Tale 27
The Dark Hands

Ang guild na Dark Hands ay isang lihim na Guild ng mga Assassins. Ang mga kliyente nila ay malalaking pangalan sa mundo ng pulitika o alkemya. Nagmula ang kanilang grupo sa dating kaharian ng Ventus bilang isang bandidong grupo. Maraming mga kwento ang kanilang guild tungkol sa mga mahihiwagang bagay na pinagdaanan nila noon. Tulad ng pagsisilbi sa Witch of Apocalypse. Sinasabi na sila ang maalamat na grupong Armageddon. Matapos ang era ng mga mage, marami nang nagbago. Naging alamat na lamang ang mga kwentong ito.

Ngayong araw ay may mga bago silang aplikante. Normally dalawa o tatlo lamang ang sumusubok na sumali sa guild, subalit ngayong araw ay may pitong tao ang narito para mag-apply bilang mga bagong assassins.

"Listen up, Losers!" agaw ni Darren, isang Class B Assassin, sa attention ng pitong aplikante.

May anim na class ang mga assassins. E ang pinakamababa at class S ang pinakamataas.

Lahat ay nagsisimula sa Class E matapos makapasok sa guild, tumataas ang Class base sa dami ng job offers na napagtatagumpayang gawin, the higher the class, the higher the difficulty of targets.

Nasa dulong bahagi sila ng desyerto. Natatanaw nila dito ang isang gubat. Ito ang naghahati sa State of Udarra at State of Ventus.

"Mayroong test para makapasok sa guild. Ito ay ang pagtawid sa Forest of Druids." Darren

"Maraming uri ng panganib sa lugar. Hindi namin pananagutan kung may mangyaring hindi kaaya-aya sa inyo sa loob ng Forest of Druids. Kailangan nyong makalabas sa kabilang bahagi ng gubat bago lumubog ang araw." Darren

"But it's already midday." Reklamo ng isang aplikante

"So?" tugon ni Darren

"........"

"You can work together. Or work alone. If you want to reach the end fast, walk alone. But if you want to stay alive, you need to work together." Darren

"Is it that dangerous??" tanong ng isa

"You'll find out once you get there. I wont hold you back any longer. Remember, teamwork is the key." Huling saad ni Darren bago sila iniwan.

"I shall lead the way!" announce ng isang maskuladong lalaki

"Its Karl! The famous martial artist!"

Agad nagsitango ang iba. Maliban sa dalawang tao.

"Do you have a different opinion?" hamon nito sa dalawa..

"You look like a musclehead. You will just lead us to our death." Saad ng isang payat na lalaki. He's wearing baggy clothes. He have a pretty face. Long blonde hair that is tied into a neat bun. Blue eyes that sparks like a jewel He's too feminine.

"Pretty boy, with your weak little body, what can you do without my protection?" hamon ng lalaking maskulado, si Karl.

"Not much. But at least Im not a musclehead." Tugon nito.. Of course, this pretty boy is Amara. Hindi na sya nag-abalang gumamit ng Transformation Magic. She's been using it for months now. It could disrupt the balance of nature in some way. Magic has a rule of it's own. Because magic is just bending the law of nature, it can backfire as a disaster in any possible form imaginable.

"Musclehead?" inis na tanong ni Karl... "You're brave for a weakling. Tell me your name!"

"Just call me... Mar." sagot ni Amara, she's too lazy to come up with a proper name.

"Friends, should we get rid of this weakling? He will just drag us down.. Besides, without him, there's one less competition once we entered the guild." Suhestiyon ni Karl

Agad namang sumang-ayon ang lahat sa kanya.

"Let's run!" naghagis ng isang flask na naglalaman ng asul na likido si Aurio. Nabalot ng asul na usok ang lugar.

"Crap! They're running away!" sigaw ng isa di kalaunan.

Nagusot ang muka nila.

Cowards!

Retreating is an option, but you have to lose the battle first!

Why would you run away upon contact?! That's too cowardly!

"Nauna silang pumasok sa gubat.."

"Let's go!!" sigaw nila

Agad silang tumakbo papasok sa kagubatan.

"Ahhhhhh!"

"Aiyo!"

"Fudge!!"

"Arrrgg!"

Screams instantly rang out.

"What happened?" tanong ni Karl sa apat

"Nails!" reklamo nilang lahat

May mga nakakalat na pako sa paligid. They were obviously dropped by Amara.

Pero paano sila nabiktima ng mga pako? Cant they see something as shiny as that?

Useless fools!

Then, when Karl stepped out, he felt a sting at the base of his foot. He lift his foot and saw a green nail stuck on his shoes.

"Ahh.... F*ck... He actually painted the nails green and threw them at the grass!" galit na saad ni Karl

"Ahhhhh! Brat!!!! I will kill you!!!!" sigaw ni Karl na umalingawngaw sa buong kagubatan.

Di kalayuan, narinig ni Aurio ang sigaw na ito.

"Is that Karl's voice??" tanong nya looking at Amara suspiciously.

"Probably." Amara

"May sumugod ba sa kanilang beast??" nagtatakang tanong ni Aurio

"Maybe he accidentally stepped into the nails that I throw at the entrance of the forest.." Kibit balikat ni Amara

"Nails?? It this what you meant by handy?" Aurio

"Yep." Amara

"..........." Aurio

"Setting traps is a skill too." Depensa ni Amara

Napailing na lang si Aurio..

"Come on, let me teach you." Nakangiting saad ni Amara

Amara is very persuasive.. She can easily entice people.. Aurio's curiousity slowly grew.

Amara taught him other stuffs too. Like placing a huge rock on the road to make the pursuers take the longer route unconsciously. Setting small traps. Creating small land mines with the chemicals available in the forest. Being an alchemist is a really fun job.

Aurio started to enjoy throwing nails as they continue on their journey.

Maririnig ang mga sigaw ng mga kawawang biktima sa tahimik na kagubatan.

Iisa lamang ang pathway palabas ng gubat kung kaya naman walang choice sina Karl kung hindi matapang na harapin ang mga traps na nilikha nina Amara.

Pitfalls.

Flying logs.

Explosives.

And all sorts of other traps.

There were many dangers in the mountain. Amara could clearly sense the presence of a lot of beasts. Dahil dito, some has to sacrifice themselves. Isnt there a saying in the Marvel Universe, the greater the power, the greater the responsibility?

Since Karl is the strongest, he should take that responsibility.

With two groups to choose from, one is advancing steadily while the others screaming like pigs being slaughter and reeking of blood, the target for these beasts is already obvious.

Perhaps this is the teamwork Darren was talking about!

Papalubog na ang araw at naghihintay si Darren sa kabilang bahagi ng kagubatan.

Out of all the new applicants, tanging si Karl lamang ang mukang katanggap-tanggap. The rest are just weaklings. Hindi na magtataka si Darren kung si Karl lamang ang makalabas ng buhay sa gubat.

Soon after, may natanawan si Darren na mga pigura na papalabas ng kagubatan.

"Look! I think that's the exit! I thought this place is dangerous??" nagtatakang tanong ni Aurio

Napanganga si Darren.

Two figures emerged from the forest.

"Oh? Hi.." bati ng dalawa kay Darren

"W-where's the rest?" tanong ni Darren

Nagkibit balikat si Amara.. "We went ahead."

"Lumubog na ang araw! Does that mean tayo lang ang nakapasa?" Aurio

Pinagmasdan ni Darren ang dalawa.

Wala silang ibang armas kung hindi ang dagger na nakasukbit sa belt nila.

They look weak.

Fragile.

How did they reached the other end of the forest....

....without a single scratch?!

What the hell happened?!

~~~~~~~~