Lolo Cres

Prologue

Plaridel, Bulacan. February 24, 1986

The car came to a complete stop by the edge of the palayan. Michael stepped out and scanned the area for signs of life. In the province, it is never truly dark, as the lack of artificial lights allows the moon to shine brightly. Still, it would have been a miracle to find anything across hectares of palay in the middle of the night.

Fortunately for Michael, miracles are his specialty. He eventually finds what he's looking for, and with a whisper of a spell, he disappeared in a blink.

Michael reappeared in a clearing, a kilometer away from his car. He did not need light to see the charred remains of trees, the blood splattered across the ground, the row of dead bodies. In a distance, he could see a solitary figure seated on a stump, crying silently.

"Cresencio," Michael called out. "Are you hurt?"

Cresencio slowly got to his feet, but kept his back to Michael. Even in the pale moonlight, Michael can see that Cresencio has been in a fight, a deadly one at that. Layers of blood and mud were caked across his skin, his clothes.

"The blood of these men are on your hands." Cresencio could barely keep his anger in check. "Dios mio, they were so young. How could you let this happen?"

"The Covenant has to be honored at all costs. Daniel and his team broke the covenant they swore to, that YOU swore to. The moment they-"

"The Dictator was going to release the Cadiliman across EDSA! Did you know that? DID YOU KNOW THAT?!?"

Michael stopped himself from scoffing. "Surely you don't seriously believe that, Cres. I heard of that 'plan', if you can call that." Michael made a gesture with his hand to produce a ball of light. He can now see Daniel and his men lying in the ground, cleaned and carefully composed in a row, waiting for last rites. "It's no secret that that lunatic in Malacañang was dabbling in the arcane, but he doesn't have the talent and ability to be a threat. He is surrounded by an army of fakes and charlatans just looking to curry favor with him. There was no way he could unlock the conduit to release something as powerful and deadly as the Cadiliman. There was no thre-."

Cresencio suddenly flung an amulet to Michael, which he caught easily. In the light, the red sigil on the obsidian amulet glowed malevolently. Michael gasped.

"Oh, he had help." Cresencio said. "They almost pulled it off, if it weren't for Daniel's team."

Michael was stunned. With all his intelligence, with all the resources at his disposal, he did not see this coming.

"He was here? How?!? He's been dead for decades!"

"We never knew for sure, Michael. You know that." Cres stated. "You never did find a body, yes?"

Michael approached Cresencio, regarding his closely. "Did you see him with your own eyes?"

"To be honest, I don't know." Cresencio walked away and grabbed a nearby piece of cloth, to try and clean himself up, give himself a diversion. "Everything was chaos. The fire, the blood, the madness, it was too much." Cres looked at Michael intently. "It sure felt like him, though. His aura, his energy. Again, you know what I'm talking about."

Michael surveyed the rest of the area. A slight gesture of his hands made the ball of light bigger, covering more ground. He can now clearly see the corpses of six aswangs strewn across the field, like burnt rag dolls. Or at least they looked like aswangs. No, these were larger, more muscular, had longer limbs, had darker skin-

"The Cadiliman, in the flesh. Or whatever's left of them."

Michael was shocked. "This is impossible!"

"And yet there they are. If it weren't for Daniel's team, there would be an army headed towards Manila by now. They closed that conduit with their lives, Michael."

Michael walked towards row of dead acolytes. He can now clearly see horrible gashes on their bodies, twisted necks, gouged eyes. One of them had a head missing. Daniel and his team of acolytes would have been no match for a team of aswang, much less the Cadiliman. They should have not even gone here, and they broke the covenant to do so. But if they didn't come here... All those people, those unarmed, defenseless people in EDSA...

Michael turned to Cresencio, who has managed to clean himself up despite everything. "Did you do this?" motioning to the dead creatures.

"Did I break the covenant as well trying to save our brethren, you mean? Yes." Cresensio approached Daniel, stroked his face like a parent who lost a child. "All I could do was to avenge them. Fortunately for me there were only six of those creatures, and even then I barely defeated them."

"I couldn't stop him from leaving though. To be fair, he must have let me live." Cres shuddered, trying to gather whatever strength he had left. "Not that I want to, not after tonight." 

Cresencio stood up, turned to face Michael. Despite his years, Cresencio was an imposing man, taller than the average Filipino, his lean but muscular body carved from decades of fighting the otherworldly, keeping the peace, maintaining the balance. And yet, his biggest asset has always been that incredible mind of his. Highly intelligent, with an incredible memory and a hunger for knowledge of everything and anything otherworldly, Cresencio knew countless spells by heart and he could make new ones so easily. He could process information and make mental connections that rival even Michael and his kind. Michael has always respected this mortal, the Espada Noble, one of the greatest champions The Order has ever had. 

And now, looking at him, Michael knew with certainty he has lost Cresencio this night.

"The war will go on, Cresencio." Michael said softly, as if they were friends. "We cannot lose you as well. You are too important."

Cresencio regarded his words silently, took his time to answer back. "You should have thought of that when you turned your back on Daniel. THEY were supposed to be the future, Michael. Now, you are going to have to pick the pieces up yourself. I am done."

Cresencio picked up his gear from the ground, tried to brush away the scorch marks and the blood in vain. He turned to face Michael one last time.

"Thank you for everything, Michael." Cresencio could not stop his tears from flowing. "Despite everything, you were a great mentor, and I have learned so much from you. I know you can rebuild from this." He paused, feeling the weight of the words he was about to say. "But I cannot do this anymore. I have lost too much, sacrificed too much. I have nothing left."

"Please reconsider, Cres." Michael said. 

"Can you bring Daniel and his team back from the dead?" Cresencio asked. "Can you bring back Lydia?" He finished, his voice trembling. Michael could only stay silent.

Cresencio shook his head and turned away. He traced a sigil in the air, then he vanished into the night. 

Michael took one last look at the dead before stretching his arms, reciting a complex spell. A flash of light envelops the clearing, taking all traces of the battle away. Satisfied, Michael whispers a spell and disappears once again.