Mutagen

In the middle of Toyosu, the cold and snow did not stop the life and death battle between the siblings of the Mitsui Clan.

The soldiers had become the audience while keeping the civilians away from the fight. It was the only thing they could do to help, as bullets were ineffective against the current Keiji. Explosives were an option, but if it was possible, the soldiers would rather not detonate explosives in the middle of Toyosu.

That was why the soldiers were hoping that Ren could confront this danger.

Unfortunately, Ren was actually in quite a difficult situation.

Ren\'s attacks were not causing any damage to Keiji.

"Wah?"

The soldiers voiced out their surprise and amazement as they saw a large black-colored lotus manifest behind Ren.

For the third time today, Ren used her most powerful technique.

Ren charged at Keiji. At the same time, the forty-eight petals of the black lotus behind her turned into blades that began flying at her brother.

The [Dance of the Black Lotus]. It was the name given to her current action. Attacking with her sword while petal blades complemented her movements to attack her opponent. 

Even Hideo, the master of Ren and Keiji, had a hard time defending against Ren\'s barrage of attacks supported by the petal blades.

However, Keiji, who was supposed to be weaker than Ren and their master, was able to defend himself against Ren\'s attacks continuously.

It was unlike what one would expect, though.

Keiji was defending against Ren\'s attacks neither with swordsmanship nor Ninja Techniques. It was...

THWACK!

The tails made out of the malicious aura surrounding Keiji\'s body kept swatting away the petal blades as if the blades were just a bunch of annoying insects. It was while the Keiji clashed with Ren\'s katana using the strange sword in his hand.

Ren had her petal blades, while Keiji had his aura tails. One would think that it could be a draw.

BAM!

But it was far from the actual happenings. Just now. Ren was pushed away by Keiji after a brief lock between their blades. It sent Ren somersaulting through the air before landing on her feet several meters away.

In terms of technique, and agility, Ren was far above Keiji. Yet, he was pushing her back through sheer strength and absurd defense.

As Ren landed, she immediately shot her remaining petal blades. They all flew towards Keiji while curving from different directions.

But it was futile. Keiji swatted all of the remaining petal blades. Not a single petal even hit his body.

Ren panted. Trying to curve each petal was strenuous for her without any practice.

Seeing that Ren could not get any advantage in their exchanges this time, Keiji was elated. And...

"Ha... Hahahahaha!"

Keiji laughed out loud, causing the air around him to tremble.

"Amazing! This is amazing! This power! Absolute power! More! I want more!"

"MORE!"

Keiji roared. The surroundings began to tremble.\\

"WHOOAH!"

The soldiers cried out as they almost lost balance. It was as if Keiji\'s roar caused a strong earthquake within the immediate vicinity.

Following the roar, the eight aura tails of Keiji became more and more physical in appearance. The serpentine scales that now covered his right arm, shoulder, and right cheek continued to spread.

Keiji\'s transformation was becoming more and more solid. And at the same time, his mental state was becoming more and more corroded.

BOOOM!

Keiji kicked the ground. Now that Keiji began to understand the new power surging in his body, he knew that Ren could not do anything to him anymore.

It was time for Keiji to go on the offensive.

However...

"Die, you pests!"

Keiji\'s target was not Ren but the soldiers and the civilians hurrying to evacuate.

The two siblings had different standings in this battle.

Ren wanted to get her revenge while protecting the people. Although Ren wanted to kill Keiji, she could not disregard the people. This place was now everyone\'s home. If she had the power to protect it, she would, even if she had to temporarily halt her revenge.

On the other hand, Keiji was the complete opposite. He carried the ambition of his clan, and now their plans had failed. There was nothing for Keiji to value in this place. For all he cared, everything would be better destroyed.

Keiji did not need to fight Ren to defeat her. He did not need to attack her. While his strength increased, he realized Ren was still faster. She would definitely be able to dodge most of his attacks, prolonging this fight.

If that was the case, then Keiji only had to make sure that Ren would have no choice but to receive his attacks.

All these factors resulted in Keiji\'s current actions.

Was it an honorless action? Forcing his opponent by attacking innocent people? Keiji did not care about that. He was raised in the highest levels of the business industry. The level where trust and honor were thrown aside for the sake of nothing but profit.

Even the slight thought of honor did not enter Keiji\'s corroded mind as he charged at the soldiers with all his strength.

Keiji\'s action immediately received retaliation from the panicked soldiers. None of them expected Keiji to ignore Ren and come for them. As such, their attempt to defend themselves was quite a mess.

But there was one thing that the soldiers did not do as they panicked. It was to leave their positions. Behind them were civilians and the evacuation center. They could not leave their post even a single step.

Unfortunately, just like before, the soldiers\' bullets were ineffective against Keiji.

"What do you think you are doing? Your opponent is here!"

Ren appeared, running beside Keiji.

"I know! Hahaha!"

Keiji replied with a sinister laugh as he spun his body without slowing down, slashing at Ren.

"Urgh!

Ren jumped to the side while parrying Keiji\'s sword. She struggled to deflect the brunt of Keiji\'s slash. It was clear how much his strength increased. However...

"ACK!"

Something hit Ren\'s left flank, causing her to fly like a ragdoll.

Ren was unable to see the attack as it came from her blind spot. However, the soldiers saw what had happened. Keiji spun his body, slashing at Ren. But after she parried the slash and Keiji continued rotating his body, his tails bunched up together and hit Ren\'s side like a giant whip.

Keiji finally stopped in his tracks, watching Ren fall and roll, leaving a trail mark on the snow that blanketed the ground.

The snow cushioned Ren\'s fall. It lessened the damage as she fell and rolled uncontrollably due to the impact of Keiji\'s attack.

Nonetheless...

"KACK!"

Ren coughed out as she stood up, staining the white snow with red blood.

The single attack Ren received with her body rattled her organs. It probably was how it felt to be hit by a cannonball.

Fortunately, Ren\'s body was far sturdier than before. If she received this kind of attack before she almost died, she would definitely die on the spot.

On the other hand, Keiji was displeased to see Ren stand up after receiving his combined tail whip. It was not wrong to say that he was still getting used to his current state, and it was the best idea he could come up with in the spur of the moment. Yet, it was unable to finish off Ren.

Not believing how Ren was able to survive it, Keiji bundled his eight tails and smashed them on the ground.

CRASH!

The snow was immediately splattered everywhere, and the cement below was exposed with a basketball-sized crater. The attack clearly had destructive strength enough to kill a person in one hit. Yet, Ren lived through it and was still able to stand.

Keiji charged at Ren, jumping and slashing from above.

However, Ren forced herself to dodge.

BAM!

Keiji\'s sword slammed to the ground. It left a deep mark on the asphalt road, but it left the sword unscathed. Then, Keiji turned to Ren, who was still clutching her side.

"Why..." Keiji spoke. "WHY ARE YOU STILL ALIVE!"

Keiji charged at Ren once again. 

"We already killed you before! Why can\'t you just stay dead!"

After several attacks, Ren was still able to defend and dodge, but her movements were becoming sluggish due to the accumulated damage.

And finally...

CLANG!

Ren tried to parry another of Keiji\'s attacks and direct its momentum away.

But...

CRACK! BAM!

Ren\'s sword was finally unable to hold Keiji\'s strength and shattered.

The semi-artifact weapon Ren received from Mark had finally succumbed to the opponent\'s overwhelming strength.

If Ren\'s opponent only wielded a regular weapon or even something at the same level, her weapon would not end up like this. However, the sword in Keiji\'s hand was not just some random weapon. It was a legendary sword, an artifact from the Lost Era.

It was a sword obtained by a God from the body of another God.

A weapon Ren received from Mark would not be able to withstand a true artifact\'s strength.

And Ren\'s weapon shattering gave an opening for her opponent to attack.

"HAHAHAH! DIE!"

Keiji hysterically laughed as he tried to give Ren the finishing blow.

However...

A scent entered Keiji\'s nose. It made his body feel sluggish, and his attack slowed down.

This gave Ren the opportunity to jump back and avoid the next attack.

"URG!"

Keiji noticed something wrong as his eyes followed Ren.

Right now, Ren\'s body was beginning to become foggy, and a flowery scent could be smelled from it.

It was Ren\'s original [Mutator] ability. The [Lotus Scent]. A scent capable of paralyzing those that smelled it.

Ren was unable to use it earlier. It was due to the fact that the strong winds from the blizzard would blow the scent away without control, which could possibly end up affecting both enemies and allies.

But now...

The wind began to let up, and the clouds in the sky were thinning.

"This b*tch."

Keiji realized what was going on and cursed.

"This b*tch... THis b*tch... THIS b*tch... THIS B*TCH!!!"

Keiji repeatedly cursed as fast as he could breathe.

And as Keiji roared, another bout of transformation occurred on his body. This time, he felt his lungs burning. This tongue turned forked and elongated, and the serpentine scales began covering another third of his face.

"RAHHHH!!!"

Keiji roared at Ren. And to everyone\'s surprise, Keiji began spewing flames.

It forced Ren to retreat as fast as she could, but Keiji did not care and spewed flames all over the place to erase any trace of Ren\'s scent.

Ren\'s scent was immediately rendered ineffective against Keiji.

There was no doubt that Ren was running out of options.

Ren began circulating her energy inside her. It could at least ease the pain on her left flank.

As Ren took out her spare tanto, she prepared for another clash.

Ren would not retreat here. And she just needed to buy a bit more time. Her body was unlike before. She could heal the injury she received from Keiji in just a couple of minutes.

Of course, that was if she had a few minutes to buy. Getting assaulted by a barrage of attacks by Keiji would not really help, even with her new healing capabilities.

Only if someone would appear to buy time...

BOOOM!

All of a sudden, explosions occurred around Keiji.

Ren was surprised by the explosions as much as the soldiers nearby.

And, of course...

"WHAT?!"

Keiji was also unprepared for such a surprise attack.

The aura around Keiji managed to defend him from the explosions. However, it seemed that some of the fragments from the explosives tore through his defensive aura and left him with painful bruises all over his body.

"WHO?!"

Keiji roared as his instinct kicked in. He stabbed through the smoke left by the explosion.

CLANG!

A clear sound of weapons clashing was heard there. But as Keiji followed up with another slash, the enemy already vanished within the smoke.

"F*CK OFF!!!"

Infuriated by the smoke, Reiji roared.

The air trembled, and the smoke was blown away.

And there, everyone saw a figure appear.

A woman in full high-tech armor. She was armored from head to toe, disabling anyone from recognizing her.

However, no one cared about her identity.

At this moment, it was more than enough to know that she was clearly on Ren\'s side to fight Keiji.