Be My Disciples!

''Ugh, can you now remove your foot on me, S-sir...?''

Heretic Saint was still enjoying his time when he suddenly heard a desperate voice. He averted his gaze downward and there he saw one of the kids who was still down there beneath his foot.

''Ah, sorry, sorry, I thought you were still dead,'' Heretic Saint laughed dryly as he finally stepped out of Jax's stomach.

Afraid that another sudden assault would happen, Jax immediately got up as he breathed heavily multiple times. He really thought that he would die for the second time at that moment.

Meanwhile, after he put his foot off of Jax, Heretic Saint turned to walk beside the mythical beast. He swept his gaze at the kids before him as he went on, ''Now then, since you're all good, let me cut to the chase and go directly to the point.''

Heretic Saint paused for a moment as he scanned through their expressions. He nodded in satisfaction as he spoke again, ''You all have already died.'' A wide and smug smile surfaced on his lips. ''And with my mighty powers, I, alone, resurrected you all.'' He spread his arms, held his head high, and looked above as if he were some kind of God that should be revered. ''Be my disciples. Since your lives are now mine, you all have no choice but to accept me as your master.''

"..."

After Heretic Saint spoke with those bright eyes of his, silence engulfed the area. It was to the point that Heretic Saint was starting to feel awkward in his pose. Why was there no response? Did all of them become too excited to speak?

''What's that thing? A horse? A horse that can stand?'' Jajah suddenly asked curiously with a dumbfounded expression. She raised her forefinger and pointed it at the mythical beast beside Heretic Saint.

But her response was outside of Heretic Saint's expectations. That made his veins pop out of his head as it began twitching.

''How strange. That horse definitely seems familiar.'' Ben remarked seriously as he narrowed his eyes when looking at the horse beside Heretic Saint. ''Mecaella, do you know what kind of horse is that?''

''Hmm... There's only one horse that matched the description.'' Mecaella replied as she nodded her head slowly in deep thought.

''Oh, really? So, what's that thing?'' Ben asked in response, as if he already expected Mecaella to know the answer.

Jax, Jajah, and Leovicente also looked at Mecaella with expectation as they all wanted to know what kind of beast could let them feel such a sense of familiarity when they hadn't even seen it in the past.

''Tikbalang,'' Mecaella replied with confidence. A faint smile surfaced on her lips as she added, ''Only Tikbalang can look like that.''

''What?!'' All the kids out there were greatly surprised upon hearing Mecaella's deduction. They looked at Mecaella with clear disbelief before they shifted their gazes back at the mythical beast. ''Do you mean... That mythical beast, Tikbalang? The one that grants wishes once its golden hair gets plucked?''

''No way, right?''

''Well, I also find it hard to believe it,'' Mecaella commented as she sighed and shook her head slowly.

But while all of them still couldn't believe it, Jajah, who was simple-minded and trusted Mecaella with all her heart, was different.

She pointed her forefinger at the beast furiously as she remarked with a hurried voice, ''If that's the case, then what are we waiting for? Let's catch it real quick before it runs away! Tikbalang is known for being a pussy who always runs away even in the face of an ant. Come on, let's catch that thing now!''

"..." Jax and the others suddenly began to sweat. What the hell was this girl saying now? Was she trying to provoke the beast?

Although what she said was true, was there really a need to say it aloud? And in front of the very beast at that?

Thinking that Jajah might act more boldly, Jax decided to cut in as he spoke with a bitter smile, ''Wait, Jajah. Don't be impulsive, that beast is quite different. Can't you tell that it gives a sense of familiarity despite the fact that we haven't seen it in the past?''

''Now that you mention it, you're right, Leader,'' Jajah replied as she nodded her head in deep thought and agreement. Just when did she see this beast before anyway? She tried to imagine all kinds of scenes where she was possibly together with the Tikbalang. Sadly, even her imagination failed her. She couldn't recall anything memorable with it at all.

''There's only one reason why that Tikbalang appears familiar to us.'' While others were still deep in thought, Mecaella had already come up with an idea. Although the certainty of it wasn't a hundred percent accurate.

''Really? What is it?'' Jajah asked as she gave up thinking. If it was Mecaella, then she would certainly know about it.

''The God Tree.'' Mecaella replied as she took a moment of pause before she continued, ''That Tikbalang might be related to the God Tree who was helping us all this while.''

''Or maybe, he is the God Tree himself.''

''The God Tree...?''

Jax and the others were a bit taken aback at first when they heard it. But now that Mecaella mentioned it, she really did have a point. The vibes that Tikbalang was giving off were so much similar to that of the God Tree.

Were they related?

Or were they the same?

It was a known fact that Tikbalang could control the great trees. Since that was the case, it was possible that the God Tree that was helping them all this while might be the Tikbalang in disguise.

But why would a Tikbalang help them?

Thinking up to this point, all five of them wore bewildered expressions. Even the smart Mecaella couldn't understand what was going on.

''Haha, that kid is so sharp. She recognizes you right away by her mere deduction,'' Heretic Saint suddenly remarked with joyous laughter as a wide smile surfaced on his lips.

He had already given up on his awkward pose long ago, since no one was minding him. As such, he just decided to observe those kids whom he took a liking to.

He would definitely make them his disciples!