The Spirit Martial

Spirit 75

Hindi pa kami lumalabas sa station namin pero rinig na namin ang hiyawan. Hindi ko alam kung gaano karami ang tao pero ang alam ko lang is maraming royalties na dumalo. Balita ko all the members of the Grand Order is actually present. Hindi ko maiwasan na kabahan lalo na't may ibang kapangyarihan na gumising mula sa akin. Hindi ko alam kung saan ito nanggaling but probably it came from that monster who uses electricity.

I glanced at my members at halatang kinakabahan talaga si Nieve while the others were doing fine. Kami lang ata ang kinakabahan dito eh. The door suddenly opened and the staff signaled us that we should get ready for the announcement of teams. Tumayo kaming lahat at napatingin kay Gin. Among all of our uniforms, siya lang iba since he's our captain. He's wearing a gold royal suit with a red cape. He's actually like a King to me. His white gloves, white slacks and black shoes suit him. His black expression is making him more attractive. Kami naman, we are all wearing white suits with golden cape. We all wore black slacks and white shoes and of course we also have our black gloves. Sa totoo lang, napakaganda namin tingnan talaga. Hindi ko alam kung ano ang sinusuot ng ibang team but itong sa amin? Napakaganda. I never thought I could wear something elegant as this at sa harap pa ng mga tao. Ibang-iba talaga siya sa normal na royal suits. I can't hide my smile at napahawak sa emblem na binigay sa amin from the previous mission. I've sent a letter to my mom, I wonder if she'll be able to see me in the arena. I really want to let her see what I can do.

"We should win," Gin said coldly.

"Yes, Captain," we all said in chorus.

The door opened and there we saw the staff again telling us that it's time for us to go. This is it. My first ever official tournament.

Father, watch me win my fights and I shall let the people know that I exist.

Naunang lumabas si Gin at sumunod kami. Pagkalabas pa lang namin, we already saw the other participants and they were stunend to see us. Oh, well, they did have royal suits but it was plain- they don't even have capes. Pabibo lang ata kami, shuta.

The moment they saw Kali, they all bowed down. Kali was looking straight into a specific direction kaya napatingin ako sa tinitingnan niya. It was the white haired guy I saw back then. The one with red eyes. Kali's expression changed and he looked like he was piss off. The white haired guy actually bowed down too kaya hindi ko alam kung bakit parang galit siya. Kali's hand move towards Nieve's hand na ikinagulat ni Nieve. He gripped tighter bago siya naglakad paalis habang hawak si Nieve. Do they know him? I glanced back at the white haired guy and our eyes met. He bowed down again and I frowned. Right, he heard pricipal's statement back then about me being the son of the previous Spirit Martial.

I moved in front at sumabay naman ang cape ko nang paalis ako. Oh damn, I feel like I'm a main character of a historical fiction. This is really a dream come true. Naglakad ako at tumabi kay Kailani na nakasunod nins Argo at Lor. The soldiers started bowing at us hanggang sa nakarating kami sa isang cave-lilke passage papasok sa arena. Hindi pa kami lumabas pero kitang-kita ko na ang buong arena. It actually has around 8 cave-like passages in total kung saan nakatayo ang ibang team, The extra passages remained unused. The announcer suddenly appeared while floating in the air and he landed perfectly into the ground.

"A lively morning, Agartha!!" he shouted and the crowd started cheering. They kept cheering different school names and it was damn loud. Although it's loud, it kind of motivates me. Yumuko ako and I started smiling. Napahawak ako sa dibdib ko and I raised my head- for a split second, I think I saw my father. Nakasandal siya sa tabi kong wall with his crossed arms. He smiled at me and tapped my head. Just like that- he immediately vanished. Napangiti ko and I took a deep breath. Right, I am not alone.

"Welcome to the 21st Mahika Tournament!!!" the announcer shouted and confetti started falling from the sky. "Before I will announce our respective themes, let me present our beloved King!" he shouted and everyone didn't shout but instead they stood up and bowed down. The others did the same too and I kind of panicked. I was about to bow down but Kailani didn't even bother so I didn't. Nagulat rin ako nang hindi nag bow si Kali. Kaming tatlo lang ata ang nanatiling nakatayo pero hindi naman kami makikita ng mga tao kaso nakatago pa kami sa loob. "And of course, our special guests, the 12 Zodiacs, the Grand Orders!!" the annoucer shouted and this time, both Kailani and Kali bowed so I bowed too.

The atmosphere began to change at napatingin ako sa harapan. My eyes widened when I saw 12 people at the center of the arena. Tumayo lahat ng balahibo ko nang lumabas ang kanilang mga spirit. Jeez, I only read them from books but now I'm actually seeing them this close! Ah- my heart is beating really fast. It's about to explode.

The 12 of them jumped at nawala lang sila- maybe they sat on the chairs na inihanda sa kanila but too bad hindi pa namin sila makikita.

"Raise your heads everyone as I present to you, our respective teams coming from Agartha's renowned schools!!" he shouted and just like that, the crowd started shouting different school names. "Let us welcome our first school from the West, Ocean Dale Spirit Casters!" the announcer added and a portion of a crowd shouted. Kitang-kita rin dito na may dalang flag ang mga sumisigaw. Naunang lumabas ang white-haired guy at napatingin ako nina Kali.

"What the hell is doing here?" I heard him whispered.

"Who is that?" I whispered.

"He wanted Nieve back then too. Even if I bought Nieve, he almost sealed him. Muntik na niyang makuha partner ko. My rage is just too strong, stronger than my rage towards Argo." he responded back. Oh- I smell jealousy. That explains why.

Patagal ng patagal, kinakabahan na ako na marinig na tawagin ang team namin. I'm kinda anxious but I also feel excited at the same time. When the 6th team was called, we were instructed to walk slowly palabas kasi kami na ang susunod. This is it- I should wear blank expression like them to look cool. I glanced at Kailani and he was really beautiful kahit hindi siya nakangiti. He's really turning me on but today is not the right time. I looked in front again at napatigil kami.

"Last but not the least," the announcer said at halos lahat ng tao sumisigaw ni. "Our defending champions!" he added. Ah- kaya pala. Our school won before but they failed to get the champion title during All Stars. "Oak Hills Casters Insititute- Team Octagon!" the announcer shouted at parang mas malakas ata ang tindig ng puso ko but I'm trying my best to remain calm.

Naunang lumabas si Gin at sumunod kami. Sinalubong kami ng malakas na hangin at malakas na sigae. Napakaraming tao talaga but I didn't react kasi mag mumukha akong ignorante. The universe itself was making us cool kasi lahat ng cape namin at lumipad sa likoran namin dahil sa hangin. I glanced at the audience and saw some people who were too stunned too see us but they kept on waving our school's flag. Napatingin ako sa likoran ko and I saw more people cheering and they're wearing our uniforms. I even saw Lucas and Azul at ngumiti ako ng konti. Ibinalik ko ang tingin ko sa harap at sumunod pa rin sa kanila. Gin stopped at the middle, watching the King and the Grand Orders. Damn, they're so intimidating.

While Gin was in front of all of us, hindi lumingon ng kahit saan ang iba kaya hindi na lang rin ako lumingon sa iba pang tao para hanapin si mom. I looked straight in front and the cheers never stopped. The other groups were behind us and they were surprise as I am because of the loud crowd.

The King stood up and raised his hand. A barrier appeared inside the arena and the crowd's voices started to fade.

"Fight with all your might, future Pro Spirit Casters!" he shouted.

"Fight with all your might!!" the crowd answered in chorus.

"Best in luck, teams." the King said with a smirk and watched at the four of us at umupo siya pabalik. Ngayon ko lang rin narealize na nandito rin ang hari ng ibang kingdoms. Then I guess this tournament is really a big deal huh.

Tumayo ang isa sa Grand Order. She was really pretty and she has this long cyan hair with blue eyes. She has a mark on her forehead and if I'm not mistaken- its's the mark of Aquarius. She opened her palm and a jar appeared in front of us. The jar was made of water and the plain jar suddenly changed. It hardened and turned ito ice at may nakasulat na. It's the schedule of fights. So it's actually bracketing huh?

"This will be the schedule of the tournament. We wish you luck and do your best. Agartha's future depends in your hands," she said with a soothing voice and she back down.

Since we are Defending Champions, pasok na kami sa semifinals. Ang anim na teams ang magkakaroon ng laban ngayon habang kami ay maghihintay sa kung sino man ang mananalo. Each team has 8 members at 1 vs 1 ito by school. Sa semifinals, ganon pa rin but the score is by team. As semifinalists, we have to face the 3 schools. For instance, makakalaban namin ang Ocean Dale- 1 vs 1 ito but if our team wins 5 1 vs 1 then we will be the winners. For the preliminaries naman, nakadepende iyon sa total points na makukuha nila through 1 vs 1. If they win all 8 games in one school, that'll be an advantage but they have to defeat another school again so they really have to win a lot of games to be in semifinals. The first 3 high scores will be our enemies.

"Lucky I guess," I whispered.

"You bet," Lor responded at ngumiti kami dalawa.

"Shall we start now?" the announcer asked and the King snapped.

Let the games begin.