Title: My First Trading Partner is An Awaken
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Malou's worried expression spoke volumes as she exclaimed,
"What happened?!" in response to Alfredo's cries of pain.
Concern etched on his face, the mayor echoed her question, asking if Alfredo was alright.
"Don't worry, move aside. It seems to me that your husband is about to puke something," Mang Dondon reassured Malou after assessing Alfredo's condition.
"Ulkkkkk!"
"Ughhhh!"
As tension filled the air, Malou and the mayor remained on edge, while Mang Dondon prepared for what was to come, his experience guiding his actions. Henry's curiosity lingered, adding to the charged atmosphere.
With precision, Mang Dondon readied a basin filled with salt solution to catch whatever Alfredo was about to expel.
After what felt like an eternity, Alfredo finally expelled something black, the putrid odor assaulting everyone's senses.
"What kind of smell is that?!" Malou and Dante exclaimed in disgust, likening it to the stench of a neglected corpse mixed with the foul odor of feces and stagnant water from the nearby canal.
Mang Dondon swiftly sprang into action, his voice resonating with ancient Latin prayers as he focused his energy on the filth-filled basin.
With each incantation, a palpable shift occurred, and Alfredo's labored breaths began to steady, his body gradually regaining a semblance of control.
Another five minutes pass when Mang Dondon finishes his business towards the filth in the basin."Young man, without you here, Alfredo will not recover."
"Well, it's good that Mayor Sales invited me in. I'm not quite sure if I can really help but it seems that uncle here is becoming better," Henry said.
He heard the words from the shaman and he recognized that it's really in Latin. He was now becoming interested with Mang Dondon's way of healing.
Henry heard about herb doctors and Shamans. It was just his first time to see them take action in person. As the whispers of words of Mang Dondon are ongoing, Henry perceives that there are small changes in the filth in the basin.
"Yes, and Malou, Dante, without the intervention of this young man, I am powerless to save Alfredo. I can get rid of the thing that made him this way but I know for sure that I can also kill Alfredo in the process," Mang Dondon sincerely said.
"You meant to say that he is already free from being Aswang?!" Malou asked with concern. Dante also wanted to hear the answer of the shaman.
"Yes, the thing that caused the yanggaw is dead, and Alfredo here seems to be fine and listening to his breathing, it is stable as compared to his groaning state earlier." The old shaman said.
"Mang Dondon, why does it seem like a little black chick?" Mayor Sales asked. 'Is this really the reason why my brother became an Aswang?'
"Yep. It was this thing that made most of the people infected to become a new Aswang. These are being domesticated by these creatures to be used to increase their number." The old man replied.
"You said that Aswang needs to drink the blood of animals or people to complete the transformation of becoming an Aswang. Alfredo here didn't even leave the room as he chained himself up whenever he started acting up," Malou also stated.
"I'm not sure how it happened, but when you approached me and I looked into it, he was already transformed. This black filthy chick here already clams itself in Alfredo's stomach."
"This means that Alfredo, without your knowledge, had access to the blood or raw meat of animals or even human meat." The shaman explains. "It was already too late for me to cure him if that happened."
"I can only restrain him with my methods and as I said, without this young man, he would be dead in about 10 days max. Without eating and drinking anything, his body can't support his will, since the usual food he eats is no longer his diet," the old shaman explains.
"Then, is my husband alright?" Malou asked, glancing at Mang Dondon and Henry.
"Not yet," Mang Dondon said, "However, if this young man still has his concoction, I believe he will be fine after drinking another cup or two."
"By the way, it seems the one who made him this way already knew that his target failed to truly transform Alfredo. So, I believe, those Aswang will come maybe not tonight but the succeeding nights." Mang Dondon said.
"What?!" Malou exclaimed in horror. She too was brief about Aswangs and based on the description, their appearance is really repulsive and monstrous.
Henry got interested and even Dante asked the old man with a glance.
"This is my fifth visit here in your villa and experience wise, Your surroundings are open for exploitation specially for creatures like Aswangs." The old man started.
"What do you mean?" Malou asked.
"Aswangs are shapeshifters, and based on your personal encounter for the past weeks and days, you yourself said that you saw big cats the size of big dogs and even dogs that roam around your place with a red pair of eyes. Weren't you also familiar with this foul smell?" The old shaman explained and asked.
"Goodness! So those muddy footprints are not from Alfredo but from those Aswangs?!" Malou already sank into her personal encounter with those strange experiences.
"Yes. I believe Henry here can also smell the faint scent of them in those places where those Aswangs usually wait and see." The old shaman glances at Henry.
The mayor glances at Henry. With his superb strength, he did conclude that the senses of Henry might also be powerful.
"You, Grandpa. I'm really curious on how you manage to dig up some of the things that I personally wanted to keep secret," Henry can only sigh from the loose mouth of the old man.
"Yeah, I'm sorry young man. Your presence here reminds me of my late teacher. I can't find anyone in our small group where I can compare you with." The shaman said.
Malou is now beside her husband and the mayor is more concerned about the incoming group of Aswangs yet the shaman seems too relaxed with their situation right now.
"What this grandpa said is true, I had sensed that your place had been visited by four different kinds of Aswangs based on their unique scent they placed in your house."
"One of the scents is actually here and maybe, just maybe, it was the reason why your husband had eaten raw meat or blood to complete his Aswang transformation," Henry explains.
"Excellent! I know you can clarify it to them, young man. And yes, Malou, Dante, one of those Aswang made his way here in Alfredo's confinement room without your knowing." The old shaman said.
"He's been testing Henry all along," The mayor thought. He was worried that the young man would be offended but after glancing at Henry's demeanor, he was relieved.
"I see. Anyways, I can only thank the both of you for dealing with our plight. I will compensate you after Alfredo's recovery." Malou said.
"No thanks. Just do the usual thing that my patients usually give and if you give more, you can just donate it to charity," Mang Dondon reiterates.
As for Henry, he had a deal with Mayor Sales but Malou wanted to give her personal reward to the young man who saved the life of her husband.
"Tell me Mang Dondon, how do we deal with these creatures?" Mayor Sales asked.
"You don't need to. If Henry took action, those Aswangs wouldn't have any defense against this young man. However, it seems that Henry here is a newbie in terms of killing," the old shaman said, pointing out the naivety of Henry with regards to killing.
"Yeah, and he came here for one purpose only, to get rid of the infection in the body of my brother," the mayor said.
"I thought so. Anyways, I had seen them already and since Alfredo is becoming better and they don't have any anchor to your family, we can finally deal with them," Mang Dondon said in a relaxed manner.
The shaman explains to them the weakness of these shapeshifters. Some of the methods are known to them and there are some new things too.
One of the most prominent methods to deal with low ranking Aswang is the use of salt, garlic, and lime.
"I really thought that the movies were just movies. I didn't know that those consumables are to counter those Aswangs," mayor Sales said.
Henry and Malou also nodded in agreement as they are familiar with these things through movies.
"Don't be deceived young lads. Most of the things that were seen in plain sight are actually the truth even for most of our local movies." Mang Dondon pointed out.
Due to movies and some misleading knowledge, Aswang seems to have become a myth and just a story, disrespecting the knowledge of old.
Mang Dondon explains further on how to deal with most of the weapons they can use against Aswangs. "I have two Stingray tails we typically use to counter these shapeshifters."
"If you have guns, you can use the full metal bullet which is composed of bronze metal. However, you need to be fast as these creatures are fast." Mang Dondon explains.
"Although, you can use the ordinary bolo. You need to cover it with mud before hacking them down so that their wounds will not heal quickly,"
"And since you young man agreed to join the fray, this bronze metal is my gift for you. A small cut of this bronze metal can kill any Aswang since these are their most feared physical weapon," Mang Dondon gave the 14 inches knift to Henry.
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They had prepared the things that could really help them. There are many people in the villa now since Mayor Sales already provided enough people, Henry, his Driver and two of his bodyguards.
Mang Dondon also didn't go home as he wanted to see how things unfold. There are also two aids of Malou, a mother and her teenage son, and also two of Malou's kids.
Although Alfredo is recovering and still weak, he was now conscious and knew what had already happened to them. At that time, Henry received a reply from Tyler.
"Hey Henry, I had read your concern. You do really seem to encounter shapeshifters to ask these questions," Tyler said.
"I might. Anyways, in your world, do these shapeshifters really have the strength of an enhanced human or in the entry level of F-rank awakened?" Henry asked.
"Yes. That's certain. I believe with your consistent training and reaching the higher end of the F-rank level, you can deal with them." Tyler ascertained.
"So it is. How about my other queries? Do you perhaps have some knowledge about it?" Henry asked.
"Yeah. As I told you Henry, the church recruits talents all over the continent to deal with souls and some entities. The breathing technique that most of these recruited individuals seem to see things more than our eyes can see."
"So the fact that you meet a person that can see lights from you, it's quite normal here as the accolades of the churches can do the same. This light indicates that you are awakened," Tyler explains.
"So there is such a case," Henry nodded and is now more confident with what he has.
"You're welcome, Henry. Anyways, Ezio's Breathing technique can uncover any form of deception. It's one of our edge among the other breathing techniques used by awakened. If you encounter such suspected creatures in human form, you just need to activate our technique and everything will be revealed unto you after you reach a certain level of training," Tyler added.
"I see. That's quite a relief. I almost forgot it," Henry recalled.
"By the way, it's my first time to learn that some concoctions can detect shapeshifters," Tyler stated.
"Yeah, I witnessed it personally. Whenever the concocted oil is placed near a shapeshifter, it boils." Henry affirms.
"That kind of detection oil is helpful especially against higher rank shapeshifters. Normally, we know who the shapeshifters are based on their expelling foul smell. However, some of these shapeshifters can control these glaring weaknesses," Tyler explains.
"So higher rank shapeshifters can have the power over it too?" Henry asked.
"Yes. Aside from their smell, you can detect them in the daytime as they don't have shadows and when you look in their eyes, the images from their eyes are inverted. Higher rank shapeshifters can alter it" Tyler said.
"Yeah, I heard that kind of detection in some of the rumors too," Henry said.
"You must also be aware that shapeshifters, when they are in their beast form, are at their strongest. Their senses doubled but just as I said, their strength can only be in the entry level F-rank creatures for most of the shapeshifters." Tyler pointed out.