Mutagen

Day 240 - 10:31 AM - Mount Canlaon, Municipality of Codcod, Province of Negros Occidental

The dust, the remains of the gigantic golden crocodile, spread onto its surroundings like an avalanche. It was no news that upon the death of most magical creatures, they either vanish entirely or turn to dust. This should be one of the many reasons why there was almost no evidence of the existence of magical creatures in the mortal world.

Sinogo turning to dust was not the issue, however.

The problem was the gigantic humanoid figure that emerged from his disintegrating remains.

Slowly, with dust falling from his body, the humanoid figure stood.

The giant was a man, about four to five meters tall. He had wavy hair that extended a little bit below his shoulders and slightly tan skin. Tribal tattoos and markings with a golden sheen decorated his body while he wore a golden tribal cloth around his waist. Hanging on his biceps, neck, knees, and head were golden ornaments of tribal origin.

His figure sported the appearance and style of pre-colonial Filipinos. It was how the giant could be described with.

It was the true appearance of Sinogo.

And his face... No wonder in some versions of the myths, it was said that one of the reasons Kaptan spared Sinogo's life was his beauty.

Sinogo looked beautifully handsome. He had the face of an ancient tribesman mixed with androgynous features. Even in the current world, many would fall for his appearance alone. Not to mention his perfectly chiseled body that would make many women drool. It was neither too bulky nor too skinny. It was literally perfect for his gigantic size.

However... It seemed that Sinogo's appearance did not return entirely. Maybe because he was a [Mutated Infected], or because he spent too long in a body of a crocodile, his arms, legs, and even eyes sported the appearance of a lizard. Instead of human hands, he had five-fingered webbed hands and long golden claws. His feet also looked lizard-like. And when he opened his mouth in confusion, he had sharp fangs instead of human teeth.

Not to mention the tail on his back. It looked totally the same tail he had back in his crocodile body.

Everyone thought the same. That giant humanoid and the gigantic crocodile were the same entity. Yet, no one could fathom or understand how this could happen.

Sinogo was expected to die in that final attack. And he clearly did, considering that the body of the golden crocodile turned to dust.

But why? Why was Sinogo still alive? Even more, in a form no one expected...

And most of all...

Sinogo was far more powerful than before... It was clear by the fact that everyone present could feel the unrestrained pressure. It was different from before when the magical creatures could still resist. Now, despite the distance, most of them were feeling suffocated.

This powerful pressure and restraint were only supposed to come from a Godly being.

***

Mark stared at the giant. The frown on his face could not be disguised. There was no way he would expect something like this to happen. Not to mention that while a humanoid [Infected] turning into something inhuman was common, the opposite was never witnessed to happen. There was some powerful humanoid [Infected]. The [Human Monarch Types], for example. However, the [Human Monarch Types] retained their human bodies since they became [Infected], only likely getting some transformative abilities similar to [Mutators].

Sinogo's case, the current scene unfolding in their eyes, had no precedents as far as they knew.

Mark then noticed. It was not only them who were confused. Instead of attacking, Sinogo stood there, looking at his hands and scratching the tattoos on his wrists. He even twisted and pulled some of his hair.

As Mark saw those actions of Sinogo, he began to speak in his mind.

"Jaeya. You can hear me, right?"

"Y-yes. I can hear you, Big Bro."

Jaeya replied with a shaky voice.

"Tell Spera to prepare an emergency retreat," Mark gave his instructions. "We don't know whether we will win this. If just in case things don't go well, we should retreat immediately."

"Okay, I'll tell her immediately," Jaeya agreed. "But... Are you going to continue fighting?"

Mark shrugged as he heard the question. It was clear that Jaeya knew his current state. Even so...

"We have no choice. If we can't defeat Sinogo here, he will just become stronger the next time. Then, we won't be sure if we can defeat this guy even more. Unless we have other choices, we can only try killing him on our own."

There was a slight pause on Jaeya's part.

"Alright. Just be careful."

Mark did not reply anymore. There was no time to reply at all. It was because...

THOOM!!!

Sinogo fired a beam from his right hand, seemingly trying his new body. The beam was fired without a particular target and was fired towards the water of the strait to the east. However, everyone could only stare, seeing the mountain-sized explosion as the water exploded due to the attack.

The intensity of Sinogo's beams seemed to have doubled in strength, worse, tripled.

Sinogo also seemed surprised for a moment. But as he looked at his hands, he displayed a sinister smile.

Then, Mark shivered as Sinogo turned his head with a snap, staring at him in glee. Why glee? It was psychopathic happiness. The happiness that one could get upon knowing that he gained the strength to obliterate their enemies.

Sinogo's vertical pupils stared at Mark. And then, he extended both his hands and immediately shot two beams at Mark.

Mark and Chimetrice were forced to retreat in separate directions. Since Sinogo had to extend his arms now to fire a beam of energy, it was easier to predict his attacks. However, now, even with the blessings they received, Mark would be obliterated instantly by these strengthened beams.

The two managed to avoid the beams, predicting the attacks before they were even fired.

But as the two thought that the beams would only be the problems...

Mark's eyes dilated as she saw a large webbed hand swatting his way.

​ There was no way to dodge as his momentum from avoiding the attack had yet to diminish.

Mark could only cross his arms in front of him and curl his body as much as possible as the giant golden scaled hand made contact with his body.

BOOM!!!

Everyone's eyes grew wide as the sound of the sonic boom entered their ears. They all watched in shock as Sinogo jumped from his initial location and appeared in front of Mark. The giant traveled hundreds of meters in almost an instant.

They all saw Sinogo swat Mark from mid-air. The attack was too strong that it caused a shockwave that everyone felt below. Most of them could not even follow Mark as he shot at bullet speed towards the face of Mount Canlaon.

BOOM! RUMBLE!

The face of the mountain crumbled with a crater caused by the impact between Mark's body and the mountain's rocky cliff.

***

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Mei cried out loud. Her heart was thumping loudly. Her eyes and reflexes allowed her to see as he was flung away. Without a second thought, Mei spread out her crystal-colored wings and flew in Mark's direction.

Amihan hung tight on Mei's shoulder. Her worries were also strong, considering her close relationship with Mark.

"Gale! Miracle! Follow Mama!"

With Iola in the lead, the little girls hopped unto their golems and followed behind Mei.

Feng Zhiruo, Jaeya, and Aephelia watched the situation in worry. Unfortunately, the three of them could not leave their current position as quickly as the others.

In the sky, the passengers of the [Mini Cube] saw what happened. Spera clenched her hand as she saw Mark get hit by that attack.

"Ilia! I'll leave these two to you!"

Spera shouted. And without even waiting for a reply, she opened a portal and jumped into it.

Ilia just stayed silent, shrugging her shoulders. Even though Mark and Spera bicker every now and then, the two basically treated each other as brother and sister as Mei had wanted.

As for Bella and Donna, they were feeling extremely nervous. They know for sure that the situation had turned for the worse.

***

BAM!

After swatting Mark from mid-air, Sinogo's momentum shot him towards the army of magical creatures. It was clear that he was still getting used to his new body and was still unable to control it fully. Nonetheless, Sinogo's landing immediately killed dozens of magical creatures either from getting stomped on or getting smashed by the strong impact of Sinogo's violent landing.

Still... Sinogo could not care less about the ants beneath his feet. After landing, he regained balance as fast as he could and extended his hands towards the direction in which Mark was flung.

And...

THOOOM!!!

Without hesitation, Sinogo fired another two beams, intending to destroy Mark as soon as possible. Despite his current state, he did not forget the threat he felt coming from Mark.

However...

SHHOOOOM!!!

The two beams split into smaller beams as if something blocking them. The smaller beams rained all over the place, destroying the land and causing more casualties.

"RRRAAARR!!!"

Sinogo growled in warning, facing the one who blocked his beams.

There, Chimetrice hovered mid-air. His whole body was covered in different kinds of energies, with all his six wings releasing different colored glow.

Chimetrice did not pay attention to Sinogo's roar as his falcon wing released its maximum potential.

BOOOM!!!

The sound of the wind exploding was heard as Chimetrice shot towards Sinogo.

BAM!

In an instant, Sinogo was hit by an attack, making him stumble backward. This body was new to him, and his balance was still subpar. Even so, he managed to remain standing after receiving Chimetrice's punch to his chest.

Following Chimetrice's lead, the remaining magical army joined the fray. They were struggling due to the pressure Sinogo was emitting. Nonetheless, they had no choice. It was only to fight or die. And, surely, all of them would rather choose to die while fighting.

Arrows, spears, balls of fire, and gusts of wind shot toward Sinogo. Unfortunately, their attacks did not even leave a slight scratch on Sinogo's body. Even so, they did not stop.

Tinala and Binituin also joined in. The two joined together, shooting their attacks as one. And unlike the weaker members of the magical army, the two [Diwatas] could at least leave a mark on Sinogo's body.

However, the [Diwatas'] attacks were far from enough. The damage they dealt would not be able to help in killing Sinogo at all.

BAM!

BOOM!

Both figures of Chimetrice and Sinogo blurred and vanished. Every single time their bodies appeared for a fraction of a second, a sound indicating the clash of the two could be heard.

Unfortunately, every single clash of the two would result in the destruction of the surroundings. If the clash happened to be in the middle of the magical army, countless lives were lost immediately.

In the least, Chimetrice was able to keep Sinogo occupied, even at the expense of using all his abilities.

***

"Cough! Cough!"

Mark coughed as dust entered his throat. But that was the least of his problems.

While lying in the rubble of destroyed stone and earth, Mark's ragged body was on full display. The attack he received was nothing to joke about.

His arms were broken, and his ribs were sunken in. His legs clearly had many fractures, and his back was the same. Not to mention his muscles were torn just from the impact of the attack he received. There were even parts of his bones that protruded through his skin.

Four of his six wings were torn. The back of his skull likely had a crack too.

Mark's injuries were very severe.

If it was a regular person... They would have died instantly. If not, they would immediately begin bleeding to death and would not last long.

Fortunately, Mark's [Mutator Ability] was his blood. Bleeding to death was the least of his concern. The problem now was that even with his regeneration, his severe injuries would take time to heal. There was no guarantee that he would be able to rejoin the battle unless Chimetrice managed to hold on for a very long time.

"GEGE!"

Mei was the first to arrive together with Amihan. The moment she saw Mark, her eyes immediately became filled with tears. His current state was not something that one would want to see. She kneeled beside Mark's body. But she definitely did not know what to do in this situation.

"Master! Are you okay?!"

Amihan flew towards Mark and asked with teary eyes.

"Do I look okay to you?"

Mark joked with a slight groan. Despite his calm face, his voice was raspy and unstable, clearly enduring the pain he had. He was trying to appease the two, and definitely to no avail.

With a sigh... Mark turned his calm face into a frown. Closing his eyes, he asked.

"Can you explain what is the meaning of this?"

A figure emerged out of nowhere. Mark opened his eyes and turned in the figure's direction.

"Magwayen."

Mark called out in a cold voice.