Mutagen

Day 154 - 7:11 PM - Barangay Matutinao, Municipality of Badian, Province of Cebu

Two hours before Pefile's group found Celine within the prisons of the Tamawo's Ancestral Tribe...

The explosion that engulfed buildings spread flames on the northern part of the town. In its current state, several firetrucks would be needed to be dispatched. Yet, it would still be hard to determine how long the fire would be put out. If it continued, nothing would be left of the northern area of the town after several hours.

And, of course, the culprit had no care for the aftermath.

With the raging flames behind him, Mark landed in the middle of the road that passed by the center of the town. He made sure that his wings were hidden and were not seen by anyone.

Why?

Mark wanted to draw the attention of the Tamawos in the town as much as possible. Allowing them to know that he could fly and escape at any time he wanted would wane the urge for the enemies to surround him.

And besides...

He was currently portraying himself to be a regular human.

"There is the culprit! Surround him!"

A Tamawo with a body covered in tribal tattoos shouted as he saw Mark.

Surely, the Tamawos and humans in the town were utterly confused by the situation. As their minds could not comprehend what just happened, they immediately concluded that Mark had something to do with it as soon as they saw him.

The response from the Tamawos was fast. A single call from their superior gathered the warriors nearby to surround Mark. In a single minute, about fifty Tamawo warriors already gathered around Mark.

Mark watched the situation, tapping his foot as he waited.

Finally, the very same tattooed Tamawo stepped forward with his spear. He seemed to be cautious about Mark's behavior. It was no surprise since they already surrounded him without any means of escape, but he still behaved nonchalantly.

"Are you the one responsible for this?"

The Tamawo asked, pointing his spear at Mark.

And...

Mark stared at the Tamawo awkwardly.

'Well damn... I can't understand him.'

The Tamawo spoke in Cebuano, the local language of the province of Cebu. It was a language that Mark definitely had barely any knowledge of.

Mark might have been able to understand a bit if the Tamawo spoke in Spirit Language. However, if Mark did the same, it could blow the cover that he was no ordinary human.

"Hah... Whatever..."

Mark sighed as he threw away any notion of conversing with these Tamawos.

The Tamawos were still waiting for Mark to answer. They were brave warriors that would not attack unless their superiors allowed them to. That was why...

They were caught off guard as Mark ignored their leader and ran towards the side.

Drawing Ignis from his back, Mark slashed the Tamawo he ran towards.

SPLAT!

The wavy blade of Ignis, like a giant saw, ran diagonally on the Tamawo's body. Blood splattered. The Tamawo's upper body, from his left shoulder to his right armpit, slid off from the rest.

"ATTACK! ATTACK!"

The Tattooed Tamawo roared with fury. Not only that Mark ignored his question, but he also disregarded the warrior's etiquette.

Mark smiled. Delaying the Tamawos by conversing was not plausible. Thus, it would be easier to keep them here by causing a bloodbath.

With about fifty Tamawos rushing at him at once, Mark approached the closes and beheaded the poor guy. He then turned around and ran along the road.

The second death before their eyes definitely angered the warriors. However, as they saw Mark ran away, their ego was bolstered, thinking that the enemy would not be able to handle their numbers at all.

Of course, Mark was just deliberately showing weakness.

Unknown to the Tamawos, Mark was picking them off one by one.

At random intervals, Mark would slow down, allowing a Tamawo to get closer behind him. But when the Tamawo charged in for the kill, Mark would avoid the attack. The missed attack caused the attacker to have an opening, and Mark did not hesitate but to give a killing blow in whatever way he could.

As flames danced in the background, a dark shadow covered Mark's smile.

The Tamawos kept chasing him as Mark continued to run. Soon, more and more joined the chase. The less than fifty Tamawos soon bloomed into about a hundred. As their numbers grew, so as their confidence in taking down the cursed enemy.

So far, none of them realized that Mark deliberately ran into places where the rest of the Tamawos were gathered to make them join the chase.

***

"Gather the slaves! Don't let anyone escape!"

At the southern part of the town across the bridge, the Tamawos moved to secure the slaves first. The attack in the town was the best opportunity for the slaves to escape. It was something that they could not let happen.

The Tamawos reached and surrounded the school where the slaves were supposed to be gathered for their rationed dinner.

What they found, however, was the dead bodies of the Tamawos, who were supposed to guard the dinner of the slaves.

The Tamawos that arrived at the school were enraged. Their eyes fell on the humans gathered within the school grounds. They thought that the slaves were the ones responsible for this situation.

However, they could not help but notice the group of little girls standing at the center of the school grounds.

It was odd.

There were no children among the slaves. The children they captured were all brought back to their tribe. That was why it was odd to see four little girls at the center of the dead bodies of their tribe members.

In any case, they were just children. What could they possibly do?

"Capture them!"

The leader of the Tamawos to secure the slaves commanded. With their spears ready, the warriors approached the girls.

"Stay put! Don't move, or we will be forced to harm you!"

One of the Tamawos spoke to the girls.

However, like Mark, the girls had the same problem. The language barrier.

"Kill?"

Miracle asked Iola. It was kind of strange to hear such a question for a seemingly three-year-old girl.

But before Iola could answer...

"I'm first."

Abbygale said as she ran towards the nearest Tamawo.

The Tamawo was surprised at the speed that Abbygale showed. He immediately brandished his spear, throwing away the order to catch the girls alive. His spear was precise on the target despite Abbygale's speed. It showed how the Tamawo warrior was trained.

However, despite being precise, its speed was far from enough.

Abbygale accelerated further, almost turning into a blur. What the spear pierced was nothing but air. Abbygale then jumped, tapping the rear of her right shoe on the ground at her last step.

SHIIING!!!

The sound of metallic friction was heard as a three-inch blade protruded out of the little girl's shoe. Abbygale then appeared beside the Tamawo's right shoulder at the act of kicking the back of the Tamawo's head.

SPLAT!

The blade stabbed the Tamawo's head. His eyes opened wide as he felt the cold blade enter his head and pierce his brain. With the impact of the kick, the Tamawo's head was pushed forwards, causing him to fall face down.

Abbygale retreated away from the Tamawo.

And, of course, the Tamawo never stood up once more.

The other Tamawos approaching the girls were stunned at the sudden unexpected development.

A little girl ran at a speed that they could barely see clearly and killed one of their tribesmen in cold blood.

The leader of this group of Tamawos reacted immediately.

"Forget capturing them alive! Kill them!"

It was a sane decision. That fast-moving girl was more ferocious than the beasts they hunted in the forest.

"Wahh! No fair!"

Miracle cried out as she also rushed towards the Tamawo nearest to her.

The target that Miracle ran to was frozen stiff, thinking that this little girl would also move fast as the first one. However, seeing that Miracle actually ran slower, the Tamawo was relieved.

Without hesitation, the Tamawo in front of Miracle stabbed his spear at the little girl.

Unfortunately for the Tamawo, Miracle might be slower than Abbygale but she was not a pushover.

Miracle dodged the spear that was about to pierce her head, causing it to pass over her left shoulder. And then, she stopped in place, grabbing the spear with both hands.

With a ridiculing face, the Tamawo looked at Miracle. Did a little girl like her want to pull out a tug of war with his spear? Thus, the Tamawo pulled his spear without hesitation.

And he was frozen stiff.

The spear he was pulling did not even move a centimeter.

With utter shock, the Tamawo pulled his spear once more... Only to get the same result. He could only stare at the little girl, no, the monster in front of him. She was definitely the reason why he could not pull his spear back.

Miracle seemed to be waiting for the Tamawo to pull the spear once more. However, as he did not, she pouted as she pulled the spear out of the Tamawo's hand.

Although he was not pulling his spear any longer, he was still holding it tightly. The pull Miracle made caused the Tamawo to fall out of balance. A trained warrior would not fall that easily. As such, he regained his balance by stepping his right foot forwards.

However, before he could recover, he saw a blurry object approaching his face from his right.

BAM! CRACK!

The Tamawo's spear, held by Miracle, struck the Tamawo's head with her full swing. The impact did not only cracked the Tamawo's skull but also broke his neck.

Miracle looked at the spear that was far taller than her. She was like a child that got a new toy.

But suddenly...

SIZZLE!!!

Miracle heard a sizzling sound beside her. A Tamawo tried to sneak attack her but was blocked and was currently being burned by an invisible barrier.

"AAHHHHHHHH!!!"

The Tamawo cried out as his body became covered with burning heat out of nowhere. There was no fire but his skin began to become charred and distort as if he was covered in deadly flames.

"Miracle! Pay attention, and don't play around!"

Iola scolded her little sister for not paying attention to her surroundings. If not for her barrier, Miracle would have been hit by that Tamawo's sneak attack.

"Sorry..."

Miracle's shoulder drooped and ran towards Iola.

"Hah..." Iola sighed like an adult. "It's fine. Just don't do it again. Papa and Mama will get sad if you get hurt, alright?"

"Un!"

Miracle nodded as she turned towards her next target.

"Now, I wish I had a sister."

Emika complained as she saw how the sisters interacted with each other.

"You have a brother, right?"

Iola said to the green-haired girl.

"That's different!"

Emika yelled as she used her hair to constrict several Tamawos that tried to attack her.

Suddenly, the attack on the little girls was stopped. None of the remaining Tamawos dared approach the monsters in front of them.

"Forget these monsters! Some of you get their attention! The others secure the slaves!"

The Tamawo leader roared at their sudden predicament.

It was a rather effective tactic. The girls did not seem to be paying too much attention to the slaves behind them.

Some of the Tamawos passed through while the others too the attention of the girls. However, before they could reach the slaves, an unfamiliar man stood in their way.

"Die!"

Without a doubt, this man should be with those girls. Since it was just a single person, they should be fine if they attacked the man in unison.

But then, the man, Edzel, brandished his weapon. It was a reddish-black spear that seemed to have an odd shape.

Edzel pointed the spear unto the incoming Tamawos. Then, he pulled the handle and pushed a button that popped out by his finger.

SHING!

The blade at the tip of the spear opened up, revealing holes hidden within the blade.

And then...

SWOOSH!

More than a dozen poisoned needles fired towards the incoming Tamawos.