The Moon Symphony

Strategy

Makisig's Place, Forest of Retribution

"Baku, did you feel that sudden outburst of energy again?" Saldang asked. 

"Yes, I did. But it felt a bit weird, I know that it was Ayari, but something has changed with his spiritual power. I think that he might have discovered something to upgrade his power." 

"That's right. I can feel that aside from Ayari's light and ice attribute, he unlocked the other elements too." Makisig said. 

"But how did Ayari do that?" Ani asked. 

"I'm not sure, but this is just a theory. Ayari might have met the Eye of the Seas." Saldang answered. 

"Eye of the Sea?" Ester asked. 

"Whoever has that title can amplify a person's spiritual energy and can boost it," Saldang said. 

"Is that even possible, and do such person exist?" Anan asked. 

"Yes, that's possible, and I know exactly who that person was and where he is located."

"Where?"

"The Pin-atubo, a separate island from here," Saldang said. 

---------

Pin-atubo, Ingo's House

"So, please tell me everything about this beast that was troubling Pinatubo. I mean, it's abilities for me to prepare." I asked. 

"Sure, I'll explain everything that you need to know to fight Lobo and his minions. I believe you encountered them the other day, right?" Makiling asked. 

"Yes, I did. We had fought some of the minions when we were looking around at the Cordilleras." I answered. 

"I see, that's good then. As we have discussed before, Cordilleras has now considered a barren land as it was home to the Lobo. Its continuous emitting of ominous aura made the place more dangerous than usual. The Cordilleras have been split into four parts, which has every servant of the Lobo. The nest of the Lobo is in the center of the Mountains." 

"We need to infiltrate first the lairs of the servants of the beast guarding the mountain before attacking the main boss."

"I see. I'll note that, but I have a question: did you mention that four guardians are guarding the boss? Please give me an idea of what they look like before we fight them. I said.

"Ok, no problem, since the mountains are divided into four parts, the first survive is a gigantic eagle guarding the exterior part, and next to it, the second guardian is a massive snake. On the inner part of the mountains, the third guardian takes its look after a giant monkey, and the last one is one of the siblings of the boss. It looks exactly like its mother." Makiling explained.

"I see. I'll take note of everything. Thank you so much, but how do I defeat these servants that you are referring to. I still don't know their weaknesses." I asked. 

 I'm sorry, but I don't know their weakness since I did not encounter them before." Makiling explained. 

 "That's fine with me, and I understand entirely. Don't worry, and I'll look for an answer while thinking of the things you said to me. I am thankful for everything that you have done for me so far."

 "Again, I'm sorry if I cannot provide you an answer but don't worry, and I'll look into this," Makiling said. 

"Please don't pressure yourself with this, Makiling. It's time for me to help you in return." I said. 

 After talking with her, I decided to go back to my room to think about the plan on how to defeat the enemy; if my friends are just here, it will be easier.

After some time spaying on the place, I heard someone knocking on the door. When I opened it, It was Ingo, carrying the standard tray that he always brings. 

I told him to come in and n sit down place the tray on the table. The scent of the tea filled the room.

How are you feeling right now? I asked. 

I'm feeling better now, Ayari. Thank you for asking. How about you? Ingo asked. 

I'm feeling good right now as well after drinking the medicine back in Makiling's room. I said. 

That's good to hear, then. So have you already come up with a plan for defeating Lobo? Ingo asked. 

Honestly, I'm still thinking about what we are going to do with the enemy. How about you? Do you have any idea on how to defeat the servants that your sister mention?

I'm sorry, but I also don't know what they have. What we only know is how they look like. If you want, let's try retaking a look at them. But just a fair warning, it is still dangerous for us to venture there since we don't know any information about them. 

I think I'll go with your suggestion, but it will be best if I go alone.

Are you sure about that?

Yes, and I don't want to trouble you again. I said. 

I guess I can do anything living in about your decision. But please, be careful since we don't have any idea how powerful these servants are. We might have face some of their minions, and you know that we had a hard time defeating most of them. Ingo said.

Ok, thank you for the reminder. I promise I will go back as soon as I have the information. Regarding the ability that I acquired, I already ask your sister, and she told me that during the ceremony, the brooch she gave me was infused with her spiritual energy. I explained.

I see. Now we know the origins of your new abilities. This might be helpful on what you are going to do tomorrow. You can ask some of the creatures politely, and I help you check the enemies. Ingo suggested.

Now that you mention it, I can go ahead and try your idea. Thank you so much. I said and smiled at Ingo, 

No problem, as long as I can help you. 

After talking for about an hour, Ingo left the room. I decided to take a rest so that I will have the energy on my journey tomorrow. 

The next day, I decided to head out when the sun was rising. I told the siblings before I left. 

I followed the trail that Ingo told me. After a few moments of walking, I reach the end of the forest arriving at the boundary that divides the forest from the Cordilleras. I checked the surroundings if enemies were waiting for me, but luckily there was nothing period as I continued walking. The intensity of the ominous aura got powerful, and I had a hard drive breathing. The air was suffocating. It was worse when Ingo and I checked it for the first time. 

I continued walking to check how bad the situation was. The more I walked towards the forest of cordilleras, and I saw the destruction that the place had. Heighten my senses just if any enemies will appear out of nowhere. I took out the dagger and gripped it tightly while I continued walking on the path. The smell of sulfur and rotting filled my nose. I continued checking there were enemies inside, but still, nothing appeared.

How do I look for the first servant? I tried to recall what she said, and I remember that the place Was divided into four parts. Now it's time to check the first layer. I kept on walking, and the site was getting more ominous than before. 

 I can feel that someone was looking at me in my direction. I don't know what it is, but I have a terrible feeling. I gripped the night in my hands to prepare if the enemies will try to attack me from behind. After a few minutes, nothing appeared. I don't know why but I am still feeling that someone was watching my every movement. 

I close my eyes and check for any other presence around the area, but nothing. What I can only sense is the evil energy a few kilometers away from me. Maybe this is one of the servants that the siblings told me about. I tried to follow where the pressure was coming from. As I get deeper into the forest of the cordilleras, I can clearly see the destruction this place had. I suddenly remembered the abundant forest that Makiling showed me the other day. 

 There were still no signs of the enemies aside from the one that I am sensing right now. Just to be sure, but the enemies will not sense me, I used the concealing spell that I learned from Baku. I don't know if this will work, but I hope it can help me check the enemies.

 I began to cast the spell, and after a few seconds, my body turned invisible. I continue following the path that's in front of me, then after a few minutes of walking, I reach the place where the first servant was. I was surprised by what I saw. I couldn't stop myself from gasping from the sight of the first servant of Lobo. 

 It was a gigantic bird and what surprising was its appearance looked normal, as if it was not controlled by the energy surrounding it. The bird suddenly looked in my direction as if it was observing what was in front of it. I slowly moved to a different location to not linger on the spot where the enemy was looking.

I tried to move closer. I was really surprised by the size of this bird. The feathers of this bird were made from metal, and on its head, it looked like a black horn. Even though it's not showing any signs I'm being infected, I can still feel the ominous energy coming from it. 

 Behind the gigantic bird, there were smaller creatures, as if they were waiting for its command. I slowly move away from the den of this massive bird, carefully not waking up its minions.

It will be dangerous if the enemies switch off from my movements. I don't know, but I suddenly got a chilling sensation behind my back. When I looked around, the smaller creatures started to move in my direction. I don't know, but my foot began to move on its own, trying to get away from the horde of creatures. 

The concealing spell suddenly disappeared, and I was exposed to the enemy. The enormous bird let out a loud sound as if it was commanding the smaller creatures. They looked like crickets, and they have sharp wings and legs. 

The tiny monsters began to move towards me. I ran as fast as I could. I can fight them, but I don't know what their number was. It's really dangerous if I stayed here without knowing what these creatures can do. They might be small, but you can tell that you can kick your butt just by looking at them. 

  To hold the enemies off, I summoned two light orbs and directed them towards the enemies. Light shards appeared from the ball of light, attacking the insects. I am in a dangerous situation right now. Enemies that we're able to evade my attack continued to follow me. If only Ani was here, I could ask her to enchant my movements. But there's nothing I can do since they are not here with me. 

 I continued running until I reached the forest entrance, but the creatures are still following me. 

I guess I have no choice but to fight them. I started chanting the spell, summoning a massive wave of ice, and directed it towards the enemies. The insects were frozen in place by the magic that I used. There were still some creatures that escaped my attack, and they began to fly towards me. I gripped the dagger tightly and prepared for the incoming attack. 

 One by one, the enemies Fell down as a hack and s***h through their bodies. There were still many of them, but some of them stopped on their tracks after seeing what I did with other creatures. I don't know why but these creatures began to retreat back into the forest. Then I suddenly heard a loud noise coming from where the gigantic bird was. 

   I cast another spell and directed my attack only at the insects that were fleeing. They got caught on my magic and got frozen in place. I let the other creatures escape and ran away as fast as possible, going back to the boundary of the mountains. 

I did not expect that the servant will notice my presence. Maybe, the spell that I used was not potent enough to hide my spiritual energy. At least, I already have an idea how the first servant looks like, but I'm still worried about what it can do. 

I hurried to go back to Ingo's place. 

 On my way back, I noticed that the animals were waiting on the path that I am taking. I moved towards that and tried to ask if there was something wrong. A small bird perched on my shoulder, And whispered something in my ears. The bird told me that they overheard our conversation with Makiling, and they tried to gather the information that I can use to defeat the four servants of Lobo. I was surprised by what the animals did, even if I did not ask them to do it. 

I asked the bird if why did they decide to help me on gathering the information. The bird answered that the creatures are willing to help me since I am one of the chosen successors of the deities. Aside from that, they asked me if they can request something. 

I asked them if what do they want. A small deer went in front of me and brushed its head on my legs to get my attention. I sat down and touched the head of the deer, rubbing it gently. The other animals began to move towards me as well. I asked them if what would be their request. 

The tiny deer told me that they want the old forest of Pin-atubo back the way it was. They also asked me to defeat the evil beast that was ruling over the forest of Cordilleras. They were afraid that the enemies might attack the remaining forest if the beast is still not cared for.

 I told the animals that I will do my best to take care of them to live happily in this forest again. The animals began to cheer about what I said. I also thanked them for their efforts in helping me gathering enough information to defeat the enemies. 

The bird began to tell me what they found out about the servants of Lobo. The gigantic bird can control the winds and some hordes of insects that look like crickets. This bird also can throw off its feathers and use them as daggers to attack the enemy. For me to defeat the eagle, I need to destroy the horned that was on its head. 

 The second servant that I need to defeat is a massive snake that looks like a king cobra. The snake can go underground and appear anywhere on its will within its nest. Also, it can release toxic fumes, which is really dangerous because we don't know how that the haze was.

 As for the third servant, it was a gigantic monkey that can split its body into three. The monkey also throws fireballs from its mouth. The tiny bird told me to be very careful with this because it was really agile. 

As for the last servant, its appearance was of a wolf. There were rumors between the animals that it was the offspring of the Lobo. This monster can summon hordes of monsters like the gigantic eagle and can control ice. Compared to the monkey, its movements were faster. The animals also warned me that I can only defeat this creature by destroying its core. As for the other servants, I should also eliminate the heart.

I asked the animals how to locate the individual core of these enemies. As for the gigantic eagle, it's located on its head. It is on its tail for the snake, while it's located on its back for the monkey. They cannot find its core for the wolf, but an ant said it might be underground. 

I thanked the animals for the information that they have given me. It was more than enough to devise a plan in defeating these servants. I waved goodbye to the animals and returned back to the house. I noticed that Ingo was waiting for me at the front door. I can see that he was worried about me.

"I'm sorry, Ingo. The animals wished to talk to me as they have assisted us in looking for information about the enemy. They successfully gathered enough information that we can use to defeat the servants." I explained. 

Ingo smiled at me as a response.

"I'm glad to hear about that, but can you tell me what happened at the boundary of the Cordilleras. There was a loud sound that was heard here coming from that location." Ingo said. 

I told them everything about what happened in the den of the giant eagle. I told him that I tried to conceal my presence, but it had no effect, and I was still detected by the enemy. I also told him that there was a swarm of crickets under the control of the giant bird. 

"I see, but look at you, not taking of yourself properly," Ingo said and pointed at my right arm. 

I was shocked by what I saw. I was bleeding, and for me not to even notice, that was weird. I did not feel any pain when I was attacked by the enemies, which is why I don't know that I have a wound. 

I can feel that Ingo was a bit mad at me when he grabbed me towards his room. This was the first time I saw what's inside his room when I first arrived here. Ingo told me to sit down, which I did without hesitation. He picked up a clean piece of cloth and basin of water and moved towards me. Ingo began to clean my wounds. Luckily, the injury was not that deep. 

After cleaning the blood, Ingo stood up, picked up some medicinal herbs, and placed them above my wound. He then wrapped my wound with a clean piece of cloth. Next, he grabbed a cup on his table and poured the contents of the teapot beside it. 

Ingo handed me the cup and told me to drink it. As usual, the contents were so bitter that I began to make faces again. I suddenly heard Ingo laughing because of my facial expressions. At least, his mood has lightened up because of my silly face. 

"I'm sorry, Ingo, I did not notice that I got hit by the enemy," I said. 

"That's fine, Ayari. But please, next time, be careful, especially now, we know what the enemies can do." Ingo said. 

"Yes, I will. I promise." I answered. 

"That's good to hear then, so do you have plans already on how to defeat the servants," Ingo said. 

"Now that you mention that, I already had an idea in my mind that I can easily defeat the servants," I said.

"What is it?"