Mutagen

Day 130 - 2:58 PM - Browning Square, Bellmawr, Camden County, New Jersey, United States of America

Everyone stared agape at the scene above them. Especially for the members of the Outlaws, they froze like statues.

"B-Boss... Bosses, I don't think that this is what we signed up for?"

A Mutator that stood closer to the four leaders voiced out in a fearful voice. As the new leader of the group was still undecided, the man hesitated which person was to address.

And absolutely, this was not what they thought of when Mark proposed that bet.

They should have thought about it more. Why would the intruder propose only ten attacks? It was a very small number compared to their remaining members.

Now, no wonder.

The enemy's ten attacks were to this degree. They should have considered it further.

However, to think of it...

The attacks of the enemy were like this. Even without the bet, there was no guarantee that they would survive. If they did not agree to this, the enemy would be able to attack as much as he wanted. There was no escape if that was what happened.

"Ten! Just Ten attacks! Hold out and survive!"

The woman disregarded the Mutator's question and shouted encouragement for everyone to hear.

On the other hand, while the Outlaws were panicking, the prisoners watching at the side stared at Mark in awe.

"Is he a god? Are we saved by a god?"

One of them murmured.

That murmur, however, caused the prisoners to shake in delight and praise.

The outlaws and the prisoners had different ideas from seeing Mark's current display.

More or less, the outlaws did not believe in gods and the like. That was how they were able to commit deeds that even the heavens would feel disgusted from seeing them.

In the eyes of the outlaws, Mark was nothing but a powerful freak that could kill everyone.

The prisoners, however, could only pray to the gods while they suffered under the torture of the outlaws. That hope they held unto finally came into fruition. It was no wonder they unconsciously start to delude themselves into thinking that they were saved by an existence they prayed to.

Well, rather than blaming the beliefs of the poor prisoners, it was better to blame Mark for it.

Just who wanted to be flashy this time?

At the airspace above Browning Square, however, Mark felt troubled as he detected the reverence of the prisoners he freed.

Mark did not want to show off or anything. He just wanted to test something like the balls of electricity floating around him.

If he did this while on the ground, it would be harder to aim at the enemies, and there would be not enough space to conjure this many.

As for the black cloak made of Miasma, it was just a preventive measure. With this cloak, it would be harder to pinpoint his body parts because it looked larger and covered his whole body. After all, while he was exhibiting a haughty behavior towards the enemies, he was not looking down on them. Mutagen caused people to have all kinds of uncanny mutations. 

Looking down on their enemies would spell demise to anyone once they encountered someone with a strange ability.

"Alright, get ready!"

Mark called out playfully, causing the outlaws to stiffen.

Without waiting for any answer, Mark waved his hand downwards, making the glowing crystals follow its movements.

SHHOOOOM!!! CRACKLE! CRACKLE!

The outlaws panicked even more as hundreds of balls of electricity rained upon them.

"Evade! QUICK!"

The rainbow-scaled woman shouted, assuming command over everyone. It was alright with the Speedo Guy, but the Swift Brothers glared at her. However, there was no time to retort. The first attack was already coming.

CRACK!

Everyone tried their best to dodge every ball of electricity that fell.

Fortunately for them, every ball of electricity only flew in a straight direction. Each one that touched anything would disappear. The speed of the balls was fast but not too speedy that it was hard to follow even with a regular person's eye.

Of course, this did not mean that it would be easy.

Not everyone was perceptive enough to dodge a barrage of attacks like this.

"AHHH!!!"

Painful screams echoed here and there. The number of balls of lightning falling unto everyone was too much for many of the outlaws. Even if they were all Mutators and Evolvers, not every one of them had enhanced speed and reflexes.

One by one, the outlaws hit by the balls of electricity fell to the ground with their convulsing bodies.

Mark watched the mess he created below with a smile. He was quite satisfied with what he did.

No, he was not satisfied with the worms squirming around in the parking area. 

What he was satisfied with was the balls of electricity he created for the first time. After all, this was something quite impossible to do before.

It was an exaggeration to say that the [Lightning Mental Crystal] was capable of controlling lightning. What it could at most was to conjure electricity up to high voltages and firing it off towards a certain direction. Even saying that the lightning he fired flew in a straight direction was also farfetched. After all, that was not how electricity worked.

That was why, until now, Mark could only launch direct lightning attacks at his targets. The only exception was when he was using the [Storm Caller Mental Crystal] together with the [Lightning Mental Crystal]. At those times, Mark could use the electric charge caused by the friction of substances in the clouds and call forth a strike of lightning from above.

Lightning, no, even just a lower voltage of electricity, was highly unstable. This was the reason it was hard to harness and control. Furthermore, it was highly attracted to conductive materials such as metal. The presence of metal and other highly conductive substances in the air could cause a shift in the trajectory of the lightning attack. It was one of the reasons why lightning would branch out even if Mark used it to attack directly.

In fact, every time Mark used a lightning attack on armed enemies, if their weapons were metallic, like guns and blades, it would get struck first before the enemy's body. It was unnoticeable since there was just split seconds after the attack was launched and before it hit the target. This was something not easily seen, even to the eyes of Mutators.

But now, Mark had a new toy to play with. The [Wind Manipulation Mental Crystal].

With the new crystal, Mark converged the metallic colloids and vapors in the air at a single point, creating an invisible conductor. Then, he stimulated the electrons around to charge it with electricity. With the conductor in place, the electricity would form a ball, traveling through the conductive colloids. 

Repeating the process simultaneously, it created the hundreds of balls of electricity that was currently falling unto the outlaws.

"Hmmm?" Mark noticed something which made him smile.

Below, the Swift brothers were good at dodging the balls of electricity. Among all of the people Mark encountered before, their reflexes and speed were top notch. Of course, it did not mean that they were the strongest. If that Jersey Devil were to fight with these two, they would lose immediately. It was because aside from its defense that was on the lower side, the Jersey Devil had enough strength to lift a tank despite having the movement speed of a fired bullet.

On the other hand, the rainbow-scaled woman was rather interesting. She was not dodging at all but was attacking the balls of electricity that would hit her using her claws and scales. It seemed that her scales also served as an insulator, preventing the electricity from harming her.

At the side, the Speedo Guy had it easier. The guy lifted a whole car sidewards and made it a wall where he sat behind it together with the other outlaws.

"Well, I didn't give any rules about using shields. So, this is not against the rules, I guess?"

Mark scratched his head.

Following the Speedo Guy's lead, the remaining outlaws hid behind cars and posts. Some smarter ones fired their guns towards the balls of electricity. The tips of the bullets that were made out of lead might not be that conductive. Still, it could disrupt the flow of electricity that Mark conjured to some degree.

Soon, the first attack ended. And there...

"Huh? I'm still alive!"

One of the outlaws that fell after being hit by one of the balls of electricity shouted in glee.

Not only him, but there were also others.

It was not surprising since the voltage of the electricity in those balls were not too high. Although it was deadly towards regular humans, Mutators and Evolvers could possibly handle it.

Of course, it did not mean that they were unscathed. Most of those outlaws only managed to survive because the balls of electricity hit their guns first and only caused burns on their arms. They only fell because of the shock caused by the sudden entry of electricity in their bodies.

Nevertheless, only a third of the outlaws remained. A lot of them were either dumb, weak, or unlucky and died after being hit several times. Some of them even died instantly after being hit once. It was because they either got hit on their heads and torso, frying their brain or stopping their heart.

"Good job, everyone. Receive the next attack!"

Mark shouted as he conjured the same number of balls of electricity around him. This scene made everyone look at him incredulously.

It was the same attack, after all.

On the contrary, Mark sneered at their expressions.

With that sneering smile, Mark stretched out his hand forwards and rotated it slightly.

The balls of electricity started to spin around Mark, making it look like the balls were dancing around him.

It was a beautiful scene circling around the God of Destruction.

This scene made the outlaws pale, however.

Most of them only managed to survive after using the cars in the parking area as shields. Now, however, the balls of lightning would not only come from above but also at different angles.

"F*CK THIS SHIT!"

One of the outlaws lost himself. He was among the ones that got hit in the first round. He was feeling numb all over his body, and there was no way for him to dodge the next attack if it was like this.

He knew that he would die. Then, it was better to take someone else with him. Shakily raising the assault rifle that he just picked up, he aimed at the prisoners causing them to freeze in fear.

THOOOOM!!!

A loud sound accompanied by deafening crackles entered everyone's ear. Then, the smell of burnt clothes and charred flesh entered their noses.

A thick strike of lightning swallowed the man, burning his whole body black. Dead, his charred body, slammed to the ground.

"Listen!"

Mark shouted.

The rest of the outlaws shivered as they turned their heads back to Mark like broken dolls.

"I'm following the rules here and will really leave the ones that can survive my attacks alive. So, follow the rules too. If none of you want to follow this fool."

Finishing his sentence, Mark waved his hand. The head of the charred man suddenly detached. Then, he launched a ball of black fire towards the body, turning it into ash. The only thing left of that guy was his broken gun, and his head that was cooked "extremely well done." The agony with his mouth left open was etched on his face even after death.

"Well, then... Go!"

Mark shouted as he launched the next attack. Spinning altogether in a blanket of crackling lights.

The outlaw's faces looked even more serene. They all realized that their enemy could kill them all in a blink of an eye. They did not know whether he was showing mercy or was just playing. However, they did not have any choice now. Just how did they offend an enemy like this?

While the outlaws were on a deep dilemma, Mark stared at the moving balls of electricity.

"Is this how bosses of DanMaku games feel like while tormenting the players?"

Mark shrugged with the nonsense that entered his head.