Chapter 56:
MONSTERS
Lucas' POV
*Ilang minuto bago ang pagsabog*
Matapos mawala ng nakasisilaw na liwanag ng pulseras ay nanatili akong nakatayo sa arena. I am the one who picked the fake bracelet. Hindi lang ako ang nanatiling nakatayo. Walo kami ang dismayadong makapasok sa cube. One from each team ang hindi nakapasok.
Nagpasya na lang akong umalis na dahil wala namang paraan para makapasok pa ako sa cube. Hindi na ako manonood. Bagama't hindi ko alam ang kakayahan ng mga kalaban ay alam na alam ko naman ang kakayahan ng mga kaibigan ko. Together, they are invincible. Lalo pa't naroon si Finnix na siyang mamumuno sa kanila.
I left the loud arena at nagdesisyong tumungo na lang sa dorm para magpalit ng damit. But as soon as I set foot a meter apart from the gate of arena, bigla na lang akong nakaramdam ng kakaibang sensasyon. Lumingon ako sa mga puno at tama nga ang nasa isip ko. They are sending me a signal. They all slightly bend as if they are showing a direction for me to take.
Sinundan ko ang direksiyon na itinuturo nila and it brought me to our academy's gate. Nakasara ito ngunit isang pigura ng lalaki ang iniluwa nito.
Payat, mahaba ang buhok at maduming lalaki ang pumasok. Sa pagtapak ng kaniyang paa sa lupa ng akademya ay kaagad siyang natumba. Kaagad akong tumakbo para tulungan siya. Binuhat ko siya't iniharap sa akin at kaagad ko siyang namukhaan.
"Papa?"
"Papa anong nangyari sa'y..."
"Lucas." Mahinang sambit niya sa aking pangalan dahil sa panghihina. "Umalis ka na rito. Hanapin mo si Ester. Tumakas kayo."
"Tumakas?" Umling ako. This is not the matter right now "Papa, kailangan kitang dalhin sa clinic." I did not bother asking about what he's saying. Tatanungin ko na lang siya kapag maayos na ang kalagayan niya. Hinawakan ko ang kamay niya para mabuhat siya ngunit kinabig niya ito.
"Wala ng oras, anak. Umalis na kayo ni Ester!" Kumunot ang noo ko dahil kanina niya pa ako sinasabihang umalis.
"Kailangan mo munang pumunta sa ckinic para magpagaling, Pa," I said. Nasa nakakaawang sitwasyon siya ngayon. Kahit na mayroon kaming hindi maayos na relasyon ay hindi ko pa rin kayang makita siya sa kalagayang ito.
Puno siya ng sugat at labis na nanghihina. His aid is what comes first. Pinasan ko siya sa likod at itinakbo papuntang clinic.
"Lucas. Hanapin mo si Ester! Umalis na kayo ri---"
Boooooggsh!
Napayuko ako ng bahagya dahil sa lakas ng pagsabog. Pagtingala ko kung saan nagmula ang pagsabog ay unti-unting nagkakalamat ang barrier.
'Ito ba ang rason kung bakit pinapaalis ako ni Papa? What exactly is happening?'
Kailangan ko munang dalhin si papa sa clinic at bumalik para tanungin si Ms. A.
While running, I can hear the cracking sound of the breaking barrier like that of a breaking glass.
Nadatnan ko ang mga healers sa labas ng clinic, and I think they went outside to know where the massive explosion came from. Nang makita nila ako ay kaagad silang pumasok at inihanda ang isang kwarto. Inilapag ko si papa sa puting kama.
"Papa, dito ka lang. I have to be there. Aalamin ko lang kung ano ang nangyari," pagpapaalam ko kay Papa. Ngunit nang paalis na ako ay bigla niyang hinawakan nang mahigpit ang aking kamay na siyang nagpahinto sa akin.
"I'll be safe, Pa," I said at kinuha ang kamay niya. Umalis na ako at dumiretso papuntang arena.
Third Person's POV
Booooogsh!
Isang malakas na pagsabog ang gumulat sa lahat. Hanggang sa sinundan pa ito ng sunod-sunod na pagsabog. They saw the barrier above breaking.
"Drakos!" Mr. Vector shouted na nagpataranta sa lahat.
"Students! Please do not panic!" sigaw ni Mr. Arzo. "No matter what the drakos do, they will never break the barr....."
Crack!
Like a sound of the glass, the barrier broke once and for all.
"Paano? Paano nabasag ang barrier ng akademya?" gulat na tanong ni Alicia sa kaniyang sarili. The barrier was built to deflect even the attack of an SS-rank. 'Not unless....the attacker reached the diefied rank! But how? Only the summoners can reach that rank. The summoner clan is already extinct. Is it possible that... a summoner is still alive, and he is the king of drakos? Nothing is sure yet. They would soon find out. It's a good thing that other headmasters are here to help us on whatever happens next.'
"Alicia!" napukaw ang atensiyon ni Alicia nang sumigaw si Mr. Vector sa likod niya.
Paglingon ni Alicia ay nagulantang siya sa kaniyang nakita. Ang kapwa niya headmasters ay pare-parehas na nakahandusay sa kanilang upuan at wala ng malay. Their lips turned black. A sign that they have been poisoned.
"Headmistress! Your lips...." a professor from other academy exclaimed when she saw Alicia's lips turning black. Alicia felt dizzy, but she casted a poison removing spell to remove the poison from her veins. She soon felt good again, but the other headmasters were hopeless.
"What are we gonna do now?" Mr. Vector asked. They were now sure that the attacks came from drakos. Without the other headmasters, they only had the professors and the students to fight. They had low survival rate lalo pa at nasa loob ng cube ang mga malalakas na estudyante ng akademya.
Lalo pa silang kinabahan nang makaramdam ang bawat isa ng nakakatakot na aura. Tila ang awrang ito ay lumalakas sa bawat segundong lumipas.
"Headmistress, you have to see what's happening on the field," kaagad na naalarma si Alicia dahil sa pagdating ni Lucas na tila'y takot na takot.
Dumating rin si Ester na may dalang masamang balita. "Ms. A, the Bluebloods and the other contestants are in danger. Masked Mistress is inside the cube and she seems to be killing the students there."
Napahawak sa sentido si Alicia. Hindi niya alam kung sino ang uunahing iligtas. Ang mga estudyante ba sa loob ng cube o sa labas?
"But, you warned them right?" tanong ni Alicia kay Ester na nakataas ang kilay.
"Yes, I did. But..." hindi natapos ni Ester ang kaniyang sana'y sasabihin.
"Okay. Then let's go to the field. If you warned them, I'm sure Finnix knows what to do already," Alicia said. She hurriedly went outside to exactly see what's happening. Lahat ng estudyante at professor ay sumunod sa kaniya papuntang field.
Pagdating nila roon ay halos lumuwa ang mga mata ni Alicia. Natakot rin ang mga estudyante dahil sa nasaksihan. A huge black portal was circulating on the air.
"That's a summoning portal!" Alicia screamed as soon as she figured-out what the portal really was.
"It makes sense. I guessed it right. A summoner is behind all of this. A diefied rank summoner who stronger than any of us!" she said to herself.
"But I thought there is no summoner left?" Mr. Arzo asked who was beside Alicia. He happened to hear what Alicia had said.
"Hindi ko rin alam kung paano nangyayari ang mga ito. Pero alam kong sakuna ang dala nito. Magsihanda ang lahat! Those who are confident enough to fight, defend youself by fighting. Those who don't, group yourself and help each other!" sigaw ni Alica.
She thought many would back-out pero nagulat siya nang wala ni isang estudyante ang umatras sa magaganap na labanan.
"Let's us show them what we have learned from our academies!" sigaw ng isa sa mga estudyante ng Yang Academy.
They had to fight for themselves. Lalo pa't nasa loob pa ng cube of nothingness ang mga malalakas na estudyante na sana'y malaki ang maitutulong sa magaganap na digmaan.
They knew that this attack was planned. They poisoned the headmasters. They attacked when the stronger students got inside the cube. Their move is to make their force weaker for an easy kill.
"As long as I am here, I will protect my students. Lahat ng estudyanteng nakatapak sa aking akademya ay kailangan kong protektahan." Pinatatag ni Alicia ang kaniyang sarili. As the strongest among the crowd, she would have to fight the diefied King of Drakos. Pinadaloy ni Alicia ang kaniyang signus sa buong katawan niya at inalala ang lahat ng spells an alam niya.
Lumaki nang lumaki ang portal hanggang sa iba't ibang uri ng nilalang ang sabay-sabay nitong iniluwa.
They were all creatures of the demon family. Vampires, werewolves, goblins, and other blood monsters na may nakakasuklam na hitsura.
But what made the students to scream in shock was when an axe skyrocketed coming from the portal. It landed right in front of the crowd of monsters. Soon, a pair huge hand came out of the black portal. The hands stretched the portal and a head of a giant appeared. The portal has gone bigger and the whole body of the giant came out. The giant was the last creature to get out of it until it closed.
"Raaaaaaawwr!" The giant roared that frightened the students. Kinuha nito ang kaniyang higanteng sandata at ibinilibag sa lupa na nagpayanig sa buong akademya. Natumba ang karamihan sa lakas nito.
The monsters occupied one-third of the wide field of the academy. Lahat sila ay nanlilisik ang mga mata na tila uhaw na uhaw sa dugo. Tila sabik na sabik silang pumatay.
"Raaaaaaawr!" The giant roared once again raising its axe on the air. It sounded more like an order. The giant seemed to be the commander of the battalion of monsters because all of them rushed to attack the students as soon as they heard the massive its roar.
"Ready yourself!" Alicia commanded. Dumaloy ang iba't ibang uri ng signus sa kani-kanilang mga katawan. "ATTACK!"
Sabay-sabay rin silang sumugod. Nagsitakbuhan ang mga estudyanteng kabilang sa short-ranged signus, isa na dito si Ester na hawak ang kaniyang dagger.
Nang papasugod na ang mga kalaban, biglang nagkabitak-bitak ang lupa at gumuho ito. Ten sink holes ate the monsters. Most of them are goblins for the werewolves and vampires managed to leap avoiding it.
It was Lucas' doing who was enveloped by brown aura. His left knee was kneeling while his hands were touching the ground. When he stood, the sink hole disappeared making the ground flat again.
"Signus Increase!" Headmistress Alicia enchanted. Everyone's body glowed with purple light for a moment. The students then felt their signus and magnus became stronger. Kahit na si Ester ay naramdaman niya ang lalong pagbilis ng kaniyang mga kilos.
Ester targeted the fast moving vampires at hindi lang siya ang pumili ng vampires bilang kalaban kundi halos lahat ng estudyanteng may speed type signus. They were all holding weapons to combat with the vampires. With Ester's fast, smooth and accurate moves, one swing of her dagger equals the death of a vampire. All of the students noticed Ester's aggressive moves. In their perspective, if their enemies are considered as monsters, then Ester was a devil. She was like a killing machine, built to kill.
Lucas transformed into a brown wolf, and he led the shapeshifters to take down the werewolves.
Meanwhile, Rizka and some other elementals and sub-elementals fought with the other monters. With their area of effect attacks, it took only a moment to finish all of them.
The professors chose to fight the higher rank monsters.
The pyschic type and healing type students remained at the back of the frontliners, and they stood as supports. Every time they see that someone was being sneak attacked or fighting with two or more monsters, they would control the enemy using their psychic abilities and kill them.
Half an hour later, all of the monsters were wiped-off. Labis itong ikinagalit ng higante. He roared loudly then he rushed forward to attack those students who killed his subordinates. Sa bawat pag-apak ng kaniyang paa ay ang bahagyang pagyanig ng lupa. The students retreated not knowing how to deal with the giant.
Lucas trasformed back into a human. He casted a thick earth wall to block the giant, but it just kicked the wall like nothing.
Rizka and other elementals tried to slow the giant down by throwing different attacks to it. Pinuluputan ang mga paa nito ng mga baging, pilit na nilalapnos ng apoy ang kaniyang balat, may mga naglalakihang air blades din ang bumulusok tungo sa higante, but none of them seemed to hurt it. Nagpatuloly lang ito sa pagsugod. May mga estudyanteng malapit nang maabutan ng higante ngunit hindi magawang tumakbo dahil sa takot.
Nakita ito ni Ester at naalala niya ang tinuro sa kaniya ni Martes tungkol sa pagpatay ng nilalang na binabalutan ng matibay na depensa. It needs a massive one-point force to hurt it. Ester with her four links masking-on flashed like a wind. She made a huge leap, and she concentrated her strength on her fist. When she was about the height of the giant, she throw the punch on the giant's head. Bahagyang nahilo ang higante at napaatras.
"Run!" sigaw niya sa mga estudyante na kaagad namang nagsitakbo nang mabilis. Hindi niya napansing nabawi na ng higante ang huwisyo nito at isang malaking kamao na ang papalapit sa kaniya.
"Merge With The Signus Flower!" mabilis na sambit ni Headmistress Alicia. His signus amplify spell was turned off but the signus flower teleported from her office into her palm. Headmistress Alicia turned into a purple light at pumasok siya sa signus flower.
The flower fell on the ground and its vase broke. The roots of the flowers dug to the ground kasabay nito ang mabilis nitong paglaki. The Signus Flower turned into giant with a humanoid form as well. Kasing laki na nito ang higante na kanilang kalaban. Nang lalapat na ang palakol kay Ester ay nasangga ito ng isang malaking hibla ng ugat na naka-usli sa lupa. Pinuluputan ng ugat ang palakol at tinupok ito pailalim sa lupa.
The Signus Flower was now behind Ester. Pinuluputan ng dahon nito ang katawan ni Ester at dinala siya sa ligtas na lugar.
Nagalit ang higante sa ginawa ng Signus Flower at sumugod ito gamit ang suntok. Ngunit humaba lang ang mga dahon ng Signus Flower at pumulupot ito sa kamao ng higante. The roots of the Signus Flower came out of the ground at pumulupot rin ito sa paa ng higante. Humaba ang katawan Signus Flower at pinuluputan nito ang leeg ng higante. Hinigpitan pa nito ang pagpulupot hanggang sa maubausan ng hininga ang higante at mamatay ito.
The Signus Flower uncoiled itself from the giant. Mabilis itong bumalik sa dati nitong anyo at lumabas ang lilang liwanag na kalauna'y naging si Headmistress Alicia.
"Ew. The giant stinks a lot!" nagrereklamong sabi ni Alicia.
*Inside the Cube of Nothingness*
Sa tulong ng kapangyarihan ni Heaven ay kaunting oras lamang ang kanilang iginugol upang mahanap nila ang isa't isa, but two of them are missing. They couldn't find Ester and Lucas.
"Where are the both of them?"
"I think Lucas was the one who picked the fake necklace but Ester...I think I have to tell you something about her!" Heaven said.
"What is it?" kaagad na tanong ni Finnix nang marinig ang pangalan ni Ester.
"I heard Ester shouting my name and base on her tone, I could tell that she is afraid," Heaven revealed.
"But Ester is not someone who easily gets afraid!" Hydra commented.
"I think something is wrong!" Ten exclaimed. "We've been roaming for a while, but we did not find a single student from other academies," dagdag pa niya.
"Akala ko ako lang ang nakapansin," pagsang-ayon ni Winwin.
Kinutuban silang lahat. They all thought the same. Something was off. Something was amiss within the game.
Nagulat silang lahat ng isang babae mula sa School of Awakens ang duguang tumakbo papalapit sa kanila.
"Help me! She's dead! They're dead!" umiiyak nitong bungad at natumba siya sa mga kamay ni Finnix.
"What are you talking about?" Finnix asked to comfort her.
"My teammates are dead. She killed everyone else. Someone is here to kill us. She is going to kill us all!" babala ng babae na umiiyak at nanginginig.
Tama nga ang kutob nila. May masamang nangyayari sa paligid pero hindi nila inaasahan na mas malala ito.
"Are you sure about that? Who are you talking about?"
"From the sword that she holds, I think... I think she is Masked Mistress!" hindi mapakaling sabi ng babae.
Kinabahan silang lahat nang marinig ang pangalang iyon. Her name was enough to scare all of them. Halata namang hindi nagsisinungaling ang babae pero ang malaking tanong, paanong nakapasok dito si Maksed Mistress?
"But why didn't you take off your bracelet so that you can flee?" Tila naghihinala pa ring tanong ni Winwin.
"Because I want to warn everyone!" Napasigaw na ang babae sa kaba.
"Heaven, track and contact every contestants of this game except Masked Mistress. Warn them about the situation and tell them to remove their bracelet. Kailangan na nating lisanin ang lugar na ito. Kapag nakalabas tayo ay ipasasara natin ang cube kay Ms. A upang hindi na makalabas pa si Masked Mistress," utos ni Finnix.
Tumango naman si Heaven at ginawa ang utos ni Finnix. "Contestants of AAC, I am Heaven of Signus Academy. I am sending this to you to warn you about the current situation. Someone is here to kill all of us, so I request to those who can hear this to remove your bracelet right now and get out of here! This is not a scam! I will hold any responsibility of this action." Ipinadala ni Heaven ang kaniyang mensahe sa hangin. She even tracked where the air message should go, so that it wouldn't reach Masked Mistress.
"Now, let's remove our bracelet on the count of three. One, two, three!" Sabay-sabay nilang pinigtas ang kanilang pulseras. They were teleported outside the cube ngunit hindi nila inaasahan ang kanilang nakita. The barrier above them was destroyed. Wala na ring tao sa loob ng arena. Nagsisulputan pa ang mga kalahok na kakateleport pa lang mula sa cube at labis rin na pagkagulat ang kanilang naging reaksiyon. Halos nangalahati na lang sila ang lumabas. Nakaamoy sila ng masangsang na amoy ng dugo kaya kaagad silang tumakbo palabas ng arena upang alamin ang nangyayari.
They were shocked to see the once beautiful field being ruined.
They rushed towards the crowd na tila kakatapos lang ng laban ngunit napahinto sila nang isang itim na portal ang nagpakita malapit sa gate ng academy.
Akala ni Alicia at ng mga estudyante ay tagumpay sila sa labanan ngunit napawi ito nang nagkaroon muli ng itim na portal sa harap nila. This time, mas nakakatakot na ang awrang bumabalot dito.
Nagsilabasan mula sa portal ang mga miyembro ng drakos. Kakaunti lang sila na siguro'y kalahati sa bilang ng mga estudyante ngunit ang bawat isa sa kanila ay may nag-uumapaw na kapangyarihan.
'How are we going to defeat them?' Alicia thought.
"The Bluebloods and the elites are here!" someone at the back shouted. Tila nasagot ang tanong ni Alicia dahil sa narinig. Napalingon ang lahat sa likod. Nakita nila ang Bluebloods at iba pang mga kalahok na tumatakbo papalapit sa kanila. Pagkarating nila ay pumwesto sila sa harap ng mga estudyante kung nasaan rin si Ester, si Lucas at ang mga propesor.
"Headmistress, we already called the kingdoms to send back-up. Don't worry! Someone is coming to help us," Finnix said. Alicia sighed in relief. Maasahan nga niya ang pinakamalakas na estudyante ng kaniyang akademya.
The last group of drakos came out of the portal and it sarted to close again.
"KILL THEM ALL!" a thunderous voice echoed all over the academy that inititated the drakos' attack. Hindi nila alam kung kanino ito nagmula. But they know a thing, the man behind the voice is the diefied King of Drakos.
*** To be continued ***