Mutagen

Amidst the long stretch of Highway 2000, in the Barangay of San Juan in the first cla.s.s munic.i.p.ality of Taytay in the province of Rizal, a huge figure of a lizard could be seem traversing the road with fast speed and loud steps.

It was Chaflar, the dragon Mark created. The dragon was running after it used up its regenerated gas inside the gas bag in its body. Although it was very inefficient for it to move around while it regenerated the low density but highly flammable gas, it needed to continue running in order to catch up.

BAM!

In the speed that it was running, it could not help that it hit or stomp on the vehicles and infected blocking the road. Of course, the ones riding behind it was already feeling uncomfortable.

TSST! TSST! TSST!

"Ugh! That guy really left us alone here!"

Karlene grumbled as shot the infected chasing behind while minding her aching bottom.

"Boss really seemed to be in a hurry."

Edzel replied while also doing the same.

Fortunately, the population of the infected in this area seemed to be not that large and Edzel was able to practice shooting with ease. Of course, the majority of the infected behind was dealt by Karlene as Edzel"s shots. .h.i.tting the infected was still at the lower ratio than the misses.

"Mu… You two are noisy!"

Amihan complained as she was doing a bit of sightseeing here. It was the first time she had gone to a place like this with large and tall buildings, lots of cars and highly populated. This barangay was close to the cities of Metro Manila after all and she could see the tall buildings from the distance.

Although she grumbled about the two being noisy, that was not the reason that she looked upset.

Right now, there was only the three of them atop Chaflar"s back. As for Mark, he already ran off after Chaflar ran out of gas for the second time. That had been six hours ago. Although Chaflar could run like this, it was way slower than its flying speed. Since time was running out, Mark decided to head off first. With him, he took the [Blood Children], Miracle and Aephelia. Amihan wanted to come with him but since she needed to a.s.sist with the air pressure during the flight of Chaflar, she had to stay back. Since then, she was upset while glaring at Karlene and Edzel from time to time.

Of course, the two noticed her glares and could only let out troubled expressions.

"I wonder where that guy is now already. Why did Mark say that we should meet him in NAIA, aren"t we going to Bay City? And just how are we going there?"

Karlene asked the thing that had been confusing her.

"Miss, don"t ask me. It"s the first time I"ve been out of my province, really. I don"t even where that place is or where we are right now."

Edzel replied. Actually, he was also interested with the sceneries he had never seen before but the desire to practice overwhelmed that desire.

"Hah…" Karlene sighed, a little lost. "I just wish we find our way correctly, I only know the general direction. I will complain a lot if he scolded us for getting lost. I also want to sleep."

"Yawn… Me too."

Edzel agreed.

Since Mark had woken up, they left after they finished preparing. The two managed to get a little nap but it was far from enough.

***

Day 47 – 1:49 PM – Control Tower, Ninoy Aquino International Airport, Parañaque, Metro Manila

"How long will it take?"

Mei thought as she tried to endure her nervousness.

She knew that nothing would happen to her but the nervousness was creeping unto her heart. Nevertheless, it was instinctual nervousness instead of fear. It was because after the time she was taken by the female hooded figure into the shadow, she could see nothing but darkness. She could not even feel that she was being grasped by someone at all. It was just as if she was just standing there unable to move.

The feeling was suffocating.

In truth, she was really afraid. If not for the fact that the whisper she heard ensured her of her safety even before the enemies arrived, she would have rather commit suicide than being caught like this. She knew that he should be nearby waiting for the right timing. In any case, she should follow what he said first and follow the plan.

Seconds? Minutes? It felt very long…

Finally, she felt her body being pulled out and her vision cleared. She saw her body rising up from the floor as if there was a hole on it.

When she saw the scene in front of her, she could not help but feel uneasy.

There were lines made up of flames forming a strange pattern. Nine hooded figures stood surrounding the lines of flames. Three bodies of lifeless girls lay inside that pattern. At the center of the pattern, a hole made up of smoke could be seen and inside the hole, it felt like she was staring at a bottomless abyss.

It was then the two glowing eyes stared back at her. She could not help but remember the line that said "If you stare into the abyss, the abyss is staring back at you". The feeling she had was very surreal.

From those eyes however, she started to feel afraid. The expression in those eyes…

It made her remember the terrifying experience she had in the past.

"Oh Great One, we brought the lady."

The hooded figures kneeled and lowered their heads to the floor as if they were wors.h.i.+pers wors.h.i.+ping their G.o.d.

Despite those words however, the eyes never lay its sight on them as if they were air. The eyes stared at Mei as if the owner of those stripping her off of her clothes.

"W-who are you and why did you all bring me here?"

Mei asked. She was already afraid and uncomfortable but she still needed to ask. What she wanted was information.

"You should not be afraid, mortal woman. This one had taken a liking to you, as a mere mortal, you should feel honored."

An eerie voice echoed in her head. The voice was filled with arrogance and looked down on everything.

"Why? I"m just a mortal you said. And what are you?"

Mei gulped her saliva and asked.

Seeing that Mei asked, the owner of the eyes seemed to be amused.

"You don"t need to know what I am. You will know in time since you will spend eternity with this one. As for why this one is interested in you, it is because you have the [Body of Void]."

Mei looked confused. Sensing her confusion, the voice proceeded to fill in the information she wanted. It was obvious that the owner of the eyes deemed Mei as his already and spared no hesitation to tell her about her trait that she never knew she had.

The only thing that made her felt better from that information was that… She would never be able to conceive if she did not want to. No wonder… When that happened, it was not a safe day after all. That was what made her feel even more devastated that time.

She could not help but smile which dazzled the owner of the eyes.

"What a dazzling smile from a mortal, a smile befitting the woman that will stand beside this one in the future."

It was then that Mei looked at the eyes straight. She already heard what she wanted to. With a fearless smile, she said…

"I"m sorry but I already have a husband. You should find another woman."

The atmosphere inside the control tower froze. Even the hooded figures raised their heads by reflex and stared at Mei with dumbfounded expressions.

"It seems that you failed to a.s.sess your current situation. There is no choice available for you but become my woman. Do you think that I will let you leave this place?"

The voice became furious and aggressive. It even made the hooded figures feel fear.

It was then…

"Whether she can leave or not is not for someone like you to decide."

A voice not belonging to anyone in this room was heard.

All the hooded figures stood up in defense. They failed to notice that even the eyes on the portal were unsettled. It was because…

Even the Great One failed to notice the intruder. As he scattered his blessings around the airport, he was able to see everything outside that was within the scope. Anything that his blessing touched and everything the receivers of the blessing fought, he could detect them. And yet, he failed to detect the owner of the voice even if he was nearby.

"Who are you?! Show yourself!"

Umbra shouted as he readied to wave his hands to attack whenever the enemy appeared.

On the other hand, the female hooded figure, jumped towards Mei in order to capture her. It was a good move to secure the hostage first. However, it was also a fatal mistake.

A strong surge of wind appeared around Mei followed by the appearance of black smoke swirling like a small tornado. The female hooded figure was immediately swept into it. As the wind pulled her robe, the female hooded figure"s appearance was revealed.

Her body was semi-transparent with a black hue similar to mist. The only visible and contrasting trait was her red colored eyes that had no pupil at all.

And then…

It was the end of her.

"AAAAAAHHHHHH!"

As the black smoke touched her body, she felt an excruciating pain that made her shriek like a banshee. The black smoke slowly swept all over her body which sc.r.a.ped more and more of her existence. When she finally stopped her wails, her existence was no more leaving the black hooded robe she wore before on the floor.

"Sjenna!"

Umbra yelled. He wanted to charge forward but with the black smoke surging around, he was not able to. What happened to his subordinate was clear as day. He could only stay on his spot inside the sacrificial circle unless he wanted to commit suicide.

The swirling smoke started to shrink it revealed a man that stood beside Mei. No, he was not just standing there, his left arm was around Mei"s waist and Mei was hugging his body.

Umbra stared at the man. His visage was hard to guess as he was wearing a strange black mask that seemed to be made of metal. His body was covered with armor of the same style. They could not fathom what kind of existence this man was but one thing was for sure, he was dangerous.

"Who are you to dare lay your hands on the woman this one took interest in?"

The Great One"s furious voice echoed in everyone"s minds.

"Oi, are you deaf? She said that she already have a husband. I guess your pea sized brain will find it hard to understand."

The remaining eight hooded figures stared at the man with their eyes wide as a golf ball. Who would ever dare try to ridicule the Great One?

"To dare appear before this one, you are tired of living?"

The Great One was even more furious.

But then, they heard a snicker.

"Stop with your delusion. Don"t you think that it"s the other way around? To lay your hands on my woman, do you think that I will let you all go? Besides, why don"t you look me first. Maybe, you will find something the eyes can"t see?"

"Such false intimidation would not wor…k…"

The Great One glared at the man noticing the man withdraw the aura masking his existence. He was not able to finish his arrogant sentence.

"Y-Y-You! W-What in the world are you!"

The Great One"s eyes had gone wide and from his voice, he was obviously gawking and was even stuttering from the shock he received.

That tone from the Great One made the hooded figures dumbfounded as nonexistent sweat droop onto their backs. To make the Great One gawk and stutter like that, what in the world was this man?

"I-I… I will let you b.a.s.t.a.r.d go for now, remember that it will not be the last time."

The remaining eight hooded figures became dumbfounded. The Great One was trying to escape!

What in the h.e.l.l"s name was this situation?