CHAPTER NINE: Ang Pagsisimula ng Pag-atake (The Start of the Attack)
The city of Urdaneta buzzed with excitement on the day of the grand celebration. A sprawling plaza beside the municipal hall, personally organized by the mayor, served as the heart of the festivities.
The event featured a series of programs—dances and songs—that the townsfolk had spent days preparing. Spanish guests strolled through the streets, marveling at the vibrant decorations and lively atmosphere. Food stalls dotted the plaza, their aromas drawing in eager crowds.
Though Urdaneta wasn't a wealthy city, the mayor's birthday celebration felt like a lavish fiesta, complete with extravagant parades funded by the city hall to honor him.
Meanwhile, deep in the forest, the Siklaon rebels prepared for their assault.
Alfredo gathered all the members of Siklaon—over three hundred strong, including children and the elderly—for a final briefing on the revolution ahead.
At the start of the assembly, fear rippled through the group. Many voiced their doubts to Alfredo, questioning whether they could succeed against the town's police force of over three thousand, armed with modern Spanish weaponry. The odds seemed insurmountable, and their hesitation grew as they recalled the Siklaon's devastating failure a decade ago—a failed attack on the municipal hall that left the group decimated.
Despite their preparations, the shadow of death loomed large, and they couldn't shake their dread.
Alfredo, however, stepped forward with a reassuring smile, his voice steady and commanding. "The past failures of Siklaon will not be repeated," he declared. "The downfall of our predecessors stemmed from their weak faith and lack of trust in our fairy's power."
He handed each member a wooden dagger, imbued with his own power as a Messenger. Confusion flickered among the group—why were even the children and elderly given such weapons?
Alfredo paused to thank them for joining Siklaon's cause, his words heavy with empathy as he recounted the cruelties inflicted on Filipinos by the Spaniards. "That town is overrun with wicked people who enslave our fellow Filipinos," he said passionately. "We, the brave soldiers of the fairy Ada Siklaon, will liberate those still suffering under Spanish oppression."
He assured them that the fairy's power would lead them to victory. To prove it, he called one of his comrades forward, instructing him to approach a nearby tree.
Though the man seemed unsure of Alfredo's intent, he obeyed, stepping up to the tree. Alfredo's voice rang out, "Believe in the fairy's power and accept her as your ally. Through this, she'll bless each of us with the strength to fight the Spaniards."
The man didn't hesitate. Shouting his loyalty to Siklaon, he plunged the dagger into the tree's trunk. The blade glowed faintly, and the tree's bark seemed to soften under its touch.
Moments later, vine-like tendrils sprouted from the tree, wrapping around the man's arm. In an instant, they pulled him into the trunk, and he vanished.
Panic erupted among the group, their murmurs of confusion turning to fear at the sudden disappearance of their comrade. Alfredo raised his hands to calm them, pointing to the tree that had seemingly consumed the man.
The ground trembled as the tree's roots surged upward, its branches and leaves twisting and shifting. The onlookers gasped, their fear giving way to awe as they witnessed an extraordinary transformation.
The ordinary tree morphed into a monstrous creature, towering over them at more than 30 feet tall and 2 meters wide—a living embodiment of the forest's wrath.
The group had often seen Alfredo transform into such a beast as Tayog, the Messenger, but this was the first time they'd witnessed an ordinary person undergo the same metamorphosis.
Alfredo's voice boomed with triumph. "He has now become one with nature, through the fairy's power! Every one of us has the chance to receive this gift. We've all been chosen by the fairy to protect Urdaneta. The entire Siklaon group are Messengers of Pangasinan's fairy!"
He raised his arms, a wide smile on his face, urging his comrades to embrace nature as their ally. "My friends, the time for our uprising has come! Let's show those Spaniards the true strength of Pangasinan!"
His words ignited a fire in the group. Their doubts melted away, replaced by fierce determination as they roared in unison. They understood that by bonding with the fairy, they could wield power like Alfredo's.
They scattered through the forest, clutching their daggers, searching for trees to pierce with the blades. The air filled with their fervent shouts, even the children and elderly joining the frenzy.
Alfredo watched with a growing smile, laughter bubbling up as he praised their courage. "Well done, my brave comrades—true soldiers! Offer your lives to nature!"
The ground continued to quake as more trees transformed into monstrous beings. Within moments, the forest teemed with towering creatures, each a testament to the Siklaon members' newfound power.
Amid the chaos, Erik stood apart, watching in silence, a passive observer to the unfolding spectacle.
As Alfredo's voice echoed through the forest, Erik took a hesitant step back. His stomach churned—not from the sight of so many transforming into tree-monsters, but from the dark aura he saw emanating from Alfredo once again.
Alfredo turned to him, his smile unnervingly blank, his eyes hollow. "The day has come, my friend," he said softly.
Erik's POV
I swallowed hard, sweat beading on my forehead. It wasn't the mass transformation that unnerved me—it was the black aura seeping from Alfredo's body, a menacing presence that sent shivers down my spine. What is that?
I couldn't shake the memory of the mysterious woman's warning about the negative energy that cloaks someone consumed by darkness, their being steeped in malice.
But how could I believe that? To me, Alfredo was a hero, a beacon for the Filipinos abused by the Spaniards. He was helping them—how could she claim he was breaking his pact with the fairy?
Just then, Alfredo spoke, his words catching me off guard. "Stay here until I reclaim the town."
I blinked, stunned. He wasn't including me in the battle? At first, I'd been like the others in Siklaon—terrified of fighting, a mere ordinary boy with no place in a war. But hearing him talk about bonding with nature had shifted something in me.
"You're crazy," he said, his voice firm. "I can't let you have one of these daggers or bond with nature like the others."
I demanded to know why, but he didn't answer. Instead, he turned away, gazing at his comrades. A heavy silence fell between us, the forest air thick with tension.
Then, Alfredo's expression changed. Tears welled in his eyes, spilling down his cheeks. I couldn't understand the sorrow etched into his face as he forced a trembling smile, watching the tree-monsters with a haunted look.
"When you bond with nature," he said, his voice breaking, "you can never return to being human."
I froze, the weight of his words sinking in, leaving me speechless.
He confessed that the trees could be turned into weapons for Pangasinan's Messenger, but they required an energy source to come alive as monsters. That energy came from the life force of a person—and their unwavering faith in Ada Siklaon.
But he reiterated that those who entered the trees could never return. "Right now… from Isabel… to Lolo Nanding… Isaac… the children at the orphanage… every member of Siklaon… they're all… dead," he stammered, his voice faltering with each name.
My arms went limp, my knees trembling as the shock coursed through me. It was as if Alfredo had willingly let the trees devour the lives of his comrades—people who'd become his family, who'd stood by him for so long.
"You deceived them," I blurted, my voice shaking with disbelief.
Alfredo quickly denied it, insisting he'd acted for the group's shared goal of victory. "This is part of the responsibility of being a Siklaon member," he argued.
"But you didn't tell them they'd become trees forever—that they'd die!" I shouted, my anger boiling over.
"They didn't need to know that," he replied coldly. "What matters now is that we have the power to fight."
I couldn't fathom his reasoning. He seemed desperate, willing to use his comrades as mere energy sources—tools for his weapons against the Spaniards.
He pressed on, claiming they all knew sacrifices were necessary for Siklaon's cause, reminding me of the group's past uprisings. "Their numbers are vast, and they have high-caliber guns and weapons. No matter what we did, we couldn't win," he said bitterly.
He then recounted the uprising in Urdaneta ten years ago, led by his parents. "We prepared everything, and I thought I could help with my power as a Messenger. But my father forbade me from using it, and we lost the battle…"
Alfredo dropped to his knees, his voice cracking as he relived the memory of the governor-general slaughtering his comrades—his parents—right before his eyes. Fury consumed him, and he pounded the ground with his fists, cursing the general. "I'll never forgive him! I'll destroy him! I swear he'll pay!" he roared.
His scream echoed through the forest, and a blinding light engulfed his body. A powerful gust of wind swirled around him, accompanied by a green aura. Vines crept up his form, merging with him as he transformed once more into Tayog, the Messenger of Pangasinan.
His face was a mask of rage, his vows of vengeance against the Spaniards ringing with unyielding resolve.
"Stay here until I return," he said, his voice devoid of warmth as he began to walk away.
"W-what are you planning to do?" I asked, fear creeping into my voice.
"I'll kill every Spaniard in that town," he replied without hesitation. "I won't leave a single one alive."
I couldn't speak, couldn't even muster a sound. Maybe I had nothing to say—or maybe I was too terrified of the being before me. The gentle smiles I'd once known were gone, replaced by a cold, vengeful Alfredo I no longer recognized. The dark energy surrounding him pulsed with his anger, his thirst for revenge for his parents consuming him entirely.
End of POV
"Forgive me, Erik. I have no other choice," Alfredo whispered to himself, his voice barely audible.
Tayog walked away from Erik, heading toward the massive tree Alfredo had once called Siklaon. He plunged his dagger into its trunk, and vines erupted from the bark, wrapping around his arm. His body glowed, and in an instant, the tree swallowed him whole.
The ground shook violently, its giant roots rising from the earth, forcing Erik to collapse onto the forest floor. He watched in horror as the enormous tree began to transform.
A monstrous creature emerged at the heart of the forest—a towering tree-beast, nearly 60 feet tall and over 7 meters wide. It let out a deafening roar, a sound that spurred the other tree-monsters into motion, as if commanding them to march toward the town.
Erik could only sit there, his head bowed in despair. The man he'd once seen as a good person, a brotherly figure, had been consumed by darkness. He realized Alfredo was now poised to unleash a tragedy upon the people of Urdaneta.
"Why, Alfredo? Why?" he whispered, his voice breaking with betrayal.
End of Chapter