"AMIKO, did you keep track kung ilang hidden Shinto shrines meron dito sa Pilipinas ang babalaking pasabugin ng mga sira-ulong iyon?" Kahit nonsense nang maituturing ay nagawa pa ring itanong ni Kana habang sinusundan niya sina Amiko at Tetsuya.
Tinatahak nilang tatlo ang daan patungo sa hidden Shinto shrine kung saan inatake na naman ng mga Dark Rose si Kourin. Pero sa totoo lang, may sa demonyo yata ang lugar na iyon. Or maybe even a 'Dark Rose magnet', as Kana would like to call it. Lagi na lang doon napapahamak ang prinsesa nila.
Or at least that was what Kana thought.
Pero hindi rin nila puwedeng ignorahin ang sikretong itinatago ng lugar na iyon. Lalo pa't ipinakita na sa kanila ni Tetsuya ang pruweba na naglalaman ng isa sa posibleng sagot sa mga tanong nila tungkol sa nasabing lugar.
"Honestly, Kana? I have no idea. Pero kung isasama ko ang shrine na pinasabog nila six months ago sa Casimera, then there's six more shrines left," sagot naman ni Amiko sa tanong ng kasamahan niyang Knight kahit batid niyang gusto lang nitong magbiro para alisin ang tensyong nakapaligid sa kanila. But then she thought, wouldn't that be Tetsuya's hobby?
Nang harapin ni Amiko si Tetsuya, halata sa mukha nito na may malalim itong iniisip bagaman nagagawa pa rin nitong ituon ang atensiyon sa daang tinatahak nila. She knew that Kana noticed that, as well.
"Huwag n'yo nga akong tingnan nang ganyan. Iisipin ko talaga na naguguwapuhan kayong dalawa sa akin, eh," bigla ay saad ng binata na lihim na ikinagulat ng dalawang Knights.
Of course, Amiko and Kana exchanged glances at that.
"Yup, he's still normal," ani Kana.
"Normally arrogant to the point that I wanted to strangle him," dagdag naman ni Amiko na ikinasimangot naman ni Tetsuya.
But the light atmosphere instantly vanished at the sound of explosion coming from the direction toward the shrine.
"You got to be kidding me!" nagngingitngit na saad ni Tetsuya at tinakbo na nilang tatlo ang daan patungo sa lugar na kailangan nilang puntahan.
Ilang sandali pa ay narating na nila ang pinangyarihan ng pagsabog. But they were enraged and surprised at the sight of the burning temple. At ang malala, ang templong iyon ang kinalalagyan ng mga tapestry na tinitingnan ni Kourin nang nagdaang araw lang.
"That means we're too late, huh?"
"Hindi na ako magtataka," tugon naman ni Tetsuya sa sinabi ni Amiko. "Inunahan na nila tayo sa Casimera. Gagawin din nila iyon dito, lalo pa't alam na ng prinsesa na hindi lang ito isang simpleng templo. Mukhang unahan ang magiging laban natin dito, ah."
"Mabuti naman at naisip mo iyan, Tetsuya Kisaragi."
Napalingon silang tatlo sa pinagmulan ng tinig na iyon nang alertuhin nila ang kanilang mga sarili. The voice was familiar to them, and without a doubt spelled danger. Kaya naman hindi na sila nagulat nang makita nila kung sino ang nagmamay-ari ng tinig na iyon.
"Himala! Lumabas ka sa lungga mo, Hera," nang-uuyam na panimula ni Kana nang maging blangko na ang expression niya.
"Well, I need to go out once in a while and have some sunshine, right? Hindi ko pa naman gustong pabayaan ang kalusugan ko, lalo na ang kagandahan ko," kalmadong tugon ng babaeng nagngangalang Hera.
The woman wasn't kidding about her beauty. Talaga namang maganda ito to the point na iisipin ng sinumang ordinaryong taong makakakita rito na isa itong modelo at hindi isang explosives expert. If one would define the term 'looks can kill', Hera would surely be one of the perfect example for it.
"Yeah, no kidding. Obvious na nga sa mukha mo ang pagiging white lady at anemic sa putla mo, eh. Tell me, did you put too much gunpowder on your face in exchange for face powder? 'Coz if you did, I think I just need a lighter and set you ablaze. That way, it'll be easy for me to erase you completely from the face of the earth."
Nagkatinginan naman sina Amiko at Tetsuya sa klase ng banat ni Kana. Seryosong usapan, naghahanap yata ng away ang babaeng 'to, eh.
But Amiko later realized na iyon nga ang purpose ni Kana. How did she know that? She watched Kana do fingerspelling from the back at a fast speed.
'I'll distract her. You two, get out of here. Hanapin n'yo pa ang ibang templo na posibleng pasabugin ng Dark Rose. As much as possible, do your best to prevent that from happening.' Iyon lang at inilabas na ni Kana mula sa holster sa bandang likuran niya ang isang may kahabaang cylindrical item na pamilyar kina Amiko at Tetsuya. With that as a signal, the two younger warriors fled before Hera could comprehend it because of her irritation toward the female lancer's retort.
"Sa tingin mo ba, mapapatakas mo ang dalawang iyon nang ganoon-ganoon lang?"
"No. But I know they're strong enough to handle any obstacle along the way. Besides, shouldn't you be more worried about yourself? You're only an expert in explosives, not in actual cross-range combat." Pero alam ni Kana na kahit iyon ang kahinaan ni Here, hindi pa rin siya maaaring magpadalus-dalos. Hera was still considered to be one of the most dangerous members of the Dark Rose.
Hera sneered, which only made Kana frown. "Don't get so cocky, Crimson Lancer." With that, she took out short swords hidden from her back. "I still have my expertise."
"Now that's more exciting, then." Si Kana naman ang naglabas ng sandata niya. Though Hera looked like she was about to mock her weapon, it appeared that the woman took it back when both ends of the cylindrical item she was holding extracted two blades which slightly curved at the tip that formed her weapon similar to that of a double-bladed naginata. "Because you know, I also have my expertise and I'm improving on it."
Pero sapat na ang mga katagang iyon upang galitin si Hera. At mukhang iyon ang hinihintay ni Kana. And with that, a duel began in a heartbeat.
Hindi inasahan ni Kana ang bilis ng pagsugod ni Hera sa kanya. But her reflexes were fast enough to block out all of the woman's attempts to stab her with those short swords. Hindi niya maikakailang nag-improve sa close-range combat si Hera. But who was she kidding? Her opponent had improved drastically to the point na parang ang kalaban niya ay ang ate niyang si Tsukasa o 'di kaya ay si Hotaru.
"Now what? You can't keep up?" Hera taunted and tried to slash Kana's face. However, she only gave the Knight a small gash on her right cheek, just deep enough to let blood incessantly oozed out.
Hindi na nag-abala pang tumigil si Kana kahit walang tigil sa pagtulo ang dugo sa sugat niya sa pisngi. She would definitely make this woman pay for that later. So in one swift move, she thrusted one end of her weapon toward Hera's face that the woman managed to evade. Only to be shocked that the lancer's target wasn't actually the face but the side of Hera's neck na nagawa niyang bigyan ng napakalalim na sugat. But she didn't stop there.
As Hera attempted to cover her wound to stop the bleeding, Kana slashed the woman's stomach, as well. Pero hindi niya nagawang laliman ang sugat dahil mabilis na nakaiwas ang kalaban. At that point, she deduced that Hera was somehow ill-suited for the type of combat she was trained for.
"Don't think it's over just because you've injured me like this," Hera said while panting as she was kneeling.
To Kana's surprise, Hera brought out a trigger-like device. At bago pa siya makahuma, muling sumabog ang nagliliyab na templo.
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