The silence that rushed back into the clearing was ringing, the kind of stillness that follows a grenade blast. Leon stayed on his knees, his hands pressed into the dirt, feeling the cool dampness of the earth beneath his fingernails. It was the only thing that felt real.
"You... you really are him," Maya breathed. She had managed to limp toward him, using a broken piece of the cart as a crutch. Her indigo robes were tattered, and the wound on her shoulder, while no longer weeping blood, was a jagged reminder of how close she had come to the void.
Leon looked up, squinting against the sun filtering through the Balete leaves. "Him? I'm just Leon, Maya. I'm a first responder from a place called Pangasinan. I'm not a legend."
Maya sank to the ground beside him, her violet eyes searching his face with an intensity that made him uncomfortable. "In the scrolls of the High Altars, it was written that when the Seven Moons bleed and the Rogue God stirs, a 'Shield from Another Sky' would fall. You carry the Sundang of the first protector. You speak the tongue of the spirits. You are the Last Anito."
[ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ][ AFFINITY INCREASED: MAYA (APPRENTICE BABAYLAN) ][ REWARD: MAP DATA UNLOCKED - REGION: KAWAYAN WILDS ]
A holographic map flickered into Leon's vision, a 3D topographic layout of the surrounding jungle. It looked like a search-and-rescue grid, comforting in its familiarity.
"If I'm supposed to be a legend, I'm doing a pretty bad job," Leon grunted, gesturing to his bleeding chest and the rusted blade. "I almost died twice in the last hour."
"The strength of an Anito isn't in the muscle, Leon. It's in the Koneksyon—the bond," Maya said, her voice softening. She reached out, her fingers hovering over the glowing wooden pendant around his neck. "This is your Agimat. It's a battery for the soul. But it's empty. You've been fighting on fumes."
She reached into the folds of her dress and pulled out a small, dried leaf—a Buyo leaf—wrapped around a piece of betel nut. She crushed it between her palms, murmuring a chant in a language that sounded like the rustling of bamboo.
"Eat this," she commanded.
Leon hesitated. His training told him never to ingest unknown substances in the field. But he looked at the sincerity in her starlight-violet eyes and the way she had protected that wooden box even while dying. He took the leaf and chewed.
The taste was bitter, sharp, and hot, like a shot of ginger and lightning.
[ STATUS EFFECT: BABAYLAN'S BREW ][ REGENERATING SP... 15... 30... 50... ][ STAMINA CAP INCREASED TEMPORARILY. ]
The fatigue evaporated. The dull ache in his ribs sharpened into a focused energy. He felt the "System" stabilize, the red warning flickers turning back to a steady, calm blue.
"Better?" she asked with a small, tired smile.
"A lot better," Leon admitted, standing up and offering her a hand. "But we can't stay here. The smell of that... thing... is going to bring more of them, isn't it?"
Maya's smile vanished. She looked at the bodies of the traders—her friends, her family. "The Aswang hunt in packs during the Red Moon. The Manananggal was just the scout. The Warlord's shadow is moving toward the village of Sanctum. If we don't warn them..."
"Then that's our mission," Leon said, his voice regaining its professional edge. He picked up his rusted Bolo, sheathing it in a makeshift loop on his belt. "We move. Can you walk?"
"I have to," Maya said, her jaw setting in a line of stubborn pride.
As they turned to leave the clearing, Leon looked back at the overturned cart. He saw a small, muddy doll peeking out from under a silk cloth—likely belonging to a child who hadn't made it. It looked exactly like the one the girl in Pangasinan had been clutching.
Leon's grip tightened on his blade. He wasn't just a responder anymore. He was a hunter.