[√]Lady of the White Rose

42: The Punishment Skill

VESPER

The whole room fell into silent. Creepily silent. The temperature drop and the assassins immediately noticed that something was wrong inside the room. The door automatically close without anyone's touching it. Malakas itong nagsara at rinig na rinig ng lahat.

"Ano 'yun?"

"Ewan ko, may multo ata."

"Ang tanda mo na naniniwala ka pa rin sa multo?"

Natigil ang kanilang usapan nang hindi na nila maikaila na may kakaiba talaga sa silid. I hear their confusion as I can feel their anxiety growing as time passes by. Their eyes landed towards me. They all step back unconsciously.

I stood up, not feeling the pain from my wound. I wipe the blood from the side of my lips habang pinapasadahan ko ng tingin ang mga assassin sa harap ko. Patuloy naman at tila walang tigil sa pagtunog ang gintong kampana sa aking likuran.

"Punish evil, reward the good!"

"Punish evil, reward the good!"

"Punish evil, reward the good!"

I raise my right hand, a golden miniature scale of justice appear. The scales move slightly from good then tilted towards evil.

"In the name of Malaya, the Goddess of Time and Justice, I bring down judgement upon you. By the power vested upon me, may the fair judgement commence!" Nakita ko kung paano sila nahihintakutan nang gumalaw ang scale of justice.

They were confuse, it was written all over their faces. But they didn't think that they won't get away after trying to kill me, the Saintess, right?

When the scale of justice tilted towards evil, the golden bell rang loudly for the last time, it's so loud that the walls and ground vibrated. Narinig din ito ng mga assassins kaya naman kanya-kanya silang takip ng mga tenga nila sa sobrang ingay na dulot nito.

Makaraan ang ilang sandali ay tumahimik ang paligid. Sinubukan nilang hanapin sa silid ang pinangalingan ng ingay ngunit hindi nila mahanap. Sinubukan din nilang buksan ang pinto, ngunit hindi ito mabuksan-buksan.

Napatingin sila sa aking gawi na hanggang ngayon ay nakataas pa rin ang kanang kamay, may hawak na scale of justice. Sinubukan nila akong lapitan ngunit ng isang hakbang na lamang ang pagitan nila sa akin ay bigla silang tumitilapon palayo.

"Evil. The judgement is evil, receive your punishment." Mas lalo ko pang itinaas ang hawak na scale of justice at ibinigay sa kanila ang nararapat na kaparusahan.

Kung kanina ay bumababa ang temperatura ng silid, ngayon naman ay tila umaakyat ito. Agad din naman napansin ng mga assassin ang pagbabago sa temperatura ng silid. Muli nilang sinubukang buksan ang pinto, ginamit nila ang mga sandata nila upang sirain ito, kahit ang mga katawan nila ay binunggo nila sa pinto upang subukan itong sirain ngunit nanatiling sarado ito.

Not a dent was found after all their efforts. Nang mas lalong uminit ang temperatura ng silid ay nataranta silang lahat. They become desperate.

"Shit! What the hell is happening?"

"Ang init! Nasa empyerno na ba tayo?"

They once again tried attacking but just like the first time, they were push back violently. Mas lalong uminit ang silid hanggang sa unti-unting nalusaw ang mga gamit. Nagliyab ang mga kurtina at carpet, ang kama, kumot at mga unan. But the glass window and wooden door didn't caught fire.

The assassins flesh began melting away like candles. Their screams echoed in the whole room as they slowly dying in great pain and agony. They tried stopping their flesh from melting but to no avail.

Some caught fire and was incinerated into ashes, cremated alive. Not even his bones were left. Other melted and turn to liquid, and because of the heat, they evaporated and disappeared without trace.

It was a horrific sight. I can hear their screams, the gritting of their teeth, their nails scratching the walls and floor until it bleed. I can smell the disgusting stench of burnt flesh seeping through my nostril, it makes me want to puke but my body won't move as I want it to be. It remains standing still, holding the scale of justice while watching the assassins receiving their punishments.

Since then, I don't always feel good about the punishment of this skill, I always thought it'll be horrible. However, I didn't know it was this kind of horrible. The punishment was death for those who receive it.

No, it's not just death. It's a horrendous death.

It didn't take that long before I was left alone inside the room. The scale of justice vanish and I was able to move my body again. Wala sa sariling napasalampak ako sa sahig. Isa-isang tumulo ang mga luha mula sa mga mata ko. At habang paulit-ulit na bumabalika sa alaala ko ang mga nangyari ay hindi ko na napigilang masuka.

While vomiting, I didn't notice I wasn't alone in the room anymore. Aya appeared.

"So, you're able to activate it on the verge of death..." She commented. "Again."

Hindi ko ito pinansin at nagpatuloy sa pagsuka. Pakiramdaman ko naisuka ko na lahat ng mga kinain ko ng gabing 'to. The ginger bread, the potatoes, the squash delicacy. Everything.

"Yes, I perfectly understands you. It's horrible, isn't it?" Tinapik-tapik nito ang balikat ko. Mas lalo akong naiyak dahil sa ginawa niya.

"Horrendous." I mumble. "Does every punishment need to be like that?"

"It's such a cruel skill. Even the word brutal is an understatement to this, so, V, my child, remember this day for the rest of your lives. Remember the horrendous feeling you've felt so that you may not use this skill carelessly. Remember the consequences and activate only when needed." Hinawakan ako nito sa mga pisngi ko at hinalikan sa noo. I close my eyes and cry like a child while she comforts me.

"They say if it's getting hard, means you're on the right track."

"It's beyond hard. It's terribly hard."

"You're not alone. You have people that got your back. Lean on them a little, they'll be happy to help you." Aya caress my hair. "And you found Ashley, I personally picked her to be the Saintess Knight."

"She's... A Holy Knight?" I sniff and wipe away my tears. "Isn't she a magic swordsman?"

"She's born to be a Holy Knight. Your companion and loyal servant, my Saintess."

"Does she even want to be my servant?"

"You already forgotten the oath she gave you? Ashley knows from the moment she laid her eyes on you that you're the one she's willing to serve for the rest of her life. Don't shove her sincerity away."

"My life's a mess,"

"I know, she knows, we know. You're the most beautiful mess we've ever met." When Aya kiss my eyes, I feel a sudden drowsiness, the sudden urge to sleep, like darkness was trying to pull me to a deep slumber. "The bravest and the strongest, too. Don't look down on yourself, you're doing great. Be it as a Duchess, a daughter, a friend, an older sister, a citizen, as a saintess and even as human being. You're doing a great job."

When Aya kiss my eyes again, I was no longer able to control myself and pulled by the darkness. I fell asleep.

No, more like my consciousness was brought to another dimension, a peculiar different place. Is this the other world? Where am I?

Wala akong makitang iba sa paligid kung hindi kadiliman lamang. Sinubukan kong tignan ang nilalakaran ko, ngunit wala akong makita pero ramdam kong matigas ito. Katulad ng sementadong daan.

Sinubukan kong maglakad, baka sakaling may mahanap akong bagay na makapagsasabi kung nasaan ako at bakit ako nandito.

Hindi ko alam kung ilang minutono oras na ang nakakalipas. Ngunit pakiramdam ko ay ang layo-layo na ng nalalakad ko but I'm still seeing the same thing around me. I was still surrounded by endless darkness.

Suddenly I heard a clicking sound, like a key in a keyhole that open. I look around and I saw the entire place open like a door. It was so huge that I needed to look up.

Light creep from the slightly opened door.

"Conditions have met, replaying a fragment of the past."