Mutagen

After finishing his business outside, Mark made his way back to Ariake. Thirteenth followed closely behind him, and the Priestess tagged along. As for the two Goddesses, they vanished like usual after the entertainment concluded.

While flying in the sky, Mark looked around.

On the northeast coast of Toyosu, soldiers gathered in a defense line as they fended against a small horde of [Infected]. From the looks of it, a supply-gathering crew returned safely but with some enemies in tow. 

Fortunately, the Defense Forces already installed defensive barriers on the outer coast near Toyosu and Shinonome. They installed the defensive barriers due to the ongoing reconstruction efforts creating too much noise, attracting all kinds of uninvited guests. Even the Priestess\' barrier could not avoid such enemy encounters.

As Mark passed by Toyosu, he saw some familiar faces among the Defense Forces. It was the head of the Bureau, Shigeru, and the examiner, Kenji. The two took the reins to lead the Defense Forces through field operations. It was due to the current lack of manpower and security issues. With the two around, the defense lines would be much safer.

The Defense Forces were dealing with the threat nicely. There was no need to step into the fray. Thus, Mark and the Priestess did not bother to disturb them.

After arriving at the laboratory, Mark and the Priestess made their way into the designated living quarters. Just like Mark\'s group, the Priestess and the remaining members of the Temple had to live here temporarily. There was no choice. Toyosu, where the Temple\'s shrine was, turned into a flattened wasteland. They also lost their home because of the attack.

The Priestess received the people\'s greetings as they passed by while they only bowed at Mark. This difference in treatment was not surprising. The Priestess had always been popular among the people of the Reclaimed City. On the other hand, while Mark was the one who finished the fight against the Yamata-no-Orochi, he was less known. Furthermore, a lot of people who watched everything would associate him more as a monster than a person.

At the least, there was no hostility, and they were grateful for what Mark had done for them.

Mark arrived in front of the room where his group was staying. The door opened before he even touched it, showing Mei already knew he was back.

The Priestess could only give a baffled look at that fact. It was the same when Mei charged out of safety to receive Mark after the battle when everyone else was wary of the worst outcome.

Mei also saw the Priestess. She did not speak but bowed her head in greeting.

"Your wife sure is polite, unlike someone."

The Priestess remarked, giving a meaningful glance at Mark.

Of course, Mark did not pay her any mind. He was not in the mood to ride along her playfulness.

"Anyway, I\'ll head off now."

The Priestess said as she walked away toward her quarters. Mark watched her disappear as she turned around the nearby corner of the hallway.

"A new sword?"

Mei asked Mark as she saw the unfamiliar sword Mark was holding. She also looked confused since Mark went out to subdue a different sword.

"New sword?"

Miracle turned her head and asked.

Mei\'s words seemed to have attracted the attention of Miracle and the other girls in the room.

"It\'s not new," Mark said as he carefully laid the sword down on the coffee table in front of the couch. "It\'s Ignis. He more or less evolved."

The girls looked at the unmoving sword. It did not feel like Ignis at all since the sword had a different presence, and Ignis liked to fly around.

Mark told everyone what happened and that Ignis was currently in a state of deep sleep. It might take a while before Ignis returned to his usual nature.

***

With Mark\'s return, there was nothing much to do afterward. It was a rest day, after all. Mark also needed to rest since he was not in his best state.

Thus, Mark could only play with Emika and his daughters. It was a nice way to pass time while Thirteenth also joined along.

But as the sun began to set, someone knocked on the door.

Mark answered the door, knowing who was outside. It was the Priestess\' Grandniece, Tsubasa.

"Good afternoon."

Tsubasa greeted Mark.

"What\'s going on?"

Mark asked. After all, Tsubasa would not go and meet his group without a reason.

"The Empress\' subordinates returned," Tsubasa explained. "They caught the remaining [Siren]."

The remaining [Siren]. Those words perked up Mark\'s attention.

Mark turned to Mei and his daughters.

"I\'ll go out for a bit."

"Be back for dinner."

Mei said to Mark, making him smile.

"What about you, Spera?"

Mark asked Spera. After all, the current business was about her former teammates.

"Not interested," Spera scoffed. "I\'ll just stay here."

"If you say so."

Mark said as he went out with Thirteenth also running out of the room.

"You\'re still following me, huh?"

Mark asked as Thirteenth followed closely behind him.

"It\'s my current task. You\'re under surveillance."

Thirteenth shrugged.

Leaving Thirteenth to her task, Mark asked Tsubasa.

"Just the [Siren]? What about Shin?"

"They already asked her, and the [Siren] seemed cooperative. But unfortunately, the news isn\'t good."

***

Mark arrived at the high-security area of the laboratory. Inside one of the cells with one-way windows, the newly captured [Siren] sat on her chair. If Mark remembered correctly, this [Siren] was named Yoko. She was the lively one of the sisters. But as she sat down blankly on her chair, she did not look lively at all.

As Mark turned to the other people in the room, he saw the Priestess and the familiar white-haired fox, Yukine, and her partner, Kuroe. It seemed that the subordinates Tsubasa mentioned were Yukine and Kuroe.

"What happened to her?"

Mark immediately asked as he entered the observation area.

"She was already like that when we found her."

Yukine answered Mark\'s question.

Mark realized something strange. Yukine said they "found" her and not "caught" her.

It clearly meant that Yoko did not show any resistance after the search party from the Auraboros found her. It might also be possible that Yoko did not even attempt to hide.

"She did not show any resistance and cooperated smoothly," Yukine reported to Mark. "Here are her answers to our questions."

Yukine then handed Mark a few pieces of paper where they recorded questions and answers in both full and summarized format. It also included the report about where and how they found Yoko. And nicely enough, they wrote the report in Katakana and Hiragana, knowing that Mark was not a local and could possibly be unable to read Kanji letters.

And as Mark read the report, his frown went deeper and deeper.

Yukine\'s group found Yoko traversing the streets in Suginami City, about ten kilometers west-northwest of the Reclaimed City. And she was alone.

Since the priority target was Shin, Yukine immediately posed questions to Yoko in order to find the target.

However, asking Yoko about Shin\'s whereabouts resulted in a fit of anger.

By the looks of it, Shin and Yoko had fallen out of each other due to Tsukiko\'s capture during the fight. Yoko wanted to rescue her sister, but Shin chose to abandon Tsukiko. They had an argument for a while until they fled further away due to the danger of the battle happening in the Reclaimed City.

However, the disagreement between Shin and Yoko was not the reason she was left alone.

"That bastard isn\'t really going to leave us alone, huh?"

Mark gritted his teeth.

It was because of a single name in the report.

"The Great One appeared and took Shin away."

It seemed that another possessed avatar of The Great One came to strike a deal with Shin. And Shin did not hesitate to accept the deal even if he had to abandon Yoko alone.

Shin and the avatar vanished in front of Yoko. She tried to stop him, but he ignored her pleas as he left her in the middle of the ruined streets.

The betrayal from Shin took a heavy toll on Yoko, who had romantic feelings for him.

With her sister captured and her beloved betraying her, Yoko became despondent and broke down.

"The two scums teamed up, huh?"

Mark said as he turned to Yukine.

"Unfortunately, yes," Yukine nodded. "We are also surprised by this development. And it might not be just The Great One, as he did not have teleportation abilities and such. Someone else must be helping him."

First was The Great One. Then Shin. And now, a mysterious enemy.

Mark\'s future suddenly became a roller coaster.

"Shin is the only reason I came to this country, and that failed spectacularly."

Mark grumbled.

"We are sorry about that."

Yukine wholeheartedly apologized. They were partly at fault with this, after all.

Mark already gave his conditions before, but they did not pay much importance to it. Now, they learned that Mark was not someone they would want to have as an enemy. But it was too late.

"Hahhh," Mark sighed as he returned the report to Yukine. "This is annoying."

As they saw Mark\'s clear irritation, everyone around went silent. It was not his usual fake emotions. He was really irritated.

"What\'s the plan for the sisters?"

Mark asked.

"There is no plan so far," It was the Priestess who answered. "For now, we can only detain them separately."

"If that is the case, I\'ll take them."

Mark said, making everyone turn to him in surprise.

"What do you plan to do with them?"

Yukine asked.

"I\'ll have them work to the bone for the troubles they caused with Shin and Gar\'Vlam," Mark said without a hint of sympathy in his eyes as he stared at the depressed Yoko. "It will be quite a scene. [Sirens] cleaning livestock pens."

"That\'s quite a punishment."

Yukine said with her eyebrows twitching. It seemed that Yukine did not want to go under a similar punishment.

"But the question is, will they even obey you."

The Priestess asked.

"I have some people who can handle that kind of stuff. Those people use command seals to restrain and punish criminals."

"A slave seal, isn\'t it?"

Yukine asked, seemingly not fond of the idea.

"Yep. Only for guilty creatures, though. It\'s a type that won\'t work for innocent souls, apparently."

Mark replied, not hiding anything.

"Normally, I won\'t agree to this kind of thing," The Priestess spoke. "But if it will appease you, then they\'re yours. I\'ll also take care of the paperwork. They are also offenders in our eyes, after all. They needed to receive a fitting punishment."

And with that, the fate of the [Siren] sisters, Yoko and Tsukiko, was set in stone.

The Priestess and Yukine would handle the proceedings. Thus, Mark left as there was nothing left for him to do there.

While Mark walked along the hallway back to their quarters, he glanced at the girl following him.

"How long are you going to follow me?" Mark asked. "Is your other candidate already okay for you to leave them?"

Thirteenth looked at Mark with the seven eyes on her face. She could only sigh.

"She is doing better but still far from good," Thirteenth replied. "If I\'m not tasked to keep an eye on you right now, I would have been there already. Lucky Sixteenth. She had already gone to her other candidate in Korea since the situation here already stabilized. And here I am, stuck here. I won\'t be surprised if I end up with only one candidate after this."

Mark looked at Thirteenth. The candidates were important for humanity to continue on. If she was this worried, the situation there might really be bad at the moment.

"Where is that candidate anyway?"

Mark asked.

"Indonesia."

Thirteenth answered.

Mark tapped his chin.

"We already lost Shin, so there\'s no reason to stay here further. Our next destination should be South Korea, but I think it\'s fine if we take a bit of a detour."

Hearing Mark\'s words, Thirteenth\'s eyes widened in pleasant surprise.

"Are you saying..."

Thirteenth tried to ask, but Mark interrupted her.

"Yeah, let\'s go to Indonesia."

-VOLUME 16 END-