Chapter 38: The Final Vengeance in the Darkness
The night in Plaridel was a relentless nightmare, filled with cries of pain, rage, and desperation. City hall, once a symbol of authority, had become a blood-soaked battlefield. The rebels of Anak ng Bulakan, the Bagwis—were slowly faltering, their bodies weary and bloodied against the merciless forces of General Vicente Salazar. The crystal monsters, like demons from another realm, pressed their relentless assault, impervious to the rebels' attacks.
At the heart of the battle, Gilo, the sugo of Malolos, stood defiant before the five towering crystal monsters, his white flames flickering but fading. His comrades lay scattered around him, some sprawled lifeless on the ground, their eyes void of light. Smoke from burning police vehicles choked the air, and the stench of blood was suffocating.
"Gilo, our forces are weakening! Save yourself and escape!" shouted Diego, his closest ally, as he dragged a wounded rebel away from the fray. His voice cracked with fear and exhaustion. "We're no match for them! Our people are dying!"
But Gilo's eyes blazed with fury and resolve. He saw Alonzo, a comrade, struck by a bolt of electricity from a crystal monster. Alonzo's body convulsed before collapsing, his eyes open but lifeless. "Alonzo!" Gilo cried, his voice raw with anguish. He knelt beside his friend's body, his trembling hands clutching Alonzo's cold shoulder. "You shouldn't have died… none of you should have…"
Before Alonzo's lifeless form, Gilo's rage erupted like an unstoppable fire. "You Spaniards!" he roared, his voice thundering across city hall. "An eye for an eye, a life for a life! I'll show you the true punishment for your sins against us!" He stood, fists clenched, and his white flames flared brighter than ever.
In an instant, his body transformed. The white fire enveloped him, as if a living entity burning through his soul. He grew to five meters tall, his arms becoming powerful, his eyes blazing with white fire. His form resembled a dragon forged from flame, its wings beating in the air. With each breath, he spewed white fire, and everything it touched—police, barricades, even ordinary objects—began to petrify, turning to stone.
"I'll make your bodies as hard as stone, you demons!" Gilo bellowed, his voice dripping with vengeance. He soared into the sky, his wings stirring powerful gusts that scattered dust and debris. From above, he unleashed white fire onto the Spanish police below. They screamed in agony as their bodies turned to stone mid-flight, collapsing as lifeless statues.
In his desperation, a plan formed in Gilo's mind. "If I can't defeat their general, I'll kill every Spaniard in Plaridel!" he whispered, his eyes burning with ruthlessness. "I'll turn them into permanent stone, a monument to the sacrifice of every *Bagwis* who died tonight!" His fire blazed fiercer, like a storm of vengeance, and even those uninvolved in the battle began to flee in terror.
But amid his assault, General Salazar laughed loudly from his position at city hall's entrance, watching calmly. His sneer was full of mockery, as if he cared nothing for his men. "An Indio playing with fire!" he taunted, his voice dripping with arrogance. "Your efforts are useless against me, sugo of Malolos! There are too many Spaniards in this town. Your energy will run dry before you turn them all to stone." His laughter echoed, mocking Gilo's every struggle. "Does he really think I care about those he's petrifying when there are plenty more to replace them in Plaridel?" Salazar thought.
In that moment, an unexpected attack struck. A colossal skeleton, fifteen meters tall, plummeted from the sky, its bones ablaze with red fire. It swung a massive scythe at Salazar, unleashing a tremor and a surge of energy that shook the ground. Crystal spikes erupted from the earth, and dust clouded the air.
"What nonsense is this?!" Salazar shouted, leaping back to evade another strike. His body was encased in red crystal, like armor protecting him. Using his power, he manipulated the crystal into a shield, blocking the skeleton's scythe. The impact rattled his bones, and he felt the unnatural force behind it. "This power isn't ordinary. I can sense the negative energy around it," he thought.
The skeleton landed, its red flames blazing in the darkness. Salazar, seeing such a creature for the first time, felt the overwhelming energy emanating from it. "What kind of sugo wields this power?" he muttered, his eyes wide with shock.
Suddenly, he sensed a powerful presence behind him. He turned swiftly, but before he could react, a sharp spear pierced his chest. Hustisya stood before him, her eyes blazing with rage and pain. "You demonic Spaniards!" she screamed. "You'll pay dearly for all your sins against the Filipinos!"
But instead of fear, Salazar grinned, as if delighted by his opponent's appearance. His laughter was cold and mocking. "A rat pretending to be a lion!" he sneered. "Did you like my gift in the plaza, Hustisya? I prepared it just for you!" The spot where the spear struck began to crystallize, countering her attack.
Moments later, sharp red crystal spikes protruded from Salazar's body, like daggers ready to strike. Before they could hit Hustisya, she vanished like the wind. In an instant, she reappeared atop the giant skeleton's head, her red cloak billowing in the fierce wind.
Salazar, now encased in red crystal armor, was surrounded by his five crystal monsters, ready to protect him. "At last, you've come out of hiding, Hustisya!" he shouted, his voice full of scorn. "If you hadn't shown yourself, I planned to massacre the people in the squatter areas and spread word that the Filipinos started the rebellion in Plaridel!"
Hustisya's rage flared. "You demon, Salazar!" she roared, her voice like thunder laced with hatred. "You don't deserve to live! Monsters like you have no place in this world!" She charged, but the five crystal monsters blocked her path, their bodies swift and unyielding.
Hustisya attacked, her scythe-tipped spear glowing with red fire. With each swing, she tried to shatter the crystal monsters, but every time she broke them, their fragments reassembled, as if alive. The monsters struck back in unison, their arms unleashing bolts of electricity that sparked explosions across the ground.
"I'll destroy you!" Hustisya cried, her voice thick with fury. She commanded the giant skeleton to attack. It charged, its fiery bones blazing, and smashed two crystal monsters. The impact was so powerful it collapsed part of city hall's wall, but the monsters rose again, their fragments reforming.
Seizing an opportunity, Hustisya appeared behind Salazar while the monsters were occupied with the skeleton, her spear poised to strike. "Die, Salazar!" she screamed, but before her weapon could connect, a crystal spike shot from Salazar's hand, blocking her attack. The impact sent Hustisya flying back, her body crashing into the ground.
"Not that easy, rat!" Salazar laughed, his eyes gleaming with pride. "I trained in combat in Spain, while you only know street fights! An Indio has no chance against a true warrior!"
Furious, Hustisya stood, her eyes burning red. "I won't stop, Salazar!" she shouted, her voice seething with hatred. "I'll kill you and your evil, no matter what it takes!" Using her power, she levitated debris around her—wreckage from vehicles, stones, even fallen posts—and hurled them at Salazar.
But Salazar merely smiled, raising a massive red crystal wall with a wave of his hand, blocking everything Hustisya threw. A flying car crumpled against the wall like a toy. "Is that all you've got?" he mocked. "Those childish tricks won't work on me, Hustisya!"
Undeterred, Hustisya pressed her attack. She vanished, reappearing behind Salazar, her spear blazing with red fire. But his crystals, as if alive, swiftly enveloped him, blocking her spear. The impact sent her reeling again, and she punched the ground in frustration, feeling her body weaken with each failed attempt.
"You're just a child I can toy with, Hustisya," Salazar said, his smile brimming with arrogance. "I admire your courage, but to me, you're just a stray rat in this war. Indio!"
Despite her setbacks, Hustisya refused to yield. "Stop calling me Indio! I'll kill you!" she roared, her voice a mix of rage and resolve. She vanished again, appearing in different directions around Salazar—behind, beside, in front—her spear glowing with red fire at each strike. But every time, Salazar's crystals blocked her, as if they had a mind of their own.
In a flash, Salazar anticipated her movement and seized Hustisya's throat. His crystal-clad hand tightened, and she couldn't break free. "Catching a rat like you is so easy!" he laughed, his voice dripping with mockery. "Why not use your vanishing power to escape?"
Hustisya struggled, kicking at Salazar's face, but she gasped as his head turned to red crystal, like an unbreakable mask. "What kind of power is this?!" she whispered, her eyes wide with shock.
Salazar grinned, as if he'd uncovered her secret. "The powers of sugos like us have weaknesses that are easy to spot," he said confidently. "We can touch other sugos without harm, even if their bodies are made of fire or electricity. And in your case, Hustisya, you can't vanish when another sugo holds you!"
Enraged, Hustisya screamed, "I don't need to escape, Salazar! I'll kill you now!" In an instant, she unleashed a surge of energy, and a massive shadow appeared beneath them. From it, another giant skeleton emerged, its bones blazing with red fire. It lunged, engulfing both Salazar and Hustisya in its jaws.
Moments later, Hustisya reappeared outside the skull, her spear glowing with red fire. With all her strength, she hurled it into the skull where Salazar was trapped. The spear pierced through, triggering a massive explosion that enveloped the area in smoke.
As the smoke cleared, Hustisya was stunned to see a red crystal encasing the skeleton's neck. She realized Salazar had protected himself with his crystal against her attack. "Damn it, why won't he just die?!" she cursed.
Moments later, Salazar emerged from the crystal, unscathed, his arrogance intact. "I'd be more impressed if you had something new to show me, Hustisya!" he laughed. "I'm just getting started, and this fight will be even more fun with a little challenge!"
Suddenly, a plan formed in Salazar's mind. "What if I massacre every Filipino in Plaridel tonight?" he taunted, his voice dripping with malice. "Wouldn't that make things more thrilling?"
Furious, Hustisya shouted, "Don't drag the Filipinos into this, Salazar! This fight is between us!" Her eyes blazed, her scythe glowing with fiercer red fire.
But Salazar only laughed. "An Indio is an Indio," he sneered. "The sin of one Indio is the sin of all Indios. If I let those who believe in a vigilante like you live, they'll rebel and commit crimes in my town someday. So it's better to kill every Filipino in Plaridel—along with you!"
His eyes flared, and he unleashed a surge of energy. Crystals sprouted from the skeleton he stood on, and from the ground, a hundred more crystal monsters emerged, their eyes glowing with red electricity.
Salazar's laughter echoed across city hall. "What will you do now, Hustisya?" he challenged. "See the hundred crystal monsters before you? Can you stop them from massacring the Filipinos?"
"You demon, Salazar!" Hustisya screamed.
Salazar laughed louder, like a demon preparing for an unspeakable act. "Save them, if you can!" he taunted.
The night in Plaridel became a crucible of war, filled with rage, sacrifice, and power. Hustisya, driven by fury and determination, fought for her town's justice. And in the midst of it all, Plaridel's fate rested in her hands, as blood and fire continued to flow across its soil.