Chapter 2: She Knows

The once silent and peaceful Misty Forest had turned into a catastrophic battlefield. Mabilis na nabahiran ng dumi ang bawat puno't halaman dahil sa tilamsik ng berdeng dugo ng mga Burnas.

Burnas have long been mortal enemies of fairies. Hisficans, fairies who have expertise in the history of the realm, have recorded that Burnas are the first creatures who went to our world and planned to eliminate the race. Until now, they are dreadfully determined to succeed.

Fera, the creatures I encountered a while ago, are part of Burnas. Sa taon-taon nilang panunubok, lumalago na rin ang kanilang lahi. They are continuously evolving. And every one of them lies in this forest. Tumatago at bigla na lamang lilitaw kung saan. Matagal na itong pinamamahayan ng mga nilalang na katulad nila at sa oras na nakakakita sila ng katulad ko, wala silang pinapalampas na oras at agad nilang pinapatay at kinukuha ang kapangyarihan nito.

And that is by eating its flesh and sucking its blood—it's the primary key for them to be incredibly powerful, so that they can be stronger than us.

"Rose, yuko!" Luna shouted. Agad na yumuko si Rose at inasinta naman ni Luna ang Burna sa likod ng babae gamit ang kanyang bow and arrow. Her weapon emits a yellowish glow that illuminates each enemy. With Luna's ability, she can quickly kill countless Burnas in a minute.

Isang batalyon ng mga demonyo ang hinaharap namin ngayon. Yes, it was only an easy feat pero mukhang matatagalan kami rito dahil sa dami nila.

Walang tigil kaming lima hanggang sa hindi naglaon ay isinantabi na namin ang bawat weapon at pinailaw ang aming orb sa aming likuran. This would be easily done if we will now maximize our power, using only our bare hands.

Red. Yellow. Blue. Green. Black. Panandaliang nasilaw ang mga Burnas. Our eyes enchantingly lit up as well as our hands. And most importantly, our enormous wings gradually spread.

Iba't iba ang disenyo ng aming mga pakpak. Kung ano rin ang kulay ng aming mga mata ay iyon din ang kulay nila. When the orbs started to shine brightly, we took it as a sign to freely fly in the air.

This would be fun.

Lima kaming nasa ere na ngayon na halos kapantay na ang mga nagtatangkarang mga puno.

"Let's get this done," Rose fiercely said.

Nauna nang bumulusok paibaba si Rose, Cora at Luna. Napatakip ako ng mukha ng lumiwanag ang gubat dulot ng atake ni Luna. Ginamit nito ang kanyang eye laser at doon biglang naging abo ang mga Burna sa nakakapasong liwanag na nanggaling sa kanyang dalawang mata. Sa malakas na atake naman ng tubig ni Cora ay nalunod ang ibang mga Burnas. She circularly motioned her hands in the air and water balls appeared. Nasaksihan ko kung paano kumuha ng hangin ang mga demonyo hanggang sa tuluyan silang malagutan ng hininga. Hindi rin naman nagpatalo si Rose. As she became one with the nature, she swiftly flew in different directions while green spiky vines sprouted out of the ground, which immediately strangled Burnas to death.

Handa na akong sumunod sa kanila ngunit bago pa man ako sumenyas sa ere ay narinig ko ang boses ni Claude. "You want a challenge, Bea? The one who obtains the greatest number of Burnas killed will fully command the team for a week." His eyes were blazing as if he would be ahead of me.

"Making a bet is no use, Claude. Don't get your hopes up dahil ako pa rin naman ang mananalo sa ating dalawa." I taunted before attacking the enemies from above.

Nagawa ko pang laruin ang aking paglipad hanggang sa umatake ang limang Burnas. I gestured my hands. Mabilis kong pinagkrus ang aking mga kamay hanggang sa matumba na lamang silang lima. All at once.

I smirked. Hindi naging mahirap sa akin ang pagtanggal sa kanila ng hininga. It's my heartwrenching ability. Pinatigil ko ang pagtibok ng kanilang mga puso.

Sinundan naman nito ng sampu pang mga Burna. Lumipad ako sa bandang gitna malapit kay Rose na pinapalitaw ang mga rosacara—mga bulaklak na may malaking bunganga—at doon hinarap ang sampu.

Once again, I motioned my hands. Naka-una ang kaliwa kong kamay habang nasa likod naman nito ang kanan kong kamay. Pumikit ako at doon ko nakita ang puso ng bawat Burna. With my ability, I literally saw their internal body, most especially their beating hearts.

"Go to hell, ugly Burnas. To where you belong." At sa isang galaw ko lamang sa aking mga kamay, nalunod na sila sa kanilang sariling dugo hanggang maglaho at matangay ng hangin.

Iyon na ang huling mga Burnas. I saw the four of them widened their mouths as they witnessed what I did.

"Ang chachaka talaga nila! Na-haggard ako doon!" Luna disgustingly exclaimed. "But wow, Trix! Master na master mo na talaga 'yung heartwrenching ability mo!"

"Undoubtedly a first rank," sumunod si Cora.

"That's our leader, perhaps?" komento naman ni Rose. Itinaas nito ang kanyang kanang kamay sa hangin at namalayan ko na lamang ang isang bulaklak na lumitaw sa aking tainga. Cute.

Tanging si Claude lamang ang hindi umimik. It's fine. I don't need his validation.

"Well done, everyone." I congratulated. "Let's go back to the academy. Time for dinner. My treat."

࿐

There were a lot of fairies here in the academy's cafeteria. Sa lawak nito ay kabi-kabila ang mga mahahabang mesa kaya't halos lahat ay naririto kapag oras ng kainan. Nandito kaming lima ngayon sa pinaka-sulok ng cafeteria at kakatapos pa lamang kumain.

Luna suddenly burped. "Thank you so much for the treat, Bea! Nabusog ako nang bongga!" Nginitian ko ito.

"Ang baboy, Luna." Rose interfered.

"Oink oink." Umakto naman si Luna na parang baboy ay walang nagawa si Rose kung hindi ang umirap.

It's been a few months since this team was formed. Annually, there is a ceremony called La Orbitia, wherein the academy will facilitate battles between the two greatest fairies in each division. Doon nabuo ang grupo. Inakala ko noong una na ang pagiging bahagi ng Class Orbitals ay isang ordinaryong bagay lamang hanggang sa malaman ko ang sikretong layunin nito—ang protektahan ang La Paracandia.

Maraming pribilehiyo ang nakuha ko simula noong naging parte ako ng grupo. Exceptions, incentives, free accessibility, exclusive training, lahat. And I did not take those for granted. Therefore, I can confidently claim that I deserve who and where I am today.

Maganda rin ang samahan naming lima. Within those few months, our camaraderie was strong enough to unite and be connected in each mission. But I also somehow think that something seems lacking.

"Headmaster Lucas is here." Claude disinterestedly stated. Our eyes went into a tall muscular guy walking towards our direction. I bet we will be sent into a mission again.

Naupo si Headmaster Lucas sa tabi ko. "Congratulations, my Class Orbitals! Once again, you proved what it takes to be in this team. Good job!"

Instead of them being glad with his congratulatory remarks, their faces scream exhaustion and disbelief, because they are aware that Headmaster Lucas will explain to us the next mission.

This situation asserts that this realm is really in danger. Kabi-kabila na ang kaso ng pagkamatay ng mga fairies.

"I know you're all expecting another mission but no, you're wrong." Napahinga kami nang malalim na para bang nawala ang kabigatang dala-dala namin araw-araw. Good thing it's for the betterment of the realm. "I'm glad to inform the five of you that there are no pending cases anymore." His eyes were beaming with joy. He's a Sear, just like Luna.

"May awa pa pala sa atin ang Fouries." saad ni Cora na kalmadong ngumiti. The Fouries she's pertaining to are the four fairy warriors who started it all. Wala pa ang lahi ng Dracos noon.

"Then what brings you here, headmaster?" I curiously asked.

Tiningnan niya kami isa-isa. I'm slowly having a hunch on what this is about.

Humugot ito ng hangin at saka napangiti. "This may be the last week of your term as Class Orbitals."

"What?!" Napatayo si Claude. His emotions are controlling him. Unbelievable.

"Anong ibig sabihin nito, headmaster?" Luna questioned. She anxiously held Rose's hands, as if they were praying that the news wasn't true.

Headmaster Lucas was about to speak but I insisted on answering. "That is because sa isang linggo na magaganap ang La Orbitia. It means new sets of fairies in the Class Orbitals."

"But we can still defend our title, right? We can still be part of this class for the next term?" Rose took her turn to interrogate. I saw how she became worried as she heard the news. Alam ko kung gaano niya ito pinaghirapan. We often train together.

"Yes," the Headmaster simply answered with assurance, "At yun ay kung gagalingan ninyo. In doing so, kayo ulit ang magiging students ko."

"Wala ka bang tiwala sa amin, headmaster?" tanong ni Cora.

"I have my trust in all of you, guys. Ayoko lang masyadong maging kampante sa inyo dahil baka sa huli ay ako rin lang ang umasa at masaktan."

"Wews, parang may pinaghuhugutan ka, headmaster ah? Spill!" Luna laughed. Kitang-kita ko kung paano ito nasasabik na makinig sa kwento ng headmaster.

"Ikaw talaga, Luna. It's nothing. Just promise me that you will all do your best next week. Understood?" We all nodded and agreed. He was about to leave when he heard me speak.

"Walang matanggal sa Class Orbitals, headmaster. Kami at kami pa rin sa panibagong term." I asserted.

I was determined. I know they won't let me down. Even Claude.

I'm not expressive but I have high hopes for this team.

"You're quite confident, Miss Moore. Paano ka nakakasiguro?"

I looked at the four competent fairies in front of me and then playfully smirked. "Well, I just know, headmaster. We aren't here for nothing."

"And we're more than prepared to successfully complete an orbit again."

#itma