Gervanni Lucrese/LIFE III's View
"A-Are you really sure about that, Van? You know, it's dangerous---"
I cutted Dad off, "Don't you trust me, Daddy? A war won't be a perfect war if the other team's hiding." Malamig na sabi ko habang pinapa-dede sa tsupon si Izaac. He's playing with my shirt using his hands. Tss. Tamad na bata. Hindi manlang magawang hawakan ang sarili niyang bote.
"And also, I'll be gone for a month too." Dagdag ko dahilan para makuha ko ang atensyon nilang lahat.
"And where are you going?" It was Azazel who just entered the scene. Shaking Izaac's bottle.
"Country by country. I'll gather informations. Everything I need to know about Sinister Phantom, mafias, mobs, their underlings---EVERY LITTLE THING. I need to know."
"Then, I'll come with you. I want to know more too." Presinta ni Yohanne na nakataas pa ang kamay.
"Yohanne," Tito Raghkeid. He smiled at him and tapped his shoulder.
"I'll be fine, Dad. I'll be stronger. I'll protect our family---"
"Huwag ka ngang ma-drama, Yohanne Minuet Dragunovv." Ismid ko sa kaniya. Masama niya akong tiningnan. Inirapan ko lang siya.
"Kung aalis ka, sama kami. Solid dapat squad natin kahit wala na si Disaster." Locke. Tumingin kaming lahat sa kaniya. Awkward silence surrounded us.
"Don't cry, Van." Yohanne, sabay tapik sa likod ko. Hinampas ko siya ng unan sa ulo. Bwisit.
"I won't cry. I'm done with crying. It's about fighting now." I looked at Izaac who's looking at me. And I don't know why but my tears fall one by one.
"Akala ko ba hindi ka iiyak?" Paris. Hindi ko siya pinansin. Hinawakan ko ang kamay ni Izaac at hinalikan.
"I can't help it. I'm trying my best to forget her but...everytime I'll remember her, I can't hold back my tears. I fucking have so many regrets. And maybe, nagkulang rin ako. I can pretend that I'm fine. I can say that I'm okay. I can show you I'm strong. But in the middle of the night, as I stare to the moon outside, I remember her. I miss...Luna. But I can't do anything now to get her back. It was like all of a sudden, we're once lovers and now, we're the worst enemies." My voice cracks at every word. Natakpan ko ang mukha ko at ginawa ang lahat upang hindi humagulgol. It still hurts me. The wound's still fresh. The pain of her departure was still here. It feels like as days goes by, mas lalo lang itong lumalala.
I paused when I heard Izaac cried. Naalis ko ang kamay kong nakatakip sa mukha ko at tumingin sa kaniya. He was holding my hand with his little hands tight as he cried. Face and nose so red. There were no tears rolling down his cheeks. But his eyes were sad as he look at me.
"You don't want to see me cry, lil' man?" Nangingiting sabi ko at binuhat siya at inihiga sa dibdib ko. He immediately rested his head on my chest and wrapped his arms around me as if he was hugging me. I smiled.
"Hush, I won't cry anymore. Daddy won't cry anymore. Don't cry. You're voice's annoying. It's irritating." Sabinko sa kaniya at hinagod siya sa likod. Unti-unti siyang huminahon. Tumingin siya sa akin habang subo-subo ang kamay niya.
"Good boy." I gently pinched his nose na nagpa-tawa sa kaniya.
"You like that? Hmmm?" Pinisil ko ulit ng mahina ang ilong niya. He laughed again. Hindi ko na napansin pa ang iba dahil sa katahimikan nila. They were just watching us both. Itinayo ko siya sa tiyan ko. I sing a song at isinayaw siya. He waved his hand at tumingin kay Azazel na nasa uluhan ko naka-upo. She lifted my head at inihiga sa hita niya.
Siya naman ang kumanta, "Guns, bombs knives and little life~ How I wonder how long you'll last~ I have your life here in my hand~ I'll slit your throat, slowly you'll die~ Twinkle, twinkle, little star~ Should I stab you in your heart~?" naka-ngiti niyang kanta (in Twinkle Twinkle Little Star nursery rhyme tune) dahilan para matigilan ako sa pagsasayaw kay Izaac. His smile slowly faded too as he look to the monster singing that creepy, murder song!
"What the fuck, bitch? Is that song for him? You'll kill your own son?" I asked, out of breath. I was about to get up nang hilahin niya ako sa buhok pahiga sa hita niya ulit.
"Of course not! I mean it for the enemies." Simpleng sagot niya na ikina-irap ko. Inihiga ko si Izaac sa tabi ko. Bigla siyang tumayo.
"Alis. Tatabihan ko siya." Utos niya sa akin. Siraulo ba siya?
"Paalisin mo ako, eh, ako nauna dito?" Asar na sabi ko at niyakap si Izaac. Isinubo ko sa kaniya ang pacifier niya. Mukhang ayaw niya 'non kaya itinapon niya.
"Bastard (-, -)"
Wala na akong nagawa nang humiga siya sa harap ko. Izaac's between us. Both of them were resting on my arm. Fuck. One wrong move, malalaglag ako sa couch. Tsk. Kung bakit kasi sumiksik-siksik pa siya.
"You hungry, Honey?" Naka-ngiting tanong niya kay Izaac na hawak ang mga daliri namin gamit ang dalawang kamay. He was biting it one after another. And it tickles me because of his gums na wala pang ngipin.
"What the hell are you doing!?" Agad kong hinawakan ang kamay niya nang akmang ibababa na niya ang damit niya.
"What? I'm going to feed him." Heck is that!?
"May gatas pa naman siya sa bote niya. Hindi mo kailangang basta-bastang inilalabas 'yang dede mo. Stupid." Asar na sabi ko at inabot ang bote ni Izaac na nasa lamesa at pinasak sa bibig niya. Ugh. Hawak ko na naman. Tsk.
"What countries are you gonna visit?" She asked all of a sudden.
"Italy, Spain, China and Japan, I guess. Countries with active Mafia families." I answered. I already had the list. I'm still in the middle of making up my plans. I just won't barge into their doors unarmed and with no plans at all. I need high rank.
"Do you know what's UWPAC?" Tanong ko sa mga professional assassins dito na pinapanood kami. Umayos sila ng upo.
"Yes. It means Underground Worldwide Power and Authority Chart. I heard they will release the newest update of the ranking today?" Denise.
"Really!?" The others exclaimed.
"Yup. Ang alam ko ang rank 30-11 ay nai-post na nila kaninang midnight. They were struggling on finalizing the Top 10 daw, eh." Denise answered. Damn this curiousity. I wanna know what's that for.
"Obvious naman siguro sa pangalan kung ano ang UWPAC, hindi ba? People with the most number of connections and underlings are ranked by 1-100. If, they are belong and signed up in the the website specially made for us: assassins, mafias, mobs, and such. And of course, there were processes before you can be it's official member. Being a member of it doesn't mean you're an ally of those who are in there too. Let's make Facebook as an example. You can post there, share, comment your thoughts, message other members, create a group or page with other members and many more." Paliwanag niya but the infos didn't satisfied me. I guess I need to look after it my own.
"There is almost a hundred pages and group there already. The 'Pages' is exclusive for the VIPs only. They are free to make one. You can tell if one's a VIP if they have the UWPAC badge after their name. Verified on the other term. How to be a VIP? Be on the Top 10. If you're in the top 10 then you made a page, then suddenly, your rank became low, your page will remain, but, your badge will be gone and so the power to create another page." Paliwanag naman ni Minerva na hinehele si Kaitlin.
"What are those pages for?"
"Hmmm, depende sa creator. For example, since Aloisia's the Top 9 before, we created a page for her. We named it after her, pero walang nakalagay. Many members liked her page since she's known for being the greatest assassin of all time. They were posting messages there for her. At mga nakatambak na lang 'yon doon since hindi na namin 'yon nagagalaw. Iniba niya kasi ang password ng account niya doon. Hmmmmf." Napa-tango naman ako.
"And for the groups, then a group exclusively for the underlings and followers of a certain leader. Sinister Phantom is the biggest group in UWPAC. They have over 2.8 million, or more than that, underlings." Minerva sounded so damn serious na inirapan ko na lamang. Tumayo si Denise at kinonekta ang laptop niya sa flat screen tv. She opened a certain website at hindi Google ang search engine 'non.
"Welcome to Dark Web." Naka-ngising sabi niya sa amin. Napatitig ako sa screen.
"Look, whatever you're about to see, sikmurain niyo, okay? This is our world. No, the demons' den. So, huwag na kayong magugulat. Because really, Aloisia hates Dark Web so much because of the evilness lies in it." Wika niya at may kung anong itinype. And there welcomed us...inhumanity.
"F-F-Fuck..."
I don't know what to react. I can't take off my eyes on it. Just like...are they really human? Should I need to describe the awful things on it?
Menace. Perilous. Unpleasant. Evil.
In the Dark Web, the true human nature was there. The worst human deeds are there. This world was full of perilous places. Humans are menace. Heartless. Truly evil.
"This is UWPAC's website. The Underground Den or UgD. As you can see, it looks normal. But if I'll log in," she typed her codename, then password, and something like a code or email then it loaded.
"Hoky shit!" Mura nila nang sumalubong sa amin ay hubot-hubad na mga babae at gutay-gutay ang katawan. Nalaglag ang panga ko. And all of a sudden, I felt fear. For my Mom. For Maxine. For Azazel. And for every woman in here. That's truly---SINFUL! The girls are so pitiful!
"T-T-This is UgD. I-Ito ang kabuuan niya. I-It looks like a normal social media site, r-right?" Ani Denise na halatang nagulat sa bumungad sa kaniya. She was pale and stiffed to her place. Who wouldn't!?
"I feel like joining them."
Lahat kami ay napatingin kay Azazel na naka-ngisi, "Bitch, are you sane!?"
"What? Nothing's good in this world already. Why bother to behave if you can be freaky?" She's absurd!
"Kidding. But I do really want to join them. As you can see, everything that Xerene knows, I know too. If Liore really used 'Vision' to erase her memories, who's the winner here? Bitch, ME. No other than the absolute ME." Naka-ngising sabi niya habang naka-taas ang kilay. Unti-unting nanlaki ang mga mata namin sa nais niyang iparating.
Hell yeah! We have the advantage here!
"Eherm," bumalik ang atensyon namin kay Denise, "As you can see, this was Aloisia's page. She has her red badge, the VIP sign. And she already have 5 million likers." W-Wow. That much!?
"If we'll kill all of that million, will the toxicity of this world lessen down?" Tanong ko. I shrugged. Just asking. Walang masama sa pagbabaka sakali, right?
"You can say." Electric Current.
"Then, this is the Sinister Phantom's group They have now uhhhm, 11.5 million underlings!" Pilit ang ngiti niyang sabi na halos ikaluwa ng mga mata nila. My face became serious as I stare at the name.
Sinister Phantom...
"Then, let's check the rankings..." sabi niya at pinindot ang isang page. She scrolled down. Then clicked an image. Tapos---
"WAAAAAAHHH!!! I'M IN THE RANK 15! Hell yeah! I'M POWERFUL!" Biglang tili ni Minerva nang makita ang codename niya sa screen. It shocked the hell of us! Especially the babies! Ugh! Nagising tuloy si Izaac!
"BROOOO!!! RANK 12 KA LANG! 11 AKO! BRO, YOU'RE UNDER ME! MWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Tuwang-tuwang sabi ni Paris na nakayakap sa asawa niya at nanggigigil. The Winter Triplets and Conquerors of ICU are in the Top 11-20. But, what bothers me is that...
"Where's Volt?" They asked as they looked at him. Hindi siya nagsalita. He's pumping Izaac's toy ('yung tumutunog) and he looks so damn relaxed and happy.
"I don't know. I retired."
"PFFFFFTTTT!!! SERYOSO!?" Samid nila at hindi makapaniwala. He just shrugged. Siraulo.
"Waaaah! Wala rin ako sa Top 100! Oh my gee! Kasama kaya ako sa Top 10!?" Histerikal na sabi ni Denise at hindi na malaman ang gagawin. Nilapitan siya ni Minerva.
"Waaaaahhh! Oo nga! Bruha ka! Nahigitan mo na naman ang ganda ko!? Bruh, baka parehas na kayong nasa Top 10! Pa-party kayo!" Tili na naman niya at pinaghahampas si Freya.
"What's so good in belonging in the Top 10 anyways?" Tanong ko. Like, why is she excited for?
"Bro! Being in the Top 10 has a great advantage for an assassin! Missions will rain upon you and they will fear you---they will think THRICE before they mess up with you. Like, they'll give you a way automatically once they saw you. Marami ka ding bonuses or gifts na makukuha. As you can see UgD is not just a website. The creator of UgD is a great weapon upgrader like---MAN! Their weapons are cool, okay!? May pa-giveaway sila sa makakasama sa Top 10! If I'm not wrong, Aloisia received a chopper from UgD's creator. It was really cool!" Wala sa sariling eksplanasyon nilang pareho na tinanguhan namin. O-Okay? 'Yun na 'yon?
"Waaaaah~ Sana kotse ang sa akin. O kaya motor. Hihihihi. Nae-excite ako!" Impit na tili ni Freya at tumalon-talon kasama si Minerva. Hmmmm.... I'm interested...
"Waaaahhh! May countdown na! Ito na! Oh my gee! Ito na!" Pagwawala nilang dalawa nang lumabas na ang hourglass at timer sa screen. 1 minute. Ipinakita rin doon ang gift boxes. 10 gift boxes. I don't know but nae-excite din ako.
00:00:00
1. Godfather
2. Hades
3. Aloisia
4. Queen
5. Hawk
6. Corvus
7. Calamity
8. Furious
9. Extacy
10. Freya
*LONG SILENCE*
"KYAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!! NASA TOP 10 NGA AKO! OH MY GOD! TOP 7 SI VOLT! I CAN'T! CONGRATS, VOLT! CONGRATS, SELF! OH MY GOD!" Tuwang-tuwang sigaw ni Freya na napapatakip sa bibig. Nangunot ang noo ko. There were unfamiliar codenames to me.
"Who are they except for you three?" I mean, I already knew Denise, Volt and Luna. But the rest?
"Eherm. 'Hawk' is the USA's President." Ani Minerva since hindi pa kalmado si Denise.
"WHAT!?" Does it mean that the US President was---
"It's not what you think. Bro, Underground WORLDWIDE POWER AND AUTHORITY. Kapangyarihan ang usapan dito so of course, people with that kind of position can't be absent. But it doesn't mean the President was on the bad side. You know US. They can be dangerous at some times..." wika niya at tumango sa amin. Nakuha naman agad namin ang nais niyang ipunto.
"The Top 1, which is the 'Godfather' was the founder of Sinister Phantom. Then, Furious and Extacy was Kris and Arone. Corvus was Paris's father, the Germany's President---"
"Hell yeah! Tatay ko 'yon!" Singit ni Paris na halatang proud sa ama. Siraulo.
"And that 'Queen'?" Tanong ko. She heaved a deep sigh.
"Liore's mother? Alessandra?" Sagot ni Denise na hindi pa sure sa pangalan na sinabi niya. Nangunot ang noo namin nila Mom nang wala sa oras.
"That bitch!?" Sabay pa naming sabi ni Mom kaya nagtinginan kami.
"Luna told me what she did to Dad so... Hell yeah, Mom. I can feel you." Nandidilim ang mukha kong sabi na nagpa-milog sa mga mata nila.
"Baby Flyme..."
"I'll never forgive her." Madiin na sabi ko at sinamaan ng tingin ang pangalan na 'yon. Queen my eyes. She's nothing but a normal pawn for me.
"Hmmmm, Alessandra's not that active. But her page Alessansra Dragunovv has 3.9 million likers---"
"Wait. Wait, a minute. Again?" Putol ko sa kaniya. Namali ba ako ng dinig? What did she just said again?
"Alessandra Dragunovv???" Ulit niyang basa sa page. Natigilan siya at nanlalaki ang mga matang tumingin sa amin.
"Dragunovv!?" The hell!?
Why the fuck's her name's 'DRAGUNOVV'!?
BINABASA MO ANG
The Dragon's Seal: DEATH after LIFE (UNDER REVISION)
Ficção CientíficaPrevious Title: Their Final Battle THE REVISED VERSION IS UP.
