Mutagen

Day 368 - 6:17 PM - Pudakpajung, Banyumanik, Semarang City, Central Java, Indonesia

Azra's wings flapped proudly in the sky, staring at the crazed enemy below.

However, the [Aura of Death] around Azra's body was visibly weaker. It was due to the souls empowering the aura leaving for the afterlife. The only aura left on her body was a tiny film covering her entirely, and her battledress manifested through the materialization of the same aura.

As it seemed, opening the [Gates of Salvation] had consumed her power far more than Mark had expected. It was not wrong to say that it was the consequences of using an [Authority] when they had yet to reach the level of a Deity.

Well, it was totally outside Mark's expectations.

Nonetheless, even in Azra's current state, the continuation of the battle was doable.

It was because the Deity of Soul Sacrifice was no longer a Deity. As the corrupted souls, the source of his power left him, he was stripped of his status. His [Authority] was still there, but it was now useless. Furthermore, even if he returned to his original humanoid appearance, the damage he received as a disgusting gigantic monster made of flesh and tentacles remained.

The Deity of Soul Sacrifice. No. The Forsaken Alchemist was now at his weakest ever since the time he decided to abandon his true nature.

"Why... After everything I did, it ended like this... I was still far from my goals."

The Forsaken Alchemist vanished from his position with a loud sound and an explosion of dust and dirt.

CLANG!

The sound of Ignis blocking an attack echoed as the Forsaken Alchemist appeared in front of Azra with a vicious attack.

With his right arm transforming into the blade of a mantis, the Forsaken Alchemist tried to slash Azra. Along with the powerful push of his [Telekinesis], he flew fast without even leaving a blur.

"Why... Why do you stand before me?! Why are being an obstacle to my goals?!"

The Forsaken Alchemist roared as he waved his left hand and threw a strong invisible force at Azra, flinging away.

Although the Forsaken Alchemist had motives for joining the fray, Mark was the one who started this fight. While The Great One had reasons to fight Mark, they had more important goals this time than to fight. It was to capture the Goddess he created. They were supposed to leave but Mark was the one who stopped them from doing so.

To continue pursuing their original goal, they needed to defeat Mark first. And it ended up in this situation.

The Deity of Twisted Beauty escaped.

The Great One blew up his puppet.

And the Deity of Soul Sacrifice fell from grace.

It was all because of Mark.

On the other side, Azra got thrown dozens of meters back before she could stabilize her flight.

It was when she replied, relaying words that Mark told her to speak.

"No particular reason originally," It was such a mocking reply. "It was just there was no way I'm letting you bastards from Auraboros go freely. I'll mess with all your plans as much as I can. It just happened that you're the one here this time."

"One of my goals in this life is to destroy Auraboros," Azra continued to convey Mark's words. "You can blame that arrogant one for that. He was the one who messed with me and my people first."

"As for you though," Azra brandished Ignis. "Just think of this as your karma. You had done so much evil that even fate lent us a hand. The world is crying for the end of your pitiful existence."

Those words opened the Forsaken Alchemist's eyes. He looked at the night sky, exhausted.

"My pitiful existence, huh?"

The Forsaken Alchemist spoke.

Mark expected the enemy to become even more furious at that remark. However...

"Hahahaha!" The Forsaken Alchemist laughed in agreement. "My existence had always been pitiful. As if I wanted to be born a [Pure Human]."

"I understand," The Forsaken Alchemist seemed to have sobered up. "I will not justify my means. All of it is for my goals. I may have lost my [Authority], but you have yet to win!"

With eyes seemingly burning with emotions, the Forsaken Alchemist brandished his mantis scythe and vanished.

This time, Azra also flew forward, with the wind pushing her wings.

The two vanished. All that could be heard was the sounds of their clashes and the shockwaves those clashes resulted in.

At every bout, the earth shook. The shockwaves and sounds traveled far and wide.

The two soon appeared, ragged and tattered. Azra's battle dress showed damage. It was the same for the Forsaken Alchemist, whose body became even more injured.

There was no doubt that the Forsaken Alchemist was just hanging by the thread. He was nearing his end.

It was the final clash. The two vanished once again for their final bout.

And it ended with Azra piercing Ignis through the Forsaken Alchemist's heart.

But in that moment, the Forsaken Alchemist smiled.

In his death, the Forsaken Alchemist's body slowly dried up. From the tips of his fingers to his limbs, then his head, face, and lastly, his heart. It then began to crumble to dust.

It was when black mist flew out of the crumbling remains. It was the same image when the corrupted souls flew out of the Forsaken Alchemist's damaged body before.

Azra, taken aback, tried to retreat. However, she was late, as the mist entered her body without resistance.

The Forsaken Alchemist was also the Deity of Soul Sacrifice. His status might have waned in this battle, but he had yet to lose the entirety of his [Authority]. If he had no other souls to control...

Then he could use his own.

***

Unfortunately, it was the worst final move he could have made.

"Yow!"

Mark mockingly waved as he sat down on the ground.

And the recipient of his greeting was the confused Forsaken Alchemist.

"You..."

The Forsaken Alchemist never expected this.

After all, even Magwayen, a Goddess, was surprised that Mark had access to his [Subconscious] and had full control of the world within it. Not to mention a mere Deity. None of them would expect this absurdity without seeing it with their own eyes.

But instead of going berserk, the Forsaken Alchemist stared at Mark.

"This... this... Hahahahaha!"

The Forsaken Alchemist laughed like crazy.

"Did your screw fall off or something? Aren't you going to start your final stand?"

Mark said as he stood up. He observed the Forsaken Alchemist, a little surprised about his true appearance.

Outside, the Forsaken Alchemist looked like a pale ghost. His face was quite average, but his skin was as pale as snow. And under his robe, his appearance was even harder to describe.

But the one who stood before Mark was a young man with a rather native look. No one would mistake his appearance. He looked like someone from an aboriginal tribe. Not to mention the tribal tattoos he had on his face and the feather crown he wore over his head.

"No," The Forsaken Alchemist shrugged. "It is my defeat. I wanted to take over your body as a last resort even if it would lead to incongruency since our souls and bodies had zero affinity. But I did not expect this. No wonder I had no chance of winning. Even if those two bastards stayed to fight, the outcome would be the same."

"What?"

Mark was confused. He was pretty sure he was also struggling to fight the two of them at the same time. If that narcissist also joined in, the Deities could have won. At least, that was what Mark thought.

"To think that you are..."

The Forsaken Alchemist smiled meaningfully without finishing his sentence. It seemed very important, but he seemed unwilling to tell Mark what he needed to know.

"This is it, the end of my role," The Forsaken Alchemist continued his monologue. "I feel like I gave a mediocre performance, but it cannot be helped."

"What in the world are you saying?"

Mark was already frowning as the supposed enemy continued to speak on his own.

"Do you know?" The Forsaken Alchemist finally spoke to Mark. "The truth of this world, this realm? Our existence?"

Mark fell silent, listening to the Forsaken Alchemist.

"Hahaha!" The Forsaken Alchemist laughed in a mocking tone. "As if I am going to tell you. Find out on your own."

And then, as if he knew that Mark would receive his knowledge and memories by absorbing his soul and existence, the Forsaken Alchemist took the initiative to damage it on purpose.

There, with a final laugh, the Forsaken Alchemist vanished, with the remaining parts of his existence spreading throughout Mark's [Subconscious World].

"That... bastard..."

Mark stared at the place where the Forsaken Alchemist vanished. His eyes burning with fury.

"Master..." Ignis appeared, looking at Mark in confusion. "What is there to be angry about? The enemy is already defeated. We won, and we should rejoice."

Mark's angry eyes turned to Ignis, making the latter flinch.

"My head is aching, since I'm racking the memories he left behind," Mark replied. "But that bastard... He erased everything about what he was about to say... Damn it... All he left are those sick memories of his experiments and some other extras."

Ignis was still confused about the cause of Mark's anger. Unfortunately, he had yet to understand.

Mark was an Otaku. And all Otakus hate cliffhangers.

But then, Mark's scenery changed. As he blinked, he realized that he was now looking at the real world. His body was returned to him without warning.

Mark looked down. He rubbed his eyes, but what he was seeing below did not change.

BOMPF!

Mark grabbed the lumps of fat on his chest and weighed them.

"These are heavy... Is it B? Or maybe C? It's bigger than Mei'er's" Mark commented. "The chest is heavier, but the crotch is lighter..."

That was right. Although the control of his body was returned, Mark was still in Azra's appearance.

"Master..." Ignis's voice echoed in his head. "Aren't you embarrassed?"

"Not really," Mark replied. "Which Otaku had never thought of turning into the opposite gender even once?"

"Master is really a weirdo."

Ignis commented.

"Yep."

And Mark agreed without hesitation.

"Hmmm..." Mark hummed, seemingly trying something. "It seems like I can return to my original appearance anytime. But I don't think I can turn into this one without Azra."

"That is reasonable," Ignis seemingly nodded. "That appearance is hers, after all. By the way Master, she's inside your [Subconscious], sleeping. She really looked tired."

"Is that so," Mark sighed. "Her parents tricked me. They asked me to name her, so they could dump her onto me. But I guess it's not bad. Her affinity with my blessing from Magwayen is far greater than mine. It will be really helpful."

"Speaking of your blessing, the Goddess did not appear amidst this mess, huh?"

Ignis remarked.

"She only asked me to send the [Stormcaller Mental Crystal] and didn't contact me anymore," Mark nodded. "The situation on the other side should be really dangerous if she had to focus there."

And as if agreeing to Mark's words, the ground began to shake. A powerful wave of energy spread throughout the land, coming from the east.

"Master, I suggest you go there already," Ignis suggested in worry. "The Night Goddess' power is spreading."

Ignis was not mistaken. The sky was actually turning darker and darker and such a scene was spreading throughout the land of Java.

"I know," Mark shrugged. "I also want to leave and go there already."

But Mark flapped his wings and landed on the ground. He stood at the center of the crater The Great One left.

The crater was still hot. Even the ground had patches of molten rocks that had yet to fully harden.

But Mark had no interest in those things. Using his [Miasma], he protected himself from the heat and stretched his right hand towards the sky.

"There's still something I need to do before I go there."

Mark said as the [PsyCrystal] embedded on the back of his right hand shined brightly.