“I-I think you made him angry,” Triggs said. “A-and what are those? Are those his nails!?”

“Oh, calm down, you scaredy cat!” the old woman replied.

The creepy-looking man was threatening to attack them.

Trembling fear started to course through Triggs’ spine.

The creepy man started dashing.

“Shi-! Here he comes!”

“AQUAM INFERE!”

Suddenly, a stream of water burst out like a laser and almost hit the creepy man. The water hit the ground in front of him, making him stop in his tracks.

Triggs had a mixed reaction to the sequence of events; he was in a state of both fascination and disbelief.

“Whe-where did that come from?” Triggs murmured.

Triggs moved his eyes to find out the source of the outlandish attack.

A few meters from the creepy man, he saw a young lady wearing a strange robe, ready to perform her next move.

The young lady was assuming a battle stance; her right arm was stretched forward, her palm was wide open, and it was aiming in the direction of the creepy man.

“PARTUM AQUA!” the young lady chanted.

Right after she said those words, water droplets started to form in the air around her.

Second by second, the droplets grew in size; from pebble-size to orbs the size of a golf ball, until they finally grew to the size of a bowling ball.

The lady chanted again, “AQUA IMPETUM!”

One by one, the water balls flew in the direction of the creepy man; it was like a barrage of cannons.

The creepy man readied himself. He started clicking his tongue. And with his fast reflexes, he successfully dodged each of the incoming projectiles.

Although none of the water balls hit the creepy man, it still made him catch his breath.

Just when he thought he survived the first wave of attacks, the creepy man heard the young lady chanting the same Words again.

“PARTUM AQUA! AQUA VERBERARE!”

Another barrage of water balls flew to the creepy man. He had no energy to dodge this wave of attack.

The man was forced to take all the incoming water balls. With only his arms protecting him, he endured the impact of the barrage.

Out of nowhere, another robed person came rushing into the scene. This time, it was a buffed man.

“Good job, Calla! Just keep doing that!” the buffed man shouted. He was referring to the robed young lady.

The buffed man continued dashing. He was heading in the direction of the creepy man who was currently distracted by the barrage of water balls.

While running, the buffed man chanted These words: “OPULENTOS ARMA!” Crystals started forming in his right hand.

The crystals continued growing until they assembled into the shape of a distinct weapon: a spiked ball mace.

Slowly nearing his enemy, the buffed man locked his gaze on the distracted creepy man.

He swung his crystal mace backward and prepared to perform a devastating attack.

Sensing the incoming danger, the creepy man clicked his tongue again. And like a swift fly, he was able to step away and dodge the buffed man’s strike.

But the buffed man didn’t stop. He continued charging at the creepy man while swinging his mace left and right.

Each swing was evaded by the creepy man - hopping backward one attack at a time.

The creepy man kept hopping away until they reached the grassy spot of the Plaza.

As soon as the creepy man set his foot on the lush ground, the buffed man immediately signaled, “Lae! Do it now!”

Another robed young woman - with a ponytail - suddenly appeared. She placed her palms on the grass. She chanted,

“ACCELERATIO VITAE!”

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Vines started growing underneath the creepy man’s legs. The vines gripped the man’s legs like a snake.

The creepy man tried to struggle his way out, but he was tightly rooted by the vines.

The buffed man prepared for another attack. He swung his mace backward to gain momentum. Then, he forcefully swung his weapon again, aiming at the ensnared man.

Out of desperation, the creepy man tried to shield the attack by crossing his arms.

The powerful attack landed. The force of the strike can be felt from where Triggs was observing. Crackling bones could be heard from his position.

"Zaine! It's your turn now!" the buffed man yelled as if he was commanding another invisible ally.

“Revelo!” And then again, in a blink of an eye, another robed person magically appeared. It was a young man holding a pair of karambit knives.

He was about to launch a cross-slash strike; he was aiming for the creepy man’s neck. With a deadly look in his eyes, it’s evident that he was going for the kill.

The creepy man clicked his tongue again. Luckily, he was able to lean his torso slightly sideways.

Although the attack didn't hit the neck, it still landed on the creepy man's shoulder. The creepy man received a grievous wound from the slash.

His sunglasses dropped to the ground, revealing his deep sunken dark eyes.

The creepy man growled in pain and frustration. He let out a powerful roar that trembled the robed people attacking him.

While the creepy man kept growling like a tiger, strange things happened to his already monstrous body.

The claws grew bigger and sharper, the body hairs turned into needle-like spikes, and the teeth became razor-sharp. The injuries started to heal: the broken bones realigned, and the wound stitched.

Using his sharp claws, the creepy man slashed the vines grappling his feet. After a few leg and body shakes, he finally freed himself.

The robed people had to back away in safety.

Seeing that his enemies were still in a state of shock, the creepy man used the opportunity to flee.

“He’s running away!” the robed young lady uttered.

“Don’t let him get away! After him!” the buffed man ordered.

The robed people followed the escapee.

Triggs witnessed the entirety of the peculiar scene: how the skinny man transformed, how the robed men used outlandish moves, and how they ran away and disappeared from his scope of view.

He couldn’t believe his eyes. He was unsure if he was still dreaming or not. Triggs asked the old woman, “What the heck just happened?”

The old woman replied with a smile on her face, “Crazy, right? But trust me… Things will get a whole lot crazier. You’ll see.”

“What do you mean? I - I don’t get it.”

The old lady didn’t answer. She just replied with a playful chuckle.

“Hey, Nay! Don’t ignore my question! I need explanations!”

The old lady wasn’t replying. Triggs was too insistent to know the answers.

As he kept questioning the old woman, Triggs felt a sudden cold breeze. It was not physical; he felt it in his soul.

He fixed his eyes on the face of the old lady. He felt a weird feeling - something nostalgic, something he couldn’t explain, something his conscious mind couldn’t answer.

“Have I seen you somewhere?”

The old lady smiled. “Maybe? Maybe not? Who knows?”

Triggs was overwhelmed by the surreal feeling. He had to step back to assess what he was really experiencing.

“No need to stress yourself, Young Lad. You’ll know it soon. Just listen to your soul.”

A certain memory suddenly sprung in Triggs’ mind. His eyes glowed in excitement as if he solved a hard puzzle.

“My dream… Don’t tell me you’re…”

“Triggs! Triiiggs!”

Triggs’ sister suddenly came in to cut the conversation.

“I finally found you! I told you to wait for me outside the Remittance Center!”

Seeing his sister arrive, Triggs couldn’t wait to narrate what he just witnessed a while ago.

“Ate, you wouldn’t believe what I just witnessed!”

“Can you please let me catch my breath first?”

Too excited, Triggs continued telling his story, completely ignoring his sister’s request.

After a full detailed narration…

“A transforming blind man? Mysterious people with magic? Sorry Triggs, but I couldn’t catch up to your story. And all of these happened when I was gone?”

“Believe me, Ate! I’m telling the truth!”

"I didn't say that you were lying. I'm just saying, your story was a bit overwhelming for me to follow."

Noticing that his sister was in doubt, Triggs came up with an idea.

“Aha! Why don’t we just ask the old lady over here? Maybe she could explain it better.”

Triggs turned his back to consult the old lady. But to his surprise…

“She’s… She’s gone!” Triggs was baffled. “She was just here a while ago.”

Equally confused, his sister asked, “What old lady?”

“That’s weird. I was just talking to her when you arrived.”

“You were just standing alone when I came here.”

“What!? Are you sure you didn’t see her? She was the same old lady we saw earlier.”

“Oh! The one that we…… Wait a minute! Did you just give her -”

"It doesn't matter! She just magically disappeared!" Triggs uttered without making his sister finish her sentence. "This is weird. What the hell is happening?"

“Are you sure she didn’t walk away when I arrived?”

“No! I told you! She was just standing here beside me!”

“Woah-woah, easy! I’m just asking. I’m also confused. No need to be angry.”

Triggs felt guilty for the way she talked to his sister. He bowed his head and sighed. “Sorry…”

He rubbed his fingers to his forehead, still trying to make sense of the situation. “It’s just … weird.”

His sister sighed, “You know what? Maybe you’re just hungry. Why don’t we head to the Grilling House already? It’s within walking distance from here.”

Triggs didn’t talk much further about the event; he felt that his sister wouldn’t believe him anyway.

He agreed with his sister and together, they walked to the Grilling House.