CHAPTER 72 #3
Tumalim ang tingin ni Morticia sa dalawa.
"Oh, really? Are you two seriously ganging up on me now?! You two are always like this ever since we were young!"
"Ticia..." malambing na awat ni Lapileon sa kaniyang kapatid.
"You all fucking piss me off!"
Padabog na umalis si Morticia sa opisina, dahilan upang ilang sandaling manatiling tahimik ang lahat.
Napabuntong-hininga si Lapileon habang sinusundan ng tingin ang kaniyang kapatid.
"She really hasn't changed..."
Tahimik lamang na napatingin si Rassia sa pintuan kung saan tuluyang nawala si Morticia. The atmosphere inside the room slowly began to settle, but the tension left behind by the argument remained.
"The two of you, you invalidated her feelings. Apologize to her this instant."
Kumunot ang noo ni Lucy Pearl nang maramdaman niya ang biglang pagtaas ng enerhiya ni Dimitrius. The atmosphere instantly became heavier, and even the other Erenhals turned their attention toward their older brother.
Unti-unting naging mas matingkad ang pulang kulay ng mga mata ni Dimitrius.
"Brother..." mahinang sambit ni Cassandra.
Hindi sumagot si Dimitrius. Instead, his mana slowly spread throughout the room.
Sa isang iglap, naramdaman nina Thaddeus at Cassandra ang kakaibang pagbabago sa kanilang katawan. Their own blood began responding to Dimitrius's mana, as if he had taken control of the connection between them.
Napahawak si Thaddeus sa kaniyang dibdib nang maramdaman niya ang kakaibang paggalaw sa loob ng kaniyang katawan.
It felt as though his own blood had suddenly turned into countless tiny shards of glass, shifting through his veins with every command Dimitrius made.
Napayuko si Cassandra, napakapit sa gilid ng mesa habang pilit na pinapanatiling maayos ang kaniyang paghinga.
She could feel the same sensation throughout her body.
Ngunit sa halip na sumuko, sinubukan niyang baligtarin ang kontrol ni Dimitrius.
She gathered her mana and attempted to force the blood within his body to respond to her command, ngunit tila walang epekto iyon sa kapatid.
Mas lalo niyang naramdaman ang bigat ng mana ni Dimitrius, as if his blood manipulation had completely overwhelmed her attempt before it could even take effect.
Para bang ang kaniyang dugo ay naging matigas at matalim na salamin na gumagalaw sa loob ng kaniyang katawan, making every movement painfully difficult.
"Don't," malamig na sambit ni Dimitrius.
His voice carried enough authority to make Cassandra immediately stop.
"You know you can't overpower me with my own blood."
"B-brother, s-stop..."
Mas lalo lamang naging mabigat ang presensya ni Dimitrius.
"You know better than anyone that Morticia has always been there for us. And yet you both chose to make her feel like her feelings didn't matter."
His expression remained completely calm, but his presence alone was enough to silence the entire room. There was no anger in his face, yet his voice carried an unmistakable authority that made even Rassia instinctively straighten.
"I don't care if you were angry. I don't care if you were afraid. You don't get to use that as an excuse to hurt your own sister."
Bahagyang tumingala si Cassandra, pilit na humihinga nang maayos.
"Dimitrius..."
"Apologize. Now."
Dimitrius simply stared at Cassandra and Thaddeus blankly. And somehow, that made it even more frightening.
Natigilan ang lahat dahil doon maging si Rassia. Hindi niya inaasahan ang ganoong reaksyon mula kay Dimitrius. She had seen the Erenhals angry before, but this was different. There was something unnerving about how calm he looked while his mana continued to fill the room.
Dimitrius is the oldest among them. He inherited King Drakkon's blood manipulation, and his presence is stronger than all of them...
Ngayon ko lang siyang nakitang magalit nang ganito...
He isn't shouting... he isn't even raising his voice. He's just standing there with that blank expression, yet somehow, his presence alone is enough to make everyone in this room fall silent.
The people who are usually the calmest... are sometimes the most terrifying when they finally get angry.
Mabilis nawala si Natalia sa kaniyang kinauupuan at biglang lumitaw sa likuran ni Dimitrius. Marahan niyang hinawakan ang balikat nito.
"Brother, that's enough... for sure they know their lesson..."
Natalia's ruby eyes glowed brighter. Kasabay nito, isang liwanag ang mabilis na bumalot kina Thaddeus at Cassandra. Ginamit ni Natalia ang kaniyang abilidad bilang isang bampira, ang Shield, upang tuluyang alisin ang blood manipulation ni Dimitrius sa kanilang katawan.
Mabilis na nakahinga nang maluwag ang dalawa at napayuko habang napapahawak sa kanilang dibdib.
Napabuntong-hininga si Dimitrius bago tuluyang umupo muli sa kaniyang upuan.
"You've gotten stronger now, Natalia... you managed to remove my blood manipulation."
"I trained hard for a time like this..." biro ni Natalia.
Vladimir tilted his head, looking down at them coldly. "Go now, Thaddeus, Cassandra. We will handle this. You should be grateful for Natalia-if not for her, you would both be dead right now."
"S-Shut u-up! Vlad! baka nakakalimutan mong immortal t-tayo?" nahihirapang sambit ni Cassandra.
?"Brother... you are far stricter than our father ever was," Lucius mused with a smirk. "I pity whoever becomes your child..."
Thaddeus and Cassandra left the office to apologize to Morticia.
Agad namang bumalik sa normal ang silid matapos silang umalis. The heavy atmosphere that had filled the office slowly disappeared, leaving everyone a little more relaxed.
Umupo na si Rassia at napahilot sa kaniyang sentido dahil sa naganap.
"I apologize for what I have said. Nag-away pa tuloy ang tatlo... ngunit alam kong iba sa inyo ay tutol din sa sinabi ko. Hindi ko naman hinihingi ang tulong mismo ng inyong mates. I don't mean that I want them to fight or put themselves in danger. I just need their connections...
I would never ask you to simply throw them into a war. What I need are the connections they have built across Arcadeya. Their kingdoms, their people, their influence... those things could become valuable allies for us."
"We will handle that, Rassia. I agree to that. King Drakkon and I have already talked about that matter before. Napag-isipan na rin namin iyan, especially when we realized that the connections of the Erenhals across Arcadeya could become important once the real threat finally appears.
We already knew that we couldn't rely only on the people within Erenhal Sartorias or the few allies we currently have. I'm surprised you also came up with the same idea, Rassia..." ani Dimitrius.
"You don't have to worry about that part. Your responsibility is to reclaim Erenhal Sartorias and secure the empire. Once you have the empire under your control, we'll have a much stronger position to gather the rest of our allies." sambit ni Devi.
"We can disguise ourselves to speak to them," ani Natalia. Her expression remained serious as she looked at Rassia. "We don't have to reveal who we really are..."
Tumango si Rassia.
"Then I'll leave the rest to all of you, Erenhals. I'm counting on you..."
Tahimik na inabot ni Anastacio kay Rassia ang kaniyang tobacco.
"I may be the Orythea... the Child of Fire... but I don't really believe that I am the only one who can defeat Erishkigal. Hindi ko alam kung bakit ako ang itinakda para harapin siya, but I know one thing... I cannot do this alone.
I need people who are willing to stand beside me when everything falls apart... Kaya nagagalak ako na kasama ko kayo sa laban na ito. I don't take that for granted. So... thank you. Thank you for trusting me, for fighting with me,
and for standing beside me when I don't even know what awaits us at the end of this road..."
Napailing si Devi.
"Kami ang dapat na magpasalamat sa iyo, Rassia. We waited for the Orythea for how many goddamn years... at wala kaming ideya kung kailan siya darating, o kung sino siya... For centuries, we only had the prophecy to hold on to. We didn't know what you would be like,
we didn't know when you would appear, and we certainly didn't expect that the Orythea would be someone like you. But now that you're here, I'm glad. I'm glad that the person we've been waiting for all these years is finally standing in front of us, and more importantly,
that you chose to stand with us. So don't thank us for staying beside you, Rassia. We've been waiting for the Orythea long before you even knew that you were the one written in that prophecy."
Lucy Pearl smiled when she heard it. She was genuinely glad that Rassia had people who were willing to stand beside her. For the first time in a long while, she felt that Rassia was no longer carrying everything alone.
Lumipas ang limang oras habang patuloy nilang pinag-uusapan ang bawat posibleng hakbang.
They planned how they would move, how they would communicate with one another, where they would regroup if they became separated, and what they would do if they encountered the demons.
Rassia, Lapileon, Vladimir, and Dimitrius took the lead in creating their strategies, while the other Erenhals continuously offered suggestions and pointed out possible problems they might encounter.
"I will handle the communication, Rassia. Since I'm not going to the war... I will handle it. Ayokong maging walang kwenta dahil ako lamang ang hindi immortal sa inyong lahat. At least, habang kayo ang nasa battlefield, I can stay and make sure that every message reaches the right person.
I can monitor your movements, relay information, and warn you if something changes. Hindi man ako makalaban kasama ninyo, I can still contribute in my own way. I don't want to simply sit and wait while all of you risk yourselves out there. Let me handle that part." ani Cayena.
"How? that's a good idea. Communication is one of the most important things in a war," sambit ni Lucy Pearl, bahagyang tumango habang iniisip ang sinabi ni Cayena.
Cayena simply smiled.
"I will handle it."