ACCUSATIONS

Ajax Draven's POV

We waited until 7 o'clock before leaving our base. We should attend the meeting as early as possible, para maiwasan na rin na makasagabal sa mga plano namin ngayong araw. Kailangan naming mangolekta ng merit points ngayon dahil hindi kami pwedeng maiwan ng ibang groups. Hindi lamang naman kasi ang Stellars ang magaling na grupo. Sabi ni Eliora, magagaling din daw ang ibang group, lalo na ang Pillars.

Mag-aalas otso na ng umaga nang marating namin ang ministry. Bumaba na kami ng sasakyan at pumasok na sa loob. Katulad noong dati ay dumeretso kami sa office ng minister. Umagang-umaga pa lamang ay nakaupo na kaagad sa likod ng mesa niya si Minister Silverii. Katulad noong una ko siyang nakita ay nakapaskil pa rin sa mga labi niya ang ngiting hindi ko kailanman ginustong makita. Ito na naman ang nakakasakal na pakiramdam na dulot ng vigor at ng ngiti niya.

"My dear Stellars. How are you?" Lumipas na ang ilang segundo ay wala pa rin ni isa sa amin ang sumasagot kaya't tumikhim siya at nagpatuloy. "So, I have called you today because I have received a report of one of the incidents during your mission in Athena's Domain."

Binuksan niya ang drawer sa tabi niya at binuklat ang isang folder. Inayos niya ang salamin niya bago nagsimulang magbasa. "There had been a lot of complaints, especially from the underworld because of the disappearance of Arachne, the spider. This caused the spiders and the monsters to go up to the surface," pagpapatuloy niya pa sa sinasabi.

"This poses great risk to the preserved balance between the mortal realm and the mythological realm. You all have witnessed the destructive ability these monsters possess. Your group is the last one to come across the spider lady. Thus, the ministry seeks your explanations. What did you do to Arachne?" She removed her glasses and crossed her arms on her chest.

"We defeated her," Deion said without hesitation. He looks bored.

"But why isn't the monster back to the underworld? All the monsters we defeat will automatically be born again in the underworld. However, Arachne never came back after the encounter with your group."

"So, you're accusing us of what?" Dillon asked.

"Kidnapping." I almost laughed because of the minister's answer. Kidnapping? Sinong tanga naman ang mangingidnap ng mabangis na halimaw? Tsaka bakit parang kasalanan pang makapatay ng halimaw e sila lang naman ang threat sa dalawang realms?

"Bakit naman ho kami magtatago ng halimaw?" natatawang tanong ni Aliyah na sinundan pa ni Aidan. "Malay niyo ho e nagbago na si Arachne at gusto na niyang maging mabuting halimaw?"

Tiningnan ni Deion ang dalawa kaya't pareho silang tumigil sa pagtawa. "The last time we saw Arachne is in Athena's domain. We only cleared the domain like what we are told."

"But we got a report that the son of death's sword last touched the spider. Isn't that correct?" Tumingin sa akin ang minister at ngumiti nang matamis. Para bang tumaas ang lahat ng balahibo ko sa katawan dahil sa huli niyang sinabi. Parang alam ko na kung saan hahantong ang lahat ng 'to.

"Your group will not be charged of anything, but the ministry wants you to undergo three trials, Ajax Draven, son of Thanatos and the killer of Arachne. You are charged with soul theft and soul murder." Para bang naubusan ako ng dugo sa katawan nang marinig ang sinabi niya. Namamawis na ang kamay ko at unti-unti na itong nanginginig. "Sandali lang ho—"

"You cannot bend the decision of the ministry, hijo, whatever you say. Let's just meet on the courts on September 1 of this year. Save your explanations for your first court trial. Let's see if you can keep your head attached to your neck. Dismissed." She smiled sweetly which made my something in my chest bloom, anger.

"Let's go, Draven."

"The ministry is becoming more and more unreasonable under Minister Silverii's governance. Bakit naman tayo hahantong sa ganito?" Inis na sabi ni Aliyah nang makasakay kami sa kotse.

"I am so naiirita na sa minister. Ugh! I want to rip off her lips so she can't smile again."

Kung ano-ano pang pinag-uusapan nila pero parang walang pumapasok sa utak ko sa mga sinasabi nila. I am occupied by the accusations and the court trials. September 1 is only about a week from now. Paano kung hindi ko maipapanalo ang tatlong trials na 'yon? Saan na lamang ako pupulutin? Sa underworld?

I can feel myself close to breaking so I leaned on the headrest and closed my eyes. The deities know how much I want to vent my frustration on anything right now, but I can't break in front of them. I need to hold myself together.

I heard the car door opened and closed. "We got a mission from Hades," Deion informed.

"Again? From one of the big three? Napapadalas sila ah," komento ni Aliyah.

Hindi na ako sumali sausapan at umaktong natutulog.

"What is it this time?" I heard Dillon asked.

"We are asked to find the chalk from the River Lethe, the Lethe Chalk. But the mission will start three days from now, so we can do anything for the next three days." Mabuti naman at hindi pa ito ngayon dahil nasisigurado kong hindi rin naman ako makaka-focus sa mission. Sino ba namang makaka-focus kung parang nagiging kalaban mo ang mundo?

Nang makarating kami sa base ay nadatnan namin sa labas si Dr. Stella. She is holding a folder at mukhang kanina niya pa kami hinihintay. "Good morning, Dr. Smith," bati namin sa kanya. Tumingin naman sa akin ang doktor at ngumiti. "I finally was able to get your ichor concentration, Ajax. I got the results here now."

"Let's discuss it inside."

Deion stayed in the living room while the others went to their respective rooms. Dr. Smith sat on the furniture in front of me and opened the file she was holding. "Your ichor concentration was found to be 60%. It is the same with Deion's ichor blood concentration. This only means that either Thanatos' blood is predominantly acting in your body, or you also are a descendant of another deity."

Napatingin ako kay Deion. Is he really a descendant of another deity?

"Athena," he said without looking at me. Nanlaki ang mga mata ko nang marinig 'yon mula sa kanya. He is a descendant of Athena? Is that why he is so smart? Ngayon ay hindi na ako magtataka kung bakit sobrang talino niya. Kaya rin pala malakas ang damuhong 'to.

"We will monitor your ichor concentration regularly to check if it has some improvement. The blood of your other deity might still be dormant in your body, so the ability it carries is still not awaken. This is all for today, I will inform you if I find out anything significant."

"Thank you, Dr. Smith. Have a safe trip home." Ngumiti lamang ang doktor bago lumabas ng pinto. Tinanaw ko siya hanggang sa makaalis siya. Nang bumalik naman ako sa loob ng bahay ay nadatnan ko si Eliora na nakasuot ng laboratory coat at ng gloves. "Oh my demigods! Kuya Draven, Kuya Dei I found out whose it was."

Kumunot ang noo ko dahil hindi ko alam kung anong tinutukoy niya. "I gave Eliora the vial we found the night we encountered that weird human." Napaawang ang mga labi ko nang marinig ang sinabi niya.

"The blood was from the god of war, Ares. It was not concentrated, like what I have expected. It was diluted to 15%, which is not a safe concentration for a mortal to intake. A mortal's body can never withstand even the lowest concentrations of ichor in their veins. It would be instant death for the body and the soul of the mortal. It seems like this is an ongoing experiment because the vial has a label for experiments." I have never seen Eliora too caught up in a discussion like this. She is not like her usual self; she is serious, and she talks like a medical genius.

"Also, the red blood cells from the blood sample of the victim have undergone different processes to kill the cells. Some has undergone cell lysis, some coagulated, and some was burnt. This might be the result of mixing ichor with human blood. This is also the reason why most of the mortal parent of a demigod dies after giving birth. The body always tries to have an immune response towards the foreign blood, but the divine blood is always stronger. That's why these results to death." She continued explaining with her arms crossed.

"What experiment could it be?"

"Turning mortals into demigods without the divine processes. It might sound absurd, but this is possible. I have heard and read the speculations in the past about a certain incident of bioterrorism in the history of the mortal realm. 1776, it was when a huge number of mortals died because of the injection of a liquid unknown to many. The liquid was claimed to be the secret of anti-aging, but it only resulted to hundreds of thousands of deaths. However, no traces of the liquid were found on their bodies. The same findings as the results I have found today were gathered in the past. So, we cannot neglect the existing possibility." Napanganga ako dahil sa sinabi ni Eliora. May mga ganoong nangyari noon? Posibleng ang mga demigod ang may pakana ng terrorism na 'yon...at posibleng nagbabalik na naman sila sa paggawa ng mga ganoong bagay.

Matapos ang discussion naming tatlo ay pumanhik na ako sa kwarto ko at nagpalit ng damit na pwedeng gamitin sa training. Hindi rin ako nagtagal sa kwarto ko at dumeretso na ako sa underground nitong quarters. I want to train my sword arts. Hindi ako pwedeng kainin ng mga isiping ito. Mas mabuti pang mapagod ako ngayong araw para makatulog na lamang ako mamayang gabi na walang ibang iniisip kundi ang pagod ko.

Mabuti na lamang at walang ibang tao rito sa training room. Makakapag-ensayo ako nang mapayapa. Pumunta ako sa operating monitor sa gilid at pumili ng type ng virtual simulation training na gusto ko. For tonight, I want to deal with daemons and the gray-skinned monsters. Wala naman kasi akong ibang magagawa kung hindi palakasin ang sarili ko. Kung may mga tao at halimaw na nagtatangkang saktan ako, kinakailangan kong pag-aralan kung paano lumaban, dahil kung hindi ako, sino ang lalaban para sa akin? Sino ang aasahan kong magpoprotekta sa akin mula sa kapahamakan? Nasisigurado kong hindi ako matutulungan ni Thanatos dahil katulad ko ay wala rin siyang magagawa. Hindi bale na. Namuhay ako ng ilang taon na walang ibang inaasahan. Kaya ko ang sarili ko. I have lived half my life independently, and I was able to overcome everything that went my way. I can also do it this time.

I played with my sword and ran across the room, slaying the enemies on my way. I used different sword arts Deion has taught me. I also learned to copy all the basic arts I heard from the other members. If there are basic sword art techniques, there are also specialized techniques that the demigods can figure out for themselves. One example is my life string cutting art, death blade. It was a specialized attack that none of the other demigods can cast.

I continued killing the monsters, and within only five minutes, I have cleared the first level of the training. Then, I proceeded with the next level. The opponents for this level are those monsters on the A-class, the strong ones.

I let my magi flow through my sword. It is now surrounded by porphyry smoke. I don't really feel anything right now. The only thing I know is that I want to vent out my frustrations on these monsters. The other members cannot know that the recent events affected me, they must not. 

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