"What do you mean, kill them like beasts?" Murillo's anxiety shot through the roof when she heard Cecilia's stand
"You heard me…if the captain wants to kill some savage beasts, I won't stand in his way," Cecilia snapped, her tone tinged with indifference. "They killed my grandfather, and they deserve to die like the animals they are!" she shouted, her anguish and anger reaching the tipping point.
"CECILIA AMPARO BERMUDEZ!" The old man raised his voice at Cecilia for the first time. She flinched, tears welling as the weight of his words settled over her. "This is not how I raised you! Neither your parents nor I thought you to be cold and vengeful," he reminded his granddaughter.
"But they killed you, Pops…they showed you no compassion, SO WHY SHOULD I?" she shouted in despair.
"Because it is the right thing to do, child." The old man embraced Cecilia tightly. "Cee, my child, because letting go of anger and hate is the right thing to do. My dearest grandchild, I have seen people let anger fester inside them. It rotted away their hearts and souls, and I don't want that to happen to you."
"I don't care what happens to me, all I want is for those who killed you to suffer." She vehemently expressed her anger, bubbling over and spilling.
"What about him? Would you let your Captain go down this dark road? Are you willing to condemn him to satisfy your hunger for revenge?" Ernesto questioned, challenging Cecilia's humanity against her need for revenge.
"But Pops, it's so unfair…They took you away from me," Cecilia cried out. She buried her head on the old man's chest. "They took you away from me."
"It was only a matter of time, my child; death is inevitable," He explained. "I was so afraid of this day, because I would be leaving you alone, but seeing all of your friends, I am confident that they will take care of you." Gently, the old man held Cecilia by the shoulders. "Right now, your captain needs you; he is about to commit the same atrocious act, and you must save him from his anger and hatred before it is too late."
"It's not about revenge; it is about the captain," Martinez then explained what would happen to Chris if he continued this path. "Back then, the captain underwent something similar, had it not been for Triple-A's intervention…his anger would have made him into an evil spirit or something worse."
"You heard him, Cee, your captain needs you." Ernesto urged her, "Go save him from such a terrible fate." The old man dried his granddaughter's tears while he smiled brightly at her.
With a bittersweet smile of her own, she gently let go of her grandfather. "Let's go, the captain needs us," she said to Murillo and Martinez. She then turned to Wally, "Take us to where they are heading."
Cecilia stood in the middle, her hands stretched out to Murillo and Martinez. "What are you doing?" Murillo asked, with a bewildered expression.
"Getting ready to teleport?" she confidently explained
"We are in corporeal bodies; as long as we are in this form, we can't use our abilities," Martinez informed her, making sure she understood their current situation.
"Oh," Cecilia blurted out. She turned to Wally again. "Lead the way"
Wally nodded and started to run in the direction of the market. As they followed the young ghost, Cecilia could not help but ask, "Martinez mentioned this happened before?"
"This is hardly the time for stories, Miss Bermudez," Murillo snapped at the human
"I just want to understand what we're up against and why Triple-A needed to step in." She explained, hoping the chief would understand and tell her. "What happened then, Chief Murillo?" Cecilia curiously asked
"I think it's about time Miss Bermudez is made aware of the captain's past, Chief," Martinez chimed in, doubling down on Cecilia's request.
Murillo sighed, then she spoke, "In 1841, the captain went on a bloody and savage rampage."
Cecilia continued to run towards their destination, yet she worriedly asked, "How many did he kill?"
Martinez then interjected, "Let me put it this way: had not Triple-A stopped the captain, the Spanish colonization of the Philippines would have ended in 1841, with every colonizer ripped apart and dead!"
"His wrath was triggered when he saw someone from his past…someone who killed him," Murillo's voice trembled, and Cecilia's face was etched with shock
"That person was Joaquin Fontanella. The moment he saw Fontanella, a flame of hate, wrath, and rage grew within the captain, and he threw Fontanella into the Kasanaan." Murillo stopped in her tracks. "Then he left the ship and went on a rampage."
"Triple-A told us that he intervened because of the captain's bloodlust. He told us that during that time, he was more demon than human." Murillo paused for a minute to catch her breath. "He said he had to step in and save the captain from becoming a bloodthirsty demon."
"But why? Why would the captain go on such a bloody and merciless rampage?" Cecilia asked, continuing to probe into Chris's past.
With a steady and sad tone, Martinez answered the question, "Vengeance, all those senseless killings, all for the sake of vengeance."
"We were still not around when it happened. These are the words of the Archangel of death himself," Murillo sighed, and they began to tell the captain's tale. "Crisanto Flores, that is the captain's real name. He was born in 1798 at Tayabas, during the Spanish colonization." Cecilia listened wholeheartedly as they made their way to the pawnshop owner's location.