Chapter 7

"Daaanggggg! You just ran four kilometers straight," Pleja commended Reo as she checked the map on her mobile. "Way to go, Reo!"

Reo was in a state of remorse, eager to breathe normally as he retched. "You guys are really heavy," Reo pleaded with the two.

"Ummm, excuse me? What are you doing?" Pleja asked as she observed Usman's hideous act.

"Stupid, shut up! I'm trying to save our asses from growling bellies," Usman answered as he focused on his finger, producing concentrated electricity to cut the chains hindering their entry into the mall.

"Heeeeyyy, who are you?" A voice from a distance was heard as a man pointed a bright light at the three.

"I'm sorry, we don't know him!" Pleja responded in surprise, denying Usman's association with the group.

"I'm the new owner of this place!" The man proclaimed ownership of the building. "If you dare not to leave this place, I'll cut you with my samurai."

The three suddenly felt embarrassed to share the same country with the man. A grit of teeth was heard beside Usman, which startled him.

"Pssst... Pleja... Control yourself!" Usman said, recalling a bitter experience he had with Pleja.

"You bastard, dare to breathe the same air I'm breathing!" Pleja taunted the man as she ran toward him and smacked him from head to toe. "It's called a Katana, you bastard!"

An hour later.

"Why do I need to be doing this?" Reo whined as he fed the bound man.

"Hey, you... May I have your name?" Usman interrogated the man for minutes, yet the man struggled to give answers. As he wrapped things up, he came to a conclusion that the man was an NPC.

"I'm Marco, dumbass. I'm not an NPC," replied the man in disbelief.

"That's what you get for playing too many video games," Pleja replied with a disdainful tone in front of Usman. "Hah, loser!"

Meanwhile, a group of creatures appeared near the SM Center Angono, the building where Reo's group was staying. One of them broke into the building, while the others vanished instantly.

"Hey, just let me go!" Marco demanded to be released. "I will not cause trouble for you, I swear."

The group decided to free Marco. Usman began discussing the things he knew. He shared that he had something called Thunder's Fang agimat, but he wasn't aware of where it came from. He also mentioned having two offensive skills under his belt.

Reo then shared his side, explaining that he defeated the Sarangay with pure Jijutsu, not super strength. Pleja and Usman looked at him with intrigue. He followed the stares with the number of agimats in his possession. He had two skills, one offensive and one buff.

"How about you, Pleja?" Usman asked.

Pleja sweated and replied, "Ummm, I'm a battle mage class, that's it."

"Seems like someone has been playing too many video games," Usman replied with a tone of satisfaction, having gotten his revenge. "Loser!"

"Tsk!" Pleja replied out of dissatisfaction.

A mobile phone rang loudly in the distance.

Reo picked up the phone due to its familiar ringtone.

"Reo! Thank goodness, we've encountered some difficulties for unknown reasons," said the person on the phone with relief. "I don't know when we'll come back, but please protect Leo at all costs."

"Pardon, ma'am, this isn't Reo," he replied, dropping the call with a dismaying look in his eyes. He forced a smile for everyone around. "Some people don't know how to grasp the situation," he exclaimed, drawing attention to the room.

The scene was so quiet that only the crackling of the burning twigs warming the area could be heard. "Do you want to hear the story of my sam... I mean katana?" Marco requested an ear, grabbing the attention of the three.

---

It began in ancient Japan, where two brothers who could harness the power of dragons in the draco realm stood against an ancient dark force. This dark force managed to separate them to weaken their draconian force against it.

As each brother traveled the world, one of them reached the Philippines. The northern brother was welcomed and made acquaintance with one of the greatest chieftains of the tribe. Both men traded various skills which would later be utilized in suppressing the dark force.

They also made a brotherhood pact called the Sandugo pact, indicating that the chieftain and the northern brother shared blood. As the northern brother reached enlightenment and defeated the dark force alongside the southern brother, he returned to the Philippines. He found that the chieftain had died in a war. He stuck the katana into the ground and left the country in sorrow. It was said that the katana was stuck into the ground to absorb the curse flowing around the area. Since then, rumors spread that this katana held an ancient curse waiting to be wielded.

---

The story of Marco caused Usman and Pleja to doze off. Marco was annoyed when he saw that Reo was still awake. Most people fell asleep when he talked about the katana.

"Why are you still awake?" Marco asked calmly.

"I can't sleep," Reo replied as he continued to blankly stare at the dancing fire. "Weird images pop up in my head when I try to sleep."

Marco reached for his katana and handed it to Reo, suggesting that it might help him sleep. He also warned Reo that running with his katana would result in an instant coffin for the boy.

A sound echoed from the building's ground floor at midnight. The group was startled by the loud boom and everyone woke up.

The four began to prepare and assumed their guard positions. The commotion grew louder. Reo decided to approach the source of the commotion. Then, a terrifying three-foot beast messing with the building's plates caught his attention.

Suddenly, Usman fell to the ground. The three turned to stare at him after hearing the sound of his activity. Reo then turned to look back and saw the creature, but it had vanished. He took another look and double-checked the area. As he opened his eyes from a sudden glimpse, the creature showed itself in front of his face, ready to swing its weapon.