PATULOY sa pagtakbo paalis sa temple grounds sina Amiko at Tetsuya nang maramdaman nila ang bahagyang paggalaw ng lupa. Kasabay niyon ay sumalubong sa pandinig nila ang isang malakas na pagsabog. Ganoon na lang ang pagkagimbal at kabang naramdaman nila nang makita ang pag-akyat ng makapal na usok mula sa lugar kung saan alam nilang naroon si Kana.
"I really hate that Hera!" nagngingitngit na saad na lang ni Tetsuya habang nakakuyom ang kamao nito.
But surprisingly, Amiko remained stoic after all that. "I don't think Hera's that skilled enough to destroy Kana like that. But we still need to get out of here and head out to the tunnel where you and Lady Kourin escaped. Marami pa tayong kailangang gawin."
"I can't believe all you could think of after what you've seen is work and more work," iiling-iling lang si Tetsuya kahit na sabihin pang may punto ito roon.
"Baka nakakalimutan mo, Dark Rose ang kaharap natin. Kung ibang pipitsuging kalaban pa siguro iyan, kahit magliwaliw pa tayo rito, okay lang sa akin. Walang problema iyon. But we have work to do right now. And you know that it's a kind of work that would always do a lot of changes to us. Lalo na ngayong nawawala si Seiichi."
Now words countered Amiko's statement after that. Kunsabagay, malaking gulo nga naman ang inihatid ng pagkawala ni Seiichi. That young man's disappearance had truly thrown their hunt off the track. Pero lalo namang nadagdagan ang kagustuhan nilang lahat na alamin ang totoo.
Muling napatingin si Tetsuya sa umaakyat na usok mula sa pinasabog na bahagi ng shrine grounds na iyon. He was looking at it with hardened expression until his eyes widened at the thought that hit him.
"Amiko, ano pa ang alam mo tungkol sa pinasabog na hidden shrine sa Casimera six months ago?" agad na tanong ni Tetsuya nang harapin niya si Amiko.
Bagaman nagtataka sa biglaang pagtatanong ni Tetsuya, pinili pa ring sagutin ni Amiko iyon. "Nothing much. Hindi pa kasi pormal na nagsasagawa ng imbestigasyon sina Kuya Daryll sa lugar na iyon. Kahit nang malaman na nila ang posibleng nakaraan niyon. But the villagers said that it held a secret that was believed to be 'worth more than just a physical treasure'."
"Ha? Meron ba n'on?"
"That's according to them. Pero nagpakita sila ng mga patunay na isang noble family ang namalagi sa mansion na dating nakatayo sa tabi ng templo. That mansion had somehow served as the village's fortress against several invaders at the time. Idagdag mo pa na sa kalagitnaan talaga ng gubat nakalagak ang maliit na bayan na iyon," paliwanag ni Amiko.
Nagtaka tuloy ang dalaga nang makita ang pananahimik ni Tetsuya. Hanggang sa makita niya ang expression nito na tila nag-iisip nang malalim. At that sight, she decided not to disturb him. Nagpatuloy na lang siya sa paglalakad patungo sa direksyon kung saan posibleng naroon ang isang tagong tunnel na pinagtakasan nina Kourin at Tetsuya.
"Did Daryll have an old map of the village?" kapagkuwan ay tanong ni Tetsuya, dahilan upang mapahinto si Amiko sa paglalakad at paghahanap.
"Why in the world would you ask for an old map of the place?" kunot-noong balik-tanong ni Amiko imbes na sagutin ang tanong ni Tetsuya.
"Because I need to see the place where the temple actually stood before. Believe it or not, itong templo na basta na lang pinasabog ng sira-ulong Hera na iyon ay marami ring itinatagong sikreto bukod sa mga tapestries na ipinakita ko sa inyo kanina," tugon ni Tetsuya. "The structure of the hidden passageways of that temple... I don't know if it was coincidental or deliberately done, but it really looked similar to that of the structure of the Blue Rose Castle at Mt. Kurama."
"B-Blue Rose Castle? You mean the one that belongs to ー "
"That belonged to the original Fourth Family of the Shrouded Flowers since its founding 400 years ago."
Kagyat na napalingon sina Amiko at Tetsuya sa pinagmulan ng tinig na iyon. Though fear immediately struck them both, hindi nila ipinakita iyon sa babaeng kaedad lang ni Tetsuya na ngayon ay nakakaloko ang ngiting nakatingin sa kanila.
"Wow... You're seriously a difficult one to kill, Tetsuya," dagdag pa ng babae.
But Amiko replied with a raised eyebrow while Tetsuya just shrugged.
"What can I say? Masamang damo yata ako, eh. Kaya heto, buhay na buhay pa rin. Ayaw pa yatang alisin ng nasa Itaas ang tulad kong ubod ng guwapo rito sa mundong ibabaw. Sayang naman daw kasi kung hindi ko maikakalat ang lahi ko, 'no? At least, I think of it that way kaya wala kang dapat ipagtaka, Hestia."
Amiko acted jokingly as if she was about to vomit because of Tetsuya's words. Pero iba ang epekto n'on kay Hestia na humigpit ang hawak sa isang maliit na cylindrical item. Both warriors noticed it at mukhang may palagay na sila kung ano iyon.
"Mukhang busy-busy-han ang drama natin ngayon, ah. But I don't think an explosion would easily eliminate us like that," sabi ni Amiko nang hindi na niya magawang mapalagay sa hawak-hawak ni Hestia.
"Ah, so you've noticed." Tiningnan ni Hestia ang bagay na hawak niyaーna sa gulat nina Amiko at Tetsuya ay isang trigger.
Malamang at sa hindi, may nakalagay nang bomba sa kung saan. Not unlessー
"Hey, bomb witch! Mind telling us what you want to do with that bomb trigger? At least from there, we'll know you really meant business."
Honestly, gusto na talagang upakan ni Amiko si Tetsuya. Tensyunado na nga ang sitwasyon nila, nagagawa pa rin nitong gumawa ng ganoong klaseng biro.
"Can't you tell? I can't believe you've gotten slower in perceiving your enemies' plan, Tetsuya."
"Well, at least I haven't gotten crazy over some bomb-adjusting business. I still value my handsome face and my beautiful life, you know."
Of course, Tetsuya's statement had truly added fuel to the fire. At least, it looked like he was aiming for tha basing it from Hestia's reaction to that alone. Napahinga na lang nang malalim si Amiko at napailing. Kahit kailan talaga, hindi pa rin siya makapaniwala sa ganitong klaseng attitude ng lalaking ito kahit na ilang taon na silang magkasama sa mga mission nila.
"Alright... if that's what you really want." Hestia composed herself and faced the two warriors with a blank expression. "Hades wants us to destroy everythingーand he truly meant everythingーthat has something to do with the Eight Celestial Points of the Yasunaga clan to the ground. At kasama na rin naming pasasabugin ang tanging taong nakakaalam ng sikretong itinatago ng Celestial Points na iyon." And with that, she laughed maniacally.
Of course, it only meant one thing. Even though the plan was a little unclear, one point of the discussion still remained. Seiichi was in grave danger and they had to stop that at all cost.
Before Amiko knew it, she ended up drawing two kunai from her back pocket and threw it, aiming straight to Hestia's hand holding the bomb trigger. One of them stabbed the enemy's wrist at tumusok naman sa trigger ang isa pang kunai, destroying it in the process. At mukhang iyon ang inaabangan ni Tetsuya para umatake. Pero mukhang alerto pa rin si Hestia sa paligid nito kahit na nasaktan na ito.
Hestia removed the kunai that had injured her wrist and used it to defend herself from Tatsuya who was attacking her relentlessly with a kodachi. Sumunod namang sumugod sa kanya si Amiko na inilabas na ang dalawang sai na trademark weapon nito. At that point, alam niyang dehado na siya dahil tiyak na hindi siya titigilan ng dalawang ito hanggang hindi siya napapatay.
"Hestia, get down and run!"
Sa saglit na distraction na iginawad ng sigaw na iyon, may kung sinong nilalang sa bandang likuran ni Hestia ang nagtapon ng kabubukas lang na tear gas. Kasabay niyon ay may nagpapaputok ng armalite na pilit iniwasan nina Tetsuya at Amiko. Nagawang makita ng binata ang daan patungo sa tagong tunnel dahil memoryado na niya ang direksyong tinahak nila ni Kourin habang tumatakas sila nito mula kina Artemis at Apollo.
From Tetsuya's hiding position, he saw at least the figures of their fleeing enemies.
"If you ask me, those guys have truly gotten crazy," ani Amiko nang tuluyan nang makahinga nang maluwag.
"Yeah... and to think even Dionysus and Hyperion would leave their posts inside the agency just to do this to us. Oh, well. At least I know how much they love us."
Umismid si Amiko at napailing sa pagiging hopeless ng pag-iisip ng kasama niyang ito. "It's such a bummer sometimes to have a overly positive comrade in the battlefield," mahinang saad na lang niya. Ilang sandali pa ay sumagi sa isipan niya ang sinabi ni Hestia. "Tetsuya, may alam ka ba sa sinasabi niyang Eight Celestial Points?"
"That's why I'm asking you if you have an old map of the village where the temple stood before it got destroyed six months ago. Dahil kung tama ang hinala ko, desidido na talaga silang sirain ang lahat ng may kinalaman sa mga Yasunaga."
"Why would they even bother to destroy old temples like that?"
"Trust me, if one place holds a 300-year-old secret to a clan's revival should they meet demise, at kung pakaiisipin din na magiging sagabal iyon sa mga plano kong world domination whatsoever, aba'y kahit ako mag-iisip na sirain iyon nang tuluyan, 'no? But thankfully, I haven't gotten that crazy yet. Besides, alam ko ang importansya ng mga Celestial Points na iyon para tulungan ang prinsesa."
Pareho silang bumuntong-hininga at sa wakas ay naisipan nang tingnan ang paligid nila. But surprise soon filled them as they saw an incredible find.
"Don't tell me you didn't see this before on your way out," sabi ni Amiko nang magawa na niyang makahuma.
"To be honest... I didn't even know this thing existed here," tugon naman ni Tetsuya.
Sino ba naman ang hindi magugulat, eh makita ba naman nila ang isang malaking portrait ng dalawang taoーisang babae at isang lalaki na tila ba magkasintahan. And the couple on the portrait were wearing kimonos that could be seen during the Tokugawa period in Japan. Kung ibabase pa nila sa mga ornaments na nakadisenyo sa kimono, masasabi rin nila na galing ang magkasintahang iyon sa noble families.
But why in the world did that portrait reach the Philippines gayong hindi basta-basta nakakalabas ng Japan ang mga tao roon?
Patuloy sa pag-oobserba si Amiko hanggang sa may napansin siyang faded writing sa ibabang bahagi ng portrait. "Tetsuya, did you bring your UV pen?"
Walang salitang inabot ni Tetsuya ang kailangang gamit ni Amiko mula sa bulsa. Ilang sandali pa ay tiningnan na nilang dalawa ang mga salitang lumabas nang pailawan ni Amiko ang bahaging iyon ng portrait.
'My love, our destiny is never to separate. The Ethereal Sky will bind us in time. Our estranged fates will find their way toward each other once more. Just believe and I will scour every mountain to find you. Under the same sky, we'll let our destinies intertwine.'
"Wow. Romantic lang ang drama nito?" komento kaagad ni Tetsuya nang mabasa nila ang nakasulat na iyon in Japanese.
Pero iba ang napansin ni Amiko sa lahat ng nabasa niya roon. "Ethereal Sky... Those words appeared on the passage etched on the Iris Sword, as well. Imposibleng nagkataon lang ito."
"So now you're saying na ito ang pinagbasehan ng mga salitang nasa espada ni Lord Hitoshi?"
"You're right on that one, Tetsuya Kisaragi."
Gulat na napatingin sila sa pinagmulan ng tinig na iyon. Ngunit ganoon na lang ang pagtataka ni Amiko nang makilala niya kung sino ang nagsabi niyon.
"Ayuka? What are you doing here?"
"Trying to help you realize a few things, Lady Amiko. Forgive me for startling you and your friend. But try to look at the names on that portrait and you'll know why I said those words to you," tugon na lang ni Ayuka at itinuro ang parteng tinutukoy nito.
"Names?"
Kapagkuwan ay sinunod na lang nina Amiko at Tetsuya ang sinabi ng dalaga. But they soon frowned at the sight that greeted them.
"Lord Masujiro of the Yasunaga..." pagbasa ni Tetsuya sa nakasulat na pangalan sa kaliwang bahagi ng portrait sa pinakababa niyon.
"And Lady Harukaze of the Shinomiya?" gulat na dugtong ni Amiko sa binabasa ni Tetsuya.
Nagkatinginan sina Amiko at Tetsuya na hindi napapawi ang sorpresa sa kanilang mukha bago napatingin kay Ayuka.
"What in the world was this supposed to mean?”
No comments:
Post a Comment