Mutagen

Day 155 - 12:32 AM - Mountain Area, Municipality of Badian, Province of Cebu

It was already past midnight. Even if the Eyes were Godly beings and there were already five of them present, it took them more than two hours to repair the fracture. It was proof of how immense the damage caused by a single attack of the infected Sinogo was.

This scene also made Mark's group scale the difference between the strength of an Early Deity and a servant of a God.

In Catanduanes, Lord Seis nearly stepped into Deityhood. The energy he released also caused fractures within the Dimensional Barrier. Yet, Fourth only needed a few minutes to fix the damage.

Yet, it took two hours for five Eyes to fix the fracture this time. Not to mention the large number of [Scouts] that Nineteenth called to help. It showed that the strength of the Lord Seis and the infected Sinogo were incomparable.

By the time the Eyes returned, their attention became focused on Mark, especially Fourth and Nineteenth.

"Seriously, what an absurd regenerative ability..." Fourth complained, looking at Mark. "It would be understandable if you're a being with a body constructed by magical energy, but you're a mortal with a physical body..."

"So, he's your candidate, huh?"

The unfamiliar Eye excitedly exclaimed.

"I found him first, though."

Ninth interjected with a bored expression.

"It doesn't matter who found him first!" Ninth's words made Fourth agitated. "He was living within my area even before you found him! It just happened that he's in your area when he met the criterion!"

"I know. I know." Ninth shrugged. "It's not like I'm claiming him. I'm just saying that I found him first."

"Grr..."

Fourth glared at Ninth while audibly growling.

"Can you not talk about someone in front of the person?" At this time, Mark interjected with a glare. "Also, stop making loud noises."

At Mark's words, the Eyes could only turn to the adorable creature sleeping while in Mark's embrace.

With her head rested on her Papa's shoulder, Abbygale was soundly asleep. It was not surprising. It was already past midnight, after all. Even Iola and Emika were about to doze off if the Eyes had not returned yet. The only one that was staying strong was Miracle, who did not need to sleep at all.

Hearing Mark speak like that, the unfamiliar Eye turned to Fourth.

"It's as you said. He really doesn't fear us, huh?"

The little girl said with an excited look.

"It's not that he does not fear us. He is just incapable of feeling it."

Nineteenth corrected the little girl's assumption.

"Is that so?"

The little girl cutely tilted her head. Then she realized that Mark's group was sizing her up.

"Why won't you introduce yourself first?"

The Eye of Calmness, Eight, suggested.

"Ah, right!"

The little girl replied as she excitedly skipped forward.

The girl looked about the same age as Fourth's appearance. However, she had a hime haircut, not to mention the traditional Japanese Kimono she was wearing. She looked like a young priestess from a temple.

Among the eyes, however, she appeared to be a bit different. Instead of having extra eyes on her face, it was her pupils that had extra instead. Her eyes had three pupils each, forming a triangle.

"I'm Sixteenth! The Eye of Excitement! Let's get along!"

Sixteenth loudly introduced herself.

However, what returned was Mark's fierce glare. Her voice just now almost woke up Abbygale.

"Geh..." Sixteenth turned back to the others. "He's angry."

"Because you're too loud."

Ninth said with a shrug.

"Do all of you have such exaggerated personalities?" Mark asked. "Two girls high on caffeine, a sleepy boy, and an old guy popping out of nowhere. So far, only Nineteenth had shown proper behavior."

Mark's complaint sure stabbed the Eyes savagely. However, what was noticeable was the four of them strangely looking at Nineteenth.

"Nineteenth is proper?" Fourth blurted out at Mark. "Among us Eyes, she's the most twisted, you know?"

Fourth then turned to the others.

"Right?"

However, no one replied to Fourth. The old man, Eight, turned his head away. Even the other two were frozen stiff.

That was when Fourth felt cold behind her.

"Just what do you think you are saying?"

The cold feeling definitely came from Nineteenth that was now creeping behind Fourth.

Fourth was not wrong, however. Among the emotions in existence, interest hovered between both positive and negative. Depending on the purity and intensity of one's interest in things, it could turn either good or bad.

Pure interest could turn into passion or even love. Unpure interest, on the other hand, could turn into obsession and greed.

Interest was such an unstable emotion, not to mention that it could give birth to other emotions.

That was why among the Eyes, it was unmistakable that she was the most powerful and the most unstable.

"I already know that." Mark suddenly spoke to Fourth. "And I said, she's the only one that behaved properly. Nothing else."

"Kuh..."

Fourth fell silent, unable to refute Mark. Nineteenth, on the other hand, retracted her cold chilling aura at the unexpected compliment.

"So, are we going or not?"

Mark shifted the topic. After all, they still had things to do.

"Ah, right! We still need to follow that Tamawo's information!"

Fourth exclaimed as she turned to Pefile.

"Then, I will be going back." The old man, Eight, said. "Much like Fourth, I'm also searching for gods in my area."

"Me too," Ninth added with a yawn. "I need to put more effort in searching since my area barely had any gods in existence."

Ninth surely was complaining. It was not surprising. Although the eastern side of North America had a lot of myths and folklore about mythical creatures and cryptids, the stories of gods there were severely lacking. It was as if the gods that existed and ruled over America did not leave many traces behind after they left or went hiding.

"I'm joining!"

Sixteenth raised her hand, wanting to join.

"NO." But Nineteenth swatted the little girl's enthusiasm right away. "Go back to your territory and try to find if there are other gods that we haven't found yet."

Being ordered like that, Sixteenth pouted. Nonetheless, she did not argue.

With that, the three Eyes left in different ways.

Eight's figure flashed and vanished without a sound or even a ripple in the air.

Ninth just faded out of existence.

Lastly, Sixteenth, who glowed with a bright light before vanishing.

In an instant, it was just Fourth and Nineteenth who were left.

As the Eyes were ready to go, Mark gently handed the sleeping Abbygale to Mei.

"Just stay here and set up camp," Mark told Mei. "Contact me through the ring if something happens."

"Yes."

Mei nodded as Mark patted her head.

Mark then turned to Pefile.

"Let's go."

At this time, only Mark and Pefile would be going with the two Eyes. It was not surprising since not everyone could handle standing side by side between the two godly beings. Even Pefile did not want to. After all, he also wanted to take care of Celine.

However, only Pefile could serve as a guide, this time. Thus, Pefile had no choice but go.

"Don't worry, I'll guard mother."

As Pefile looked at Celine, Edzel's voice sounded.

Edzel returned with Pearl after two hours of clearing his mind.

Pefile was about to speak, but Edzel raised his hand to stop the former.

"I'm not ready to hear your reasons yet. Leave it for later. Just go."

Pefile could not help but feel downhearted. However, it was better than before. Edzel did not say that he would not listen.

"This kind of drama is pretty amusing itself."

Fourth could not help but murmur.

"Close your mouth, Fourth."

Only to get reprimanded by Nineteenth.

"Berrak."

Mark turned to Berrak and the two soldiers.

"What is it?"

"The slaves of the Tamawos. Can you send them off?" Mark replied. "I don't really plan on taking them with us but leaving them here would be bad. Send them to the survivors from the school that went up the mountain. Just don't startle them with your summons."

"No problem, boss." Berrak nodded. "I will get it done before you return."

And with that, four individuals left the group to follow the clues that Pefile had.

***

Day 155 - 12:40 AM - King's Chambers, Tamawo Ancestral Tribe, Municipality of Badian, Province of Cebu

"Do not worry about emptying the storage! Use as many herbs as needed to treat the wounded!"

The voice of Elkile, the Shaman of the Tamawos, echoed within the almost ruined castle.

The tribe was in left chaos after the events that transpired a few hours ago. Many warriors died, and there were more who were wounded.

Much worse, their king, Artile, was unconscious.

Since their king had banished all the elders in the tribe, managing this chaos was left in the hands of Elkile. As the tribe's Shaman, he had authority just a step below an elder of the tribe. There were even circumstances where a Shaman's decision was prioritized over the elders.

As such, the Tamawos and other residents within the tribe obeyed Elkile's words without question during the absence of their king.

However, Elkile was at a loss.

After giving out his orders to treat the wounded, Elkile entered their king's chambers. The chamber was a mess, with its walls tilted and the floor uneven. The whole place was built using the Sacred Tree's trunk. As such, no one expected that their castle would turn out like this.

Inside the chamber, Artile laid on his bed, unconscious.

No one was allowed in this chamber aside from the king and the shaman. Especially in this situation where the consequences of Artile's defeat began to show.

Being a direct descendant of the tribe's royal family, Artile inherited a more handsome face than most people of their tribe. His silver hair had and pale-colored eyes had an unusual luster. Every Tamawo with royal blood had these features, including the first prince, Pefile.

But now, Artile began to lose his shine.

Artile was defeated in a fight and lost the right to claim the woman he fell in love with. As such, the curse began to kick in.

The luster of Artile's hair began to fade. Some of his hair even began to fall off. His smooth skin started to wrinkle, and his lips began to crack. After some time passed, it was expected that Artile would become weakened, further and further.

It was until he breathed his last.

Sometimes, Tamawos thought that it was better not to fall in love at all. There was even a rule that one should not show their woman to those who had no partners to prevent this kind of thing from happening.

But no one would be able to stop fate.

Artile fell in love with his brother's woman and lost.

That was just how it was to be.

With a sigh, Elkile walked out of the king's chamber. Outside, a messenger was waiting to give a report.

"What is it now?"

Elkile asked.

"Another child was killed."

The messenger reported.

Elkile could only shake his head. Some of the women, the wives of the warriors that died, began killing their children after the [Charm Magic] was dispelled. It was an inevitable event, especially for women who were kidnapped from their human families to become the wife of a Tamawo.

​ "What a mess."

Elkile dragged his staff murmuring about the problems.

Sooner or later, their tribe would face their inevitable demise.

But then, as if another bucket of water was poured unto him, another messenger burst into the castle in panic.

"SHAMAN! SHAMAN!"

The messenger called loudly.

"Don't shout within the halls of the castle!"

Elkile could not help but reprimand the messenger.

"I-I know, Shaman! But this is urgent!" The messenger did not wait for permission and spoke. "The first prince returned! And he- he brought the Eyes with him!"

Elkile was frozen in both anger and fear.

"Damn that Pefile! Is defeating the king and getting his woman back not enough?! Is he this keen on destroying the tribe!"

Elkile then stormed out of the castle to meet Pefile. The Eyes might be fearful existences.

However, there was no way he would just stand and watch while their tribe faced destruction.