Mutagen

Day 246 - 12:32 PM - Margaha Valley, Mount Canlaon, Municipality of Murcia, Negros Occidental

Another day passed, five days after the battle on the eastern side of the island of Negros.

Compared to the past few days, the changes today were far more significant. It might just be past morning, but comparing the same time in the past few days, the number of [Infected] that wandered in the area was far lesser. It was even far from a fourth of yesterday's number. If this, fortunately, continued, the number of [Infected] they had to deal with today would be less than half compared to yesterday.

The most noticeable change was the darkened skies caused by Sinogo trying to manipulate the weather. The dark clouds had dissipated considerably, and the area was far brighter than before. Everyone did not have to fight under the darkened weather for the first time in a while, which made it easier for the magical creatures to fight.

Magical creatures might be considered the denizens of the night by humans. However, it was not something entirely true. There were a lot of them who preferred bright surroundings. It was just they feared humans that were more active during the day, only allowing them to roam the mortal realm at night.

Now, being seen by humans was the least of concern for the magical creatures. Fighting the [Infected], a danger far greater than humans, was something they should focus on more.

Since the weather in the eastern areas of the island was getting better and more stable, it was a great help in fighting the enemies.

***

At the usual lunchtime, Mark and the rest of his group gathered to eat. It was different from the previous days, however. This time, Mark was not the only person present to prepare the food.

The number of incoming [Infected] had decreased, and there was more time to breathe. Mei and the others returned early to clean up and help prepare lunch. Thus, lunch this time was far better than in the past days. It was not like Mark's cooking was bad. It was decent and delicious. However, he lacked cooking experience, and the variety he could make was limited. Because before the outbreak came, he did not have much money to buy lots of food and spices. Furthermore, he mostly ate instant food back then, which was cheap and easy to prepare.

It was an unhealthy diet, but it was not like Mark had many choices in the matter as a poor person.

Now, Mark could enjoy better food. Not only that but there were also people that could cook for him.

Other people's lives had gone worse since the apocalypse came. But Mark's life definitely got better in one way or the other. These words had been repeated several times, but these words were the only ones that perfectly described Mark's life before and after.

"There's no other [Behemoth Class] that arrived?"

Mark asked the rest of the group as they talked about the situation outside the mountain.

"So far, there's none today," Ilia, who patrolled the skies with Chimetrice using the [Mini Cube], replied. "We observed a greater distance around this time, but all we saw were smaller ones. The largest ones were the usual sizes we saw among [Mutated Infected]."

"Master, I also looked around the opposite side of the mountain, but there's nothing really scary-looking."

Amihan chimed in as she ate a strange-looking sweet fruit that seemed to be the staple food of [Sylphs] in this place.

With the reports from Ilia and Amihan, it would be fine to conclude that the situation had stabilized. However, it was still not the best time to let their guards down. The residual energy from the battle against Sinogo had yet to dissipate completely, and the [Infected] was still coming despite the decreased number. It was still possible for something troublesome to appear.

"By the way, I noticed that there's barely any [Mechids] on this island."

Spera commented.

"Now that you mentioned it, there's hardly any either in Panay."

Ilia agreed with Spera.

"The ones we saw are pretty mangled too compared to the ones back home."

Spera added.

"Me-kids? What are these mekids you guys are talking about?"

Bella chimed in, noticing a term she and her sister did not know. The two already learned from the group that the cause of the apocalypse was something so-called Mutagenic Pathogen, or [Mutagen]. However, it was the first for them to hear about the [Mechids].

"It's [Mechid], not mekid," Ilia corrected Bella. "They are robot aliens under the influence of some kind of hacking virus."

Bella and Donna now knew the correct term. However, Ilia's explanation just made the sisters even more confused.

"You two haven't seen one yet?"

Spera asked the two making them shake their heads.

"Spera... Their group was whisked into Mount Madia-as' Secret Realm during the earthquake right after the space debris exploded. It's no surprise they had no idea. Not to mention other people. Although they might have seen [Mechids], they might only think that these infected alien robots were just some weird [Infected]."

Mark explained to Spera with a sigh.

Bella and Donna carefully listened to Mark's words. They managed to get the gist of it. However, the sisters were still mostly confused.

The reaction of the two was not really surprising. It had been less than a week since the sisters decided to leave the suffocating safe confines of the Secret Realm in Mount Madia-as. Their group had been there since the Fusion of Dimensions. It made them mostly ignorant of the events outside the realm.

However, the reaction of the sisters might not be that different if other people listened to the discussions of Mark's group. Despite being aware of the events around them, most survivors were confused about what exactly was going on in this world.

None of the people around the world knew what or where [Mutagen] came from. Many people only knew that it was some kind of dangerous pathogen that came from space. Scientists also had limited knowledge and were still trying their best to figure out [Mutagen].

People who did not know what [Mutagen] was also existed. They were those like the sisters who had been isolated from other survivors since the outbreak started. They never received help from the military and had been relying on nothing but themselves to survive. As such, they never received any knowledge about [Mutagen].

On the other hand, [Mechids]... Among all survivors remaining in the world, only a select few had knowledge about these infected alien robots. Since the distribution of knowledge had long been cut off, those who had information could not share what they had with others, leaving everyone else in the dark.

It was displayed back when Mark's group visited the current New Infanta Settlement, who struggled to deal with a [Mechid Shark] since they had no idea what exactly they were dealing with.

Among those who were not ignorant about the things happening in the world, Mark's group happened to be among the lucky ones. It was all because of Mark and the lucky things he encountered in his not-so-lucky life and the things he actually had without even realizing he had them.

And now, this rare chance of luck would benefit the sisters since they joined Mark's group.

The two sisters took the opportunity to learn more about the things currently happening in the world. Whether they were members of this group or not, this knowledge would benefit them in the long run.

Acquiring knowledge about the existence of [Mechids] made Bella and Donna feel how lucky they were to accidentally enter the Secret Realm of Mount Madia-as. Even if the abilities of the two could deal with the [Infected], there was no way they would be able to affect robotic creatures like the [Mechids]. Encountering one would definitely mean their end.

While discussing things about the [Infected] and the [Mechids], the three [Diwatas] of Mount Canlaon arrived. The three were mostly out these past days to lead their remaining warriors to fight against the [Infected]. After all, they could not afford to lose more just because they were not present during the battles. From time to time, they would return to rest. However, not at the same time.

"You three are here together this time. Did something happen?"

Mark preemptively asked the three, wondering if something strange occurred for the three to return together.

"There was none. That is why we returned."

Tinala replied as snarkily as ever.

"Sister..."

The youngest Binituin could only sigh at her older sister's rude behavior.

"The arrival of the Soulless Ones began to diminish. Thus, we decided to focus on other important matters."

The eldest, Alawana, explained.

"So, it's about that, huh?"

Mark shrugged.

"What do you mean by that?"

Spera asked Mark.

"Sinogo's body. What else?"

Mark replied.

Yes, Sinogo's body. Being a Deity of the past, it would not be a surprise if his body turned to dust after death. However, there were also beings at the level of Deities, even Gods, whose bodies would remain after death.

Mark already managed to get what he could from Sinogo's corpse. The golden scales from the limbs and the steel-like feathers from the dragon-like wings. There were also other things and stuff that could be harvested from Sinogo's corpse. However, even if those things were removed, Sinogo's body was still mostly intact, with only his head missing.

Sinogo's dead body, a corpse of a Deity, was not something they could just leave or bury anywhere. Even if he used up all the remaining godly energy in his body before death, his body was still something that could leave side effects on the surroundings or even on anything that could possibly consume it.

Worse, it could be eaten by another [Infected]. While it would not make that [Infected] as powerful as Sinogo, who would know what kind of mutation the consumption of Sinogo's flesh would ensue.

"At these kinds of opportunities, a sealing ritual would be the most appropriate," Alawana explained. "However, the rituals to seal dead Deities were not something we had knowledge in."

"Can't we just burn it?"

Spera suggested.

"It's plausible," Alwana nodded. "However, no ordinary fire could burn the body of a Deity. Furthermore, even the remains after the body was burned would still warrant the same treatment to seal it."

"So, it would just end up doing twice the work."

Ilia chimed in.

Then, everyone turned to Mark. After all, he was the only one here that specialized in powers of corruption. Basically, [Miasma].

"Don't look at me," Mark gave another bitter shrug. "I already tried that when I'm taking the scales and feathers. My current [Miasma] isn't enough. The corpse is also resisting my [Miasma] and [Miasmic Flames]. Probably because of the God Energy he had before."

"It would be nice if some Underworld Goddess would make a suggestion."

Mark added.

"But she's not here."

Amihan said, making Mark sigh.

"That's the point," Mark replied. "When someone needed Gods, that is when they are not present.:

Mark's words made everyone wear a bitter expression and make slight giggles. That was pretty much true in many cases. It was the common trope where a person in distress would pray to their God only to receive no reply and die sooner.

Unfortunately, Magwayen was not really here this time. It seemed she had business to deal with in her world and she disappeared since last night.

"Why not turn the corpse into materials?" Ilia made a rather unsavory suggestion. "Why are you people looking at me like that? Corpses of Gods and Deities had been used to make things in the past, you know? Even their skulls could be made as good catalysts for necromantic rituals."

What Ilia said was true. Back in the era of Myths and Legends, many ugly things happened, and it did not only involve mortals but also the Gods themselves.

After all, the level of Gods was a pretty chaotic place to reach. Many Gods were known to do things that would definitely go against the moral standards of modern people.

And it was the same moral standard that was preventing Mark to agree with Ilia.

Mark might harvest things like nails, scales, feathers, and hair from humanoid corpses. But butchering the whole corpse and turning everything into materials... Mark was pretty sure he had yet to reach such a deranged psychopatic level.

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