Mutagen

Day 152 - 1:24 AM - Sanctuary, Cataunduanes Mountains, Municipality of Bagamanoc, Catanduanes

The aftermath of the battle in the mountains was not a good place for people to talk. There was nothing else left there but ruins of the village and the forest that surrounded the area.

After Mark recovered enough to be able to walk, he suggested changing the place for the conversation. Of course, the only place suitable for them to talk was the Sanctuary managed by Diwata Iraya. There were no other places on this island that would do.

The way back to this place was rather silent. The Yasaws that helped everyone traverse the long distance in a short time were shivering at the presence of Fourth. The other spirits that managed to survive and remained near the area did not want to travel with Mark's group at all. It was also because of her.

Fourth had already controlled the godly pressure around her. Even so, the Spirits and Elementals around were still afraid of her. Unlike humans, Spirits and Elementals were far more sensitive to the presence of Fourth.

Unfortunately for Bathala, Fourth completely overwhelmed his supposed godly presence. In the first place, he was a forgotten god. It was already good that the Diwatas, his creations, did not forget about him at all.

Returning to the Sanctuary, Mark was welcomed by the little girls. This time, there were four girls, though. It seemed that even Emika seemed really worried about Mark. There was also Aliya, who did not mind the others, and intently checked Mark's body for injuries.

It seemed that they were using the magical lake to watch the fight. The area where the battle happened was a bit outside the Diwata's territory. They could not watch it clearly. However, it was more than enough for them to see what was happening, especially that suicidal attack that Mark did to try and kill the enemy.

While the youngest, Miracle, did not seem to mind it a lot, Abbygale and Iola seemed to be showing displeasure at Mark's suicidal attack. It could not be helped. After all, their beloved father was injured by his recklessness.

At the side, Gennie, Mark's Aunt, watched the scene with a bitter smile. She was happy that her nephew seemed to have made a happy family. It was unlike hers, unfortunately.

Looking around, the atmosphere in the Sanctuary was not exactly good. While they won the battle, there were a lot of deaths due to the unexpected ability of Lord Seis. Still, it was way better than the expected outcome. After all, three hundred warriors against thousands of Demons would be considered suicide.

In any case, they all died a glorious death. It was unlike the ones still alive, ashamed to show their faces to Diwata Iraya. They were far worse than the supposedly weak Yasaws.

After Mark changed his clothes, he, once again, was seated at the seat he had the very first time he had been to this place. Unlike before, however, there were only a few people around the table.

In Mark's group, there was only him, Mei, Amihan, and the little girls. Emika was not included, though. It seemed that she could not handle the presence of Fourth and joined the others that had the same circumstances as her. On Diwata Iraya's side, there was Diwata Iraya, Aliya, and Morlkil. Unexpectedly, Aliya seemed to be more tolerant to Fourth's aura and managed to stay. And lastly, of course, Bathala and Fourth, the guests of honor.

Diwata Iraya had a lot of questions. After all, it was the first time that she heard about this Second Wave of the apocalypse. She could not help but pay attention to Mark, who seemed to be wary of it. It was too strange, after all. Not only that, but he actually had connections to both Bathala and Fourth. It made her reassess Mark, not just a Demon, an ally, and Aliya's grandson, but as someone who could possibly be above her in position.

Normally, Fourth would not allow a third party to listen. She was here to address the sudden dimensional holes and speak to Mark. However, at Bathala's request, the Diwata was allowed to do so. Of course, Fourth would not answer the Diwata's questions, and Bathala would be the one to entertain her.

Mark, on the other hand, had been in deep thought since receiving the initial information from Fourth. When he was informed about the Second Wave, he thought that the already existing Mutagen would likely evolve drastically to affect Earth itself. However, he was mistaken. Who would have thought that the Second Wave would be caused by the arrival of a new variant of the pathogen that Mutagen branched from?

Although Mark had only known about two variants of that pathogen, while both had similarities, it was majorly different.

Then, what kind of pathogen would it be?

How would it affect the current pathogen on Earth?

What effects would it bring to the whole planet?

Unfortunately, to these important questions, Fourth had no answer.

The Eye of Interest, Nineteenth, had a book that would record everything and anything on Earth. However, it had one weakness. It could not record anything that was outside Earth until it entered the planet. It meant that the Eyes had no information about the incoming disaster at all. What they were preparing for was the only possible impact of the planetary chunk that was currently traveling towards Earth. It was all for humans to not face the fate that dinosaurs saw millions of years ago.

"So, aside from the time of the crash and knowing that it's a chunk from an infected artificial planet, no other information?"

Mark grumbled. He was a bit distraught about it. After all, while they managed to do some preparations for the incoming dimension fusion, there was no way that they would be able to prepare for that incoming debris from space. At least, not in a very short timeframe.

"Yes, unfortunately," Fourth replied with a shrug. "We might be strong, but we are not omnipotent to know everything, especially from outside this planet."

Fourth was not bothered by Mark's questioning tone. After all, she was long aware of this weakness of theirs.

Mark fell silent, tapping his temple. He was racking things in his mind. Then, his eyes lit up. It seemed that racking up his mind worked.

"What about the aliens?" Mark spoke. "Those Graylings in America?"

Everyone turned at Mark in askance. Why were aliens suddenly brought into the topic here?

Mark did not mind their confused eyes, and he stared at Fourth.

"Nineteenth's book records everything that is inside Earth, right?"

"It does, except for a few occasions." Fourth then glanced at Mark and Mei. "Like you two."

"Don't mind us." Mark shook his head. "What I'm talking about is those Graylings in America. Since they are currently on Earth, they could be recorded, right?"

"They should be." Fourth tilted her head, confused at what Mark was coming at. "But what do those visitors had to do with this right now?"

"A Grayling who calls himself Alphfa Alston," Mark said, showing a bit of eagerness. "That guy is researching about the Mutagen on Earth. It is possible that he also had data and information about other infected planets. If he did, it should also be recorded in Nineteeth's book, right?"

Hearing an unexpected loophole in Nineteenth's ability, the Eyes of Fourth lit up. If it was true that the Grayling called Alphfa Alston had this information, they could also see it.

"Let me ask her!"

Fourth replied excitedly and was about to stand up from her seat.

However, before Fourth was able to stand up, her shoulders were pressed down, making her unable to.

"There's no need to call me. Don't forget what you are. Seriously."

The calm but a bit exasperated voice of a teenage girl was heard. No one had noticed when she appeared, but they could see the door in space open behind her.

"So, you guys are watching."

Mark said to the girl. Without a doubt, her calm demeanor that had no pressuring ripples, she was Nineteenth.

To Mark's words, Nineteenth smiled.

"Anywhere where one of us is present, we are always watching."

"Another one..."

To the side, Bathala could not help but gulp his saliva. His demeanor as a god had long been overshadowed by Fourth. Now that Nineteenth appeared, he did not bother hiding his fear of them anymore. He could not be blamed though. The Eyes were responsible for the death of many gods in his time. Because of that, many misunderstandings rose, and many weaker gods like him thought that the Eyes were discriminately killing the trespassing gods. Well, the misunderstanding was cleared now, though.

Still, Bathala could not help but turn to Mark. This guy that had no clue about the Eyes when they met before really became acquainted with the Eyes. It was surreal. Furthermore, the Eyes really seemed to value his existence.

It was not only Bathala who was alarmed by the appearance of Nineteenth. The others were the same. Berrak that was watching, not too far away, had already frozen stiff with the large characters suddenly appearing out of nowhere. Even Diwata Iraya's group grew silent at the appearance of another godly existence.

"In any case, can you do it?" Mark asked Nineteenth. "I don't think there is any rule that prevents you from doing that."

"Yes, there are no such rules." Nineteenth shook her head. "As long as they entered Earth as visitors, they should be under our jurisdiction. What I'm surprised about is for you to actually establish contact with one of them."

"Ah!" Fourth suddenly exclaimed. "Some time ago, a space vessel tried to approach your base. It seemed that they wanted to investigate it. I chased them away, though."

Hearing what Fourth said, Mark could not help but frown. It seemed that his base had already gotten some attention from the extraterrestrials. It was good that Fourth chased them away.

"Then, you have my thanks. You did great."

Mark said to Fourth without any pretense. After all, she did Mark a good favor this time.

Unexpectedly, Fourth was frozen stiff. She then suddenly looked away, blushing.

"I-it's nothing..."

Everyone started at Fourth. Who was this adorable girl who was weak to compliments?

To the side, Nineteenth smiled.

"Fourth is quite a hardheaded and unruly one. It's hard for her to get complimented by anyone. That is why she's too weak to these kinds of things."

"YOU DON'T HAVE TO TELL THEM THAT!"

Fourth complained out loud. However, Nineteenth was still pressing on her shoulder and she could not move that much on her seat.

This scene made everyone take the Eyes in a new light. They might be exuding a godly aura around them. However, they were no different from living beings in terms of behavior.

Mark understood this the most. The Eyes were created by the emotions of humans on Earth. Because of this, it was not strange for them to exhibit human emotions. And to say, compared to humans, the Eyes exude more emotions without schemes and pretense.

"Let's just leave Fourth at that," Mark spoke to Nineteenth. "I think, it's better to see the information we needed immediately."

"Ahem." Nineteenth coughed as she fixed her behavior. "Pardon my unsightly behavior. Let me see."

With those words, Nineteenth conjured a book on her hands. Her two hands held the front and cover of the book as it flipped itself on its own.

Unexpectedly, all the flipping took almost half a minute before it stopped.

"I'm sorry for the wait." Nineteenth apologized. "It took a bit of time since extraterrestrials were in the least of priorities we had, especially since we are looking about a specific information."

It was not surprising. After all, these aliens were not from Earth. Their safety was the last in the priority of the Eyes.

Then, Nineteenth let her book float from her hands to a space where everyone could see.

And from the blank page of the enlarged book, letters began to appear.

It was not Professor Alston's profile and information, however. Instead, it appeared to be some sort of document.

"This is..."

Mark could not help but stare at the document.

"Yes, what you have in mind is right." Nineteenth nodded. "This is the information about the incoming disaster."

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