The school arena was packed with people who sat on the chairs that were neatly arranged. Its dome-like structure locked the air in that was filled with laughs, inaudible murmurs, and the faint smell of fresh paint.
"Welcome everyone to the orientation!" A tall man with an athletic body said in a loud voice. Everyone could hear his voice even by the farthest person in the arena.
Maurice, who was among the crowd, sat in front silently.
"I am Akari, your Thrill of the Hunt professor. We are gathered here today by the Council's order because they have a very important announcement to make. I would like to personally welcome all of you back to Balete City!" He stood in the back of the podium which was placed on a wooden platform decorated by garments and flowers that scented the entire arena.
The girls in the crowd couldn't resist screaming after seeing Professor Akari. His short, brown hair flowed as he moved. The ray of light gleamed on his ring that made everyone squint their eyes as they looked at him.
"The Council made the right decision of picking him as the one to welcome all of us back. He's so gorgeous!" One girl with a ponytail said.
"Marry me, Professor!" Another girl from the crowd shouted then everyone in the arena laughed.
Akari laughed through the device that looked much like the microphone that humans used in their realm. "Alright, alright, settle down." He gestured with both hands in front of him.
The guy beside Maurice looked uncomfortable and reddish. "I can feel my masculinity slowly fading away." He jokingly said.
Maurice forced a yawn.
"Without further ado, please welcome..." he cleared his throat. "Balete city's Herald... a Council member for 337 years, the Kapres' respected elder... Herald Gertrude!" Akari applauded and everyone else stood up and copied him.
Maurice clapped and occasionally looked behind him as if he was looking for someone.
The 8-foot-tall Kapre, with her head slumped forward, made her way up the stairs and toward the podium. She shook Akari's hand which was much smaller than hers.
Akari walked down the stairs then everybody sat down—their faces painted with enthusiasm.
"Oh, goodness." Her eyes began to tear up. She paused. "For the love of the Tree, I promised myself that I'm not gonna cry in front of everyone." Her face, which was ridden with wrinkles and moles, slowly lit up as she spoke.
Some people in the crowd wiped their eyes with their hands.
"Tree Dwellers... how I wish I could welcome you back in a better circumstance. However, I will not beat around the bush as right now, every moment counts." She uttered with great emphasis on the last three words. "The Balete Tree is dying." She raised her left finger and pointed at the giant tree that stood in the heart of the city.
The crowd gasped in unison. Maurice's face was blank as Gertrude already told him about it.
"We all know that the Tree is fueled by a specific energy that we gather from humans—fear. The Council thought that we had stored enough of it to keep our Tree alive for a thousand years—we were wrong." She uttered. "Unfortunately, many of the last fear farmers that Balete City had, died in the last Great War... Hence, we have to create new fear farmers and you, all of the people here in this arena, are our city's best candidates."
Everybody looked at the person next to them. They were unsure of how to react to the news. Some shrugged, and some shook their heads in disbelief.
Gertrude smiled. "Now that that's out of the way, children, I couldn't be more elated to welcome you to Balete Academy." Her massive arms slowly spread out then back down again. "We set up a curriculum that will ensure that anyone who graduates will be well equipped for the journey that lies ahead."
"Did the Herald just say what I think she said?" The person who sat behind Maurice asked. "But I don't want to go to school." She added.
"If you want everyone in the city to die then feel free to back out." The guy on Maurice's right intervened. "Our life force is connected to the tree, dimwit!"
The girl behind Maurice rolled her eyes. "You don't have to be a dick, you know." She replied.
"To tell you more about the school, I would like to introduce to you Headmaster Yanu, who also happens to be our former Minister." Gertrude nodded and clapped as she walked towards Yanu who waddled his way up the stairs. With Yanu's short stature and Gertrude's rather impressive height, they opted not to shake hands. They simply bowed their heads and smiled at each other.
Yanu, like Gertrude, didn't have a ring and it was their choice to not wear one. He's the opposite of Gertrude when it comes to height for he is a duwende and the tallest that was ever recorded of their kind was only 4 feet.
Akari walked towards Yanu with a stool in his hands. He placed it by the podium so Yanu could use it as leverage to be able to speak through the microphone.
"You underestimate me, Professor." Yanu, still smiling, said to Akari. "In situations like this, a duwende like me who can manipulate the wind can just simply do this," he snapped his finger and floated in the air. Yanu chuckled.
"I apologize, former Minister." Akari awkwardly laughed.
"Headmaster would be more fitting. But thank you, Akari." The floating, stout, old man bowed.
Akari reciprocated then walked away.
Yanu breathed in and tapped the microphone with his plump finger twice. "Hello?" The speakers that were connected to the microphone emitted a loud bass-like noise that echoed through the entire arena.
Everyone covered their ears but Maurice didn't. He only flinched and cringed in response to the deafening sound.
"S-Sorry about that. Is this any better?" He whispered through the microphone in fear of it happening again. The crowd responded with a nod and uncovered their ears. "Okay. So first of all, let me tell you the subjects that you will be taking throughout the years that you will spend in the academy."
Maurice was actively listening to Yanu when suddenly a boy with spiky hair approached him. "Maurice, right?"
His eyes briefly looked at the boy who was kneeling down by his seat so that people in the back could still see Yanu. "Mhmm." He responded while Yanu was speaking in the background.
"Herald Gertrude asked me to summon you." The boy leaned forward.
Maurice stood up slowly and without hesitation. The boy guided him outside the arena and led him to an aisle near the dormitories.
There were 6 separate 4-story buildings in the dorm area that were 50 meters away from the arena. The sun read 8:30 but the clouds that hovered above the city made the area look peculiarly dim.
He looked around but there was no Gertrude in sight. The boy stopped when they reached the center of the aisle and slid his hand into his back pocket.
It gave Maurice the impression that the boy had a weapon. He looked concerned for his safety so he grabbed the boy by his neck, lifted his body, and smashed him to the wall with his hand still gripped onto his neck.
"Ahhkk." The boy struggled to breathe. "L-Let me exp-explain." The knife in his hand dropped to the floor.
Maurice let go instantly. "I knew it." He kicked the knife 4 feet away. "Who put you up to this?"
The boy who was begging for his life a second ago was now smirking and laughing. He looked behind Maurice.
Maurice noticed the shift of emotions and turned around. Behind him were three guards in their metal suits.
"Remember me?" The guard in the middle spoke. His face gradually came to light as he leaned forward.
Maurice tried his best to make out who was standing in front of him. "R-Reyo?"
Reyo suddenly punched Maurice in the nose. "Hold him. Don't let him take off his ring this time." He said and the two guards obeyed.
Maurice spat out blood. The two guards grabbed both his arms and kicked him behind his knees to force him to kneel.
"Here." Reyo tossed a purse full of coins to the boy who led Maurice to the aisle. The boy caught it and hesitated for a bit before ultimately fleeing from the scene.
"How honorable," Maurice mumbled.
"Honor? You really wanna talk about honor?" Reyo laughed. "You used your powers against me!" He shouted and slapped Maurice with the back of his armored hand. "And you embarrassed me in front of my father!" He then kneed him in his chest.
Maurice tried to shake off the two guards who were holding his arms but to no avail.
"Maurice the mute," Reyo spat on the ground, "what a funny name for a funny-looking babaylan. My little birdies told me everything about you."
Maurice ground his teeth as he looked up to see Reyo's face. The inaudible sound of Yanu's speech could still be heard in the aisle.
"You're an abomination!" Reyo punched him in the face with all his strength. One of the guards flinched from the impact.
Maurice's head slumped backward after the punch. He didn't move but he snickered.
"You're not a pure-blooded babaylan, aren't you?" Reyo crouched in front of Maurice and stared at his slumped head. "What kind of demon fathered you? Babaylan do not have horns, do they?" He asked for affirmation from the two guards.
Maurice set his head upright and tried to stand up but the guard from his left held his shoulder down so he couldn't get up.
"A-Are you done?" He said with pride even though his right eye was red and swollen. "Go... Go ahead and k-kill me now," He made eye contact with Reyo, "or else, I will hunt you d-down and bury you alive." He added with the most intimidating voice he could muster.
Scared by Maurice's words, Reyo stood back up and shook his legs one after the other. He looked like he was preparing to kick him.
"I'll respect your decision." He took a deep breath in. "Maurice the mute, farewell..." Reyo, with a full set of metal armor, swung his right leg towards Maurice's neck.
Suddenly, Maurice heard the sound of heavy footsteps approaching the area. He looked to his right and saw a 5-foot-tall clay marionette run toward Reyo before he passed out.
The marionette grabbed Reyo's foot and threw him to the clump of trash cans nearby.
"F-Fuck!" Reyo exclaimed as the sound of metal banging together echoed in the background.
The clay puppet then dashed behind the guards and banged their heads against each other.
Reyo hurriedly and clumsily crawled his way out of the trash that covered his body. "A mangkukulam's marionette? But who's controlling it? Show yourself, you coward!" Reyo roared.
A girl's laughter resonated in the background. "Looking for me?" A girl with a pointy hat appeared at the end of the street. Her hands raised in front of her with her fingers scattered much like a puppeteer would when controlling a puppet. "Take this, you bully!" The marionette, made of clay, grabbed Reyo by his armor and threw him to where the two guards were.
"Ahh!" He screamed in pain after his elbow snapped. "Wake up, you fools!" Reyo stood up with his right arm held by his left hand. "Curse you, whoever you are!"
"Sorry for ending your fun but only I can hurt him." The little girl spoke.
"My father will surely hear about this!" Reyo's eyes raged with anger.
The girl burst into laughter. "Are you dead serious right now?" Her voice was that of a child but she didn't look innocent nor harmless. "Your father will kill you if he hears about this," she stared at him devilishly, "what an idiot!"
The two guys got up quickly and ran for their lives; leaving Reyo behind.
"Wait for me!" Reyo followed but he tripped twice along the way.
"Hmp! Bunch of babies!" The girl put on her ring and she transformed into a little girl with pigtails and glasses. Her marionette stopped moving and it fell to the ground beside Maurice. Whilst it fell, the marionette shrunk to the size of a fist. "Big brother!" She zoomed toward Maurice with a worried look.
"Ahh..." Maurice briefly opened his eyes. "Ez-" he hovered his hand over his swollen eye, "Ezra?" He muttered and then his hand fell on his chest.
"Don't you dare die on me. I haven't killed you yet!" She hugged him.
🌳🌳🌳🌳🌳🌳🌳🌳🌳🌳🌳🌳🌳🌳🌳🌳🌳
Over an hour had passed and Yanu was still not done with the introduction of teachers. When a teacher's name was called, they were asked to stand on the stage together with the other teachers.
"Alright. Thank you Allan for telling the students about what to expect in your classes." He gestured for the crowd to applaud and so they did. As he scanned the area where the students sat, he could see a few vacant seats. "Why are some seats vacant?"
Akari, who was standing in the line beside him, nudged him. "Headmaster," he said in a hushed voice and his body leaned towards him, "before we started, there are already a few vacant seats. I think some are just late and some might have gone to relieve themselves."
"That makes perfect sense," Yanu replied. "Thanks, Akari." His big belly bounced as he turned back to face the crowd. "Okay... if I'm correct, I think that's all of the teachers, right?"
"You forgot Humanology, Headmaster." Allan, the Potions, Trinkets, and Charms teacher, who also happened to be the city infirmary's owner, responded.
"Have I?" Yanu's eyes widened in disbelief then proceeded to laugh. The teachers all laughed with him. "Silly me. I hope the Minister forgives me for forgetting her niece."
A hooded figure by the stairs stood. Her long white robe touched the ground.
"Let's all welcome your Humanology teacher, Aira," Yanu announced through the microphone.
It was obvious that the crowd wasn't as excited with her as they were with the teachers before her.
"Thank you, Headmaster." She said with her emotionless face. Her waist swayed elegantly as she approached the microphone.
"I've never heard of her." A student from the back said to the person next to him.
"My mom told me that the Minister's niece handles the Human Laboratory." His seatmate stated.
"What? I didn't know we had such a laboratory in Balete."
"Me too but my Mom works for her and when I arrived home from the human realm last night, she told me that they had to dump a human body after an experiment went terribly wrong." She said in a low voice.
"Don't you think that's worth telling the authorities?" The student looked alarmed.
"Do you think they'll do something about it if it was the Minister's niece that did it?"
The student paused. She was speechless so she just shrugged.
"I know that most of you do not know me," Aira started speaking through the microphone, "my name is Aira, Minister Xaia's niece, and I oversee the operations at the human laboratory."
The crowd gasped but for a good reason—human experimentation was unheard of in the city.
Yanu looked worried. "Sorry Professor but I don't think that this is the right time to talk about that." He mumbled.
Aira ignored him and continued speaking monotonously. "Do not think that I am taking advantage of these lesser beings. The human laboratory helps us understand them more elaborately. I dare say that in these troubled times that we're in, we need to expand our knowledge about them." Aira turned her face towards Yanu who was frantically trying to stop her from speaking more. "This is the right thing to do, Headmaster. This is all to save our own kind."
"Enough about that, Aira, tell them about the subject that you're going to teach." Yanu hovered closer to her.
"Headmaster Yanu thinks that I should not talk about this." She eyed Yanu. "But as your Humanology professor, I beg to disagree." She picked up the microphone from the stand and held it close to her mouth.
Wilda, the Battle Tactics professor, stepped up and grabbed the mic from her. "Hello, tree dwellers. Sorry to interrupt." She gathered her thoughts first. "Obviously, the faculty has some things to figure out first so we are ending the orientation here."
Yanu and Aira argued in the background while the crowd watched.
"I am the Headmaster here, so you should at least treat me like one." Yanu's voice could be heard faintly through the microphone.
Wilda scoffed and covered the mic with her palm. "Heh." Her eyes smiled with a hint of embarrassment. "Before you go, you are given today and tomorrow to settle into your dormitories and acclimate. Then the day after, we will have our first day of school."
The crowd murmured as they gradually dissipated.
"Wilda! You stupid bitch!" Aira snapped.
Wilda was taken aback. She was a decorated war hero when she led the victory against the diwata in the 6th great war that was called Wilda's Revenge. After that, no one had ever targeted her or picked a fight with her.
"How dare you send them away when it's still my turn to speak? Just because you had killed 10,000 diwata in a matter of minutes doesn't mean I'm gonna let you bully me." Aira took off her white robe and threw it to the side.
"Calm down, Aira!" Akari stood between the two.
The crowd noticed the commotion and stopped walking away and went back to their seats.
"Aira..." Wilda walked slowly to where Aira's robe was thrown at and picked it up. "I am not bullying you. It's just that you are exploring a topic in front of an audience that needs more context. They've been gone for more than a hundred years, for fuck's sake!"
The other teachers watched as Wilda offered Aira's robe back to her.
"Come on, Aira. Be sensible." Wilda leaned closer to Aira—her mouth was an inch away from her ear. "I'm not the type of girl you wanna mess with." She whispered and licked her cheek.
Aira hopped away as she wiped her cheek with her right arm; her face ridden with disgust.
"It seems like the only thing for this to be over is if you two settle this." Yanu, with his arms crossed, slowly landed on the ground.
"What do you mean?" Gertrude, who was sitting on the chair placed on the stage, asked.
Yanu smirked and winked at Gertrude as he grabbed the microphone on the podium.
"Hello?" He said and cleared his throat. "Everyone, please grab a chair and carry it to the side. We need to clear the arena."
Gertrude stood and made huge strides towards Yanu. "For the love of the tree, are you out of your mind?"
"Gertrude... look at Wilda and Aira. Do you think you can stop them from beating each other up?" He pointed at the two. "And look at the students... they clearly want to see this."
The crowd cleared all the chairs in the area.
"You're the headmaster so I guess you can do whatever feels right. But I have to go, my assistant, Maurice, hasn't returned." Gertrude picked up the end of her robe and held it close to her chest as she walked out of
the arena.
Yanu shook his head as he watched Gertrude leave.
"Tree dwellers!" With a microphone in hand, Yanu grabbed everyone's attention. "As a homecoming present, let me give to you Wilda the batibat versus Aira the aswang!"
End of Chapter 3