A Declared War

Mabilis akong nagteleport patungo sa dating base ng Eleusis cult. I looked around, but then napalunok ako nang makitang wala sina Autolycus at Melizabeth.

Napangisi ako, at pinaikot ang shadow of death ko sa area. I know they're still here.

Sinundan ko ang shadow ko. I walked casually, and I eased my self. Nothing will happen to Melizabeth, I assure myself.

I stopped as soon as my shadow stopped. Nasa tapat kami ngayon ng malaking forest. Napansin kong may mga tao sa loob, at nagtatago sa malalaking puno. I could feel their energy and I could smell their mortal blood. I tilted my head, and tapped my feet. Won't they go out? I'm sure they've sensed me.

Naningkit ang mga mata ko, at sa isang segundo, namatay ang mga punong nasa unang bahagi. I smirked. Don't make the God of Death mad, Eleusinians.

Hindi ako nagsalita at inintay silang lumabas isa-isa. One man whistled, and they all went out from behind the trees. Napansin kong takot ang iba, at ang iba naman ay fearless.

Napatango ako, marami sila. Hundreds? Maybe? At sigurado akong hindi pa ito ang buong numero nila. Lahat sila ay may taklob sa mukha, at ang iba ay may dalang mga sandata. What inaambush nila ako? Tss.

One old lady took a step forward. Pinigilan niya ang iba na sumunod sa kaniya. She held her chin high, "Thanatos. God of Death."

Muntik na akong umirap, obviously.

"You know our secret," natatawang sabi niya kaya't ngayon naman ay napairap naman talaga. Obviously!

"Eleusis," she commanded. Mula naman sa malayo, ay nakuyom ko ang palad ko nang makita si Autolycus na buhat-buhat si Melizabeth na walang kamalay-malay.

I held out my hand to kill that bastard, pero biglang nagkaroon ng rock barrier. Tss. Nagcrack ang bato, at kaagad din itong naging pebbles lol.

Nagulat naman ako nang may mga vines na pumulupot sa kamay ko, pero kaagad din naman iyong namatay at nakawala ang kamay ko. Finally, I spoke, "Hand me Melizabeth."

"Why would we? She's an Eleusinian. We made her," sabi nong matanda.

"Hand her to me," matigas kong wika, at naramdaman ko namang nawalan ng oxygen sa palibot ko. They're trying to kill the God of Death? Sinong niloloko niyo?

Pinalagutok ko ang leeg ko, at masamang tumingin sa kanila. Kahit na, kanina pa naman ata masama ang titig ko. Don't let me kill you with my eyes, Eleusinians.

Lumapit ako sa kanila. Nagsalita naman ang matanda, "huwag kang lumapit! We will kill you, Thanatos."

"Really?" maikling saad ko. As if they could.

"You cannot kill us, you will vanish using extreme power," rinig kong salita ng lalaking umatake kay Melizabeth noong isang araw. I looked at him, and now that I'm near them, I realized something.

Pinasadahan ko silang lahat ng tingin, and only one of them caught my full attention. A small girl with colorless eyes, but I'm sure, nakakakita ang mga matang iyan. Diretsong nakatingin sa'kin ang bata at napatawa naman ako.

"Tell me what you want to say," sabi ko muli sa matanda, na ngayon ay tila kinakabahan na. Lumapit pa ako lalo sa kaniya, ngunit umatras naman siya.

"The Eleusinians declare war against the Olympian World," matigas na sabi ng matandang babae, at napatawa naman ako. Inilapag niya ang isang red letter for Hermes, at nag-ilaw naman ito, meaning they are officialy declaring war.

Mula sa likod ko ay naramdaman ko ang paglabas ng twelve Olympian Gods. Declaring a war immediately alarms the Gods, kaya't naparito agad sila.

"How come you all are so confident on declaring war upon us?" natatawang sambit ko.

Autolycus coughed, at naramadaman kong gusto ni Hermes lumapit. Mabilis akong lumingon sa kaniya at sinenyasan siyang huwag. Tumango naman siya at nanatili na sa pwesto niya.

"We want Olympians out of the world. Sa tingin niyo ba, may naidudulot kayong maganda sa mundo? You're all greedy and prideful. You even let Melinoe vanished," galit na sabi ni Autolycus.

Melinoe? Sino naman 'yon?

"You do not know her? Well it's because she vanished because he was sick of all you. She was the Goddess of Ghosts, ngunit tinrato niyo siya nang parang slave," paliwanag muli ni Autolycus or Eleusis. His golden eyes are now red.

"Now we created someone more powerful than all of you. We are in control of her, and we will assure your loss."

"You all don't deserve the thrones," wika ng isa pa. "If you were truly Gods of this universe, you would have given us the chance to lead the world-"

"Eleusinians!" galit na wika ni Demeter. Napatingin naman kaming lahat sa kanila, at kahit ako ay napalingon din. No one has ever made Demeter this mad, maybe except for the jerks, Hades and Zeus.

"If it is war that you want, then we will give you war! Prepare for the wrath of Olympus," malamig na wika niya kaya't napangisi naman ako. Binalik ko ang tingin ko sa mga Eleusinians at muli ko nang tiningnan ang batang bulag na nakakakita naman. Gulo no.

I activated my eyes of death, at nang tingnan ko siya ng diretso sa mata, she immediately fell to the ground. Nawala na rin ang lahat ng Eleusinians.

I smirked, I saw through the little girl's illusion. Pinaglaruan niya lang ang utak naming mga Diyos gamit ang ilusyon, at pinaniwalaang narito nga silang lahat. They're somewhere else now. Hiding.

"Thanatos," tawag sa'kin ni Hades. Lumapit ako sa mga Olympians at saglit na nag-bow.

"Why is Melizabeth with them?" tanong niya, dahil kahit siya, ay napamahal na rin kay Meli. As a father, okay?

Magsasalita na sana ako nang biglang ipaliwanag na ni Apollo lahat. Nagdagdag nalang ako ng mga ilang impormasyon, at mukha namang naintindihan na nila.

"Then, let's give them the taste of our wrath. Lalo ka na, Thanatos. It's been a while since the last battlefield," wika ni Dionysus at binigyan ko naman siya ng masamang tingin. I remembered he tried to hit on my angel.

Mukhang na-gets niya ako, at biglang tinaas ang kamay as a sign of forfeit.

Nagulat naman kaming lahat nang biglang magsalita si Hephaestus. Seryoso siyang nakatingin sa lupa, at halatang malalim ang inisip.

"The soulbound can be broken," wika ni Hephaestus. "Paano?" kaagarang tanong ko.

"You have two options, Thanatos. The cursed necklace of Harmonia, and then the other- I can only tell it to you," sabi niya at nagbuntong-hininga.

"The cursed necklace is not just a curse, but it breaks other curses that the person holds. We need to activate the necklace, and then she must have something that can turn the soulbound a curse," wika niya at nag-isip nang matagal.

Nagtaas-kamay si Aphrodite, kaya't nagkatinginan ang mag-asawa. Yie! "She also has my magical girdle, and she's soulbound to it too. Maybe I could somehow take control of the girdle, and then turn her soulbound with Autolycus a curse?"

"Possible," wika ni Hephaestus, "Pero mahihirapan ka because you would need a close contact to her. Wala kang laban sa kaniya, Aphrodite."

"You don't trust me, enough, Hephaestus?" mataray na tanong ni Aphrodite. dundundunduUuUun. "Proceed with the plan, Hephaestus."

Hephaestus clenched his jaw, "I best know how to activate the necklace, kaya't ako nalang ang mag-aactivate. I would need to touch the necklace by then, kaya siguraduhin niyong bantay dapat ang galaw niya. Someone must be able to stop her from moving."

"Hypnos, the god of sleep, can do it," sabi ni Hera, at kaagad tiningnan si Zeus, "Is it okay to wake him up from his sleep?"

Kaagad namang tumango si Zeus, "Yes. They declared war, then we give them the war that they wish."