Mutagen

The strong winds blew, carrying the heavy fall of snow. 

A sudden blizzard.

It took many citizens of the Reclaimed City off guard as those in the streets rushed into any possible shelter they could find. The sudden strong wind and chilling cold were too much, even if the citizens were already wearing winter clothes.

Early noon, people should be preparing their meal stubs while heading to food stations to receive their lunch. However, the streets were now mostly empty, with only a few to risk braving through a strong blizzard.

And with this empty street and the unconscious victims of the strange hymn, no one should be able to witness the army of Demons crossing the frozen bodies of water around the Reclaimed City.

It was an amazing scheme, a supposedly foolproof plan. By the time the citizens noticed the Demons invading, the invaders were already within the city.

Even if the Priestess detected the invading Demons through her barrier, there was no way she would be able to immediately respond. It was the same for the Empress and her entourage.

In one full sweep, Japan\'s last line of defense was broken down, and all that was left was to eliminate the remaining dangers within the city. Even if some managed to luckily escape, it did not matter. 

The Reclaimed City would be no more.

That was how it was supposed to go.

However...

"Wow... that\'s a lot..."

Someone sat on the rooftop of a building near Kachidoki\'s coast. Everyone in that area should have fallen to the song. 

Yet, there was one... no...

Aside from that man on the rooftop, a few other people could be seen with him. Furthermore, silhouettes clad in white robes could be seen hiding in fixed intervals all over the coastal areas of the Reclaimed City facing the ruins of Tokyo.

Mark sat on the ledge of the rooftop, swinging his feet like a child. Behind him were the members of his group, with Miracle sitting on his lap while watching the army of Demons marching below.

The blizzard was raging on. Yet, as the members of Evernight were all adorned with their special armor, the cold was not a concern.

"That number... They look pretty intimidating. Right, Uncle?"

Emika said as she leaned forward on the ledge. Although she said that, she did not look intimidated at all. A little nervous, maybe. However, her subconscious [Mutator Trait], [Cheerfulness], prevented her from being afraid despite the horrific scene before her.

Mei, Iola, Spera, and even Amihan were quite concerned. Emika was right, after all. How many Demons were there? It was several tens of times more than the number of Demons they fought in Catanduanes.

Furthermore, unlike the [Infected] or the [Mechids], these Demons had magical abilities which were less predictable.

As for the little catgirl, Abbygale, she was more concerned about the fact that Miracle snatched Mark\'s lap than the enemies they were seeing.

At this time, a woman in Shrine Maiden clothing appeared behind Mark\'s group.

Mark glanced behind him. The woman was Ise Tsubasa, the Priestess\' Grandniece.

"The evacuation of the unconscious is nearly finished," Tsubasa informed Mark. "Our defensive forces are all in position."

Tsubasa\'s voice was quite tense. This was the first time she had seen this many Demons in one place. She did not know whether their preparations would be enough. Glancing at the frozen river, she saw the Demons marching at fixed pacing.

That sight was amazing in a sense. Knowing how Demons behaved, they were never a unified bunch. Even in a group, each member would move on their own intentions. Yet, none of such natural behavior could be seen at this time.

The Demons, in varying sizes and appearance, marched like an army. An army under a supreme leader.

Following the march of the Demons over the river, a division of Demons capable of flight took off from the ruins. In an instant, the sky grew darker due to the number of Demons flying above the ruins of Tokyo.

"I hate to say this..." Tsubasa voiced out as she saw the Demons in the sky. "We should have informed the Defense Forces."

Tsubasa then glanced at Mark.

What was happening right now was the machinations of Mark, the Priestess, and the Empress. A plan that did not involve informing anyone who was unnecessary to the plan, especially the army.

And in this plan, instead of the army, the Priests and Maidens of the Temple would play a crucial role in defending the Reclaimed City from the invasion of the Demons.

Tsubasa could not understand what was going on within the heads of the leaders of this alliance. But then again, the humans could not be trusted at this time. After all, the most important factor in the plan of the Demons was likely the traitorous members of the Mitsui Clan.

Without answering Tsubasa, Mark continued to watch the marching Demons. They were now walking past half of the river. Yet, the number of those moving from the ruins into the frozen river had yet to end.

"This scene makes me remember the Great Yokai War... The movie is kinda average, but it\'s pretty interesting. I should have downloaded a copy..."

Mark rambled on something definitely outside the supposed topic at hand. This made Tsubasa a little frustrated. Demons sure were hard to talk to.

Worse, the flying Demons were now overtaking the ones marching on the river. These flying Demons would arrive first, invading the city as soon as they entered.

And at this time...

WOOOOOONG!

The air trembled. The powerful individuals like Mark\'s group and the members of the Temple felt it. And although the residents of the Reclaimed City did not feel the fluctuation of magical energy directly, they sensed something was wrong.

As for those who were near the center of Toyosu, their eyes opened wide as they gazed through the strong blizzard.

The TEPCO Toyosu Building, a gigantic building in the face of Toyosu, vanished without a trace.

Many people were too shocked they rushed out of their shelters to check if they were not hallucinating.

Unfortunately, they were not. The entire building vanished without a trace, leaving nothing but a gigantic circular crater in the place where it was supposed to be. And worse... all the leaders of the Reclaimed City... All the participants of the Alliance Meeting, especially the Priestess, vanished along with the building.

The situation did not immediately register in the minds of the people that witnessed the disappearance.

But to douse their befuddled minds...

WOOOOOO! WOOOOOO! WOOOOOO!

The sound alerts echoed all over the Reclaimed City. As the rhythm of the alarm entered everyone\'s ears, they understood what it implied.

Everyone began to move. Many panicked, while most people felt fear creep into their hearts.

The alarm they were hearing implied a large-scale attack on the Reclaimed City.

Without needing any directives from the authorities, the citizens of the Reclaimed City immediately looked for safe shelters. Some rushed to their homes, taking their families to a better place to evacuate.

The blizzard did not matter. What mattered was the people and their family\'s safety.

And with the alarm sounding, the army also began to mobilize. But then, a big problem occurred for them. Their commanders were among those who vanished together with the TEPCO building. And with such a dilemma, their mobilization was drastically slowed.

But then, the people closest to the coast saw the flock of winged creatures in the snow-hindered sky. But before panic ensued, visible barriers of light suddenly shot high into the sky, encircling the entire Reclaimed City.

The creatures hit the barrier with great ferociousness. The barrier\'s glow flickered at every hit. It was clear that the barrier was taking damage. However, it was still holding on, for now.

Back at the tall building in Kachidoki, Tsubasa used a talisman to communicate with the other Priests and Shrine Maidens as they erected the defensive barrier. Different from the Priestess\' barrier that protected the land and its safety, this barrier was more akin to a gigantic glass shield.

Mark looked at the Demons.

The Demons were also surprised by the sudden sound of the alarms. This was not supposed to happen, after all. Since the people in the coastal areas were supposed to be unconcious, there should be no one to sound the alarm.

Yet, the alarm warning about the attack sounded in a timely fashion. Furthermore, just as the flying Demons were about to enter the Reclaimed City, the barriers appeared, causing the flying Demons to comedically crash headfirst onto the barriers, heavily injuring the leading ones in the process. With great injuries on their bodies, they fell from the sky, crashing onto the frozen river. And to some, crashing to their demise.

The first casualties of the invasion were from the Demons. Worse, it was due to a collision accident. Not from the actual battle.

But before mulling over those deaths, the Demons became more concerned about something else.

Many Demons were smart, but most of them were simpletons. They followed the march, strictly following the directives of a foolproof plan. But now that something had gone ways away from what they knew, confusion arose among their ranks.

"A little more push..."

Mark whispered as his eyes emitted a reddish glow.

The Demons became agitated. Most of the Demons left their tidy and intimidating ranks and rushed towards the Reclaimed City.

Due to the broken ranks, the number of Demons rushing to the Reclaimed City at a single moment was drastically reduced with wide intervals.

It was an opportunity.

"Attack!"

Tsubasa issued her commands through her [Communcation Talisman]. She did not know what exactly had happened. But she heard Mark\'s whisper. He clearly had done something.

Receiving the command, Onmyojis revealed themselves and rushed out of the barrier that only stopped Demons. With talismans in hand and bravery in their hearts, they began to intercept the agitated Demons.

With this situation, the war between the Demons of the North and the Reclaimed City officially began.

The Onmyojis threw their talismans, summoning purifying flames and lightning at the Demons. In an instant, a few dozen weak Demons were obliterated by the Onmyojis.

But, of course, the Demons would not just let the Onmyojis slaughter their kind.

In retaliation to the flames of the Onmyojis, arm-sized icicles were shot from the ranks of the Demons.

The icicles were clearly deadly as they flew at the speed of a bullet despite their sizes.

Throwing a set of talismans in front of him, the Onmyoji, facing the icicles, erected a barrier in front of him.

It was a stupid decision.

CRASH!

The icicles instantly tore through his barrier. The Onmyoji tried to evade at the last moment. However...

"AGH!"

The Onmyoji cried in pain.

These icicles had no eyes, had no mercy. One of them tore through the Onmyoji\'s arm, decapitating it in a way that destroyed the arm right between the elbow and the shoulder. Even if there was a way to reattach a sliced-off arm, this was definitely not the case for this Onmyoji.

And it was not all.

The icicle that tore through that Onmyoji\'s arm flew continuously with the other icicles.

CRACK! CRACK!

The icicles hit the barrier. While the icicles did not break the barrier, they created cracks on its surface.

It was such a powerful attack.

The Priest behind that area of the barrier immediately patched up the barrier. Nonetheless, they already saw the danger. A continuous barrage of those icicles might likely break a part of the barrier and allow Demons to come through.

"Find the one that shot those icicles!"

An Onmyoji shouted.

But another Onmyojis near the previous guy spoke.

"There\'s no need to."

And the Onmyojis saw the perpetrator of those icicles.

A beautiful pale-skinned woman with long black hair, bluish lips, and snow-white kimono. The freezing temperature around her caused a hazy visage of freezing fog. And above her shoulders, another set of icicles could be seen forming.

The woman stretched her right arm forward. Another barrage of icicles shot toward the Onmyojis.

It was dangerous. The Onmyojis could dodge the icicles. However, it meant that the icicles would hit the barrier.

But as the Onmyojis were in a tight spot, a woman appeared before them, facing the incoming icicles.

With a wave of her hands, several layers of barriers were created by sets of talismans.

In a blink of an eye, the barriers and the icicles clashed with a loud sound of glass breaking.

Both the barriers and the icicles shattered, creating a draw.

"Tsubasa-sama!"

The Onmyojis called out their savior\'s name. However, Tsubasa did not turn to look at them as she spoke.

"Go deal with the other Demons!"

"Y-yes!"

The Onmyojis rushed to deal with the other Demons, leaving Tsubasa facing the pale-skinned woman.

However, the pale-skinned woman tried to ignore Tsubasa to chase after the Onmyojis. But as she tried to move, a bolt of lightning struck nearby her feet, making her step back.

The woman turned to Tsubasa with a grim look in her eyes.

Tsubasa stared back at the woman and spoke.

"Your opponent is me, [Yuki-Onna]."