-chapter thirty-one-
FINN
Oliver looks like he wants to rip Joanne apart.
I took a deep breath, scretching my neck as my eyes sharpened on the assassin. He still seemed a little out from our attacks. I flexed my wrists, spinning the throwdagger in my hand. We should probably knock the guy out and escape, if killing him is impossible without the couple's help.
Pinuntahan ko si Jackson. Nakatayo pa rin siya doon at nanginginig. His eyes are trained on the assassin, as if he needs to watch its every movements to survive. Napatalon pa siya nang makitang nasa harap na niya ako.
With a gulp, he asked. "Bakit?"
I stared at him for a moment, before gesturing at the assassin behind. "Fight."
"Gusto mong kalabanin ko 'yan?" I nodded at his question. "Pero, pero, 'diba okay na kayo ni Oliver? Hindi na ako kailangan!"
"Your answer." tukoy ko sa riddle kanina. "The promise."
"Ha." namutla si Jackson. "G-Gusto mong magpakamatay ako para sa babaeng 'yan?" sabay turo niya kay Joanne na masama ang tingin sa kaniya.
Why are they acting like they hated each other now? Weren't they overly sweet a while ago? Jackson even promised his life for Joanne, and Joanne was overjoyed from hearing that. Hindi ba't mahal nila ang isa't isa?
Kaya bakit hindi sila gumagalaw ayon sa salitang binitawan nila?
I tilted my head, confused at his choice of tone. "Your lover."
Natawa si Jackson sa pagtatama ko sa kaniya. It almost looked crazy, since he was shivering in fear and his eyes are wide as it flickered from me to the assassin behind.
"Lover?" he laughed maniacally. "Hindi ako tanga para ilaan ang buhay sa isang babaeng nagpapagamit kahit kanino. 'Tsaka paano mo naman nalaman na sa promise ko talaga 'yan at 'di para sa'yo? Hindi gano'n kagara ang game na 'to para sa ganiyan!"
I pursed my lips, trying to understand his response. If he has no intent of protecting her, then why say it in the first place? Must his arrogance and pride be so high and fragile?
"It is." kalmado kong sagot. "Riddles are answered and tests are given. If you don't fight, Joanne will die."
Napalingon ako nang marinig ang tunog ng laban. Joanne's on her butt again, sitting on the floor while looking every bit terrified. I wonder why she has a dagger strapped to her skirt when she never uses it. Nakatitig lamang si Joanne kay Oliver na nasa gitna ng laban.
I turned to face Jackson who's getting paler by the minute.
"Fight." muli kong saad.
"Hindi ko 'yan kaya, tangina naman, ba't ba ang hirap niyong makaintindi. Look, I'll give you anything if you just kill that thing!" sigaw niya.
I frowned. "Don't want anything from you."
"Money! Popularity! Boys! Ibibigay ko for free basta patayin mo lang 'yan. I can't fight! I don't know anything about games!" he begged.
Hindi ko naman kailangan lahat ng sinabi niya. I have enough money to feed and cloth myself. I don't care about popularity and why would I need boys?
"You arrived here." I pointed out.
How was he able to get here when he can't even fight? There's the monsters in the Armory, the hydra in the fifth city, and lastly the Magus Arena. Hindi naman pwedeng nagskip lang siya dito.
"Hindi mo ba narinig ang sinabi ni Joanne kanina?!" naiirita niyang tugon. "Oliver helped us in the Armory! Tapos nakikisabay kami sa alyansa ni Marcella para hindi mamatay. Sa last city, Joanne slept with the guys we battled so we won!"
I blinked. Siguro kaya galit si Oliver sa kanila dahil tinulungan niya ang dalawa buong magdamag sa Armory. If they went hiding in the fifth city while the others fought, it would also make sense. I also hid most of the time in the shadows of the Den.
Pero sleep? Natulog si Joanne kasama ng mga nakalaban niya? I didn't know a sleepover could help people win. Was it a secret strategy? Another way of winning the Magus tournament without fully using your magic power? Siguro ay nagpapakita sila ng sariling magic bago matulog.
"Okay? Gets mo? Ang dami mong tanong, kainis. Kung alam niyo lang naman palang mangyayari 'to, bakit hindi na lang kayo 'yong sumagot?! Nandamay pa kayo!" paninisi niya.
"You went and answered ahead." I innocently answered, confused at his outburst. "Sabi mo kaya mo."
"At talagang pinipilosopo mo pa ako ngayon?!"
Umiling ako. "'S the truth."
Why is he so angry at me when he's contributing nothing?
Umangat ang isang kamay niya para sapakin ako. Jackson was too slow and I quickly gripped his hand. Napasinghap siya sa sakit kaya medyo niluwagan ko ang pagkakahawak.
"Bitawan mo nga ako!" reklamo niya.
Umiling ako. "Listen. You promised life for Joanne's protection. A life for a life. If you don't wanna die, you kill him."
Nanghina si Jackson at takot siyang napatingin sa'kin.
"Paano... Hindi ko siya kayang patayin."
"We're here." I reassured him. "We'll make way. Once we pin him, you charge to kill."
Jackson only stared at me. Mabilis akong lumingon sa likuran at nakitang nakikipagsuntukan pa si Oliver sa assassin. I returned my gaze to Jackson who seemed out of it.
"Okay?" pagka-klaro ko sa plano.
Jackson blinked, as if slapped back to reality. Sunod-sunod siyang tumango at paulit-ulit na sinabi ang, "Okay, okay, okay."
I nodded and went to Joanne. Nang tapikin ko ang balikat niya ay napatalon siya sa gulat. Her wide eyes was quickly replaced by a glare. I don't know why she's angry at me as well. I have no memory of doing anything bad.
Bakit parang kasalanan ko pang tumulong ako?
"Kailangan mo ba talagang sumulpot sa likod ko?" saway niya. "Paano kapag napasigaw ako at nadistract si Oliver? E'di kasalanan mo na 'yon! Kasi kanina sinabi nang patayin, 'di pa ginawa! Bo-mmmrrg!"
Tinakpan ko ang bibig niya. Another litany of Joanne went unheard pero hindi ko na iyon pinansin. I don't really mind the noise, since I was used to Eura, but for some reason this annoys me.
"Noisy." pagpapatahimik ko. "Go to Jackson and hide."
May sinabi siya pero hindi ko iyon maintindihan. Joanne rolled her eyes at me and pointed at the hand on her mouth. Tiningnan ko ito at binawi ang kamay.
"So papatayin niyo na nga?" mataray niyang tanong.
I nodded. "Jackson will."
Joanne's jaw dropped as she glanced at the frozen Jackson behind me. Her face then crumpled into a mocking laugh, like the very idea of Jackson fighting was hilarious.
"Siya?! Papatay?" malakas siyang natawa. "Eh hindi nga marunong gumamit ng dagger 'yan! Wala siyang ibubuga sa halimaw na 'yan!"
"Have a plan." simple kong sagot.
When I noticed that she's about to reply, pinatayo ko siya at itinulak sa gawi ni Jackson. I can't spend any more time talking to her when I could use it to help Oliver. They talk too much. Maybe that's why they said they love each other? Because they both talk a lot?
I watched them whisper to each other. Bago ko pa maisip kung anong pinag-uusapan nila ay isang malakas na mura ang narinig ko kaya napatingin ako kay Oliver. He was down on the ground, eyes glaring fiercely and nose bleeding. I took a deep breath, spinning the throwdaggers in my hand.
Then, I ran.
Five kunais' appeared in each of my hand and I simultaneously threw them at the assassin. Ten throwdaggers flew in the air, stopping just a feet from the assassin's face before they were slashed aside. The moment the kunais' were thrown off, I appeared behind the assassin, arms locked around his throat as I step us both back.
Tumayo si Oliver at sunod-sunod na nagpaputok. Ngunit, inikot lang ng assassin ang hawak niyang sycthe at lumipad sa ibang direksiyon ang mga bala. Isang siko ang natamo ko sa gilid ng tiyan bago niya itinusok ang dulo ng scythe sa paa ko. A hiss left my lips at the dull pain that throbbed in my feet.
It caused my hold to loosen, and suddenly the assassin was out of my arms, the blade of his scythe kissing the skin of my neck.
Konting pagpagilid niya lang ay may hiwa na sa leeg ko.
"Finn, do you have some plan?" Oliver asked. The assassin's focus was mildly disrupted by the sound of his target's voice and his scythe leaned back. "Ano 'yong sinabi mo sa manok?"
I nodded at Oliver's earlier question. I do have some kind of a plan. I don't know if it will work but we just have to try.
Ngunit nagtaka ako kung sinong manok ang tinutukoy niya. "Manok?"
"Pft. Alam mo," Oliver flapped his arms, imitating the chicken's wings. "Tok. Tok. The chicken."
Isn't Tok-Tok kind of a knocking sound though?
Oliver put his hands down when I gave no response. Wala naman akong maibibigay in the first place. In fact, I'm not sure if a response is really necessary.
"Pero ano na nga ba ang plano?" tanong niya.
"Pin him down."
Kahit na simple at maiksi lang ang sagot ko ay mukhang nakuha ni Oliver 'yon. He nodded and stretched his arms, staring at the assassin like a predator to a prey. Which is actually kind of ironic since it's the other way around.
Hindi ko alam kung naintindihan ba ng assassin ang ibig kong sabihin o hindi, dahil bigla niyang ginalaw ang scythe palapit sa leeg ko. Thankfully, my reflexes were fast and I managed to get two of kunais up to stop his blade. Using my other hand, I summoned three more and pushed the blade away, jumping atop it and disappearing as quickly as my feet hit the blade.
I landed five feet away from him. Natigilan ang assassin at napalinga-linga, na parang hinahanap kung saan ako nagpunta. However, when he looked back, it was Oliver who greeted him.
"Lookin' for me, buddy?"
Nakangisi niya itong tinanong bago pinaulanan ng bala ang assassin. The latter ran to him to slash his blade, but Oliver was already rolling to the side, reloading his gun and barely dodging the sharp scythe as it impaled the ground. Muli niyang pinaputok ang baril, grazing the assassin's thigh and one of the bullets successfully hitting his knees.
The assassin buckled, right knee injured and shot, but he still managed to slice the scythe towards Oliver, cutting his cheek and the strand of hair that was a bit longer.
Napangiwi si Oliver. "Y'know I wasn't really aiming for a haircut right now."
The assassin did not heed his words but continued on attacking while balancing his strength on his left knee. I know how hard that must feel, considering I had mine burnt a city ago.
Seeing that the assassin was distracted, gumalaw ako. Like a wind passing by, my dagger hit the back of the assassin's knee and I was gone before they could blink. I was once again occupying the previous spot I was sitting on.
Na parang hindi lang ako umalis doon.
I knew both Oliver and I noticed the difference of the assassin's attacks now. They were more hurried and forceful. It almost seemed like he was agitated. I met Oliver eyes and nodded.
Oliver spinned the gun in his hand, changing the bullets in a blink, before shooting the assassin right in the forehead.
Mabilis na iniharang ng assassin ang sycthe sa noo niya. The bullet changed direction after hitting the blade, but it was enough. Ang sandaling pagharang ng assassin sa noo niya ay nakaapekto din sa mata niya. Since the scythe's blade was larger, it almost covered most of his eyes, so his vision at that time was dulled and limited.
Ginamit namin iyon para tumalon at itulak ang assassin sa lupa. Oliver grunted as he tried to pin the assassin's left arm down, and I bit my lip as I pushed the right arm down. Napakalakas nga talaga ng character na ito. It was insane, how crazily strong he is and how hard I tried to keep him from standing up. Even injured, this one really is a monster.
"Now, Jackson!" Oliver shouted.
I flinched when the assassin moved his hand and I had to fight back on his strength. Hindi naman talaga ako gano'n kalakas, the power of my hits are just increased because of my opponent's surprise, the impact, and through my speed. In brute force, I'm weaker.
Isang kunai ang pinalabas ko at itinusok sa braso niya para hindi ito masyadong gumalaw. I glanced sideways, frowning when Jackson still didn't attack. Hindi naman sila masyadong malayo sa'min para maging sobrang tagal ng pagdating niya.
Nang isang minuto na ang makalipas at sobrang hirap nang pigilan ang assassin ay napalingon ako. My heart dropped when I saw Jackson and Joanne running away. Just a few steps and they'll be outside of the Riddle Zone.
Pero... bakit sila umalis? We had a plan. Even if it won't work, we're basically laying our lives to ensure everyone's safety. We're fighting here to make sure we win.
They could take all the credit since Jackson would be the one piercing the assassin's heart. So bakit sila tumakbo? Bakit nila kami iniwan dito?
"Fucking hell." I heard Oliver mutter. "I can't believe those guys."
We had the assassin pinned down like promised. A stab is the only thing missing and we would've won.
Nanlaki ang mata ko nang makitang papalabas na sila ng Riddle Zone. The glaring red line was warning me that something bad was about to happen.
"No." I whispered, fear crippling down my bones. "No. Stop. Don't get out or you'll be-"
My words were cut off by a deep and threatening growl. All at once, I felt myself being ripped off and thrown against a wall. A pained gasp escaped me as my back collided against something hard, and I slid to the ground, vision slowly blurring.
Ngunit nakita ko ang susunod na nangyari.
The assassin threw his scythe towards the running pair, Oliver ducking down just in time to save his own head. He shouted a warning to the other two, ngunit huli na ang lahat dahil nakalabas na sila sa linya. At that point did they have the sense to look back and—
There was the sound of skin slicing.
Hindi ako nakaiwas o nakapikit man lang sa bilis nang pangyayari. I watched the whole thing happened with wide eyes. The scythe flew in the air, spinning twice before hitting the skin of its target. Hindi agad nakareact maski si Jackson o Oliver at pigil-hininga naming pinanood ang paghiwa ng scythe sa leeg ni Joanne, ang pagsabog ng dugo mula sa putol niyang leeg, ang paghulog ng ulo niya sa lupa.
It was haunting. Joanne's face. Blood gushed out from her leg, and her mouth was slightly parted as her eyes were wide and open and staring at nothing.
"Ah. Ah-" singhap ni Jackson at umatras siya.
Binitawan niya ang nakasiklop nilang kamay at nahulog sa lupa ang walang-buhay na katawan ni Joanne. Jackson paled, his body and hands trembling, as he stared at his previous girlfriend, now dead and decapitated.
The assassin took back the scythe, glanced at me and Oliver, before disappearing into the air. The lines that covered and marked the Riddle Zone vanished alongside him.
"Ahh. Hah." Jackson fell on his back as he tried to scramble away, mouth heavily panting and eyes wide with fear. "No, patay na siya. N-Naputol ang ulo niya. Ah-ah, u-umalis kayo! T-Tulongan niyo 'ko!"
"Shit. We don't have time for his hystericals." Oliver quietly muttered beside—
Mabilis akong napabaling sa kaniya. What? Weren't he on the other side? Paano siya nakadating dito agad?
"Come on."
Kinuha ni Oliver ang isang kamay ko't pinaakbay ito sa kaniya. He helped me up and we both walked towards Jackson, since it was the only way out. Pinilit kong hindi tingnan ang katawan.
"Ano? Sasama ka ba sa'min o hindi?" tanong ni Oliver sa lalaki.
Jackson quickly looked up at us. "Oo! Oo! Sasama ako sa inyo. A-Ayokong manatili dito dahil baka babalik pa 'yon! T-Tutulongan niyo ko 'di ba?"
"Help yourself first." Oliver remarked, rolling his eyes and walking ahead.
Sumunod ang nanginginig na Jackson sa'min. His focus was somewhere else though since he kept turning back to check Joanne's corpse. Hindi ko alam kung miss niya ito o takot siyang baka sundan din kami ni Joanne.
I followed his gaze and I couldn't help but look down. It's a pity that I can't grief your death, because we have to get going in case something else happens. I hoped I could have uttered a small offer of apology and gratitude for meeting you. A chance to say sorry that I failed in ensuring your safety and life.
"Finn. Anong iniisip mo?" tanong ni Oliver.
I turned away from Jackson who was muttering things under his breath. Sinagot ko ang nagtatanong na tingin ni Oliver ng,
"Prayer for Joanne."
"Hm." he looked away. "Kung nasa okay na lugar na tayo. We can stop and do that. Okay sa'yo?"
"Mm." then after a beat, I added. "'m sorry."
Oliver's brow rose. "Para saan?"
"Couldn't protect—"
Oliver tried to shut me up with puttinh his hand up but a terrified shout from behind stole our attention. Mabilis akong napalingon at nakitang tumatakbo na si Jackson. His hand is reaching out towards us, and I watched in shock as the ground behind him collapsed into nothing and spikes shot up.
A flaring, red orb followed Jackson. Words floated around it, implying a threatening future; 'Action detected as a failure. Punishment will now commence.'
"Tulong! Tulongan niyo 'ko! Gusto ko pang mabuhay!" naiiyak niyang sigaw. "Hindi naman ako maglalaro nito kung hindi ko lang kailangan ang pera! They told me it was safe and I only need to play a game! I don't want to die like this! I still have a fami—AH!"
After hearing him shout for the first time, I just moved instinctively. Siguro dahil iyon sa ayoko na ulit makita ang isang tatao na mamatay sa harap ko o dahil kung pwede lang naman akong tumulong ay tutulong ako, pero nakita ko na lang ang sarili na tumatakbo papunta sa kaniya. Jackson's hand was outstretched as he shouted things that only punched my guilt, and I was close, really close to take his hand and pull him back.
Kung hindi lang bumukas ang lupang tinatapakan niya at lumabas dito ang nagsisilakihang spikes. I watched in horror as one of them impaled Jackson like a pork on a stick. Umulan ang dugo sa kinaroroonan ko nang tumusok ang spike mula sa ilalim ni Jackson hanggang sa ulo nito. The sharp tip looking like a small, triangular crown in his head.
Hindi ko na makilala si Jackson sa dugo na dumadaloy sa katawan niya at sa nakakasukang kalagayan.
I don't know what happened but the ground didn't stop crumbling. I just felt someone picking me up and carrying me. Then, we were running while the ground behind us transformed into dangerous-looking spikes.
There was a shout and we jumped. We landed on the ground but I was still staring into the air, watching as the wall slid to block out the nightmare we just escaped.
Then, a familiar voice sprung up.
"Woah! Hindi ko inisip na gano'n na ang mangyayari sa inyo. Ano pala 'yon? Bakit may spikes? May nagawa ba kayong mali sa riddle? Nako, sigurado akong ikaw ang may kasalanan e 'no, Oli. Nyahaha! Hindi ko maisip na pwedeng magkamali ang aking lovely Finn, ano. Kaya dapat ikaw kumuha ng kasalanan, ha!"
Umikot ako at nakita si Eura na nakangiti at dumadaldal ng kung ano. From the stress, anxiety and fear that rolled in my nerves just a while ago, the sight of her felt refreshing.
Kumunot ang noo niya. "Oh, bakit parang napagbagsakan kayo ng langit? Dahil ba sa'kin? Dahil isa akong langit na bumagsak? Hehe, alam ko namang para akong heaven pero, grebe, wag niyo naman akong tingnan ng ganiyan—" she huffed and crossed her arms. "Pero, seryoso, anong nangyari sa inyo maliban na lang sa pinakita ko sa inyo ang maganda kong mukha?"
I gulped when I remembered the slice of the blade in Joanne's neck and how the spike tore Jackson inside out.
"Yo? Hello? Guys, choppy ba ako diyan sa inyo? Galaw-galaw din 'pag may time. Guys? Wala na. Na-shut down na ba kayo?"
-chapter end-