Mabagal na minulat ni Luel ang kaniyang mga mata. Nakarinig siya ng mga nag-uusap, at kaagad niyang nakilala ang may-ari ng mga boses.

Alcaeus. Zacharias. Zian.

Pinagmasdan niya ang paligid habang nag-aaway ata ang mga lalaki. They were in a forest, and there were sattelites far the skies. Taquine. Nasa abandonadong parte sila ng Taquine Kingdom.

"Ano, Alcaeus? Sigurado ka bang sasama ka sa'min? Baka hindi ka maka-graduate, tapos hindi ka pa maging Berseker General dahil dito," wika ni Zian.

Alcaeus sighed heavily, "I told you, Zian. I will be a Berseker General. They won't stop me—"

"You're siding with a criminal, Alcaeus. Do you think Aerilonians will approve of making you a General?" Seryosong tanong ni Zach.

Napapikit naman si Luel. Siding with a criminal? Siya ba ang tinutukoy na kriminal? It's obvious. Pero wala pa namang patunay na gumawa siya ng masama, papaanong naging kriminal siya bigla.

She stood, and the rustling of the leaves stopped the three from talking further. They all looked at Luel.

"Bakit tayo nari—" to?

"Hoy, lintek ka! 'Yong nanay mo pala galing ibang mundo, tapos ikaw rin!" Biglang mura ni Zian sa kaniya.

She rolled her eyes and repeated her question, "Bakit tayo narito?"

Si Alcaeus naman ngayon ang nagsalita. She hoped it was an answer, but she was dismayed when it wasn't!

"Are you okay, Luel?"

Muli na naman siyang umirap, at binalingan si Zacharias na hindi naman siya tinapunan ng tingin. Nagbuntong-hininga siya bago uliting muli ang tanong, "Bakit tayo narito, Zacharias?"

Zacharias turned to her, "You destroyed the Council Palace, and we got you out of there before the Berseker Army could even capture you. Basically, you're a wanted criminal along with your mother, Sinclair."

Bahagyang namilog ang mata ni Luel. How could she destroy the Council Palace?

Ang huli niyang naaalala ay ang mga panaginip niya, at siya raw ang bagong may-ari ng oracle. She's the new priestess of nightmares. What? Ni hindi niya nga alam kung ano ang Oracle of Trophonius.

She sighed, "Hindi ko nanay si Sinclair. My biological parents are dead. At sa totoo lang, hindi naman yata ako ang nagdestroy ng Council Palace. The last thing I remember was there was a smoke that put us all in sleep. Nagising nalang ako na buhat-buhat ni Alcaeus. Kaya malamang, hindi ako ang gumawa n'on."

Zacharias opened his mouth in confusion. Nagtaka siya kung paanong hindi si Sinclair ang nanay niya. Then what is the explanation of her powers?

"But like Sinclair, I came from another world. I trust you all that is why I am saying this. Narinig ko ang pinag-uusapan niyo kanina, at tama sila, Alcaeus. You shouldn't be here with us. It will taint your name," seryosong sabi ni Luel.

Alcaeus brows furrowed. "How can I assure your safety?"

"We will assure her safety. Ikaw naman, iiwas mo ang mga army dito sa Taquine. That's what you can do. Iligaw mo sila. Mas makakatulong ka sa gan'ong paraan, Alcaeus," Zacharias said. His teeth gritting.

Zian let out a long exhale, "Hay nako, nadamay pa nga!"

Luel shot him a glare, and Zian just winked and made a peace sign.

Kinwento pa ni Luel kung ano siya. Nagulat nga sila na isang vampire demon-angel si Luel, habang si Sinclair ay isang demon-angel. Wala talagang sphinx si Luel, at ang black wings niya ay dahil sa dugo niya. That was what she realized.

"Kailangan lang natin maimbestigahan kung sino ang totoong sumira ng Council Palace. Alam kong hindi ako 'yon," wika ni Luel at mariing pumikit.

"I'm expelled in the academy now, kaya hindi ako pwedeng bumalik d'on. Maybe if I learn some invisibility magic, pwede akong makapasok ulit—"

"What the heck bigla kang nawala, Luel!" Wika ni Zian. "Huy, nasaan 'yon?"

Nanlaki ang mata ni Luel. She looked at her hand, and she saw that she was camouflaging with the surroundings. Parang kanina lang ay pinag-uusapan nila kung paano siya magiging invisible, then now, naging invisible nga siya!

She thought of appearing again, and shock was evident in the faces of three men.

"Woah, naging invisible ka?" Tanong ng madaldal na si Zian. Tumango lang si Luel.

Ngayon sigurong aware s'ya sa kung ano talaga siya, mas madali niyang nagagawa ang iba pa niyang abilidad. Maybe she just have to discover it.

Kailangan niya pang matuklasan kung ano ang sinabi ng kaniyang panaginip.

Earth. Air. Fire. Water. Ice. Light.

"We will return to the Academy, pero magiging invisible ako. At times, lalabas din ako para tingnan kung ano ang ginagawa ng council. Gusto ko ring hanapin si Sinclair. I still have a lot of questions in my mind," wika ni Luel.

Muli na namang huminga nang malalim si Zian, "Buti nalang. Akala ko pati ako mae-expel na sa academy. Mamimiss ko ang bebe ko."

"Kukuha nalang tayo ng maraming missions sa labas para makalabas ka, Luel. Madedetect kasi ng mga Masters ng Academy kapag may lumabas na Aerilonian. Mas safe kapag may kasama," wika naman ni Zacharias.

Nakarinig sila ng kaluskos sa paligid, at nagulat sila nang makita si Yuri.

"Sorry for the late appearance. Sinundan ko kayo matapos nang nangyari," he said and smirked.

"Gagi! Kagulat ka sir!" bulyaw ni Zian.

Tuloy silang nag-usap ni Zian pero nanliit ang mata ni Luel. Ang akala n'ya nauna na siyang nakabalik sa Academy. Luel tilted her head and noticed the burn on his right hand, para bang ginamit niya ang kapangyarihan niya.

"Tara na bumalik," wika ni Alcaeus.

Luel nodded, and carefully watched Yuri. Malakas ang pandinig ng mga bampira kaya sigurado niyang narinig niya ang usapan nilang apat nina Zacharias kanina.

Pero bakit parang hindi siya nagtataka? Is it because he doesn't care, or is it because he already knows about it?

Aerilon Academy
By lostmortals
Plagiarism is a crime.

Thank you for reading!