A/N: Sorry about the confusion. Nahalo ko pala ang POV ni Iris (I am currently writing her POV offline). Sorry na! Haha
Dedicated to: Mary Jane Peliazar
Chapter 29: First Attack
Howl's the last person that I'd give any trust to because of his endless decisive acts. But right after I've witnessed his pain and vulnerability, I suddenly felt like I could still give him a chance.
Maybe it's not really just our mission, maybe we're really destined to be with Howl in this mission. And I hate to admit that he has the upper hand in this journey.
I could picture how the hiding enemy inside this ruin could see us as of the moment, with Howl confidently facing the stoned throne, with head held up high, shoulder-length raven hair, swaying with its long earring and coat gently draped on his shoulders, and one hand on his waist. Tavion on his side with his glinting silver-grayish hair, arms crossed while lazily tapping his left toes on the floor, while on his other side was another silver-haired vampire, arms crossed as well, head slightly tilted, with his narrowed eyes, trying to analyze the stone in front of us, and lastly, in both ends, Iris and I with our straightened body, ready and alert to anything that might happen.
My pixies were now happily flying happily from different directions with their silver dust as they excitedly peeked at the three handsome faces around them. They suddenly forgot who their master was as they comfortably picked Howl's right and left shoulders.
Naunang tumalikod si Howl sa batong nasa harapan namin at hinarap niya kaming apat.
Magic doesn't have the ability to heal someone's heart or even make it forget. Kaya hinahangaan ko si Howl sa mga oras na ito. You couldn't just recover from heartache just by crying for an hour.
"We're currently in the magic circle," panimula niya.
Tumango ako.
"And I just realized that this ruin and its myth are all farce. Ginamit lang ng mga matataas na Attero ang paniniwalang iyon upang walang may magtangkang pumasok dito," he said with a shrug. "But there's still a possibility that we could see monsters here."
"Someone is watching us," dagdag ni Iris.
"Really?" sabay na tanong nina Tavion at Caleb.
"Didn't you notice it?" tanong ko.
"Alright, children, listen," inangat ni Howl ang kamay niya para maagaw ang atensyon naming apat. "We need to find it."
Itinuro ni Caleb ang bato nasa unahan namin. "How about that one? Hindi kaya may hinihintay iyang bagay mula sa labas?"
"Would this magical place give us the answer that we need this easy? This stone might be a trick," tamad itinuro ni Howl ang bato sa likuran niya.
"But what bothers me is their hesitation to come inside. Kung alam nilang hindi naman pala totoo ang pinaniniwalaan ng lahat, bakit hindi sila makapasok?" tanong ko.
"Good question! Anything else?" tanong ni Howl habang gumagala ang kanyang mga mata sa amin.
"There's a possibility that the lower ranks do not have any idea about the reality of this ruin. I think we're still safe until those lowly guardians try to hide their foolishness. We're doomed when the higher authority discovered that we're inside," ilang beses akong napatango sa sinabi ni Tavion.
"Uh-huh? Aren't they aware already?" itinuro ni Caleb si Howl. "Hindi ba't may humahabol na sa 'yo nang bigla kang nagpakita?"
Howl casually shrugged his shoulders. "Yes. We're doomed. It would just take a few hours before the entire battalion of Itara Thenon ambushed us here."
"Wow. Great news," natatawang sagot ni Tavion.
Mariin akong napapikit habang kapwa natatawa lang ang tatlong lalaki na parang wala kami sa mahirap na sitwasyon.
"What are we going to do then? The time is ticking. Should we split into groups?" tanong ni Iris.
"I don't think it is ideal for us to split," mabilis na sagot ni Howl. Both of my pixies nodded as well.
"If you're worried about their incapability in terms of mana or magic—" pinutol ni Howl ang anumang sasabihin ko.
"That's not it, Anna. We can split into two, yes. Your team and my team. But any moment the enemies outside will enter this ruin. We need to have a solid team. Isa pa hindi lang ang nasa labas ang kalaban natin, this ruin itself is our enemy."
"Solid team, really?" naiiling na tanong sa kanya ni Iris.
"Of course. Now, which route should we go in first?" nilampasan kaming apat ni Howl at nagawa niya pang dumaan sa gitna namin.
Gumala ang tingin namin doon sa apat na hagdanan na maaari naming piliin.
"We should choose the stairs with the highest presence of the enemy, right?" tanong ni Tavion.
Kapwa nila itinuro ni Caleb ang hagdanan sa kanang bahagi.
"Let's go," nauna nang naglakad si Howl at sinundan na namin siya.
Habang nasa likuran niya kami, saglit akong tumabi kay Caleb. "What happened to him? Did he cast a spell to himself or something?"
Umiling lang sa akin si Caleb. But I saw how his eyes mellowed. Hindi ko akalain sa halos isang oras na iyon ay makikita ko kung paano niya mabilis ibinigay ang kanyang simpatya kay Howl. Kahit si Tavion ay nagagawa nang makipagbiruan kay Howl na sinisiko lamang siya at pinapagpagan ang balikat na siyang hinahawakan ni Tavion.
"Weird," kumento ni Iris na naroon din ang atensyon.
Kasalukuyan na kaming umaakyat sa hagdanan. Nauuna pa rin si Howl habang nasa balikat niya pa rin ang dalawang maliit na diwata, si Tavion ay nakasunod sa kanya na pilit gumagawa ng usapan, sumunod si Iris na napapaismid na lang, si Caleb na nakikisama sa usapan habang panay naman ang tingin ko sa paligid.
We were in a halfway of the tall stairs when the whole ruin started to tremble. Agad kong pinagliwanag ang dalawa kong kamay upang alalayan ang sarili ko, mabilis lumutang sa ere si Howl, pumulupot ang braso ni Tavion sa baywang ni Iris at si Caleb na sinubukang alalayan ako.
"Come on, love birds, fly."
"Pangil lang ang mayroon kami, Howl. Not wings," ismid ni Caleb.
Kapwa na kami lumulutang ni Howl gamit ang kapangyarihan namin nang mapansin ko na nagsisimula nang mabitak ang hagdanan. Someone's already manipulating our journey.
"We picked the good right route," anunsyo ni Howl na nauna nang lumipad at iniwan kami.
Binuhat na ni Tavion si Iris at pinili niya tumalon-talon sa nabibitak na hagdan dahilan kung bakit wala nang madaanan si Caleb.
"Tavion, you fuck—" hindi na naituloy ni Caleb ang mura niya nang bumalik ang dalawang maliit na diwata at kapwa nila hinawakan sa balikat si Caleb.
With their magic, they easily carried Caleb in the air. "Seriously. . ."
Sinabayan ko sa paglipad si Caleb habang nakatanaw ako sa itaas, pakiramdam ko ay higit pang tumaas ang lugar na ito. Well, nothing is impossible inside this ruin. Pansin ko na kahit si Howl ay nag-aalinlangan pa rin higit na gumamit ng kanyang kapangyarihan.
When we landed on the second floor, darkness completely overwhelmed us. Ang tanging naging mistulang liwanag ay ang mahikang nagmumula kay Howl, sa akin, at sa maliit na mga diwata.
I pulled the lantern inside my old sling bag. At nang sandaling inilabas ko iyon, muli naming nakita ang isa't isa. We were expecting another wide entrance like the first floor, but this one was like a long hallway. The floor tiles were still the same with a mixture of black and white, but unlike the long hallway I've witnessed in books and public historical places in Attero that were filled with hanging paintings, wooden statues, or even knight's armors, this hallway was decorated by the preserved body of the mythical creatures of Fevia Attero. And at the end of the hallway was a wooden door.
"Do you think the big boss is inside there?" tanong ni Caleb.
"I'll be there if I'm the big boss. I like the design of the door," sagot ni Howl.
Nanatili kaming nakatindig at wala ni isa ang nagsisimulang dumaan sa mahabang daan. Ilang beses naglakbay ang mga mata ko roon sa mga halimaw na akala ko ay sa aklat ko lamang makikita.
"There's a risk that any moment these creatures will turn alive. Who would like to—"
"You," sabay siyang itinuro nina Caleb at Tavion.
Sa sobrang liit ng daan, sa sandaling gumalaw ang isa sa mga halimaw na iyon, kahit ang magaling na Attero katulad ni Howl ay maaaring makitil nang walang kahirap-hirap.
"Who's the summoner here? I saw it outside," ilang beses nagpabalik-balik ng tingin si Howl kina Caleb at Tavion.
"Those were just illusions. Some images I mastered when I encountered those monsters outside. I never encountered anything similar with these. . ." nag-aalangang sabi ni Tavion.
Kasalukuyan nang nagtuturuan sina Caleb, Tavion at Howl kung sino sa kanilang tatlo ang siyang mauunang maglakad nang kapwa kami naagaw ang pansin lahat.
Tavion widened his eyes. He was about to take the first few steps, but Iris in her huge white werewolf form led our way. I heard how Howl whistled exaggeratedly in front of Tavion. Nagawa niya pang umuna nang paglalakad sa likuran ni Iris na parang hindi natakot kanina.
I smirked at Tavion. Sumunod na rin ako kay Howl.
"She's cool," kumento ni Caleb na sumunod na rin sa akin. Nahuling naglakad si Tavion habang bumubulong-bulong ng kung anu-ano sa likuran.
Habang nangunguna sa paglalakad si Iris, kapwa nagliliwanag ang dalawang kamay namin ni Howl. Ramdam ko rin na nagsisimula nang maging alerto sina Caleb at Tavion.
Kung si Iris ay nakatuon ang mga mata sa pintuan na siyang patutunguhan namin, kaming apat na nasa likuran niya'y hindi matanggal ang mga mata sa mga halimaw sa magkabilang parte ng daan.
The hallway was not just filled with preserved bodies of the mythical creatures, but also a series of huge glass windows that didn't even reflect the moonlight from the outside. Kaya kahit tumingin kami roon ay wala man lang kaming nakikita.
Huminga ako nang malalim nang sumulyap ako kay Iris sa aming unahan. She's consistent with her path. Higit kaming naging alerto nang halos makarating na kami sa kalahati ng mahabang pasilyo.
The first half of the hallway were filled with monsters with one head, but now that we're about to reach the next half, monsters were now appearing to have two-three heads with one body. Palaki na nang palaki ang kanilang mga pangil at ulo, isang galaw lang nila'y maaari nila kainin ng buo.
When we heard Iris' growl, all our attention turned to her. Halos tumakbo patungo sa kanya si Tavion, agad lumapit sa akin si Caleb upang protektahan ako, habang ang mga mata ko'y nanatiling na kay Iris.
But the realization of the real situation made us more conflicted, trapped, and unable to process, when Iris werewolf form was as confused as us, it wasn't her that growled.
"Fuck. . ." usal ni Caleb sa tabi ko habang nakatanaw siya sa daang tinahak namin.
If in the first floor, we introduced our team through our glistening eyes with mixture of golden, red and silver eyes. Now's our enemies turn to greet us. Dahil kapwa na nagniningas ang iba't ibang kulay na mga mata ng lahat ng mga halimaw na siyang dinaanan namin kanina.
In a quick movement, our backs turned into each other, making a small circle.
"Shit," sabi ni Caleb.
"Fuck. Combat in a narrow space. Seriously?" reklamo ni Tavion.
"We should finish this as soon as possible," dagdag ni Howl.
"We should attack first," sabi ni Caleb.
Lahat kami ay tumango sa kanya. Kung iisipin sa aming lima ay ako pa ang siyang pinakamahina sa labanan. Caleb and Tavion had proved their skills in combat, Howl wouldn't have his title without his power, and Iris as a werewolf is someone who was born to fight.
Now that we're ready to attack our opponents, something unexpected happens. Dahil ang inaasahan naming unang atake'y hindi pala magmumula sa amin.
An attack not even from our enemies inside— but from the outside.
Because before Howl could have reached the center of the hallway's battlefield, a skilled archer with overwhelming mana from the outside released three arrows that pierced his heart and tied his arms — throwing his body completely, pinned on the wall with the preserved skin of the three heads galamaticus dragon.
A crucified Howl Paladein De Voss coughing his own blood. Narinig ko ang walang katapusang sigaw ng maliliit na diwata sa tabi ni Howl.
Nanlamig ang buong katawan ko, hindi lang sa hitsurang iyon ni Howl kundi sa marahas na sigaw ni Caleb matapos niyang dumungaw sa nabasag na bintana.
"GET DOWN! ARCHERS!"