Grey's POV
Wind rushed against my back. I could hear it, until the length of my spine hit a godforsaken tree. My body arched from the pain of a sharp branch piercing my uninjured shoulder.
According to Ash, I only have two hours until I bleed to death.
And that gives me more or less an hour to fight this cheap-looking grim reaper, I think?
The branch broke, bringing me down to the ground with a loud thud.
Sérieusement, I lost track of time after she showed no remorse of stepping on one of my precious flowers.
I gave the empty space in front of me a blank look as I stood on my feet again.
My eyes roamed around the darkness.
A few seconds passed and a spark from the sky caught my attention. Not a falling star, but a falling arrow.
Palihim akong napatango sa pagkamangha sa bilis nito. Kasingbilis kasi nito ang paglitaw ng makapal na salamin sa ibabaw ko kung saan tumama ang dulo ng palaso.
Nabasag ito at agad kong sinalo ang regalong pinadala ng huntsman sa'kin.
Tinignan ko ang palaso sa kamay ko.
"Where did you come from?" A woman's voice bounced on the trees surrounding me, hushing in the end, like a cold wind that just passed by.
Tinatamad ang aking mga mata nang sulyapan ang isa sa mga anino ng kahoy na gumalaw.
"Finissons-en..." Nilingon ko ang presensyang lumipat sa kabilang dako, at naramdaman kong papalapit sa kinatatayuan ko. "-tu veux?"
'Let's get this over with, shall we?'
A wicked laugh rung in my ears and for some reason, her voice stopped the movement of wind. The air grew stale and the atmosphere started to turn into this empty unmoving state.
Even the lightest leaf stopped moving.
Her presence vanished and I couldn't feel any other source of power, aside mine.
Lowering my head, I chuckled at her attempt to entrap me into her own mind.
"My mother creates the strongest trances, love. Unbreakable ones." Nakapamulsa ako sabay angat ng aking tingin sa espasyo sa aking harapan na nagkabitak-bitak. "Don't think I can't sense when I'm inside one."
Large cracks encircled me. Then I heard a grumbling sound from above. Stretching out my hand, a large broken piece of glass fell on my palm. It was a part of the barrier of a trance.
The trance finally broke apart, but its shattered pieces didn't disappear. They continued to surround me, slowly pointing towards every direction.
"My turn," I whispered, and sent them flying everywhere.
My ears perked at a silent gasp. Curling my fingers around the glass in my hand, I fell inside a portal below me and stepped out behind the huntsman to stab her on the back- which didn't happen because this one has a knack of teleporting as well.
Instead, the glass got stuck on a tree. Blood trickled from my palm as I roughly pulled it out before an arrow could hit my arm.
I traced the path of the arrow and glared at the pair of silver steel eyes looking back at me.
I steadily turned to face her with both hands in my pockets.
Where did the glass go, you ask?
Before she could notice that it has disappeared in my hand, a corner of my lips raised when half of it rose from her chest, after impaling her from the back.
She tried to pull it out so I shook my head and the glass broke, leaving half of it buried inside her chest.
From the top of her head to the tip of her toe, I took my time in studying her features while walking closer.
The enemy was a bit tall for her slender figure.
I smirked.
She might actually pass as one of Vance's women if she wasn't a huntsman.
My grin gradually straightened once I stopped in front of her. I didn't take my eyes off of her as I raised both my arms to fold them against my chest.
A few feet beside us, another presence that I've already felt before continued to linger. Perhaps watching, waiting for what I'm going to do next.
The huntsman moved. She gently touched the deep wound on her chest. Her brows furrowed and her eyes twitched from the pain.
I looked down at her weakly trembling fingers.
"My apologies, mademoiselle." Nginitian ko siya. "I'm Xerxes Gabriel Austria." Daglian kong sinulyapan ang sugat niya. "But you can call me Grey."
Pinaningkitan niya ako kaya ginaya ko rin siya.
"And you are?" nangunguryuso kong tanong.
Sa laking gulat ko, sumagot siya. Hindi nga lang sa katanungan ko.
"Your friends are dying."
"Mmm." I hummed boredly at her response. "Need I not remind you that the only reason you're not dead is because I still want to find out who you are."
She scoffed.
"And here I thought that you were supposed to be fun." Luminga-linga ako sa magkabilang gilid ko nang maramdaman ang pagdating ng isa pang presensya. "The three of you."
Before they could throw an attack, I winked a goodbye at the huntsman and summoned a portal on the ground.
I'm here for fun, alright. But a demigod got to have his limits.
And I can't fight a battle against three. Not with another demigod resting inside my domain.
I don't want her disturbed.
Humakbang ako sa platform ng facility na kalahati nalang ang natira. Inilibot ko ang aking paningin sa pinsalang naidulot ng pagdating namin sa lugar.
May bahagi ng kagubatan na nagliliyab pa rin. Tila bumabaha ng abo sa ilog dahil sa kulay nito at maliban sa mga katawang nakakalat sa platform, nakakalat din ang mga sirang eroplano at tangke sa lupa.
Tumigil ang mga mata ko kay Vance na nakaupo at nakasandal sa ledge ng platform. Sa kanyang tabi nakaluhod si Ash na may dinidiing bandage sa mata niya. Sa kabila naman niya ay si Henri na hinihigpitan ang duguang tela sa kanyang hita.
"Amber, tignan mo nga kung bumabalik na ba yung pakpak ko," ani Zack.
Sumilip si Amber sa likod niya. "Bumabalik na..." sagot nito sa kanya. "-yung sama ng loob ko kay Henri dahil iniwan niya si Reign."
"Bella," sambit ko.
Lumapit si Bella sa'kin.
"Have you gone inside the facility?" usisa ko.
Umiling siya.
Muli kong tinignan yung iba. "Then why are you all still here?"
"Inside," utos ko. "Before those mad men can sense our presence."
Judging by the looks they each gave me, they were tired, but mostly annoyed, by the arrival of those three undeniably irritating huntsmen.
Henri was the only who seemed unfazed. He lightly marched towards me with his usual unusual sense of calm.
Nang makatayo na si Vance, sinenyasan niya sina Ash na mauna sa pagpasok. Nagpahuli siya sa kanila, ngunit hindi siya sumama dahil huminto siya sa tabi ko.
Tahimik lang kaming tatlo hanggang sa tuluyan na ngang makapasok yung iba. Saka na nagparamdam ang tensyon na nagbabantang mamuo sa sandaling dumating ako.
"I'm going to kill you if one of my eyes go blind, Grey." Vance threw a sharp glare at me using one eye. The one that's not closed and still bleeding.
I snickered at his threat.
"Humor me, Vance," sagot ko. "I never knew about such huntsmen."
"Also," he scowled. "Where the fuck's my sister?"
"Somewhere safe." I assured him.
"Henri." Hinarap ko si Henri. "Have you fought against one of them?"
"I've never seen them." Umiling siya. "But I've heard."
"They can control their own blood," pagbibigay-alam ni Vance. "They can turn it hard as metal. Not even a sword can cut their arteries."
Nagkasalubong ang aking kilay. "Have you noticed their eyes?"
"And their hair," ani Henri. "Zack reported one of them having red hair."
"Reign did mention once." Bigla akong may naalala. "The huntsmen have these leading fighters that possess exceptional powers, like the Elite and Seht Imitators from our parents' time."
"No," Vance insisted. "Because I asked one of them, and he said they were not the ones who killed an Alpha."
"And their leading fighters are already written in the CAP's records," nangangalit niyang dagdag. "While these masked ones are not. Not even their existence was noted."
"Godlike abilities... metal blood..." Umiling ako. "I can't think of anything else other than the Seht and Elite machine."
"They tore Zacharille's wings, Grey," sabi ni Vance.
I squinted my eyes at a distance. "They poisoned Paige, too."
"-and you, idiot," paalala niya sa'kin.
Natawa ako nang mahina. "Give and take, Vance."
"Then what were you able to take from them?"
"Nothing," I proudly answered.
He clenched his jaw while I blinked my eyes several times at him.
"Speaking of." Sinenyasan ko yung dalawa na tumingin sa likod nila.
Sabay silang umikot paharap sa tatlong huntsmen na lumulutang sa kabilang dako ng platform. They didn't wear capes but their long leather robes did gave the same flowing effect as a cape.
And against the dark, each of their eyes glowed differently.
One, red. The other one, light brown. And the woman's, silver.
Mabagal kong ipiniling ang aking ulo habang binabalik ang matatalim nilang titig at dahan-dahang inangat ang aking kamay.
A childish grin formed on my lips when I curled my fingers to form a handgun and pointed it at the red-eyed man in the middle.
And as I freshly recall, he was also the one who cut off our phoenix's wings.
His brows met after a diamond-shaped mirror appeared in front of the tips of my fingers.
"That one's mine," I murmured, a few seconds before it blasted off my hand.