Mutagen

And roughly eight years after it gained prestige, it became one with the ruins that littered the entirety of Tokyo.

Its existence was not erased entirely. As it stood tall over other structures around it, its destruction led it to fall atop its neighboring ruins. Now, large pieces of it could still be seen from afar as it lay over the ruins of other buildings.

Since the apocalypse began, barely anyone alive had been to this location and its neighboring areas. As a tourist attraction, more people went to visit the location during the holidays. And a large part of that population contributed to the massive number of [Infected] in the area.

It was one of the places the Japanese army would not dare enter despite its location being not too far from the Reclaimed City.

The area around the Tokyo Skytree was declared a Dead Zone. No one should enter it as their rate of survival would be near zero. And the unique [Mutated Infected] in the vicinity added to such an outcome. The only saving grace was the fact that these unique creatures were highly territorial and would not wander too far from the Skytree for whatever reason. As such, the army decided to leave these creatures until they amassed enough firepower to deal with the threat.

Unfortunately for the army, two troublemakers entered the Dead Zone in the dead of night. Furthermore, the two did not just enter the vicinity but went straight to the center.

At each end of a huge part of the Skytree that bridged over two tall ruined buildings, Mark and the Priestess stood.

"Is this really a good place?" Mark\'s voice echoed through the ambient noises of the night. "This place seemed close to the Reclaimed City."

The two of them left the Reclaimed City. Mark followed the Priestess to this location, jumping and running over the ruins they passed by.

"This place is fine," The Priestess eagerly replied as she looked around her. "This place is a Dead Zone. People avoid this place like the plague. Even entering just the outskirts is almost a guaranteed death. Of course, not to the likes of us."

"And if some of the dangers get caught in the crossfire, it would be good for the Reclaimed City, right?"

Mark asked.

"Bingo."

The Priestess replied energetically.

It was really unexpected that the respected Priestess of the Reclaimed City had such a character. What made it worse was the fact that Mark knew this girl was probably around Amihan\'s age, around or above two hundred years old. The Priestess was at the age where Mark could call her great-grandmother, yet she behaved like a bored kid.

The Priestess\' behavior was similar to Amihan\'s in this way. Old but childish. However, Amihan was a [Sylph], and her current age was still a child compared to a [Sylph\'s] lifespan. On the other hand, the Priestess was a human. Despite her strangely young appearance, she was clearly an old hag.

Still, it was quite baffling that someone like her was living among humans. A powerful being with an entire religion behind her. She might not be their god, but she was that god\'s representative, as her title and status as the Priestess had implied.

"Time is passing. We should get started."

The Priestess said eagerly.

"Are you fine with that clothing?"

Mark could not help but ask. After all, the Priestess was still wearing her usual clothes. She even had that heavy ornament on her head. As for Mark, he was already wearing his old armor before he started to attack the Black Swan Club. There was no need for him to change.

"It\'s fine," The Priestess replied as she moved around, emphasizing her clothes. "This is made of silk from the web of a high-rank [Tsuchigumo]. Even a bazooka would barely damage it."

So, her clothing did not only look gaudy. It was actually made of extremely rare, expensive, and strong material.

"Okay, then."

Mark shrugged as he agreed to start.

At this time, the Priestess waved her right hand, and a human-shaped paper flew out of her sleeve. Mark readied at the same time. This was not an attack yet but the signal for the two to start.

It was a competitive fight without any ill feelings. This would be the first for Mark outside the spars he had with his members and people. And since the Priestess requested it, she would need to give Mark the unpolished gemstone whether he won or lost.

However, it did not mean that Mark would want to lose either. Since he already accepted it, he might as well try to win.

The Priestess folded the fingers on her left hand with the index and middle stretched out as she placed that hand in front of her chest. The paper doll, or the so-called [Shikigami], burst into flames and turned into a ball of fire before flying off to the sky.

BOOM!

The [Shikigami] bloomed like fireworks. The light in the sky seemed pretty due to the darkness of the apocalypse. However, the two people below it had no time to admire such a scene.

CRACK! BAM!

The concrete below Mark\'s feet cracked and broke as he kicked his legs backward. In an instant, Mark appeared in front of the Priestess with a punch.

As an Otaku, Mark had a hunch on how a Priestess like her could possibly fight, especially when she used a [Shikigami] as a starting signal.

In response, the Priestess stomped her right foot backward and raised her left arm forward.

BAM!

Mark landed on the ground a few steps back as his attack was repelled.

In front of him was the Priestess with her left hand stretched forward, holding a paper fan. The paper fan was all white, except for the symbols on it that glowed yellow after repelling Mark\'s preemptive attack.

"Aiming for a woman\'s face as soon as we started. That\'s not gentlemanly of you."

The Priestess complained at the trajectory of Mark\'s punch.

"We are in an equal contest," Mark said as he whisked his right hand in the air, feeling the impact reflected on the back of his hand. "An attack to the face isn\'t a cowardly blow, no matter what gender you are."

That response made the Priestess smile. Mark was really different from the people she had fought before.

In any case, Mark would not pause that long. He immediately jumped forward for another punch. Different from his initial attack, Mark did not go straight facing the Priestess. He also took a step sideward, attacking from her flank. He also added more force to it.

The Priestess noticed the difference between Mark\'s first and second attacks. It was faster and heavier. If his first attack was to probe, the second attack was to do actual damage.

In response, the Priestess did not receive the second punch using her fan directly. As she blocked Mark\'s fist with the fan, she twisted her hand at the moment of impact and tilted the fan in a way that the force and weight of Mark\'s punch would be sent in a different direction, weakening the impact drastically.

And the Priestess would not remain on the defensive. As the swing of Mark\'s redirected punch flew past her, she closed the fan and swung it at Mark, attacking his right shoulder.

Mark\'s posture looked awkward due to his missed attack. It would be hard to defend against the incoming fan. This showed how the Priestess was well-versed and experienced in physical combat despite how she looked like. She created an opening for an attack that would be hard to defend against.

But to the Priestess\' surprise...

CLANG!

A metallic spike shot out of Mark\'s shoulder, stopping the fan from going further. And as if that was not enough, the spike grew longer with a jelly-like base and actually flicked away the fan.

The two immediately jumped backward after the failed exchange of attacks.

While Mark was impressed by the Priestess\' close combat skills, the latter was surprised as to how Mark defended against her sure-hit attack. Her eyes were fixated on the metallic spike on Mark\'s shoulder as it retreated back into his body.

"You can control and transform your blood..."

The Priestess saw through what had just happened with only a cycle of thought.

"Yep."

Mark shrugged without the intention of hiding something the Priestess had already found out. At the same time, Mark let out four [Blood Whips] from his back before turning into metallic spider-like appendages.

"It\'s been a while since I used his, huh..."

Mark could not help but murmur.

"You\'re not some demon spider, are you?"

The Priestess could not help but ask after seeing the appendages on Mark\'s back. And thinking about it, the Priestess was not the first one to think that the appendages looked like a spider\'s. Back in New Jersey, he became the target to become Snow\'s mate due to the [Queen Spider] latched onto her.

"I\'m pretty sure I\'m not."

Mark replied as he began his attack once more.

And this time, the Priestess took out another fan for her opposite hand and also charged forwards.

The two exchanged blows between the crumbling piece of the Skytree bridged over the ruins. They moved incredibly fast that even blurs could be barely seen in the darkness of the night.

But since Mark made clever use of his [Blood Manipulation], the Priestess began to struggle. She might have two magical weapons, but Mark now had eight limbs to attack with.

On the other hand, Mark was having a hard time too. The fans on the Priestess\' hands had some kind of repelling effect that direct attacks hitting it would bounce off. Every attack that Mark unleashed that hit the fans would be pushed back.

BAM!

Mark attacked twice from different directions, and the fans blocked the attacks at the same time. Both Mark and the Priestess were blown away by the joint impact of their attacks.

The Priestess made the sudden impact and separation into an opportunity. Before she could land after being blown away, she waved her sleeve, letting out three paper dolls flying straight at Mark.

Mark frowned. It was what kind of battle style he had expected earlier from the Priestess. The fighting style of [Onmyodo].

While it was more prevalent in Anime, Fantasy Manga, and Novels, folklore also suggested that practitioners of [Onmyodo] used talismans and [Shikigamis] that contained magical properties to attack. It was mostly practiced against [Youkais], evil spirits, and Demons.

And considering that Mark was also a Demon, the Priestess\' [Shikigamis] could effectively make an impact on Mark.

Midway, the three [Shikigamis] flying toward Mark burned and turned into balls of flame shooting toward him. It was not even a straight shot. The balls of flame were curving in trajectory as they flew at Mark.

Twisting his body a bit, Mark let the three balls of flame fly past him. It was because those three were more or less just a distraction. As he looked forwards, the Priestess had already finished some chant while holding a rectangular talisman which she threw at him.

Just like the three [Shikigamis], the talisman burned mid-flight. However, it did not turn into a ball of flame but quickly shot toward Mark with a loud crackle. It was a lightning talisman, shooting at Mark at high speeds. And as if it was not enough, Mark noticed the heat behind him. The three balls of flame he evaded did have homing capabilities and flew back at him.

Mark was sandwiched by attacks from the front and back due to the lapse in his judgment. He was impressed at the Priestess who was able to make this kind of scheme.

BOOM!

Mark was engulfed by the attacks, creating a big explosion.

"Wha- did I overdo it?"

The Priestess did not think that it would actually work this well. Still, the effect was pretty strong, although she had no intention of killing Mark.

But then, the smoke from the explosion was blown away, making the Priestess wide-eyed.

The smoke cleared, and Mark was revealed with his six wings protecting his body. This might not mean much to the eyes of regular people, but a Priestess should know that...

A Demon with multiple wings emitting strong magical energy was the sign of a Noble Pureblood.