Mutagen

Once the truth about what happened today was revealed, Ren knew this could be her final stand.

The tree of schemes planted by her family, no, the Mitsui Clan, started to grow. And now, they were uprooting the weeds that could hinder the growth of the tree.

One of the thickest weeds was the Black Lotus, especially Ren, who had the seal.

There was little to no chance of survival. But Ren decided not to go down without a fight. And there was only one way to do it. It was to kill her own brother.

Ren might not have the advantage of fighting Ishii and the others together. However, Keiji was different. Keiji might have been trained in the same martial arts as her, but he never excelled as he had more talent in business and schemes.

But killing her own brother? Could Ren do something like this?

And the answer was...

Why not?

Ren was kind and virtuous. However, Ren was also raised by her late Grandfather with the idea of an eye for an eye. Her family was trying to kill her. Then why could she not kill them? It might be heavy for her heart, but it was the way she was raised and lived since she was young.

But as Ren began to make her move, in the most unexpected moment, a dagger pierced her chest.

It was not a dagger from their enemies. Ren could only stare in shock and confusion as her trusted subordinate and friend, Mako, pulled the dagger out of her chest.

After a moan of pain, Ren could only let out a single-word question from her mouth by instinct.

"Why?"

Ren had yet to comprehend what was happening, and the pain in her chest was preventing her from realizing what was happening.

And when Ren heard the reply...

"I\'m sorry..."

Ren felt a pain far worse than the bleeding wound on her chest.

Betrayal.

In the last moment, Mako betrayed Ren... No... She betrayed the entire Black Lotus and everyone relying on them.

And as Ren lost all strength in her body, Mako gently let her down to the ground while taking something out of Ren\'s pocket.

"Ren-sama!"

Ren could faintly hear Keiko\'s worried shout. And as she mustered her last strength to slightly turn her head to Keiko, Ren saw her lying on the ground with blood dripping from the wounds on her body.

Keiko, shocked due to the sudden betrayal of Mako, ended up getting distracted, receiving the enemies\' attacks without defense. Keiko might have a more resilient body than Ren, but with the combined attacks of enemies of equal might, even Keiko would fall.

Both Ren and Keiko could only lie on the ground as they watched Mako walk unhindered toward Keiji. In her hand was the [Clan Seal] that the Mitsui Clan wanted to get their hands on.

Unfortunately for Ren, her eyes started to become blurry, and her hearing was getting muffled. But that blurry sight of hers cleared up one last time as she saw Mako getting stabbed by her older brother after he got his hand on the [Clan Seal].

Should she feel happy that Mako was betrayed the same way? Ren did not know. Mako\'s betrayal was emotionally and physically painful. However, Ren did not have any more time to muddle over these thoughts as she closed her eyes.

And after that, Ren finally blacked out as she embraced the cold feeling of death.

***

"..."

Ren, with great difficulty, opened her eyes. The first thing she saw was the odd, reddish-black colored ceiling.

To see such an ominous-colored ceiling while half awake, Ren thought she had ended up in hell or something. But her consciousness fully returned, she realized.

She was alive.

As Ren slowly tried to lift her weakened body up from the bed, she began to realize how surreal the situation was. Ren unfastened the buttons on her unfamiliar clothing and touched her chest. There was neither a wound nor a scar. It was as if the scene where Mako stabbed her heart never happened.

It was as if everything was just a dream.

But no. The emotional and physical pain was still fresh in Ren\'s mind.

With a sigh, Ren looked around her surroundings. The oddly-colored walls and ceiling aside, it looked no less than some kind of private hospital room, minus the high-tech hospital apparatus that was not present anywhere around her. She even had an IV drip attached to her arm.

Using the IV stand as a clutch, Ren raised her unstable body off the bed towards the only window in the room.

And there, looking at the view outside, Ren was stunned as a plethora of emotions overcame her.

Was it amazement? Confusion? Maybe both and more. These emotions stirred her heart as she looked outside. It was a view of an ominously colored fortress centered by a gigantic tree with red, glowing leaves. It was a scene out of this world. It was a scene that made Ren wonder if she was still on Earth.

Ren stared at the view, distracted enough to not notice the door opening.

"Ren-sama..."

Only when Ren heard the familiar voice that she had finally noticed someone had entered the room.

The teary-eyed Keiko approached Ren. It was rare for Ren to see the tomboyish Keiko with tears in her eyes. However, that was not what Ren focused on. It was the fact that Keiko was in a wheelchair.

"That\'s..."

Ren could not muster what to ask. Everything she had seen so far was confusing and surreal. And now? She saw Keiko in a wheelchair. Furthermore, her legs were both casted.

Keiko could only bitterly smile as she noticed what Ren was staring at.

And then, there was a short silence between the two.

Ren still felt the situation to be unreal. On the other hand, Keiko did not know how she should start the conversation. If Keiko began explaining what happened to her legs, it meant recalling the unpleasant things that previously happened.

As Ren looked outside the window and everything finally sunk into her mind, she finally asked.

"Where are we?"

And the answer bolstered Ren\'s confusion even further.

"The Philippines."

"...Are we really alive? We\'re not dead?"

Ren voiced out in utter disbelief. 

They died in Japan and woke up in the Philippines. Who would believe such bullsh*t? It might even be more rational if they died there and reincarnated here instead.

But no.

The feeling in her body... Ren was sure she was alive.

"Ren-sama," Keiko called out with a bitter smile. "I know you have questions, but you should rest first since you just woke up. Do you want something to eat? I\'ll ask someone to bring something."

Ren finally felt the hunger as she was reminded of it. Still...

"How long was I out?"

Ren asked as she slowly sat down on her bed.

"About a little more than two days," Keiko answered. "Today should be the third day if Ren-sama didn\'t wake up."

"Is that so..."

Ren said with a weakened sigh.

"Ren-sama, just stay here. I\'ll ask for food."

Keiko then went out of the door. As she moved around using the wheel, she was already used to her wheelchair.

Ren sat in the room in silence. It was until Keiko returned a few minutes later.

"Ren-sama, the food is still being prepared. We have to wait a little more."

Keiko said as she entered.

However, Keiko was not alone. As Ren saw who entered with Keiko, her eyes wavered in happiness.

"Ren-sama. It\'s good to see that you\'re already awake."

Tadashi greeted Ren as he kneeled down in front of her.

"Tadashi... You\'re alive. How is everyone?"

Ren tried to stand up as she asked those questions, but Keiko and Tadashi told her not to force herself too much. As she sat back on the bed, Tadashi answered.

"There were some serious injuries. But fortunately, we\'re all alive."

That was the best thing Ren had heard in a long while. Considering that everything was a scheme by Keiji and his lackeys to lure [Boss Level Infected] to deal with the Black Lotus, she had already expected the entire group to meet an unfortunate fate.

But to mark Ren wrong, everyone in the expedition made it alive.

And now, the question.

"How did we survive?"

Ren asked in an unsure mutter.

And there, both Keiko and Tadashi revealed the stories that unfolded.

***

"Not long after we gathered the unconscious, we immediately tried to retreat, abandoning the vehicles and everything else. But it isn\'t easy to pave a way through all of those [Infected]."

Tadashi began to recall what happened.

The members of the Black Lotus Group tried to flee the sea of [Infected] encroaching on them. But as Tadashi said, it was not easy. Not only the number of enemies was overwhelming, but the number of mutated ones far outnumbered the [Common Infected].

"But in the worst moment, we were saved."

Tadashi continued.

"By who?"

Ren asked.

"Not who but what," Tadashi bitterly smiled. "An old western sword came flying in front of us, using black flames to burn the [Infected and gave us a way to retreat. It even led us to some intact ruins where we were able to rest as the sword guarded the way in. It sounded absurd, wasn\'t it? We got saved by a suspicious sentient sword, and we had no choice but to accept its grace."

Tadashi and the other members of the Black Lotus Group stayed within the ruins for a while. It was until they were rescued there.

"When we were brought here, Ojou-sama and Keiko were already here under treatment," Tadashi then heaved a sigh. "I\'ll take this chance to apologize for being unable to protect you at that time."

"There\'s no need for you to apologize," Ren slightly shook her head. "The situation is outside our grasp."

"But I\'m surprised," Ren continued. "Did Oniisama not leave people to make sure all of our members are dead? That is strange."

"Yes, it is strange," Tadashi agreed, with Keiko nodding at the side. "That is if they really wanted us dead."

Ren was the leader of the Black Lotus Group for a reason. And she immediately what Tadashi implied.

"Whether the Black Lotus is actually wiped out or not did not matter. They only wanted me dead, and the rest is just an afterthought."

"That is just one reason," Tadashi added. "If we all died, then it is good. If not, we will end up trying to look for Ojousama and would likely find your [Infected] selves, or worse, half-eaten bodies. At that time, the surviving members would be the ones to bring the unfortunate news to the Reclaimed City."

"It is also likely the reason they did not outright kill us."

Keiko chimed in.

"What do you mean?"

Ren asked Keiko.

"When Ren-sama fell unconscious, Keiji-sama ordered Ishii to break my legs. It\'s all so that I can\'t escape. And..." Keiko took a deep breath. "And Mako made something unnecessary."

According to what Keiko witnessed, Keiji\'s plan was only to cripple Ren and Keiko and leave them for the dead to deal with. It was all to erase all their involvement in the incident. However, Mako stabbed Ren in her heart, likely killing her, which was not the plan at all. In any likelihood that the stab wound was found, suspicions would rise.

"Before I passed out, I saw Oniisama stabbing Mako. Is it because she didn\'t follow the plan?"

Ren was bitter about Mako\'s betrayal, and there was a slightly lower tone when she mentioned Mako\'s name.

"No... From what I witnessed..." Keiko shook her head. "Keiji-sama planned to kill her since the start. However, in order to mask your stab wound, he used your sword to stab Mako, making it as if you two had a falling out instead."

"That\'s..."

Ren was speechless... But then, it was her scheming brother, alright.

  "And Mako... What about her?"

Ren asked, but she was immediately met with dark expressions from the two.

"Mako is dead. She didn\'t make it."

Tadashi broke the news.

Ren was stunned. Mako did betray her, but she had yet to come to the feeling of whether she should be angry at her.

"But... How did she die?" Ren realized a discrepancy. "Her ability is to heal herself. She even received fatal wounds many times and lived. That is why she\'s called the [Undying Assassinatrix]."

"It\'s probably because... She might have betrayed us. But in the end," Keiko pointed at the side table beside Ren\'s bed. "She put Ren-sama\'s life before hers."

Ren looked at the side table. There was a small case there that she did not pay attention to earlier. And when Ren opened the box, she saw a familiar pendant.

A pendant without a gem.

Ren remembered. It had a gem before. She would not forget it since Mako gave it to her at the start of the expedition.