Luminaria

Mission

"This can't be!" narinig ko ang mariing bulong ni Jeriel. "We're going to lose!"

Costa's stern gaze shifted towards me, look now filled with warning, as if recalling the huge chaos that happened before. Sinasalamin ng tingin nito na ako ang tumatak sa kaniya sa kaguluhang iyon.

"Please proceed here, young lady," the commander beside Costa commanded. Sa harapan ay isang malawak na espasyo, may bilugang harang at mailalarawan bilang malawak ngunit hindi kataasang entablado—clearly intended to be the duel's ring.

"She can't! Rowan, do something! She’ll drag the whole team down!" Jeriel blurted out.

I mentally rolled my eyes, refusing to fuss another drama. Instead, I silently stepped forward, walking ahead. Mas lalong umabot sa aking tenga ang patuloy na pahapyaw ng paligid.

"She won't last a minute."

"How did she maintained her skin?"

"I hope Cora will beat her to the ground."

"Fate's on our side, letting us witness this woman suffer!" Bahagya akong natigilan doon.

Suffer, huh? Bago ko pa malingunan ang nagsabi no'n ay biglang nagsalita si Costa.

"This duel will be graded both as a team and individually." Halos umabot pa sa tenga ko ang reklamo ni Jeriel. "No use of power—this is entirely a physical combat. Once disobeyed, we'll immediately announce disqualification, and the remaining fighter will be declared the winner. There will be a countdown before the knockout is announced."

The commanders stepped aside when I finally entered the ring. Pumwesto sila kasama ang mga nakagrupong estudyante, mariing nakamasid.

"Cora Vicensaire in team Fifteen and Pheryncia Vicensaire of Four!" Namayani ang malakas na tambol.

"Let the duel begin!"

My eyes shifted to Cora. May bahid na disgusto ang mga mata nito. She stood tall, bracing herself for defense. Akala ko'y matatagalan pa ang paninitig niya but in a split second, she roughly launched at me.

Unprepared, my body send crashing onto the ground. Hindi pa nakaka-recover ang napuruhan kong pwet nang patungan ako ng bruha. She threw a punch on my jaw—and it wasn't a light hit! Her fists came faster, striking my face repeatedly. Ang hita niya'y iniipit ang aking bewang, dahilan kung bakit bahagyang nahaharangan ang paghinga ko. I groaned, feeling the blood trickling from my nose. The crowd's cheers surged around us, urging Cora to finish me off.

"Shameless whore," she spat, throwing punch after punch.

She yanked my hair roughly, landing another blow. Tila nagising ang natutulog kong ulirat, kaya sa sunod na suntok ay mabilis akong nakaiwas.

I could hear her heavy breathing. As she wound up for another hit, I grabbed her arm, twisting it in the opposite direction. Nagkasalubong ang kilay niya sa pamimilipit, obviously unprepared from my action. Her grip on me loosened, mabilis kong inikot at pinagpalit ang posisyon namin. Instead of putting my full weight on her, I noticed a dried bloodstain on her shirt and stood up. Her face relaxed, and she started to push herself up, thinking I was letting her go.

Bago niya pa iyon nagawa ay ngumisi ako't agad na inapakan ang tiyan nito.

"Injured, huh?" I muttered under my breath.

The once deafening cheers fell into silence.

Cora stifled a whimper as my foot pressed deeper into her wound. She lifted an arm to grab at my leg, but before she could twist my foot, I delivered a kick to her face. Umayos ako ng tayo at bahagyang lumayo.