The air hits Nicholas' skin as he continues to sit on the back of Gale. Nicholas looks at his hands. "How will I master fire control? I haven't mastered it without feeling angry."
Apo who's sitting on his shoulder laughs. "I find it interesting that you need to be angry just to use fire, you're like a bomb."
Gale continues to flap his wings but that didn't stop him from speaking, "You have no respect for our master."
"Respect my ass!" Apo chuckled.
"A gorilla who's known to be strong but afraid of heights, a coward indeed," Gale said.
Those words cause Nicholas to put his hand on his cheek as he blinks. "Here goes these two."
"What did you just say?!" Apo punched his chest repeatedly like a gorilla (he indeed is a gorilla).
"Do I need to spell it for you to understand what my words meant?" Gale said with mockery in his tone.
Apo jumps from Nicholas' shoulder but a pair of hands capture his body before he can land on Gale's back. Nicholas looks at Apo with raised eyebrows as Apo is wriggling in his grasp.
Nicholas takes a deep breath. "Stop it, both of you. We're here to investigate not to have any quarrel with each other."
"I didn't start it! That parrot started to call me a coward!" Apo pointed his finger at Gale's head.
Nicholas sighs. "Well, even if I'm a gorilla, I would be called a coward for being afraid of heights. He's just teaching you that you need to respect anyone."
Apo stops wriggling and pounds his small fists against Nicholas' hands.
"We're almost there." Gale looked over the group of buildings on the ground before his eyes landed on a warehouse.
"Gale and Apo, both of you will return to your homes. I will be the only one who will investigate the warehouse." Nicholas began to stand up on Gale's back.
Nicholas runs toward Gale's neck, and he jumps. He straightens his body as he's falling into the warehouse while strong air pressure is hitting his face.
The air around him goes toward his back, developing into a pair of large wings. Nicholas flaps his wings as a face mask symbolizing a beak covers his mouth.
Nicholas lands right in front of the warehouse. He looks around and begins covering himself in air.
He sees a man wearing a blue polo shirt, and slacks looking around him. He proceeds to walk towards the door of the warehouse while Nicholas is walking behind his back.
The man in a blue polo shirt is standing in front of a board. Nicholas looks at the board hanging on the wall, seeing the cobwebs around it.
"This is a weird drawing. I think this is what I've been finding," the man said as he looked closer at the drawing on the paper placed inside the board.
"Those drawings!"
"Apo, do you know everything?"
"Absolutely, parrot! That drawing symbolizes a summoning ritual. Estiere taught me that information!"
"Estiere?" Nicholas talked through his connection with the elemental beasts.
"That bald monk! You don't know him?" Apo asked.
"Actually, no. If the majesty did, he would have Estiere here with us," Gale said.
James walks in a certain direction, and Nicholas grabs the drawing.
Before his hand reaches the painting, a sharp strike hits his waist, sending him flying towards the table at the corner of the room.
The man cracks his knuckles. "Who are you?"
Nicholas stands up while his hand is on his waist. "How did you see me?!"
Gale speaks through his connection with Nicholas. "My majesty, I think, he was able to see you with that eye."
"Eye? Third eye?" Nicholas blinked.
James covers his right eye. "This isn't a third eye."
"But an eye that can see invisible people, that's the eye he's talking about," Gale spoke again through his connection with Nicholas.
Nicholas points at the man's forehead. "Why isn't that eye there?"
Apo speaks through their connection. "THAT EYE IS NOT A THIRD EYE! EVEN IF HE HAS ONE! HE WILL ONLY SEE GHOSTS!"
Gale says, "You can always say your opinion without raising a voice at the majesty himself."
The man tilts his head while looking at Nicholas without a clue. "Seriously, I don't know what's happening but you must tell me about who you are."
Nicholas lowers his body a bit with his fists clenched while closer to his face. "Tell me about your name first, then, I will tell mine."
The man cracks his knuckles. "This is my first time encountering a kid with a hard skull."
Nicholas raises his eyebrow. "Listen here. I don't have time to play a guessing game!"
He raises his foot and stomps it on the ground, and that sparks a wave of flames going in different directions.
The man jumps as the wave goes past him. Nicholas shakes his head as his eyes are glowing a faint red color.
"Majesty! You might need to be extra careful or you might destroy the entire place!" Gale warned him through their connection.
"Human, our emotions are connected! If you become angry, it somehow affects both of us," Apo told Nicholas through their connection.
"Alright! Shut it!" Nicholas yelled.
The man tilts his head before rushing towards Nicholas. "My name is James! A member of the Bringer Of The Light."
James kicks and punches Nicholas, and those attacks are so swift that Nicholas gets hit on his waist and abdomen. He stumbles backward and stands up.
Nicholas runs toward James before inhaling deeply. A part of the roof of the warehouse bursts apart, and among the debris, James is sent flying towards the sky.
"He got skills in controlling fire and wind, what nice arsenals he has!" James chuckled.
"But," James' whole body is now being covered in steel, "I have to end this as quickly as possible."
From below, Nicholas reaches him. The hands of the young man are now thrusting towards him as the faint red glow in his eyes is growing stronger.
"He seems to be controlled by anger!" James caught the punch, "Are you alright?!"
Nicholas groans, and he swings his left foot covered in wind. The impact of the kick causes James' sight to swirl, and he gasps as he feels a hand holding his face.
"Tell me what you are doing here!" Nicholas yelled, his red eyes glowing.
"Such a kid with a short temper." James patted Nicholas' head, "The reason I'm here? Well, to investigate."
"Investigate what–!"
Nicholas is cut off as he gets hit by multiple fireballs from an unknown direction. James opens his eyes, and he sees the face of his savior.
"Captain Ash!" James' eyes sparkle in admiration.
"Sup?" Ash landed on the ground.
The flames around Nicholas twirl as they disappear. Nicholas is there, floating with his wings made of hardened air.
Ash turns his head in a certain direction, and he sees Nicholas landing on the ground before his wings disappear while walking.
"Who are you?" Nicholas looked at Ash.
Ash blinks, and his eyes widen. "You are... the hero of the seed invasion."
"Huh?" Nicholas pointed his thumb at his face.
"You are the man that Elesia told me about, the one who defeated Fig," Ash told him.
"Wait, you can recognize me?" Nicholas asked.
His red eyes are now turning into his normal brown eyes. He shakes his head as his eyes are now looking down.
"I thought my identity was taken," Nicholas whispered.
James clears his throat, and says, "If you are that man, we need your help."
Ash speaks, "We are currently finding clues about the syndicate we're chasing. We already uncovered their name which is 'Lunar Movement'."
Nicholas' eyes narrow as he feels something off about them. "Why me? I don't know anything about them. I might slow the progress of the investigation."
He watches Ash, and he puts his hand in his pocket while Nicholas is watching his movement with narrowing eyes.
"Here." Ash walked closer to Nicholas and lent a mail envelope.
Nicholas gently takes the mail away. He slowly tears it, revealing a folded paper. He brings out the paper and reads the words written on it.
"I, Elesia, stand as a witness to the saviour of the invasion who is a young man who has a pair of wings. After the invasion, I went to different parts of the Philippines, trying to find him.
"But all I found was nothing as if he had disappeared like a bubble. Upon realizing this, I propose that the Bringer Of The Light will desire to have this man on our side to help us protect the human world."
After reading those words, Nicholas folded the paper and slowly looked up at Ash. Nicholas steps closer and Ash looks down, only to see Nicholas handing the letter back.
"I don't know what that organization aims to have upon having me in their team but I find it fishy that because I have wings, I am the man being described in the letter."
Ash smiles, and he pushes the letter away from him. "Those guardians in this letter are my buddy and me here. As for your concern regarding the wingman, we haven't found anyone among us who has wings."
"So? Is it my problem now?" Nicholas retorted as his brown eyes changed to red slowly.
James continues to observe both of them as he's standing in his position before Ash smiles at Nicholas.
"You got a sharp tongue, kid. But if you ask us why we think it's you, then, you must know that none of us has defeated Fig."
Ash points his finger at Nicholas. "None other than you. Here comes the logic, if you're at the level of that figure, you can help us in facing the incoming threats."
James nods along with those words. "After the portal has been forced to open, different monsters with evil intent are now attacking humans."
Ash is staring at James before he nods, and Ash looks back at Nicholas. "That is why we need your power because we are missing two things which are manpower and powerful beings."
A feeling of erupting in his mind begins to occur but Nicholas closes his eyes and shakes his head.
He says to himself. "I want to decide with myself only."
Apo says through their connection. "Well, we're just going to warn you that you are dwelling too much in anger."
Nicholas inhales deeply. "I said later."
He shifts his eyes between Ash and James as they're watching his move. Nicholas hums while scratching his chin. "I am not like this but I want to see how powerful both of you are."
A smile manifests on Nicholas' lip. "So, I want a sparring without holding back."
"Sparring?" Gale spoke through their connection.
Apo blurts out. "That's the master I'm talking about!"
Ash chuckles, and patterns appear on his red eyes. "It's been a while."
James cracks his steel fists. "No holding back? Okay!"
A spear appears in Ash's right hand, and he spins it between his hands. He releases a wave of flames toward Nicholas.
A strong air pressure splits the flames in the center, revealing Nicholas standing calmly with his hand raised. With one jump, Nicholas releases a strong air pressure from his feet that propels him at a great speed.
Ash blinks, and Nicholas is already swinging his knee right in front of Ash's eyes. Ash aims his eyes at Nicholas but he lands his knee right on Ash's face, sending him flying towards the door of the warehouse.
James runs toward Nicholas. James thrusts and swings his steel fists but Nicholas is just calmly stepping away from every punch.
Nicholas looks beside him and gets hit by James' punch. Nicholas spits on the ground and steps sideward from the next punch.
Nicholas hums and speaks in his mind. "I felt every air from every movement of his fists but that one punch was unexpected."
"Don't underestimate the speed of my punches, kid. It's either–!"
James' words are cut after Nicholas lands a strong wind pressure on his body. James' eyes widen as the pressure sends him crashing against the containers.
Ash is already beside Nicholas with his red eyes shining. Nicholas moved his eyes toward the light but Ash was able to release a massive wave of flames from his eyes before Nicholas made a move.
The flames disappear, and Ash clenches his fists as he smiles. A soft light blue feather falls on the ground but it disappears before it hits the ground.
"Using a pair of wings as a shield? That's good but a wind that can withstand flames? Impossible." Ash cracked his neck.
The massive wings embracing Nicholas return to their normal size. James blinks and turns to his other side, and Nicholas lands a punch on Ash' face; and another punch to his chest.
Nicholas steps backward from the punch that came from James who jumped into their battle.
Nicholas looks up, and Ash jumps before releasing a wave of fireball at Nicholas.
Multiple explosions occur on the battlefield as Nicholas jumps away from the fireballs which are hitting the ground.
His chest expands, and Nicholas releases a strong breath that eliminates all fire attacks, and it's so strong that it blasts both Ash and James away.
"SHIT! HE'S STRONG!" James yelled as he was trying to find something to grasp.
Ash smiles before letting go of the lamp post he's holding onto. He lands on the ground on his feet, and his red eyes shine brighter. "So, this is the power of the saviour of Manila."
Red streaks spread from Ash's eyes toward the sides of his head, symbolizing messy streaks.
"After the invasion," Ash smiled, "I trained with Elesia, trying to invent a power that matches hers."
Nicholas is staring at Ash while standing calmly as the air pressure is gently blowing all over them.
"And what did you make?" Nicholas asked calmly.
"Flames: Explosive Fire Storm." Ash fired multiple fireballs but they're all bigger as they fly toward Nicholas.
Nicholas gently swings his hands, and before the fireballs hit him, a massive wall of fire manifests; absorbing the impacts of each fireball.
He's standing behind the wall of fire as he's holding a dark sheath in his right hand.
He inhales deeply, his light blue eyes seem to be calm. "Your power is growing stronger than my wind power won't be able to stand against it. After all, wind is weak to fire as fire is stronger than wind."
Nicholas inhales deeply. "Let's stop this. I realized that we have tasks to accomplish."
"So, you'll join us?" Ash asked.
"Likely. But I want to clear a thing, after I lend a hand to the guardians, let me dismiss myself from the group," Nicholas told Ash.
"Fine to me," Ash said as the streaks on his face were disappearing.
Inside a room, Nicholas is standing right in front of a big wooden board with many papers taped on it, and some of which are encased in boxes.
"This is the evidence that we have that Lunar Movement exists," Ash looked at the board.
"Lunar Movement? Like the moon?" Nicholas asked calmly.
"Yes, exactly. The Lunar Movement is a kind of syndicate that uses Amalanhig or corpses that feed upon living beings." Ash pointed his finger at one of the papers on the board.
On that paper, a picture of a grey-ish human is feasting upon a man wearing a suit and tie.
Nicholas takes a closer look at it, and every hair on his body stands as if he sees something terrifying becoming a reality.
"Goosebumps?" James is resting his back on a wall while smiling a bit, "I too got that feeling after hearing them but you must hear more about this case."
Ash nods. "Well, amalanhig only manifests in a human being by two choices: aswang passing their own essence to either a family member or a victim."
He points to another evidence. "This evidence is the essence of an aswang."
"A black stone?" Nicholas hummed.
"Well, at first it was chick, but after many years, they molded it into a stone." Ash looked at the stone encased in a ziplock.
Nicholas thinks for a while before saying, "So, what is the main objective of the Lunar Movement?"
James is staring at them as Ash answers Nicholas in a calm tone. "We do not know... but I think we are near grasping the answer behind their true purpose."
Somewhere faraway, in a dark room, a man is sitting on a throne with a shadow covering his entire appearance.
He opens his yellow eyes, and he speaks, "Let the movement occur, and the chaos to rule the entire mankind."
A young man with a striking appearance; dark hair, and red eyes is standing in front of the man sitting on the throne.
He bows his head as his other hand is on the sheath of his dark sword. "The others are already moving towards our desired goal, my lord."
The man in the throne shifts his eyes at the window beside him, and there, he can see the moon in the sky.
"No one will be able to stop us not even a fragment of their skills can be a hindrance to what we can do," the man in the throne declared.