The Fifth Order

8 | The Deliberation

Chapter 8: The Deliberation

THAT GOT ME flabbergasted. My heart skipped a beat, yet I still managed to speak. "W-What do you mean he's one of them?" I asked, trying to conceal the tremor in my voice as I swallowed a lump in my throat.

"Was," Sev interrupted. He faced me with an unusual stoic expression. "He's a part of the UCA now. That's what matters more, right?"

I secretly frowned. Why do I feel like he's hiding something? I totally understand if he wasn't willing to spill everything. To avoid it being used against Ace, confidential information of a person who was literally the strongest among the orders must not be revealed.

Pero ba't parang pakiramdam kong wala silang tiwala sa amin?

I didn't want to dwell on negativity. Maybe they were just being cautious with the words and information that they were about to reveal. Yeah, maybe that was it. Besides, the truth would always be discovered at the right time. But again, how was Ace a part of that society when he was chosen to bear the strongest power of the Order Stones? That just doesn't seemed right. Really!

Once again, the room was engulfed in silence. Dumapo ang aking paningin kay Chase na nakaupo sa isang silyang nasa tabi ni Sie. Kumunot ang aking noo nang may mapansing kakaiba sa lalake. My eyes shifted to Sev then back at Chase. There, I finally spotted the difference.

The grazes and bruises on his face were gradually vanishing, as if they were healing strangely at an unusual speed.

I was about to confront him, but then a memory popped into my mind, causing me to disregard the guy. I suddenly remembered how the rogues came back to life after Ace and I killed them with our own hands. If I recalled it correctly, they weren't immortals when we first encountered them at the church a week ago—the same day when Chase and I met Sie and Ace.

But what happened a while ago was somehow odd . . . and disturbing. How were they able to regenerate themselves? And where did they get that huge black hole that looked very much like Sev's?

"About the encounter . . ." I broke the silence and looked at General Vivor who also seemed buried in her thoughts. Her perturbed eyes landed on me as if she already knew what I was about to say. "The rogues appeared strange to me, but I still needed to clarify some things." Huminga muna ako nang malalim bago nagsalitang muli. "Are we the only ones capable of possessing the Order Stones' powers?"

"Yes," agarang sagot ni Mav. "'Cause we're the only vessels. Wala ng ibang makaaangkin sa kapangyarihan nito kung 'di tayo lamang."

Tumango-tango ako. "The rogues have the ability to heal and regenerate themselves. Are they supposed to be like that?" I faced my companions. "We were all a witness to how they evolved into something that we didn't see coming. If we're the only ones who could acquire the stones' power, then how could we explain what we've seen?"

"Oo nga, bro," segunda naman ni Chase at tiningnan si Sev. "Kaya pala hindi namamatay ang mga buwiset na panget na 'yon! Mga weak nga sila pero hindi naman namamatay," palatak ng lalake at kulang na lang ay lalabas na ang mga ugat sa nakakuyom nitong kamao.

I squinted my eyes when I noticed his wounds again. Hindi na ito ganoong makikita kung hindi talaga tititigan nang maigi. They were already faint and faded. Hindi ba ito napapansin ng lalake?

"Yeah, right. Hindi naman sila gano'n noon. We've been fighting against those beasts for more than three years, and this only happened now. Was it a sort of another mutation that could make them immortal?" Sev asked.

"Mm-hm, no. I don't think so," General Vivor replied and walked towards Chase. I saw how she held my friend's arm that was once full of grazes and bruises.