CHAPTER 69 #3
Napahigpit ang hawak ni Rassia sa kaniyang scythe. Sinubukan niyang igalaw ang kaniyang paa, ngunit halos hindi niya ito maitaas. Kahit ang simpleng paggalaw ng kaniyang katawan ay nangangailangan na ngayon ng napakalaking puwersa.
Sa kabila ng gravity na pumipigil sa bawat kilos niya, unti-unting umangat ang isang sulok ng kaniyang labi.
"That's exactly what I wanted."
Nanlaki ang mga mata ng lahat nang biglang naging apoy ang buong katawan ni Rassia. Sa isang iglap, sumiklab ang napakalaking apoy sa kaniyang paligid at mabilis itong lumawak, umiikot nang mas mabilis hanggang sa tuluyan itong naging isang napakalaking fire tornado.
Mabilis na napaatras sina Number Three at Number One upang makaiwas sa naglalagablab na apoy.
Napalunok ang lahat ng mga kawal sa loob ng barrier ni Lucy Pearl habang napatingala sila sa langit. Umabot na roon ang napakalaking haligi ng apoy, patuloy na umiikot at naglalabas ng matinding init na ramdam maging mula sa loob ng barrier.
Ang buong battlefield ay tila nilamon ng apoy ni Rassia.
Sa gitna ng napakalaking apoy, unti-unting lumitaw ang pigurya ni Rassia.
She was still standing.
At ang kaniyang mga mata ay kumikislap sa ilalim ng nagliliyab na apoy.
"I am the Child of Fire. My flame is eternal, and my power does not diminish. You can absorb every spark you see, but you will never be able to consume the source itself."
Bahagya siyang ngumisi habang lalong lumalakas ang apoy sa paligid niya.
"You thought you were draining my strength, but all you did was give me a reason to show you how deep my power truly goes."
Inangat niya ang kaniyang kanang palad at itinapat iyon kay Number Three, na lalong umigting ang panga sa galit habang pilit na nilalabanan ang napakalakas na apoy.
Sa isang iglap, tila hinila paitaas si Number Three ng napakalaking puwersa ng apoy. The flames suddenly erupted from his own body, wrapping around him and lifting him from the ground.
"N-no! s-shit!"
Mabilis niyang ginamit ang kaniyang gravity force upang alisin ang sarili mula sa apoy ni Rassia, ngunit hindi ito gumana. The Eternal Flame continued to burn around him, growing stronger with every second.
Hindi lamang sariling apoy ni Rassia ang ginagamit niya. The flames surrounding the walls of Mysarea suddenly began moving toward her as well, drawn into the massive fire tornado.
Napatingala ang mga kawal habang nakikita nilang ang apoy na nakapaligid sa buong lungsod ay unti-unting lumalapit kay Rassia.
Mas lalo lamang lumakas ang apoy na bumabalot kay Number Three.
"Aaagh!"
Ang sigaw ni Number Three mula sa loob ng apoy ay unti-unting humina hanggang sa tuluyan na itong nawala. Nanatiling umiikot ang napakalaking apoy habang nilalamon na nito ang kaniyang katawan.
The body of Number Three turned to ashes in an instant, carried away by the raging fire.
Maging ang mga mamamayan sa loob ng Mysarea ay napatingala sa kalangitan. Sa di-kalayuan, kitang-kita ang napakalaking fire tornado na umaabot hanggang langit.
Samantala, mas lalo lamang lumaki ang kumpiyansa ni Number Two dahil sa dami ng mana na patuloy na pinapakawalan ni Rassia. Malaking bahagi ng Eternal Flame ang kaniyang naabsorb, at ramdam niyang mas lumalakas siya sa bawat sandaling lumilipas.
I-Impossible... this mana...
Bahagya niyang tiningnan ang kaniyang mga kamay habang nararamdaman ang napakalaking enerhiya na dumadaloy sa kaniyang katawan.
I've never absorbed this much mana before....
Nandilim ang paningin ni Lord Aryo nang tuluyan niyang mapagtanto ang ginagawa ni Rassia. Mabilis siyang lumapit kay Number Two at mahigpit itong pinigilan bago pa nito tuluyang maubos ang mana ni Rassia.
"Number Two! Ailo! stop absorbing her mana!"
Napalingon si Ailo sa kaniya, halatang hindi nauunawaan ang kaniyang pag-aalala.
"Mukhang sinasadya niyang palakasin ka! Hindi mo ba nakikita? She is feeding you her mana!"
Mabilis na itinuro ni Lord Aryo ang napakalaking Eternal Flame na patuloy na umaagos sa katawan ni Ailo.
"If you absorb all of that mana, you'll die! You cannot fully control her power! Hindi mo alam kung gaano kalaking enerhiya ang pilit mong kinukuha!"
Napalingon si Ailo kay Rassia.
"Ngunit nararamdaman kong lumalakas ako, Lord Aryo!"
Hindi na pinansin ni Ailo si Aryo at muling humarap sa napakalaking fire tornado ni Rassia. Bilang Number Two at pangalawa sa pinakamalakas sa kanilang lima, mas lalo lamang lumaki ang kaniyang kumpiyansa.
He was certain he could defeat Rassia with the very power he had stolen from her.
Napangisi siya habang nararamdaman ang napakalaking mana na dumadaloy sa kaniyang katawan.
I can feel it.
Her power is already inside me.
Bahagya niyang itinaas ang kaniyang kamay, habang unti-unting lumilitaw ang Eternal Flame sa kaniyang palad.
With this much of her power, I can finally destroy her with her own strength.
He was supposed to form a massive fireball toward Rassia. Ngunit bago pa niya tuluyang mabuo ang apoy, biglang natigilan si Ailo.
Napatingin ang lahat sakanya nang mapansin nilang unti-unti nanghihina ito.
The Eternal Flame mana he had absorbed from Rassia suddenly began turning black inside his body, spreading like a dark corruption through his mana.
Kumislap ang itim na enerhiya sa kaniyang katawan. Mabilis itong kumalat sa kaniyang mga ugat hanggang sa unti-unting naging violet ang kaniyang leeg at mukha. His eyes reddened as dark tears began to stain his face.
"A-anong n-nangyayari?!"
Napaatras si Ailo habang pilit niyang kinokontrol ang enerhiyang nasa loob ng kaniyang katawan.
"I-Impossible!"
Napatitig si Lord Aryo sa kaniya. He realized that the mana Ailo absorbed was never meant to be controlled by him.
Dahan-dahang bumaba si Rassia mula sa dambuhalang apoy. Nang tuluyan siyang makalapag sa lupa, tinukod niya ang kaniyang malaking scythe sa tabi niya at biglang tumawa nang malakas.
Napalunok ang lahat nang mapansin ang pagbabago sa kaniya.
Unti-unting naging itim ang kaniyang buhok, habang ang kaniyang mga mata ay tuluyang naging purong itim.
Dalawang sungay ang lumitaw sa kaniyang ulo, kasabay ng paglitaw ng napakalaki at nakakatakot na mga pakpak sa kaniyang likuran.
Nanatili pa rin sa kaniyang katawan ang dark armor na may pulang detalye, ngunit sa kaniyang bagong anyo, lalo lamang itong naging nakakatakot.
Everyone who looked at her would have thought she was a demon.
Wala na ang napakalaking apoy na kanina ay nasa kaniyang likuran. Ngunit kapalit nito ay isang mas madilim at mas nakakatakot na mana aura ang pumalit sa paligid niya.
She laughed again.
Isang malakas at nakakakilabot na tawa ang umalingawngaw sa buong battlefield. The evil laughter coming from her sent chills through every knight watching from inside Lucy Pearl's barrier.
Maging si Lord Aryo ay natigilan. Kitang-kita sa kaniyang mukha ang pagkagulat habang pinagmamasdan ang bagong anyo ni Rassia.
Samantala, si Number Two ay nakayuko habang pilit na humihinga, unti-unting nanghihina dahil sa enerhiyang nasa loob ng kaniyang katawan.
Rassia slowly lifted her head.
Her full black eyes stared directly at them.
"You are indeed an idiot, a stupid old man, Number Two. Do you really think you could outsmart me? From the moment I sensed your ability, I already knew exactly what you were trying to do. You thought you were clever enough to use my own power against me,
but you were only following the path I wanted you to take."
Bahagyang ngumisi si Rassia habang nakatingin kay Ailo, who was still struggling to breathe.
"I already knew your ability from the very beginning. You can absorb mana and turn it into your own power, so I knew exactly what would happen the moment you started absorbing my Eternal Flame. You thought every flame you took from me made me weaker,
and every bit of mana that entered your body made you stronger. But you never stopped to question why I kept allowing you to absorb more."
Muli niyang tinukod ang kaniyang scythe sa lupa.
"I deliberately released my flames for you to take. I wanted you to become confident. I wanted you to believe that you had finally found a way to defeat me. Because the more of my power you absorbed, the deeper you allowed my mana to enter your body. You weren't stealing my strength, old man.
You were willingly swallowing the trap I placed in front of you."
Unti-unting lumalim ang ngiti ni Rassia habang pinagmamasdan ang itim na enerhiyang kumikislap sa katawan ni Ailo.
"You can absorb mana, but you cannot make my power yours. No one can take my power from me. My Eternal Flame does not belong to you, and it never will. The moment you absorbed it, my flame changed inside your body. It became demonic mana, and that demonic mana became poison."
Mas lalong dumilim ang purong itim na mga mata ni Rassia.
"So while you were standing there, thinking you were becoming stronger with every flame you absorbed, you were actually destroying yourself from within."
Bahagya siyang tumawa muli.
"Hah! and now you're choking on the very power you thought would make you stronger."
Patuloy na tumawa si Rassia habang pinagmamasdan si Ailo. Unti-unti nang kumalat ang itim na enerhiya sa buong katawan nito.
I already planned this.
I knew I couldn't defeat Number Two easily. Kaya sinigurado kong hindi ko siya haharapin sa paraan na gusto niya...
I knew he would try to absorb my Eternal Flame...
So I gave him exactly what he wanted...
In the distance, Lucy Pearl simply smirked as she watched how ruthless Rassia had become. She seemed almost amused by the dark and cunning way Rassia was handling the battle.
Ngumunguya si Lucy Pearl habang nanonood sa laban. Bahagya siyang napatingin sa pagkaing hawak niya at tila nasasarapan.
"The people of Mysarea have good food, huh? ngayon lang ako nakakain ng ganito..."
She continued eating casually, completely relaxed as if there wasn't a massive battle happening right in front of her.