The Grimoire

Chapter 57: The First Wave

KEL

Hindi ko alam kung nasaan sila pero rinig na rinig ko ang mga pagsabog mula rito. This is actually my first time dealing this much enemies alone and to be honest I am having a hard time. Halos nasusuka na rin ako sa baho nila. Kahit ilan pa ang papatayin ko, dadami sila at dadami. I've overwhelmed and there is no help coming. It's just only us.

As the skeletal horde advanced with a relentless purpose, I couldn't help but voice their frustration to the vacant air. "Must I face this unholy tide alone?" reklamo ko and I smashed the ground with my hammer, creating a vibration that shattered the skeletal warriors into pieces. "Nakakaputangina ito," reklamo ko ulit at hinagis ko na ang hammer na hawak ko. Padabog akong naglakad at bago ko pa makuha ang hammer, I found myself standing in the higher portion of Terrax where I could see most of the Terrax from here, although the school is far away from here kay hindi ko ito masyadong matanaw.

Leo went to the main city to defend the people's homes. Evie went to the other side para maprotektahan namin ang rural areas. Cairo is currently in port, preventing the armies from swarming to the ocean para hindi ito makalabas at hindi ito maghasik ng lagim sa iba pang bansa. I don't even know how long we could last but for the time being, we need to face this alone, and we need to act.

I hear a loud explosion just meters away from me at hindi konapigilang lumingon. I saw how the water splashed and it later turned iton ice. I saw a small figure na tumatakbo sa ice and I realized it was Evie. She ran towards the top at bigla niyang hinagis ang trident sa ibaba, causing a quake at pati ako ay napahawak sa puno na nasa tabi ko. Hah, she looked like she's having fun but I can definitely see how tired she is.

Napatingin ulit ako sa harap at napansin kong may kulang. Evie landed near me at napatingin ako sa kaniya. The ice behing her melted, causing the water to slide down, drowning the remaining skeletons.

"Did you see that? I'm such a badass. I miss fighting like this," she said with a proud smile.

"Um," I paused. "I haven't seen Vermillion," I continued, and her smile started to fade. "Leo is in the city, we are here, and Cairo is in the port. Where is she?" I asked and we started to panic silently.

Before we even decided to go downhill para hanapin siya, something caught our eye near the school. We jumped to the trees at pilit na lumalapit doon para tingnan ang mga nangyayari.

"That's odd, there are usually a lot of undead na tumatahak dito. Bakit parang wala akong nakita ni-isa?" she asked.

Napatigil ako nang napansin kong may nakatayo sa bridge mag-isa. Tumigil rin si Evie and our eyes widened when we saw Vermillion. The undead kept attacking her at natatamaan na rin siya sa mga attake nila. Kaya pala tumigil na ang paglitaw ng mga kalaban kasi pinipigilan niya dito. Evie and I didn't say a word pero sabay kaming tumakbo papunta sa kaniya. We were close to her but then, an unseen barrier popped out in front of us, and it was strong enough to cast us away from the bridge. Evie and I were thrown away at lumagpas kami sa Dead city. Our backs hit the solid trunk of the tree at malayo na muli kami kay Vermillion.

We both heard footsteps at dahan-dahan kaming tumayo. My hammer started to shake violently at hinawakan ko itong maigi. It suddenly flew away kaya napilitan ko itong bitawan. Napaharap ako and I saw someone walking towards us, holding my hammer, along with other weapons floating behind him. He stopped on his tracks at halos mabaliw na ako sa kakaisip kung bakit ngayon pa?  Bakit ngayon pa siya lumitaw at bakit nandito siya?

He was wearing his corroded armor that bore the scars of our battles, the once-shining metal now exuded an eerie luster. Its skeletal frame, a twisted mockery of life, was wrapped in tattered remnants of a war-torn cloak. Half of his face had flesh while the other half was a dark skull with an empty eye socket. A crown of bone adorned its skull, a macabre symbol of the authority it once held in life. Despite the absence of some of his muscle and sinew, he exuded a palpable aura of strength and menace. No mere mindless puppet, he displayed a tactical cunning that spoke of a retained intelligence from its past life.