give out a bitter expression. If Mark allowed her to put a temporary seal on the core, her existence would end in the spot as it would consume the last energy the sealing formation had. Since Mark intervened, it still would take some time before the seal finally drained of its energy.

Who would have thought that, in the end, a Demon would be the one to give her such consideration?