Mutagen

Day 126 - 1:51 PM - Mountain Base, Mount Malabito, General Nakar, Quezon

The clear skies turned dark as if there was an incoming storm. Thick black clouds covered the blue sky, swirling violently.

It signaled the arrival of a unique being that should not appear in front of anyone that easily.

When he appeared, it was kind of unexpected that the first words he let out were to ridicule Tan Sitong and his soldiers. Despite being far away, his voice reverberated in their ears. Nevertheless, despite that ridicule, it meant another thing. The individual that came was also one of them.

But then, when Tan Sitong and Mark saw the person. The former was shocked while the latter had a fierce glare on his eyes.

Nevertheless, no matter what reaction, the arrival of this individual could mean the safe retreat of Tan Sitong's people.

"The Great One."

Tan Sitong immediately prostrated.

Not everyone in Auraboros had the honor of being able to see any of the founders of the organization. The lucky ones were those that were directly following their orders and the higher members of the branches. Thus, most of the members here only heard about one of the founders of their organization.

Even though The Great One was not in charge of the Chinese Branch among the founders, it was unlikely for them to watch their members get slaughtered before them.

Unfortunately for them, The Great One did not care for them in the slightest.

SHHHOOOMMM!!!

The black clouds covering the sky started to make smaller vortices which surged towards the ground like thin tornados. At a fast speed not any less than a bullet, these tornadoes, each having a diameter of two meters, rushed to the ground.

The wind picked up around each tornado. It was too strong that the trees near it got uprooted immediately the moment it touched the ground.

And despite coming from different directions, all of the tornadoes converged towards one impact point.

All of it was aiming towards Mark. He, who was still killing the members of Auraboros, despite the appearance of The Great One above. The dark raging clouds surged without mercy, even though some of the members of Auraboros were still around him.

The wind was strong, and it sucked away everything. Nevertheless, there was nothing inside the tornadoes despite everything it sucked into its bodies.

Instead, thick clouds of dust flew round like a sandstorm. It was dust with a black hue that smelled like a mix of ground flesh, trees, leaves, and dirt.

This dust was nothing else but everything that touched the tornadoes.

Into unrecognizable pieces of dust, that was what everything that entered the tornadoes ended up.

This scene threw everyone, whether it was the humans or not, into a state of panic.

The humans brought in by Auraboros did not care whether they died trying to flee. This place was not meant for humans to linger around. Either they die escaping or die staying around. They chose to do the former as it had more chances of surviving. Who knows who gave the signal, they all scrambled around scurrying away in groups.

Fortunately, none of the members of Auraboros bothered about them anymore. They were also busy trying to survive as many of them were closer to the black tornadoes, many of them got dragged away with their futile resistance.

The black tornadoes ravaged the forest. It was trying to pursue its enemy. In every direction, it touched, only the darkened ground filled with dust remained.

Trees, plants, humans, infected, and even the surface of the ground turned to a layer of dust that could be easily blown by the wind. 

Nevertheless, the actual target was never there in the first place.

"I should be doing the welcome, not you."

Mark said as his figure blurred not far behind The Great One. This time, he was not holding back anything. He had already transformed into his Blood Demon form.

The Great One calmly turned around, hovering mid-air, uncaring that Mark was unscathed.

"You don't have to be humble. I am not invited by anyone, after all."

He replied with a calm voice.

Mark stared at the enemy. He felt a bit glad, and sure enough, he avoided the situation that the Elder warned him.

Following the previous plan, he would be staying at the base, while watching his people fight and use the enemies to train under his surveillance.

Now, however, he chose to be the only force attacking the enemies from outside the base.

There was where the future changed.

Following the actions that this high in mighty being in front of him, it was very likely that he used the same attack in the original timeline. If that was the case, that force was enough to pulverize his base and kill everyone in it.

With how fast the black tornadoes traveled from the sky to the ground, there was barely any time for him to dodge. He might be able to save Mei and his family, who should be watching around him. But not the others.

This time, however, since he was alone on the battlefield, away from the base, the worst-case scenario was averted. And instead, the ones dragged by the disaster were the other members of Auraboros.

"Deity, why would attack us!"

Tan Sitong shouted from the ground.

He was furious, but he still needed to ask as humble as possible. The Great One was not someone he should question in the first place. However, this not only impacted his forces but the China Branch as a whole.

What he did, however, asking and shouting the being that he knew that he should not question, was the biggest mistake.

The Great One turned his head towards Tan Sitong. His face and expression were not visible. Mark, however, could tell that The Great One was annoyed.

And to any annoyance that disturbed his business, the only way out...

...was Death.

To Tan Sitong's horror, another tornado shot from the sky to where he stood. He managed to dodge it, and by his movements, he was fiercer than the Jianshis that served as his aides. Nevertheless, even though he could dodge one, he would not be able to avoid more.

The Great One was annoyed further as Tan Sitong avoided the first strike. Thus, he sent four at the same time, surrounding the vice leader of China Branch on the ground.

This time, however, the four were larger but weaker despite having the same speed as the previous ones.

With four tornadoes surrounding him, Tan Sitong was unable to escape anymore. 

He was trapped in the middle as the weaker tornadoes slowly ground his body to dust while he screamed in horror.

It took about a whole minute before Tan Sitong's body turned into dust. Since he was not a real living being, to begin with, he did not die totally until his head was also consumed by the black tornadoes.

That was painful suffering, more painful when he was executed back in his previous life. 

Tan Sitong's last painful screams echoed across the mountains even after his body was gone.

"Quite heartless, aren't you?"

Mark smirked, suiting his current devilish appearance. It was not like he hated what The Great One did. 

"There are no annoying pests anymore."

The Great One turned to Mark. It was impossible to see his current expression because of the haze covering his body.

"Actually, there is. Ants. Below."

Mark pointed at the remaining members of Auraboros, trying their best to escape.

"Do you think that I will erase them all for you?"

The Great One said with a deep furious voice.

"Yeah?"

Mark said, almost laughing. He even tilted his head to provide more insult. His red glowing eyes continued to stare at the enemy filled with ridicule.

Of course, the high and mighty ego of The Great One slowly filled up with rage. The Great One made an unseeable glare at Mark as the clouds once more swirled with vertices everywhere.

Like missiles, multitudes of black tornadoes surged towards Mark.

Mark flapped his wings fast. He flew away with all the tornadoes following him. His eyes landed on the fleeing members of Auraboros once more with a witty expression.

Without hesitation, he flew down to the horror of everyone on the ground. He flew just several inches above the ground, maneuvering his way as fast as he could.

Mark flew around a large tree, behind one member who was running away, turned into mist and swerved under the feet of another, and then through a large group of shadow people.

Everything he flew by turned to dust without exception.

Suddenly, the tornadoes chasing dissipated. Mark could not help but look at The Great One that was getting increasingly furious at every second that passed.

Mark actually had the gall to use his attack to clear the remaining members of the China Branch.

Those that managed to survive Mark's flight scurried away faster than before. Their only wish right now was to get away from this place.

"I just want to test my new body and settle my business with you for damaging my Spirit Core last time. But it seems like you are wasting my patience."

The Great One's voice echoed in everyone's ears. It felt like their heads were ringing badly.

Without warning, The Great One waved his hand towards the base. With that motion, a wide black tornado surged towards it.

"Spera!"

Mark called out in his mind, using Jaeya's [Telepathy] was very useful at these times.

In front of the surging black clouds, an even bigger portal opened.

Even The Great One was shocked at the appearance of the portal.

The portal that only Spera knew where it led to swallowed the whole tornado and continued to transport the continuous surge of swirling clouds.

He might be surprised, but he did not falter. The Great One waved his hand once more, trying to send another one towards the base.

Nevertheless, he was not able to and had to move away and evade. A surge of Miasma passed by his previous position. And then, Mark appeared behind him, waving Ignis to cut his head.

Black clouds covered The Great One's body, letting Ignis pass through without resistance. The black clouds moved away fast before forming back into The Great One's body.

Mark flapped his wings with its red glowing veins. He immediately appeared behind The Great One slashing three swords at the same time.

Holding Ignis with his two hands together with the [Slicer] and [Divider] that was controlled by his [Blood Whips] attacked the enemy. Each blade was coated with black smoke, trying to disable and weaken The Great One.

With swift movements, The Great One maneuvered against Mark's fast attacks. 

Despite the fast movements that could not be seen by the naked eye anymore, Mark did not hit anything. The Great One was able to cope with his swift attacks.

Mark sliced three swords multiple times as if simulating a battle from the anime with seven starred balls.

The Great One evaded every slash like a walk at the park. Although he could deflect the swords, he was still wary about the Miasma that coated the blades.

But then, Mark's red eyes glowed brighter. 

The Great One suddenly felt sluggish. Nevertheless, The Great One was able to recover swiftly.

Still, Mark managed to get a hit if it was considered as one.

As The Great One paused for a millisecond, the [Slicer] managed to snag the haze that covered the face of the enemy.

When that happened, The Great One suddenly exploded a thick gust of clouds around him, making Mark shield himself with Miasma and retreat.

Nevertheless, Mark already saw the face behind that black haze. He could not help but stare with a frown.

The face that was hardly a face at all. The Great One had a mouth and two holes for a nose. As for the rest of The Great One's face, it was occupied by a widely opened vertically eye.