AZHRIA
Winner Takes All

My slumbering senses were awakened by the freezing water showered upon me. I then silently groaned as I felt the pain at the back of my head. I will kill that man who struck me with his gun!

"How disappointing." Garem walked before my locus. "Buhay ka pa pala."

That's the time I realized that I was in the same basement where Zorya was tortured. My arms were chained to the back and my legs bound to the chair.

I noticed that several henchmen were lined up around us. Rosh was likewise present, as well as Rumi and Quiro.

They were all peeking at me like those deadly predators watching their prey.

Not minding their number, I dragged my emotionless gaze back to Garem.

"S'yempre, papatayin ko pa kayo, eh."

I knew that my threat meant nothing.

They could easily dispose of me if that was their goal. But I couldn't care less.

These pawns can incapacitate me, but no one, not even the Balzuaris, can ever strip the confidence off my body.

"It's over for you, Azh," Rosh implied.

I playfully glanced at him, irate.

"It isn't over until I win," I told him.

"Aminin mo na lang lahat ng ginawa mo! Ano pa ang plano mo? Sino ang nag-uutos sa 'yo? Bakit mo ba kami ginugulo? Bakit mo kami sinisira?"

If Rumi had a knife, she would have stabbed it against my chest already.

To tell that I owe her no explanation, I giggled and posed a dull smile at Rumi.

"Right." She breathed and impelled. "Perhaps this will make you talk."

As if rehearsed, four maidservants entered with a huge box in a stroller.

I was about to chuckle at their show when they opened the box, revealing the battered woman it sealed inside.

Her cheeks were bruised, and based on its traces, I knew she was punched. Multiple times that they left a mark.

"Did you miss your employer?" Rosh was bragging, but I wasn't bothered.

I even laughed. "Did you honestly think that I'll falter . . . because of her?"

Garem cleared his throat. "Well, I've expected you to shudder now that we have your employer. But observing your reaction, you seemed unfazed."

"She's nothing to me."

Rumi was unconvinced.

"Even if we kill her?"

My sharp face fell flat.

"Do as you please."

From the side, I heard Rosh scoff.

"What a heartless you are," he said.

While my cold gaze was still glued on Sachiko, who was dizzy, I saw her nod.

"I'm not heartless," I made it clear to them, "I just use my heart . . . less."

I was trained to be astute and rational. Plans were made for a reason. And no matter what comes up, it shall be done.

The world won't adjust to my error.

Therefore, I always instilled in myself that the only way to become a winner, the mind must overrule the heart.

"In that case," Rumi shifted her glare to Sachiko, "you breathe with no value. No matter, I will kill you anyway."

I maintained stoicism when numerous men started assaulting Sachiko before my eyes, similar to Zorya's dark fate.

Sachiko was forced to stand as the men tossed her like a ragdoll, striking, hitting, and punching with no mercy.

I jolted when I felt a sudden chill due to the freezing water dripping off me.

All eyes were on me so I had to stay collected. For the good of my strategy.

Blood slipped from Sachiko's mouth when one man struck her lips hard.

"Mga duwag." Though it was lowly spoken, I knew everyone heard me.

I cocked my head, smiling. "You call this power? Oh, please. Perhaps the legend still applies here. Cowardice never fades and only matures in time. Pero kung talagang malalakas kayo gaya nang sinasabi ni'yo, bakit hindi ni'yo 'ko pakawalan saka tayo lahat magpatayan? Tapusin na natin 'to."

Uminit ang tainga ko nang marinig ang banayad na paghalakhak ni Garem.

"Though chained and soaked in water, your superiority complex still shows. But nothing's fair in battle, darling. We have the power and we will wield it."

"Kahit na gaano pa kayo kayaman, hindi ni'yo mabibili ang hustisya!"

"But we just did," Rumi countered, "with Zorya and ninety-nine others."

When Rosh walked up to me and grazed the back of his palm on my cheek, I spat on him as I paced away.

Wiping his eyes dry, Rosh licked on his fingers. The same ones he used to clean his eyes. And then he grabbed my hair from the back, gripping them as he impelled my neck to face him head-on.

"Aminin mo na lang kasi. Talo ka na. But I am giving you an option to still save yourself," Rosh said. "Marry me."

Unable to stomach his filthy grip on me, I brazenly kneed his core. It made Rosh's hands slip off and almost fell to the floor. To clear my sight, I kicked him to the side, hearing a loud thud.

Unsatisfied, I turned to my captors.

One by one, I stared at them with piercing scrutiny as my lips twisted into an unhinged grin, unabashed.

Garem, Rosh, and Rumi. It's always been fun seeing fear rolling across their faces. Every time they try to hide it, I always aspire to trigger it more.

Their faking only made themselves appear like fools. Takot din pala sila.

I gazed at their henchmen with bliss.

"How sure are you that these jerks you're gloating about really work for you? Or better yet, don't you think I have my own army watching over us, waiting for my cue to draw an attack?"

I caught Rumi's quick gulp, but when Quiro tried to console her, she inched away. Meanwhile, Rosh's still in pain.

"Quit with your tricks," Garem really mastered his composure that I wished to blow it off, "they won't work on us."

"Ikaw na mismo ang nagsabi," a plain smile appeared on my lips, "magaling ako sa ginagawa ko. Kaya gaano kayo kasigurado na itong pagkahuli ni'yo sa akin . . . ay hindi parte ng plano ko?"

In one blink, Rumi fervently dashed and gnashed her pearly teeth on me.

She then grabbed my shoulders, mad.

"Just who the hell sent you here?!"

Tanging ngisi lamang ang isinagot ko sa panggigigil niya. "Ilang beses ko nang sinabi pero hindi ni'yo pa rin makuha? Iba talaga 'pag ginawang personality ang pagiging bobo, 'no?"

My smile faded as I glared at Rumi.

"I said it before and I'll say it again."

I glanced at her curious brothers.

"I work under no one's order."

"Napakasinungaling mo talaga!" My neck almost broke when Rumi's palm hit my left cheek. "Ang dapat sa 'yo, pinuputulan ng dila! Impakta ka!"

For a moment, my head was blank.

"Did you just . . . slap me?" I aired.

"Yes, I did!" Rumi was proud. "Just to remind you of the fact that in beating us, you stand with a negative chance!"

"Oh." I blinked, then I upped my head to face Rumi. "You have to die for that."

Not liking my threat, Rumi raised her palm in an attempt to hit me again.

Unbeknownst to her, I was long bored of this lowlife confrontation that I had managed to unlock the chain binding my arms using the pin I always keep.

And so before Rumi's palm could even land, I punched her jaw straight up as I clung my arms around her neck and gripped her close for a tight headlock.

While doing that, I likewise pulled the metallic clip from her hair and aimed it against her neck, making Rumi gulp.

Halos lumuwa naman ang mata nina Garem at Rosh sa nakita. Maging ang mga alipores nila ay kapwa naalarma.

"Si Sachiko, kapalit ng duming 'to!"

When Garem motioned his henchmen to move, I then clicked my tongue and tripped one man who tried to attack me from behind. I wasn't contented that I even stepped on his ugly face.

"H'wag mo akong subukan, Garem," umigting pa ang panga ko, "katulad ni'yo, kayang-kaya ko ring pumatay."

"Sa ngalan ng Ama . . . pakawalan mo siya!" I turned to Quiro's direction and spotted that he's holding Sachiko. "Ang babaeng 'to . . . kapalit ng mahal ko."

"What?" Garem didn't appreciate the priest's offer. "She's just tricking us!"

That's what Garem said but I can read his face. Nagseselos yata ang Ate ko.

Quiro's eyes darted on him, annoyed.

"Manahimik ka at humingi ng habag sa kademonyohan mo! Hindi pa kita tapos ipagdasal sa pagpatay mo sa anak ko!"

I felt Rumi's controlled breathing. So I teased her and aimed the clip nearer.

She's a doctor, she knows this clip can kill her. At gagawin ko talaga 'yon!

"Just give the fucking witch to her!" Even Rosh was alarmed by my move.

When Quiro positioned Sachiko ahead, I also followed by drawing Rumi closer to them. Then Quiro pushed Sachiko until she finally reached my locus.

Meanwhile, I likewise pushed Rumi in their direction but before they could even take hold of her, I pulled her by the hair and tugged her back to me.

I smirked when Garem's face turned sour. "Nothing's fair in battle, Ate."

With his teeth gritting, Rosh didn't wait for Garem's approval. Rosh had their men aim their guns against my head.

I only nodded at Sachiko when she handed me the pistol gun she wrested from the goon whose face I stepped on earlier and was unconscious now.

Using my newly-grip gun, I targeted two men from the monsters' faction.

In a heartbeat, they both fell, lifeless.

"That's for detaining me," I muttered and raised my head on Garem, Rosh, and Quiro. "Tatagos sa bakanteng ulo ni Rumi ang sunod na bala 'pag hindi ni'yo 'ko hinayaang makalabas dito."

Clapping as if I jested, Garem's dark eyes gleamed in sheer amusement.

"Since you started this, why don't we play a game?" He pressed his palms together and narrowed his eyes to slits.

"Before sunrise, if you managed to catch another Balzuari, I'll let you do your bidding in peace. I'll even offer you my head. But if we caught you first, you will hand over Rumi to us . . . and fulfill your oath of marrying Rosh."

Garem took my silence as a response.

"You have the rest of the day to gear up and prepare," he continued. "Give it your best shot, Azh. This will be the darkest war you will ever attend to."

Accepting Garem's challenge, I threw a glance at him, Rosh, Quiro, and their henchmen. "Prepare your heads then, as I will be collecting them all tonight."

Then I shot a bullet upward, urging the lucent chandelier to descend. It caused enough disarray that allowed my exit.

Together with the injured Sachiko, I trudged out of the now unlit basement while I aggressively pulled Rumi by the hair, her hips wiping the vinyl floor.

***

When Garem told me that I have the rest of the day to gear up and prepare, he meant it by heart. I could freely access every corner of the mansion without any guard reprimanding me.

After tying and caging Rumi in a place only I knew, I ushered Sachiko to the mansion's built-in infirmary to grab some medicines and dressings that could help treat her severe wounds.

"I nearly thought that you'll let me be battered to death." Sachiko flinched when I pressed cotton against her facial bruise. "Salamat kasi kahit 'di ako mahalaga, iniligtas mo pa rin ako."

After cleaning most of her wounds, I then dressed the ones that need be.

"Mawawalan ng silbi ang lahat ng 'to kung pababayaan ko lang din ang mga taong pinoprotektahan ni Zorya noon."

I put the alcohol back in the medical bag as I turned to Sachiko's direction.

"Sa 'kin, hindi," I faced her blankly, "pero kay Zorya . . . mahalaga ka."

Faintly nodding, Sachiko pressed her dry lips. After a short while, she sighed.

"You know you can just run, right? You don't have to stay until the end. You can go and save yourself now, Azh."

Bumaling ako sa kan'ya. She tries to conceal it, but I know she's afraid.

"If only you saw everything I did, you would stay, too. The Balzuaris have to pay. Zorya is no longer here, but I am. I feel the strong need to do it for her."

This was seven years past their due. Nalusutan man nila ang batas, pero hindi ako. I won't leave now. Ngayong wala na si Zorya, ako ang magsasabi kung kailan at paano 'to matatapos.

"I've always known that the Balzuaris are far from saints, but experiencing their devilry firsthand . . ." she trailed off. Then she brushed a tear that fell.

"I couldn't imagine what Zorya had to go through just because she's great."

The air became warmer as Sachiko breathed. "And to think that this was not even half of the pain she endured, I can't help but wish for their deaths!"

I shrugged because she doesn't seem mad at all. Maybe it's just her face.

She had the innocence that I had lost.

"Just try to survive this night," I noted.

When I started marching out of the infirmary, Sachiko followed suit.

"Basta 'pag namatay ako, h'wag mong iiwan bangkay ko sa mansiyong 'to!"

"I'll kill you if you ever die on me."

Sachiko revealed that she was cooking dinner for herself when Garem's men broke into her house and abducted her. After the first battering, she was put to sleep and placed inside an iron box. The next thing she knew, she was being battered again before my eyes.

I tried giving a thought to how they discovered our connection, but after mentally hearing how powerful they claim to be, I stopped and accepted.

I'll strip them off that power anyway.

We were both strolling on a corridor leading to the garden area when I spotted Rosh from a distance, heading toward us. Instantly, I readied my gun and placed Sachiko right behind me.

"Don't even try," I warned Rosh when he halted before us, "or I'll shoot you."

"Tone it down, baby," he muttered as he showed me a black bag. "I'm not here to attack you. In fact, I've come to extend a gift. This could be of help."

Curious but cautious, I took the bag that he handed to me. "What's this?"

"Armory," he said. "You'll need it."

When I took a peek inside, I caught several guns, knives, and an armory.

There was also a medical kit inside.

"Don't you realize that we're on a different team here? I will be using these against you and your league."

Rosh was not dumb to skip that part.

Now I'm curious about his reason.

If he's putting on a show, I won't buy it.

"I don't want you to feel as though you're disadvantaged." I wanted to chuckle at his response. He must be insane. Nothing's fair in this battle!

It will be a single woman against their entire gang. I'm capable, yes, but I'm still human. I have my limitations, too.

"At least, if you lose, you will have a reason not to feel so disheartened about marrying me . . . because, in my own little way, I helped you win."

I kept a straight face outward, but I was cringing inside. This boy, he's just crazy to the core. And that made him even more dangerous . . . and deadly.

"Good luck," Rosh tried to land a kiss, but well, he failed, "stay safe, baby."

"Yeah," I replied. "I'll kill you later!"

As if praised, Rosh went ahead with a small smile curved upon his thin lips.

"Ayan, nakatalikod na. Barilin mo na!"

My brows then arched at Sachiko.

Shaking my head, I replied, "No."

Confused, Sachiko's lashes swept up and she blinked. One brow then lifted.

"What, you love him now?"

"Love?" I scoffed. "Sorry, but I'm vaccinated against that virus."

"Then shoot him to the death!"

"Not yet," I muttered with finality. "Hindi sapat na mamatay lang siya."

I followed Rosh with my eyes as he walked away until distance obscured.

"Sure, I want it to be bloody. But it has to equal Zorya's painful torture, too."

It has to be slow, deep, and deadly.

That's how the Balzuaris can pay fully.

Sachiko and I eventually ended up in the woodland situated near the lake behind the humongous compound.

I had thought that staying inside the mansion is suicide. The monsters knew all the nuts and bolts around it. And so I decided to bring the chase outside.

This woodland might not be as wild and bushy as a regular forest, but it's enough to hide us in the meantime.

"I want to help," Sachiko offered.

"Then hide yourself well," I told her. "Keeping yourself safe, that's how you can help me. I don't need a distraction. I want to stay as focused as possible."

I appreciated Sachiko's bravery. She's not versed in combat and perhaps knew nothing about survival so her willingness to offer help is admirable.

But it won't save her in the real fight.

I understood that she wanted to take part in this, but her presence is truly unnecessary. She'll be an easy target.

"Here." I handed her some daggers and shuriken. "If some jerk tried to draw their fist against you, I need you to throw these into their face or legs. These will slow them down. Just keep every encounter long-ranged, and if ever it went too close, stab their chest."

I had to specify the critical regions that she can target and even shared with her some basic defensive moves before Sachiko leaned in to hug me softly.

"Magtatago akong mabuti . . . pero sa oras na kailanganin mo 'ko, kahit na wala akong alam sa ganito, lalaban ako." It was so emotional that she almost sounded as if she was crying.

"Just hide," I said as I hugged her back, "and don't come out until I say so."

After that, Sachiko ran into the depths of the woodland, leaving me alone.

The sound of silence had never been deafening and it almost make me jolt.

With my unclasped hair dramatically blown by the wintry wind, I gazed across the fleeing birds to the horizon.

A flat sigh escaped my rosy lips as I witnessed the tangerine sun in the first stage of setting. The faraway hill was engulfed by an aureate glow coming from above, lighting the lake up in a diffuse flaxen haze, throwing golden flecks on the illuminating waters.

The sky was ablaze with the fire of the setting sun until it slumbered, casting enigmatic shadows on the ground.

As the glowing moon shone like silver in the night sky, I looked at the blanket of pearls that stretched to infinity.

I breathed as I felt a familiar agitation in my stomach. The same feeling that used to creep in whenever I'm about to face the final bosses in the old cases that I have handled in my yesteryear.

But I knew this season was different.

Unlike my former, this one's darker.

Maybe the darkest I'll ever encounter.

Good thing I had the time to change my nightgown before attending this battle.

Clad in a dark tank tube topped with a leather blazer, dark pants, boots, and gloves, I bettered my grip on the gun in one hand and the knife in another.

If not for the purple strands overlaying my hair, I would've looked like a living shadow eerily lurking in the wild.

Multiple gunshots disturbed my stance. When I turned about, an unchancy scene immediately poisoned my sight.

May the spirit of Zorya be with me.

"In this game of lunacy," I glowered at the armed men approaching me with baneful faces, "the winner takes all."

It will ignite their darkest downfall.

***