Mutagen

Day 150 - 4:10 PM - Clear Lake, Magical Domain, Northwest Mountains, Municipality of Panganiban, Catanduanes

"Diwata Iraya! Please calm down!"

Ordulk, the Tamawo, yelled out in fluster. Beside him was Gennie, who was smiling bitterly.

Currently, the prominent figures of the group of Spirits and Elementals gathered around the Magical Lake in this domain. It was a small spring lake with clear water surrounded by beautiful scenery.

However, while it appeared like nothing but a scenic attraction, it was one of the core places in this domain.

"Don't fret too much, Ordulk." The fuming Diwata Iraya rubbed her temples. "I'm still calm."

Diwata Iraya, being a Diwata, had no choice but to stay calm. She did cause those lightning and thunder. However, while it was on impulse, she made sure that nothing got harmed. Well, except for that tree that was accidentally hit. Trees attract lightning as a path for it to reach the ground. It was an unavoidable circumstance.

If Diwata Iraya was not calm enough, a disaster far graver than those three lightning strikes and thunder could ensue. After all, her age was not just for show.

Even among all the Diwata's remaining in the Philippines, she was the highest in the ranking. Unfortunately, beings like her had a lot of rules to follow, disabling her from being able to exert the best of her abilities.

If she suddenly ran amok and began to hurt mortals, not only Diwata Iraya would be denying her existence, but the protectors of the world, the Eyes, would hunt her down.

Still, Diwata Iraya had a headache.

Diwata Iraya looked at the water of the lake, showing the scene where Aliya was laughing with satisfaction.

Back in the days, Aliya was already an oddball in her tribe. She had an odd urge to look for things that seemed to be fun. It was to the extent that she learned to use swords and bows that were only supposed to be learned by men in her time. It was a time where women were only supposed to stay in their houses, do house chores, and become decorations for their husbands.

And yet, there Aliya was, having the fun of her life.

Becoming the shaman of their tribe at the age of thirteen did not stop Aliya. As she was able to see Spirits, Ghosts, and Demons, she began creating stories that scared even adults of their tribe.

It was unfortunate that Aliya died of young age.

At the age of sixteen, as the wife of the strongest warrior of their tribe. Aliya died while giving birth to her first child.

Of course, it was not a natural death.

Demons took advantage of her delivery to weaken her to the point of dying.

At that time, Diwata Iraya was fighting with Demons, not knowing that it was a diversion. It was already late when they knew what was happening.

Luckily, Aliya's child was fine, a perfectly human boy.

At her death, the Demons tried to steal her body and capture her soul. They intended to turn her into one of them.

Fortunately, Diwata Iraya managed to deal with the situation. At that time, Diwata Iraya might be powerful, but the Demons also had their leader as powerful as her. The battle for the body and soul of a single human had caused great losses on both sides. The spirits won. However, a lot of them received injuries. Diwata Iraya was among the injured.

The injured magical beings with physical bodies might be fine. Their bodies would heal over time. Those with bodies made of magical energies, however, were different. They needed magical energy to repair their bodies. Unfortunately, magical energy was extremely thin in the mortal world.

If they had a Pure Spirit Tree that could connect to the Spirit Dimension, things would be different. However, as rare as the tree was, even the renowned Diwata Iraya did not have her own.

Unfortunately, Diwatas had bodies made of magical energy. Diwata Iraya's injuries at that time would take decades to heal. But as the deity that maintained the balance on this island, it was the worst thing to happen.

Demons would definitely take advantage of the fact that Diwata Iraya was weakened to erase all traces of their enemies.

Thus, there was only one answer they came up with. It was to turn Aliya into a spirit. After becoming one, she could heal Diwata Iraya in a short time.

That was what happened. And now, Aliya was living side-by-side with Diwata Iraya.

And of course, while she behaved most of the time, there were a lot of times that she would become the cause of everyone's headaches. Very much like what was happening at the moment.

The problem, now, however, was that Aliya even managed to have an accomplice in making fun of Diwata Iraya. Who would not be infuriated by that?

"Hah..." Diwata Iraya sighed, staring at Mark in the image displayed on the water of the lake. "Who would have thought that this rare ability would suddenly appear once more? Moreover, on the hands of a Demon... Aliya did not even hesitate to say everything."

"But Mark did not seem to be a bad person."

Gennie spoke.

"You are saying that because he's your nephew," Ordulk interjected. "I don't think that someone like him capable of murdering other humans without blinking is a good person."

Gennie fell silent since Ordulk did not say that without reason.

During the time that Mark attacked the Rebel Base, they were all watching. They all saw how Mark ended the lives of the rebel without a shred of conscience. In fact, Gennie found it terrifying and did not know whether she would be able to face her nephew without fear.

On the other hand, Aliya did not seem to mind it and even went to meet Mark and his group. Back in her time, tribal wars happen from time to time. And from the long time she lived as a Spirit, she had already seen a lot of people dying in different ways. Furthermore, as someone that wasn't even able to take care of her own child, she was very eager to meet Mark's group.

Beings like them had a very strict rule. They could not meddle with human affairs only unless it was the humans first that did so. As such, after Aliya became a Spirit, she was only able to interact with her family until they once. It was when they died and before their souls passed on.

In the case of Mark's group, however, it was different. Mark was a Demon. So as his wife and children. And because of that, the rules did not apply to them. Aliya was very eager to spend time with Mark as she was seeing her son on him.

Gennie watched the image on the water of the lake. There was a tint of envy on her face. Aliya was having fun, finally able to find a relative they could interact with. Yet, here she was, only watching from far away.

"I wish I can join them."

Gennie could not help but murmur.

"You know that you can't go out of this place yet." Diwata Iraya spoke with a sigh. "It's only been a few years since you became a Spirit. Your body is still unstable. There is no need to mention that the magical energy outside is too thin, and negative energies can easily affect you."

"I know," Gennie looked down at the water. "I just can't help it looking at them."

To say, Diwata Iraya and the others could understand Gennie and Aliya. They were humans before and, as such, they needed human touch. While becoming a Spirit dampened their bodily desires, the desires of the soul and mind were still there. And to say, a human stepping into the path of becoming a Spirit was a rather lonely one.

The orb of light, Bituin, bounced on Gennie's shoulder, trying to console her.

"Still, it is surprising how that Mark is too strong." Deriellio, the leader of Yasaws, the black children, spoke at the side. "Although Bituin confirmed that he was not lying when he said that he's a pureblood, seeing his abilities in action is frightening."

Everyone could only agree with the Yasaw's words. They all watched what happened and saw how Mark faced hundreds of armed humans alone. Of course, they were also amazed about the human leader of the rebels. However, Mark's abilities overshadowed her.

"We are lucky that he's not an enemy."

Deriello added.

Their first encounter with Mark was definitely not a good one. They surrounded him and his dragon, thinking that they were enemies. If it really ended up in a battle, it would be catastrophic for their side.

"You all did not have to worry." Diwata Iraya spoke, staring at Mark at the image in the water. "He might not be a good person, but he is definitely not evil."

Mark did not harm any innocent people in that battle with the rebels. Although it was quite strange how Mark was able to accurately differentiate those people who were forced to become a rebel. 

Diwata Iraya and the others continued to watch the situation. Knowing that they were being watched, however, Mark and Aliya became more playful. The two began saying things that would rile up those who were watching them.

Surely, Aliya would be scolded when she returned. However, it seemed that it did not matter to her at all as long as she was able to enjoy herself.

"Hmmm?"

Suddenly Diwata Iraya frowned.

Not minding the others watching the image on the water of the lake, she waved her hand. The image on the water changed and was focused on somewhere else.

There, the Spirits were surprised.

In the image, dark clouds began to envelop the sky. However, these clouds were not gathering, but instead, was rising from a mountain.

"Those damn Demons are conducting another ritual," Ordulk said, knowing the image that they were seeing. "Did they manage to catch more humans?"

Ordulk and the others were confused. The humans were now gathered at the southwest of the island, at the settlement the human government created. Although there were also humans at the north of the island, the Demons would not be able to go there unnoticed without passing by their territory.

"Is it the remaining rebels?" 

Gennie said, thinking that there were still some outposts of the rebels remaining around the area.

With Gennie's words, Diwata Iraya began waving her hands, switching the image on the water consecutively. The images showed the outposts of the rebels that Mark's group did not encounter.

"It's all empty," Deriellio said, noticing that the outposts had no people at all. "It didn't look like they got attacked. Did those humans leave?"

"Those humans must have left." Diwata Iraya said. "Knowing that their base is destroyed, they might have communicated with each other to gather their remaining members."

"But where did those humans gather?" Ordulk spoke in turn. "Did they leave our territory? We didn't notice any Demon activity, after all."

"Look." 

Diwata Iraya waved her hand and caused a specific place to appear on the image in the water.

It was an empty road. The very same road that Mark's group took as they went south. It was at the border of their territory. As such, the image could not go any further. However, they noticed several vehicles abandoned on the road. Some were even overturned. They were sure that these vehicles were not there when Mark's group passed by this road.

"We should have monitored those idiots," Deriellio slapped his forehead childishly. "Because we did not care about those humans, we ended up letting them bolster the number of those damned Demons."

"No one expected this at all," Gennie said with a frown. "I'm sure that the rebels were supposed to know that the area was off-limits. We watched them being briefed by their leaders about that, right?"

"That's why I called them idiots," Deriellio said angrily. "Just because their leader is gone, they did not bother about the rules they were given anymore."

"Let's just wish that most of those humans failed to become Demons. Or else, we would need to get ready for a bloody battle."

Ordulk chimed in.

"Whether they succeeded or not, everyone should prepare," Diwata Iraya spoke strictly. "I am convinced that they would begin to move after this."

"It is because those are the last group of humans they could get their hands into without moving out of their territory."

Diwata Iraya added.