CHAPTER FOURTEEN "The sugo of the Ifugao "
Caught in a perilous situation, Erik found herself trapped in the midst of a battlefield, having crashed unexpectedly between Tayog and Slasher at the height of their ferocious duel.
Overwhelmed, she froze, unsure of what to do as the two warriors glared at her, their rage seemingly redirected toward this sudden intruder.
Rising to her feet, Erik bowed apologetically for interrupting their fight. But as she did, a realization hit her—she shouldn't be apologizing. She had a mission to fulfill in this place.
"Who's this clown?" Slasher sneered. "What, you called another rat to fight me?" he added, eyeing her suspiciously.
The general's instincts pegged Erik as one of the rebels opposing the Spanish, her presence and appearance fueling his distrust.
"W-Wait, hold on, sir!" Erik stammered, flustered.
Tayog, hearing her deny allegiance to the Spanish, grew wary of her intentions. "If you're not with them, then you're with the Spanish!" he shouted.
Erik frantically waved her hands, denying any connection to the Spanish and explaining she wasn't there to side with either faction.
"Then what are you doing here?" Tayog demanded. "A woman like you doesn't belong in a place like this."
Erik froze at the word "woman." Confusion washed over her. She had no idea why Tayog called her that, but the absurdity of the comment in such a dire moment left her speechless.
Scratching her head, she suddenly noticed something strange—long hair, flowing in the wind. Grasping her head with both hands, she saw strands of an unfamiliar color.
Panic set in as she realized her body had changed without her knowledge. Frantically, she looked around for a reflective surface to confirm her suspicions.
She bolted to the parking lot and peered into a car's side mirror. "The diwata… No, this is me! B-But… impossible!"
She stumbled back, shocked by the reflection. She had taken on the form of the Ifugao diwata after accepting her power.
"This can't be happening! I'm a woman now?!" she cried, sinking to her knees in despair.
As Erik wailed in front of the car's mirror, Tayog and Slasher exchanged baffled glances, unsure how to react.
"Hey, crazy lady!" Slasher barked. "If you're not with him or sent by the government, get lost. You're in our way!"
"Exactly," Tayog added. "I won't be responsible for what happens if you get caught in my fight with him."
The tension between the two reignited, their auras flaring like colliding storms as they stepped toward each other, ready to resume their battle. But Erik wouldn't let it continue.
She knew their fight was senseless and destructive. Rising from her knees, she rushed between them, arms outstretched, pleading for them to stop.
"Can't you see you're destroying this place with your fighting?" she shouted boldly.
"Who are you, and what's your real purpose here?" Tayog demanded.
"It's me, Alfredo—Erik, the vegetable farmer who was with you earlier!" she said. "It's a long story, but I'm a sugo of the diwata, just like you."
Desperate to calm him, Erik revealed her identity, hoping he'd listen if he recognized her.
"Erik? You're a woman now?" Tayog asked, bewildered.
"N-No, I'm a guy, but I'm in a woman's body!" she explained.
"What, so you're transgender?" Tayog pressed. "Huh? I don't know… I just turned into a woman!" Erik replied, confused by the unfamiliar term.
"You're a man who became a woman?" Tayog clarified, still puzzled.
Erik paused, grappling with the misunderstanding. To clear things up, she quickly recounted how accepting the diwata's power had transformed her body. Though her explanation was rushed, Tayog pieced it together, understanding Erik's role as the sugo of Ifugao.
"That's great news!" Tayog exclaimed. "Help me defeat the Spanish and liberate this town!"
Erik knew what her friend wanted, but her promise to the diwata made her hesitate. She couldn't blindly follow Alfredo's path, despite his past kindness toward her.
She stopped speaking and stepped back, her face heavy with sorrow. Shaking her head, she signaled her disagreement and apologized to her friend.
"I'm sorry, Alfredo, but I'm not here to help you," she said quietly, meeting his gaze. "I'm here to stop you."
Tayog's eyes widened, confusion and anger flashing across his face. He had thought Erik shared Siklaon's ideals as a fellow Filipino, but her words contradicted everything he stood for.
"Why have you changed your mind?" he demanded, accusing her of siding with the Spanish.
Erik quickly denied the accusation, explaining that her only reason for opposing him was his misguided uprising and the bloodshed it caused.
"What did you say?" Tayog growled, his anger rising. "The Spanish have oppressed this town for years. They've buried Filipinos in debt with their taxes, orphaned children, and enslaved them in their homes. They've shamed our youth and violated our women, destroying countless lives. And you want to protect them?"
His voice thundered as he argued that the Spanish deserved no mercy, framing their deaths not as crimes but as justice.
"But what you're doing isn't humane!" Erik shouted back. "Don't you see what you've become?"
"You're right, maybe it's not humane," Tayog retorted. "But this is retribution for their sins—a fair judgment!"
Erik stepped back, unnerved by the madness in Tayog's expression. She understood his point and felt torn, sympathizing with the suffering of their people. Yet, she couldn't accept that justice meant slaughtering others.
"You can't say that, Alfredo," she said firmly. "You have no right to take their lives as punishment."
Tayog saw Erik's innocence and inexperience, knowing she couldn't fully grasp the pain he'd endured. "Stop!" he roared. "Rights? Because I'm just a lowly Filipino? Who decides who has the right to punish the guilty? The law? The Spanish law?"
He raged against the unfairness of a system that denied Filipinos true justice, arguing that their human rights were an illusion under Spanish rule.
Erik shook her head, speechless, unable to counter his words.
She saw that Tayog's anger had closed his mind to reason, driven solely by vengeance against the Spanish.
"Get out of the way," he warned, his aura surging like a storm. "If you interfere with Siklaon's cause, I'll consider you an enemy and crush you."
Erik's hair whipped in the wind from Tayog's overwhelming aura as he advanced toward her.
Lowering her head, she signaled her refusal. "I understand you, and I don't want to fight you, for the sake of our friendship and Siklaon," she said, her voice heavy with regret. "But I know I have to stop you and save you, Tayog."
A red fan with a white cloth at its tip appeared in her hand. Catching it mid-air, Erik assumed a fighting stance against Tayog.
Gone was her earlier fear, replaced by courage and determination.
"You'll regret turning against me," Tayog said, charging forward.
He swung a powerful punch, which Erik blocked with her fan. Though protected as a sugo, she felt the force of the blow, stumbling back slightly.
Tayog's massive, wooden form was slower but heavier, while Erik's new, slender body was agile. Seizing an opening, she darted in and struck his wooden torso with all her strength. But the impact felt like punching stone, and she winced, clutching her hand.
"Ow! Damn, you're too hard!" she yelped, stepping back and shaking her aching hand.
Unlike other sugo, Erik's physical strength wasn't enhanced, even with the diwata's power.
"Fool!" Tayog bellowed. "You can't hurt me with brute force alone!"
His arm extended like a vine, swinging to strike Erik. Unable to dodge, she was hit, sent flying into a car near the building.
"If you're serious about stopping me, use your sugo abilities!" Tayog shouted.
Erik struggled to her feet, trying to heed his advice. Raising her arms, she focused, expecting a fireball or some energy to manifest, but nothing happened.
"Why can't I feel anything in this body? What's the diwata's power?" she muttered, confused.
As she pondered, Tayog's fist struck again, sending her crashing into the car. Both tumbled across the street, rolling in a heap.
Pain shot through Erik's head and body, leaving her writhing. She wondered why the diwata's protection wasn't shielding her.
"This isn't good. My arms hurt so much—it's not what the diwata promised," she whispered.
She recalled the diwata's words about an energy that would protect her in danger, spoken to calm her before her fall from the sky.
Struggling to rise, she was grabbed by Tayog's extended arm and slammed into another car in the parking lot.
Without hesitation, Tayog attacked his friend to teach her a lesson, ordering her to leave. "You're a novice, Erik. Get out of here if you want to live."
He threatened to kill her if she interfered again.
Slasher, growing impatient, interrupted their exchange. "Enough playing around!" he barked, annoyed at the delay.
He challenged Tayog to resume their fight, eager to end it and "rest," still underestimating his opponent.
"No need to wait," Tayog roared, his aura blazing. "I'll give you the eternal rest you want!"
"Show me what a rat like you can do, Indio!" Slasher retorted, his fiery aura surging.
Without hesitation, the two charged, resuming their brutal hand-to-hand combat. Their attacks grew fiercer, devastating the surroundings.
Meanwhile, Erik was trapped in the crumpled car, pinned by its metal frame. "I don't know why I can't use any power in this body," she groaned. "Ugh, I think my spine's broken."
As she struggled to free herself, the car shook. A woman appeared, blocking the sunlight, her face expressionless as she checked on Erik.
It was the mysterious woman from the Siklaon camp. Erik gasped at her ghostly reappearance. She held a stick from the forest they'd come from.
"Y-You!" Erik stammered. "It's really you!"
The woman lightly tapped Erik's head with the stick, silencing her. "What are you doing? I thought you were here to stop him. Why are you just lying there?" she asked.
Erik's POV
Here she is again, this mysterious woman appearing out of nowhere like a ghost, questioning me as if she's surprised by what I'm doing.
But why am I here, stuck in this wrecked car? Wasn't I supposed to stop Alfredo? She's acting like I'm not doing what I came for, but I tried to stop the fight.
I really tried, but he's so determined to punish the Spanish. What else can I do?
How can I save him?
I can't convince him or give him a reason to listen. He has every reason to do what he's doing.
His anger and twisted beliefs are justified, and I can't change that.
As I spoke, the woman sat on the car, gazing at the sky as if resting, unfazed by the chaos around us. It was as if the battle meant nothing to her.
"Sometimes, the opinion of the person you're saving doesn't matter, especially if they're not asking for help," she said. "Your friend is ready to die and take his sins with him, determined to become a demon for one purpose: revenge."
I looked down, processing her words. I knew I was searching for excuses to give up, but something stirred within me, urging me to act.
I understood her point. I didn't need to heed Alfredo's warped beliefs. I was here to stop him from becoming a monster and to save him from greater sins, for the sake of others.
"But how?" I asked. "I tried to stop him, but I'm no match for him."
"I don't understand why I can't feel any power in this body," I admitted.
She turned to me, asking what the diwata had told me about fighting. She reminded me that I couldn't win alone, as the diwata's power wasn't suited for direct combat.
"Your power isn't for fighting for your own goals. You'll die quickly if you don't seek help from others," she said.
"Wait, what do you mean?" I asked. "If that's true, why did you make me take the d iwata's power to save Alfredo?"
She clarified that saving Alfredo was my desire, not hers. She had only helped me gain the diwata's power to achieve it.
"I answered your call when you sought a chance to save people," she said. "Now you have that chance. It's up to you whether to continue or not."
"But I can't—" I started, but she cut me off with another tap of her stick on my head.
"You may have failed the first time, and you might fail again, or even a third time," she said. "Failure is just part of the process—it means you tried. Even if you fail, it doesn't change the fact that you wanted to succeed."
Her words were relentless, but her bored expression and yawning contrasted with the seriousness of our talk, as she tapped her stick on the car.
"What I mean is, failure isn't a reason to abandon what you've decided to achieve, young sugo," she said.
Her words sank in, and I realized she was right. My failure had shaken my resolve, but I still wanted to save them. That hadn't changed.
I couldn't give up just because I failed. There was still a chance to save Alfredo, and it wasn't too late.
I needed help, and the woman before me was my only option. "Please, help me," I said boldly. "I want to try again, to save them."
The air grew still as she didn't respond, staring at me silently from her perch on the car.
Then, slowly, she smiled—not a warm, reassuring smile, but one that hinted at something sinister.
My gut twisted. Had I asked the wrong person for help?
"No problem," she said, her smile wicked. "I'll help you."
I grimaced, unsure how to react. I had no choice but to trust her, as she'd been my only ally from the start. Despite my bad feeling, I had to believe in her.
She tapped my head with her stick again and stood. "Are you ready, young sugo?"
End of Chapter