Mutagen

The shadow of the eight heads rose high, staring down on the mortals gazing upon its otherworldly visage.

Its eight tails rose from behind, waving a hypnotic dance. 

Those mortals stared at the silhouette with emotions they could never put into words.

It was majestic and otherworldly. But there was no admiration. There was only fear.

...A fear nowhere superficial.

...A primordial fear stemming from their DNA.

The Lost Era might have been sealed and forgotten. However, the natives\' bloodlines clearly remembered.

The embodiment of Chaos. The monster from the myths.

The godly monster, slain by the God of Thunder, Susanoo.

Yamata-no-Orochi. The eight-headed serpent god of the Lost Era.

***

Since the apocalypse began, the people of the Reclaimed City had already seen many unexpected things. The dead came back to life, mutated monsters, alien robots, and even the true face of the Ise Shrine. But none of these people would have ever expected to see a resurrection of a godly being.

The unexplainable feeling of fear, a loss of hope, and the urge to bow down to its mighty figure. No one felt this mixed plethora of emotions even after one had been surrounded by the undead with no escape.

But now, the unexplainable feeling originating from their veins would be forever etched into their minds.

"Well, this is troublesome..."

Mark murmured, glancing at the people around him.

The main members of his group were fine. First of all, they were not locals. Their blood carried no Japanese origin. It caused them to be unaffected by the fear induced by the Serpent God through the natives\' bloodline. And second, it would not be the first time his group encountered a Godly being.

Mark and his group chatted and even fought beings from the myths. While the Serpent God still imposed a distinct aura that caused all those below it to shiver, they already had some immunity against it.

Unfortunately, the members of the Black Lotus were utterly affected by Serpent God\'s stare alone. And the soldiers and members of the Temple were in an even worse state. It was the same for the Demons under Auraboros, who had just arrived.

The only ones that could move at this moment among the members of the Temple were the Priestess, the Priestess Grandniece, Tsubasa, and the Head Priest, Akio.

As for Auraboros. It was the Empress, the leader of Yuki Kitsune, Yukine, and the second in command under the Empress, a Tengu they called Kouki.

"No wonder Gar\'Vlam suddenly had the idea to attack," The Empress voiced out with a frown. "It looked like he found a pretty strong backing."

Gar\'Vlam\'s invasion attempt on the Reclaimed City was unexpected because it was pretty early. Only a few months had passed after the Spirit Dimension fused with the mortal realm, which caused the return of magical energy to Earth. It was not enough time for Gar\'Vlam to fully recover his strength and invade the Reclaimed City, even if he gathered a lot of Demons and Yokais. The happenings earlier were the proof of that, where the Demons were unable to take a single step into the Reclaimed City.

But it looked like the invasion was not the true motive. It was to gather sacrifices to resurrect something.

If the invasion of the Demons was to succeed, the sacrifice would be the Reclaimed City\'s residence. But as the tide turned against them, the Demons became the sacrifice instead.

"Fight or flee?"

Mark asked, to the surprise of everyone around him. However, they understood why.

Normally, Mark would fight. However, it was a different scenario than his past fights.

Sinogo was an evident threat to him as it was in his country. It was the same for the [Mechid Factory].

But this time, while Mark admired Japan as an Otaku, it was not enough for him to sacrifice things.

Taking back Shin\'s ability could wait. However, he was unsure if he could take on a literal God at this moment.

"You can."

As those thoughts flashed inside Mark\'s head, a familiar woman\'s voice contradicted him.

"What do you mean?"

Mark asked Magwayen inside his head.

"That snake is not a resurrection. It is not even a reincarnation. It\'s just a fragment of a soul, just like Amihan. An incarnation."

Magwayen replied, which surprised Mark a bit.

"But it feels different and stronger?" Mark asked with a frown. "If it\'s any stronger, I\'d say it\'s close to your avatar or even Bathala\'s weakened state."

"That\'s true," Magwayen replied with acknowledgment. "But it is only due to the fact that we came from a lower realm than theirs. And you, at this moment, in your full potential, could likely hold your ground alone against that snake. Defeating it alone would be unlikely, but you are not alone."

"But that guy is not alone, either."

Mark said, turning his attention to the other side of the river. In front of the base of the Serpent God\'s body, he could feel Gar\'Vlam and his entourage lying in wait.

"So, you will retreat just because of those?" Magwayen replied with a slightly provocative tone. "I don\'t remember the mortal I blessed to have such a personality. I already told you. Your chance of winning isn\'t zero. The only thing left for you is to grab that chance."

"Hey! What is happening to you? Are you listening?"

An annoyed voice pulled Mark back to reality as he turned to the annoyed Priestess.

"Did you say something?"

Mark asked.

"I knew it. You\'re not listening, even though you\'re the one who asked the question," The Priestess complained. "I said, you can retreat with your people if you want to. I won\'t blame you. After all, it is very likely that we are going to fight a God, and it would be dangerous even for me. There\'s no incentive for you to fight a losing battle."

The Priestess was ready to be abandoned. This would be a fight to the death. And as the protector of the Reclaimed City, she could only stand her ground.

But to her surprise...

"Nah, we\'re staying." 

Mark smirked.

"You..."

The Priestess was appalled by Mark\'s reply. He could even show a careless smirk at this time.

"Our chance of winning against that isn\'t zero," Mark stared back at the giant snake on the other side of the river. "Someone told me."

"Who?"

The Priestess was surprised. The Empress and the others around were the same.

"Someone annoying."

Mark did not intend to elaborate.

"Anyway," Mark changed the topic. "That thing is going to make a move soon, isn\'t it?"

Both the Priestess and the Empress frowned and nodded. They could feel the aura of the Serpent God starting to stabilize.

"We should evacuate everyone if possible."

Tsubasa chimed in, giving a rational suggestion.

It was not safe to remain here. Whether it was the members of the Temple or the Army. The entire northwest of the Reclaimed City might not even be safe.

"But their state..."

Tsubasa turned around. Most members of the Temple and the soldiers from the Army had already collapsed in fear and despair. Those that remained standing were unable to even take a single step. It was already good that, while struggling, the members of the Black Lotus could still move around.

But this time, Mark shrugged and spoke to Tsubasa and Akio.

"Can you two handle the evacuation?"

The two turned to the Priestess, asking if she had the same thought, and she nodded.

Tsubasa and Akio accepted the task, but it would be hard considering the people\'s current state.

"Just do it," Mark urged the two. "I\'ll do something to help."

After saying those words, Mark\'s eyes began glowing red, even overwhelming the already purplish color of Mark\'s left eye. And there, everyone around felt a surge of energy spreading from Mark. A positive energy that raised everyone\'s morale and reduced their fear.

"Wow..." Sayuri voiced out as she was freed from her bloodline\'s fear. "You can also do that, Boss?"

Mark glanced at Sayuri. He kinda disliked that this girl was an extrovert who could easily voice her thoughts. Nonetheless, she was a useful one, so he could only reply.

"I can do this, but the effect is limited. It\'s easier for me to spread negative moods or make people bleed from their orifices."

That reply made Sayuri step back. Even the Priestess was speechless. Nonetheless, they could see the people affected by the Serpent God began to recover.

Seeing the results of his ability, Mark turned it off. [Emotion Induction]. It was Mark\'s first [Empath] ability. He never thought that he would need to use it like this at this time. After all, he only used it on people the same way the Serpent God was staring at everyone.

Mark then felt a piercing stare and turned his head to see the gigantic eyes of the Serpent God staring at him.

And finally... It began to unravel its body from its original position.

While Mark managed to negate the innate fear everyone felt, they were all still appalled by the sheer size of the Serpent God.

As it stretched its body, the already collapsed ruins on the other side of the river were flattened further.

It began to slither around, and just a fourth of its length was able to wrap around two to three large buildings.

By estimate, the Serpent God\'s current length might be equal to or even longer than Kachidoki\'s entire riverbank facing the Sumida River. Not to mention the thickness of its body, which was higher than a single-story house.

Everyone readied for the next round. But it was then everyone was disturbed by something.

"AHHHHHHHH!!!"

Screams of people erupted from behind them. No, it was screams from the shelter within Kachidoki.

Mark glanced at Mei, and she immediately sprung into action. She could fly, and her sight could probably see further than everyone here. Her skills were the best to see what was happening at this moment.

Mei flew up high toward\'s Kachidoki. She saw the evacuees rushing out of the shelters. Specifically, underground shelters.

And it was not only happening in Kachidoki. It was the same situation for the entire Reclaimed City.

Using her [Psycast] ability, Mei flew at the speed of light and rushed into one of the closest shelters where evacuees were rushing out of.

And inside, it was carnage.

The [Miasmic Residues] were everywhere. Many people were already killed as the [Miasmic Residues] infiltrated from underground.

"Damn it!" The Priestess bellowed after Mei reported her findings to Mark through the communicator. "The barriers underground might have been broken by the shockwave earlier."

"It looks like the evacuation should be done on a larger scale."

The Empress said as she turned to her subordinates. Her thoughts were obvious.

"Drag the soldiers too to help evacuate people," The Priestess grumbled. "They will be of no help here. They will just be baggage."

Tsubasa and Akio nodded at the Priestess\' words.

And Mark turned to Spera and the girls.

"Spera, you hide and stand by. Emika, take my daughters with you and help the Black Lotus."

"Alright." "Got it!"

Spera and Emika replied, respectively.

And with a few words, Iola, Abbygale, and Miracle joined Ren and the Black Lotus to return and evacuate the residents. Mei would join them later when she returned after her reconnaissance.

Now, all the ones left at the docks were Mark, Amihan, Hikari, Tamamo, Yukine, and Kouki.

The other four were confused as to why a [Sylph] was left with them. After all, [Sylphs] were never known to be powerful creatures.

However, the answer to that question immediately came.

The Serpent God finally made the first move as it spewed a gigantic burst of flames from one of its heads, intending to burn the entirety of the docks.

Everyone was ready to disperse as soon as the light of the flames appeared on the Serpent God\'s mouth.

However, Mark spoke.

"Amihan."

Amihan then flew in front of everyone, to their surprise.

And then, they were appalled, as a Godly pressure emerged from the small body of the [Sylph].

WHOOOMMM!!!

The wind suddenly gathered as fast as the flames surged towards them. And in the blink of an eye and dance of the [Sylph\'s] hands, a tornado appeared at the center of the river, sucking all the flames the Serpent God spewed. And as it also tore the frozen surface and sucked the river\'s water, the Serpent God\'s flames were utterly extinguished.

And as Amihan separated her hands, the tornado was ripped apart to nothingness, leaving only a cold rain of river water.

There was no doubt that it was not only Mark\'s allies but also the enemies who were taken by surprise.

After all, Amihan was also an incarnation of a Goddess.