•••••Blade's POV•••••

The fuck! 'Di ko napansin ang mga kilos niya! Napakabilis at sa isang iglap lang ay...

“Raven!” Shit! She has her. Kailangan kong kumilos kaagad.

“Do not interfere, kid.” Lumingon siya sa akin.

Tumakbo ako palapit kay Raven pero hindi ako nakalapit dahil kinumpas niya ang kanyang kamay para patalsikin ako palayo.

Bullshit! Bakit ba napakalakas niya?

I saw with my own two eyes how he mercilessly choked my powerless friend.

“R-Raven…” Dahan-dahan akong tumayo pero sadyang napakasakit lang talaga ng katawan ko.

“You murdered my brother!” I heard his cold voice exclaimed in anger.

“L-Let… m-me… g-go…” Raven's eyes changed its color as she tried to speak.

Hindi ko nakita kung ano ang reaksyon nung lalake dahil sa makapal niyang hood. The next thing happened, tumalsik rin si Raven palapit sa akin.

“Shit, Raven!” I ran to her side quickly kahit na masakit pa ang katawan ko. Napaubo siya dahil sa higpit ng pagkasakal ng kalaban. “S-Sorry I couldn't protect you, Raven!”

Kahit nahihirapan ay hinawakan niya ang kamay ko. Hers are cold unlike mine. She raised her head to look at me and once again, her magenta eyes met mine.

“He is… dangerous…” sabi niya. “We can not escape from him for now. Do notー”

“Hey, kid.”

Raven wasn't able to finish what she was about to say when the strange man called me. When I turned to face him, I couldn't move my body.

Goddammit! What is happening? Is this paralysis?! If it's paralysis, then how the hell is he able to do it?!

When I couldn't really move, nakita kong ngumisi ang lalaki.

“This is for killing Manuel,” Lumapit yung lalaki kay Raven at sinipa ang kanyang tiyan. “You are a fucking bitch!”

Kahit gaano ko gustong igalaw ang aking bibig ay hindi ko talaga kaya dahil sa paralysis na ito. He's torturing Raven in front of me and I couldn't even do anything. I'm so impracticable for letting some stranger hurt my friend!

It also pains me to hear Raven screaming in pain. Parang iyon na ata ang pinakamasakit na narinig ko so far.

“Ti ucciderò! [I will kill you!]”

Kumuha siya ng isang patalim galing sa kanyang bulsa at hindi nagdalawang-isip na saksakin ang kaibigan ko.

Raven shrieked in pain and I was just there… standing helplessly.

“I love it when you shriek in pain. Now I can finally avenge my poor brother,” He raised his hand, ready to stab Raven. This time, I can sense that he will really stab her straight to the heart. “Addio!”

“You are a fool…”

He stopped.

“What did you say?” He sounded so irritated.

“I said,” Raven forced to plaster a weak smileーNo, a smirk on her face. “You. Are. A. Fool.”

He screamed loudly in anger and was about to continue to stab Raven but this time, he failed.

Finally, umilag na si Raven.

She stood up and I can see her blood dripping on the floor as she ran towards me.

“Blade, move.” she ordered pero hindi ako nagsalita kasi nga na-paralyzed ako. “Try moving your fingers, you moron!”

I did what she told me to at nanlaki ang mga mata ko nang dahan-dahan ko nang naigalaw ang mga daliri ko. I tried moving it again and this time, I finally gained control over my body once again.

I looked at her as I curiously asked, “What happened? Was that paralysis?”

“Yes, but this is no time for questions!” Hindi na ako nakapagsalita pa nang hinila ako ni Raven.

The man attacked us but failed to hit us again. May something kakaiba talaga sa kanya. It all started when I looked straight into his eyes when he called me. Para bang dahil dun ay nawala ang control ko sa aking katawan?

W-Wait a sec…c-could it be?

“Holy fuck! Miyahara, this is no time for spacing out!” I snapped back to reality when Raven exclaimed.

Hinihila niya pa rin ako habang kami'y tumatakbo.

“You're not getting away from me!” Napahinto kami ni Raven sa pagtatakbo nang kami'y napaligiran ng apoy.

The fire is circling us and we're trapped inside. Lumingon kami sa likuran at nakita namin kung paano niya hinubad ang kanyang hood. Nakita namin ang isang lalaking mga nasa mid-40s pa ata. Mataas siya at may kulay itim na buhok. He opened his eyes. It looks normal, but it's not. Something's totally strange about it.

“Do not look at his eyes.” wika ni Raven na pinipigilan ang dugo sa pagdaloy sa gilid niya.

“Is it the reason kung bakit hindi ko maigalaw ang katawan ko kanina?” She nodded. “How can he do that? May kakayahan rin ba ang mga mata niya?”

“I am not yet certain.” Raven answered.

“Come on, guys! Ano bang pinag-uusapan niyo jan? Don't you think it's mean not to include me in your conversation?” mapagbirong tanong nito sa amin at tumawa pa na parang baliw.

Gago. If he could speak Tagalog in the first place, sana ay nagsalita na lang siya. Baliw talaga. I can now see the resemblance between him and Manuel. Pareho pala silang baliw. If Manuel has bats, ano naman kaya ang meron siya?

“You did not come here alone,” Nanlaki ang mga mata ko nang marinig ko ang sinabi ni Raven. So, he brought someone else? “You are blocking the way of our mentor and team mates. Who are you?” she asked, voice as cold as an ice.

Kaya pala hindi pa nakarating sina Reo-sensei, Maura, at Hades dito. He's keeping them busy. Tsk! He really planned everything to destroy this event and attack us.

Pumalakpak siya. “Wise kid.”

“Answer me.”

“Oh~ho. So feisty, eh? I like your attitude, kid,” Ngumisi ito sa aming dalawa ni Raven. “I am Benedict. Nice meeting you both, by the way, Raven Saldoviana and Blade Alastor Miyahara.”

Nanginig ang aking buong katawan dahil kilala niya kaming dalawa. Pinaikot niya sa kanyang daliri ang kanyang patalim. Pagkatapos ay dinilaan niya ang dugo dito.

“Your blood is delicious, Raven. No wonder why my brother liked it so much,” Biglang nanggigigil ang kanyang boses at kinuyom ang kanyang mga kamao. “Oh well, no point in explaining you everything. Mamamatay rin naman kayong dalawa, e.”

Dahan-dahan siyang humakbang palapit sa amin. I cussed. Dahan-dahan rin kaming napaatras at unti-unti na naming nararamdaman ang init ng apoy sa aming balat.

“Do you love the sweet letter I gave you?”

“It wasn't a sweet letter!” I exclaimed. Nakakapikon na talaga itong tao na 'to. “It was a goddamn threat!”

Tumigil siya sa paghakbang at tumawa ng malakas. Pagkatapos ay tiningnan niya ako ng maigi. Shit! Is he gonna paralyse me again? Sinubukan kong umiwas ng tingin sa kanya pero hindi ko magawa. It was like I was being hypnotised. Goddamn it! Hindi ko na naman ba maigagalaw ang katawan ko?

“You can still move, Blade.” Nagulat ako sa sinabi ni Raven and surprisingly, she's right. Ginalaw ko ang aking katawan and I successfully moved it.

Why didn't it work, anyway?

Nakita ko kung paano kumunot ang noo ni Benedict.

“P-Paanong…?”

“Benedict,” Raven called him and her voice gave me the chills. “Your eyes are nothing compared to mine.”

Nanlaki ang kanyang mga mata. “You…” Nagulat ako nang sa isang iglap lang ay nasa harapan na naman namin siya. Fortunately this time, naitulak ko si Raven palayo sa kanya.

“Hindi niyo ako matatakasan!”

“Andate via. [Go away.]”

Napasigaw si Benedict ng malakas.

“What the…” I was super shocked nang sa isang salita lang ni Raven ay napatalsik palayo yung kalaban.

I looked at her with surprise at tinaasan lang niya ako ng kilay.

“Did you do that?”

She nodded. “My eyes,” Tinuro niya ang kanyang mga mata. “My eyes did it.”

Magsasalita pa sana ako nang dahan-dahang tumayo si Benedict. Wala naman siyang natamong malaking sugat, gasgas lang.

“K-Kid…I thought your eyes were for nothing!” sigaw niya. “Dammit! 'Yan ba ang nagpigil sa akin na kontrolin ang mga katawan ninyo?!” Nanggigigil na siya ngayon sa galit.

His eyes are full of rage and vengeance. Pakiramdam ko ay kating-kati na ang kanyang mga kamay na patayin kami. Pero teka, did I hear it right? Yung mga mata ba talaga ni Raven ang dahilan kung bakit hindi gumana yung paralysis ng kalaban sa akin kanina?

This is a battle of powers then!

“My eyes can do a lot of things that you are not aware of,” Raven answered that triggered his anger even more. “You should have done your research thoroughly. You do not know who you are dealing with.”

“Raven, what are you talking about?” I asked out of curiousity. She seems to know something that I don't.

She turned to face me. “Do you trust me, Blade?” Still confused, I nodded. “Then I will explain everything to you later. I promise.” she assured.

She gave me a smile at dahil dun ay bigla na lang bumilis ang tibok ng puso ko.

“'Di ba ang sabi ko, 'wag kayong mag-uusap na hindi ako kasali?!” Naagaw ulit ni Benedict ang atensyon namin.

Akmang aatake na naman siya nang biglang tinaasan ni Raven ang kanyang boses na ikinagugulat ko.

“Didn't I tell you to go away?!” Dahil dun ay napatalsik na naman siya palayo sa amin.

“Woah!” Napabilib ako dahil nawala na yung apoy na nakapaligid sa amin.

I don't know how Raven did it just by ordering Benedict to go away, but he is now wounded. Nasugatan na rin ito sa wakas.

“Others should be here any minute now,” she said. “Plus, look up. The moon is so red.”

Napatingala ako para tingnan ang buwan. She's right. It's so red. Maganda ito ngunit, may kakaiba akong nararamdaman. Kung tutuusin, para na akong mababaliw kakaisip kung ano ba talaga itong nararamdaman ko.

Nakuha ulit ng kalaban ang atensyon naming dalawa ni Raven nang tumawa na naman ito ng malakas. He stood up, still holding his wound to stop the bleeding. He smirked at us like a crazy man.

“You think you can outsmart me?! Huh?!” He's definitely crazy. “Well, fuck it! You're goddamn wrong!”

Biglang nagbago ang kanyang anyo. Nag-iba ang kulay ng kanyang balat, mata, at iba pa. His hands and feet changed its form as well and grew bigger in size like a monster's. Unti-unti siyang lumalaki sa aming paningin at sa kanyang likuran ay may isang bagay na tumubo.

“Shit! Is that...?” Napaatras kaming dalawa ni Raven. I could hear our hearts beating like hell inside of us. I couldn't believe what we're witnessing right now. Para akong nasa panaginip lang. “Putangina! Isang paniki nga!”

Parehas lang silang dalawa ng kapatid niyang si Manuel! Lumaki sila sa pamilya ng mga paniki!

“HAHAHAHA!” Isang nakakabinging tawa ang umalingawngaw sa buong lugar. “Let me see if you can still outsmart me now!” I could feel my ears bleeding as he spoke.

He's not the same man we first encountered. He's completely different nowーeven worse than ever.

“You do not know what you are doing!” sigaw ni Raven sa kanya.

“Ano pa ba ang hindi ko alam, Raven?! Sapat na sa akin ang malaman na ikaw ang pumatay sa kawawa kong kapatid!” The enemy can still speak even in his giant bat form.

“The Kurodas does not know that you are doing this!” Teka, mga Kuroda? “Kapag nalaman nila na gumagawa ka ng eksena in public especially in your true, monstrous form, papatayin ka nila! You are being a fool, Benedict! This is a suicide!”

He didn't say anything but hit the ground. Nabitak ang lupa sa aming kinatatayuan. Though, we barely managed to escape it. Buti na lang at nakailag pa kami.

“Wanna know the reason why I killed your brother?!” Right now, bakas na sa boses ni Raven ang inis. It looks like napikon na naman si Benedict dahil mas lalong nangingibabaw ang galit sa kanyang 'bat-like' na mga mata. “It's because he was too slow and weak! Kagaya mo, he was a fool blinded with revenge!”

“TUMAHIMIK KA!” He flapped his gigantic wings and because of it, both me and Raven were blown away.

“R-Raven!” I called her but I can't even talk properly because its wings keep on blowing us even further.

“What?!”

Nang makalipad na ang kalaban ay nakapagsalita na ako ng maayos.

“What are you doing?! Mas lalo mo lang siyang pinapagalit!” tanong ko.

“He is pissing me off, Miyahara! That fucking bat!” inis na sambit sa akin ni Raven.

Parang wala na talagang pag-asa na magbago pa ang kulay ng mga mata ni Raven. Hinding-hindi pa ito basta-basta lang babalik sa normal.

“YOU WILL ALL DIE!”

Ibinuka ni Benedict ang kanyang malalaking bibig. The giant creature started roaring. Napasigaw kaming dalawa ni Raven and I can barely see the surrounding getting worst by the minute.

Not just the surroundings, but also us!

“T-This is...Roar o-of the B-Bat!” Kahit nahihirapan ay pilit ko pa ring magsalita.

Puta! Nararamdaman ko na ang pag-agos ng dugo sa dalawang taenga ko. At this point, we will most likely die. Benedict's roar will most likely slaughter us here tonight!

“M-Miyahara!” I heard Raven called me, but I couldn't look at her properly.

I felt her cold hands on my shoulder habang ako'y napaluhod na sa sahig. Sobrang nakakabingi talaga ng ingay at halos mawawalan na ako ng hininga. My vision started to blur at ako'y nahihilo na.

“Watashi wa ima anata o tomeru tame ni anata o meijiru desu! [I am ordering you to stop now!]” What? Is this Raven I'm hearing right now? Did I hear it right? Did she just speak in Japanese? “Die, jerkass!”

Kahit anong pilit ko sa aking sarili na makita yung sumunod na pangyayari, hindi na talaga kaya ng katawan ko. The next thing I knew, bumagsak na ako sa lupa and my vision went black.

-----

I slowly opened my eyes. I heard the muffled voices of Maura and Hades. I slowly came to my senses until I can finally hear them clearly. That's when I realized that I'm currently confined in a hospital.

“Oh my God! Blade, ayos ka lang?” kaagad kong narinig ang tanong ni Maura.

“W-Well...” Binalingan ko sila ng tingin. “M-Maybe?”

“Blade, I don't want you to remember what happened. But I need to go straight to the point,” Hades took a deep breath. Maura handed me a glass of water, so, I thanked her. “Do you remember what happened at Simon Reyes' concert?”

“I-I...” Napakunot ang noo ko nang kahit ni isang bagay ay wala akong maalala.

All I remember is me and Raven were watching Simon Reyes' concert. Nagbabantay kami sa paligid kung sakaling may mga strange na mga tao.

But the hell? I can't remember anything after that!

“Hades...” May bahid na pag-aalala ang tono sa pananalita ni Maura.

Hades sighed. “I knew it.”

“What's happening, Hades, Maura?” I asked them. “I need to know what's happening at kung nasa'n si Raven.” Sinubukan kong tumayo pero nahihilo ako.

Damn this. What the fuck is going on? This is driving me crazy and I don't know why this is happening. Hindi naman ako ganito noon.

“Blade—” Hindi na natapos ni Hades ang kanyang sasabihin nang biglang bumukas ang pinto at pumasok sa loob ng kwarto si Reo-sensei.

“Hey, Blade!” bati niya sa akin. “Kamusta pakiramdam mo?”

I couldn't answer his question dahil hindi ako sigurado kung ayos lang ba talaga ako.

“Sensei, he doesn't remember anything.” Maura still sounded so worried.

Tumango lang si Reo-sensei at ngumiti sa akin.

“Come with me, Blade,” He put his hands in his pockets. “I'll take you to Raven.”

When I heard her name, I tried my best to stand up. Tinanong ako nina Hades at Maura kung kaya ko bang tumayo at tumango lang ako sa kanilang tanong. I don't want to worry them anymore. I want to see her. Kakayanin ko lahat ng sakit para kay Raven.

Me and sensei walked down the hallway slowly. He knows that I'm still not feeling well. It sucks, actually. I know nothing of why I'm here. I'm just so clueless.

“I know the owner of this hospital kaya dito ko kayo dinala.” Sensei spoke.

I nodded. “How about Simon Reyes? Ayos lang ho ba siya? Did we succeed our mission?” I asked consecutively.

We stopped when we reached the elevator. Sensei pressed the elevator keys. The door opened and we went inside. No one else was inside but us.

“He's totally fine. We managed to keep him safe.” He answered.

Tumango na lang ako. Ewan ko ba pero kinakabahan ako habang nasa loob kami ng elevator. Napansin ko rin na may extra elevator button. It's really weird. Sensei pushed this weird button and we're going down. Nang tumunog ang elevator sound ay bumukas yung pinto. Unang lumabas si sensei kaya sumunod na lang rin ako.

It's all white and neat down here. May isang pinto sa dulo na may isang guard na nagbabantay. Lakad lang kami ng lakad hanggang sa narating namin ang dulo.

“I hope you won't get shocked by this,” sabi ni sensei. The guard already knew him, so, he didn't stop from reaching the door. “Ready?”

I gulped and out of words to say, I nodded.

When he opened the door, the cold air immediately wrapped my body. Pero nanlaki ang aking mga mata nang makita ko kung ano ang nasa loob.

“H-Holy shit...”

*~*~*~*~*~*

Very sorry again for the late update. Got caught up with a lot of school works to do. But now that I can smell freedom, I'll update my on-going stories. Stay safe from NCOV, everyone, and pray. Be red, stay unique. Luvyu!