Mutagen

Day 154 - 9:50 PM - Mountain Area, Municipality of Badian, Province of Cebu

With the miraculous reunion of the mother and child at the center, the whole place was enveloped in silence.

Of course, the cause for the silence was not only because of Edzel's reaction. The exact reason was what Celine said just now.

Celine mentioned those words as she stared at Edzel, with the fact that everyone here knew that the person they were going to rescue was Pefile's wife.

There was nobody else that Pefile's group brought back from the tribe aside from Celine.

"M-Mother? No, this is impossible!" Edzel yelled out loud, with his voice shaking in disbelief. "Mother died when I was a child! Who are you?!"

Far from a dramatic, sweet reunion, what filled Edzel was denial.

Edzel's mother died when he was little. Since then, he was living alone, scraping with what he had left. It was the kindness of Pearl's parents that helped him live at that time.

It was because his mother suddenly died and left him alone with bare anyone to rely on.

And now, someone who looked like his mother appeared, even uttering nonsense about him being the same as his father.

As if Edzel had met this father of his even once.

No. Considering the current circumstances, Celine was saying that Pefile was his father.

Father? This guy that he barely even knew?

Edzel could not believe this nonsense.

Those words of denial turned the atmosphere sour. Without a doubt, Celine was happy to see the child she was separated from for a long time. Nonetheless, it was undeniable that those circumstances led to a child living his life without relying on anyone he could call a parent.

"Edzel. Listen."

Pefile spoke, trying to calm his son.

"Listen to what?" Edzel yelled. "What is this? A prank you all prepared for me? If it is, it's not funny!"

At this time, everyone could tell that Edzel was agitated to the point that he would not listen to reason.

Mark stared at Edzel and could not help but nod.

Ever since Mark met this boy, he was pretty much independent. Although everyone around him knew that he was an orphan, not a single time he mentioned that he was longing for them.

The life of an orphan was never easy.

However, while an abandoned child could blame their parents for their hardships, Edzel could not. The only parent he knew, Celine, died. There was no way he would blame a dead person as death was not something one could avoid.

Edzel could only blame himself and wallow in self-pity for his ill fate.

And yet, his supposedly dead mother suddenly appeared before his eyes.

It was too sudden for him to accept immediately. He could not help but feel angry.

"Edzel..."

Celine sobbed.

She had no idea what to do. Celine's experience as a parent was too short. Not to mention that she did not even see her child grow up. Although she was happy to see him, it was not wrong to say that Edzel was also a stranger to her at this point.

Seeing his mother's crying face and hearing her sobs, Edzel's flaring anger was doused. Even if she was not his mother, seeing her crying was not something Edzel would be able to stand seeing.

"TSK!"

Edzel clicked his tongue. And then...

"EDZEL!"

Pefile could not help but shout as everyone saw Edzel dash away from them.

"Edzel!"

Pearl also called out before chasing after him.

It was not only Pearl. Pefile also wanted to give chase. However, he was carrying Celine in his arms. He could not run like this.

"Don't bother chasing. You'll only make things worse."

That was when Mark decided to intervene.

"Are you telling me to just let them go? We are still in a dangerous place."

Pefile turned to Mark and asked.

But before replying, Ignis already shot off by Mark's command to protect the two.

"Happy now?" Mark asked. "Although we don't have much, we can give him a bit of time to breath. I didn't expect this either, but he took quite a shock. I guess. Seeing that his mother is still alive and learning that he actually had a father turned his world upside down. I don't need to explain that, right? After all, you had been watching him in the shadows all this time."

At Mark's words, Pefile could only look down in guilt.

It was true that he never left Edzel's side ever since Celine was taken away. However, he never showed himself to his son either until now. The very first encounter between the two was when Pefile told Edzel about Pearl's karma. It had not been long since that happened.

Nonetheless, it was something that could not be blamed at Pefile entirely.

Both Pefile and Celine decided to let Edzel live the life of a human until he reached adulthood. As a Tamawo, it was not appropriate for Pefile to appear in human society and affect Edzel's life as a human.

If the apocalypse did not happen, up until now, Pefile and Edzel might not have met face-to-face even once.

"Haahh..."

Pefile could not help but sigh. Mark was right. It would not do good if it was him who chased after Edzel.

"Still..." Mark said as he turned his head towards the direction Edzel ran to. "That boy still had to learn things. It might be confusing for him but running away in this kind of situation is just plain stupid. As if the enemy out there was not enough of a problem already."

"Don't call my son stupid!"

Of course, a retort came. There was no need to say who that came from.

"You don't have to retort me like that, Madam Kidnapped by her husband's brother." Mark shrugged at Celine that was glaring at him. "If you don't agree with me, look at that first."

Mark then pointed in the direction of the sea.

Being prompted, Pefile and the other three that returned with him looked at what Mark was pointing at.

Seeing that gigantic crocodile by the shore, there was no need to ask how dangerous the situation was.

"Damn... So that is the reason why Trua refused to fly all the way here!"

Berrak exclaimed.

Their group arrived on foot. It was something that Mark wanted to ask about. Hearing Berrak, however, answered the question in his mind.

Actually, it was not only Trua. Even Chaflar was in a bad state and was actually hiding behind the mountain.

As Celine gazed at that creature by the shore, she also came to understand what danger Mark was talking about. Just seeing the creature made her weaker than she was already. It was as if there was some kind of force directly shaking her soul.

It was the same for Geronimo and Padua. As humans, gazing at that godly being brought forth negative effects on them.

This was the very same effect that Officer Emilio experienced when he saw the giant crocodile before their settlement fell.

Suddenly, a veil of Miasma blocked the front.

"Don't look too much," Mark spoke. "Prolonged exposure to that will be bad for regular humans."

With their eyes away from the giant crocodile, they finally managed to breathe. Nonetheless, both Geronimo and Padua fell to their knees. Celine would be in the same state if Pefile was not carrying her.

"Just what in the world is happening there?" Pefile turned to Mark and asked. "In your plans, it should only be a diversion. Why is something like that present?"

"Well..." Mark shrugged his left shoulder. "A slightly expected uninvited guest?"

"What the hell are you saying?"

Pefile grumbled.

"I mean, it's not really planned. But it's among my expectations that that creature might appear. It could have been better if it did not, though. Look at what I ended up with when I tried to approach it."

Mark replied, pointing at the scorched parts of his skin that Mei was carefully scraping away.

"Then shouldn't we leave already?" Berrak interjected. "We already finished what we came here for. That creature is way outside our capabilities."

"I know that we have no chance of winning against it. But we're not really in an extremely urgent situation."

Mark said, making everyone pay attention to him.

"Please explain."

Pefile spoke.

"That thing is a [King Type] infected. One of the two known subtypes of [Monarch Types] alongside [Queen Types]. So far from my experience, [King Types] are extremely territorial. They won't go out of their territory unless there's a special circumstance. That guy's territory is likely the entirety of the strait. Look at how it was hunting food using the water instead of going inland."

"So, as long as we don't provoke it, we should be fine here."

Mark added.

Hearing Mark's words gave everyone a feeling of relief.

"You're sure about that, Boss?"

Padua asked to confirm. After all, even them, who were soldiers, were not aware of this.

"I'm pretty sure." Mark nodded. "Besides, once the people we are waiting for appear, we might even stand a chance against that."

"Which people?"

Geronimo asked in confusion.

"Hmmm?" Mark suddenly raised his head to the sky. "Those people."

***

"Edzel! Wait!"

Pearl called out to Edzel, who was running away. However, their physiques were far different from each other. Even if Pearl tried her best, she could not catch up at all.

Still, Pearl did not give up. As long as she could see Edzel's back, she continued to chase.

However...

"AH!"

BAM!

Pearl fell. Her foot got stuck at a protruding root of a nearby tree and lost balance. It was not a surprising event considering they were running inside the woods in the middle of the night.

Fortunately, her painful cry was more than enough to stop Edzel from running. He could not help but rush to her to help.

"Are you alright?"

Edzel worriedly helped Pearl stand. Although his emotions were still stirred from the previous events, Pearl's well-being still topped all of it.

"Got you."

However, that was Pearl's reply as she grabbed Edzel's wrists. Now, he could not run away.

Edzel could only sigh as his expression became filled with confusion and anger once more.

"Why are you even chasing after me?"

Edzel asked.

"I should be the one asking questions here," Pearl said. "Why are you running? You never give up and chased after me even after I did you wrong. Why are you the one running now?"

At Pearl's questions, Edzel had no answer.

And there, Pearl looked down.

"Remember when I left you?"

Pearl asked, making Edzel surprised at the sudden shift in topic. Furthermore, it was a painful memory for Edzel.

And there, Pearl continued.

"I have no reason to explain aside from me being blinded and stupid. I brought bad karma for myself because of that. And that's not a proper explanation at all. It further bolstered how stupid I am."

Edzel tried to speak, but Pearl blocked his mouth.

"You don't have to say anything to defend me. I already realized my faults. That is why I hesitated if I really deserve to return to your side. Yet, you allowed that, and here I am."

"So why not do the same to your parents?" Pearl continued. "Everyone could tell that it's not some prank. You too, right? You just don't want to accept. I know why since you had been living alone by yourself since we were little. Your hardships, you don't want to blame anyone for them. If you suddenly have parents, then there were the ones to blame. It is something you don't want to happen."

To those words, Edzel remained silent. He could not refute what she was saying at all.

"I'm not saying that you should accept it blindly." Pearl closed her eyes. "Just listen to their explanations first. Maybe they have better reasons than me just being stupid."

"Why are you calling yourself stupid over and over..."

Edzel could not help but voice out.

"Because I am!" Pearl argued. "You are listening to me, a stupid girl. Why not listen to your parents? They looked like they are willing to explain. But you ran away. I'm not saying this for me, but for yourself. Please, listen to them first. At least, you still have your parents. Your family. As for me..."

'I don't have them anymore.'

Pearl continued her words in her mind.