The Spirit Martial

Spirit 58

Tahimik lang kaming nakaupo dito sa loob ng tent habang binabasa ni Gin ang buong detalye ng mission. Patagal ng patagal- his expression turns into something else too. Bakas talaga sa mukha niya na hindi siya sang-ayon sa gagawin namin ngayon.

“This is it?” he asked the soldier who was standing beside him.

“Yes, Your Highness,” he responded.

“How come there are no S Class Spirit Casters here? Studyante pa talaga ang pinadala dito,” Gin replied. Tama naman ang sinabi ni Gin. This kind of mission isn't for us. IN our age, this is not a mission, it's more like a suicide.

“P-Pasensya na po, it’s the school’s order,” the soldier responded and Gin took a deep sigh. It's the school order pero hindi ko gets bakit. What is our principal thinking?!

Gin signed the document at umalis ang soldier which means kami na lang dito. Sampo kaming sasabak sa loob, sana ay sampo rin kaming lalabas. I'm hoping our mission here isn't that serious para sure na makakalabas kami.

Gin stood up at umayos kami ng upo para pakinggan siya.

“This is 7-day expedition. Our mission is not to defeat the boss demon but to find their lair. According to some sources- the lake were once their lair but they transferred.” he explained. Yeah, this is suicide.

“You know that finding their lair is like meeting the death God, right?” Kali asked.

“Exactly,” he said with a long pause. “That’s why we have to preserve our magic at all cost. We may have food with us pero hindi natin alam kung ano pang pwedeng mangyari. As much as possible, I want us all to stick together and be mindful of the surroundings,” he resumed.

“Hex and Hugo will lead us to the entrance and their secret passages.” Tempest added and they both nodded instantly. “Gin will walk in front while I’ll stay at the back. First years, stay at the center- lalo ka na Kali. The King gave us a special order to protect you no matter what,” he added at kumunot ang noo niya.

“That stupid old man,” he whispered and clicked his tongue. I glanced at Kailani and he looked away. Why can't the King order to protect them both? Anak pa rin naman niya si Kailani.

"Let's prepare the things we need," Gin ordered at tumango kami.

After our preparation umalis na kami sa tent nain at sinalubong kami nga mga soldiers. They were saluting us and most of them are teary-eyed. Is it because everyone who leaves here dies? The commander stepped forward.

“Thank you for your service,” he said with a firm voice.

“We haven’t done anything yet but you’re thanking us. Isn’t it a little early?” Tempest asked.

“W-Well, not to insult everyone but we do this to all Spirit Casters who goes inside- we want to tell them thank you for everything even if they fail because 98 percent of people who goes in there never came back. We would like to express our gratitude in advance,” he explained but his eyes were all teary.

“I see,” Tempest said with a nod. “Then we’ll hope we’ll be back.” he added.

“We’ll try our best to belong in the 2 percent, Commander.” Gin said and he gave him a sad smile. “See you in seven days,” he added and for some reason, I felt sad as hear him saying those words.

“We’ll be waiting, Your Highness,” the Commander replied and we all smiled even though we don’t feel well at all.

Naglakad kami papunta sa entrance where we saw a huge gate connected to the thick barriers. This is it. Papasok na talga kami. The huge gate opened and the next gates did the same. I did not expect them to have 6 gated in total- ganon ba ka delikado ang lugar na ito?

“We’ll be entering hell, team. Prepare yourselves,” Gin warned.

“Roger that,” we all said in chorus ans we all took the same step- sa buong buhay ko, ito na ata ang pinakamabigat na lakad na nagawa ko. It felt like I’m stepping on a sticky mud. My foot won’t even move on itself kung hindi ko pipilitin. Tama ba talaga ang desisyon ko sa buhay?

When we entered, the gates closed silently at napalunok na lang ako habang kaharap ko ang buong lugar na nasa loob ng barrier. Halatang napang-iwanan na ng mga tao- thick bushes, nroken houses, trees everywhere, animals everywhere and the creepiest are the dried blood and couple of bone pieces. The smell of the entire place is normal although I expected it to smell like a trash. I guess the barrier is semi-permeable to oxygen- that’s good then. At least I get to breathe fresh air- at least I get to breath oxygen even if I’ll die here.

“What’s your order, Captain?” Hex asked at hindi sumagot si Gin at alam ko kung bakit. Pagpasok pa lang namin dito, nanganganib na ang buhay namin. I don’e know where they are or kung ano man iyon but one thing is for sure…

“We’re being watched, are we?” I asked at napatingin silang lahat sa akin.

“It’s more like being ambushed,” Kali replied habang nakatingin sa paligid.

“Don’t worry, they are B Class and C Class demons, they’re easy. Let’s just continue for now,” Gin replied. Wala na bang mas nakakaba nito?

Naunang naglakad si Gin at nakasunod lang kami. We did not went inside to forest kasi nandoon nakatago ang mga demons. Just like what Gin said, we have to save our magic. It’s daytime and I believe lower class demons are not good with sunlight. I looked around at hindi ko maiwasang makita ang mga sira-sirang bahay. Each houses have bones inside it habang ang iba ay may mga halaman nang tumubo. Well, corpse are good fertilizers so I expected it to happen. The town that we are in right now is kind of huge- there are even towers on each side. Medyo nakakalungkot nga lang talagang makita ang mga ganito. This town was once a silent town filled with people pero ngayon? Isa na lang itong lugar na may mga nakatayong sirang bahay na puno ng memorya. Everything turned into memory. Everything in now part of the history. I wonder what this town would look like if my father completely defeated Lucifer. Will this town be full with people too?

Biglang tumigil sa Gin kaya tumigil kami. Tempest suddenly pushed me closer to Kailani na nasa harap ko. Sumunod naman niyang pinasok si Nieve at si Kali. Hex and Hugo stood at our right side while Argo and Lor stood on our left side. Gin was in front while Tempest were at the back. Are they attacking? Why are we being protected? We can also fight!

“Felt that?” Gin asked.

“Uh-huh, felt it entirely. Something is coming,” Tempest replied at nagkatinginan kaming apat. Halata sa mukha namin na wala kaming alam sa pinagsasabinila. Iba talaga kapag may experience na sa ganito. I feel like we are just here as apprentices.

“Felt what exactly?” I asked of curiosity.

“That,” biglang sagot ni Lor at napatingin kami sa left side and I saw a weird figure inside the forest. Parang lumipad ang buong kaluluwa ko nang narealize ko na demonyo pala ang nakikita ko. The demon had no hair at all but he was 3 eyes. Usually, the third eye is located at the forehead pero ito, iba ito. It’s third eye was on hid chin while it’s mouth was on it’s forehead. Hindi lang iyan, the demon was crawling. Muntik na nga akong masuka nang marealize ko na baliktad ang katawan nito. Basically, its head was facing us but it’s front body was on the upper area while crawling. Napahawak ako sa tiyan ang bibig ko habang pinagmamasdan ito. This is the ugliest demon I encountered. Hindi ako matatalo sa labanan nito- kung hindi matatalo ako sa kapangitan nito. Nakakasuka ang pagmumukha niya.

“Oh my god, what the hell is that face?” reklamo ko.

“At may gana ka pa talagang magreklamo sa pagmumukha ng kalaban?” Hugo asked.

“H-Hindi naman sa nag rereklamo ako pero … parang nasusuka ako,” I replied.

Calm down, Cygnus. It’s daytime. Hindi siya makakalabas sa- did he just stepped his hand outside?!! Parang ramdam ko ang pamumutla ko ah, ang lamig ng pakiramdam kahit walang hangin.

“W-W-W-W-WHY IS HE STEPPING OUT?!” I asked.

“Why not?” Gin asked. “That’s an A Class demon,” he added at lumutang na ata ang buhay ko. Ewan ko ba, bakit ngayon ko lang naisip ito- parang gusto kong bumalik sa dati kong buhay.

The demon slowly crawled completely habang nakatingin sa amin. I wanted to step back because of panic pero napatigil ako nang hinawakan bigla ni Kailani ang kamay ko. I glanced at him and he was calmly glancing at the demon.

“We’ll be fine,” he said and he tightened his hold. “I promise,” he added at napalunok ako. I’ve been facing a lot of challenges and monsters pero ngayon pa ako natakot? I bet that gian demon we faced back then was scarier. Is it because we’re in a dangerous demon lair? Is it because of the demon’s appearance? Is it because …I’m afraid to die?

“Argo, Lor, you handle that. We’ll handle this,” biglang sabi ni Hex kaya napatingin ako sa kabilang banda. My body felt numb when I saw another demon but the difference is that, this demon isn’t crawling, it was standing perfectly. I know he is a demon but why does he look like a human?!

“Shapeshifter?” Nieve asked.

“No,” Gin replied. “A corpse with a demon inside,” Gin added at napalunok ako.

“The demons here … are kind of scary,” I whispered.

“I know. Upgraded demons are scary but wait until you see what an S Class demon,” Gin said and he glanced at me. “I bet you’ll say your prayers a thousand times,” he added.

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