Those bastards...
I'm pretty sure those masks men are the demon worshippers. What do they want from me?
Hmm? What's this?
//click-click//
Wait? Where am I? This room... This is my room from my original world. Did I go back?
//click-click//
Napatingin ako doon sa pinanggagalingan nung tunog ng camera. Is that me? If I came back, then, why am I watching myself taking selfies?
What the heck is going on?
//click-click//
//click-click//
And why is that Alexandria over there taking too many selfies?! I looked at my room. There are many changes. Where are my anime posters?!
Who the heck is this? What did you do to my room?! Why is it so girly? It's so pink and fluffy.
"Alex? Dinner is ready! Bumaba ka na, cellphone ka na lang ng cellphone diyan. Naku, itong batang toh"
Wait, that sounds like my mother.
"Yes mom", lumabas ng kwarto yung Alexandria.
"Wait!"
What's happening?
"Alexandria..."
There's someone inside my body.
"Alexandria..."
Is it book-Alexandria?
"Alexandria..."
"Alexandria!"
"Wha? What? Chadwick?", sinubukan kong bumangon kaya lang ay nakatali ako. Was that just a dream?
"It seems to be we've been kidnapped", ani ni Chadwick na nakatali rin pero yung sakaniya ay chains. Ang OA naman ata ng pagkakatali sakaniya.
Tumingin ako kung nasaan kami. They already kidnapped us and now they imprisoned us in this disgusting cell. And what's worst is that...
"Aren't you a little bit close?", ani ko kay Chadwick na halos magka-face to face na kami.
"Then move", ako pa talaga ang uusog noh?
"How long have we've been here?"
"Don't know, I just woke up 30 minutes ago".
"So what are we gonna do? How about your fire magic?"
"Meh, these are anti-magic chains".
"How about your spirit guardian?"
"I told you these chains are anti-magic. All of my mana is being blocked"
"Tsk. You are as useless as me. Do you have any idea who kidnapped us?", I asked even though I already have an idea.
"I don't but they are wearing these weird masks".
//murmurs//
"Sshh, someone is coming. Pretend that you are still unconscious", ani ko kay Chadwick. It's a good thing that I can sense if someone getting is near.
Ipinikit ko ang mga mata ko at pinakiramdaman ang paligid. Dalawang tao ang paparating.
"Ha? They're still asleep?"
"They must've inhaled too much-sleeping drugs".
"What are we gonna do with the monster young lord? The order was only to capture Lady Alexandria, why did they bring that monster? It will be troublesome once he wakes up, let's kill him now since he's still incapacitated", pfft! Why does it sound funny hearing them planning to kill Chadwick, who is also hearing their plan?
Binuksan ko kaunti yung mata ko para tignan ang itsura ni Chadwick. Kulang nalang magsalubong yung kilay niya sobrang pag-kunot niya.
"No, the heads said not to touch the duke. They said that he'll be useful for the grand summoning".Grand summoning? Seryoso ba sila sa binabalak nila? Are they really going to summon Zepar?
Wait. Paano nga ba mag-summon ng demon? Eh aksidente ko lang naman na na-summon noon si Zaggy, feeling ko nga pinagtripan lang ako nun. Is there even a proper way to summon a demon?
But if you think about it, summoning a demon is bad news. If ever they are caught, they'll be executed. Well, they'll be still executed since they kidnapped us, a young duke and a daughter of a Marquis.
"Az'goch Tath'tinir", goon 1.
"Az'goch Tath'tinir", goon 2.
Pagkasabi nila nun ay umalis na sila at iniwan kami. Pinilit ko namang bumangon para makaupo ako.
"Grand summoning? What those fuckers are trying to do? They also mentioned you", tumayo na rin si Chadwick. Should I tell him? "And what the hell is Az'goch Tath'tinir?"
"Before anything else, we need to get out of here and..."
"Uugghhwwaa!", Chadwick was able to broke the chain even without using his fire magic.
"Male leads are no joke. They're overpowered", I mumbled. He was only using his physical strength. This guy over here is a monster indeed. "OP bastard".
"What are you mumbling over there?"
"Nothing, untie me", Chadwick helped me untie the rope using his fire.
Tinanggal ko na rin yung killer heels ko. Like hello, I am still wearing the gold gown. Sana naman hinintay na muna nila ako makapagpalit ng damit bago ako kidnapin. Chadwick melted the whole cell. "OP bastard", napatingin ako sa may dulo ng gown ko. "Chadwick, my gown! Fire! Fire!", pinunit naman niya yung dulo ng gown ko.
"There. Now, let's get out of here".
Agad kaming umalis sa nasusunog na cell. Marami pa kaming nadaanan na mga kulungan. Mukhang inilagay pa kami sa pinakadulo. As I expected, we really are in a basement. Whoever owns this, I pity you. It looks like Chadwick is ready to burn the building to ashes. Sana lang ay hindi ako madamay. "There's the stairs", turo ko sa may hagdan na papuntang itaas. "Wait, what if they caught us or they already waiting on us? What's the plan?", tanong ko.
"Then I'll just burn them", what a great plan. Hinila ko si Chadwick para magtago ng maramdaman kong may mga paparating.
"Aren't those two the ones planning to kill you?", they're wearing black robes and weird masks. Pinigilan ko siya ng akmang susugod na siya. "What are you going to do?"
He just grunted at me and fought those poor souls. "Immediate Execution", sabi niya tsaka siya naglabas ng malaking apoy at itinama doon sa dalawang lalaki.
"What the!!" "AAahahh", hindi na rin nakapagreact yung dalawa dahil sa nasunog na sila ng tuluyan. Only their ashes were left.
Wala pang 2 minutes ay bumalik na si Chadwick kung saan ako nakatayo. Nakanganga ko siyang tinignan. Surprisingly, hindi ako natakot sa nasaksihan ko, more on nagulat lang. No wonder, they call him "The Monster Young Duke".
"Chadwick, we're already friends, right?", paninigurado ko. Mamaya kasi baka biglang magbago ang ihip ng hangin. Kinunutan niya lang ako sa itinanong ko. "Nevermind, let's just get out of here".
Agad kaming tumakbo paakyat ng hagdan, of course, Chadwick is leading the way baka kasi may biglang sumulpot tapos may sword edi ako natigok. Dahan-dahan binuksan ni Chadwick yung pintuan, sumilip na muna siya. Nang mapansin niyang walang tao or kaduda-duda ay lumabas na kami.
Napatingin ako sa paligid. It looks like an old house. Naglakad kami ng dahan-dahan dahil baka may makarinig saamin. "Chadwick, isn't it weird that no one is here. I mean, they should've heard your "immediate execution" you did a while ago. Why is no one charging at us?"
"Now that you mention it, it seems like they are letting us free. We should look for weapons, I can't always use my fire magic since they have anti-magic tools", sabi ni Chadwick na sinang-ayunan ko. We started looking for weapons even though I am not sure what am I looking for.
"Alexandria, quick! Someone is coming", and because of that, I grabbed the first thing I saw then run away.
The house is a bit dark so it was harder to run. Nang may mapansin kaming may paparating sa harapan namin ay agad-agad kaming pumasok sa pinakamalapit na pintuan.
The room that we entered is the drawing room. Kumpara doon sa labas na ang dilim-dilim, dito ay maliwanag. It looks like this room is used very often.
"Who owns this estate?", I asked.
"Let's look around", sinunod ko nalang si Chadwick. "Wait. What are you holding?", tinignan ko rin yung hawak ko.
"Ha! I didn't notice. Well, that's because you were rushing me. I just grabbed the first thing near me", palusot ko.
"Of all things to grab as a weapon... why does it have to be a BANANA! Why grab the banana? There were literally other things. Why a banana?", napakamot nalang ako ng ulo. "You ate a lot at the banquet. Are you still hungry?", dagdag pa niya.
"Sorry, I panicked, okay? And I'm sort of hungry", pinanliitan naman niya ako ng mata. Sorry naman.
"Alexandria, there are people coming", we tried opening the windows but it seems like they are sealed.
"Let's hide over there", turo ko doon sa closet. Agad-agad kaming pumasok doon sa loob ng closet and keep our mouth shut.
Narinig namin bumukas yung pintuan, gayundin yung mga tunog ng mga yapak at hinilang upuan. May ilang mga bulung-bulongan rin.
5? No, there are 8 people outside.
"Az'goch Tath'tinir", rinig kong sabi nilang lahat. Is that suppose to be their greeting? Do they even know the meaning of that?
"Greetings, my fellow worshippers. As you may know, we already finalize the plan for the grand summoning", rinig naming panimula nung parang leader nila. I looked at Chadwick, seryoso siyang nakikinig.
"Fifty years ago, we were able to obtain the Areeya's stone from the Kaplan family, credits to the efforts of Count Heidl", nagkatinginan kami ni Chadwick dahil sa narinig namin.
Count Heidl has been a loyal vassal to the Kaplan family. How could he betray them? No wonder, they were able to steal the stone. It was an inside job.
But how did the count know where the stone is? Only the Kaplan knows such information.
"We will be using the stone to amplify the chances of summoning the demon. The Areeya's stone holds a huge amount of mana that it can actually summon the four elemental kings simultaneously, so it's no different from summoning a demon".
"However, you can only use the stone if you are a part of the Kaplan bloodline".
"Correct, that is why the plan is to abduct Lady Charlotte again. Viscount Goetsch, I hope there is no more mistake like what happened a few years ago", nagkatinginan ulit kami ni Chadwick. What are they talking about? Was Viscount Goetsch responsible for the disappearance of Charlotte?
"Rest assured that there would not be a mistake this time", Viscount Goetsch.
Disgusting. You already kidnapped me and Chadwick, now you want Charlotte?
"I found a black magician from the Merriole Kingdom that will help us control Lady Charlotte so that she can perform the summoning for us", dagdag pa nila. Bahagya kong hinawakan si Chadwick dahil mukhang susugod na. Pinandilatan ko nga siya ng mata. We still need more information.
"Then let's move on to Lady Alexandria?", huh? Me?
"According to Professor Howard, Lady Alexandria went missing for hours during the demon expedition", matalim akong tinignan ni Chadwick. Hindi kasi nila alam na demon expedition yung ginawa namin. Nag-iwas nalang ako ng tingin.
"He believed that the lady was able to meet the demon, but erased her memory", wrong!! Zepar didn't erase my memory. I can still remember everything as clear as to how Chadwick is glaring at me.
"We will need the lady to remember what happened to her that day and ask for the important information. The name of the demon".
"We will jog the lady's memory with the help of the truth serum the black magician concocted".
"But is the truth serum safe to be consumed? It hasn't been tested since production is prohibited on both kingdoms". Bwisit! Ano yung ipapainom niyo saakin?
"It hasn't yet tested but we are in a desperate situation", hoy! Gagawin niyo pa akong test subject.
"Then how about the young duke?", do they have a plan for Chadwick?
"I admit that the young duke is too powerful, however, thanks to the anti-magic we acquired, he'll be useless. We will use the young duke as a sacrifice to the demon", for the third time I looked at Chadwick. I know that their plan is horrid but hearing that they're planning to sacrifice him to Zepar is too funny.
Na-imagine ko bigla na nakahiga si Chadwick tapos andoon si Zepar--- bago pa ako makapag-imagine ng iba ay kinurot ko na yung sarili ko.
"And now to start our plan...", wala akong marinig.
"AH!", sigaw ko ng biglang bumukas yung pintuan ng closet.
"Get them!", bago pa magamit ni Chadwick yung fire magic niya ay may naghagis ng anti magic bomb sa amin.
"Az'goch Tath'tinir", ang huli kong narinig bago ako nawalan ng malay.
=========================
//The night when Chadwick and Alexandria got abducted// At the banquet//
Habang nagkakasaya pa rin sa banquet hall ng Kershian Academy, biglang pumasok sa hall ang mga knights na naka-station sa academy.
"Your Highness! Please forgive our impertinence, but, we have a situation. The young duke Chadwick Vaillant and Lady Alexandria Eveque have been abducted".
"What?!"
Napuno ng bulung-bulungan ang hall habang sila Charlotte at Prim ay nag-aalala para kay Alexandria.
"Seth", tawag ni Ash sa kaniyang aide.
"Yes, Your Highness".
"Assemble the Order of the Feathers".
The Order of the Feathers are knights formed by the Crown Prince Ashton Alleio Heroux.
"I understand, Your Majesty".
Maagang itinapos ang banquet. Nagsibalikan na ang mga estudyante sa kanilang mga kwarto para magpahinga maliban kay Ash na nagpa-meeting kasama head ng academy, ang captain ng knights ng academy at ang bagong dating na second in command ng Order of the Feathers.
"The abduction happened during the knight's schedule rotation. We checked the spot where it happened and there is anti-magic residue found", the academy knight captain.
"That is why they were able to get Chadwick", head of school.
"Any leads? Witnesses? Any ideas where to find them?", the people present at the meeting are quite afraid of the crown prince right now. This was the first time they saw Ash so livid.
If those cretins hurt Ria, I'll show no mercy, Ash thought.
//Assassin's Guild//
"Master! Bad news from the academy!", Daryl frowned at his right hand Brandon who barge onto his office.
"What?"
"Lady Alexandria has been abducted!", upon hearing those words from his right hand, the ground started shaking. It was like an earthquake.
"Master?"
"Who dare take what's mine?"