Mutagen

Day 155 - 12:58 AM - River Valley, Municipality of Badian, Province of Cebu

Leaving the group, Mark, Pefile, Fourth, and Nineteenth moved towards the location of the Tribe of Tamawos. Since none of them wanted to waste time, all of them moved as fast as they could.

And to say, Mark could not help but feel the difference in his and Eyes' strength. Pefile was also frustrated. He could cover a long distance quickly with his ability to travel through trees within a certain distance. Yet, both Fourth and Nineteenth were always on his tail. Even Mark, who was using his [Shadow Mist Movement], appearing and disappearing now and then, was the same.

It was not like they were in a race against each other. However, both Mark and Pefile could tell that the two Eyes were holding back to match their speed.

With their speed, it did not take long to arrive at one of the entrances of the Tamawo's realm. The border was a pair of curved trees planted right beside the top of the cliff. Suspecting humans would only feel that the trees were strange. As for Mark's group, they knew that it was something magical.

Nonetheless, even if the pair of trees were eyecatching, no regular human would be able to see it. It was because the area was cast with magic that would make humans lost without a guide.

With Pefile's lead, they walked past through the middle of the trees. They were supposed to fall since it was a cliff in front of them. But upon passing through, instead of a cliff, they stepped on a bridge made of roots and vines.

"To think that there's a realm hidden here..."

Nineteenth could not help but murmur as she looked around.

"It's a realm crafted by a god. It's no surprise that it managed to avoid our sight."

Fourth said in reply to Nineteenth's words.

WHOOOM!

Suddenly, a pulse of magical energy enveloped the entrance as if something detected their arrival.

"A [Ward Magic]," Pefile spoke with a frown. "Berrak already broke the previous one. It looks like they cast another after we left."

Following the pulse from the [Ward Magic], Mark detected many individuals approaching their location.

But then, something strange happened.

Some of the Tamawo's attention was immediately focused on Fourth and Nineteenth. It was strange considering that the existence of the Eyes was not really known to many.

Then, upon seeing Fourth and Nineteenth's faces, the Tamawos retreated. It would not be surprising if they went and tried to stop them. However, the Tamawos actually fled.

It was as if they knew the Eyes.

"Pefile?" Mark turned to Pefile. "You and your tribe knew about the Eyes?"

"Don't ask me," Pefile replied. "I don't know either. I might have heard about your race but not the Eyes until we met Bathala."

It was really strange.

"Perhaps, something happened during the years you left your tribe."

Nineteenth spoke, remembering the details of the book about Celine.

Those words made Pefile silent. After all, he had no way to confirm it.

"Thinking is just a waste of time!" Fourth yelled. "Let's just go and ask them!"

Of course, the Eyes would be interested in this. After all, their existence was not supposed to be known until now. Although they were the ones that administrated the relocation of magical creatures to the Spirit Dimension, they erased everything that could reveal their existence, including memories of people and creatures.

Only the Gods and Deities of the past should know about the Eyes since even the Eyes would not be able to easily erase the memories of such godly beings. 

Being urged by Fourth, Pefile immediately led them to the castle at the center of the realm.

And, sure enough, Mark's group was blocked by Tamawos.

"Pefile! Are you out of your mind? How dare you bring the Eyes to our tribe! Do you want to destroy the tribe too badly? You already got Celine back! The king would also not last too long! Is it not enough?"

A Tamawo roared in fury. It was the current Shaman of the Tamawos, Elkile.

"So, you are blaming me for this?" 

Pefile surely was annoyed. By how Elkile spoke, it was as if everything was his fault.

"I left the tribe, leaving my position as the heir to Artile. Yet, none of you were content about that. You all tracked me all the way to the other side of the country. Then, with the help of all of you, Artile took away Celine. Think about it. If you all just left me alone with my family in that place... Will this happen?"

Elkile was unable to refute. It was Artile that was too greedy about getting recognized as the King. If they did not track Pefile, Artile would not fall in love with Celine.

And the tribe would not face the current grave situation.

"All of you brought this unto yourselves," Pefile added. "Besides, we are not here to destroy the tribe. Just get out of the way if you really didn't want that to happen."

"As if I will believe you!"

Elkile roared.

"Believe my words or not, there is nothing you all can do anyway. Though I wonder. How the hell did all of you know about the Eyes?"

Pefile asked.

"There is no need to ask." Suddenly, Nineteenth spoke. "I'll take a more detailed information from him directly."

And without warning, Nineteenth's body blurred. Before anyone could react, there she was, lifting the Shaman by grabbing on his neck.

The Shaman flailed, trying to resist. He even tried some of the magic he knew to escape Nineteenth's grasp.

But all of it was for naught. Nineteenth's right hand grabbed on Elkile's neck like a steel clamp.

A book then appeared on Nineteenth's left hand. Surely, it was the book that would state everything about Elkile.

Getting what she wanted, Nineteenth was done with Elkile. Without any change in her expression, she threw the Shaman towards the Tamawos blocking their way.

And Elkile lost consciousness. It was not like Elkile was weak. It was Nineteenth that did not hold back at all. Even those Tamawos that tried to catch Elkile ended up with grave injuries like broken arms and crushed ribcages.

That show of prowess caused the remaining Tamawos to step back in fear.

"See that?" Fourth spoke to Mark. "I told you she's the most twisted among us."

"You're saying bad things about me again, huh."

Fourth could not help but flinch. Nineteenth was already back and was standing behind her.

"Is it fine for you to do that?" Mark asked Nineteenth. "I remember you saying about not harming Earthborns, right?"

"That is usually the case." Nineteenth nodded, but then she let out an unsettling smile. "But currently, we are doing our job to find a hidden god. Anything that tries to get in our way of doing our job is subject to elimination even if that person is a human."

Mark could only shrug. It was their job protocol.

But then, Pefile interjected.

"Please, don't eliminate them. Disabling them should be enough to get them out of the way, right?"

It made Nineteenth quite surprised.

"You want to spare them even after what they did to you?"

But at the question, Pefile turned to the Tamawos with his eyes filled with fury.

"No. I'm not sparing them. My brother will die soon. The human population also lessened because of the outbreak. This tribe is already moving towards destruction, at the very least, disbandment. When the tribe disbands, they will need to leave this place. With the situation outside, they will likely die. It would be mercy if we kill them now without them being able to witness how the tribe ends."

A cruel fate. It was what this tribe awaits. It was all because they chased after Pefile.

At Pefile's reasoning, Mark and the two Eyes agreed. It would be an easy way out if they were killed right now.

"Then, I'll disable them." Mark volunteered while looking at the two Eyes. "You're auras could stop them but will also affect me and Pefile. It might also end up destroying this realm. So, I'll do it."

"If you say so."

"As you wish."

The two Eyes agreed to Mark.

The Tamawos around were already getting ready to fight, even if the Shaman was unconscious and some warriors were injured. But before they could make a move, an unsettling pressure fell on their bodies.

Mark released his [Emotion Induction], forcing the Tamawos to be enveloped with fear, anxiety, and horror. Their bodies froze, with their legs shaking fiercely. Their view of Mark's group changed. It was as if they were looking at a group of monsters.

"Pefile, lead the way."

Mark told Pefile with his eyes brightly glowing red.

Pefile nodded and led the group into the castle under the watch of all the Tamawos gathered here.

None of them could stop the four. They were powerless against the group of the first prince.

Who would have thought that the first prince would end up with such powerful backing? If he became the king instead, would the end had been different?

Unfortunately, it was too late. They all supported the wrong prince to become the king. And now, it was their fate to face destruction.

Even if they regret it now, it was useless.

Mark's group entered the castle. The sight was interesting as the whole castle was made from a set of gigantic trees. If not for the fact that the whole castle was now a mess after Pefile controlled the trees, the place might have looked beautiful.

While walking, Nineteenth was reading the book she extracted from Elkile. She could not help but frown.

"It looks like a Demon Spirit gave away our existence. That Demon possessed a Tamawo called Terville and used him to relay the information. But it seemed that none of the Tamawos knew about the Demon Spirit. They just believed that possessed person."

Nineteenth spoke, summarizing the information. On the other hand, Mark and Pefile could not help stop on their steps.

"Is there something wrong?"

Nineteenth asked the two.

"Did you say Terville?" Pefile replied first. "He's my nemesis. As far as I know, he's the one that urged my brother to rebel against the elders. He's also behind most of the mess the tribe is facing."

"You're probably talking about that tall Tamawo, right?" Mark spoke next. "I already killed the Demon possessing him. The possessed guy should be dead too."

"Heeeh... What is that Demon called? I don't think that it's just any Demon for it to know about us."

Fourth asked.

"It's Terrae." Nineteenth replied to Fourth. "If I am correct, you're the one in charge of that Demon."

"Huh... That Earth Demon Deity?" Fourth was surprised. "He's a pretty troublesome one. His body and spirit are two separate beings so, he's hard to kill. He managed to escape me several times in the past before he just vanished without a trace. Who would have thought that he's hiding here!"

Fourth then turned to Mark.

"You managed to kill that guy? Good job! If I had more authority, I might have given you a reward directly!"

Those words of Fourth made Mark feel complicated. First, because he was being complimented by a little girl. Second, it meant that he was actually in possession of energies from a Demon Deity that even an Eye had a hard time eliminating. No wonder that a crystal was not created yet, and the [PsyCrystal] was still working hard to condense it.

It made Mark anticipate what kind of crystal would be created from that Demon called Terrae.

While conversing, they passed by the chamber of the king. It was the same room that all kings of this tribe used, and Artile was very likely resting in that place.

Pefile gave the doors of the chamber a complicated look before leading the group deeper into the castle.

Soon, they reached the core of the castle, a single room at the center of a circular hallway.

And there, Pefile manipulated the Sacred Trees to open the door.

At the center of the room, there was a pedestal. Atop the pedestal was an item about the size of a police badge.

It was the artifact called [Mark of the King].

Seeing the artifact, Pefile could not help but feel shocked.

It was because the artifact was pulsating and glowing.

Then, under the group's eyes, the artifact began to float.

And it shot towards Pefile at an alarming speed.