The deafening silence was eradicated by the sounds of the swords, clashing and manifesting their strength just like their wielders. An angry hissed escape Poseidon’s mouth as the mighty springgan in front of him was soaring the vicinity effortlessly. As their swords gleamed once again, the magic between them collided, making everything around them be destroyed.

“Garet, he’s too strong…” Freya stated, speaking within Garet’s mind.

Yet… Garet didn’t bother to argue with his servitour because he already knew that a war between gods was nearly impossible to win. But for his dream, he’s willing to do everything, even if it’s about overthrowing one of the big three.

“This is for her sake, this is for his sake…” Garet thought.

Ngunit bago muling magkaharap ang mga sandata nila ni Poseidon, ang buong paligid ay dahan-dahan na nakukulong sa isang bola ng tubig. At kasabay nito ang pag-ulan ng matitilos at mabibigat na itim na tubig sa buong paligid.

Ang proteksyon na ginawa nina Emerald at Artemis ay mabilis na nasisira sa dami ng mga ito. Ginamit ni Poseidon ang tyansang iyon upang atakihin si Garet, ngunit bago pa man matamaan ni Poseidon si Garet, ang paglitaw ng isang holographic screen ang nagsilbing proteksyon ni Garet.

“Salamat,” ani ni Garet.

At gamit ang mga mata niya sinuyod ni Garet ang buong paligid, patuloy pa rin ang walang sawang pag-ulan sa paligid, na sumisira sa buong sacred walls. Ang mga kabahayan at mga inprastraktura ay nagigiba dahil sa atake ni Poseidon, maging ang ibang mga demigod sa loob ng mga sagradong pader ay nasasaktan.

Poseidon laughs, echoing his evilness across the horizon. “This is what every fool gets for defying the sacred laws, our sacred laws!”

“What sacred laws?” Garet chuckled. “You mean your nonsense beliefs that keep every demigod away from themselves?”

And before Poseidon could utter another word, the cloud of pixie dust in Garet’s command dances around the cage of water, caressing the demigods in help and soothing their wounds. And the more brilliant ones soared the horizon and shielded the sacred walls by exploding and eradicating the cryptic rainfall in Poseidon’s command.

The enigmatic cloud of dust devoured the horrifying dusk; the illuminating pixie dust exploded in the horizon like fireworks in an evening mass. Yet, even after eradicating the deadly rainfall, the cage of water was too late to conquer.

“Stand on your pride, Lockser! Those demigods, nymphs, and every being inside those walls, all those who’ll get hurt—bear in mind that it was all your fault! It was the rule-breakers’ fault!”

Garet smirked and soared the air in order to look down on the God of the Sea. “Why do you think I’m here? Why do you we are here?”

Isang ngiti lamang ang kumubra sa mga labi ni Poseidon kasabay nito ang sunod-sunod na pagbiak ng mga lapuan, ang mga itim na usok na kumawala sa ilalim ay dahan-dahan na humalo sa katubigan na unti-unting napupuno, nagbibigay hula sa isang bilog na kulungan.

“Para mamatay,” sagot ni Poseidon.

Nang tuluyan na silang nakulong, ang kakayahan ng bawat nilalang na sa paligid ni Poseidon ay unti-unting nawawala. At ang itim na usok ay tuluyan na ring kinuha ang kakayahan nilang makakita sa paligid, ilang beses ginawang lumingon ni Garet sa paligid, ngunit kahit saan siya tumingin ay wala siyang makita.

“Try using my pixie dust again, Garet,” Freya said.

And with Freya’s request, Garet tried illuminating the place with dust, but unlike earlier, this dimness wasn’t ten times greater than Poseidon’s attack earlier. Garet cussed under his breath. A demigod, especially the ones who aren’t born with Poseidon’s blessing, wouldn’t last long in his domain.

Their bodies are slowly betraying them, for they cannot function well in a place where their ability to breathe is gradually being robbed.

“Garet—”

Hindi na nagawang natapos ni Freya ang sasabihin niya nang bigla na lamang siyang nasaktan sa atakeng ginawa sa kanila ni Poseidon, ang espada ni Poseidon ay bumaon sa sikmura ni Garet. Umalingawngaw ang malakas na sigaw ni Garet sa kadiliman, ngunit siya nagpatalo sa atake ni Poseidon.

Puwersahang inalis ni Garet ang nakabaong sandata ni Poseidon sa kanya, ginamit niya ang kanyang palad upang hawakan ang talim nito upang hindi makawala sa kanya si Poseidon. At sa pagkumpas niya sa kanyang espada, humalik ito sa balat ni Poseidon.

Nagtamo ang likuran ni Poseidon ng sugat na agad din naman niyang napahilom dahil sa mahikang bumabalot sa tubig na nakapalibot sa kanila.

“Garet, are you okay?” Freya asked worriedly.

Garet groaned in pain as he held his bleeding wound in the dark. His blazing eyes were leisurely getting tired, yet he remained his composure for his eyes to stay still. And in the midst of the dim surrounding, a small glint light caught his attention—a loading bar above his head.

“Garet, can you hear me?” Alexis asked, speaking in Garet’s mind.

“Alexis…”

“Ikaw lang ang nakakarinig sa akin ngayon.”

“How about Freya?”

“She can’t hear me… nor your responses for me,” Alexis answered. “So, this conversation is only between the two of us.”

Another batch of loading bar suddenly appeared above Garet’s head. As they reach the end, Alexis’ plans slowly register in his mind—a plan to evade Poseidon’s attacks.

Pumaling si Garet sa kaliwa niya, naghintay ng ilang segundo bago hinarang ang kanyang espada. Saglit siyang nagulat nang magtama ang mga sandata nila ni Poseidon, katulad nang inaasahan ni Alexis, doon aatake si Poseidon.

Wala sa sariling napangisi si Garet, dahil kahit sinasakop sila ng dilim, nakikita pa rin niya ang kislap ng pag-asa.

“Damn… you’re turning me on right now, Alexis,” Garet stated.

Alexis grimaced, who was calculating Poseidon’s next attack not far away from him.

“Come on, Garet! We are in the middle of a fight!”

“But I can’t help it! My fiancé looks so damn hot right now, especially with that brain!”

“Garet, tangina naman!” Asik ni Alexis. “Above you!”

At kahit natatawa si Garet, sinangga niya ang atake mula sa kaniyang itaas. Mabilis din siyang lumipad palayo ro’n, pinakikiramdaman ang daloy ng tubig sa kanyang paligid.

“You’re doing great. Just concentrate. I’ll detect the water pressure and flow around you,” Alexis mouthed.

Garet tried looking around, yet he failed to catch any odd thing around him because of the dark water around them.

“You cannot use your blessing… bakit ba kasi hindi ka na lang anak ni Zeus para hindi niya tayo nagamitan ng technique na ‘to?!” Alexis exclaimed.

Garet pouted, “Hey! Your words! I love my daddy!”

“Yeah, right. You love your father that’s why you run away from him and his kingdom—”

“Hey! If I didn’t runaway, edi sana wala akong hot na fiancé ngayon.”

Alexis groaned in disbelief and coated Garet, a bunch of protective holographic screens. Garet was suddenly caught in surprise when a surge of water enveloped his protection, and if it weren’t because of Alexis’s fast response—he is the one being suffocated by now.

“Don’t just protect me, Alexis. Protect yourself—”

“Alam ko, Garet. Hindi naman ako pinanganak na bobo. Bata pa lang ako gumagana na ang utak ko—”

“Ang kapal ng mukha mo—”

Alexis clicked her tongue. “Gusto mo bang ako na lang ang pumatay sa’yo? Uunahan ko na si Poseidon.”

Isang ngiwi lamang ang naging sagot ni Garet sa banta ni Alexis. Nang lumuwag ang tubig sa paligid, agad din na naglaho ang mga holographic screen na nagpoprotekta sa kanya.

“It’s getting a lot darker…” Garet mumbled.

Alexis’s eyes widened while casting her Intelectix. She failed to detect any movement from the water flowing around them as if Poseidon had become wary of their strategy.

“Garet, I can’t—”

All of a sudden, a beamed of water pierced through Garet’s chest; it was swift, like a speed of light that they weren’t ready off.

And slowly, Freya’s body detaches from Garet’s body. She was so pale, as if the magic granting her life within withered and just like a lone piece of paper, another strike and she’ll crumble.

The king…

The king, who’s maintaining his eyes wide open, plummets to the ground slowly. Garet’s blood streams down from his deep wounds, and his skin quickly turns pale as if the life inside of him finally left him.

“No… Ga—Garet!”

In the middle of deafening silence, a loud thud caught all of their attention as glowing golden light emerged, illuminating the annihilation of their king.

The Alchemy Kingdom’s king vessel kissed his downfall…

#