Legend of Cambions

18 | Ajax

SASKIA
Sashyana Kiaundra Nieves

"Sashyana!" rinig kong tawag ni Ajax sa'kin nang hindi ko mamalayang halos himatayin na ako.

I felt his arm supporting my waist, but everything else seems blurry. Napahawak ako agad sa ulo ko, at tila ba kanina pa itong sumasakit- hindi ko lang nararamdaman. It's as if when I was being confronted by Knight Bronx, I became numb. Now that he's gone, the feeling of numbness is also gone.

Was it because of him, or was it just caused my subconscious self? Did he make me feel numb, or did I just ignore the pain earlier?

Binaon ko ang mukha ko sa dibdib ni Ajax, at ramdam ko namang nagulat pa siya.

"S-" he stopped for a bit, and scooped my legs to carry me in his arms, "Let's move down the seas, okay? Please keep yourself awake until we reach there."

The seas? I thought. May barko ba kaming sasakyan?

Hindi ko naman 'yon natanong sapagkat lubusan na akong nanghihina. Sa ilang sandali, narinig ko na rin ang tunog ng hampas ng mga alon. I curled myself more because of the strong winds.

However, I jolted because of an explosion. Nahalata kong nagulat din si Ajax, at kaagad niya akong binaba. Sinubukan kong imulat ang mata ko, ngunit wala akong makita kung hindi mga blurred scenes.

A bright red color from afar... that is probably fire. How many silhouettes do I see? There is one silhoutte close to me, and I'm sure it's Ajax.

"Shoot!" a powerful voice ordered. Dahil d'on, napatayo ako gayunpamang hindi ko talaga nakikita ang lahat. Nabigo naman ako nang madapa ako. I couldn't even properly hear everything out because of the ringing sound or tinnitus.

Argh! Why won't the pain go away now?!

Because I have no other choice, I just raised my hand and tried emitting power once again. I just hope I still have enough energy to summon demons.

"Protect Ajax," I ordered it in a whisper. Hindi ko naman alam kung ano na ang nangyayari, ngunit naramdaman ko ang presensya nila, kaya't nasisiguro kong nagtagumpay ako sa pagsu-summon sa kanila.

Napasinghap ako nang tila ba may panang tumama sa binti ko. I seethed my teeth, and shut my eyes tightly. Nakarinig pa ako ng mga pana kaya tinaas ko ang kamay ko, at hiniling na sana'y masira lahat ng panang tumatama sa'kin.

Hindi naman 'yon tumalab 'pagkat muli na naman akong natamaan sa bandang dibdib. I almost screamed in agony, but I tried ignoring the pain and pulling the arrows out.

Suddenly, I heard a horn from behind. Nakarinig ako ng mga sumisigaw na… soldiers? I tried looking back, and saw a blurred silhoutte of a ship. There were men with swords and arrows who seemed like who were launching for an attack.

I bit my lips in worry. Is this really the end?

Hindi na ako nagulat nang may humablot sa'kin, ngunit nagulat ako nang sinimulan nilang gamutin ang mga sugat ko.

"Protect the Nieves Princess," a voice of a woman ordered. The soldiers around me agreed, and I was suddenly confused.

Protect? Hindi ba sila taga-Nieves? Hindi ba't dapat ay papatayin ako o huhulihin ng mga taga-Nieves?

Then, I realized that these people are fighting against the Nieves army. They are here to save me, but who could they be?

The Aire army? Perhaps. Sila lang naman ang may kayang makarating dito nang mabilis, and they're the only army who could go against Nieves. The Skylands' Kingdoms wouldn't be able to take down a big army like them, and neither would the Fuego army since they are allies.

"Ajax…," bulong ko sa isang soldier. "The man with light blue eyes. Is he safe?" mabagal kong tanong habang naghahabol ng hininga.

Tila nag-uusap sila, at hinahanap si Ajax. I sighed in relief because for now, I can at least trust them to protect Ajax.

Halos nabitawan ako ng isa dahil tila nagulat siya. "Ano 'yon?!"

"Demon? Shoot it!" ani ng isa pa.

"No!" I exclaimed. "They're my demons. I summoned them to protect Ajax."

Napaubo naman ako dahil sa pagpilit kong magsalita. I almost fainted, but I kept myself up.

"Protektahan? Your demons are attacking him, your Highness! He is about to die—"

"Shoot them!" sigaw ko. Nag-panic ako agad dahil sa narinig. I tried dispersing the demons I summoned, and I still don't know if what I'm doing is effective. I just hope that it is.

"Is it gone?"

"Yes, Your Highness," tugon nila. Napahinga naman ako nang maluwag. I tried looking at Ajax's direction and opened my eyes.

Napaawang naman ang bibig ko nang makakita ng matinding gulo sa paligid. Hindi ko man malinaw na nakikita, ngunit halata pa rin 'yon.

"Where is Ajax?" I asked, and squinted my eyes to see better.

"He's gone, Princess Sashya—" I sharply turned my head towards the man who was speaking. Mas lalo namang sumakit ang ulo ko dahil doon.

"A-anong sabi mo?" pilit kong sigaw.

"Th-the demons have devoured him, Princess Sashyana," tugon niya na nakapagpigil ng hininga ko.

"An arrow was also shot in his chest. I'm sor—" they stopped as I screamed.

An unknown feeling overwhelmed within me, that I couldn't stop myself from screaming in pain. Ramdam kong nagliyab ang kapaligiran, at hindi ko na makontrol ang enerhiya ko.

Just because of what they said, my weak energy has now overflowed with power. The root cause would be the feeling of wrath.

Hindi ko pa rin makita nang maayos ang paligid, at halos wala na akong marinig— kundi ang maliliit na tawag ni Ajax sa'kin.

"Saskia."

Napasinghap ako nang makakita ng dugo sa paligid niya. It was still blurry, but the truth was in front of me.

I know it is his silhouette and voice. I know it is Ajax, and I cannot accept that truth.

Napaawang ang labi ko nang hindi na marinig ang paghinga niya. I didn't even know how I was able to hear him from afar.

"Ajax," ani ko, ngunit sa loob lang ng utak ko. Hindi ko magawang magsalita. It's as if anytime I speak, the overflowing energy contained inside me would burst.

Hindi ko alam kung bakit hindi ko magawang umiyak. I couldn't see him, and I couldn't believe it. It's all so blurry… why?

What happened?

Did he die because of me, or because of the Nieves army?

Suddenly, I heard his voice inside my head. "It's not your fault, Saskia." It repeated inside my head, until it drowned every single thought.

It isn't my fault.

It was the Nieves.

And they deserve my wrath.

Legend of Cambions
By lostmortals
Plagiarism is a crime.

Thank you for reading!