Mutagen

Day 368 - 6:00 PM - Mountain Back, Balong, Pucakwangi, Pati Regency, Central Java, Indonesia

"We have no time to sit and plan. That is why. Mei and you, Sylph. You two are the only ones who can confront the enemy. Just do what you can for now," Magwayen spoke. "As for you, Mark's little sister, I will explain what you can do.

Stand by me and wait."

Mei nodded before charging out of the barrier. Amihan followed behind her, not leaving Mei's side.

The many of the tentacles outside immediately shifted their target to the two.

Transforming her sniper rifle into a sword, Mei slashed through the tentacles with ease. Amihan also fired off a gust of wind blades, tearing not only the tentacles in her immediate vicinity but also sending some of it to the tentacles that were swarming the barrier. It was to ease the pressure on Iola even a little.

The two then flew towards the Night Goddess, who seemed surprised that the two decided to leave the safety of the barrier to attack her.

On the other hand, Elise did as she was told, standing beside Magwayen.

"You mortals. If you all want to live, do not leave the barrier."

A voice echoed into the minds of the Indonesian survivors. They were surprised. None of them knew the language spoken. Yet, they could understand it and knew that the voice came from the strange woman who appeared before them.

Even more strange was that the woman looked like a ghost. Her body was slightly transparent, and she gave quite a strong aura of death that even the dull-minded could feel. Furthermore, she gave out a similar presence to the enemy, which made all the Indonesian survivors wary of her.

"Uhm... Who are you?"

Ellie asked, not minding the slight pressure Magwayen's presence emitted.

"There is no need to speak. I cannot understand your language," Magwayen replied through Ellie's mind. "Just speak your intention within your head."

"Uhhh, like this!? Does this work!?"

Ellie unintentionally shouted in her mind without opening her mouth. Surprisingly, everyone could hear her voice through their minds as if they were all linked within a local communication network. And sure enough, they all flinched.

"There is no need to stress too much," Magwayen frowned. "Just behave like you are speaking normally."

"Sorry..."

Unexpectedly, the unruly Ellie did not hesitate to apologize for some reason. It was quite uncanny because apologies were not really her forte. Her other personality, Livia, was the one who governed that area of her mind. Furthermore, it seemed that Ellie was behaving quite like a normal person compared to her usual extreme bipolar tendencies and behavior.

"As for your question," Magwayen did not mind and answered Ellie's question. "You can consider me as the patron Goddess of Mark and his people."

"Huh?"

That response was not only from Ellie but also from the other Indonesian survivors.

"A Goddess?"

Limabella voiced through her mind. Unlike Ellie, she was able to communicate through her mind perfectly. It might be because of her mental abilities or affinity as a [Clairvoyant].

"Is it that surprising that a Goddess is standing before you all?" Magwayen seemingly shrugged. "Remember that the enemy is also a Goddess."

"Ah..."

Those who knew managed to calm down a little.

On the other hand, it caused a commotion to the others. After all, none of the regular members of the survivor groups knew that the Night Goddess was a literal Goddess. It was no wonder they could not do anything when she arrived.

Limabela stared at Magwayen. In her mind, a thought formed.

Maybe... Mark's group became strong because they were under the patronage of a real Goddess.

"It seems you are heading to a misunderstanding, young Clairvoyant," Magwayen's transmitted voice made Limabela flinch. "It is the other way around. Before I became their patron, they were already strong. The help I gave them was minimal, and only Mark received my blessing."

Limabela quivered. She did not think that her thoughts would be read. Nonetheless, it resolved the misunderstanding she was starting to have.

"How. How did they become so strong?"

Limabela asked.

"You have the courage to ask me, but it seemed that you did not have the courage to seek the answer by yourself," Magawayen replied. "But I suppose someone afraid of the future like you would have a hard time seeking that answer."

Limabela froze.

"Why don't you look at those two," Magwayen continued as she gazed at Mei and Amihan, now entangled in a fight with the Night Goddess. "That [Sylph] is an Incarnation of another Goddess. That is why she is powerful. However, as a mere fragment of a Goddess' soul that has recently awakened, she is far weaker than the enemy Goddess. It was even worse for Mei.

While she had special circumstances, the current her was nothing else but a mere Demon with borrowed power."

"Yet," Magwayen glanced at Limabela. "They did not hesitate to face the enemy far stronger than them."

"It is not that they were not afraid, especially that [Sylph]. [Sylphs] are mischievous, but they are also cowards by nature. She is definitely afraid of the enemy. But more than anything, they were afraid to lose everything they valued and loved. Instead of fleeing, they faced their adversaries. They do not fight because they are courageous.

They fight because they are afraid. And because they chose to face their problems this way, they had no choice but to become stronger. And the adversaries they overcame pushed them further to this level of power."

"As for you people," Magwayen's eyes left Limabela as if she was losing interest. "How many times have you stood your ground? And how many times have you chosen to flee? While not all situations can be faced with nothing but courage, how many of such opportunities to grow have you people let pass just because of fear? Especially you, young [Clairvoyant].

You are too afraid of the future that you let the present pass by in fear."

From there, Magwayen stopped talking to Limabela. There was no need to explain further. In perspective, the start of Mark's group was not too different from Limabela and her friends. No... This group of friends actually had a better start. Four out of six became [Mutators] within the first day of the apocalypse, while one was already a holder of a psychic ability beforehand.

They had a headstart.

It was just that... the way the two groups chose to face the apocalypse differed. One had "escape" as a priority, while the other chose "fighting" instead. Of course, the ones who fought grew stronger and gained more opportunities, while the ones who escaped just continued to escape further.

Limabela was crestfallen. So was everyone else listening through the conversation transmitted into their minds.

"What's with those faces?" Ellie's voice interrupted their thoughts. "Since we now know how, then we can just start again."

"Ellie..."

Limabela muttered while looking at the smiling Ellie.

"Of course, before everything else!" Ellie shouted as she brandished her hammer that was as tall as her. "We need to get out of this situation first!"

Shocking everyone, Ellie ran out of the barrier. At the same time, her hammer began glowing, with some parts transforming.

"Burst: Flame! Enchant: Wind!" Ellie shouted as she jumped as high as she could with her hammer pulled behind her back. "Special Move: Rocket Stomp!"

A burst of flame exploded from the back of her hammer, pushing her momentum and even causing her to spin twice mid-air. And with the last spin, the hammer made contact with the tentacles now attacking her. However, the tentacles facing the impact of the hammer were crushed, allowing the hammer to hit the ground.

The moment the hammer landed, a shockwave occurred, conjuring a wave of surging gale, crushing the tentacles along its path.

Ellie then looked back at everyone.

"We can't just leave everything to them! We need to at least help Iola protect everyone!"

"Hah," Nelia sighed and readied to join the fray. "Ellie's behaving weirdly, but she's right."

BANG! BANG!

Nelia began shooting her sniper rifle, sending explosive enchanted bullets at the tentacles outside the barrier.

"I'll take this side."

Bajing walked to the side opposite from Ellie. She charged out with her daggers, agilely cutting as many tentacles as she could.

SLAP!

Limabela hit her cheeks with both her palms.

"I guess I need to also change my outlook, huh..." Limabela then looked at Magwayen's back. "Thank you."

Limabela then drew her pistols and ran to another side of the barrier, covering a different area from her friends.

General Wijaya also joined the resistance. While he could not do as much as the others with his gauntlets, every single tentacle he destroyed was another lesser burden to Iola and her barrier.

Of course, the members of Evernight would not just stand waiting. They were the only ones who could help the most in this situation.

Inside the barrier, Estia clenched her fists.

"I hate this..." Estia murmured. "Standing around doing nothing isn't my thing at all."

"We can't help it," Kela shrugged. "We should have asked Mark for weapons, even unfinished ones like the General's would do."

"And that Kana," Kela added. "Just where is that brat."

***

Kana continued to watch the situation. But when the so-called Goddess appeared to help, her heart could not help but beat faster. For some reason, she felt excited. Her blue hair was waving as if they were alive.

"Are you not going to help your friends?"

The voice of the so-called Goddess suddenly spoke inside Kana's mind. However, Kana did not seem surprised.

"Are you a Goddess of the Sea?"

Kana actually asked in anticipation.

This time, it was Magwayen's turn to be surprised.

"I am currently a Goddess of the Underworld, although I formerly held that authority. Interesting. You are not a normal mortal for you to realize this."

"I'm not, I guess?" Kana cutely tilted her head before bowing. "I'm the current Priestess and Princess of our Clan, although the Clan doesn't exist anymore. We are followers of Goddess Lanjar."

Kana did not mind introducing her secret identity to Magwayen, who was formerly a Goddess of the Sea. It might be because she was a follower of Dewi Lanjar, who was the Indonesian Sea Goddess.

"Goddess," Kana sincerely called. "I want to help, but my abilities are severely limited in places without water. Can you please help?"

"This is unfortunate," Magwayen replied with a regretful tone. "I had long relinquished my authority over the sea and water. I have no such abilities anymore."

Compared to how Magwayen talked to Limabela, her tone was far more amicable as she spoke to Kana. It might be because Kana was showing the Goddess the amount of respect a Goddess deserved. Unfortunately, there was no way for her, who passed on the role of the Goddess of the Sea to her late daughter, to help Kana, who needed water.

"However, I might have an alternative. Although you need to wait a little."

Magwayen had an idea.

"I am willing to wait."

Kana sincerely replied with a smile.

Then, there was silence.

***

Magwayen was giving information to Mei and Amihan while talking to the others. For a Goddess like her, this much was a piece of cake. However, it was not just a three-way communication. At this time, Magwayen was also talking to Mark, who was fighting on the other side.

It was when Magwayen turned to Iola. Feeling the Goddess's gaze, Iola immediately looked back.

"Mark's eldest," Magwayen spoke through Iola's mind. "Your father wants you to recall one of the crystals with him. The [Mermaid's] one. Then activate it."

Iola was a little confused. The crystal Magwayen was talking about was the [Stormcaller Mental Crystal]. That crystal could conjure rain and storms. However, Iola could not fathom how a storm would help in this situation.

Nonetheless, Iola had no reason to refuse either.

"Okay."

Iola replied.

Closing her eyes, Iola began to concentrate. Since the burden on the barrier was reduced because of the others destroying some of the tentacles, the task given to her became easier.

And as the [Inheritor] of Keeper, the creator and original owner of the [Psycrystal], she could forcefully recall it and the crystals it stored.

But right now, she only needed that specific crystal.

Iola felt the connection and tugged on it.

And like a blue shooting star flying through the night sky, the [Stormcaller Mental Crystal] arrived before Iola.

The scene surprised the witnesses. But ignoring the stares, Iola activated the crystal.

In another few seconds, clouds began to gather, and the night sky grew darker. However, flashes of lightning began to light up the sky. The wind began to pick up and, drop by drop, the rain started to fall.

But to everyone's further surprise, not a drop of rain fell onto them, nor the barrier.

"YES!"

A bubbly voice echoed, prompting Estia and Kela to look at the top of the nearby cliff.

There, they saw Kana with her bubbly blue hair swaying in the wind.

"HAAAAAA! GO!"

Kana shouted as the raindrops turned into needles, raining on the tentacles, decimating hundreds of them into nothingness in a single wave of her arms.

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