『AIZELLE』

The scent of roses lingered in my nose, but it was strong and nauseating instead of its mellow smell. I sighed and focused on the road ahead. Eros… I am now going to accomplish what I’ve promised. So, just me wherever you are right now. I stole a glance at Celine. After witnessing my final form inside the Labyrinth, she never said anything to our friends, but that’s not all I’ve got.

It was just a mere part of my strength.

I never wasted all these years becoming nothing. This battle would be mine alone.

“—zelle!” Agad akong napatigil sa paglalakad nang higitin ni Aizen ang braso ko. Nang lingunin ko siya’y agad kong napansin na lahat kami ay nakatigil at lahat sila ay nakatingin sa akin. “Ayos ka lang ba?”

“Yes.”

“Are you sure? You look—”

“Dude, she already answered you. Stop being a paranoid twin,” Phoenix said, making Aizen grimace at him. Phoenix smiled while looking at me. I shook my head and brushed Aizen’s hair without saying anything before turning my back on them.

“I’m fine,” I mumbled.

Strange. Most of them found my relationship with Phoenix strange, especially since he favors me even more than Sue, his girlfriend. And it is funny how they initially thought that I have feelings for him because I am always rejecting Light.

But… but I just don’t want to risk Phoenix’s life for mine.

I don’t want to make the same mistake committed by Tita Freya.

Diretso akong tumingin sa harapan, marami ang hindi kaaya-aya na palamuti sa paligid. Isang pahiwatig na ang lugar na ito ay pinaghaharian ni Asmodeus. Isang malalim na buntong-hininga ang kumawala sa akin.

Naiiba si Asmodeus sa pitong Kins. Kung si Satan ay hindi kayang masaktan ng iba maliban sa King Vessel, si Asmodeus ay hindi kayang mahawakan kung may pagnanasa ka sa iyong katawan, na kahit isa ka pang King Vessel o pinakamalakas na nilalang hindi mo magagawang masaktan o mahawakan si Asmodeus hanggang may nararamdaman kang pagnanasa.

And out of all beings, the only one Asmodeus couldn’t stand was the Pillar of Love, Sophia.

The only being that can control her emotions, the only servitour who managed to love without killing her king vessel, the person that Aizen loathed a lot.

Our mother.

I frustratingly bit my lower lip and looked at Aizen. Why do you hate her so much?

“Light, do you have plan?” I heard Celine asked. “Paano natin lalaban ang Kin of Lust?”

I bitterly smiled.

Humans, demigods, and all beings are a candidate as vessels of the seven sins, but they are few that are devoured by it, colliding inside them as they lose control of themselves. Yet, out of all sins, the most terrifying and hardest to ignore is Lust. All have pleasures and desires… but I am different.

Lust was not living within me.

Madalas akong tanungin noon ng mga kaibigan ko at ibang mga demigods kung paano kami naging anak nina Eros at Psyche samantalang si Hedone lamang ang kilalang anak nila. Pero sa totoo lang, hindi kami tunay na anak nila. At katulad ni Ice, blessed child lamang kami nina Eros.

Anak kami nina Ainsley at Sophia, anak kami ng isang demigod at seraphim.

Mula sa mga kuwento ni Eros noon, may utang na loob sila sa aming ina kaya’t kinupkop niya kami. At bukod do’n ay dahil sa kakaibang bagay sa sistema ko. Eros gave me the blessing of Love in order to fully eradicate the missing sin inside of me.

And the day that Aizen and I were born, my life brought delight to the Elysians. Especially since, I am the only being bound to put Asmodeus to an end—The Miracle Child.

“Aizelle?” Dinig kong tawag ni Light. Ngayon ko lang ulit narinig ang pangalan kong lumabas sa bibig niya. Hindi ko alam kung paano ba dapat ako mag-rereact. Tangina.

Bago pa man ako tuluyan na makapagsalita, nabalot ng kulay pulang usok ang paligid hanggang sa panandalian kaming nabulag sa kakaibang liwanag mula ro’n. At sa pagmulat namin sa aming mata, isang babae na nakaupo sa trono na gawa sa katawan ng mga nakahubad na lalaki ang bumungad sa amin.

Saglit kong ginala ang paningin ko’t napansin na ang ibang bahagi ng kuwarto ay nababalot ng yelo, ang iba sa mga tauhan ni Asmodeus ay nakakulong din sa makakapal na yelo. Memories sa katangahan ni Ice noon.

Asmodeus’s eyes reflected her overwhelming lust as she looked at us. As she feasted her eyes on our presence, I saw Xian’s golden eyes gleaming at the doors in front of us, especially at the one on the left.
“Oh… you want to see the princess,” Asmodeus said. She smiled confidently and pointed to the three doors. “One has the woman you wanted, but the other two means death.”

Isang malakas na ungol mula kay Asmodeus ang nagpasimangot sa aming lahat. Parang tanga amputa. Nakangiwi lamang akong nakatingin sa kanya samantalang si Serena nasa tabi ko’y nagtatakip pa ng mga mata.

“Ah… she—she’s giving me too much…” Asmodeus moaned.

I angrily hissed and glared at Sky. “Whatever Ice does, don’t ever fall to the temptation,” I bluntly said and pushed him towards the direction of the left door. “Go.”

And because Asmodeus was so confident of her curse, she let Sky enter the door. I sighed and saw them looking at me with disbelief.

“How did you…”

“You’ve been eyeing it since we appeared here. Moron.”

I squinted my eyes when I saw Xian slowly biting his lips seductively. Waves of crimson smoke leisurely left my friends’ bodies, and one after another, their bodies gradually kissed the ground. They groaned and moaned without hesitation, making me sigh heavily out of disappointment. Bastos lang naman ang bunganga ko pero hindi ako katulad nila.

“My liege,” I mumbled while looking at Phoenix, who was trying to endure the weight of Asmodeus’ curse. “Grant me your words…”

Hirap na hirap na tumungo si Phoenix at tumingin nang masama na para bang sinasabi na paano niya magagawang utusan ako habang ganoon ang sitwasyon niya. I laughed and let the golden light covered us in a form of a dome and slowly the crimson smokes disappeared.

“Who are you?!” Asmodeus shouted, yet I ignored her and remained to look at Phoenix.

Dahan-dahan siyang nag-adjust sa nangyari sa kanila at sinamaan ako nang tingin, “Hinayaan mo pa kaming mag-gaganoon… even though you could easily— Tch. Nevermind.”

“My liege.”

Saglit na sumilip si Phoenix sa direksyon ni Asmodeus samantalang ako’y nanatiling nakatingin sa kanya. Pansin ko rin ang mga kakaibang tingin sa akin ng mga kasama naming habang pinagmamasdan nila ang munting ilaw na nagpoprotekta sa kanila mula kay Asmodeus.

Phoenix walked in front of me with a smile on his face. He poked my forehead and looked at my eyes seriously, “As my servitour you must defeat prove yourself and defeat the Kin of Lust.”

“I will, my leige.” I bowed.

Our friends looked at me with curiosity feeding their minds, and instead of running their mouths, they remained still, waiting for the moment that I’ll drop the finest bomb. I closed my eyes and unleashed the blessing within.

The Aether, the magic residing from my elysian blood inside of me, ran wild, slowly overpowering the blessing given by the Greeks. And as I opened my eyes, the people around me were left awed beside Phoenix.

“Hmm… may kulang,” sambit ni Phoenix habang nakatingin sa ‘kin.

Pabiro akong umiling sa kanya’t tumalikod ngunit bago pa man ako tuluyan na umalis sa gintong ilaw na nagpoprotekta sa kanila ay saglit na nagtama ang mga mata namin ni Light. Binigyan niya ako ng isang tingin na tila ba’y may pinahihiwatig siyang nasagot na ang mga tanong niya.

Saglit na binuka ni Light ang bibig niya ngunit agad niya rin iyong tinikom at umiwas ng tingin. Tipid akong ngumiti sa kanya’t mabilis na lumitaw sa harapan ni Asmodeus, na kung saan ay nanatili siyang tuliro habang nakatingin sa akin.

“So—Sophia!” She screamed.

This form exhausts me the most, and I must finish this fight before I meet my limit. Asmodeus’s eyes reflected my appearance; the mixture of golden and sakura hues collided in my eyes, along with the snowy white hair with pink highlights at the end. And looking directly at her eyes, I know that she is terrified about my existence.

“Pi—pinatay ko na siya! Pinatay ko na siya matapos na mapatay ni Satan si Marina!” Paulit-ulit na sinigaw ni Asmodeus.

Dahan-dahan na nandilim ang mga mata ko’t ngumiti sa kanya. “Alam ko…” Alam ko dahil hindi lamang ang ina ko ang pinatay niya noong panahon na ‘yon. “Dahil ikaw rin ang dahilan kung bakit nawalan ng ama sina Ice at Celine.”

Garagal ang boses niyang sumigaw habang anyo niya’y dahan-dahan na nag-iiba. Dumugo ng purong itim na dugo ang kanyang mga mata habang marahas niyang kinakamot ang kanyang mukha. At sa gitna ng nakasusuka niyang pagpapalit anyo, apat na itim na pakpak ang lumitaw sa kanyang likuran habang tumutubo ang sungay sa kanyang ulo.

Naging purong itim ang kanyang mga mata samantalang ang mukha niya’y binalot ng mga bitak, kung saan ay sumisilip do’n ang gagamba na nakatago sa kanyang katawan.

“I’ve already killed your mother, along with her king vessel.” A wicked smile slowly curved on her lips. “And killing you will just a piece of cake.”

I confidently laid my eyes at her and grinned. “You don’t get it, do you? Hindi ko magagawang harapin ang king vessel ko kung matatalo lang ako sa’yo.”

Asmodeus suddenly flew above me as numbers of dark balls began to appear around me. I heaved a sigh and roamed my sight around, registering every dark balls’ location, and before she could even launch any of her attacks, I snapped my finger, making the dark balls explode.

“Shall we play?” I asked.

And because of the random explosions, Asmodeus slaves’ got out of the thick, glacier of ices. Pero hindi ako ang puntirya nila kung ‘di ang mga kasama ko, ngunit dahil protektado sila’y hanggang kalampag lamang ang kaya nilang magawa.

“As long as I am alive… you can never lay a finger to any of my friends.”

A cunning smile formed on her lips, “I told you… killing you is a piece of cake.”

I smiled at her and summoned my bow. A golden magic circle appeared beneath my feet as my body slowly showed the final look of my form, making Asmodeus grit her teeth. Six white, golden wings gradually appeared from behind, yet unlike the other Elysians, my wings were see-through.

“Can you really slay the Pillar of Miracle?”

#