7:18 PM
Elayna managed to stop Ramel just in time before he could decapitate Tasyo.
Ramel: "The two of you—what are you doing here?"
Elayna: "Before that, we need to stop him from gripping your leg."
Venus: "Let me handle it."
Venus began chanting in an ancient Filipino dialect. Mist-like chains emerged from the ground, wrapping around Tasyo's hands, neck, and feet—binding him in place. Tasyo struggled, but it was useless.
Venus: "This will take at least ten minutes to cure him. Both of you Be prepared for anything."
Ramel and Elayna exchanged a nod and started to move.
Ramel: "Elayna, help me carry Erica and her mother somewhere safe."
After moving the unconscious mother and daughter to safety, Ramel turned to Elayna as they tended to their wounds.
Ramel: "So what really happened? Why are you with Venus? And why are you covered in wounds?"
Elayna: "It happened an hour ago… at the barangay hall."
6:00 PM
Elayna managed to hide under the barangay captain's desk. The person who entered the room was the captain's secretary, speaking on the phone while holding a strange-looking document. Elayna stayed still and began to eavesdrop on the conversation.
Secretary: "Yes, my lord. As per your request, I'm already processing the execution of Malabanan at midnight."
Elayna's eyes widened at what she heard.
Elayna: [So this woman is one of our enemies, huh...]
The secretary grinned before continuing with even more alarming news.
Secretary: "Yes, my lord. All the pseudo-Aswang are now fully active and completely brainwashed to follow our orders. Even the next batch of goods was already delivered to the main base including the data and the formula."
Elayna almost gasped but quickly covered her mouth.
Elayna: [What the hell?! What's a pseudo-Aswang?!]
The secretary ended the call and immediately dialed another number.
Secretary: "What's the status of the warehouse?"
Her expression twisted into rage at the response she heard.
Secretary: "WHAT!? Someone burned the next batch of goods?! You useless fool! Find that person—or your head will be our dinner tonight!"
She slammed the phone down, seething.
Secretary: "Damn it! All of them are incompetent!"
In a burst of anger, she slammed her fist onto the desk. With inhuman strength, her blow smashed through the wood—creating a hole that exposed Elayna beneath it.
But Elayna was ready.
With full force, she kicked the drawer from below. The angle of the desk slammed into the secretary's stomach, launching her backward and slamming her into the wall.
Trapped momentarily between the wall and the desk, the secretary growled—but Elayna didn't waste the chance. She rushed forward, blade in hand, aiming straight for the heart.
The secretary managed to recover just in time, kicking the desk with enough force to shatter it completely. Elayna's blade hit its mark—but the secretary's arm, now partially transformed, blocked the stab. The weapon lodged deep but didn't pierce through.
Elayna gritted her teeth, struggling to pull the blade free—but the secretary grabbed her left arm.
Secretary: "Well, well, well... what do we have here?"
Without hesitation, the secretary twisted Elayna's arm—a Cracking sound of bone echoed through the room.
Elayna: "AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!"
The pain forced Elayna to release her grip on the blade still lodged in the secretary's arm.
Still clutching Elayna by her broken left arm, the secretary leaned in with a smug grin.
Secretary: "Now… who are you?"
Elayna didn't answer. Instead, she spat in her face.
The secretary's smile vanished.
Secretary: "Wrong answer."
Then the Secretary raked her claws across Elayna's stomach, drawing blood. But she didn't stop there—her tongue extended, sharp and spear-like, and impaled Elayna through the left shoulder.
Elayna: "AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!"
The secretary leaned in, her sharp tongue still impaled in Elayna's shoulder, and whispered to her:
Secretary: "Now, I'll ask again. Who are you... and where are you from?"
Elayna whispered back:
Elayna: "Bitch."
Suddenly, with a flick of her wrist, a hidden blade snapped out from Elayna's right palm—a retractable weapon implanted in her arm. With one swift thrust, she drove it straight into the secretary's left eye.
Secretary: "YOU BITCH!!!"
Before the secretary could recover, Elayna proceeded to stab her again, this time into her right eye, blinding her completely.
Secretary: "AHHHHHHHH!!! GET AWAY FROM ME!"
Elayna, taking advantage of the enemy's blindness, gripped the secretary's tongue with both hands. Then she lifted her over her shoulder and slammed her into the ground with such force that the pavement cracked beneath them.
The secretary let out a broken gasp, her body twitching from the impact.
Without wasting a second, Elayna—blood dripping from her wound—kept her retractable blade extended from her palm. She raised her arm high, ready to strike, but just as she was about to deliver the finishing blow, the secretary slammed her elbow into the cracked pavement, shattering the floor beneath them. Both of them crashed down to the second floor, landing hard in the kitchen of the barangay hall.
When the dust settled, the secretary was nowhere to be seen. The tongue that had pierced Elayna's shoulder had also been released.
Elayna, breathing heavily and down on one knee, muttered:
Elayna: "Hah... Hah... Hah... I don't have any strength left. I need to get out of here… My body's already at its limit."
That's when she noticed the document the secretary had been holding earlier while on the phone. Elayna picked it up and scanned through it, her eyes narrowing.
Elayna: "Wait… these are the names of those patients I saw earlier in the medical records. Why are some of them marked in red… and others in black?"
Suddenly, the wall burst open revealing the secretary, one of her eyes fully healed.
Secretary: "I'm going to eat all of you until there's nothing left."
With a wicked grin, she lunged. Elayna, using the last of her strength, dodged and sprinted to the door. As she tried to close it, a tongue shot through the wood. Elayna barely dodged and then grabbed the tongue with both hands.
Gritting her teeth, she pulled with all her strength, slamming the secretary into the door from the other side. Then she pulled again. And again. The repeated impact shattered the door—but it still wasn't enough.
Elayna's knees gave out—she collapsed to the ground. She didn't even have the strength to stand anymore. In front of her stood a fully transformed Tiktik.
Secretary (Tiktik): "I gotta say, you really put up a fight."
Elayna: "Hah... hah... Just... just finish it already."
Secretary (Tiktik): "At the end of the day, you'll still end up as my dinner."
As the Tiktik raised its claws to deliver the finishing blow, both of them suddenly paused. A spherical object rolled between them and came to a stop. It was engraved with a Baybayin symbol.
Elayna's eyes widened—she recognized the symbol. She knew exactly what the item was.
The sphere exploded.
A blinding white mist bursts outward, engulfing the entire floor.