The cold spring breeze swept through the oak trees surrounding the town of Nebo. It then drifted toward the cherry blossom tree, which had just begun its first bloom of the season. Beneath the tree, Father Howard lay asleep in its shade. A single blossom, carried by the wind, gently landed on his forehead. He slowly opened his eyes and took the flower from his brow. With the weariness of his fifty-five years, he rose and sat on the stone bench beside him. The cherry blossom trees stood at the center of a circular garden filled with red roses, daisies, and sunflowers. Encircling the tree's base was a stone path, three meters wide, and along the edges of the pavement were three semi-circular benches, each also three meters in width, arranged in a gentle arc.
Howard twisted the cherry blossom flower, and looked up to the tree with eyes filled with emotions. He wore his daily priestly black garment with the amulet of Bathala that hung around his neck. He rose and walked to the trunk of the tree and touched it with his right hand. He lowered his head, closed his eyes for a second and kissed the tree. Afterwards he looked up and was mesmerised by the sway of the cherry blossom tree that danced with the wind. He then lowered his head and looked straight and walked to the left following the pavement that led him behind the tree where a plain tombstone was erected. It has no name or date of death written on it. Howard knelt and placed the cherry blossom flower above the tombstone.
"This has always been your favourite time of year. I've missed sharing the beauty of spring's bloom with you."
He rose and made his way towards the church. Suddenly, he felt an intense surge of bloodlust behind him. He turned, dagger on his right hand; but no one was there, only just a black rose lay on the pavement floor. Howard knelt and picked up the flower, inspecting and scanning for any traces of mana. Then, a distant explosion echoed behind him. The rose withered to dust and was carried away by the wind. Howard stood, flicked his right hand, and a silver sheathed sword materialized from the air. Gripping the scabbard tightly, he rushed out through the church's west entrance. Taking a sharp left onto the road leading to the cemetery, he caught sight of flashing lights and explosions engulfing the town. Thick smoke rose into the sky.
"Kael, Tania" he thought, rushing down the mound with his sword on his right hand.
At the marketplace, Kael's ears rang as he struggled to rise from the stone floor. Through the smoke and dust, he witnessed a horrific scene; bodies strewn across the once-bustling square, limbs and heads scattered, human entrails painted the walls of the burning buildings. The once-clean stone road was painted with red blood. As his vision cleared, he noticed a green barrier shimmering before him, and a familiar voice repeatedly called his name.
"Kael… Kael… are you alright?"
Kael turned his head toward the voice and saw his disheveled sister. Her clothes were burned at the top, exposing her right black bra and both her arms raised she struggled to maintain the barrier. Her green eyes were locked on something ahead. Kael followed her gaze and there he saw him: the very man who murdered their family.
Kael stared at him, hearing his own heartbeat grow louder, its rhythm quickening with every passing second. His breathing turned unsteady. The emotions he had carried since that day began to boil inside him. He rose, never breaking his gaze from the man. Gritting his teeth, he opened his mouth and yelled
"YOU! YOU'RE THE ASSASSIN WHO KILLED THEM!"
Without any hesitation, Kael brought his arms together and began to chant
"BOLANG APOY!" (Filipino: Fireball)
A large magic circle emerged from his hands, and a massive fireball; roughly the size of a tractor wheel, formed. Kael thrust his arms forward, hurling the fireball toward the enemy.
"KAEL!!" Tania shouted at him, but her voice didn't reach him. Kael summoned Durandal from the air, unsheathed it, and tossed the scabbard onto the stone floor, and charged toward the enemy who had been blasted away by the massive fireball. As he sprinted past Tania, he chanted "Halong Elemento" (Filipino: Elemental Mix). A small magic circle appeared in his left hand. He fused fire and electricity, then channeled the combined energy into Durandal. The blade turned blue with flickering arcs of electricity.
"KAEL! You can't control Elemental Blade yet; it's dangerous! Tania shouted from behind him. But kael didn't listen and ran into the smoke.
Through the smoke, Kael stopped and coughed; as the smoke from his own fireball scorched his throat with every breath. He chanted "Matang Agila" (Filipino: Eagle Eye). His blue eyes transformed, taking on the sharp gaze of a Philippine eagle as he scanned the smoked filled area. Laughter and hissing echoed around him. He turned repeatedly, searching for the source of the voice; until his eyes locked onto a black figure ahead. Gripping his sword tightly, the blade began to glow with rising intensity. Kael thrust toward the black figure ahead, but it vanished into the smoke.
Then, Kael heard a sharp whistle behind him.
He deflected a small kunai instinctively, which triggered an explosion; set off by the unstable energy emitted within the Elemental Blade. Durandal flew from his grip and flung into the smoke. Kael stumbled backward, his fall broken by a flickering blue barrier that shattered upon impact. His right hand trembled, burned, and dripped with blood. He tried to rise, but collapsed to one knee, shaking.
"Is this all a contractor of Luna, the Queen of Dragons can do?" the assassin said, laughing hysterically as he continued.
"No wonder you couldn't defend your family even with all that power. A coward, frozen in place; like prey accepting its fate before a predator."
Voices echoed all around, repeating the word: "Coward…. Coward.. Coward…"
Kael's rage was reaching its limit. He slammed the ground with overwhelming force, shattering it into tiny square pieces and creating a sinkhole two hundred feet deep. The assassin stumbled, leaping from debris to debris; to avoid falling.
As he steadied himself, his eyes caught a glimpse of a radiant golden-blue light. He focused his eyes and saw Kael, now marked with glowing bluish-white Baybayin runes that read: "Ipa-anak sa isang bakunawa" (Filipino: Born from a moon dragon). Ethereal lines of bluish-white light slithered from Kael's upper arms to his neck, then to his eyes. Holographic blue horns resembling a dragon's emerged from his forehead, and a blazing blue aura surrounded him like fire. His eyes glowed with the piercing gaze of a dragon. The assassin blinked, then saw Kael flick his right hand in the air. A sword materialized, its blade turning a bright, electrified blue. He blinked again, and Kael was gone. Frantically, he looked around and threw five kunai knives in different directions. But as he blinked once more, Kael was already in front of him, sword poised to strike and kill him. The assassin quickly raised his right hand, index and middle finger extended, and began to chant.
"Lahong Lumitaw" (Filipino: Vanished and reappeared. A/N: The word "Teleport" has no direct translation).
Kael slashed at the assassin, but the figure dissolved into ravens. The assassin reappeared twenty meters behind him atop a falling debris. Without hesitation, he hurled three kunai knives at Kael; but Kael turned and deflected them effortlessly. Realizing he was running out of options on unsteady ground, the assassin bit his thumb and traced a circle in the air using his blood. A red magic circle appeared, summoning a giant cobra. He leapt onto its back, and the serpent began to slither upward through the collapsing terrain in an attempt to escape the sinkhole. Kael quickly leaped from debris to debris, ascending with fierce determination. He landed on a large falling chunk of rubble, channeled all his mana into his foot, and launched himself upward to close the distance. As he neared the cobra, he positioned his blade to the left and plunged it into the serpent's skin. Using the momentum of his body, he pushed the blade upward, aiming to slice the giant creature in half.
Midway through the attack, seven violet magic circles suddenly appeared, conjuring clusters of violet ice crystals that repeatedly launched a Kael.
Kael deflected the shards with his sword, but his momentum didn't slow. The snake rose from the hole and landed heavily on the stone floor, crushing the buildings beneath it. Its massive head slammed into the northern walls, shattering them. Moments later, Kael emerged from the hole and landed gently on the stone floor. As his feet touched the ground, a red magic circle appeared beneath him. Crimson chains erupted from it, wrapping tightly around his arms and legs. Kael tried to slash at the chains with his sword, but they began pulling him downward, at the same time draining the strength out from his body. His aura and the baybayin runes etched across him flickered under the chains' grip. The pull grew until Kael was forced to the ground, lying prone. Then, he heard footsteps approaching.
The assassin kicked Durandal from Kael's right hand, sending it sliding six meters across the ground. Kael tried to open his hand to summon it back, but the assassin drove a kunai straight through his palm. Kael screams due to the pain.
"Tsk… Tsk… Tsk… I was afraid I'd die from your rage." the assassin said, then paused.
"Or… was I?" He laughed hysterically, then hurled another kunai at Kael's left hand. Kael screamed in agony.
"Yes… YES!! Scream boy! Let me hear that fine music!"
The assassin stretched his arms out to the sides and looked up at the sky. Then he straightened and stepped closer to Kael, who was still bound by the glowing red chains of the magic circle beneath him. He knelt down and leaned in close, bringing his face inches from Kael's.
"You know Kael, I envy you - especially those sweet powers of yours that only you nobles can do."
He straightened himself, placed his right hand on his forehead and sighed.
"Nobles are so privileged - gifts and rare powers reserved for only the elite! Yet they love to bully peasants like me."
He bent again to face Kael's face then smiled.
"You really have the eyes of your real mother and father."
Kael's eyes widened as he heard the words of the assassin.
"Oh, you thought Roger and Emily are your real parents?"
The assassin straightened himself up again, looked at the burning building before him, and scratched his chin with his right hand as he tried to recall the names.
"What were their names…. They were quite famous actually. A very rebellious family to the empire."
The assassin's eyes widened. He bent over again, brought his face close to Kael's and grinned.
"I remember their names," the assassin chuckled
"Do you want to know their names, noble boy? I bet you do" he laughed
"But let me first pick your sword first. What was its name again? Durandal, right? Just let me leave you with a little cliffhanger for now"
The assassin rose from the ground and walked toward where Durandal lay motionless. Behind him, Kael, struggled against the chains, straining every inch of his body in an attempt to break free. The assassin used his right foot to flip the blade into the air, then caught it effortlessly with his right hand. He turned and saw Kael still fighting the chains - then grinned.
Out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of thorny vine slithering across the cobbled stone road, lunging toward him. He deflected the attack with Durandal and turned his gaze toward the source. At the far end of the road stood Tania, both hands pressed to the ground, with an Amihan hovering at her right side.
"Amihan. That looked familiar" the assassin thought.
The assassin lowered Durandal and spoke.
"I never thought the girl I fought earlier was a member of the most heroic and distinguished House Mozart!"
The assassin bowed respectfully, crossing his left foot over his bent right leg. He straightened up and spoke.
"I have no quarrel with you, my lady. Hurting a member of your house would have my head on a pike. I only ask that you walk away like a good lady." He smiled.
But below Kael shouted.
"Don't let him get into your head TANIA! He's trying to manipulate you!!
The assassin raised durandal and drove it into Kael's back. Kael screamed in pain and coughed up blood.
"Where are your manners, rebel!!! You are speaking to the most powerful House of the entire world!"
"KAEL!" Tania shouted. She commanded the vine to strike the assassin, but he parried it with a kunai in his left hand, without moving an inch.
"My lady, it is quite rude of you to attack me." the assassin said with a grin. "But I am deeply honoured to to witness the kind of power the Mozarts are capable of"
Tania's green eyes glowed as seven green magic circles appeared in the air around her, unleashing vines from various plants. Two bore red thorns, like the ones she had used in her first attack on the assassin. Three were massive purple chompers, each with gaping mouths lined with canine - like teeth, roughly the size of a hippopotamus. The last two were ivy vines, writhing and dripping acid.
"You're truly persistent, my lady. What is it about this rebel boy that matters so much to you?"
"HE'S MY BROTHER" Tania screamed as she hurled the vines toward the assassin.
The assassin dodged the acid vines, slashed through the chompers, and parried the thorned ones. He land gently on the ground and spoke:
"This is going nowhere, my lady. Maybe Lord Amadeus would forgive me for killing one of their own. Oh wait… you're the bastard they've been wanting to get rid of." he laughed hysterically while continuing to deflect Tania's attack.
"It is a shame to kill a beautiful lady like you."
He let go of Durandal and three two kunai knives straight at Tania. The vines deflected them of their own will, but in the moment, Tania lost sight of the enemy. She scanned left, then right; until she felt a chilling bloodlust behind her. The assassin was about to thrust a kunia into her back, but it was deflected by Father Howard's sword. Howard followed up with a punch to the assassin's stomach, forcing him to stumble backward and drop to one knee, clutching his gut. Howard stepped and shielding her from further harm. He then glanced behind him and saw Kael, with Durandal stabbed into his back. He was breathing weakly and coughing up blood.
"Tania!" Father Howard shouted at Tania.
"Save your brother; give him first aid and get to safety."
But Tania sat frozen on the stone pavement, her legs trembling with fear.
"I…I…can't move my legs…." Tania stammered.
"TANIA!" Howard yelled. His voice echoed around the ruin town like thunder in storm
"FEAR makes you believe you're helpless. Stand up, fight it, or you'll be cowering like that forever!"
Tania rose from the ground, her legs still trembling, but she managed to steady herself. She rushed to Kael and chanted Putol" (Filipino: to snap or break into two). A magic circle appeared in her right palm, and to the chains binding Kael to the ground. They snapped and vanished, along with the glowing red circle beneath them. She quickly inspected the wound where the sword still pierced Kael's back. Realizing it had struck his heart, she called upon the Amihan to stabilise it. Without hesitation, she pulled the sword free and tossed it aside - the blade skidding to a stop at Father Howard's heel. Tania then chanted"Tahing Mahika" (Filipino: Magic suture). While the Amihan stabilised Kael's heart, she swiftly performed quick surgery to repair the damaged organs. Once finished, she conjured a green magic circle and turned her gaze toward Howard and shouted.
"Howard!"
Father Howard turned and smiled.
I'll follow… Go!"
Tania hesitated for a while then chanted.
"Lahong Lumitaw" (Filipino: to Vanish and reappear). Both Kael and Tania teleported somewhere safe.