Mutagen

Day 365 - 1:02 PM - Muria Sacred Fortress, Mount Muria, Central Java, Indonesia

For the people of Muria Sacred Fortress, it was supposed to be just another day of the apocalypse. There was still the unrest from the fear of the [Face Wearers] and the mysterious gunshots heard at the southeast of the mountain the previous night.

However, there was a looming uneasiness over the people of the fortress. Most did not feel it, but some felt restless for no apparent reason.

Now, the restlessness they had turned out to be no mere illusion.

The entire mountain was shaking.

While the first tremors were only felt by sensitive mutants, it did not take long for the repeated tremors to become strong enough for everyone to notice.

And the moment the shaking of the ground was felt by everyone, panic ensued.

It was not wrong to say that many people received trauma when Earth went through its transition to its current state. At that time, strong earthquakes caused injuries if they did not straight-up kill people.

The people feared that Earth would go through another transition.

But then, the emergency alarms the military scattered around the mountain began blaring their ear-piercing tones. Accompanying the alarm was a voice informing everyone of the current situation.

Everyone fell into a stupor as they heard the worst possible scenario they could hear.

Mount Muria was on the verge of erupting.

Most people who heard the emergency message were confused. For some, it was because they had no idea that Mount Muria was a volcano. As for those who were aware, it was they were also shocked as Mount Muria had been dormant for over two thousand years.

And even if Mount Muria were to erupt, it should take some time, with volcanic activity signs intensifying over the span of days, weeks, or even months.

But the current situation was too sudden. The signs of volcanic activity rose in a span of several minutes.

RUMBLE!

The people's stupor snapped away as another earthquake occurred, much stronger than the previous one. Some people lost balance as they fell to the ground, while some took cover from falling things around them.

This time, people could now sense the increasing amount of sulphuric gasses in the air.

There was no doubt anymore that Mount Muria was going to erupt.

The people's panic intensified as they questioned the people in charge of their dwellings. Although the military had already issued evacuation, the ones in charge of the actions of the residents of the Satellite Settlements would be their respective survivor groups.

Fortunately, while they had varying opinions about the situation, the survivor groups who led their settlements decided not to take the gamble of staying and not following the military's instructions.

Mass evacuation around Mount Muria happened as soon as they could.

Many people followed the standard procedure for emergency evacuations. Packing up minimal items, only bringing necessities like food and water, and of course, weapons, since they were now living in the apocalypse. They were sad to leave the already few things they gained after losing almost everything to the apocalypse. However, their lives were far more important than these items.

Nonetheless, not everyone had the same principle. Many people packed more than necessary. If they could, they would even bring their entire homes with them. But these stupid people did not even make it to the start of the evacuation and had to leave their things. They totally forgot that there was a very limited number of still functioning vehicles.

If they wanted to bring unnecessary items, they had to carry those items on foot. While these stupid people realized things and complied soon after, they still caused massive delays in the evacuation process.

The delays were particularly bad for the Satellite Settlements on the northern half of the fortress. If Mount Muria were to suddenly erupt in the middle of the evacuation and everyone had to abandon the instructions the military gave, the survivors in the southern areas could scatter away from the eruption. The survivors in the northern areas could not do the same.

There was no place they could run towards aside from the Java Sea.

It was the worst for the Northside Peak. The only road they had going down the mountain was towards the north. They could use the road connecting the Northside Peak and the Southside Peak to go south, but it also meant rushing through the possible center of the eruption of Mount Muria.

The safest places of the Muria Sacred Fortress against the apocalypse turned out to be the most dangerous places to live in case Mount Muria erupted.

Unfortunately, everyone's fears happened.

Amidst the evacuation fortress, the strongest earthquake of the day occurred, lasting several minutes. The rumbling was followed by the observable bloating of the ground around the mountain, concentrated near the peak. Everyone could even hear the audible hissing sound coming from the mountain.

Panic ensured. The Survivors from the northern areas rushed south as fast as they could. At the same time, most residents of the Northside Peak were still barely halfway down the mountain.

As the ground around the mountain showed signs of the eruption, landslides began occurring around Mount Muria. And to the dismay of some, the landslides blocked their initial evacuation route, causing them to find detours and halting the progress of their evacuation.

The delays caused them the worst situation.

RUMBLE!

Another earthquake happened at the same intensity as the previous one. But the difference this time was the hissing sound from before disappeared, replaced by a thunderous rumble echoing throughout the sky.

Everyone feared the worst as they gazed up Mount Muria.

Thick dark clouds rose up from the peak of the mountain as the glowing reddish-orange lava spewed out of Mount Muria like a fountain.

A visible shockwave spread out, felling trees, even the people evacuating.

Large rocks were lifted to the sky, raining around the mountain.

Panic spread out further to the populace as they left formation, running as fast as they could from the wave of Mount Muria's eruption.

BOOM!

Another loud explosion occurred, another shockwave happened, and more rocks rained from the sky.

People unable to evade the falling rocks were either injured or ended up dead on the spot.

Lava began creating rivers as it flowed down Mount Muria. The trees within the fortress began catching fire. Soon, smoke and flames covered a large area of the mountain as the lava flowed further and further down Mount Muria.

The survivors from the northern side of the fortress tried their best to evacuate. But to their dismay, the trail of lava already blocked the road they were passing through.

One of the several groups facing the dilemma was the residents of the 94th Satellite Settlement, led by the survivor group called the Bladeshifters.

***

"What are we going to do?"

That question was what everyone in the area had.

A river of lava already blocked the way. There was no way for the residents of the 94th Satellite Settlement to continue forward.

There was not only the residents of the 94th Satellite Settlement were present in the area. Soon, the residents of the 95th and the 96th Settlements caught up, with no resident of the 97th Satellite Settlement and above in sight.

"F*CK!"

The loud curse was heard from everyone. It was someone from the 96th Satellite Settlement, which was led by an unruly group of cretins who call themselves The Reapers.

Ignoring the noisy cretins from the 96th, the members of the 94th tried to think of a way.

"Can we chase the front of this lava flow? Maybe we can pass there?"

A member suggested.

However, one guy just pointed in the northwest direction, showing them white smoke rising up into the air from far away.

The lava had already reached the coast. We're trapped here.

COUGH! COUGH!

Someone had had a coughing fit while they discussed.

"Sorry."

The woman coughing apologized. However, she was clearly in a bad state as her skin showed a severe allergic reaction to the volcanic ash in the air.

"Haah..."

A young man sighed, gazing toward the mountain.

"You okay, Silver?"

Another member of the Bladeshifters asked the sighing man.

"I'm okay."

The man named Silver replied with a nod.

Sadly, although they tried to crumple their brains to find a solution, there was nothing they could possibly do in the current situation.

"Sh*t! TAKE COVER!"

Someone shouted as a gigantic boulder from the mountain began rolling down after it loosened due to the lava flow.

The boulder was rolling towards the residents of the 94th Sattelite Settlement.

"Step back."

Silver stepped forward, fearlessly facing the rolling boulder. And with a bluish glow in his eyes, he drew his sword and charged at the boulder.

Twisting his body and adjusting his position, Silver slashed the rolling boulder several times.

The boulder was chipped away one part after another. Its changed shape caused its path to deviate, rolling southward instead. Then, the boulder ran over the lava flow, causing it to stop, blocking part of the flow and shifting it in another direction.

Seeing what Silver did, people could not help but cheer.

With the lava flow shifted, the flow in front of them slowed down. Although it did not give them the path they needed to cross, it gave them more time to think.

CLAP! CLAP!

Unexpectedly, a clap was heard, taking everyone's attention.

Silver could not help but ready his sword. The clapping sound was near him.

It was when they noticed the unfamiliar robed man standing nearby. Who was he, and since when was he there? None of them noticed at all.

"Who are you?"

Silver asked, pointing his sword at the unfamiliar man.

"Lower your sword. I'm not here to fight."

Of course, those words would not easily convince anyone.

But as the man continued, Silver wavered.

"Your sister saw a vision of you in danger. She begged me to help."

A vision. The others might not understand it, but Silver and the people close to him would.

"Did Miss Limabela send you here?"

Someone who seemed to be the leader of the Bladeshifters asked the stranger.

"Kind of," The stranger replied. "But don't make it sound like I'm her subordinate or something. Just like I said, she begged me to come here."

Silver did not like what he was hearing. However, he could not feel any hostility from the stranger.

But before everyone could continue with the conversation...

"WHAT IS THAT?"

Someone exclaimed, pointing at the peak of Mount Muria, which continued to spew lava.

Everyone could see a glowing ball of light, about as large as a person. The ball of light was small if seen from this distance, but it was bright enough to be seen kilometers away. The ball of light flew erratically.

BOOM!

The ball of light crashed onto the mountain peak, causing the peak to collapse.

CRAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!

A sudden cry of a woman was heard by everyone. It came from the ball of light as it crashed into another area of the mountain.

"W-what is this..."

Everyone who heard the cry felt their strength leave their bodies. They fell to their knees, shivering like a cat trapped in a corner by a pack of rabid dogs.

"Heh."

That snicker was heard from the stranger. Unexpectedly, the stranger was still standing, unaffected by the strange cry.

"There's another one!"

Aside from the bright ball of light, a darker ball frantically chased after it.

"He's definitely not having fun now."

The stranger murmured as he looked at the darker ball.

"Do-do you know what those are?"

The leader of the Bladeshifters gathered his strength and asked.

"Yeah," The stranger replied. "Those two were the cause of the sudden eruption."

Everyone froze. No one expected such an answer.

"Anyway," The stranger turned his eyes away from the balls of light. "It's best to leave the area as soon as possible."

"How?" Silver asked. "The road is blocked with lava."

But as the question left his mouth, Silver saw the man release a glowing marble-sized crystal from his hand. The crystal floated around the stranger's wrist.

The magical scene surprised everyone, but it was just the beginning.

Stretching his two hands forward, he moved like Moses parting the Red Sea. And with both hands open, the lava flow separated. The road was opened.

"Hmm... The ground is a bit molten."

The stranger murmured as another crystal floated around his wrist. Everyone was confused at first since nothing happened next, but the man suddenly stepped on the molten part of the ground. They realized he was floating. He was stepping at something, but they could not see anything.

Before anyone could fathom anything, the stranger called out.

"It won't last too long, so move already. Or else I would leave you all here to die."

Everyone was still unsure about the stranger in robes. However, in their current situation, none of them could be picky. Even if it was not the stranger but the Devil who held out his hand, they would probably scamper to grab it.

The residents of the 94th Satellite Settlement readied. The path was open. They only needed to pass through it.

But before they could move forward, a commotion erupted.

"GET OUT OF THE WAY! WE WILL PASS THROUGH FIRST!"

Someone shouted with a threatening tone. It was clear who it was as the members of The Reapers shoved everyone out of the way.