Reborn: The Awakening

Eleven

Nandito muli ako sa Magi Arena ngayon kung saan opisyal na gaganapin ang laban namin ni Devon, ngunit ang kondisyon niya sa akin ay lima silang lalaban sa ’kin.

“Ano namang makukuha ko sa kalokohang ’to?” iritable kong tanong sa kanya.

Natawa siya na parang nanunuya. “You think you’re so great now that you’re in Magi Academia as Master Harold’s granddaughter?” Binigyan niya ako ng isang nakakalokong ngiti bago inilapit ang bibig sa tainga ko. “You must have forgotten what you did to Windav.” I rolled my eyes. Ha, I knew this woman would stoop this low to bring me down.

“Ha, fine,” pagsuko ko. “When I won, just give me peace—or just pretend I don’t even exist.”

Ngumisi siya. “Call.”

Nagtungo kami sa opisina ng arena upang i-register ang napag-usapang laban. Tanging ang Managing Officer ng Magi Arena at sina Trese at Vergel bilang representative ng Supreme Student Council lamang ang nandito. Nagulat din ako nang mapansin na nandito rin ang leader ng Mortal Seven na si Primo Klausser. Maya-maya rin ay bumukas ang pinto ng opisina at pumasok si Elijah at Frician mula roon.

“Lierre! Are you okay? I heard hinamon ka raw ng MBO sa isang unfair battle?” hingal na sabi ni Elijah habang nakatukod ang kamay sa frame ng pinto.

Natawa si Devon nang sarkastiko. “Unfair battle? Didn’t you know—”

Bago pa maituloy ni Devon ang sasabihin niya ay sumingit na ako. “Ako ang naghamon. It’s to end our ill-fated relationship.”

Halos mapa-nganga ang lahat ng nandito sa sinabi ko. Devon scoffed but didn’t say anything. I also saw Primo Klausser suppressed a smile as if he knew everything!

“Ha, it’s nice to know that you really followed my advice about coming to Magi Arena if you want to cause trouble,” Vergel said in a sarcastic tone. Mukhang ngayon lang niya nahanap ang tamang mga salitang sasabihin sa akin. He seemed so surprise earlier I almost felt sorry for him. “But five versus one, Niece? Against MBO? Are you planning to die here?”

Napalingon kaming lahat sa pinto nang mayroong sumilip mula roon. “What do you mean five versus one? Will you, guys, seriously allow that to happen?” It was Forest. Oh, gods. Why do these people keep interfering?

“Wow, I’m impressed. There are so many people here concerning their selves about a beast like you,” Devon whispered with a hint of disgust in her voice. Thank the gods, no one heard her say that.

Trese was about to speak up when the Managing Officer cleared his throat and shot every single one of us dagger looks. “Do you, kids, think this is your playground? Get the hell out of here!”

Nang lumabas na ang mga asungot sa usapan, naiwan na lamang kami rito sa opisina nina Devon, Trese, Primo Klausser, at ng Managing Officer.

“The proposed battle setup and rules would be possible if both parties agreed,” paliwanag ng Managing Officer na kaagad ding kinontra nina Primo Klausser at Trese.

“I will not allow it. Lierre Kingsley is a student here in Magi Academia and it’s my duty to protect her,” pangangatwiran ni Trese. He really sounded like the President of the Supreme Council.

“Then try to convince your dear student to withdraw her proposal,” iritableng sambit ng Managing Officer at sinulyapan pa ako, tila ba ako ang dahilan ng lahat ng kaguluhang ito.

“But—” Gusto pa sanang makipag-diskusyon ni Trese ngunit alam niyang wala na siyang magagawa. Napatingin na lang din siya sa akin na para bang nagtatanong tapos ay napabuntong-hininga. “At least fix the rules, so we could guarantee her safety.”

“We can do that much,” saad ni Devon. “Are we okay now?”

We were just about to sign the terms and conditions when we heard Primo Klausser coughed exaggeratedly.

“You have anything to say, boy?” naiiritang tanong sa kanya ng Managing Officer.

Primo smiled, a genuine devilish smirk that suit his superiority. “I am the current leader of Mortal Seven. It’ll be inappropriate to say nothing.” Devon and the officer seemed intimidated by him.

“And what is it that you want to say?” I asked nonchalantly.

“You look pretty when you’re in pinch,” he said with full confidence and walked out the door. We were all left dumbfounded. May maluwag na tornilyo ba siya sa utak?

 Paglabas namin sa Battle Ground ng Arena ay punong-puno na ng tao ang bleachers. Nakabibinging tilian at sigawan ang tanging maririnig sa kulob na espasyo sa loob. Hindi ko talaga lubos na aakalain na haharap ako sa maraming tao upang makilahok sa isang friendly combat. Devon’s intention was clear from the start. This ridiculous battle was to humiliate me and to prove something—that I am no special. That I didn’t deserve the special treatment that Master Acius had given me all this time. Mas lalo sigurong namuo  ang galit nila nang malamang nasa poder naman ako ni Master Harold ngayon.

Sa palibot ng malawak na stage kung saan kami isasalang, nakaupo ang Supreme Student Council at ang Mortal Seven, minus Emerald and Pizselior. Lahat ng estudyante ay nakaabang sa magiging laban. Karamihan ay nagpustahan pa kung sino ang mananalo.

“This battle is quite different from the previous ones. We’ll have the famous Team MBO which consists of five participants—” anunsyo ng emcee na kasalukuyang nakatayo sa gitna. “—and Lierre Kingsley of Magi Academia!”

Halos gumuho ang Arena sa lakas ng sigawan at hiyawan ng mga manonood nang sabay kaming nagpunta ng MBO sa magkabilang dulo ng stage. I never wished for this kind of attention from anyone, but these fools were testing my patience!

“Please be advised that this battle was made possible because both parties agreed to the terms and rules,” huling paalala ng emcee bago muling nagtaas ng boses. “There are no rules, except for one! Do not kill. Now, fight!”

Sa isang kurap, nawala na ang emcee sa gitna ng stage. Tumaas na rin ang invisible barrier ng stage upang maiwasan ang ligaw na mahika palabas ng stage at upang walang makatulong at makapandaya mula sa labas.

“It’s a shame that we couldn’t kill you here,” ani Devon bago sumugod sa akin hawak ang isang espada na gawa sa pilak. Sinalag ko ang atake niya at napahawak sa siko niya. Sinipa ko ang binti niya at sinunod ang hawak na espada. Tumalsik iyon sa barrier at bumagsak sa sahig. “Ugh, damn it!” Devon wasn’t really good in hand combat, but she was exceptional when it comes to using her magaè.

Sunod na sumugod sa akin ang tatlo. Malalaki ang mga katawan ng apat na lalaking kasama ni Devon. Naka-itim na sando lamang ang mga ito at kitang-kita ang pare-parehong tato sa kanilang mga braso na katulad ng nasa batok ko. Isa itong malaki at pahabang hugis ng titik S. It was an indication that we were Master Acius’ assassins.

“I’m sorry, Lierre,” said one of them before I felt a huge blow on my stomach. Hindi pa ako nakaka-recover ay mayroon na namang atake sa gilid ko. Naramdaman ko na lang na mayroong matulis na bagay na bumaon sa tagiliran ko. An enormous amount of blood came gushing down on my legs. Napaluhod ako sa hindi maipaliwanag na sakit sa kalamnan ko. Ramdam na ramdam ko pa ang paghugot ng lalaki ng kanyang patalim mula sa tagiliran ko.

Hindi pa natapos doon ang pag-atake. Nang makaramdam ako ng enerhiya mula sa ibabaw ko, pinilit ko na gumulong patagilid, but I was a little too late. A giant rock, almost as big as me, smashed my small body unforgivingly. A deafening screech came out of my mouth as I felt its damaging impact on me.

The crowd went silent after that. Maybe a bit shocked of how brutal my opponents were. All I hear was Vergel shouting, or begging, to stop the battle and free me. I could feel the agony and desperation in his voice as I saw him stood up and smashed the barrier with his bare fist.

“Gods, I am fine. I heal faster than anyone else does,” bulong ko sa sarili. Napilitan akong i-liquify ang sarili which I do not usually do since it looked a little pathetic, but what could I do when I was in a pinch and somebody was rooting for me? My whole body melted into a small pond of water and flowed just beside the rock. I couldn’t humiliate myself any longer. Fortunately, by just surrounding a massive energy at the injured areas, I could heal myself without taking medications. My body just responded when I am in a worst state, and I do not also understand why do I have such ability. I just wished I brought a bottle of water so I could heal my wounds faster.

Pagewang-gewang pa ako nang tumayo ako. Ramdam ko pa rin ang pagkirot ng tagiliran at sikmura ko, damn. I swear to our dead god Eldoris that I’ll kill these fuckers once I’m done with my shits here in this island.

“Finally getting worked up,” said Devon who was, in a blink, standing in front of me. I saw her finally summoning her spiritual weapon and was more than ready to beat me to death. The other four did the same. You know what’s more interesting? They all have the same magaès and spiritual weapons—fire and cannons! Means? Explosion. f**k them.

I charged towards them so I could distract them from shooting. I could only do that much since I always hate long-range combat. Sinipa ko pataas ang espada na ginamit kanina ni Devon at sinalo iyon habang papalapit sa kanila. One of them tried to shoot, but I easily dodged it. I could hear explosions from everywhere, but I have managed to stay alive up until this moment. Nang tuluyan akong makalapit sa kanila, pinagsisipa ko ang mga hawak nilang spiritual weapon. But I was always at my disadvantage in number and in power. Devon shot an explosion towards me that I could not even dodge because I was busy wrestling with one of his men on the ground. Thanks to my fast reflexes, nadaplisan lamang ako sa braso ngunit halos bahain ng dugo sa kinaroroonan ko dahil doon. Baka ang pagkaubos ng dugo ang ikamatay ko rito, the fudge.

Sumipa ako sa ere at pwersahang tumayo sa mga paa ko. Kumikirot ang halos buong katawan ko, pero hindi ko iyon ininda. Iritang tiningnan ko lamang si Devon, ngunit wala talaga sa loob ko ang makipaglaban.

Hindi pa man ako nakakagalaw, mayroon na namang bumaon na mga patalim sa braso at binti ko at isang pagsabog sa sikmura ko. Tumalsik ako sa lakas ng impact. Naramdaman ko na lamang ang malakas na paghampas ng likod ko sa barrier bago ako bumagsak sa sahig. I couldn’t describe how painful that last blow was. I was literally bathing in my own blood, while my clothes were completely ripped that my clothes beneath were exposed.

But then again, I heard familiar voices from the outside. Sari-saring boses nina Frician, Elijah, Mika, Vergel at Forest ang tanging naririnig ko. Sinubukan kong ilibot ang paningin ko sa labas. Kita ko kung paano magtatakbo si Trese papunta sa emcee upang makiusap na itigil na ang laban, but it seemed like the battle wouldn’t possibly end unless I’m almost dead or unconscious.

“You made a wrong move, Devon,” I murmured when I felt the blood on the floor and my body moved and flowed on its own. In case you didn’t know, my blood was cursed that it could do unimaginable things like healing or killing. There’s nothing in between. I smiled at her, my vision almost blurry. “You know that my blood is venomous . . . Run!”

Before my consciousness was finally gobbled by the darkness, I saw endless worry and fright in her eyes, like she unbelievably saw her own death.