Mutagen

Day 138 - 10:23 AM - Cliff House, Mountain Base, Mount Malabito, General Nakar, Quezon Province, Philippines

With the Eyes leaving, Mark was could finally feel relieved as he ate his late breakfast.

Or so it should be...

But now, sitting in front of Mark on the opposite side of the table, there was Fourth.

"Just what are you even doing here?"

Mark grumbled as Odelina served his and Mei's breakfast.

Ignoring Mark's words, Fourth looked at Odelina and spoke.

"Can I have some too?"

That question made Odelina troubled as she looked at Mark.

Odelina was calm most of the time. Still, the suffocating aura around the Eyes affected her.

"Haah..." Mark sighed. "Just give her some, but give her a cup of milk instead."

"Yes."

Odelina replied.

The food was nothing but a cup of coffee and fried meatloaf slices, though.

"Hey! Don't treat like a kid! I want coffee too!"

Fourth grumbled.

"Okay, then. Give this girl a cup coffee."

Mark gave up. This girl was definitely treating his home as her own.

That was when Odelina left for the kitchen to make another breakfast serving.

As she was getting her own serving, Fourth sat satisfied.

"You're really treating my place as your own, aren't you?"

Mark asked.

"What's wrong with it? Other people would be glad if they were you."

Mark frowned. Still, that would be undoubtedly true, especially for religious fanatics.

If they could handle the Eye's presence, that is.

"Don't you have work to do? You had been grumbling about needing to go here when you found another candidate earlier, right?"

Mark reminded the girl.

"I already did that. I left earlier, remember?"

That was right. Fourth left earlier for about an hour before popping out inside Mark's house once again.

"So? Why are you here again?"

Of course, Mark would ask that question.

"I just want to relax a bit. Can't I do that? Even beings like us grow tired, you know?"

Fourth replied as if it was a matter of fact.

"Then go relax somewhere else. Just your presence makes people suffocate, you know that?"

"Ah..."

Hearing Mark's words made Fourth stare at him like she had a big glowing question mark above her head.

"I forgot... How about this?"

As Fourth said that, her suffocating presence started to shrink until it was unnoticeable.

"Is this fine now?"

Fourth asked as the suffocating feeling was finally gone.

"You can actually do this..."

Mark sure was pissed. Everyone had been suffering because of the divine-like pressure that was coming from the eyes every time they were present. And now, to think that she could actually hide it but just did not bother to do it.

"Of course, we can! Or else, how do you think we are able to hide ourselves if we always have that kind of presence around us?"

Those words made Mark remember Ninth. He did not have such a presence while he was hiding himself. Even Chimetrice could not tell at all, and Mark could only find Ninth because of his Emphatic Ability.

"But that didn't answer why you are relaxing here."

Mark questioned once more.

"Then, where do you think that I can go to relax?" Fourth grumbled. "We Eyes are not tireless robots, and we take breaks from our duties from time to time. Back then, I can sneak into amusement parks to relax. Tell me. Which amusement park is still open in these times? There isn't even a single peaceful playground left."

"If you want some peaceful place, why not clear the infected and make your own."

Mark suggested.

"We are not allowed to do that! We are not allowed to even deal with the infected, you know that?! To humans, the infected might be dead, hopeless, and unsavable beings. But they are still considered as inhabitants of this Earth. If we touch even one of them without proper reason, we're going to receive punishment."

It was one of the restrictions of being an Eye. As long as it was not a purge intended to balance the state of the world, they were not allowed to make any movements.

"But that pervert invaded my consciousness earlier."

Mark said, making Fourth smile bitterly.

"Well, yeah. That woman will definitely get called later. But you can't really blame her either."

"Why not blame her?" Mark frowned deeply. "It's not her position to dictate our relationship."

Mark said, grabbing Mei's shoulder.

To those words, Fourth shrugged.

"Because you should blame humans for that behavior."

That sudden shift of blame made Mark and Mei confused. Their confusion triggered Fourth to tell a definite truth about her and the other Eyes.

"Remember how I introduced myself? I'm sure Ninth did the same."

"So, it's really that, huh..."

Mark murmured, making Fourth surprised.

"What are you murmuring?"

"Nothing. I just confirmed it from your words. All of you, Eyes, are born from emotions of humans, isn't it? That's why when you and that other kid introduced yourselves, you added Embodiment of something after your name."

"You... really..." Fourth was definitely amused. "You are right. We are born from emotions that humans had as humans are the reigning species on this planet. That is also why we had humanoid bodies by default. Also depending on the emotion, we are born from, it also affected our behavior. Third is the Embodiment of Aesthetic Appreciation. In her eyes, only beauty is accepted. The way she behaved earlier, unable to believe the relationship of you two with contrasting appearances, it's exactly how common humans think, right?"

"She's too beautiful for someone like you."

"A frog from aiming for a swan's meat."

"You're not compatible with each other."

"You will hear all sorts of those kinds of things from humans, right?" Fourth titled her head. "They say all those when a pair of lovers are in total contrast with each other. It might stem from either culture or personal mindset, but most humans think that way. Just like how Third behaved."

Mark fell silent.

It was an awful truth that was applicable to the majority of people on Earth. A beautiful woman, being paired with a handsome man, was justice. An ugly man should also pair with an ugly woman. Aiming any higher would make people shun you. If you managed to succeed, the other people's jealousy would target you.

At this time, Odelina returned from the kitchen, bringing Fourth's food and coffee.

"Thank you." 

Fourth said to Odelina. This made everyone quite surprised.

"What's with those reactions?!" Fourth roared. "I'm a woman who knows proper etiquette after receiving food, you all know that?!"

"But you didn't even utter a single thanks when you snatched my chocolates last time. Also, you look like a brat rather than a woman."

Mark retorted, making Fourth pout.

"I was angry at that time, alright?! My job had been taken away from me! I'll get scolded harshly! Also, I'm a proper woman! I may look like this because I got punished by Master, but I'm definitely several hundred times older than you!"

Fourth kept on roaring while stuffing her mouth with fried meatloaf.

"Alright, alright."

Mark raised his hands up. If he continued retorting, this brat would become noisier and noisier. He needed to just let her finish the food and make her go.

"Anyway, are you really weaker than those two?"

Mark asked as he was curious. He wanted to confirm something.

And to that question, Fourth looked down, tapping her plate with the spoon she was holding.

"No... I'm not really any less stronger than them before the outbreak. But in this state, even if I didn't get punished, I can't stay in the [Dimension Line.]"

Mark's curiosity was piqued. He even heard a term that he had not heard of before.

"Then, why are you weaker now? Aside from being punished that you just said."

"I guess, there's no issue telling you all this." Fourth looked at Mark, Mei, and Odelina. We are the embodiment of human emotions, remember? We grow stronger or weaker depending on the emotions that humans in the majority had. Like me, I'm the Embodiment of Amusement. The more that people seek amusement and feel it, the more I gain power. But I bet you know the state of the people after this apocalypse started."

Mark was right in his other assumption. Being the embodiment of human emotions, their strength also relied on humans. With Fourth being the Embodiment of Amusement, it was no surprise that she grew weaker after the outbreak started.

When the world started to end, most humans lost the urge to find amusement and feel it, and instead, focused on survival. Some even succumbed to fear and agony. The necessity to have fun was also diminished.

And for Fourth, Mark's base was like a paradise on Earth as everyone was able to live in a more carefree manner, able to maintain the urge to find amusement and happiness in their lives.

With all these in mind, Mark's urge to kick Fourth out of his base lessened and just let her enjoy things as long as she did not cause any trouble.

While they were talking, they did not realize that it was already almost lunchtime.

At this point, some people entered the door to the dining room. Looking at them, they were no one else but Spera that brought the three girls home from their morning lessons.

"Papa! Mama!"

Miracle rushed towards Mark and Mei from the door, with Abbygale immediately behind her. Spera and Iola were left behind with bitter smiles while looking at the two.

Mark patted the heads of the two girls while they both received a hug from Mei.

"You are surprisingly gentle to these girls that are not even your own blood and flesh."

Fourth spoke, amused at the scene in front of her.

"Maybe not flesh, but my blood definitely runs inside them."

Mark retorted.

This was also when the girls noticed the visitor. Of course, Spera, who knew Fourth was immediately on guard.

"You lass there. You don't have to be on guard. I'm just here to relax." Fourth spoke to Spera before turning to the girls. "Now that you mention it, your family seems to have an odd aura... Wait... Why did you all have demonic aura's anyway? All of you definitely felt human, well aside from you, Mr. Chaotic."

It seemed that Fourth finally noticed. By the looks of it, she had not been paying attention before.

This, however, made Mark a bit confused.

Mark was a Pure Blood Demon. And following the story, it was the Eyes that instigated the extinction of Blood Demons in the past. However, she did not seem to have any idea or familiarity with the Aura of Blood Demons at all.

This made Mark test the waters a bit.

"Do you know about Blood Demons?"

Mark asked.

"Blood Demons, you say?"

Fourth replied, thinking while waving her spoon. Nevertheless, it seemed that she could not recall.

Mark decided to add to the details.

"It's a race of Demons living in the border of the Overworld and the Underrealm of the Spirit Dimension several thousands of years ago. Their race that went extinct after they were attacked by the denizens of Upper and Lower Dimensions."

"Eh?" Fourth was surprised. "You mean that race?"

"You remember now? The race that you Eyes schemed to eliminate?"

"Ah! Of course, I won't forget! Tenth and Eighteenth led the upper and lower dimensions to eliminate that race because they are becoming too powerful. Their very existence was a threat to the balance at that time."

Mark frowned. It seemed that he learned about the extinction of the Blood Demons were true. If that was the case, it was better to disassociate those events from him and his family.

But then, before Mark could speak another word, Fourth dropped a bomb.

"Of course, that's only what it was on the surface. The true reason they are were eliminated is because the blood of their race at that time had been contaminated without them knowing."

Mark was definitely surprised by this reveal.

"Can you tell me more details about that?"

Mark could not help but ask.