Mutagen

Day 365 - 1:10 - Mount Muria, Central Java, Indonesia

Dark clouds of volcanic ash blanketed the sky as the falling ash fogged all senses of sight.

Lava continued to spew out of Mount Muria's mouth. Its melting hot glow could be seen through the ash for miles away.

Mount Muria's forests were lit ablaze. The entire mountain was covered in raging flames.

As the eruption continued, massive rocks rained from the sky. No one could fathom how many lives these rocks had already taken.

The people of the fortress frantically evacuated. With heads grayed with ash, they all tried their best to survive. Many followed the military's instructions, departing through Kudus Outpost and following the cleared railway south.

Unfortunately, not all reached the evacuation in time. All these poor people could do was run in any direction away from the rampage of the erupting Mount Muria.

The most unfortunate were the northern side. Trapped by the ocean and the mountain's flowing lava, all these people could do was wait for death.

As for the greedy residents of Northside Peak, along with the greedy government officials who tightly hung onto their positions even after the apocalypse, there was no need to mention them. With the exception of anyone affiliated with Astira Enterprises, everyone had already perished as they tried to evacuate through the only road heading north.

There were still a few groups trying to survive despite the dire situations they were in. These were mostly the groups whose settlements were located in the northeast and northwest. The luckiest now would be the residents of the 94th Satellite Settlement, as an unexpected rescue had come for them at the time of their need.

And while all of these happened around the mountain, an unexpected event was happening at the center of it all.

***

"HOW IS THIS HAPPENING?! WHY IS THIS HAPPENING?! IMPOSSIBLE!!! IMPOSSIBLE!!!

GRYAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!

"STOP RESISTING! STOP RESISTING! LISTEN TO ME! I AM YOUR CREATOR!"

GRYAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!

Amidst the spewing lava and raining volcanic ash, two glowing spheres flew around the raging volcano.

It was the Deity of Soul Sacrifice and his creation, the Night Goddess.

However, what was happening was not what the Deity had ever expected.

"WHAT HAPPENED?!! WHAT WENT WRONG?!! WHY DID IT GO WRONG?!!! IMPOSSIBLE!!! IMPOSSIBLE!!! IT IS IMPOSSIBLE FOR ME TO MAKE A MISTAKE!!!"

The Deity rambled in utter delirium as he used [Telekinesis] at his own creation to restrain her.

However, since the Deity of Soul Sacrifice created a being far stronger than his own, stopping her was nearly impossible.

And just like the Deity's question, what was happening?

The Deity remembered things went as planned after the arrival of the honored guests at the ritual. Having witnesses to the birth of his creation was a must. The more important the guests were, the better.

It would have been a dangerous thing to do. However, the Deity of Soul Sacrifice was never afraid. Inside his territory, he was invincible. In the first place, the guests were no stupid people. Fighting inside the volcano would put them all in danger.

And the Deity was right.

The honored guests left before the ritual ended, noticing the dangers of staying put and starting a stupid fight.

But it did not matter. It was a pity that the guests left, but the declaration had already been made.

All that was left was to continue the ritual. There were still a few thousand souls to sacrifice to awaken his most powerful creation.

The remaining part of the ritual proceeded smoothly. Or it should have been.

At the moment the Night Goddess' consciousness formed, she woke up.

It was not supposed to happen until all souls were sacrificed. Yet, the Night Goddess woke up with a few thousand more souls left to sacrifice.

And the first thing the Night Goddess did was to break free from her chamber.

Seeing that something went wrong, the Deity of Soul Sacrifice tried to contain his creation. However, his power was not enough. The confining force created by his [Telekinesis] was broken instantly.

After breaking free, the Night Goddes began her uncontrollable rampage.

From the face of the newly awakened Goddess, fear and anger could be seen. She saw everything around her as enemies. With a wave of her hand, the darkness consumed all the remaining sacrifices, with their souls all extinguished to oblivion, unable to be sacrificed.

As the Night Goddess destroyed everything, she also attacked her creator without mercy.

The Night Goddess' rampage destroyed the entire underground cathedral and the mountain's seal, accelerating the time of its eruption.

The magma sealed under the mountain to punish the imprisoned sinners rose up and swallowed the underground facilities, the Deity of Soul Sacrifice, and the Night Goddess.

However, that measly molten rock would not be able to kill a Deity and a Goddess just like that. The two reappeared at the newly opened crater of the volcano, protected by films of energy around their bodies.

And although both of them were already out, the situation remained the same.

The Night Goddess continued her uncontrollable rampage. All of her attacks concentrated on her creator, who tried his best to subdue her.

Rays of black energy shot toward the Deity of Soul Sacrifice. However, the attacks could not hit the target protected by a nearly invincible wall of energy.

The attacks of the Night Goddess had no effect on her creator. It just fanned the flames of her rage, pushing her deeper into her berserk state.

On the other hand, the Deity of Soul Sacrifice used his all to capture his creation to no avail. Unfortunately, just like how her attacks had no effect on him, his [Telekinesis] barely showed any effect on her.

"IMPOSSIBLE!!! IMPOSSIBLE!!!"

And the agitated state the Deity of Soul Sacrifice had did not help in the slightest.

The Deity of Soul Sacrifice had studied Gods and magical beings since immemorial. There were barely any magical creatures left in mainland Indonesia because he captured and experimented on them all.

And the reason the Deity of Soul Sacrifice was the sole member of the Indonesia branch of Auraboros was the same.

The Deity of Soul Sacrifice was an individual drunk with his ambition to create his own Godly being.

And just when he was about to succeed, something happened. There was no way the Deity of Soul Sacrifice would be calm in this situation. His thousands of years of research were wasted, and his creation became more or less an uncontrollable beast.

It was frustrating. It was enraging.

There was no way the Deity of Soul Sacrifice would accept a failure that was never supposed to happen.

"THOSE IMPERTINENT BASTARDS!!!" The Deity was led to a single conclusion. "I DO NOT KNOW WHAT!!! I DO NOT KNOW HOW!!! BUT THOSE BASTARDS DID SOMETHING! I KNOW! I KNOW!"

Then, as he blocked another volley of attack from his creation, the Deity of Soul Sacrifice looked above. Looked at YOU.

"WATCHERS!!! TELL ME!!! DID THEY DO SOMETHING! HAHAHAHA!!! WHAT AM I THINKING?"

The Deity knew he would not receive any reply.

"THEY WILL PAY!!! THEY WILL PAY!!!"

The Deity of Soul Sacrifice roared. The souls of all living beings within several kilometers away felt their souls tremble.

Sensing the power of the being before her increasing, the Night Goddess released her beastly cry.

CRYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!

Then, the day turned to night. Everything went darker than just the volcanic clouds blocking the sky.

The sudden darkness emphasized the flowing lava and burning forests around Mount Muria. In this darkness, the disaster shined brighter.

CRYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!

The Night Goddess cried. The darkness trembled.

From all directions, tentacle-like energy forms emerged from the darkness, attacking the Deity of Soul Sacrifice.

But the enraged Deity was already done holding back.

The only reason the Deity used nothing but [Telekinesis] was in order not to damage his creation.

Unfortunately, the Deity did not care anymore.

"You're nothing but my creation. If you are disobedient, I have no use for you."

The Deity's bloodshot eyes made the Night Goddess tremble in fear.

In terms of power, the Night Goddess was far more powerful than her creator. However, as the ritual never finished, she was a mere incomplete being. Her mind was limited to a beastly level. She had no capability to use her full potential.

On the other hand, the Deity of Soul Sacrifice was someone who lived for thousands of years. He had full control of his abilities and [Authority]. If he were to unleash his all, the current Night Goddess could be subdued at the expense of damaging his creation.

The Night Goddess looked at her creator. The fear she was born with intensified as her existence faced peril.

CRYYYYAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!

And the scared Goddess had only one thing screaming through her beastly instinct.

"STOP!"

The Deity of Soul Sacrifice shouted, but he was too late. He never expected this to happen, too.

Unfortunately, the Night Goddess fled through the darkness she created. In a single blink of an eye, she was gone from everyone's senses.

"NO!!!"

The Deity roared. He could not let his creation, the accumulation of thousands of years of knowledge and effort, escape. However, no matter how loud he shouted, the Night Goddess was already gone.

"It seemed like you are having quite a predicament."

Out of nowhere, a voice entered the Deity of Soul Sacrifice's ears.

Although still enraged, the Deity turned around, recognizing who the owner of the voice was.

"Are you here to mock me, you narcissist?"

The Deity of Soul Sacrifice turned and looked at the newcomer.

There, a beautiful man with blond hair floated. His hand was still extended through a hole in space.

"What a horrid place. It isn't good for my skin and hair."

The blond man complained as he covered his body with a film of energy, blocking the volcanic ash from falling onto his body.

Turning back to the Deity of Soul Sacrifice, the blond man smiled with charisma.

"I am looking for something and finally found it," The blond man explained. "It just happened that you are in the same place."

"Still, although we are from different branches, we are from the same organization. It is not bad to say hello, even if the other side is not up to it."

"It seemed like you nearly succeded in creating a God. The ripples of magical energy can be felt even on the other side of the world. But you seemed to have lost control of it. It escaped, right?"

"Since we are from the same organization, we can offer help. It would be a waste if your new creation was to be lost just like that. But, of course, we also had a favor to ask."

"What do you say?"

The Deity of Soul Sacrifice looked at the blond man, who kept yapping without letting the other party talk until he was done. The Deity could not help but frown, but the offer was not that bad.

"What favor?"

The Deity of Soul Sacrifice asked.

"You see," The blond man shrugged his shoulder. "Ol' Greaty seemed to have interest in someone. We wanted Ol' Greaty's new toy and that "someone" to fight without intervention. So, we would need you and your creations to obstruct others from interfering. In exchange, we will help you with your problem with your new creation and other things. Call?"

The Deity of Soul Sacrifice looked at the blond man with a strange expression. This guy was using a lot of words he learned from the modern era. On the other hand, the Deity was contemplating. However, he arrived at an annoying answer.

There was no other choice. The most efficient way to deal with the problem was to work with the narcissist and the arrogant.

"It seemed that I had no choice but to accept," The Deity of Soul Sacrifice shook his head in dismay. "But the cooperation is limited to the things you mentioned. Any sudden demands, and you will be the next subject of my experimentations."

"Wow, scary~" The blond man faked a scared expression. "But I guess there is no way to resist experimenting on my beauty."

Those words caused the Deity of Soul Sacrifice to frown.

"Your words are disgusting, Deity of Warped Beauty."

"My words might be, but you can't deny my beauty."

The narcissist made the Deity of Soul Sacrifice question his choices.

And there, the two vanished from the place, formulating their next plans somewhere else.