Chapter 41: The Power of Faith
In the heart of Plaridel's raging chaos, Ifugao stood as a solitary heroine, confronting two formidable sugos: Hustisya, consumed by fiery rage and driven by a thirst for justice, and General Salazar, whose sole aim was to crush anyone who dared defy his dominion. Every move Ifugao made was a desperate effort to restrain both, all while striving to protect the innocents of Plaridel caught in the crossfire.
At the core of the battle, Ifugao was enveloped in a blazing aura of blue energy, her twin arnis glowing like stars piercing the darkness. In a flash, she deflected Hustisya's fiery scythe-tipped spear, meant for Salazar, while simultaneously dodging a sharp crystal spike from the general. The clash of their weapons unleashed a deafening explosion, shaking the earth with the force of their conflict.
"How long do you plan to keep this up, Ifugao? Do you really think you can stop this uprising tonight?!" Hustisya shouted, her voice thick with anger and frustration. "Now, when we finally have a chance to claim justice?" Her eyes blazed with crimson fire, and the towering skeleton behind her loomed again, its massive fist crashing toward Ifugao.
But Ifugao leaped swiftly, evading the strike, and with a deft motion, struck the skeletal fist with her arnis. The blue energy from her weapon sliced through the skeleton like lightning, shocking Hustisya as it split in two.
"No… this is impossible. How did she do that?" Hustisya whispered, her eyes wide with disbelief. The once-calm and seemingly weaker sugo she had faced before had transformed. Now, all she saw was an Ifugao radiating overwhelming power, a force she could barely comprehend.
The giant skeleton tried to attack again with its left fist, but Ifugao sliced through it with ease. "How did you become this strong, Ifugao?!" Hustisya screamed, her voice cracking with a mix of fury and fear.
On the other side, Salazar stared at Ifugao, his eyes clouded with doubt. He noticed that the young sugo wasn't merely blocking their attacks to stop them. Her arnis cut through his crystal monsters as if they were fragile glass. In one instance, a crystal beast charged at Ifugao, but with a swift strike, she shattered it into fragments that crumbled to the ground.
"Who are you really, Indio?" Salazar muttered, his voice tinged with both wonder and unease. He also noticed that even Hustisya's powerful attacks barely affected Ifugao—the young sugo seemed tireless, standing resolute amidst the chaos.
Unable to accept being outmatched, Hustisya charged again, her scythe-tipped spear blazing with fiercer red flames. "You can't stop me, Ifugao!" she roared, her rage clouding her judgment.
But in an instant, Ifugao dodged her attack with the speed of the wind. In a single motion, she grabbed Hustisya by the waist and lifted her like a child. Stunned, Hustisya's eyes widened in shock—she, who was ready to kill Ifugao, felt as if the young sugo was toying with her in battle. "What are you doing?!" she demanded, her voice a mix of anger and confusion.
"Hustisya, I'm begging you, stop!" Ifugao replied, her voice earnest yet resolute. "I don't want to hurt you, but I won't let this fight continue!" But Hustisya's fury remained unshaken.
"You're insane!" she screamed. A massive shadow spread beneath them, and from it, a colossal skeletal skull emerged, swallowing Ifugao in an instant.
Moments later, Hustisya appeared outside the skull, her eyes brimming with confidence, expecting the fight to be over. But suddenly, the skull glowed with blue energy, and cracks began to form across its surface. "What is this?!" Hustisya whispered, her heart racing with shock. The cracks widened, spreading rapidly, and with a thunderous explosion, the skull shattered, releasing a powerful force that sent Hustisya and nearby objects flying.
As the smoke cleared, silence fell, broken only by the wind. In the center of the darkness, a blue light shone, and at its core stood Ifugao, her body radiating energy.
"No, I've never felt power like this before… who are you, Ifugao?" Hustisya whispered, her voice trembling with awe and fear. She knew she wielded immense energy from the fallen, but even that was nothing compared to Ifugao's strength.
Ifugao's sword reappeared, its tip glowing with blue energy, like a gun ready to fire. She aimed it at Salazar, who quickly raised a thick crystal wall to shield himself. Salazar laughed, his voice dripping with arrogance. "Try it, Indio!" he taunted. "Show me what you've got!"
Ifugao remained calm, her eyes free of doubt. In a flash, she fired her sword, unleashing a blue energy orb that pierced the crystal wall as if it were nothing, striking Salazar's arm. The general screamed in pain, his eyes filled with incredulous shock. "Impossible!" he cried, blood dripping from his arm. Before he could recover, Ifugao fired again, another blue orb hitting his thigh, bringing him to his knees.
"You filthy Indio!" Salazar roared, desperate to survive. He encased his body in thick crystal armor and summoned towering red crystal spires around him.
But Ifugao didn't falter. She fired her sword repeatedly, like an armalite unloading blue energy bolts. Each shot caused explosions, gradually shattering Salazar's crystal wall and armor. Fragments scattered across the ground as the general watched in disbelief, his weapons crumbling. "Even high-caliber guns can't penetrate my crystal wall!" he shouted, his voice a mix of rage and fear. "How is an Indio doing this?!"
Ifugao paused, her eyes locked on Salazar. Slowly, she raised her sword, its tip gathering immense energy. With a downward swing, she unleashed a massive blue energy orb, like a star falling from the heavens. It struck Salazar's position, triggering a cataclysmic explosion that obliterated the surroundings. Cars flew, windows and doors shattered, and thick smoke enveloped the area.
As the smoke cleared, Ifugao descended from the sky, her body still glowing with blue energy. Across the battlefield, Hustisya stood atop her giant skeleton, her eyes wide with disbelief. She knew Ifugao's unleashed power was extraordinary—she wasn't even sure she could survive such an attack. "How… how did she do that?" she whispered, her voice trembling.
Ifugao turned to her, her eyes resolute. She raised her sword, its blade glowing with blue energy. With a swift swing, she unleashed a powerful energy slash that severed the right arm of Hustisya's giant skeleton, sending it crashing to the ground. Another swing sliced through its leg, causing the skeleton to lose balance and collapse.
Before it fully fell, Hustisya leaped away, fear and unease etched on her face. She hadn't expected Ifugao to destroy her strongest weapon so effortlessly. "No… this can't be!" she cried, her voice filled with shock. "Those giant skeletons were my last weapon against the Spaniards, but they're nothing to her!"
Amid the chaos, the ground trembled, and red crystals rose, forming a castle of jagged spikes. At its peak stood Salazar, bloodied and gasping, his face contorted with rage. "You'll pay for this, Indio!" he roared, his voice thick with hatred. From the spikes, crystal monsters emerged, charging at Ifugao in unison.
But Ifugao's eyes showed no fear. She rushed toward the monsters, her arnis blazing with blue energy. With extraordinary speed, she dodged their attacks and struck, cleaving their bodies into three parts. "She's not even slowing down—if anything, she's faster than before," Salazar thought, stunned.
One by one, Ifugao felled the monsters, advancing toward Salazar. The general couldn't believe it—his indestructible crystal beasts were like toys before the young sugo. "Impossible!" he screamed, his voice trembling with rage.
Despite his injuries, Salazar encased himself in red crystal armor and charged at Ifugao, his hands unleashing sharp spikes. But Ifugao dodged effortlessly, and with a powerful strike of her arnis, shattered the armor at Salazar's chest. The general staggered back, his eyes wide with shock. "How did you do that?!" he demanded.
Though Ifugao broke the armor, it reformed, and with a roar, Salazar attacked again, his spikes faster and sharper. But Ifugao evaded each strike, and with a swift blow, shattered Salazar's crystal arm, causing an explosion of fragments. Salazar paused, stunned by the loss of his arm.
He screamed in pain, quickly encasing the wound in crystal to stop the bleeding. "No… this can't be!" he cried, his voice filled with incredulous fury. "An Indio… defeating me?!"
In his rage, Salazar grew desperate. He encased his body in thicker crystal armor and charged, his spikes raining down like a storm. But Ifugao shattered them with a single strike, as if they were glass. With another blow, she struck Salazar's body, causing an explosion of crystal fragments. The general fell to his knees, his armor crumbling, his eyes filled with fear and rage. "No… I won't be defeated by an Indio!" he shouted, his voice quaking.
"I'm a Spanish general, honed in warfare—impossible for a filthy Indio to defeat me!" Salazar vowed, refusing to yield. With a roar, red crystals rose from the ground, spawning even more crystal monsters.
"I won't lose!" Salazar screamed, his voice dripping with desperation. He sent the monsters at Ifugao, but the young sugo stood unshaken. She charged, striking the monsters like toys, advancing relentlessly toward Salazar.
On the rooftop of city hall, Apyong, Hiyas, and Jana watched, their eyes fixed on the battle below. Jana was awestruck. "I can't believe it," she whispered, her voice filled with wonder. "How is Ifugao keeping up with a general trained in combat? Shouldn't she be out of energy by now?"
Apyong smiled, his expression calm yet confident. "It's true that Salazar is superior in combat knowledge," he said. "You can see it in his movements. But Ifugao… she anticipates every move the general makes before it happens. That's why she can dodge and counter so swiftly."
Apyong explained that Salazar's hits landed not because he was slow, but because Ifugao was extraordinarily fast. "More than that, Ifugao's power now surpasses her opponents'," he added. "I can feel her energy is nearly three times stronger than Salazar's. Their weapons—Hustisya's skeleton and Salazar's crystals—are useless against her now. At this moment, their powers are insignificant before Ifugao."
Jana's eyes widened in amazement. "In such a short time, Ifugao has become a different being," she said. "The young sugo I nearly defeated is now toying with a Spanish general!"
She paused, her voice brimming with hope. "If Ifugao can defeat Salazar, she might be the key to freeing the Philippines from the Spaniards!"
Apyong smiled, but a trace of concern lingered in his expression. "That possibility isn't far off, Jana," he said. "But strength alone isn't enough to achieve that dream. Ifugao is still young, and to me, she has much to learn and endure."
Hiyas spoke, her voice calm but her gaze cold as she watched the battle. "There's no doubt Ifugao is powerful," she said. "But her strength depends on the people around her. A sugo like Ifugao draws power from the faith of those who rely on her. Every person in Plaridel who believes in her as a hero is part of this fight."
Hiyas revealed that Ifugao could harness energy from the faith of those around her. "In this chaos, the people seek a hero," she said. "And that young sugo is their hope. Her energy comes from their belief, and with so many in Plaridel depending on her, Ifugao's strength is inexhaustible."
Jana's eyes widened in realization. "That's why she hasn't run out of energy!" she exclaimed. "Because so many place their faith in her!"
But Hiyas's expression grew serious. "There are over ten thousand people around us now," she said. "That energy is enough to surpass any sugo she faces. But there's a problem."
Jana frowned, her voice tinged with worry. "What problem?" she asked.
Hiyas explained calmly, "Like other sugo powers, Ifugao's ability to draw energy from faith has limits. She's not yet skilled at wielding it, and in her current state, her body can only sustain this power for fifteen minutes. If she doesn't end the fight before time runs out, the energy will destroy her body, as it did in Urdaneta."
Hiyas's words struck Jana like lightning. She looked at Ifugao below, her heart heavy with hope and fear. "She needs to finish this quickly," she whispered.
Below, Ifugao continued facing the crystal monsters, her arnis blazing with blue energy. Despite the overwhelming odds, her movements were confident and resolute. Each strike of her weapon caused explosions, and every monster that stood in her way crumbled. Her eyes remained fixed on Salazar, who stood atop his crystal castle, his face a mask of fear and rage.
"I won't lose to an Indio!" Salazar roared, his voice trembling with desperation. But deep in his heart, he knew the young sugo before him was no ordinary foe—she was the embodiment of Plaridel's hope, her power far beyond anything he had anticipated.
As the battle raged, Apyong, Hiyas, and Jana remained on the rooftop, their eyes filled with hope and apprehension, praying Ifugao would triumph before time ran out and her body succumbed once more.