Mutagen

Day 368 - 5:53 PM - Pudakpajung, Banyumanik, Semarang City, Central Java, Indonesia

The seemingly countless barrage of homing fireballs vanished after the sphere of [Miasma] absorbed them all. Finishing its purpose, the [Miasma] unstably contracted and vanished into Mark's body, revealing his silhouette amidst the ominous darkness.

As Mark emerged, he looked at the sky. His attention was not on The Great One but on someone else. In Mark's line of sight, there was the weary and panicked Night Goddess.

Although the Deity of Soul Sacrifice and the Night Goddess were pretty much the same in their level of power, it seemed that the creator still had some advantage over his creation. They might be unable to come to a quick conclusion, but the longer the battle took, the weaker the Night Goddess became.

But then, Mark's eyes opened wider. He noticed something while he stared at the Night Goddess. And just before he knew it, she vanished into the darkness.

Then, the sky turned brighter, back to the sky filled with the colors of the setting sun.

It had already returned to normal. The emotional fluctuations of the Night Goddess also vanished.

The Night Goddess made her escape once again.

"This is getting more troublesome."

The familiar voice of the Deity of Soul Sacrifice entered Mark's ears, making him turn and see him calmly approach.

"Who told you to create something and fail to control it?"

The androgynous man chirped.

However, the Deity of Soul Sacrifice did not say anything back and replied with a deadly glare.

Despite the androgynous man's free-spirited approach, the relationships between the founders of Auraboros were not exactly friendly. They were only cooperating due to having the same goals.

And besides, the Deity of Soul Sacrifice was confident about his creation. There should be no mishap that could happen with his hundreds of years of preparation. He already knew that there was an uncertain factor that led to this situation. However, he had yet to pinpoint that factor.

Unknown to the Deity of Soul Sacrifice, that very factor was right in front of him at this moment.

Ignoring the glare he received, the androgynous man turned towards The Great One and shouted.

"Hey, Greatie! We need to go and chase after this guy's lost pet!"

Now, the androgynous man, the Deity of Warped Beauty, was receiving hostile glares from his two allies. Nonetheless, he behaved as if he was not receiving any. Rather, it seemed that he enjoyed being looked at no matter what the intent was.

Giving his smile to The Great One, The Deity of Warped Beauty continued.

"It is better to stop here, for now. We have more pressing matters than your enjoyment."

And then, the Deity of Warped Beauty turned to Mark while giving a rather disgusted expression.

"And you too. I would advise you to return to your friends. There is only one reason we coincidentally met here. It is because that lost pet already knew she was still incomplete."

"The only way she can complete herself is to consume the souls of the living," The Deity of Warped Beauty then looked away from Mark and turned to the East. "And by the looks of it, your friends might be the next on the menu."

Mark gave the Deity of Warped Beauty a glance and looked in the same direction. Just like he said, the sky there had already turned into night.

However, the Deity of Warped Beauty's advice was not of kindness or pleasant whim. He just wanted Mark and The Great One to stop fighting and waste their time.

Nevertheless, there was no need to continue this farce.

"Alright..."

Mark murmured.

"IS WHAT YOU THINK I WOULD SAY, RIGHT!"

Mark then roared with a crazed smile. The Butterfly of Knowledge was already opened in his hand.

"O, force of corruption, a power feared by all.

Spread thy madness. Seize the insolent."

As Mark began chanting, the space began to tremble. [Miasma] began leaking out of his body like a tsunami, spreading darkness into the surroundings.

Of course, the three Deities did not just dawdle. They tried to retreat from the spreading [Miasma].

However, the three Deities found themselves frozen, unable to move. Their bodies stopped for a moment. As powerful beings, they regained their control in the next second. However, that second pause was more than enough for them to become engulfed in the torrent of corrupted energy.

Without any other choice, the three Deities covered their bodies with their magical energy to resist the malicious power trying to corrode their bodies.

And within the darkness, Mark's chant continued.

"Shape. Fortify. Isolate. Imprison my enemies."

"World of Decay."

Mark's last words fell, and the torrent of [Miasma] finally passed.

The three Deities were unscathed. Even [Miasma] would not easily injure them. However, as they looked around, they found themselves surrounded by darkness.

This darkness was different from the lack of light deep in the night, different from what the Night Goddess could bring. It was murky and closer to gray than pitch black. From the sky to the ground, several hundred meters across, there was nothing but a wall of murky and mud-like mist, preventing entry and exit for anything inside and outside.

The [World of Decay], a space surrounded by [Miasma of Corruption]. A world where no one could escape alive.

It was a perfect stage for a deathmatch.

And at the center of it all, Mark, already in his Demonic Form, flapped his wings, panting heavily.

"You are overdoing yourself..." Magwayen's voice echoed inside Mark's head. "You should have accepted their proposal to postpone this fight."

Mark wiped his face. It transferred the blood flowing from his eyes into his sleeve. That was right. Mark was doing more than he could and should. In order to not let the three Deities escape, he used his [Empathic] abilities to the fullest to stop them even for only a second. While he succeeded, it also caused him some damage.

"I know," Mark replied as he stabilized his breath. "But it's even more strange that they are actually proposing such. They could probably kill me here, but they would not. It is so they could quickly chase after that Goddess. They are keen on catching that Goddess even though they cannot control her. It might be understandable for the Deity of Soul Sacrifice, and I don't know about that pervert.

However, I don't think The Great One would cooperate with something like that for no reason other than being from the same faction."

And considering the interactions of the three that Mark had seen, they were not exactly close friends or the like.

There was something so important that these three had to cooperate in catching the Night Goddess alive.

"Whatever it is, I shouldn't be anything good. It's better to stop them now."

Mark added as he raised his head, looking at the three hovering in the sky higher than him.

"Why?" The Deity of Warped Beauty dramatically sighed. "Why would you do something like this? We go different ways for now, and you can save your friends. Yet, you did this."

"Your friends will die, you know? Are you crazy?"

The Deity of Warped Beauty exaggeratedly gestured with his right hand, slashing his neck.

However, to the Deity of Warped Beauty's provocation, Mark actually smiled... no...

"Hahahahaha!"

Mark laughed. He looked like a crazed Demon as he laughed because of his current appearance.

The unexpected reply made the Deity of Warped Beauty quite taken aback.

"Crazy? Maybe a little bit," Mark circled his left finger around his left temple. "But die? Unfortunately, no. None of them are going to die today."

Mark's eyes glowed purple. However, it had a grayish tint that was not visible in the past. Along with that gray tint, the markings created by the [Blessing of Death's Aura] pulsated. It began taking a new form, sharper and more intricate.

Watching from her realm, Magwayen was taken aback by the sudden change in the blessing she gave Mark. The blessing had already taken root deeply in Mark's being to the point that it mutated his [Clairvoyance] to a degree where he could determine people's deaths to some degree.

It was why General Wijaya and his soldiers turned grayish in Mark's eyes. They were supposed to die here, but Mark prevented it from happening. But other than them, whose fate had already changed, no other people had that same grayish appearance in Mark's eyes.

No one among Mark's allies would die today. He was sure about it.

It was akin to asking for a miracle. After all, Mei and everyone would be facing an actual Goddess. However, Mark knew he was not mistaken.

All that was left was to trust them, and he would take care of the other enemies.

"You are definitely crazy... And that stench of death around you is unsetting..."

The Deity of Warped Beauty pinched his well-shaped nose.

Turning to The Great One and the Deity of Soul Sacrifice, the Deity of Warped Beauty spoke.

"Can you two take care of this? I don't want to go anywhere near him."

Of course, that reaction caused a negative response. However, while the Deity of Warped Beauty retreated, the two flew forward.

It seemed that the three Deities understood that they could not leave this place unless they killed Mark.

And to that fact... The Great One, who was controlling Shin's body, smiled happily.

BOOOM!

With a loud explosion, The Great One shot toward Mark like a bullet, with his body clad in flames strong enough to instantly melt steel. A red katana clad with the same flames appeared in his hands as he slashed at Mark.

CLANG! BOOOM!

Mark blocked the katana with his fused sword. However, without any foothold or enough force to support his body, Mark was flung to the ground in an explosion of soil and dust.

Without waiting for Mark to recover or for the dust to subside, The Great One slashed his flaming katana in the direction Mark crashed into. The slash formed a crescent slash of flames large enough to raze an entire town. And that force and power shot toward Mark's direction.

BOOOOOOM!!!

A giant spout of flames occurred as the attack crashed to the ground, followed by a gigantic explosion that shook the earth.

The Great One finally stopped his attacks, watching the explosion he created and the result it brought.

However, the instincts of the three Deities flickered as they felt a sharp gaze.

Then, wriggling from within the cloud of dust and explosion of flames, tentacle-shaped waves of black mist surged, swallowing the explosion into nothingness.

WHOOOM!

The wind blew, and the dust cleared. It revealed Mark with his outstretched left hand as it began absorbing the [Miasma] he released to swallow the explosion. Embedded in his sword were three marble-sized crystals glowing brightly. One had a green glow, the other had a redish-orange, and the last had a grayish-clear color.

Those glowing crystals sure took the attention of the Deities as they were even more visible in this murky darkness Mark created. But more than the eye-catching glows, the fluctuation from the reddish-orange and grayish-clear crystals took the attention of The Great One and the Deity of Soul Sacrifice, respectively.

Mark knew why.

The [Flame Manipulation Mental Crystal] was from Gar'Vlam's original body. It was also the same flames that Shin's body contained.

On the other hand, the new grayish-clear one was something Mark secretly took from the body of General Piliang. It was the [Telekinesis Mental Crystal] containing the [Telekinetic] abilities of the old General that the Deity of Soul Sacrifice granted.

Mark closed his hand. All the [Miasma] he released just now returned into his body. Now, it was his turn.

Raising his sword, Mark murmured.

"Enchant: Flames. Buff: Wind. Support: Telekinesis. Blood Enhancement Activate. Future Sight On. Shadow Mist: Ready."

And then, as his sword became enveloped in flames, Mark vanished with a strong gust of wind.

CLANG!

All of a sudden, The Great One blocked an attack as Mark appeared before him with a slash.

BOOOM!

The collision of magical flames caused an explosion, causing The Great One to be the one pushed back in this round. However, Mark suddenly kicked his feet. And then, there was nothing.

Mark vanished again, even mid-air.

SHING!

The sound of a sword slicing the wind entered everyone's ears. The Great One immediately turned his body around and raised his katana.

CLANG! BOOM!

It was a repeat of what happened earlier. But this time, it was The Great One who crashed into the ground.

Mark hovered in the air, looking in The Great One's direction. His eyes continued glowing purple, and the veins in his entire body were glowing red. The crystals embedded in his sword glowed brightly while a tinge of shadowy mist lingered around his being.

Although Mark was seemingly getting the advantage, it was clear that he was using almost all of his abilities at the same time just for this move alone.

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