The Scepter of Marahuyo

Chapter 008

The vines retract from Cara’s feet and recede to the walls, where it’s not as threatening as before. According to Cara, we will have our daily practicals at the back of the Academy, so we dash towards it. Of all the subjects, she chooses to call me for this. She should have called for me during the general knowledge class. 

“You guys are late,” Ethan greets us with a wide smile. “Guess what they’re gonna let us do today?!” he exclaims. 

Cara and I roll our eyes. Of course, he loves this class. He’s one of the mages with above-average combat ability. He can quickly become a Scepter if not for that poisoning that happened. No matter how much I think about it, I don’t understand why Olivia will be reduced to that. I still can’t face her. I don’t know how to meet her. I purse my lips and reach up to my arm, and put all my anxiety on it. 

Cara scrunches her eyes at me. “Holly?”

“I hope it’s not about battling monsters,” I say and ignore Cara’s worries. Of course, it’s not about battling monsters. I kind of remember this day as a typical physical activity lesson. 

“You got it right!” Ethan squealed in delight. “We’re gonna have stronger monsters than last year!”

My mouth hangs open, and I look around. There are no monsters on the grounds, at least none yet. But Master Orson is in the center, talking with our Marahuyo physical activity instructor. Master Orson’s supposed to be only teaching special lessons these days, so what was he doing here?

“They already asked us to group in three so I’ve written you two as my team members. To better the odds of the other team,” Ethan boasts.

“Do you remember that Holly froze up last year on this same activity?” Cara scolds.

“That’s why you two are with me. You can take care of yourself, and me being the strongest, I can take care of Holly.”

I massage my temples. I am not as afraid of the monsters anymore, but even as a twenty-year-old woman, I never gained the ability to fight them. 

We hear a clap, and in a booming voice, our physical activity instructor named Philip says, “Today, Master Orson graces us with his presence, and we are gonna celebrate that by showing him the result of our training for the past year.”

Master Orson waves at us, and Sir Philip touches the ground, closes his eyes and whispers something unintelligible. Soon enough, the terrain starts to crack until there is a two-meter diameter hole in the ground. Water sprouts from it like an open spring, but we all know that it’s not really innocent despite its safe appearance.

Sir Philip’s anito is Magdan-durunoon, the god of hidden lakes, making him efficient at imprisoning and hiding things. Last year, we found out that he likes to get a collection of monsters. 

“As last year, who wants to go first?” Sir Philip asks.

Ethan is about to raise his hand when I reach for it to stop him. He looks at me and points at his hand with his mouth. 

“Holly, my hand,” he says.

“Let’s wait, okay? Let’s watch the others first.”

“What for? That will be boring.”

Another student raises his hand. It’s Al, whose anito is Tubigan, the god of water and celestial ocean. He looks over at us and smirks at Ethan. 

“That little,” he says. “See what you’ve done? That little Al came first!”

“He’s provoking and teasing you, stay still.”

Al approaches Sir Philip, and when he’s a meter from him, he stops. Aicelle, whose anito is Magwayen and another student named Demetrio, with Linting Habughabug as his anito, are with him. I’ve got to say; this team is powerful. 

Sir Philip kneels in front of the hole in the ground and whispers. It’s quiet for a while until we hear giggles like that of a child. As time moves, the childlike giggles become that of a huge man, and then the laughs get more and more shrill. 

I nudge Ethan and whisper, “That’s definitely a bungisngis,” I say. It’s a creature who likes to play with its prey. Its usual target is livestock, but to it, humans are also considered livestock.

“Bungisngis?” Cara smirks. “That’s not a low level monster.”

Something moves under my feet, and I realize that it’s the vines controlled by Cara, which means she’s getting agitated. But who would not be? Even Al and Aicelle take a step back when the Bungisngis come out of the hole and focus its attention on them. 

Bungisngis is an ugly creature with only half of its misshapen head covered with dry, stick-like black hair. It stands at more than ten feet. It only has one eye at the center of its head, huge teeth on its humongous mouth that can swallow a human head without a problem. It has exposed gums, and one of its protruding teeth is the size and shape of an elephant tusk.

The bungisngis saliva drips on the side of its opened mouth, and before it drops on the ground, it runs towards Aicelle. 

Aicelle is surprised, but Demetrio is on the rescue as he touches the ground, takes a baton from the holster around his waist, raises it into the sky and strikes the ground between Aicelle and the bungisngis. 

He misses. He’s supposed to hit the monster. But it is still enough to stop the bungisngis from grabbing Aicelle.

As if angry from her initial surprise, the ground around Aicelle becomes wet. She stares at the bungisngis, who never stopped giggling and points at its eyes with her fingers. 

From where I stand, I see her murmur a curse word before a jet of water comes out. The giggling stops as it hits the bungisngis at the center of its eye and out its gnarly head. Blood drips at the back of its head before it falls backwards.

My mouth hangs open again. I am so outmatched. Aicelle is just sixteen years old, but she can easily defeat a bungisngis? Is this why she became a Scepter so early? Yes, her anito, being the goddess of the sea, is powerful, but what she used is just a part of her anito’s magic. I am not surprised with Demetrio since he’s used lightning before, but Aicelle, last year, only used brute force. Al is not even given the time to do anything, and we missed the creatures he controls on the celestial ocean. Although, he can only summon the weak ones due to his skill level.

“I think I got another rival,” Ethan says as we watch the trio return to their area, with Al scolding Aicelle, probably due to the quick resolution of the challenge.

As I try to get what the trio are talking about and before Sir Philip even manages to hide the dead bungisngis, Ethan already marches forward and, without restraint, says, “Let us go next, please.”

To be continued…