Mutagen

Day 154 - 8:25 PM - Matutinao Elementary School, Barangay Matutitnao, Municipality of Badian, Province of Cebu

Sitting atop the concrete utility pole on the other side of the road in front of the school, Mark watched the current happenings inside its premises.

Mark could not help but nod in interest, seeing the unexpectedly strange abilities that Edzel displayed. Even Edzel's awakening towards his father's race was something that no one expected to happen right now. While it was something that would happen, it should be after Edzel's eighteenth birthday. Yet, Edzel awakened prematurely.

"No, this is not just awakening... It's evolution."

Mark muttered, observing Edzel's appearance.

Unlike regular Tamawos, Edzel did not seem to have their iconic long claws and sharp teeth. Those parts on Edzel were still human. In any case, these inhuman appearances were the subproduct of their creation and lifestyle. As for Edzel, he did not need it, living as a human in the modern era.

However, these inconvenient things were not something that anyone in their race could just get rid of on a whim.

Of course, Edzel was different.

[Evolvers] were not just called [Evolvers] without reason. It was because they evolved and were continuously evolving.

The process was still uncertain, and the evolution was different from person to person. Nonetheless, growth and change were its results.

[Mutators] were similar because they could also grow further but different since the changes were outside the norms of the human's natural expected evolution route.

Still, the greatest factor in Edzel's changes was that he evolved using an [Empty Physical Crystal] from Mark. It became the catalyst of Edzel's evolution, causing his growth to be more advance than expected, facilitating his human and Tamawo genes into one.

The most unexpected, however, was that Edzel's mark on Pearl interfered with their evolution. It caused their abilities to look similar.

However, from what Mark observed just now, there was a deeper explanation.

Edzel's ability as a [Evolver] was to create vibrations. On the other hand, they initially thought that Pearl's ability was to detect vibrations.

But no, they seemed to be mistaken.

Pearl's ability was not to detect vibrations. It was just an aftereffect of her real ability. That was ability was to...

"Is her ability actually absorbing vibrations and releasing them?"

Mark muttered.

It was displayed just now. Edzel sent a strong wave of vibrations towards Pearl. It was something that should be expected to be harmful even for her if her ability was only to detect. However, not only the force entered her body. It was even released in a form of a shockwave that protected her and blew away everything around her.

"Wait... Something is not right..." Mark frowned. "Vibrations... Force... Don't tell me..."

Mark turned to Edzel and Pearl, who were still dealing with the situation around them.

"Vibrations are not the cause but the effect. It is the result of inertia traveling through an unstable medium such as water, air, elastic solid, and even electromagnetic wave. There are also vibrations due to energy spreading from the source, like how I perceive Emotional Energies from people. But it's not applied in their case. Instead, theirs is an oscillation caused by the disturbance of the parts of the medium. And that disturbance should be caused by something..."

Mark's eyes stared at Edzel. Currently, he was still emitting vibrations around him, making the enemies unstable and easier to kill.

"Fus... Is it? No, I mean... Force. Right... Force. Edzel's ability is not to create vibrations but to release force to create those vibrations using the inertia from the force he released. A bit confusing but somehow makes sense..."

Mark's eyes then fell on Pearl.

"Then, hers is to absorb the force carried by the vibrations and then release it, avoiding the supposed repercussions by facing that strength. What created our misconception about Pearl's ability is because she never had to face such a kind of vibration carrying a force strong enough for her to absorb and release."

"Wait... Maybe, she had been releasing it without knowing but since the vibrations were too weak, none of us managed to detect it. After all, humans always create vibrations around them. From their heartbeat, brain waves, voice, and even just by walking. If that is the case, it will be really hard to discern Pearl's ability until now."

"It's better to do some more testing of it later..."

Mark muttered continuously, watching Edzel and Pearl with interest. At his side, flapping her rainbow-colored wings, Mei had arrived quite a while ago.

Mei could only wait and watch Mark mutter his observations with a troubled face.

Finally, Mark was done with his deep thoughts.

"Anyone escaped?"

Mark asked as he turned to Mei.

"No one escaped." Mei nodded. "Even those that fell into the river."

"Nice."

Mark smiled.

While Mark created the biggest distraction and Edzel's pair and the children secured the school, Mei's duty was to deal with anyone that could and tried to escape.

During the explosion, some Tamawos fell into the river. Mark had no time to make sure that they die since he had to gather the attention of the enemies. It was Mei's role to deal with those. There were also those that were frightened by the explosion and fled instead of fighting. It was also Mei that made sure that they breathe their last with their cowardice.

"I've dealt with my side when I detected that the reinforcements came," Mark said. "But what is this?"

Of course, Mark was dismayed by the situation.

Mark created the biggest explosion they could make, wasting explosives and resources. It was all to make sure that the Tamawos would send an army here and let Pefile's group do their job smoothly.

However, the reinforcements that arrived were a measly number. Surely they were stronger than those Tamawos staying in the town. But their number was too small that the girls, Edzel, and Pearl, were more than enough to overpower them.

"Maybe something wrong happened with the messenger we let escape?"

Mei deduced.

"Maybe..." Mark sighed. "Or else, they would just send this number of people. We don't even have a problem dealing with a group of the same number with guns. Don't even mention people with nothing but spears and bows. They should have sent their whole tribe. Or at least, their whole army as intended."

Mei could only shake her head at Mark's grumbles. However, it was the truth.

"Gege, not everything goes according to plan."

"Hah..." Mark sighed. "That's true. That is why "Plan B" and "Plan C" exist for unexpected situations."

And then, Mark's eyes fell on someone.

"At least, they had someone interesting."

"That guy?"

Mei asked, looking at the leader of the reinforcements and the very same person that caused Edzel's sudden awakening.

"Yeah." Mark nodded. "That guy seems to be possessed by something."

"Ghost?"

Mei asked.

"No." Mark shook his head. "It feels like a Demon. Probably a Demon Spirit or a Formless Demon. I'm looking forward to what crystals we can get from them. The Tamawos I gathered barely gave enough energy to make two crystals."

Mei turned to Mark with a sigh. It seemed that in his eyes, enemies were turning into energy sources for his crystals. It was not wrong, though. Furthermore, the more crystals Mark collected, the more secure their future would be.

At this time, Mark's eyes fell on the waters of the strait on the west coast of the town.

"Well, then... Playtime's over."

Mark said as he told Mei to follow him.

***

"NO!"

Terville shook his head, disagreeing with the voice's proposal.

"What are you hesitating for?" The voice grumbled. "If you don't want to, then run away already! Don't wast- sh*t! Because you're too indecisive, it's already late to escape!"

The voice echoed loudly inside Terville's ears. However, he could not pay any attention to the voice any longer.

Not only Terville. All the Tamawos in the area froze as two individuals landed at the center of the schoolyard.

To be exact, the eyes of the Tamawos, even the slaves, fell on the female.

***

Mark and Mei landed, entering the fray. However, only silence enveloped the scene.

Everyone's attention was on Mei. Her beauty, complemented by her crystal armor and rainbow-colored wings, was too eyecatching.

The Tamawos admire beauty as it was something that their race did not lack. Among the Tamawos, the majority of them were still single. Without a doubt, they fell in love at first sight.

Sensing the fluctuation of the emotions of the Tamawos, Mark showed a deadly smirk.

To other humans and races, falling in love with Mei would not have that much of a side effect. Of course, that was if they managed to live through Mark's attacks.

For the Tamawos, however, it was a death sentence.

Mei had an special Physique. The [Charm Magic] of the Tamawos would not have an effect on her as it was a form of invasive energy that her body would reject. Not to mention that Mei was no longer a human.

These Tamawos would never get her to return their love, causing their deaths after a while. It also disabled them to love others as Tamawos could only fall in love once in their lives. This also cuts the possibility for them to have children, cutting off their future lineage and race.

It was a savage move for Mark to make Mei appear here.

Of course, Mei felt uncomfortable, making her hide behind Mark's back.

The Tamawos found that gesture cute and charming. But then, their eyes fell on Mark. It was obvious that they were treating Mark as their rival in love.

"Bastard! WAKE UP!"

The voice echoed inside Terville's ear once more, loud enough to make his head hurt.

"Don't shout!"

Terville bellowed, causing some eyes to gather on him.

"I will shout whenever I want!" The voice argued. "But now is not the time! ESCAPE! THOSE TWO ARE LIKELY TO BE THE PARENTS OF THOSE CHILDREN! RUN AWAY IF YOU WANT TO LIVE!"

The panicked shouts of the voice made Terville frozen. He had never experienced this voice panic like this. It just showed him the intensity of the situation.

"Sh*t!"

Terville finally decided.

"ATTACK! THEY ARE WITH THE INTRUDERS!"

Terville's commanded the Tamawos. He wanted them to cover his escape.

However, the command was met with silence.

p The hearts of the Tamawos here were caught by Mei. There was no way that they would attack her.

And then...

"PAPA! MAMA!"

The girls ran towards Mark and Mei, calling them as such.

Papa and Mama... Even the Tamawos know those human terminologies.

The situation became even more apparent seeing the girls approach Mark and Mei.

Mark almost laughed while he patted Abbygale's and Miracle's heads. He could sense what was happening with the Tamawos.

"I guess I heard some hearts breaking."

Mark said. Of course, the Tamawos could not understand him.

"Gege..."

Mei stared at Mark, blaming him for this ruse.

"Alright! Alright! I'll end this."

Mark shrugged as he turned to Edzel and Pearl.

"The next enemy is coming. Gather those slaves that deserve to live."

At Mark's command, Edzel and Pearl moved. Ignoring the Tamawos, they gathered those slaves that did not revolt earlier. Surely, the slaves left behind were enveloped with confusion.

"Time to start the cleanup."

Mark said as the pressure in the surroundings suddenly became heavy.

The Tamawos and the immoral slaves felt suffocated. The Tamawos managed to hold, but the remaining slaves all fell to their knees.

"Boss! These are all!"

Edzel called out to Mark, gathering those who deserved to be saved.

"Chaflar!"

Mark called out, causing the forest outside the town to shake. There, the reddish-black dragon flew up to the sky under the fearful eyes of the Tamawos and the slaves.

"T-that dragon..."

Terville's eyes grew wide as he remembered the news about the gigantic bird and dragon chasing each other the other day.

Now, escape became even more impossible for Terville.

Without any choice left, he murmured.

"Terrae... Take over my body."

Terville finally decided to agree to the Demon's contract.