Mutagen

On top of the rooftop of the almost collapsed building near the opposite side of the Kachidoki Bridge, several figures could be seen. They seemed to talk as they watched the ongoing battle between the Demons and Yokais under their command and the defensive forces of the Reclaimed City.

Among these figures were Shin and the twin sirens. Gripping his fists tightly, Shin could not help but watch his enemy, who was rampaging in the middle of their army.

Shin fought with Mark earlier. And while it ended up getting interrupted, they did fight a drawn battle against each other. However, Shin was sure that it was his loss. The opponent was clearly taking it easy, while Shin had already used more than half of his capabilities.

The three still remembered when they first encountered Mark. It was a nightmare for them. No matter what they did, he would not succumb to it and just ended up getting fiercer as the fight went on.

All they felt at that time was helplessness as they retreated in a hurry. They did not even succeed with their mission, and they ended up needing to traverse cities filled with undead to return home.

Now that Shin had managed to clear his head, he could feel the utter difference between his strength and Mark\'s. He could not even force Mark to use the abilities he showed back then. Mark received Shin\'s attacks while he was in his demon form with just pure skill and physical strength.

But... How? How could a human grow that strong in just the span of a few months?

Shin was taught swordsmanship by his father since he was young. He then spent six years as a mercenary under Auraboros. And now, he threw his humanity and became a Demon.

Yet, all those years of experience became useless in front of a man who did not seem to have any proper swordsmanship training a few months ago.

But then again, in front of absolute strength, everything was useless. That was what life taught Shin after all his experiences.

"What is he doing?"

One of the [Sirens], Yoko, voiced out while watching Mark.

The three could see Mark grabbing Demons on their heads one after another. And strange enough, the Demons would start attacking the one he held after he let go of them.

What was going on? Was the enemy doing something to the Demons he grabbed?

Tsukiko and Shin remained silent. There was no way to know what Mark was doing in the middle of the Demon army. One thing was for sure, however. Whatever Mark was doing there was not good for the invading Demons.

"Is that the person who defeated you three before?" At this time, a rather arrogant and loud voice entered the ears of the three. "I don\'t sense anything peculiar about him. I can\'t believe you three are getting cold feet just because of a mere human."

Shin only frowned without saying anything as he glanced at the tall figure that now stood beside him.

It was an eight-foot-tall man with a heavily muscular body. One could think of him as a tall bodybuilder if not for the horns on his forehead and his blue-colored skin.

The man was a blue variant of the legendary [Oni] race of Demons. And the arrogance he was showing was a trait of their aggressive race.

"You sure are a simpleton, Aobo."

A woman\'s voice immediately tried to ridicule the [Blue Oni]. The woman stood in the shadows of the ruined building. But as she stepped forward, it was clear that he was no simple being either, with spider limbs sticking out of her back.

"Are you looking for a fight, Renea?"

The [Blue Oni], Aobo, retorted.

"That\'s what I meant by you being a simpleton," Renea was not backing down, although she did not turn to look at Aobo but gazed at the enemy from afar. "You said you don\'t feel anything special. You didn\'t even realize the fact that you can\'t feel anything from that man."

Everyone on the rooftop frowned. None of these creatures realized that fact until Renea mentioned it. 

It was the most shocking for Shin. It seemed his anger led him to not pay attention to that fact.

All of them were Demons or magical creatures. They should at least be able to sense something from other creatures. For example, their magical energy or how strong their life force was. It was also what allowed them to differentiate creatures from one another.

Elementals, Spirits, and some Yokais were naturally born of nature. That was why their bodies carried a natural flow of energy.

Demons, Cryptids, and other Yokais were not born from nature. Many of them were products of malignant forces or even created by Gods as minions. As such, they carried a different air to those who were born naturally.

And, lastly, the mortals, which lacked the energy of the creatures belonging to the previous categories.

This was how magical creatures could differentiate from one another.

Yet...

Everyone around Shin could only agree. They could not feel anything from Mark.

It was as if Mark did not exist at all. Or as if he was already dead.

Even the [Infected] would still have their energy and life force. But Mark definitely felt he had nothing of sorts.

"Hey," Renea turned to Shin. "Are you sure that man there is human?"

That question froze Shin on the spot.

Was Mark human? Given the previous events and Mark\'s unexplainable strength and growth, Shin was unable to answer Renea\'s question.

Shin was unsure now.

Was the man Shin was fighting really human. If he was not, then it explained everything.

But then, another question was left.

If that man was not human, what was he?

This fact was far scarier. So, Shin was fighting an unknown entity all this time.

The group of powerful creatures was about to continue their discussion. But all of a sudden...

ROOOOAAARRR!!!

The overlapping roar of eight beasts echoed throughout the battlefield. It shook everything in the surroundings, freezing the weaker Demons on their feet and even collapsing some of the nearby ruins.

Even Shin and the rest of his group felt shivers through their spines as they heard the roar.

Shin\'s entourage immediately ran to the eastern side of the roof. The roar came quite near to their location.

And as they looked down at the broken Kachidoki Bridge, they saw four figures standing on its remaining platform.

As Shin and the two [Sirens] saw one of the figures on the bridge, their eyes widened.

"Spera."

Tsukiko voiced out with a frown.

And as if sensing their stares, Spera turned her head towards them. Her eyes locked onto the stares of the three, but she only reacted to them with a frown.

Spera then jumped back, and a portal appeared behind her as she pulled away the other two women with her. The three entered the portal, leaving the source of those beastly roars alone on the bridge.

Seeing that its enemies suddenly disappeared, the beast roared even more before jumping off the bridge into the army of Demons.

And there, it began its massacre.

"Isn\'t that our collaborator?"

Renea voiced out, recognizing the human head floating among the ethereal heads.

Shin also recognized Keiji, as the two were together when executing the plan to eliminate the majority of the Black Lotus.

But what happened to that guy?

Shin was baffled.

"I\'ll stop that bastard," Aoba spoke. "Not only did they not deliver on their words, but he\'s now attacking our soldiers."

Aoba was right in this regard. The Mitsui Clan was supposed to lay the foundations to make the invasion flawless. However, it was clear that the Mitsui Clan either failed or did not do anything they promised.

And now, Keiji just appeared, looking like a monster, attacking everything in his sight like a berserk beast.

But as the other was about to agree to deal with the monster, they all froze and kneeled.

"There\'s no need to waste your energy on that person," Someone flew onto the rooftop and spoke. "This might have been unexpected, but it was a better surprise."

The generals of the Demon army knelt down in servitude as the person walked in front of them.

It was a handsome man with a neatly muscular body. His skin was riddled with tattoos of scorching flames. And those flames felt real despite being just a mark on his body.

The man walked to the edge of the rooftop and stood there, overlooking everything below as if he was a divine being.

Specifically, the man gazed at another man in the middle of the army of Demons.

***

Mark continued capturing Demons and absorbing the [Miasma] in their bodies. He also paid attention as he ordered Spera to retreat with Ren and Sayuri.

It led to Keiji\'s current act of killing everything in his sight.

This was what Mark thought to do when Spera said that Keiji had lost his sanity. It was quite a success as Keiji failed to recognize allies and foes.

If this continued, even if Mark did not do anything to Keiji, he would be overwhelmed by the sheer number of enemies.

But at this time, Mark felt a hot gaze. It was not hot in a passionate way. It was a searing gaze. It felt like something was trying to light him on fire.

Mark immediately turned to the building where Shin was supposed to be watching.

And there, Mark saw an unfamiliar man standing as if he owned the world.

Mark focused his detection on the building. And as his detection reached the building, Mark frowned. However, his mouth revealed a subtle smile.

"You\'re finally here, huh..."

Mark murmured.

"Gar\'Vlam."

At this time, a voice echoed inside Mark\'s head.

"I didn\'t expect to see you here. No wonder the fate of this place had gone unpredictable."

Mark frowned. The voice was clearly Gar\'Vlam\'s. However, he was not speaking through telepathy. It was through the crystal Mark had, which contained the power from Gar\'Vlam\'s former body.

"If it was the original fate, we would not have any difficulties taking over this puny city of humans. But it was a different story if a God Candidate like you stepped into the fray."

Mark was not perturbed as Gar\'Vlam\'s voice was transmitted into his head. He waved his sword, decapitating incoming Demons, before he spoke back.

"This is all just a coincidence. All I\'m here for is Shin\'s [Spatial Slasher] and tying some loose ends. I didn\'t expect to step into anyone\'s schemes."

"But that loose end includes me, is it not?"

Gar\'Vlam asked.

"Unfortunately, yes." Mark shrugged. "After all, one of your future goals is definitely to get back at me, yes?"

"It looked like we had the same process of thought," Gar\'Vlam laughed. "It could have been better if someone like you became my follower instead."

Mark showed some surprise at the unexpected words, but he only tilted his head.

"How about no? I have no intention of working with anyone fine with sacrificing innocents, you see? And definitely not under someone who fled with tails between their legs the last time."

Gar\'Vlam\'s eyebrows twitched due to the blatant provocation. However, he did not fall for it.

"It would be nice to end just this between us," Gar\'Vlam spoke with a smile. "But this invasion was never my sole stage."

ROOOOAR!!

At this time, a shadow loomed over Gar\'Vlam, as Keiji spotted his new target.

Keiji, using his tails and other heads, climbed the wall of the ruined building and attacked the bastard standing above arrogantly.

But Gar\'Vlam only smiled. He raised his hand, and flames surrounded Keiji, forming chains that suspended Keiji in mid-air.

ROOOOARRR!!!

Keiji roared in fury and insanity. However, no matter how he struggled, he failed to break free from the chains.

And to make Keiji even more furious, one of the chains took the legendary sword out of his hand and gave it to the arrogant-looking man.

Gar\'Vlam\'s eyes had a fierce gleam as he held the legendary sword in his hands.

There, Gar\'Vlam raised the sword and roared to the sky.

"IT IS THE STAGE OF UTTER CHAOS!"

Mark\'s eyes widened as he saw Gar\'Vlam stab Keiji with the sword through his heart.

It was quite an ironic scene since Ren and Mako almost died the same way.

But it was not the problem.

ROOOOOARRRR!!!

Keiji roared fiercer instead of dying.

At the same time, Mark\'s vision blurred, and his head felt shaky.

Mark did not realize immediately that his eyes were already glowing. One red and the other purple. Both his [Empath] and [Clairvoyance] abilities were activated without his control.

And...

ROOOOARRR!!!!

The thousands of Demons on the battlefield roared at the same time. The earthshaking roars were heard from miles away. However, it was not the roar of fury, but the roar of pain, as they all contorted their bodies to endure it.

As for Mark, he stared at the scenery around him with both his abilities activated.

Mark could see the [Miasma] inside the Demons trying to break free from their bodies, flying to Keiji.

And as Mark\'s purple eyes glowed brighter, Mark finally saw the gigantic figure he had seen before. Sixteen fierce eyes overlapped with Keiji\'s eight heads.

ROOOARRR!!!

Keiji released another roar.

The roar was accompanied by a shockwave comparable to a nuclear bomb detonating.

Mark, even though he was trying to resist with all his might, was blown away by the shockwave, crashing heavily on Kachidoki\'s riverbank.

The Demons on the battlefield were turned to dust. The barriers surrounding the docks were all destroyed.

But as Mark endured the pain of being blown away, he gazed in Keiji\'s direction.

There was no Keiji there. What he saw was a silhouette of a mountain.