SPLIT

Eliora Kiran's POV

I opened my eyes as the soft touch of the sun's rays hit my skin. It was like my papa was caressing my cheeks and telling me to wake up as I received energy coming from the sun. Ah, good day!

I kissed my fox plushie before fixing my bed. Ang cute talaga ni Acky hihi! Acky is Quacky's nickname, a pretty orange fox with a pair of green eyes. She was my dad's gift for me last year.

Pumunta na ako sa bathroom para maligo at mag-freshen up. The sun is telling me today will be an exhausting day e. I will need to check on Kuya Draven din pala. He made us all worried last night. He was attacked by some demigods from the ranks 6 and 7 groups. Mabuti na lang at tama lang ang pagdating namin para i-save siya. I almost cried yesterday when I saw his state. I felt all his physical pains yesterday, and it was the worst. I am just glad that he made it that far when his life force almost ran out.

We brought those demigods to the ministry after defeating them. I think they will be detained. Aba, dapat lang ano? Hindi naman kami papayag na wala silang gagawing kilos dahil muntik nang mamatay si Kuya Draven kahapon. Pinagtulungan ba naman ng sampu? Paano na lang kung hindi kami dumating agad, 'di ba? Mabuti na rin dahil na-receive kaagad ni Kuya Dei ang signal from Kuya Draven.

I sighed and continued my morning routines while feeling the physical state of everyone inside the house. I am glad they are all fine, except for Kuya Draven that has the lowest energy today. I might need to give him some after this.

I only wore a pair of shorts and a slightly loose polo. I tied my hair in a waterfall braid and put some clips on it before coming out of my room. When I went out, I bumped into Ali who looked as fresh as always. I smiled at her sweetly before hugging her and kissing her cheeks. "Good morning, Ali!" I greeted as lively as possible. The sun's rays gave me too much energy for today!

"Good morning, Eli! Kumain ka na ba, bunso?" she asked sweetly.

"No pa. Visit ko muna si Kuya Draven before eating."

She only nodded and turned around to face the stairs. "I will bring breakfast for both of you there."

I beamed a smile and showed her a thumbs up. I walked towards Kuya Draven's room. Hindi pa ako nakakapasok ay dinig ko na kaagad ang malakas na boses ni Kuya Dan. Ang aga naman niya mambulabog.

"Your combat training will be twice as long of the usual tomorrow. You did not train today—"

"Ang higpit naman nito. Mamamatay na nga 'yung tao oh," reklamo ni Kuya Draven.

I knocked twice before coming in. "Good morning, Kuya Aidan, Kuya Draven, Kuya Dei!"

They only gave me small smiles. "Good morning, Eli!" Kuya Draven beamed. His smile was sweet, as if he's not in pain.

Lumapit ako sa kanya at hinawakan ang kamay niya. I pouted when I felt his energy. It was so low! I closed my eyes and felt my core. The energy given by the sun to me was converted to magi. By channeling my vigor, I can pass on the energy to other demigods. When the familiar yellow light appeared on my palms, I smiled. I can also see Kuya Draven's energy slowly being replenished. Yay!

"How are your wounds, kuya? Magaling na ba sila?"

Ngumiti lang siya at nag-thumbs up. Sabagay, si Dr. Smith naman ang gumamot sa kanya. She probably used ambrosia to heal his wounds. Seventy-five percent, pwede na 'yun!

Binitiwan ko na ang kamay niya at nawala bigla ang vigor sa kamay ko.

"Thank you, Eli!" I'm glad na bumalik na ang energy niya.

"Let's talk over breakfast. The ministry gave us new missions," Kuya Dei informed and went out of the room. "Ali, bring those back to the dining room. We'll be having a meeting."

When we reached the dining room, we sat there and started eating.

"So, what's the catch?"

"The ministry gave us two new missions we need to accomplish simultaneously. The first one is finding the demigod known as Aureus Polo to gain something, and the other is finding the fates to ask for some information about the cursed child."

"Huh? 'To gain something'? Hindi ba ini-specify ng ministry kung anong 'something' ang tinutukoy nila?" nakakunot-noong tanong ni Ali.

Oo nga naman. Bakit sila magbibigay ng mission na hindi malinaw? Tsaka sigurado ba silang buhay pa ang Aureus Polo na 'yan? Baka mamaya ay nasa hukay na pala ang isang 'yan. Hmp!

"Wala silang sinabi e. 'Something' lang daw basta. Alam na raw 'yon ni Aureus kapag nakita niya tayo," Kuya Aidan answered.

"We need to split into two groups. Dillon, Eliora, Aidan, you'll go find Aureus. I, Ajax, and Aliyah will find the fates. Here's Polo's profile." I received the folder containing his personal information.

"Prepare all the things you need. See you in three days."

After preparing everything, I fixed myself again in front of the mirror and smiled when I got satisfied.

If everything is needed to be done in three days, I suppose the ministry gave us a whole week for these two missions, meaning this would be a hard game of hide and seek. Hindi kailanman naging easy ang mga mission about sa paghahanap ng mga tao, lalo na ang mga higher beings like the deities and the fates. What's worse is, these higher beings always require a few things to find before you can find them. Hays, ayoko ng ganito.

Isinukbit ko na ang bag sa likuran ko at lumabas na mula sa kwarto ko. Nadatnan ko sa living room si Kuya Dan na nanonood ng cartoons. Si Ate Dillon na lang ang hinihintay namin. Sabi ni Kuya Dei, nagpaalam daw si Ate Dillon sa kanya kanina na ipinapatawag siya ni Poseidon kaya kailangan niyang umalis. Wala talagang pagbabago si Ate Dillon, masunurin pa rin talaga siya sa daddy niya. Very papa's girl talaga ang isang 'yon. Never siyang sumuway sa utos ni Poseidon at never din siyang nagdo-doublethink kung susunod ba siya o hindi. Teka...may salita bang doublethink? Ah, basta nagdadalawang-isip!

Tutok na tutok ang anak ni Hephaestus sa cartoons na pinapanood niya. Tumatawa-tawa pa ito na parang bata. Ang cute naman ni Kuya Dan.

Sa tingin ko ay nakaalis na ang fates group at papunta na sila sa una nilang destination. Hays, kailan kaya kami makakaalis?

As if on cue, Ate Dillon came inside the room, looking like she just finished a marathon. Anong nangyari roon?

Ilang minuto pa kaming naghintay bago siya bumaba na dala na ang isang backpack. "Let's go."

Lumabas na kami at sumakay na sa isa pa naming kotse. Binitbit ko ang folder dahil balak ko itong i-discuss sa kanila sa byahe. Mahaba naman ang byahe namin dahil walong bayan ang layo sa amin ng pupuntahan namin.

When the car was already moving, I opened the folder and read its contents. "Our boy Aureus lives in a villa named Middego. He is thirty-six years old, a doctor of medicine, and a father of three. His wife is dead—Oh my demigod, I feel bad for him." I heard Kuya Dan chuckled while driving. "He works in Greece Olympus Doctors. He is a tall man with blonde hair and hazelnut brown eyes. Ano ba 'yan, bakit hindi na lang kasi inilagay ang picture niya? Mga pahirap."

"Ang weird naman nung villa nila. Parang hindi ko pa 'yon naririnig," komento ni Kuya Dan. "Nagbigay ba sila ng coordinates?"

"Yes po." Ipinakita ko sa kanya ang folder at itinuro ang coordinates. Ang kaso, walang nakalagay na exact address. Mukhang pagtatanungin pa talaga kami ng ministry. Mas gugustuhin ko pa talaga ang missions na pagpatay ng pangit na monsters kaysa sa paghahanap ng mga tao e. Kung hindi kulang ang info, patay na ang pinapahanap nila. Kung hindi naman patay, lumipat na sa kung saan. Hay nako...

Habang nasa byahe ay nagkukwentuhan lamang kami ni Kuya Dan. Tulog naman si Ate Dillon. Nag-drive thru na rin kami sa isang fastfood restaurant dahil nagutom bigla si kuya, pero syempre ako rin. Masaya kong kinain ang sundae habang pinagmamasdan ang daan. Malapit na palang maghapon. The orange and pink skies are really pretty like me hihi!

"Let's check his house first before we settle our things," I heard Ate D say.

"Copy."

Inabutan ko siya ng foods na tinanggap niya nang nakangiti.

About forty-eight minutes have passed when we reached the coordinates provided by the ministry. Ang ipinagtataka ko lang, hindi kami pumasok sa kahit anong villa. Huh? E nasaan naman kami ngayon?

Lumabas ako sa sasakyan at pinagmasdan ang kaharap naming building. Grand Orion Delta. Huh? Sa casino nakatira si Aureus? Bakit mali ang coordinates. Huh? Daddy what is this?

Pumasok kami sa loob ng casino at pagkarating pa lamang namin doon ay alam ko nang may kakaiba rito. May sumalubong sa amin na may dalang brochures about the casino. The map of the casino is here and I can see a red dot which moves as we move. Woah! Cool!

An attendant who carries some drinks and sweets passed by us and gave us some drinks. I got an orange juice and a piece of caramel candy. I opened the candy and threw it inside my mouth. Just like that, the candy melted like ice cream, and it was so sweet. It feels like all my senses were heightened because of the sweetness. Oh my Gods! My mind was more active than it was before.

The other two did not drink the juice and were observing the surroundings. This is really far from a household. There are plenty of rich-looking people who wear golds, diamonds, sapphires, and other gemstones which, I am sure, have a huge market value.

I looked at the brochure once more and saw that we're almost headed to the VIP lounge. I think this place is also a hotel. What if one of these rooms is theirs?

We climbed the stairs and observed from the second floor. "Is he living here? In this loud place?"

"I guess not," sagot ni Ate Dillon habang seryosong nagmamasid sa paligid.

I looked around and to the brochure once again. The name shone for a few seconds. Grand Orion Delta. Huh? My mind wandered elsewhere when I saw the letters. G-O-D—Oh my God! Isn't this the hospital? Greece Olympus Doctors...Grand Orion Delta...G-O-D! I am so smart.

"Guys, alam ko na kung nasaan tayo!" I said cheerfully.

Of course, since the hospital is for demigods, it must be hidden from normal people. Mortals can't know our establishments. It might make them curious and they may even find things out about our race. That is why they were disguised as other establishments through the mists. However, this doesn't mean that this casino is just an illusion—it is real.

From my pocket, I pulled out my pretty dagger. It was a silver dagger with an elegant green handle with some emeralds and diamonds in it. It was the dagger given to me by Gaddiel, someone from the second rank group, a descendant of Demeter. At first, he gave it to me in the form of a rose, but the flower became a part of its handle the next morning. It was so sweet of him, my Gaddiel, hihi!

I opened my palms and wound it with the blade. I flinched when I saw blood slowly coming out of my wound. It doesn't hurt that much, but it still stings.

I closed my hands again and channeled my vigor. The concentration must be on the wound to make some changes with my blood. Then, I let my magi-infused blood to drop to the floor where we stand. "Valerto encanio."

From the drop of blood that touched the ground, a yellow and purple light bloomed like a flower. Then, the whole place was suddenly covered by glimmering fog. Like a huge blanket, it fell to the ground. Then, we are in a new place now, the hospital.

I looked below and saw some letters—GOD. We are inside the Greece Olympus Doctors now.

Tingnan mo, mali na naman ang coordinates na ibinigay ng ministry. Hmp!

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