Mutagen

Day 368 - 6:08 PM - Mountain Back, Balong, Pucakwangi, Pati Regency, Central Java, Indonesia

The gigantic figure of darkness towered as large as the mountain-like [Infected Turtle] they stood on. It shrieked in anger, emitting the raw pressure of a Godly being without any restraint.

THUD!

Almost immediately, all the mortal beings unbaptized by the strengthening of magical energy fell to the ground. There was no attempt at resistance as the survivors were robbed of their consciousness as no mortal could face the wrath of a God.

With most survivors falling victim to the Godly presence, it left the leaders of the Indonesian survivors on their knees, barely hanging on to their consciousness.

"Ugh!"

General Wijaya groaned, trying to look around his fellow survivors.

Among the people remaining conscious, the young General struggled the most. The young General remaining conscious in this situation was already an outstanding feat, considering that the first time his body truly circulated magical energy was just a few hours ago after he received the enchanted gauntlets he was wearing from Mark.

Furthermore, the enchanted gauntlets were still unfinished, giving him minimal circulation of magical enhancement compared to the leaders of the Moon Chasers.

Yet, General Wijaya refused to lose consciousness out of sheer will and determination.

Unfortunately, there was no winning with just will and determination, especially against a Godly creature.

"Everyone..."

Limabela looked around her while barely struggling not to let herself fall by propping her hands to the ground while holding the pistols Mark gave her.

It was the same for Bajing, Ellie, and Nelia, who all held onto their magical weapons while struggling to prop themselves up. They all knew that the weapons were the only reason they could keep themselves from totally succumbing to the influence of the Night Goddess.

Nonetheless, it was all that the four friends could do. They were powerless in this crucial situation.

"Estia! Kela!"

Kana's worried voice echoed as she looked at her unconscious friends. The Priestess of the Sea struggled to maintain her protection around the unconscious survivors behind her.

When the Night Goddess transformed, all the dark tentacles surrounding them withdrew into her body. It made Kana want to check on her friends even if she had to abandon the barrier. But Kana saw Magwayen's stare, telling her not to put her guard down.

"Eldest Miss!"

Aephelia's worried voice entered the ears of those still conscious, making them turn in her direction.

It was when everyone realized that even the members of the Evernight were struggling, especially Iola, who still refused to let her barrier go down, even in this situation where she could barely stand.

The other members of Evernight were nearly in the same state as the leaders of the Moon Chasers. They could barely keep themselves from standing. And even if they kept stood still, that was all they could do.

Of course, it was still except for Aephelia and the golems. The four appeared to be unaffected, to everyone's surprise. While it would be easier to explain the circumstances of the golems, why was Aephelia unaffected? Was she also a golem of sorts?

However, only Magwayen understood why, as she stared at the oldest servant under Mark's command.

Aephelia's body was handcrafted by a God. As a body created by a God of Creation, it would not easily succumb to some minor God's influence.

"Sis!"

When everyone struggled to barely keep themselves from collapsing, Elise suddenly cried out.

BOOM!

Then, everyone saw Mei crashing in front of them.

"Ugh!"

Mei groaned as she felt the pain all over her body. The crash she just experienced was not a light one. There was a noticeable dent on the stomach part of her armor. Even the blade of her transformed sniper rifle had a chip on it.

"Are you okay?!"

Amihan, after she quickly made a wall of bladed wind, rushed to Mei's aid.

"I'm okay."

Mei replied a bit loudly to assure everyone. However, it was obvious that she was not.

Just like everyone present, Mei also began to struggle against the mere presence of the Night Goddess. It was why she failed to dodge and had to defend directly against one of the Night Goddess' attacks.

What kind of attack?

"Oh shi-..."

Kana's improper but childlike curse echoed. She was looking in front, straight at the Night Goddess.

Around the Night Goddess, there was nothing but darkness. And within that darkness, the space seemed to be warping.

WHOOOSH!

That warping space conjured a giant black tentacle-like mass, and it whipped sideward.

Amihan's wind wall got torn instantly.

BAM!

And the giant [Infected Turtle] they stood on shook and tilted by the impact.

The barely standing members of the group immediately fell to the ground as the mountain-like creature nearly crashed from the impact of the Night Goddess' attack.

And it was not over.

Several warping of space appeared around the Night Goddess, and countless tentacles of various sizes and lengths appeared from each warped instance.

Unlike the smaller tentacles from before, these large ones were not ethereal. These tentacles manifested entirely, turning into more of a physical than a spiritual or mental threat. But it did not mean that they were easily destructible. Same as how Amihan's wind wall got instantly broken, it would definitely need serious firepower to bring down even just one of these tentacles.

"M-Miss Aephelia! Can you make Mountain Back retreat?"

Kana stuttered as she asked Aephelia in panic.

However, everyone knew it was an unreasonable question. Even if Aephelia made the giant [Infected Turtle] move, there was no escaping that abomination of darkness in front of them.

"Tch!"

Mei clicked her tongue as she loaded two new crystals into her sniper rifle.

THOOOM!!!

And Mei fired it at once towards the Night Goddess.

Seeing the incoming beam of light, the giant tentacles moved to block its path. Despite their enormous sizes, they moved fast. They appeared in front of the beam before anyone noticed.

BOOOOM!

The beam of light tore through the tentacles in front of it. But it was clear that the damage lessened after every tentacle it destroyed. The beam nearly reached the Night Goddess. However, it vanished, using up all of its energy.

CRACK! TINK!

The crystals Mei used as ammunition cracked and crumbled. Yet, the waste of godly resources bore no significant damage to the Night Goddess. Worse, the destroyed tentacles began regenerating.

"YAH!!"

Amihan suddenly roared. Another tornado swirled in the sky, causing a giant vortex of clouds.

"Me too!"

Kana also joined. As if squeezing the stormy clouds in the sky, the torrents of raindrops gathered into one gigantic ball of water.

The two brave girls poured as much of their remaining magical energy reserves into this attack. But despite the disaster-class magic they were using, their sole purpose shined through.

They did not intend to destroy. What they wanted was to protect. To protect their loved ones from danger, they would do the best they could.

And as if answering their prayer, the two snapped into a stupor.

"This..."

Magwayen was surprised. It was a pleasant surprise. She then turned to Elise, whose eyes and body shined golden, being the catalyst for the two.

It seemed that Elise's ability to induce her emotions to others somehow reached a supposedly unreachable existence.

"The surge of the winds..."

"The torrents of the waters..."

"We call upon thee."

Amihan and Kana began chanting alternately with the third line spoken in unison.

The tornado and the ball of water in the sky began merging as everyone watched.

Sensing the large amount of magical energy being released by Amihan and Kana, the tentacles immediately moved, switching their target from Mei to the two.

Mei, despite struggling under the Night Goddess' pressure and the injuries he incurred, still jumped in front of Amihan to try and protect her. She took out two of the last four crystals Mark gave her and loaded both into her sniper rifle.

And facing the attacking tentacles, Mei fired.

THOOOM!!

The beam of light tore through the incoming tentacles in front of it and flew straight at the Night Goddess.

Of course, fearing the beam of light that she already experienced several times, the Night Goddess made several tentacles protect her. But unlike before, she only used enough tentacles to block Mei's attack. On the other hand, the large remaining number continued forward.

Mei managed to bid time for Amihan. However, Kana was now in danger.

Wanting to protect the other ally, Mei tried to load the last two crystals into the sniper rifle and take another shot.

However...

CRACK!

It was not the crystals. Mei's sniper rifle, the [AT-Ethereal Bloom], snapped and crumbled into pieces. After firing several shots that could kill a weakened Deity in succession, it finally reached its limit.

"Kana!"

The Bajing and the others exclaimed. The giant tentacles were now shooting towards Kana. With those tentacles that could tip over the giant [Infected Turtle], one hit would turn Kana into an indistinguishable meat paste.

But as the tentacles neared Kana and while she was unaware she was on the brink of death, a cry of courage roared.

"AS IF I WILL LET YOU!"

Spera fell in front of Kana through a portal that appeared overhead.

And then, Spera loudly clasped her hands in front of her chest and moved her arms as if pulling something open.

There, in front of each tentacle that was about to hit Kana, portals of various sizes opened. And without pause, the tentacles shot into the portals.

KRYAAAAAAAA!!!

Everyone winced as they heard the sudden cry of the Night Goddess. Only then did they all realize that the tentacles that entered the portals were not stabbing into the Night Goddess' body.

"Haa... Haa... Haa..." Spera panted. "Serves you right!"

There, Spera fell. Fulfilling the last thing she could do in this situation, she collapsed. Considering that they were inside the Night Goddess' domain which inhibits the use of her portals and being under the unrestrained pressure of a Godly being, Spera did awesomely. As she lost consciousness, her portals closed forcefully, tearing the tentacles apart.

And, despite Mei losing her weapon and Spera losing consciousness, they bid enough time.

"The Breath of Life..."

"The Water of Life..."

Amihan and Kana continued to chant alternatingly before chanting in unison.

The tornado and the water ball fused entirely, creating a vortex of destruction in the sky. Furthermore, it started creating sparks of electricity before the sparks grew larger and louder.

With the magic forming in the sky, the night sky cleared. All of the clouds were swallowed into the vortex, creating more substance and power as it became a violent storm on its own.

"And the World denies thy existence."

"A creature born from suffering. A monster bound to destroy. We pray for your demise."

"[Disaster Torrent]."

And...

Touchdown...

The storm vortex swallowed the Night Goddess. The winds swirled violently in the surroundings, and the air carried a slight discharge of electricity.

Without needing to be informed, Aephelia commanded Mountain Back to move. Staying in this place would make them all included in the casualties of such an attack.

THUD!

And from the attack, two more fell unconscious.

It was the two casters, fully drained of their magical energy.

KRAAAAAA!!!

The storm vortex continued amidst the cries of the Night Goddess.

As Mountain Back took distance from the storm vortex, everyone watched hopefully. As these people were influenced by Anime in various degrees, no one said anything considered a bad flag and just gathered the unconscious in one place.

But then, Magwayen frowned and faced Aephelia.

"Make it move faster. Take the opportunity to escape."

Aephelia nodded without question. There was no need to ask why. It seemed even that disaster-like attack was not enough to end this fight.

KRYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!

A far louder cry then shook the world.

Dark tentacles shot out of the storm vortex. And then, the vortex was torn apart in a massive burst of wind and water. The shockwave was felt for kilometers. If not for Iola's barrier, the shockwave alone might have killed many people around them.

The most important thing. The Night Goddess was still alive.

Nonetheless, it seemed that the attack bore a significant effect.

The dark tentacles still emerged from the warped space around the Night Goddess. However, the Night Goddess was no longer covered in pitch-black darkness, exposing its true visage for everyone to see under the moonlight in the night sky.

"Urp."

Everyone felt their stomachs churn. It was because the Night Goddess' current body was the amalgamation of all life and existences sacrificed to create her.

The appearance aside, there was a huge problem. They now ran out of anything to fight against the Night Goddess.

"Wow... You all did well against that..."

A familiar voice echoed.

"Sorry if we are late."

"Mind if we take it from here?"

Two more familiar voices followed.

And in the middle of the darkness of the night, moonlight descended.