Mutagen

The cold wind blew as the temperature of the surroundings dropped. Outside, a soft rain of fluffy ice could be seen as the first snow of the season fell, marking the arrival of winter.

Many people watched the snowfall, not with any glee for its beauty. The people of the Reclaimed City had already prepared for this season as much as they could. Unfortunately, the preparations they could get were limited.

Without the expensive gas or with electricity limitedly rationed, regular people could not use electric heaters in their homes and tents. The poor refugees could only rely on the old metal barrels they could use to burn anything that could serve as a heat source.

And food would be even more limited. There would be fewer animals for the hunters to hunt during winter, and only the crops within the Reclaimed City\'s controlled environment would grow. 

It would be nice if the farmers could grow winter crops, but it would be even better if the government managed to find or successfully modify some mutated veggies and fruits that could thrive in the winter snow. However, the likelihood of such things was quite low considering the current unstable state of the world.

The arrival of winter was both a good and bad thing.

While the people would struggle with food and the weather\'s temperature drop, the enemies outside the Reclaimed City were not impervious to these effects either.

Demons might have a body stronger than humans. However, not all of them would thrive in a snowy environment. Worse, there were Demons that were weakened during these seasons. Of course, there were also Demons strengthened during winter.

And the Demons aside, while the effects of winter on the alien robots were still uncertain, its effects on the [Infected] were already experienced by the people of the Reclaimed City.

The apocalypse started just about a week or so before winter started in Japan. Thus, they saw how the freezing temperature slowed down most of the [Infected]. Most of the runners died to the freezing temperatures before turning into the slower [Infected] variants. It was not wrong to say that the majority of the [Infected] currently present in Japan were [Biter] variants in Mark\'s terminologies.

Of course, the winter season was not all bad for the [Infected]. [Mutated Infected] attuned to the snowy and freezing environments appeared soon after, making the lives of the survivors even harder.

In any case, it was not wrong to say that Japan\'s extreme seasons contributed to the survival of many people in the Reclaimed City.

The coming of this year\'s winter aside, another occasion was currently being observed in the Reclaimed City.

It was the coming of the so-called "Delegation" from one of humanity\'s supposed enemies, the underground magical association, Auraboros.

The common folk had no inkling of an idea about the existence of the Auraboros. It was until the apocalypse began that their existence was revealed to the public.

In the Philippines, the existence of Auraboros was revealed due to their failed attempt to take over Bay City in the shadows. It was although they managed to unseal and resurrect the [Flame Demon Deity], Gar\'Vlam.

The circumstances in Japan were a tad bit different. 

It was no secret that the majority of Demons and Yokais of Japan were known for their violent tendencies. And as the apocalypse arrived, the Demons of Auraboros became uncontrollably violent to the point that their existence was revealed to the humans too early.

And, of course, the hate of the humans towards the Demons and Auraboros began at the same time.

Damage control was done by the higher members of the Auraboros, but the branch was split into two parties. The ones under the Empress following her orders and those that wanted to go wild in eliminating the humans.

Although the Empress had a different agenda and way of ruling, it could not be helped that the hate from humans was pointed at Auraboros as a whole. Besides, the organization was built with hate towards humans and the guardians of this world as the foundation.

Both parties hating each other was no surprise.

But despite that hate from both parties, the leaders had something else in mind.

Cooperation between the Reclaimed City and the Auraboros against the hostile Demons of the north and the other enemies lurking around the entirety of the world.

Individuals from both sides had split opinions over this alliance. And due to some "unforeseen" circumstances, the talks had been delayed.

But now, just in time, the delegation from Auraboros rode the barge to the docks of Kachidoki.

The place to welcome the delegation was actually quite a contest for the territories. After all, even if the people\'s opinion was split, the delegation was still the Priestess\' precious guests. Welcoming the delegation within their territory meant that the attention of the Temple would be theirs, even if it was just a short period of time.

Aside from the territory of the Blood Lion Troupe, other northern and western territories of the Reclaimed City were contesting this.

But to everyone\'s dismay, the chosen territory, out of all places, was the currently leaderless Kachidoki.

A week ago, all members of the Black Lotus Group who departed for the expedition failed to return. After the Priestess sent people to investigate, all those people found were abandoned vehicles in the middle of an extremely large horde. Worse, not a trace of any member of the expedition was found.

The members of the Black Lotus Group in the expedition were all declared M.I.A. However, most people already accepted their deaths.

The territory of the Black Lotus Group was left without a leader since then. Due to Mitsui Ren\'s supposed relationship with the Mitsui Clan, they tried to take Kachidoki as their own. Unfortunately for the greedy clan, the Priestess came first and maintained the ruling of Kachidoki in the hands of the remaining members of the Black Lotus Group.

And now, once again, the center of attention was the territory of the Black Lotus Group, and all those envious people on the sidelines could not do anything about it.

On the docks, the barge arrived, bearing the delegation.

The people watching looked in awe as the carriage pulled by giant wolves moved from the barge into the docks. It was surrounded by a group of warriors wielding different kinds of weapons. This scene was not surprising when the leader of the delegation was no other than the Empress herself.

And the group to welcome the delegation was composed of Priests and Maidens from the Temple, led by the Priestess\' Grand Niece, Ise Tsubasa, and the Head Priest, Hirata Akio.

The welcome was just a display of formalities. Both Tsubasa and Akio gave their greetings, while the Empress received their greetings while remaining inside the carriage.

This might sound disrespectful since the Empress was not even showing her face to the ones welcoming her group. However, considering the difference in status, the welcoming party could only swallow their complaints.

The only person that could receive an equally respectful reply from the Empress was only the Priestess, after all. They were both people of the same standing.

Aside from the welcoming group from the Temple, soldiers were also present to ensure the safety of the delegation. Of course, it was just a facade. These soldiers were here to make sure that their guests would behave.

Among the soldiers present, the examiner from the Bureau, Ishioka Kenji, was also there. He might have been a retired veteran, but his strength was more than enough to qualify him as one of the escorts in this event.

The welcoming group, the military escorts, and the guests left the docks together, traveling at a leisurely pace along the main road of Kachidoki. They were not in a hurry since the starting meeting was officially scheduled for tomorrow morning. For today, a welcoming party was scheduled in the evening. It was in hopes of making relationships and connections stronger. Most importantly, a successful alliance for tomorrow.

With the planned schedule, it should be expected that there would be more than one meeting. After all, peace talks would not just end in a single discussion. 

If something of that importance could end in just one meet-up, the world would have been a better place. Unfortunately, such an occurrence was more of fiction than reality.

The convoy continued on the street.

It was like a parade since many people on the streets stopped to watch. They were especially fascinated by the carriage pulled by giant wolves.

On the other hand, the Empress and her entourage were observing the surroundings they were passing by.

For both sides, the other side was like an animal in a zoo they had seen for the first time.

The humans were interested in their guests, while the Demons were interested in the current lives of humans during the apocalypse.

As they traveled down the street, the convoy moved as everyone would have expected.

But the welcoming groups became filled with confusion along with the onlookers at the streetside when the carriage stopped at a certain location.

Their utter confusion was understandable. It was because the delegation stopped in front of an old restaurant. It would have been unsurprising if the restaurant was still in operation, but it was not and had long been turned into bases for several groups of [Freelancers] a few times.

The most important thing was that the very same restaurant had been the center of attention of the entire Reclaimed City in the past few weeks due to the inhabitants currently residing there.

Unfortunately for the welcoming party from the Temple and the Army, there was nothing wrong with this situation. It was not like they could force the guests to continue on the road. Furthermore, the guests were not really causing trouble.

But as if the confusion they currently had was not enough, the leader of the delegation from the Auraboros stepped out of her carriage for the first time.

An ethereal beauty capable of capturing the hearts of all genders. That was what the witnesses described the Empress. She had an innate allure to her, complimented by her gorgeous gold-trimmed clothing, jeweled crown, golden jewelry, and natural-looking makeup.

The Empress had rather crafty-looking eyes and a beautifully shaped face. 

If there was anyone who could contest the Empress\' "foxy" looks, it would have been the rumored woman currently living in that very same restaurant.

And under everyone\'s watch, ignoring the welcoming escorts from the Temple and the Army, the Empress walked towards the restaurant with a pair of her female servants.

With a nod from the Priestess, one of two servants approached the door and knocked.

It was such an unexpected gesture from people who ignored the members of the Temple. What would the Empress want in this old restaurant and its current inhabitants? Did the information about the Evernight Group\'s mysterious equipment reach the ears of Auraboros already? Or were the members of the Evernight working for the Auraboros in the first place?

And then, a person opened the door of the restaurant.

To push everyone\'s surprise even more, the person that opened the door was unfamiliar to those who knew of the Evernight group. It was never reported that the Evernight group had a new member either. Furthermore, that unfamiliar person was a girl in maid\'s clothing.

The existence of that maid also seemed to surprise the Empress and her servants. It was not only because they did not expect something like here. It was the fact that the maid in front of them was not a living creature.

With some voiceless but respectful gestures, the maid opened the way for the Empress and her servants. The Empress raised her right hand to signal the rest of her entourage to wait here. On the other hand, she asked another servant to relay her words to the escorts from the Temple and the Army.

Of course, the other parties would not just let this happen. In the first place, they were supposed to guide, no, keep an eye on the Empress and her entourage.

The Empress then sent her servant to ask something from the people inside the restaurant. And in a compromise, the two leaders from the Temple and a pair of representatives from the Army were allowed to follow the Empress inside the restaurant.

It was a compromise the escorts could only accept. But most importantly, they deduced something.

The Empress, who could blatantly ignore the Temple and the Army, had to ask for permission. It was such a shocking thing to see even more for both of the ignored parties.

It meant that whoever was inside the restaurant was either someone stronger or of equal standing to the Empress.

But how? The social standing of the members of the rumored Evernight group was actually greater than they had thought?

And as the representatives entered the restaurant, the one waiting for them... No... Playing on his phone on the sofa was the leader of the Evernight, Mark.