Mutagen

Going back to when the soldiers arrived and joined the battle...

Along Kachidoki\'s coastline, the battle between the invading Demons and the JSDF ensued. Tank cannon shots roared, followed by explosions in the middle of the enemy army. Heavy caliber weapons were deployed as lower caliber guns could be resisted by the Demons.

The fiery retaliation of the soldiers made up for their tardiness.

However, there was one stupid problem.

"I\'m really sorry!"

One of the commanding officers was currently bowing his head in front of Mark.

Why?

The soldiers began their bombardment while Mark was in the middle of the enemies while fighting Shin.

It was no secret that the Temple and the Government did not get along too well. As such, the communication between the two parties was quite lacking.

And that lack of communication and the competitive nature of the soldiers late to their supposed duty caused that accident.

In the first place, no one would expect a single ally to be in the middle of the Demon army. Nonetheless, there was no mistake that they attacked an ally due to neglect of proper communication.

In any case, due to the arrival of the JSDF, Mark and his group got a bit of a leeway to rest. Even some of the Onmyojis retreated, dragging their injured bodies. The Black Lotus also retreated to the docks, replacing Mark\'s group in preventing the Demons from infiltrating. Ren also joined Mark\'s group after receiving his signal.

And now, Mark was receiving the officer\'s apology after Tsubasa complained about the problem to the soldiers.

"Haah," Mark replied to the officer with a stern stare and a sigh. "We have our plans, but I didn\'t expect them to be ruined by you people."

"And those plans are?"

At this time, four people approached Mark and his group.

Three of them were familiar to Mark. One was the receptionist that registered them in the bureau, Ishioka Rinka, and the other was the examiner and Rinka\'s father, Ishioka Kenji. The last one was the bear guy who guarded the bureau called Okii-san.

The one in the center, the middle-aged man who asked Mark, was the one who was unfamiliar. He exuded an aura of someone with authority. He might not be a combatant, but he must be some sort of a leader.

"Sir!"

The officer apologizing to Mark saluted the middle-aged man.

However, Mark only stared at the middle-aged man without answering. It was when the man realized that Mark had no idea who he was.

"Oh, pardon my late introductions. I am Kageyama Shigeru. The current Chief of the Bureau. And right now, acting as commander of these soldiers. And back to the topic. Those plans are?"

"Chief, commander, or whatever, we have no reason to say anything." 

Mark said, not shrinking to the authoritative aura of Shigeru.

"This would be a problem," Shigeru was not offended by Mark\'s words and tried to reason. "If we are left out, how would the soldiers be able to cooperate? You had already said it. Your plans were ruined because we had no idea what it was."

The plan only involved the Auraboros, the Temple, and the Evernight. It was centered between the three leaders of the said groups. The Black Lotus was also involved, although they were more of an affiliated group.

And this time, Ren, who was presumed dead by the people of the Reclaimed City, stepped forward.

"The plans could have been shared if not for the fact that there are traitors lurking inside the city. There is no point in sharing it, only to spread it to the enemies."

Shigeru had a point, but Ren had a stronger point. And even Shigeru had nothing to argue with that. 

"Mitsui-sama, you\'re alive!"

Rinka voiced out after seeing Ren.

"Fortunately..." Ren smiled bitterly. "We almost got killed by my brother and the traitors in cahoots with them."

Ren said it lightheartedly, but her words made the people in front of her freeze. She had just named her brother and clan as traitors.

Shigeru frowned after hearing the fact. He was about to confirm the details from Ren when his radio began acting up.

"Evacuation to Command! Evacuation to Command! We have an urgent situation!"

The voice from the radio echoed.

"What is the situation?"

Shigeru answered the radio.

"A monster is rampaging in Toyosu! Presumably, the heir of the Mitsui Group! There were already casualties among the civilians, and the number is increasing. We are about to engage!"

The message from the radio made everyone frown. It just confirmed what Ren had just said. Furthermore, Mitsui Keiji turned into a monster? The first thing that came into their minds was [Demonification]. The same thing that Shin had gone to.

But before Shigeru could say anything, he could hear the panic on the other side of the radio as bullets were rendered ineffective against the monster Keiji.

"We need to send reinforcements."

Rinka said, and her father also agreed.

"I\'ll go," But Ren interjected. "We siblings still have a business to finish."

Then, Ren turned to Mark.

"Can I?"

"Your choice," Mark said as he then turned to Spera. "Bring her to the location and support her. You know what to do next."

"No problem." 

Spera nodded, finally getting into her own action.

And before everyone\'s shocked eyes, Spera opened the space in front of her and urged Ren to enter first.

"W-what?!"

Rinka was the most expressive among the shocked audience. Unfortunately, there was no time to lose. Soon after Ren, Spera jumped into the portal, and it immediately closed.

Shigeru\'s entourage looked at Mark\'s group. The more time spent with them, the more they become mysterious.

"Is she a [Esper] with portal ability?"

Shigeru asked, looking at the empty space where the portal was before.

However, Mark shook his head.

"Not an [Esper]. A [Psycast]."

Of course, Mark\'s words did not make sense. In the first place, what in the world was a [Psycast]?

Unfortunately for the confused group, Mark\'s most annoying trait kicked in. He did not try to explain anything further, leaving them utterly confused and annoyed.

In any case, Shigeru radioed in for reinforcements for the soldiers in Toyosu. He did not know whether Ren could stop Keiji. It was better to be prepared.

At this time, Tsubasa chimed in.

"What are you going to do with this?"

Tsubasa pointed at a restrained individual that Mark grabbed while retreating from the explosions.

Sitting behind them was the [Yuki-Onna] Tsubasa was fighting before, currently struggling with the bidings on her body.

Actually, Tsubasa was a little perplexed by Mark. She was having a hard time fighting this [Yuki-Onna]. However, Mark just grabbed the enemy without having much trouble. Just what were her struggles for?

However, Mark answered by pointing at the sky.

It was when everyone noticed that the sky was slowly beginning to clear up. The wind from the blizzard was getting weaker, and the snow was beginning to stop.

This meant that the cause of the blizzard was this [Yuki-Onna]. And now that Mark restrained her, the blizzard began to stop.

But still... Tsubasa could not see any reason to capture her. Immediately killing her was far more efficient.

However, Mark could not explain immediately. From his communicator, Spera\'s voice could be heard.

"Spera, you two arrived?"

Mark spoke through his communicator.

That communicator took the attention of Shigeru and his entourage. It was because Mark\'s communicator was far from being a phone or a radio. The communicator in his hand was just a thin credit card-sized object. It was about a centimeter thick, but the item in his hand was still small enough to perfectly fit in a pocket.

Mark did not bother with the guests as he listened to Spera.

"We arrived. I dropped Ren off in front of her brother and retreated to a safer distance. But something isn\'t right."

"What is?"

Mark asked.

"I don\'t think Ren\'s brother is turned into a Demon. This is something else."

Spera then began explaining what she could see at Mark\'s orders.

And from what they were hearing, it was as if Keiji had turned into something that was neither human nor Demon. Spera had been with Demons and non-human beings since she obtained her powers. It made her a little familiar with the auras and magical energy of such creatures if she was able to feel it. And from her statement, she had never felt anything similar to the aura Keiji was currently emitting.

But then, Spera dropped a bomb.

"If there\'s something closer to what Keiji is right now, it would be Chimetrice."

Unfortunately, Spera could not give any further explanation as to what she was feeling. After all, she was not an expert in that topic. It was all her gut feeling.

"Is Ren okay?"

Mark asked.

"She\'s still fine, but..." Spera replied. "I don\'t think she will win this round."

The second round between the siblings seemed to be a turnaround.

"Make sure to help her in a pinch, alright? We can\'t have her dying."

Mark reminded Spera.

But then, when Mark was talking with Spera, someone suddenly appeared, surprising Shigeru and his entourage.

A woman appeared out of nowhere, and none of them noticed where she came from. But the guests confirmed something. The woman wore the same kind of armor that the Evernight was wearing. She had a differently styled armor that seemed to be specialized in mobility. Unfortunately, there was no way to recognize her since her face was also covered with a mask.

And without the woman saying anything, Mark spoke.

"You want to help?"

And the woman nodded.

Mark shrugged and gave Spera another order. It was to open a portal to let the woman reach Spera\'s current location.

Mark then spoke to the woman.

"Be careful there. You\'re already one of my people. You can\'t die without my orders."

The woman nodded at Mark\'s words and entered the portal.

Shigeru and the other people around watched Mark\'s group. Their group sure was unfathomable.

This time, probably getting fed up with Shigeru\'s stares, Mark spoke to Shigeru.

"Don\'t you have an army to lead, acting commander?"

Shigeru glanced at the battlefield.

"The current situation can be handled by the officers. Unless there\'s a major change in the flow of the battle, my meddling would be unnecessary."

Shigeru was not just shirking his duties. It was true that while it was a bit tough, the soldiers already managed to stabilize the frontlines.

But as if mocking Shigeru\'s words...

ROOOOOARR!!!

A loud roar was heard in the middle of the frozen river.

No... It was not in the middle...

It was under the frozen river.

CRASH!

The frozen surface of the river shattered, creating a large hole.

And from that hole, a skeleton towering about ten meters surfaced slowly. It was not just a giant skeleton. All its bones were actually accumulations of tightly packed skulls belonging to different creatures.

"Looks like they will need your commands now." 

Mark said to Shigeru, hoping that this guy would leave already.

Maybe, because of the giant skeleton and because Mark was clearly not welcoming him, Shigeru left to command the soldiers.

However, while Ishioka Kenji and Okii-san followed Shigeru, Rinka stayed behind. There was no particular reason why. It was just that she was unneeded from where her father was going.

Ignoring Rinka, Mark was also not intending to idle around.

Mark had another reason to bring this [Yuki-Onna] here. It was because all the Demons in this battle were behaving strangely.

In fact, this [Yuki-Onna] continued to struggle, trying to free herself from her restraints. It was to the point that her pale skin was already getting bloody marks from the bindings on her arms and legs.

The [Yuki-Onna] was clearly not in the right mind. She may be a Demon, but behaving like a rabid animal was really strange. In fact, it would not be strange if she began talking to Mark, who restrained her. But, so far, all that Mark heard were growls.

As such, Mark decided to try something.

Mark then held out his right hand, covering it with a milky-white glow.