Elysian Tale: Flare of Frost

Kabanata 39

I hissed. Siyam kaming lahat na na'ndito upang kunin ang insignia ng Gravil Continent, at kung suswertehin ay medalyon ang makuha namin upang manalo muli sa Continental Festival. Frost changed strategies this time too. Siya lamang naiwan sa Water Continent upang ipagtanggol ang insignia at ang medalyon na nakasalalay sa kaniya.

"How are we going to..." Naikurap ko ang mga mata ko nang makaramdam ako ng pagkaantok. Oh yes, I forgot. It's not just a paralyzing poison, it can make you lose conciousness for a few minutes.

"Phairro!" I managed to look back. Raiko called me, one of our teammates. "This is just a fucking illusion! The pain maybe real, but once we find the source that triggered it, it will stop!" Inilibot ko ang paningin ko habang pinipilit na labanan ang pagkaantok at panghihina na nararamdaman ko.

How did he figured out it was just a mere illusion?

I snapped back to reality. Yes, of course! Gravil Continent have Lyon, the top student of Gravil Academy. One of the most skilled illusionist aside from Flame.  Ang problema lang ay kung saan namin mahahanap ang source nito.

"F-find the source of the illusion!" Nanghihina kong wika. Inikot ko ang paningin ko, and I tried my best to keep myself sane. Kailangan namin itong mahanap bago pa kami tuluyang mawalan ng malay.

Kinumpas ko ang kamay ko't naglabas ng enerhiya upang suportahan pa ang ice shield na gawa ko. Every seconds passed, I can feel my vision getting blurry. Dadaan pa ang ilang minuto ay alam kong tuluyan na akong mawawalan ng malay. Kaya bago pa iyon mangyari ay sana matigil na namin itong ilusyon.

Napatingala ako nang kumislap ang kalangitan. I was amazed when the stars started aligning in the sky in the broad daylight. All constellations were present. Nakakamanghang mayroong mga bituwin sa umaga na tanging sa gabi lamang nakikita at nasisilayan.

"T-the hawk..." Utal kong sambit. I can see a hawk flying in circles above the sky. Hawk is the Gravil kinds mythical animal. Maliban doon ay kapansin-pansin ang pag-anhag ng kulay berdeng mga mata nito. Para itong isang kristal na nagdudulot ng munting ilaw sa kalangitan.

"M-maybe that's the source of the illusion. It's been flying above us giving the scope of the illusion..." Hindi ko natuloy ang sasabihin ko nang makitang may napakalaking bato na papabagsak sa aming kinaroroonan.

"Hit it, West!" sigaw ni East sa kakambal. The poison is making everyone so weak as we already are. Ang hindi lang masyado natatablan sa amin ay si West. His sixth sense is somehow involved with being immune to all poisons. Kaya sa aming lahat ay siya lamang ang may kakayahang gawin 'yon.

"But I-" Yes there was a problem. West is not good at targeting long range objects. Medyo malabo din ang mata nito kaya suntok sa buwan ang gagawin niya. But there's still hope.

Bumagsak ang napakalaking bato na sakop ang buong kinaroroonan namin. Here we are, nine people on the ground with poisionous vines in our lower body, as we release our remaining energy to support the shell of our shield. Nakadagan ang napakalaking bato sa pananggang gawa namin, at malinga lang kami ng konti ay panigurado babagsak ito sa amin.

"Give it a shot before the massive rock could trample us to pieces!" Sigaw ni East. West blinked his eyes twice. Binitaw niya ang kanang kamay niyang nakasuporta sa shield na gawa niya.

As soon as one of his hand left his shield, I felt the force of the rock being heavy. "Do it for fifteen seconds!" I shouted. That's how long we could take this force without his other hand. He nervously nod his head and his hands started to tremble as he made a sphere made out of ice.

Pinikit niya ang kaliwang mata niya habang inaasinta ang hawk na paikot-ikot sa himapapawid. Nakikita ko mula sa kinatatayuan ko ang pamamawis ng noo niya't ang pagdududa sa mga mata niya kung matatamaan niya nga ba ito o hindi.