The Semideus

Chapter 18

SOMEONE ELSE
ASTER's POINT of VIEW

Zeref immediately ran towards Xynthea, and caught her in his arms. Napataas ang kilay ko.

"Bitawan mo siya, Zeref."

I did not trust them- the Rebels, kahit na sila ang sumagip sa'min mula sa Lernean Hydra. Though it's still a question how the Lernean Hydra vanished.

Bakit din biglang nahimatay si Xynthea? There's really something about her that I can't seem to grasp.

Masama akong tiningnan ni Zeref nang nilingon n'ya ako. Maingat niyang binuhat si Xynthea sa kaniyang bisig. Nakamask parin siya pero alam naming siya nga si Zeref. And of course, Gideon was beside him. The rest of the Rebels are unknown to us.

"Wala kaming masamang intensyon sa inyo, Aster," Gideon spoke for Zeref. Halos matigilan ako nang marinig ulit ang boses niya.

He's alive, after all. Buong akala namin namatay na siya nang inatake siya ng sarili niyang ama. Hephaestus. All of us didn't remember what happened that day, but it was also the cause of Diane's expulsion from her Semideus rank.

That day was a lost and blurred memory for all of us. June 19.

Napalunok ako, at pilit na isinintabi ang nararamdaman ko para kay Gideon. Of course, I was longing for him, but my mission is more important.

"You stole the ambrosia of Artemis. Attacked Xynthea-"

Natigilan ako nang malakas na tumawa si Gideon. "We can never attack, Xynthea. Lagot kami kay Master n'yan!" he joked. I suddenly felt an excruciating pain when I heard him laugh.

Here I am pained, while he could still manage to laugh.

I let out a sharp exhale. "Did you steal the ambrosia?"

Umiling naman ang isa pang lalaki. Llyr. Kung hindi ako nagkakamali, iyon ang pangalan niya. He had green eyes, and ash brown hair. He also used to be a Semideus. A weak one to be exact, but I didn't know that he could be this powerful.

The girl in the Rebels was unfamiliar, but her eyes refelcted the rainbows. I assumed she is a demigod daughter of Iris, Goddess of Rainbows and also a messenger.

"Someone else stole it," she said.

Someone else? Nagulat ako nang maglakad si Zeref.

"S'an mo s'ya dadalhin?" kaagad na tanong ni Damon. Out of everyone, he was the most protective. He deeply cares for everyone, and he'd do anything for them even though he was only a mortal.

Zeref removed his mask, and let out a deep sigh. "Palayo sa'yo," sagot niya kay Damon. Pumunta siya sa isang wooden chair at inupo r'on si Xynthea.

Maingat niya ring tinanggal ang panyong tumaklob sa ilong at bibig ni Xynthea. He was about to go to us when Xynthea subconsciously held his hand tight. Nagkunot noo rin siya habang walang malay.

The girl laughed. "Ayaw ka na pakawalan, master."

Humiyaw pa si Gideon at malakas na namang tumawa. Tinapunan sila ni Zeref ng malamig na tingin.

"Hoy!" natigilan sila nang sumigaw si Diane. "Putek kayo! Bakit ba kayo narito, ha? Salamat sa tulong, pero kung hindi naman kayo 'yong nagnakaw. Edi... weh? Hindi kayo? Duda ako eh!"

Damon chuckled because of Diane's straightforward question. Llyr also laughed. "We are here because of that someone else. Matagal na naming napapansin 'yon mula sa Olympian World palang. The man was so mysterious that we can't see him or catch even a glimpse of him. We're actually saving you. Dumbass," sagot niya kay Diane.

Diane scoffed. I could almost hear her words, halatang halata sa mukha niya na naoffend siya sa 'dumbass' ni Llyr.

"Sinong bobo ulit?" tanong ni Diane kay Llyr at humakbang palapit na para bang siga.

Llyr smirked. "You, dumbass."

"Ikaw, mukha kang pwet!" bulyaw naman ni Diane sa kaniya.

"Enough," maawtoridad na wika ni Zeref na hawak-hawak pa rin ang kamay ni Xynthea. His chest roughly rose up.

He exhaled sharply. Magsasalita na sana siya nang lumingon siya sa babae, at tinanguan 'yon. The girl removed her mask, and I noticed her rainbow colored hair.

She waved at us. "Hello, first of all, I am Irish, a demigod daughter of Iris. I was recruited by-"

"Irish!" sabay-sabay na saway ng mga lalaki. She pouted and rolled her eyes. "Okay, fine! Chill!"

"So, there's really someone messing up with everything, na akala niyo kami. Wala naman kaming balak na ayusin ang misunderstanding na 'yon, but we need to say it now," panimula niyang wika.

"This mission is dangerous for you. My- our theory is that the mysterious man woke the Lernean Hydra from the dead. I think he is preventing you from finding Artemis, since he also stole the ambrosia."

So, they're right. Everything is a misunderstanding. Hindi naman pala sila masasamang tao.

"He's a he?" tanong ni Damon. She turned to him and shrugged.

"That, we still don't know. Everything happens so suddenly. Katulad ngayon. Bigla nalang nawala ang Lernean Hydra, gan'on din ang nangyari sa ambrosia."

"Do you think we can catch the mysterious man here in Epirus?" tanong ko. Hindi ko na sadya tinatapunan ng tingin si Gideon dahil nadi-distract ako.

Umiling silang lahat. Zeref spoke this time, "We've been trying, but we really can't catch him."

"But we need to catch that man to prove we are Semideuses. Hindi nila kami papalapitin sa Grove of Dodona hangga't hindi namin 'yon nahuhuli," paliwanag ko.

Gideon nodded. "Yes, we understand. That is why we're here. Sabihin niyo nalang na kami ang mga spies kuno rito. Na nahuli niyo nga kami. Doesn't that sound nice?"

Napaawang ang labi ko. Halos umatras ang dila ko dahil kinausap niya ako. Hindi ako makapagsalita. I'm still shocked.

Thankfully, Damon spoke for me. "They might do something with you. Behead? Kill?"

Zeref chuckled. "We are demigods, Semideuses. We'll surely escape them. Ang mahalaga, makalapit kayo sa Oracle of Dodona."

I nodded, getting his point.

"Why did you form the Rebels, anyway? Mga rebelde ba kayo?" tanong bigla ni Diane.

Llyr answered, "Depende. We're a group of Semideuses that acts on our own. Hindi namin sinusunod ang mga utos o rules ng Olympians. We're also the group who seeks answers on what the hell happened on June 19."

Isa-isa niya kaming tiningnan. "I believe you also have no idea what happened on that day, but you remember what happened before and after."

And he was right.

The Semideus
By lostmortals
Plagiarism is a crime.

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