Chapter Five

Alphyne, Andrew and Liel looked at each other and nodded to start their mission and barge in into the hotel and investigate about the woman's information that maybe it has connection about the Katolanon's where about. The night came at the exact time of 7:25 in the evening as the three of them entered the old Sogo Hotel in Malate, Manila. Darkness filled the back entrance of the hotel and sounds of creaking floor can only be heard as they walked towards the dark hallway. Liel used his ability to see through the dark to lead the other two. They don't know about it but Alphyne can see clearly in the dark too, clear as a day.

"Hey do you see anything, Liel?" Andrew asked his companion as he feels like his body becomes heavy like he was starting to feel feverish. They have been walking around the hallways of the Hotel for two hours already but there isn't anything but walls and ceilings.

"I don't see anything suspicious, just the usual construction of walls and ceilings." Liel muttered at he kept walking to nowhere trying to find the shadow that the old woman talked about. Alphyne was just silent as also looking around for suspicious shadow. Andrew's body began to get heavy and his throat has becoming a little scratchy due to the starting fever.

"Hey!" Alphyne suddenly exclaimed making Liel turned to her and saw Andrew slumped on the floor breathing heavily.

"Hey! Andrew! He's running fever!" Liel exclaimed as he felt how hot Andrew's body is. Alphyne helped Liel to get Andrew up and let him sit down on the floor and leaned his body on the wall. Alphyne put out her blanket from her backpack and wrapped it on Andrew's shaking body. She put her left hand on his head and whispered something.

"How can I not notice it?" Liel muttered as he looked at his friend who was shaking and sweating heavily.

"What is it?" Alphyne asked as she noticed Liel who was looking on the floor and thinking too much. She also notice that his eyes were starting get swollen. She also put her hand on his head and whispered something that Liel didn't catch on.

"You have read the book of Kasanaan, right?" he asked making Alphyne nodded in affirmation. They read that one time when Sky and Dawn tour Alphyne around the institute and they entered the library to introduce Alphyne to the books she should read.

"Yeah, I remembered. What about it?"

"It introduces Sitan's information and also his guardians." Liel muttered and then Alphyne understand what he was talking about.

"His first agent!" The two of them exclaimed simultaneously.

"Manggagaway, the Goddess of disease."

"Don't tell me, she's the one behind this?"

"That's right." As it was too fast to notice, Liel and Alphyne put out their weapons to defend themselves from the enemy but they slowly put down their weapons as they saw the older woman from earlier.

"Ma'am? What are you doing here?" Liel asked as he hid his weapon from her but Alphyne remained guarded up. She was feeling a little off ever since they met earlier up until now.

"Well, I'm also just looking around." The old lady muttered and looked around the hallway. Alphyne kept her eyes on her. She heard Liel sighed.

"Ma'am, it is dangerous around here. You should go home." Liel said and was about to approach the old lady but Alphyne stopped him. He turned to Alphyne questionably.

"No. Don't get near her."

"Why? She's just an old lady."

"You will never understand what's underneath a fake façade unless you felt it."

"Huh?"

"Just don't! Do you trust me?"

"I do trust you but..."

"No buts! Go to Andrew and let me take care of this." Liel didn't have a choice but to follow her. He stayed near Andrew who was sleeping and not shaking anymore. He checked his condition and was surprised that his fever had died down. He turned to Alphyne who was still facing the old lady from earlier. He was a little confused as why was Alphyne seemed to guard up around her.

"Just how long are you still going to pretend like nothing is happening?" Alphyne started as she points her sword towards the old lady.

"How rude. I have always wondered why aren't you affected about my field of disease domain then I remembered that the Bathala Katipunan Institute had finally grasped the only daughter of the 4th Trinity leader." She said as her surroundings became misty and then after a huge wave of shadow wind, a lady with a very long hair emerged from the mist and the old lady from earlier is nowhere to be seen. She is wearing a slutty black dress with a high slit on its skirt and a thin lace sleeve and a pair of black long gloves from her elbow. Liel and Alphyne stared at the lady in black dress.

"Where are you going, to a prom or to a funeral?" Alphyne asked the moment Mangagaway finally showed her true human form. She halted and stared at Alphyne.

"How rude! This is my character design stop criticizing me!" She retorted childishly, Alphyne didn't react but only gave her deadpan expression.

"Are you really the Goddess of disease?" Liel asked as he stayed close to Andrew who was still fast asleep and seems like he's not waking up soon to witness what was happening right now.

"Well I am, duh. I am the primary suspect of why the two of you boys have sore eyes and running fever. Then this girl right here seems like unaffected by my power." Mangagaway gave herself away.

"Huh? I don't feel like my eyes are swollen." Liel muttered as he put his hands on his eyes to feel if his eyes are still swollen which is isn't. Mangagaway looked at him from where she was standing and noticed that Liel's eyes have gone back to normal.

"How did that happen?" she asked and turned to Alphyne once again. Alphyne was just watching her and doesn't include herself to their conversation. Alphyne was observing Mangagaway from her physical traits to her attitude and gestures and she doesn't seemed like a type of villain to be afraid of but her ability to cause disease may be the most scary part of her.

"It's a secret." Alphyne replied making Mangagaway irked at her.

"You..." she started as she's looking at her.

"Me?" Alphyne pointed herself. She was playing with Mangagaway and that made her having fun.

"You and me, sweety sweety sweet, either x, either y, either z, z, z!" Alphyne sang a kid street play as she was having fun facing Mangagaway. Manggagaway just stared at her for a moment and turned to Liel behind Alphyne.

"What is she doing?" she muttered at him. Liel just shrugged at the Goddess, he was definitely confused as to why Alphyne is behaving like a kid so suddenly.

"Eherm! Etto, what do you want from us anyway?" Alphyne faked cough and turned back to her usual self.

"It is you who needs something from me, aren't you?" Mangagaway asked.

"After all, you don't need to come to an old Sogo Hotel for nothing, right?" She continued as she looked at her fingers.

"Or maybe you wanted to monopolize these young boys by yourself." Mangagaway said and looked at Alphyne seriously. Alphyne gave her a disgusted look.

"What the fick are you talking about?" Alphyne asked her. She doesn't know what she's talking about. The only meaning she knows about monopolizing is controlling over something, why the fick she would do that? After all they are human beings – oh they aren't just normal human, they are half human half God... or Goddess – and not robots to control.

"We're only here to know where you took our Katolanon." Liel finally decided to meddle into their conversation.

"Oh that old lady? I don't know where she is. She's too old anyways might as well dispose her." Mangagaway answered as she twirls her hair on her finger. Liel and Alphyne was surprised at her information.

"Hey."

"What now, lady?"

"Where did you take her?" Alphyne asked again. Anger was starting to go up into her. Hearing just how this Goddess casually say disposal of human being irked to her core. She just remembered what happened to her father in day one. She promised herself that she will find that woman who killed her father.

"I told you, we disposed her already." Alphyne can't stand it anymore. She threw her other gun at the Goddess, of course Mangagaway dodged and created an opening for Alphyne to attack her. Using her sword, Alphyne slashed the Goddess's body as soon as she approached her but Mangagaway's body became a shadow and disappeared.

"Well, I don't want to exhaust myself in dealing with you. After all, I don't want to go back yet. It's so boring in there." Mangagaway said as she disappeared.

"Hey! Come back here you coward!" Alphyne called but her call fell on deaf ears. She only cursed in disappointment.

"Alphyne look out!" Liel called her. Alphyne turned to Liel and see a long tongue that was about to attack her but a whip caught the tongue of a Tiktik that was on the ceiling of the hallway.

"Sorry. I just woke up."

"Andrew!" Alphyne called and rushed towards them. Liel was helping Andrew to stand up as his body was still a little limp due to his fever from earlier.

"Look around." Liel advised making the two look around. They were surrounded by Tiktiks, a creature in which it has a very long tongue – primarily to eat the fetus of a pregnant woman.

"Are you okay now?" Alphyne asked Andrew who nodded and gave her a smile.

"Just for you, I will be okay." Andrew said as he gave her thumbs up. Alphyne gave him a smile.

"Stupid."

"Hey lovers, we have something in here." Liel said teasingly at the same time serious making the two of them turn to him and the creatures surrounding them.

"Let get this over with." Alphyne said and attacked the creatures.

Slashing and stabbing were the only thing they did to kill the Tiktiks that was attacking them. At the same time, due to their fight, the inside of the building are collapsing making their fight a little difficult as debris and dusts are also surrounding them.

"Let's fall back! The building is about to collapse!" Andrew exclaimed as he noticed some large debris falling and burying a Tiktik. Alphyne and Liel followed Andrew towards the entrance of the building. Just after they ran out of the building, the Sogo Hotel became too vulnerable that some debris are staring to fall down outside.

"That was close." Andrew muttered as they sat at the pavement in the middle of the night. Alphyne and Liel are silent the whole time that Andrew turned to them.

"Something happened when I was out, am I right?" He asked the two who was sitting beside him still silent.

"We faced Mangagaway when you were sleeping and she told us that they already disposed our Katolanon." Liel explained. Andrew turned to him surprised but he suddenly remembered what Katolanon is.

"She's definitely lying." The two turned to him.

"How can you say?"

"Our Katolanon is a spiritual leader and a personified contact to the deities. If they disposed of her, our Katolanon may contact the deities to come save her. She also made a Sandugo or blood compact to Sir Louis that if someone died, either her or Sir Louis – I don't wish it though – their compact will disappear. Sir Louis hasn't contacted us yet about that so that's probably just a fallacy to mislead us and not to step any further into their chamber." Andrew explained and heaved a sigh. He turned to his friends who are leaning onto the wall of an establishment, their eyes are closed.

"Hey, are you going to sleep? We can't sleep here." He muttered.

"Shush, we're tired." Liel muttered and then he felt a head leaning onto his shoulder. He opened his eyes to see Alphyne breathing steadily. He turned to Andrew who just shrugged at him.