Chapter 39: Fight Until the End
The horrific events in Plaridel continued like an endless nightmare, filled with cries of rage, pain, and fading hope.
Wreckage of shattered buildings, burnt-out vehicles, and the bodies of rebels and police lay scattered around the city hall. The smoke was tainted with the smell of blood, evidence of the intense tragedy unfolding.
In the midst of the chaos, Ifugao ran swiftly through the streets of Plaridel, his feet barely touching the ground as he leaped from rooftops to poles.
His heart pounded rapidly; he was anxious and afraid that he might be too late for the battle taking place at the City Hall.
"I cannot… I can't be late!" he whispered, his eyes filled with worry. He knew many were waiting for help, and every second was crucial at that moment.
As he neared the City Hall, a deafening roar echoed, and from a distance, he witnessed a terrifying sight—a colossal white-flamed dragon soaring through the sky.
Its wings beat powerfully against the air, sending gusts that scattered dust and debris. Every fiery breath it exhaled caused devastation—the police below who were struck slowly turned into stone, their bodies collapsing as lifeless statues.
"Impossible!" Ifugao whispered, his eyes widening in shock. He couldn't believe what he was seeing. The dragon was no illusion—it was an extremely dangerous creature bringing death to everyone hit by its fire.
"Who is behind this?" he asked himself, his mind confused. He knew the rebels were there to rescue the Filipinos in the plaza, so he wondered why the Malolos sugo was mercilessly killing Spaniards far from the city hall.
In the middle of his astonishment while standing on a rooftop, a strong stick struck his head, accompanied by a cold voice:
"Don't just stand there, Ifugao! Do something to stop this!" He turned and saw Hiyas, calm but with an ice-cold gaze fixed on him.
"Hiyas? Wait, how did you get behind me?" Ifugao exclaimed, startled by her sudden appearance. "Have you been here the whole time?" he asked, a hint of confusion in his voice.
But before he could ask again, Hiyas struck his head once more with her stick, leaving Ifugao no choice but to distance himself from Hiyas while pleading with her not to hit him.
"You don't have time for pointless questions, Ifugao!" she said, her voice sharp and commanding.
"The white dragon you see is Gilo, the sugo of Malolos and leader of the rebels attacking Plaridel. He plans to turn every Spaniard in town to stone, and you need to stop him!"
"Gilo?"
Ifugao's eyes widened in shock. "Turn the Spaniards to stone? But why? I thought the rebels were here to rescue the Filipinos in the plaza!" he asked, his voice heavy with doubt.
Hiyas's expression became serious. "Everything became complicated; he realized he couldn't win against the Bulacan general, so he just wants to kill the Spaniards." Hiyas said.
She pointed to Gilo and explained what was happening to Ifugao. "Gilo is using the full power of his white fire to permanently petrify the Spaniards. If you don't stop him now, those who become his victims will die."
"I know the rebels' goal is to save the captives, but Gilo's rage is clouding his judgment. As the sugo of Ifugao, it is your duty to end this."
Ifugao felt pity for the rebels' situation. He couldn't understand how things had escalated to such cruelty.
He knew what Gilo was doing was wrong, and as a hero, he couldn't let it continue. "This is wrong… this is not the right way," he whispered, clenching his fists.
In an instant, a burst of blue energy erupted from his body, like a living flame enveloping him. His eyes blazed with determination, and he prepared to charge.
Meanwhile, Gilo, in the form of a white dragon, continued to wreak havoc on the streets of Plaridel. As he flew, he hunted for the police and immediately attacked.
"You won't escape!" he roared, his voice like thunder. While flying, a sudden strong kick hit him, sending him flying and crashing into a car. The impact echoed, and the vehicle was crushed by the weight of his body.
He stood up furious, and Gilo's white fire burned even brighter as he searched for his attacker. "Who dares to attack me?!" he yelled.
A moment later, Ifugao landed a few meters in front of him, his red sword blazing with blue energy. "Stop it, Gilo!" Ifugao shouted, his voice firm but urgent.
"Stop this pointless killing you're doing!"
Gilo was stunned to see Ifugao, especially when he realized his opponent was not a Spaniard. "Who are you?!" he asked, his eyes narrowing in suspicion. "Why are you interfering in my fight?!"
"I am Ifugao, the sugo of Ifugao and a hero of this nation!" Ifugao answered, his voice brimming with conviction.
"I understand you are fighting the Spanish government, but that doesn't mean you should hurt civilians! Most of them are innocent!"
Gilo's white fire flared up more intensely as he screamed in rage. "Innocent?! There are no innocent Spaniards in the Philippines!" he shouted.
"Every Spaniard here is guilty of why our countrymen suffer! They are all part of the system that is destroying us!"
Ifugao yelled back at him. "Just because we are angry at their government doesn't mean we should be cruel to all Spaniards!" he retorted.
"They are also human just like us, and I believe there are still many Spaniards who care about Filipinos, who have been kind to our countrymen, and maybe some of the people you killed might have been among them!"
Gilo refused to believe the idea Ifugao was presenting. "And what if most of those I killed have been cruel to Filipinos?!" he yelled. "If they must die for hustisya, I don't care!"
Ifugao felt annoyed by what he heard, as Gilo seemed to no longer care about the lives of others. "You can't say that! You have no right to sentence people to death, especially without certain proof that they are guilty!" Ifugao shouted, his voice a mix of anger and sadness.
"What about the innocent people caught up in the conflict? Don't you have a conscience? Your anger is making you think irrationally!" He bowed his head, his eyes full of regret.
"This country is drowning in suffering and revenge. Killing is not the solution to save our countrymen from all the ongoing turmoil!"
Gilo's voice was filled with bitterness as he responded to Ifugao, "I know it won't solve everything, but it will bring hustisya for the crimes they committed, especially when many of them die!" he shouted.
"If we don't do this, who will bring hustisya for us? If I don't do this, they will just continue their evil!"
Before Gilo could continue speaking, Ifugao unleashed a burst of blue energy while his head was still bowed.
His hair danced in the wind, and his red sword materialized in his hand, blazing with intense energy. He had hoped for a peaceful solution, but he knew that Gilo was being overcome by anger, which clouded his reason. The only way to stop him was to defeat him in battle.
"Rage has completely consumed you, I have no choice but to stop you, Gilo," Ifugao said, his voice firm.
"No matter what happens, I have to stop you."
Gilo bowed his head and briefly considered, feeling angry that Ifugao could not understand him and wanted to stop his mission for the country.
Gilo's fire roared louder, coinciding with the explosion of his anger. "Fighting your fellow Filipino in the middle of a war is a betrayal—a betrayal of your own race!" he shouted.
"What have the Spaniards offered you for you to protect them and abandon your own people?!"
"I have accepted nothing from the Spaniards!" Ifugao answered firmly. "I am doing this because I am one of the heroes of this nation! I believe we don't need to kill or drive out the Spaniards to be free."
"The Spaniards in this country have been a part of the Philippines for centuries—they were born here, just like us. What we need to do is accept each other as equals, as part of this country!" he answered.
Gilo's eyes flared with fury. "That is precisely the problem!" he shouted.
"The Spaniards don't see us as equals! They treat us like slaves! I don't want violence, Ifugao, but I can't remain fearful and cling to meaningless beliefs like yours!" He flew into the air, his wings beating.
"If we have to kill a Spaniard to survive, I will do it! They plan to slowly kill us while we suffer and are punished on our own land, so I will get ahead of them and do it first!"
In an instant, Gilo formed a massive ball of white fire in his hand. "If I am wrong in what I am doing and believing, I will accept the punishment of heaven!" he shouted.
"And if I die, I will take the Spaniards with me to hell!" He hurled the fireball at Ifugao, but he swiftly cut it in half with his red sword.
As Ifugao sliced the fire, Gilo managed to close the distance and charged toward him. His fist struck Ifugao and sent him flying.
Though knocked back, Ifugao refused to fall, balancing himself. He swung his sword at Gilo, which released blue energy. But Gilo quickly dodged and flew higher.
Ifugao continued to attack using the energy released by his gun, but Gilo was too fast for him to hit while in the sky.
He used his advantage of being able to fly in the air to remain out of reach of the attack. From above, he unleashed a barrage of fireballs that struck the ground around Ifugao, causing explosions that shook the earth.
"Give up, Ifugao, you are no match for me!" Gilo shouted while continuously raining down fireballs. Each attack was fast and powerful, and Ifugao struggled to dodge because they were coming from above.
A fireball hit his shoulder, sending him tumbling, and Ifugao felt a searing pain in his body.
"You will never defeat me!" Gilo mocked, his voice overflowing with confidence.
But Ifugao did not surrender, even though he knew he couldn't hit Gilo while he was airborne. A moment later, he closed his eyes, focusing to anticipate Gilo's next move.
He created an enormous fireball, nearly four meters high, the fire swirling as it formed in the air. Gilo hurled it with full force at Ifugao.
"Vanish, traitor!"
Ifugao could no longer evade and bravely parried it using his sword. It struck Ifugao, and the wave of fire almost spread across the ground. Because it wasn't ordinary fire, it didn't burn objects, but instead turned any living creature it hit to stone.
Gilo assumed Ifugao would turn to stone after being hit, so he planned to attack him again to shatter him.
When Gilo swooped down again to attack, Ifugao swiftly swung his sword, clearing the fire that was engulfing him.
"What? Why didn't he turn to stone?" Gilo was shocked that his opponent hadn't turned to stone and was virtually unscathed.
He halted his attack to avoid the tip of Ifugao's sword. But he froze when he saw Ifugao smiling in front of him, his weapon pointed at him.
It was then he noticed that a part of Ifugao's sword was a gun that was now glowing and ready to fire an attack. "Impossible!" Gilo yelled, but before he could act, the gun fired a blinding beam of energy.
The beam struck Gilo, practically vaporizing the dragon's right arm. The force sent him flying, and he crashed inside a building. The impact caused a massive explosion, scattering debris all around.
Ifugao was stunned by the power of his attack. "My power has truly advanced…" he whispered, impressed by the teachings of Apyong and Jana. But before he could think further, the ground suddenly shook, and a presence startled him.
In the distance, he saw a gigantic skeleton, five hundred meters away from their location, its body blazing with red fire. His heart raced; he knew that energy came from Hustisya's power.
"Hustisya…" he whispered, his eyes full of worry. He knew he needed to stop this to save her from danger.
He immediately ran toward the City Hall, his mind clouded with doubt. "How can I fight her? Georgia and Hustisya are one… I can't hurt her," he whispered, his heart torn between duty and worry for his friend.
He suddenly stopped when a massive explosion erupted from the skeleton's head.
"What is happening, am I too late?!" he asked, a hint of fear in his voice. He was afraid that Hustisya was facing an extremely dangerous enemy, and his concern for her safety grew even more.
"I can't let Georgia get hurt!" he yelled to himself, continuing to run, determined to help his friend.
A few minutes later, he landed in the center of the battle at the City Hall. He arrived at a terrifying scene—hundreds of crystal monsters were roaming, their eyes blazing with red electricity.
In the center, he saw Hustisya, her red cloak billowing as she fought the monsters. Her gigantic skeleton was attacking alongside her, but too many monsters were attacking it simultaneously.
Even though Hustisya managed to keep up with them, she was slowly becoming slower and more tired because even if she destroyed some of them, they would just return to their original state and reform, like immortal beings.
On the other side, General Salazar laughed as he watched the girl's struggle. "Hustisya, you can't get tired!" he mocked, his voice overflowing with ridicule.
"The fun is just beginning!" He taunted the struggling woman as she fought the relentless monsters.
In the middle of the fight, a sudden extremely powerful energy pierced through the crystal monsters, shattering their bodies and practically melting them.
Hustisya and Salazar were stunned when Ifugao landed in front of them, his red sword blazing with blue energy.
He unleashed an extremely powerful aura that shook the surroundings. "Stop this fighting!" he yelled,
"Don't involve the innocent people here!"
Hustisya was surprised by Ifugao's arrival. "Don't interfere here, Ifugao!" she shouted, her eyes blazing with anger. "This is my fight!"
Salazar let out a mocking laugh. "Another Indio!" he scoffed. "You are like rats, showing up one by one!" He stopped laughing when he recognized Ifugao.
"You… you are the Indio who fought the terrorists in Urdaneta, aren't you?" he asked, his eyes gleaming with curiosity.
"Are you boasting just because you managed to defeat General Slasher, oh… Is that why you are here to help your trashy countrymen too?"
Ifugao did not understand the accusations Salazar was making against him, but his mission in that place was clear. "I know nothing of what you are saying because I am here to stop the bloodshed in Plaridel," he said bravely.
"And I will do everything to end this battle, no matter what!"
End of Chapter