Mutagen

Day 129 - 12:31 PM - Newton Lake, Veteran's Memorial Park, Oaklyn, Camden County, New Jersey, United States of America

After hearing that voice, Illia revealed a very unusual excited expression on her face. It was as if her entirety was born, only for that voice. She immediately left Mark and Mei and flew towards the tree as if she was a child waiting for her parent's return.

The eyes of Mark and Mei fell unto the tree. What they immediately noticed was that the three started to distort. It was as if the substance that made up the tree was not a solid matter in the first place.

Then, the whole tree started to get sucked up unto a single point. That point was nothing else but the magic circle that swallowed Jude and Ellse.

Like strands of spaghetti sucked into someone's mouth, the Cursed Tree entered the Magic Circle. And as the Magic Circle collapsed, an entity behind it was revealed.

The appearance of the man had made Mark frown.

Without a doubt, Jude and Ellse were the foundations in creating that body. It looked like Jude, but also had Ellse's white hair and pointed ears. Furthermore, Mark could feel the Psychic Ability that Jude inherited in that entity.

But most of all, this being was an unknown entity.

Only half of his body was flesh. The exact right half was more or less, made of wood. No, it was without a doubt, wood. Half of his body came from the Cursed Tree. He also had six wings as if he was something like an Arch-being.

What Mark could not fathom even more was this entity's body was even more composed of different things. 

The most noticeable was the six wings that were on the entity's back. Each of them belonged to a different creature. On the left, one looked like a bat's, the other was of an eagle, and another was a moth's. On the other side, one was of a dove's, the second was of a crow's, and the last seemed to be from a butterfly.

His right eye looked like a cat's, while the other was of a goat's.

His left foot lad talons. His right foot looked like a monkey's.

He had no right hand but had a mantis' scythe instead. The other hand looked normal, aside from the sharp claws that seemed similar to a tiger's.

He had a pair of horns. One was a ram's, the other was of a bull's.

He also had a tail similar to a snake.

The more Mark stared, the more he found the creature strange.

This entity was not a demon. It was an incarnation of evil. 

If it was not a Fiend...

It was a Devil.

While Mark was staring at the reborn creature, the other was doing the same.

It was not surprising since both of them were quite similar.

They were both entities that should not exist in this world.

"It's my first time meeting something like you." The creature opened his mouth. "What are you even?"

For the first time in a while, Mark heard that question.

And to say, it was easier for non-humans to identify each other.

Illia was delighted to see her master once more. However, his question to Mark made her quite surprised.

"Master."

Illia said as she embraced the creature. From her behavior, it was more accurate to say that she was like a python coiled around a person. She did not even show any shame as she rubbed her voluptuous body on another person.

"Illia." The creature turned to the Succubus. "How long had it been since we last saw each other."

"It had been five-thousand two-hundred sixty-two years, twelve hours, fifty-one minutes, and ten seconds, according to the modern measure of time, Master."

Hearing that reply, Mark and Mei shivered. It was such a creepy degree of devotion that she had towards her master.

"I see." The creature held Illia's cheek affectionately. "Don't worry, this time, I won't go away."

"Yes..."

Illia replied, trying hard to conceal her tears.

Sure enough, these two people loved each other that even the millenniums that passed was not enough to end it.

However, it seemed that unforeseen circumstances caused them to separate, leaving Illia alone.

"Illia," The creature spoke while flexing his fingers. "This body seemed to have some foreign powers."

"Yes. Six years ago, this guy gained the ability to control the wind. I turned him into my partner. I did not really intend to make him the sacrifice for your body since his power is useful, but I had no choice."

"Is there something wrong with it?" Illia asked.

"That power you are talking about is rejecting me." He then turned to Mark. "And that entity seemed to be connected to it."

Illia was even more surprised. She finally realized the reason why Mark seemed to want to kill Jude earlier.

"Since its rejecting you, can you just give it back?"

Mark suddenly spoke. This was not the first time he encountered an ability that seemed to have a mind of its own. And if it was rejecting this creature, he would not be able to use it at all without using some methods.

Unexpectedly, the creature gave a quite favorable reaction. Nevertheless, it would not be easy.

"I don't mind returning it. But I believe that you took the last thing I needed for my perfect revival."

Mark frowned. This creature was obviously talking about Elise. However, there was no way for him to let go of her.

"Why do you even need her for?"

Mark asked. Although he did not mind fighting this guy, he had no reason to aside from Elise and that ability that Jude inherited. If he could take both, without fighting, then why not.

"My rebirth is premature. I needed more energy to stabilize the connection of my new body and soul. An Energy Well like her is just what I needed."

The creature explained patiently.

An Energy Well, it was a good term to call Elise.

"So, you're going to eat her?"

The creature then snickered.

"What is wrong with that?"

Mark shrugged. It was no surprise. To this creature, humans were no different from livestock.

Then, Mark smiled.

"I can't give her. But if you only needed more energy, I can give you something else in exchange."

The creature frowned. But then, sighed.

"Then, let's fight." The creature suggested. "If you manage to prove yourself enough, I will agree."

"Master!" Illia called out in protest. "There's no need for you to come in terms with them."

To those words, the creature smiled bitterly.

"Illia, its already been thousands of years, yet you did not even grow a bit. No matter how powerful you are, never underestimate the ones that stood before you. It was even more if you are facing an entity like him."

The creature spoke while staring at Mark.

"You two are people whose destinies aren't bound by fate, am I right?"

That question made Illia's eyes turn wide.

"P-potential Gods..."

"You know a lot, don't you? Even the deities we encountered before were not able to see us that deep."

Mark said, not denying the claim.

"Not because I wanted to." The creature replied bitterly. "Well then, should we start?"

At that question, Mark turned to Mei.

"Retreat back. I'll handle this alone."

"Will it be fine?" 

Mei asked worriedly. After all, even though the creature was not aggressive, she could feel a very dangerous sensation coming from him.

"There's no killing intent, so it's fine." Mark patted Mei's head. "Also, I think I know what he wanted to do to propose a fight."

Mei nodded and retreated, as Mark said. On the other side, Illia did the same.

"Before we start, let me introduce myself." The creature bowed slightly. "I am Chimetrice, an Artificial Devil Chimera."

Mark was surprised. Sure enough, this creature was not something that was supposed to exist. An artificial creature almost at the level of a Deity that was created five thousand years ago. No wonder that he was sealed with a curse.

Of course, Mark would not return courtesy with discourtesy.

"Just call me Mark. As for what I am, I don't know myself. Just consider me as a Pureblood Blood Demon."

With the end of the introductions, it was the sign for the battle to start.

The creature smiled and flapped his wings. Afterimages were left as he flew about.

Mark's eyes turned wide as his eyes immediately turned violet. At the last moment, he flapped his wings as strong as he could, and flew in a different direction.

The scythe on Chimetrice's right hand almost grazed Mark.

Mark bitterly smiled as his blood started to boil. They were not fighting to their death. Nevertheless, it did not mean that they would hold back.

After missing his attack, Chimetrice passed by Mark and made a wide turn behind. However, it seemed that he was having some difficulty in controlling his flight. Finally turning back, he unleashed another attack at Mark. 

This time, he waved his right arm, sending wooden projectiles from his wooden hand.

The violet glow in Mark's eyes intensified, facing hundreds of projectiles flying towards him. He brandished his scythe, warding off any projectile that was about to hit his body.

Seeing that, Chimetrice smiled. It would be easier for Mark to avoid the attack entirely, but he decided to face it off directly.

Chimetrice charged towards Mark once more. This time, he kicked Mark using his foot with talons.

Mark then waved his scythe, trying to block the talons.

BAM!

A strong shockwave traveled across the vicinity of the border. Mei and Illia could not help but get pushed back.

After that clash, both Mark and Chimetrice were pushed back.

Chimetrice looked fine, but Mark was frowning. Although Mark managed to stand his ground, both his arms were shivering from numbness.

The physical strength of this devil was something out of this world.

"Don't hold back and use your other abilities," Chimetrice spoke. "If you keep it like this, I might accidentally kill you."

Mark smiled bitterly. This guy was not joking. Chimetrice had no intention to kill, but with his current condition, he really might accidentally kill Mark.

Chimetrice had just reborn from thousands of years of slumber. After acquiring a new body, his control of it was almost non-existent. It was the reason he proposed a fight. He wanted to get used to his new body as soon as possible.

Disregarding the numbness, Mark moved. It was his turn to attack. His wings glowed red as he flapped it. He then soared towards Chimetrice at almost the same speed as Chimetrice had done before.

CLANG!

Two scythes clashed with each other. Chimetrice received the attack without any difficulty.

Mark then twisted his body, using his whole body as leverage, and pushed Chimetrice's mantis scythe upwards. With the force of the spin, the right arm of Chimetrice was pushed up, creating a wide opening.

The red glow in Mark's veins concentrated on his left foot. And with another swift spin, he unleashed a strong kick.

BAM!

Chimetrice flew several meters away, unsteadily. Mark's left foot connected with his right flank with a crisp sound of contact.

Instead of feeling pain, however, Chimetrice smiled even more. He could feel the control of his body getting firmer. The pressure of fighting Mark was forcing him to adapt to his new body faster.

Mark did not want to let Chimetice rest. After the latter was pushed back, he immediately followed.

He waved his scythe towards the wings of Chimetrice. Comparing their flight speeds, the devil was faster. Mark wanted to put it at the same level as his.

Of course, Chimetrice would not let that happen. His bat wing faced Mark's scythe directly.

CLANG!

A metallic sound echoed as the batwing, and the scythe clashed. Unexpectedly, the batwing was more of metal than actual flesh.

That clash pushed the two away from each other once more.

"Do you have to be that ruthless?"

Chimetrice complained as he checked his batwing.

"You already said that I should not hold back, right?"

Mark smiled.

There was one thing that he read in novels that he could not understand before. It was using fists to know the opponent.

For the first time, he started to understand the concept.

And his conclusion with this guy...

Not everything with evil energy and was created from evil was evil itself.