The Spirit Martial

Spirit 29

We are currently in the train station. Hinihintay ang unang train papunta sa locasyon na pupuntahan namin. I asked kung bakit hindi nalan gkami lumipad or ano but Gin told us to do things quietly. One rural place has been under control for over a day now and they defeated a lot of the castle’s troops which is alarming. One survivor was able to report na kailangan nila ng malalakas na Spirit Cster kasi hindi kaya ng mga soldiers lang. Sabi sa nag report, it’s either an A Class demon or an S Class demon. Unfortunately, kaming apat ang nabunot upang sumama doon. Hindi pa nga kami nakapasok sa isang class, may mission na kaagad kami. May experience na si Kailani dito kaya I’m sure he’ll be fine, ewan ko lang kung okay pa ako o magiging okay ba ako?

“We’ll plan our invasion as soon as we get inside,” Gin ordered at tumango lang kami. Gin is our captain and for now we’re in one team. The Mahika Team, that’s what they call us.

“Got that,” we all replied in chorus.

Napatingin ako sa paligid and I noticed that the people kept staring at us. They are all Spirit Casters too but for some reason, nananatili lang silang ganito. Acting like normal citizen even though they can fight. I mean, look at me, I have a low rank spirit but I still choose to fight. Their stares are kind of piercing us as if they look at us as dead. Nag-eexpect ba sila na hindi kami makakabalik? Kasi kung oo, ako rin.

“What’s wrong, Cygnus?” Kailani asked at agad akong umiwas ng tingin sa mga tao. Umiling ako at napahinga ng malalim.

“Nothing,” sabi ko at tumingin ako sa kanya. “We’ll come back alive, right?” I asked and he chuckled.

“Alive and well,” he replied and tapped my head. I liked how he tapped my head like this. It feels like home.

The railings started vibrating and an echoing sound was heard. Parating na ang train na sasakyan namin. Bumitaw si Kailani at sabay kaming lahat napatingin sa kanang bahagi ng underground cave when we saw a light. It was from the train na kanina pa namin hinihintay. The railing’s sound was annoying as the train tried to stop. When it stopped, the door opened at our direction at nauna kaming pumasok. As expected, we have our own cabin with complete things- bed, sofa, kitchen, and even shower room.

Nauna nang pumasok si Gin at sumunod lang kami. He sat on one of the chairs na nasa dining table kaya sumunod kaagad kami. He sad on the edge kung saan makikita talaga siya ng lahat.

“So, what’s the plan, Captain?” Argo asked.

“According to my sources,” he said and he took something from his pocket. It was a royal badge and he suddenly pressed something there at may lumabas na mga imahe. Napatakip ako sa aking bibig nang nakita ko ang mga patay na tao. Some of their bodies are widely open while some are split into pieces. Nasusuka ako. “The demon who did this is an upper rank so it can be an A Class or above. Hindi tayo pinadala doon para talonin ito, we just have to buy some time before the actual Spirit Casters will come. They’re still on a mission so as much as possible, dapat natin mababawasan ang damage at ang demons na nakalabas. Although the boss is only the higher rank, hindi dapat tayo kompyansa sa iba kahit lower ranks. It doesn’t change the fact that demons are demons” he added with a serious look. He is really a good captain.

Gin clicked again and my eyes widened. It’s a blurry image but I know that it’s a demon. A hude demon with 6 hands and 4 eyes. It has a long hair and large sharp teeth. He also has a kind of tattoo. It’s an image kaya hindi ako sure kung gaano ito kalaki talaga but from his physique, I’m sure this is huge one. This is not just because of the angle, malaki talaga siya.

“This is the boss,” Gin said at sumandal sa upuan. “This is the last report we received before the troops were eliminated. Hindi ko alam kung kaya nating talonin iyon but our goal is to buy some time.” he added. “We’ll be dividing ourselves into pair and be on different directions to rescue survivors and kill lower ranks. Kung isa man sa inyo ang makakalaban ang boss, give a signal and we’ll back you up but you don’t need to fight, you have to escape no matter what.” Gin added again at napalunok ako.

“What if we can’t?” tanong ko.

“You have to,” Gin replied. “If you wanna live, you have to,” he added and he pressed the royal badge to turn off the images at pinasok sa bulsa niya. “Other questions?” he asked.

Argo raised his right hand at napatingin kaming lahat sa kanya. “What if the boss will go enrage at madadamay na ang lahat ng tao sa labas, do we have to escape pa rin?” he asked and Gin tilted his head to think about it.

“Then I guess we’ll fight until the rescue arrives. We are just students after all,” Gin replied.

“What if there will be no rescue until the next day?” I asked and Gin smirked.

“Then I guess our mission will be something else,” he said at kumunot ang noo ko.

“What mission?” I asked.

“Defeat that demon and survive,” he said with a smirk.

We’ll be back alive and well huh? We’ll see about that.

After a couple of hours, the train stopped. The door in our cabin suddenly opened and a royal soldier went in.

“This is it?” Gin asked and the soldier bowed down.

“Yes, Your Highness,” he replied.

Tumayo kami at lumabas sa cabin. Naglakad agad kami palabas ng train at ang daming soldiers na nakabantay. Kami lang rin ang bumaba dito. As soon as we took off from the train, agad naman humarorot palayo ang train. It suddenly vanished as if it made itself invisible. Interesting.

“Dito po,” the soldier said kaya sumunod kami.

There were barricades na mga sira at maraming dugo. Umabot yata dito ang labanan.

“The demons are sleep now, aattake sila once the sun goes down at hindi na po kaya ng forces ng troops. Masyado pong marami at malakas,” the soldier said with a sad tone.

“I see,” Gin replied. “Bring us to your Commander,” he added.

“Yes, Your Highness,” the soldier replied.

We passed by tents na maraming sugatan. I can even hear screams and crying. Hindi lang soldiers ang may sugat dito, damay pati civilians. This is just so cruel. I kind of remember the memory of the first Pandora’s Box galing sa memory ni Dad pero hindi sapat iyon para ma-solve ang mystery na ito. I need more research. I need more sources.

“We’ll investigate first samantalang may araw pa,” Gin said as he glanced at us at tumango naman kami.

Sinundan lang namin ang soldier hanggang sa pumasok siya sa isang malaking tent kaya pumasok rin kami. There we saw a man with a huge armor na may sinusulat. Napatigil siya at napatingin sa amin. The soldier bowed down at umalis naman kaagad siya. We all stood there facing this man, the Commander.

“Thank you for coming,” he said as he stood up and did a salute sign.

We also did a salute sign and then umupo siya ulit.

“Reports,” Gin said coldly.

“2,489 deaths, 746 missing, 5,294 injured. Number of lower rank demons are unknown but one thing is for sure, isa lang po ang higher demon. I believe we have sent pictures for referral,” he replied and Gin nodded.

“What a mess,” Gin replied. “Do you have plans for tonight’s invasion?” he asked and the commander shook his head.

“No, Your Highness. We’re running out of soldiers and most of our health team has been killed,” he said at umiwas ng tingin.

“I see,” Gin said at lumingon siya sa direction ko.

“Cygnus, go visit the wounded.You specialize at healing, right?” he asked and I immediately nodded. “Kailani, go with Cygnus,” he instructed. “Lor, check the barricades and fix them. You specialize at defense afterall. Argo, help Lor,” he added and they both nodded. “Kali and Nieve, set up traps,” he added again at tumango sila.

“And you better get ready because I don’t wanna wait for my enemies to come,” he added at naglakad siya paharap. He took the Comander’s feather pen at humarap sa amin. He threw it away and it landed perfectly into the picture of the demon na ansa likoran namin. “We’ll invade their nest first,” he added.