IF THERE was one thing that Tetsuya hated so much in the whole world, it was the fact that he had to deal with not just one, but two terribly skilled snipers among the Dark Rose. He was supposed to be just inside his room, doing the usual things he loved to do and he did his best--hacking and intelligence research. Kung hindi man ay samahan si Amiko sa pagbabantay kay Kourin.
But facing Artemis and Apollo, who happened to be two of the best gunners and snipers of the agency? Tetsuya wasn't looking for an early execution at that point. Dapat ay ang mga kamag-anak niya na sina Chrono at Mamoru ang humaharap sa mga ito. Or maybe kahit si Julie na lang. That young lady's skills in sniping was surely deadly.
Kaya lang, ang malaking problema, hindi ma-contact ni Tetsuya ang sinuman sa tatlong iyon. Now he had to protect the princess and deal with the two snipers ― all alone!
"I'm sorry, Tetsuya. I got engrossed in looking at the tapestries," hinging-paumanhin ni Kourin na dahilan naman upang mapatingin si Tetsuya rito. Fear and something akin to immense curiosity probably with the issues regarding the tapestries ― were evident in her eyes.
Bilib din talaga si Tetsuya sa babaeng ito. Takot na nga't lahat dahil sa mga kalabang nagtatangkang tapusin ang mga buhay nila, hayun at nagagawa pa ring ibuhos ang atensiyon sa mga nasilayan sa loob ng templong iyon. He was able to take pictures of the insides of the hall and of the nine tapestries a while back before Artemis and Apollo entered and threatened the princess.
Kaya nga nagawang patamaan ni Tetsuya ang mga kamay ng dalawang iyon na may hawak ng baril gamit ang ilang shuriken na dala niya. He was only good at wielding short knives, kunai and shuriken but never guns which was a contradiction to what the Yumemiya clan was truly known for in the battlefield and that would be guns.
Matapos gawin iyon ni Tetsuya ay hinila niya si Kourin at dinala sa entrance ng isang passageway na kanina pa niya namataan ngunit nanatiling tago. Finding the trigger to activate the mechanism to open the entrance was something which had almost killed them, though. Pasalamat na lang talaga siya at 'di hamak na mas mabilis na nahanap ni Kourin ang hinahanap niyang trigger. One pull of the hidden lever and they were inside the passageway.
"Pambihira ka talaga... Ganoon ba kalakas ang radar ng mga iyon sa iyo, Princess?" Sinikap ni Tetsuya na lakipan ng pagbibiro ang tanong niyang iyon.
"I guess they've already established it since the attack. And to think laging nangyayari iyon sa lugar na 'to..."
Hindi na umimik si Tetsuya sa narinig mula kay Kourin. Maging siya ay nagtataka rin kung bakit sa Shinto shrine na iyon nagkakalakas-loob umatake ang mga bugok na iyon.
Nasa ganoong pag-iisip si Tetsuya nang bigla ay naramdaman nila ni Kourin ang malakas na paggalaw ng lupa na para bang...
"Earthquake?"
"I don't think so. But we have to get out of here now. Desidido na talaga silang patumbahin ka," seryosong sabi ni Tetsuya habang palinga-linga sa paligid ng maaari nilang tahakin para makatakas. But the place wasn't all that familiar to him. Sino ba naman kas ang mag-aakala na may ganoon palang istruktura sa lugar na iyon? And to think the place held such tapestries that could possibly be one of the most amazing finds--at least it was amazing for him.
'Wait a minute... If this place held such secrets concealed in every tapestries of that hall, could this place actually be... similar to that castle?' Nang maisip ni Tetsuya iyon, pinagbutihan niya ang pagsisiyasat ng maaari nilang pagtakasan ng prinsesa. But he had to do so precisely and fast before the structure decided to destroy them all dahil sa tangkang pagpapasabog doon ng kung sino man sa mga Dark Rose na naroon.
As it turned out, tama ang hinala ni Tetsuya. Tinatangka na ngang pasabugin nina Artemis at Apollo ang templo gamit ang isang explosive device na likha ng isa pang kasamahan nila sa agency. Ang explosives expert na may codename na "Hera". They nearly succeeded, until someone decided to let it explode ahead of time before it could even reach its target.
"You should've detonated it faster, Artemis."
Nanlaki ang mga mata ni Artemis nang marinig ang tinig na iyon. Her eyes became laced with rage and she seethed her teeth at the sight of the smirking enemy.
"Julie."
The said woman just raised her eyebrow as she placed the handgun she used back in its holster to destroy the bomb that was about to be thrown to the temple. A few feet behind her was also a smirking Chrono wielding a 9mm automatic handgun and a rifle.
At that point, si Apollo naman ang nagpakita ng galit sa nakitang kalaban.
"You're late. That cousin of yours is already dead together with his girlfriend," anunsyo ni Artemis nang tuluyan na niyang harapin ang magkapatid na Elzea.
"I know you better than that, Artemis. Hindi ikaw ang tipo ng nilalang na basta-basta na lang ia-anunsyo ang tungkol sa ganyang klaseng achievement na wala man lang pruweba," napapailing na tugon ni Julie. "Unless, of course, you've gotten sloppier in taking down your targets."
"What did you say?"
"She's just telling the truth, Artemis. You're not going to react that way if it isn't true. Besides, Tetsuya isn't someone who would allow himself to be taken down by the likes of you and your partner," dagdag naman ni Chrono.
As expected, those words only incensed the rage that the sniper partners felt. Sa labis na inis ay pinaputukan nilang dalawa ang magkapatid na agad namang nakailag. Heated exchange of gunshots ensued between the snipers of the Shrouded Flowers and the snipers of the Dark Rose. Tila giyera ang kinalabasan ng sagupaang iyon.
Mula sa punong pinagtataguan niya ay napansin ni Julie ang paligid ng shrine. Each of the temple there appeared to be a replication of something that she knew she had seen somewhere but couldn't quite place it where and when did she see it.
"What's wrong, Julie?" hindi napigilang itanong ni Chrono nang mapansin ang nag-oobserbang tingin ng dalaga sa paligid.
"This place. There's something weird about this hidden shrine."
Kumunot naman ang noo ni Chrono sa naging sagot na iyon ni Julie. Hanggang sa naisipan niyang pasadahan ng tingin ang paligid. At one moment, he almost thought he travelled back to the past ― to where the establishment of the Shrouded Flowers first began more than 400 years ago. Weird mang isipin pero iyon ang naramdaman niya. Could this be the weird thing that Julie was talking about?
Pero saka na muna nila dapat isipin iyon. At this point, they still had to deal with two obstinate Dark Rose snipers. But the fight turned out to be a short one as the Elzea siblings soon noticed Artemis and Apollo fleeing at ang ilang tauhan ng Dark Rose ay pinaligiran ang buong lugar.
"Urgh! I hate dealing with these jerks," reklamo ni Julie nang tangkain niyang papuntahan ang tumatakas na si Artemis. But she only succeeded in hitting the female enemy sniper's right thigh while Chrono managed to hit Apollo on the shoulder and right foot. "'Kainis! It looks like they're really trying to be careful this time."
"They warned us of an all-out attack pero hindi ko akalaing uunti-untiin nila tayo," sabi ni Chrono at napatingin sa paligid. "Now we have to find Tetsuya and the princess."
"Yeah... But that's after we deal with these goons."
Right after that, they threw their rifles to one side and took out their handguns. After making sure the guns were fully loaded, inumpisahan na nilang patumbahin isa-isa ang mga sumusugod na tauhan ng Dark Rose. Of course, they made sure they'd hit the vital areas of their opponents dahil kinakailangan talaga nilang madaliin ang trabahong iyon. Pero kahit pinipilit nilang ubusin lahat ng mga kalaban mula sa kanilang posisyon, mukhang hindi yata papayag ang mga iyon.
Mangilan-ngilan lang ang nakakalapit sa kanilang magkapatid at tinangkang saktan sila gamit ang katana at bayonet na dala-dala ng mga ito. But it was Chrono who dealt with all of them. Though he was considered a charmer among the Yumemiya because of his good looks, never assume that it was all that he had. Among the five 'princes' of the 12 Knights, he was considered to be the deadliest next to Shigeru. He was remorseless when it comes to dealing with the enemies, either by using guns or through his punches and kicks which usually targeted the vital parts.
Julie delivered the fatal shot to the enemies that Chrono dealt with physically. Ilang sandali pa ay natapos na rin nila ang mga trabaho nila.
"Why do I have a bad feeling that this isn't even a part of their strongest forces yet?" Julie commented as she looked around and observed the fallen enemies.
"They were merely pawns. A part of an experiment. Pero kung ganoon nga ang sitwasyon, kailangan na talaga nating maghanda. Our ultimate battle with them will definitely start soon."
Natahimik lang si Julie sa sinabing iyon si Chrono. Nakakatakot mang isipin pero parang tama yata ang kapatid niya. She heaved a heavy sigh before facing her brother. "Come on. Tetsuya and the princess should still be around here. We have to find them and bring them back home safe and sound."
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