Chapter 42: The Last Hope
In the heart of Plaridel's raging chaos, the battle reached its zenith of intensity. General Salazar, his eyes ablaze with fury and desperation, was prepared to do anything to defeat Ifugao, the young sugo who had become an insurmountable obstacle to his power. The surroundings were a scene of devastation—buildings teetered on the brink of collapse, vehicles lay scattered, and the air was thick with smoke and dust.
Yet amidst it all, Ifugao stood resolute, her blue energy surging like a goddess confronting twin forces of destruction.
In the midst of the fray, Salazar summoned a colossal castle of red crystal from the earth, its jagged spikes like spears ready to pierce anyone who dared approach. His laughter echoed, laced with pride and venom. "You can't defeat me, Indio!" he roared, as the crystals birthed giant monsters, each larger and more ferocious than the last. The beasts charged at Ifugao, their claws and teeth forged of shimmering crystal, glinting under the moonlight.
But Ifugao showed no trace of fear or hesitation. Her arnis blazed with blue energy, and with a swift spin, she moved like a dancer in the midst of war. Each strike of her arnis triggered a thunderous explosion, cleaving the crystal monsters into fragments that scattered across the ground. Her speed was like the wind, untouchable by Salazar's attacks. One monster lunged from behind, but in an instant, Ifugao spun and struck, reducing it to a heap of shattered crystal.
"Impossible!" Salazar bellowed, his eyes wide with shock and rage. "My crystals are impervious even to the hardest steel!" Yet before him, Ifugao pressed forward, her movements brimming with confidence and resolve. Each swing of her arnis was like lightning, slicing through the crystal castle, toppling its towers like sandcastles.
With a furious cry, Salazar unleashed a massive orb of red energy from his hands, striking the ground near Ifugao. The explosion carved a gaping crater, sending chunks of earth and stone flying. But Ifugao leaped swiftly, evading the blast. In a flash, she struck a blazing crystal orb Salazar launched next. Her arnis unleashed a wave of blue energy that shattered the orb, sending its force back at Salazar, who staggered from the impact.
"I'm not done yet, Indio!" Salazar roared, refusing to yield. Despite his wounds and exhaustion, he summoned another army of crystal monsters, each faster and sharper than before. "You won't defeat me so easily, Indio!" he shouted, his voice cracking with rage and frustration. The monsters formed a circle around Ifugao, their pointed spikes aimed at her from all directions, ready to impale.
Yet Ifugao remained calm. Her eyes burned with determination, and her blue energy glowed brighter. With a powerful cry, she spun, her arnis like rods of lightning slicing through the air. Each monster that charged was cut in half, their crystals shattering like broken glass. Her movements were a deadly dance—beautiful, yet lethal. The monsters stood no chance against her speed and strength, crumbling one by one under her strikes.
In a desperate bid, Salazar conjured a massive crystal spear and hurled it at Ifugao like a giant arrow. It tore through the air, its hum deafening as it approached. "Die, Indio!" he screamed.
But Ifugao stood fearless. Raising her arnis, she struck with a powerful blow, splitting the spear in two, its fragments crashing to either side of her. The resulting explosion sent a gust of wind swirling around her, her white hair dancing about her face.
"How can you shrug off even my strongest attacks?!" Salazar roared, his voice thick with incredulous fury. "My crystals are weapons of war, forged to slaughter filth like you!" Yet Ifugao advanced, her eyes locked on him, unwavering in their resolve.
Consumed by frustration, Salazar succumbed to his rage, his sanity unraveling in his hatred for his foe. He unleashed a surge of energy, his body encasing itself in thick crystal. With a thunderous cry, he transformed. "I'll crush you, Indio! I'll grind you until nothing remains!" His body grew into a towering crystal monster, its jagged spikes protruding from every surface. His eyes blazed with red fire, his voice rumbling like thunder. "If I can't defeat you as a man, I'll defeat you as a monster!" With a roar, he charged at Ifugao, his claws and spikes poised to pulverize the young sugo.
But Ifugao stood calm amidst the chaos. Her white hair swayed in the wind, as if waiting for the perfect moment. Her blue energy surged, enveloping her in a fiery aura. She raised her sword, its blade glowing with blue light, tendrils of electric energy coursing around her like veins of lightning. Her eyes burned with determination, and with a resounding cry, she unleashed her full power:
"Faith Slash!"
With a swift swing of her sword, she released a colossal wave of blue energy, a torrent of light slicing through the air. It struck Salazar's crystal monster, cleaving through every part it touched. The attack triggered an explosion of cataclysmic force, like a bomb, sending objects flying, shaking the earth as if the world were unraveling, and enveloping the area in thick smoke that darkened the scene.
Moments later, the smoke cleared, revealing a massive crater in the city hall's parking lot, nearly twenty feet deep, carved by Ifugao's devastating strike. At its edge, shards of red crystal lay scattered like broken glass. Amid the spikes, Salazar stood, bloodied, his left arm gone, gasping and trembling with rage. "You filthy Indio!" he cursed, his voice dripping with venom. "I won't be defeated by trash like you!"
Ifugao walked toward him calmly, her sword still glowing with blue energy. No fear marred her eyes, only resolute determination. She stood before Salazar, her face calm yet unyielding. "This fight is over, General," she said, her voice steady but tinged with a plea. "I can unleash another attack like the one just now. If you make one more wrong move, I'll have no choice but to end your life."
"You dare threaten me?" Salazar's eyes blazed with fury. "A Spanish general will never fear a filthy Indio!" he roared, his voice brimming with arrogance. "If you're so capable, do it! Kill me now!" He taunted Ifugao, his laughter laced with scorn.
But Ifugao remained silent, her face shadowed with hesitation. Her eyes flickered with unease—she knew her next step could alter Plaridel's fate. She understood that killing a government official like Salazar would brand her a criminal, hunted by both the local authorities and the Spanish crown.
"What's the matter, Indio? Haha!" Salazar laughed again, his voice dripping with mockery. "Are you scared? Scared of becoming a criminal in the Philippines?" he taunted. "The moment you kill me, the Spaniards won't rest! The government will hunt you as a criminal, and when Spain learns of my death, they'll send one of the Espada de España. When that happens, they'll wipe out the terrorists—and the Filipinos who support the rebels, including the people of Plaridel!"
Ifugao sighed, her eyes heavy with sorrow. "You don't understand your situation, General," she said, her voice calm but weighted with gravity. "As a hero, I'm prepared to do anything to protect this nation's people—Filipino or Spaniard." She declared she was ready to be branded a criminal by Spain if it came to killing him. "My next attack will ensure your death," she said firmly. "If you don't agree to my terms, I'll make sure you never see the sun again."
Salazar frowned, his eyes filled with doubt. "What terms are you talking about?" he asked, his voice tinged with unease.
Ifugao explained calmly, "I'm willing to spare your life, General, if you swear to free the Filipinos from Spanish cruelty and let the people of Plaridel live in peace."
"What? Free the Filipinos?" Salazar burst into mocking laughter. "Are you serious, Indio?" he sneered. "You're delusional if you think peace is possible after tonight! Indios are nothing but trash—fit only to serve the Spaniards. Spain will never accept slaves like you as equals!"
Ifugao's anger flared, a powerful aura of blue energy erupting around her, her eyes blazing with resolve. "Your words aren't helping, General," she warned, her voice heavy with menace. "The only path left for you to survive is to surrender and accept my terms."
"Don't make me laugh! I'll never negotiate with the likes of you, Indio!" Salazar scoffed, his laughter dripping with arrogance. "Use your sword and kill me!" he challenged. "I'd rather die than surrender to an Indio!"
Ifugao gripped her sword tightly, but her face betrayed hesitation. Even with victory within reach, she longed to end the conflict peacefully, for the benefit of her people. But as she wrestled with her thoughts, she didn't anticipate her power reaching its limit. A searing pain tore through her chest, as if her body were being ripped apart. "Ahhh! What's happening to my body?" she gasped.
The surging energy enveloping her faded, like a candle's flame snuffed out. She fell to her knees, coughing up blood, her eyes wide with shock and confusion. Her body trembled with weakness, her limbs shaking from exhaustion. "This is bad… my legs are trembling," she thought, fear gripping her heart. She knew her body had reached its breaking point and could no longer sustain the fight.
Seeing Ifugao's vulnerability, Salazar laughed mockingly. "It looks like your body's reached its limit, Indio!" he jeered. "Every sugo has a limit. Your body can't handle the overuse of energy!"
Ifugao forced herself to stand, her knees quaking. She gripped her sword tightly, planting it in the ground to steady herself. "I still have enough strength to fight," she told Salazar, her voice resolute despite her waning energy. "In your state, General, I still have the upper hand if we continue this battle."
Salazar laughed, his voice thick with contempt. "Even without my arms, I can still fight!" he roared. "I'm a Spanish general, forged for war!" He declared he could still summon crystal monsters as his army. With a burst of energy, more monsters emerged around them, fiercer and more numerous than before.
Ifugao's eyes widened in fear, but she forced herself to summon her own energy, standing tall and raising her sword. "I won't go down so easily!" she shouted, her voice brimming with courage despite her body's collapse.
Salazar mocked her, sneering, "You're still willing to fight when you can barely stand? You're insane, Indio!" But Ifugao responded fiercely, "I'll do anything to save lives. That's my mission as a hero."
Salazar laughed again, his voice dripping with disdain. "Your heroism is pointless!" he spat. "You're wasting your life on meaningless ideals!" He argued that as a sugo, Ifugao should be revered and obeyed, yet here she was, risking her life for people who didn't care about her. "The world is full of greedy people. If you don't use others, they'll use you. If you'd been smart and sided with Spain, you wouldn't be facing this suffering—this pathetic death!"
He challenged her, "Do you really think you can be a hero for everyone? Spaniards and Filipinos will never be equals. Even if you call yourself a hero, you're just their tool—a person doomed to die to save them from ruin!"
Ifugao stood firm, her eyes locked on Salazar with unwavering resolve. "I don't care what others say, especially a greedy man like you," she said, her voice brimming with determination. "I'm a hero because that's what I choose—to serve as a protector, a weapon to defend those who can't fight for themselves."
Salazar saw the courage in Ifugao's eyes and knew her conviction was unyielding. Her lack of regret or despair, which he longed to see, fueled his rage. In the silence, as Ifugao stood with her hair dancing in the fierce wind, Salazar suddenly smirked, as if a sinister plan had formed in his mind.
"I can't break your spirit as a hero," he said, his voice laced with mockery. "I admire your resolve, but the world has never been fair. Win or lose, nothing will change. Spain's rule over the Philippines will endure, and in the end, you'll die for nothing." He laughed, his voice demonic. "Don't worry, I'll let you die as the hero you want to be."
He declared he would pour his remaining energy into the crystal monsters before him, ordering them to slaughter everyone in Plaridel. Ifugao, shocked, called him mad. "As a government official, your duty is to protect the people!" she shouted.
Salazar laughed, admitting she was right but dismissing the lives of Plaridel's Spaniards as replaceable. "Besides, I can just blame their deaths on the rebel Indios," he added with a sneer.
"You're a demon! I can't believe I'm hearing this from a Spanish general!" Ifugao cried.
"Hahaha! For your information, I fight for power, to prove my status, not for people I don't know or care about!" Salazar retorted. "The Spaniards in Plaridel matter only because their taxes enrich me, but I won't sacrifice my life for them!"
Furious, Ifugao gripped her sword and shouted Salazar's name. "Salazar!"
But Salazar continued laughing, taunting her to try being a hero and save everyone. His eyes glowed, and he commanded his monsters to annihilate all in Plaridel—children, elderly, women, men, sparing no one.
Ifugao tried to move, but pain halted her steps. She knew she could no longer stop the monsters. Despair crept in, her mind racing. "It's like a hundred needles piercing my body—I can't fight like this," she thought.
"Hahaha! Go, my minions! Let the blood of Plaridel's people water the earth!" Salazar cackled.
But as his laughter rang out, before the monsters could act, a red flame flashed across Salazar's throat. Within seconds, his vision darkened. "Huh?" he gasped.
Ifugao froze as Salazar's head rolled to the ground. With a swing of her fiery blade, Hustisya kicked the general's body, sending it sprawling lifelessly.
Hustisya stood, her gaze cold, her weapon blazing with red fire. "Death is the punishment for demons like you," she said, her voice thick with hatred. The crystals around them crumbled into dust, like sand, as Salazar's life faded.
Ifugao, stunned, could barely speak. "Why did you kill him?!" she demanded, her voice a mix of shock and anger.
"It was punishment for his sins," Hustisya replied coldly. "It's the only way to achieve justice."
Ifugao's anger flared. "Because of what you did, you'll be branded a criminal by the government!" she shouted.
Hustisya laughed. "I don't care. From the start, I've been a criminal in the eyes of the Spaniards, and…" But before she could finish, Ifugao cut her off. "You didn't have to do that! You've only made your situation worse! You'll never live peacefully in Plaridel again!"
Hustisya retorted, "Don't worry about that. You should be thanking me—if I hadn't acted, that demon might have killed you."
She explained that she saw Ifugao's hesitation to finish Salazar, fearing the consequences of becoming an enemy of the Spaniards. "I'm different from you. I'm ready for whatever comes."
A chill ran through Ifugao, her hand clutching her arm as a foreboding presence washed over her. She recognized this feeling—from her encounter with Alfredo. Her eyes widened as she saw a dark aura emanating from Hustisya, who stood hunched before her. She couldn't believe she was seeing it again. Hiyas's words echoed in her mind—the black energy stemmed from anger, hatred, and malevolent intent.
Energy rose from Salazar's lifeless body, flowing into Hustisya. Her power unleashed a fierce wind, as if proclaiming her strength. Ifugao knew Hustisya was absorbing Salazar's soul energy—a violation of her pact with her diwata.
"I'm begging you, Hustisya, stop!" Ifugao cried, her voice heavy with worry. "If you continue, you'll break your pact with your diwata!"
Hustisya met her gaze, her eyes resolute. "I can't stop now," she said. "Once the Spaniards learn what I've done, Plaridel will be in danger. So I'll strike first."
A massive shadow spread across the ground, and from it rose a skeleton nearly twenty meters tall, radiating dark energy. Hustisya gripped her weapon, her voice thick with hatred. "The Filipinos will only find justice when every Spaniard is dead!"
But Ifugao shouted, halting her. "Why do you have to do this, Hustisya?!" she asked, her voice trembling with anger and sorrow.
Hustisya challenged her, "Even now, you're trying to force your beliefs on me? Our goals and convictions are different. Our struggles and duties are not the same…" But before she could finish, Ifugao interrupted, her eyes brimming with tears. "You can't say that! I know you're not a demon who kills people like that general!"
Hustisya's anger flared, raising her weapon toward Ifugao. "You have no right to lecture me!" she shouted. "You know nothing of what I've been through! I grew up an orphan because my father was imprisoned for a crime he didn't commit. My mother was raped and murdered. We suffered, we struggled, and no one helped us. Isn't that enough reason to demand justice? We need change, and I know this is my duty as Plaridel's hero!"
Ifugao bowed her head, sorrow etched on her face. "Evil deeds will only lead to ruin," she said softly. "Killing people is wrong, and evil actions yield evil results."
"Hustisya, Spain has many powerful generals," she continued, her voice heavy with concern. "No matter how much energy you absorb, you'll fail, and in the end, you'll die for nothing."
Hustisya shouted, "I don't care if I die for what I'm doing!" But Ifugao countered, "I care if you get hurt because you matter to me!"
Hustisya froze, baffled by the young sugo's words. "What nonsense are you talking about?" she asked.
As Ifugao stepped closer to Hustisya, she dropped her sword and wiped her tears. "You're crying?" Hustisya asked, stunned.
Tears streamed down Ifugao's face like a child's. "You matter to me, Hustisya. I'm terrified of what will happen to you because of what you did to the general, to the Spaniards," she said, her voice thick with pain. "I'm ready to take the punishment as a criminal just to protect you. Why did it have to be you who did this?"
Hustisya couldn't comprehend Ifugao's actions. "Hey, what are you talking about? Why are you crying?" she asked, confused by the young sugo's tears.
"Stop crying! You have no responsibility for me!" Hustisya shouted. "You don't need to worry about what happens to me!"
But Ifugao replied, "I do have a responsibility for you!" She continued crying, leaving Hustisya flustered, trying to calm her. "Are you losing it? Stop! You were so brave against the general, and now you're acting like a whining child!"
"It's because of you that I'm crying!" Ifugao shot back, her voice laced with blame.
Hustisya blinked, confused. "Me? Why am I the reason you're crying?"
"It hasn't been easy, everything I've been through," Ifugao said. "I'm scared of becoming a criminal hunted by the government, but I'm ready to accept that for you."
Hustisya, stunned, asked, "Why would you do that for me? Don't mess with me…"
Ifugao cut her off. "Because I promised your grandfather I'd protect you, Georgia," she said, her voice heavy with emotion.
Slowly, Ifugao's form changed. The surging energy around her faded, and she reverted to the form of a young boy—Erik. "Impossible, Erik?" Hustisya gasped.
Wiping his tears with his arm, Erik looked at Hustisya, who stood frozen, her weapon slipping from her hand in shock. "Let's stop this fight, Georgia," he pleaded, his voice filled with longing. "Let's go home together."
Hustisya was speechless, reeling from the revelation that Ifugao, who had always tried to stop her, was the same boy she'd lived with under one roof. Her eyes were wide with shock and disbelief at the uncovered secret. Silence enveloped them, as if waiting for what each would say next, while the battle in Plaridel ended with an unexpected revelation.