Mutagen

Day 129 - 4:15 PM - Newton Lake, Veteran's Memorial Park, Oaklyn, New Jersey, United States of America

The boy watched everything unfold before him. Although he was excited, he now had a bitter expression on his face.

"I provoked a monster, didn't I?"

He murmured.

[Heavenly Lightning], [Judgement], [Lightning Tribulation], there were a lot of names that this phenomenon was labeled with.

It was the event where a living thing surpassed a threshold of a rule causing the heavens to pour lightning on them and measure their existence. Those that perished under this lightning would be deemed unworthy, and of course, die. On the other hand, those that lived through this deadly event would continue to live on.

This kind of event was more common among Chinese Cultivators. It was because the goal of Cultivation was to surpass the limits of their species in the first place.

As for the event that unfolded this moment in front of the boy, it was unprecedented. Reaching this level of an Empath was deemed impossible in the past.

In fact, among all kinds of Psychic Abilities, Empaths were the most common. It did not have too many requirements to be one aside from having more sensitivity towards the emotions of other people.

However, because being able to understand emotions was a skill that could be learned through various methods, it was not given too much attention, unlike other flashy psychic abilities.

Furthermore, there were no known methods for developing this ability further. If a person became an Empath, only fate and luck could make them stronger.

Unfortunately, that came with severe consequences. After the [Realm of Understanding], the [Realm of Absorbing] followed.

It was when the Empath started to absorb the negative energy from the emotions of the people around them. This was where the ill effects of being an Empath starts. It would become worse over time as there was no way for the Empath to control it.

Absorbing these negative energies could render the Empath's emotional tendencies chaotic. They began to hate crowds of people and become moody most often.

Next was [Realm of Release].

The energy accumulated by the Empath started to leak from their bodies. It made people stay away from the Empath as if they contained contagious diseases. People would also have the tendency to feel threatened for being around Empaths in this realm, and those Empaths were most often mistaken for criminals.

It was also the last realm known for Empaths to reach.

Why? It was because none of them were able to surpass it. There was no known training to be able to restrict the absorption of energy, or in the least, forcefully release the negative energy they absorbed.

With the negative emotional energies piling up in their heads, most of them would suffer severe depression. It would not be long until they either commit suicide or break into insanity. That was where the lives of Empaths end up.

That was the supposed fate of Empaths.

Now, however, the Enigma called Mark existed. He surpassed the limits of Empaths and embarked on a new field of existence. And as such, the world tested him.

"Damn, he was even able to break off my control on these idiots."

The boy murmured.

***

Mark glared at the enemies. He did not care if there was an Eye watching at this moment. The only thing he wanted to do right now was to kill.

His killing intent intensified. The veins in his whole body glowed red.

There, one of the crystals shined brightly as Mark's visage blurred. Then, he vanished.

When Mark vanished, all the enemies were alarmed. That was when they finally noticed.

"We can move!" One of the Lesser Demons shouted. "RUN!"

Sure enough, that was the first thing that came into their minds when they regained the ability to move their bodies.

Unexpectedly, there were three that did things differently.

"Feng Zhiruo! Bring them here!"

The elder shouted to the female disciple that guarded her unconscious teammates.

"Y-yes!"

The girl called Feng Zhiruo was flustered. Nevertheless, she managed to control several flying swords to transport her teammates towards the elder.

As the girl landed...

"Hundred Swords Array!"

The elder shouted.

Around their group, one-hundred swords made of blue light appeared, circling to defend them.

On the other side, the white-haired man and red-haired witch also gathered what remained of their group and watched each other's backs.

When the members of their group gathered together, the red-haired witch waved her hand, making a long wooden staff to appear. She then tapped the end of her weapon on the ground, causing a large magic circle to appear that became the base of a thick magical barrier.

Without a doubt, their movements were the smartest at this moment.

As for the others, they tried to escape as fast as they could. Even those within groups decided to go in different directions. They were hoping that the others would get targeted instead, allowing them to escape.

But then, they noticed.

A tall wall of Miasma appeared around the area surrounding them.

At the sky, lightning continued to strike anyone that tried to fly.

They thought that once they were allowed to move, they would be able to leave. But no.

They were only given...

A "False Hope."

Giving them a little bit of hope for survival when there was no chance for any of these hopefuls to live.

"AHH!"

A scream was heard, making everyone look at a Demon.

The Demon was in an awkward position as his body was leaned forward like he was running away. However, he was frozen in place, and his right shoulder and arm were stretched out backward.

In a blink of an eye, Mark's visage faded in on the back of the Demon. He was holding onto the Demon's shoulder and arm with his glowing red hands.

Then...

RIP!

"AAAAAAHHHHHH!!!"

The Demon's wails intensified. His black blood splattered as his left arm was mercilessly ripped off his shoulder.

Mark then gave a ruthless kick on the Demon's leg.

Despite the Demon's wails, everyone heard his bones crack as he fell to the ground.

When the Demon fell, it felt something stepping on his head. It tried to look above, and it fell unto despair. It saw Mark smiling despite the stains of blood dripping from his face.

And there, the Demon heard Mark speak.

"You're the luckiest one." Mark's sinister voice echoed as he pulled the Demon up using its left horn. "Look at them."

Mark made the Demon see the others that had no way of escaping.

For some reason, they were all pale, shivering, and terrified.

"You know why you are lucky?"

Mark continued. Of course, the Demon could not even give a proper response.

"You know why all of them look like that?"

"You're pain, fear, horror, agony... Everything you are feeling right now... It is being transmitted to everyone."

"You are lucky since you only get to feel your own pain."

"Shouldn't you be grateful that you are chosen?"

"Hehe."

Those sentences were the last things the Demon heard before its neck was torn off from its body.

That Demon was lucky, without a doubt.

Mark held the Demon's head for a few seconds before throwing it away. That was when he looked at the others to look for the next one.

Sure enough, everyone was looking at Mark in horror. It was true. Everything that the Demon that had just died was experienced by them. Although their bodies were not in actual pain, the pain transmitted in their minds made them felt as if it was their arms and necks that were being torn off.

Seeing those expressions, Mark turned to the elder.

The elder seemed to have more tenacity than the others. Unfortunately, it seemed that Mark had a very ruthless plan for the old man.

"Don't worry." Mark smiled. "You will be the last one. Let's see how long it will take before deciding to take your life instead. Hahaha!"

The elder looked at Mark wide-eyed.

With this kind of punishment, even his defensive treasures and techniques were rendered useless.

"Everyone! Let's team up and kill him! Or else, all of us will suffer before we die!"

The elder shouted, asking for the cooperation of the others.

It did not matter whether they came from different groups.

It did not matter if they were demons, monsters, or humans.

What mattered was that they were all going to die if none of them made a move.

"SWORD!"

The elder shouted with his index and middle fingers, pointed at Mark.

A beam of golden light in the shape of a sword shot towards Mark.

The golden sword flew towards Mark at the speed of a bullet.

With a very slight movement, Mark evaded the sword. Unexpectedly, after it passed from his side, it turned around to chase.

"A homing one?"

Mark smiled sinisterly.

He disappeared without a trace. However, the sword continued to fly in a direction.

The golden sword flew towards another Demon.

That Demon was surprised and tried to dodge, just to find out that its body was locked in place.

"H-hey! STOP!" The Demon wailed.

Then, it felt a heavy mass on its head, forcing it to lean forwards.

SHIIIRK!

Right at the dead center of its forehead, the golden sword burrowed itself before disappearing.

Mark appeared, holding that dead Demon's head. He then turned to see the others. Some of them were kneeling while others were on deep shock while they suppressed the pain on their foreheads.

"Hehehe."

Mark let out a stifled laugh.

That golden sword was made out of energy the elder had. Being hit by it would not only make one feel pain but would feel the invasion of the man's Qi unto the wound.

And all these enemies, including the elder himself, felt that excruciating pain on their heads despite being illusory.

"What are you all waiting for!"

The elder shouted once more.

Finally, the others reacted.

"ATTACK!"

"GO!"

Yells of retaliation echoed from the remaining enemies as they let out different attacks towards Mark.

Some of the demons shot out fireballs from their mouths.

Some of them shot projectiles from their bodies.

The others charged towards Mark with their weapons and claws.

"Futile."

Mark let out one word as his body vanished once more.

All the attacks never hit their target.

Mark then appeared behind a female Demon that did not attack. Since this Demon had already resigned to its fate, Mark did not mind killing her first.

Feeling the palm planted on her back, the female Demon closed her eyes. Only to open it abruptly.

"GAHAH!"

The female Demon felt something invading her body, transforming her blood to metal. It was a slow and painful death.

Unexpectedly, the female Demon could let out a smile as she died. It was because she saw how the others squirmed like worms as they all shared her pain.

Mark then held the female Demon's head for a few seconds before letting it go. As he went for the next target, the corpse of the female Demon was left behind, kneeling like a statue.

One by one, Mark killed these foolish enemies in different ways.

Their limbs being decapitated, their heads being smashed open, bones being crumbled to pieces, rotting their eyes with Miasma, burning them with lightning starting with their stomach, Mark did not hold back with the torture.

For every kill that Mark made, the remaining ones started to lose the will to live.

It did not take long, and some started to fall into insanity. Mark had fun looking at their slumped bodies on the ground. Their eyes lost their life. Their saliva leaked out of their mouths as they became numb to even close it.

Some brandished their claws, tearing their own heads apart.

Some fell unconcious, only to wake up because of more pain inflicted on their minds.

Unexpectedly, the elder was still holding on. Of the disciples, however, only the girl was left. As for the others, they woke up and suffered until they brandished their swords to slit their own necks.

The elder watched all those happen, unable to do anything.

"Damn it... It's all your fault..."

The elder heard a struggling voice not far from him. There, the white-haired man and the red-haired witch were present, barely able to stand. As for the ones with them, they were all unconcious.

The man and the witch used some method to block off Mark's mental torture. However, it seemed that they expended all their energy and could not use that technique to themselves.

It did not take long.

While not everyone was dead, only the elder, the white-haired man, and the red-haired witch were left conscious.

And now, they were being stared at by Mark's piercing glare.