Dio's POV
Tinanggal ko ang note na nakadikit sa gilid ng blackboard at binasa ang nakasulat dito.
"Apparently, we'll be overseeing the decoration committees, security... basically the rest of the preparation." Inabot ko ito kay Trev na hindi nag-aksaya ng segundo at agarang nilukot ang papel saka itinapon.
A part of me already expected that to happen so I just gave him a bored look.
"Yo! Dumating na yung files na hiningi natin." Dumiretso si Chase sa teacher's table. "Andito na lahat ng impormasyon tungkol sa mga gagong- este mga nilalang pala na posibleng makakalaban natin."
An illustration immediately caught my attention so I got a hold of it. It depicts a group of human-like creatures. Kaya nakuha nito ang atensyon ko dahil sa pamilyar na mga hitsura nila. As far as I can remember, they were the creatures that welcomed us with spears and poisoned darts.
"Tignan niyo." I leaned over, putting the picture in the middle of the table. "They're included in our list of enemies."
"Terrarians?" Kinuha ito ni Chase sabay fist pump. "Ayos! Panahon na para makabawi tayo. Hindi naman kasi matatawag na fair fight yung nangyari sa'tin kaya madali nila tayong nahuli." Ngumisi siya. "Maibabalik ko na ang reputasyon ko bilang isang anak ni Hermes na walang makakahabol kahit lumilipad na karayom pa 'yan."
Napabuntong-hininga ako saka inilipat ang aking atensyon sa iba't-ibang klase ng dokumento na ipinadala ng office sa classroom namin. "Yeah right. You used your super speed and yet..." puna ko nang hindi sinusulyapan si Chase. "They managed to stick their dart on you."
"Bro naman." Binalibag ni Chase ang litrato sa mesa. "Kaya nga babawi ako, diba? Tsk. Hindi nga patas 'yon eh. Sobrang toxic ng lugar nila kaya't kinulangan tayo ng stamina nang habulin nila tayo."
Tumango-tango ako. "You do have a point."
Kasunod na umiral ang katahimikan sa pagitan naming apat, pagka't abala kaming lahat sa pagbabasa ng files.
Just a while ago, dumaan kami sa office para manghingi ng recent reports of suspicious activities coming from different locations of the realm. I guess they were able to compile a lot because of the Beta class, whose missions include constant research on mythological creatures situated across the globe. They're the ones who keep an eye on the patterns and living conditions of these creatures and submit reports when they notice any changes.
"This is a lot more than I anticipated." I uttered wearily. But then again, we needed these so we can have an idea about what kind of enemies we are to face head-on.
It was after an hour or so that I heard Ria's voice. Nabigla nga ako dahil nasa likuran ko na pala siya, kasama sina Art, Cesia at Kara.
"You see, girls? This is why a spa is important."
Nakakunot ang aking noo nang lingunin ko sila. "How long have you been standing there?"
"I mean look at their faces." Ria added. "It screams stress, not peace of mind."
I wasn't sure of what I heard. "Are you... are you referring to our faces?"
"At saan naman kayo galing? Bakit ang tagal niyong dumating?" tanong ni Chase.
Umangat ang isang kilay ni Ria. "And you give a damn because?"
Alam na alam ko na ang susunod na mangyayari kapag hindi ako sisingit sa pag-uusap nung dalawa kaya inalok ko na silang lahat na magsiupuan.
"Where were you?" Trev asked the girls, before they were all able to sit down.
"Spa!" masiglang sagot ni Art.
Impressive. At times like these, it would have been better to hear that they took an extended period for training, or spent more time studying the book. But no, amidst the commotion happening right now, galing sila sa spa.
Pumagitna ako sa teacher's platform at isa-isa silang tinignan.
Si Trev, nakapangalumbaba sa kanyang desk habang nakapikit. Si Cal naman na nakaupo sa pinakadulo, nakahalukipkip ang mga braso at nakatingin sa malayo. Tapos si Chase, natutulog sa armrest ng upuan niya.
"What the underworld-" I muttered in disbelief.
Tinignan ko si Ria na pinagkikiskis ang dalawang daggers na malay ko kung saan galing. Si Kara, may binabasa na libro na sigurado akong hindi konektado sa misyon naming maghanda sa paparating na selebrasyon at digmaan. Sa tabi niya ay si Art na pinaglalaruan ang hibla ng kanyang buhok, at panghuli si Cesia na kasalukuyang pinapalutang ang isang pencil case sa ibabaw ng kanyang palad.
I shook my head. "Ako lang ba dito ang may genuine concern para sa Academy at seguridad nito? Wala ba kayong balak na makinig sa'kin?"
Wala akong natamong sagot kaya't napabuntong-hininga nalang ako.
Dumako ako sa likod ng teacher's table at hinampas ito nang napakalakas dahilan na masira ang bahagi nito kung saan bumagsak ang palad ko.
"Ha? HA?!" Napatayo si Chase. "Ano yung sumabog?!"
Narinig ko rin ang tunog ng kidlat mula sa labas. But who cares, right? As long I got their attention which I already have now.
"We are in charge of everything. Alam niyo na naman siguro kung anong ibig sabihin n'on." sabi ko sa kanila.
"Ang ibig sabihin, hindi na tayo matutulog sa susunod na mga araw kaya..." padabog na umupo si Chase sa kanyang upuan. Pinatong niya ang kanyang braso sa armrest niya at nagtangkang matulog. "Matulog na tayo hangga't pwede pa-" Nang may lumapag na dagger sa desk niya.
Napakurap-kurap siya bago lumiwanag ang kanyang mga mata. "Wow! Hulog ng langit!" Tinanggal niya yung dagger at sinuri-suri ito. "Nasa mood pa naman akong pumatay ng anak ni Ares na nagngangalang Ria."
Bago pa niya maihagis ang dagger sa direksyong pinanggagalingan nito, ay nagpatuloy na ako sa pagsasalita.
"Anyway, this means we should be aware of the steps we, and the Academy, will be taking. Nakaplano na lahat, maliban nalang sa strategies natin, since we have yet to know what the school wants us to do."
Then, I looked at Kara, the demigod that I know who can provide an immediate answer to what I was about to say next.
"And so, I need suggestions."
Siya lang ang kilala kong nakaka-formulate ng strategies sa loob ng isang minuto. Everything she suggests doesn't need Trev's approval. Coming from a daughter of Athena, if it sounds good enough, then it shall.
"Recruits will start arriving tomorrow." aniya. "We will meet with them and discuss what are their plans. Then we can talk about our plans."
"In short, tayo yung mag-aadjust para sa kanila." Ria spoke with a bored tone while playing with her knife.
"Do we have to wait for them?" tanong ko. "Baka nakalimutan niyo, we don't have much time to-"
"The celebration will be celebrated the night before the actual night." Kara informed.
"Kaya kung nag-aalala ka sa status ng ibang students, may time pa para mapauwi sila sa kani-kanilang mga lungga." dugtong ni Ria. "We can't afford to make last-minute changes of plans."
"Expected na siguro na tatawagin tayo sa ceremonial hall mamaya o bukas para i-announce na walang klase. Hekhekhek." ani Art.
Itinaas ni Cesia ang kamay niya. "May isang buong araw tayong magplano pagkatapos nating malaman kung ano yung plano ng iba."
I stared at them, with mouth partially opened. "Umm... okay?"
"In terms of the school's defenses, the satyrs are already working on it. They're our engineers so they should be the first ones to know what to do with our defense systems. All we have to do is wait for their reports." Naglaho na ang kutsilyo sa kamay ni Ria dahil pinalitan ito ng isang aktwal na espada. "Tapos na ba tayo dito?"
I crossed my arms on my chest and placed my tongue firmly to the inside of my cheek, all the while nodding my head. "Should we talk about possible strategies at least? So all we have to do the day before the war is to deduce?"
"Teka nga. Sa'n niyo naman nakuha 'yang mga pinagsasabi ninyo?" Ipinatong ni Chase ang kanyang braso sa sandalan ng upuan niya nang malingon niya yung girls.
As if on cue, the four of them answered at the same time.
"Spa."
"Hmm..." Chase scratched his chin lightly. "Panahon na rin ba para mag-spa tayo, bros?"
Napaisip din ako sa sinabi niya. Naalala ko rin ang sinabi ni Ria tungkol sa mga hitsura namin. Maybe we could free some time to have a massage? Or...
Crap.
Napailing ako.
Ano ba 'tong iniisip ko? Hindi ako pwedeng mahawa sa Chase na 'yan for Poseidon's sake!
I picked up a chalk and drew a few squares on the board, signifying all the different sections of the Academy's territory. I enclosed all of it inside a bigger circle. "The circle is the school barrier and outside is the forest."
"Piece of cake lang yan, tol. Dapat mas maraming groups na nakaabang sa labas kesa sa loob." ani Chase.
"Chase, have you forgotten the attack that happened inside our own dorm? Whatever elements were used to hurt us, it came from within the campus." saad ko. "Oo nga pala, hanggang ngayon, wala pa rin tayong nakukuhang leads tungkol do'n."
"Yung fake na thunderbolts ba yun?" Art asked.
Tumango ako. "Thunderbolts, that according to further investigations, were not real and were just the manipulation of light and heat at the same time. And based on our recent studies, maaaring ang may gawa nito ay isang ma-"
"I'm sorry for being late."
Naputol ang pangungusap ko dahil sa pagdating ni Kaye.
I don't remember including her in this meeting. Anong ginagawa niya dito?
"I summoned her." Narinig kong tugon ni Trev.
Instead of asking more questions as to why she's here, pinagpatuloy ko nalang ang dapat kong sasabihin.
"Possibly, the lightnings were made by a machine... of some sort."
I clasped my hands. "And so, a connection was discovered."
"There's a possibility na hindi lang yung blueprints ang nandito sa Academy, kundi pati na rin ang Elite Imitator, na siyang ginamit para gumawa ng artificial lightning."
"Wait a minute kapeng super init!" Suminghap si Art. "Eh diba? Si Theosese ang nag-invent ng Elite at Seht. Siya rin ang nagsulat nung blueprints kaso hindi niya nagawang buuin yung machines..."
"That's right, Art." Nalaman ko kaagad kung ano ang ibig niyang iparating. "Someone else have known the machines' existence, way before us."
"Care to say something, Kaye?"
Napatingin kami kay Ria. She was looking at Kaye while wearing a smirk.
Panandaliang ipinikit ni Kaye ang kanyang mga mata at bumuntong-hininga. Bakas ang determinasyon sa mukha, kasunod siyang nagsalita.
"I found the book because of my visions. Alam kong may koneksyon ito sa nangyayari sa'tin ngayon." She turned her head towards Ria. "And don't look at me like that Ria. Even if I already figured out na blueprints pala ng machines na 'yan ang laman ng libro, then I wouldn't have time to actually make one of the machines. Nasa library lang ang libro na 'yan, at bago pa ako napadpad sa eskwelahang 'to."
"Sa'yo galing yung libro?" tanong ko sa kanya. "Is that why Ria and Kara won't tell us where they found it? Because they got it from you?"
Kaye didn't answer and lowered her head to avoid my gaze.
"Speaking of, tonight's the deadliest deadline of the book. We need to surrender it to the council before midnight so we only have a few hours left to study it." paalala ko sa kanila. "Afterwards, we're going to proceed to our next mission..."
"To figure out where the Elite is."