“Turns out, this is more complicated than we thought…”

Suddenly, a young lady came. The lady had a snub nose, a thick eyebrow, and a round cheeky face. Her height was smaller than Lae and Calla, and her body was slightly round.

“Kuya Toby! I got what you need,” the lady said, handing over a cell phone to Toby.

“Thanks, Jade.” Toby looked at the screen of the phone. “Yup, here it is,” he uttered. Then he gave the phone to Eddy.

Eddy checked the phone and saw a gallery of monsters with the same markings as the Sigbin.

Toby explained, “In recent months, there has been an unusual increase in the appearance of monsters in this area, but none have been as catastrophic as the Sigbin attacks…”

Eddy passed the phone to Lae.

Scrolling through the gallery, Lae noticed something, “Strange… These are the same creatures we fought before.”

Toby added, “As you can see, those creatures had the same cloud-shaped markings. But we’re not sure about the rest since we failed to capture them.”

As Lae scrolled further, a certain image caught her eye. “Wait!? Is this…” She showed the screen to Calla and Triggs.

Calla grabbed the phone to look closer at the image. She was also shocked by what she saw. “This is the birdie we defeated on Matukad Island!”

Curious, Triggs and the others also took a glance at the screen. “You’re right, it’s the same bird,” he confirmed.

“Oh? You already took care of it? That’s a relief,” Kairo said. “That bird caused a ton of trouble here last month - even killed some of my plants. It was so hard to deal with. We're just relieved it didn't come back.”

After learning the surprising knowledge, Triggs went silent for a bit, trying to analyze and form a hypothesis. “If these creatures have marks on them, it just means…”

Lae completed Triggs’ statement, “Yes. It means something owns them.”

Calla’s brain was spinning with all the information. “Wait… Does it mean someone created them? Is it really possible to produce monsters? Or maybe someone has the magic to summon these creatures?”

“I don’t know. I never heard of a Word that could summon creatures,” Lae answered. “But it’s not impossible.”

“Well, whether it was created or summoned, one thing is for sure: something is behind the unusual appearance of these monsters,” Toby stated.

“Who could they be?” Otto murmured.

Breeze whistling, leaves rustling, and Monty’s fruit munching were the only things heard as the discussion came to a momentary pause. Everyone was quiet as they formed speculation in their heads.

“KUYA TOBY!!!” Gwyn came rushing, breaking the silence. Sweat was dripping from her face, her eyebrows bent inwards, and her eyes showed worry.

Gwyn was accompanied by Michael and Queenie. Like her, they were also panting; their faces had a synchronous expression: trouble.

Toby sensed the serious situation. “Wh - Why? What happened?”

Gwyn looked at Eddy, and with a breathy voice, she said, “Your apprentices, they’re gone!”

Everyone was in disbelief.

“Wait, what do you mean?” Toby asked.

Queenie answered, although worried, she still didn’t lose the sass in her tone, “Sizter! When we gone back to them quarters, those two bitch’s were nowhere to be found!”

“Did you look around? They can’t be just ‘gone’. They must be around here somewhere.” Toby said.

“We already did. But we can’t find them in the Temple’s vicinity,” Gwen answered.

This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.

Toby got embarrassed in front of their visitors; the disappearance of the apprentices meant a lack of security and negligence in their group. All he could do was stay silent and bow down in shame.

“Shocks…” Jade’s reaction.

Everyone was starting to panic, except Triggs, Eddy, and Lae who were trying their best to think of a quick solution. As usual, Zaine and Monty didn’t seem affected by the situation.

“Mang Eddy, this is their first mission, right? So it means this is their first time in Mt. Iriga.” Triggs asked.

“Yes. I’m sure it’s their first time here,” Eddy answered. “Why?”

“Hmm… That means they haven’t gone too far - assuming they’re unfamiliar with the place,” Triggs inferred. “They must be somewhere nearby in the forest.”

The thought made Kairo more disturbed. “The forest is not the best place to be right now; Sigbins are just lurking around. I’m worried about their safety.”

“Thaz true, siz! Those bitch’s might be cheeky, but I still care for ‘em. They still humans thou,” Queenie expressed.

“Oh no… We really need to hurry,” Calla murmured.

Even before they could do something, Toby was already in doubt. “This forest is massive. It’s really tough to find your way around, especially at night. Looking for them will be like searching for a needle in a haystack,” he pointed out.

Optimistic, Triggs replied. “Well, nothing’s impossible with our number, and your members know this forest better than we do. We just need to spread out to find them faster.”

“Unfortunately, that won’t be the case,” Toby replied.

“What do you mean?”

“I told you, we have rules here. Bulan only allows two of our people to leave the Moon Temple at a time. That means - still - our numbers won’t be enough.”

Instantly, Triggs’ optimism faded away. Toby’s explanation made him think much deeper.

Otto tried negotiating, “Uhm… Can He make exceptions? Cause you know… this is very urgent…”

“No. I don’t think he will,” Toby answered straightly. “Especially for someone who called His Followers ‘witches’.”

“Okay… I was just taking a chance…”

“Psh… what a crappy rule,” Monty muttered. Then, with a loud voice, he asked, “So… what now? Are we just going to stand here? I thought we should be hurrying up?”

“He’s right, we need to do something now. Guilt would eat me alive if anything were to happen to those two,” Eddy expressed.

Out of nowhere, Michael had a wild suggestion, “We can ask for help from the villagers…”

After Michael gave his recommendation, Toby and the other Children of The Moon gave him an awkward stare, as if he said something taboo.

Michael continued, “I mean… we could come up with an alibi to convince them to help us.”

Toby might have been irritated by the idea, but the suggestion was plausible, and it presented one of the quickest solutions they could think of.

“So… What’s the plan now?” Kairo asked.

With slight unwillingness in his tone, Toby questioned Michael, “How sure are you that it'll work?”

“I know the folks in our Barangay; I'm confident they'll lend a hand once they hear someone's in trouble,” Michael replied. “I can also explain it to my father so he can ask his people to help us.”

“Well, then… This is all on you…” Toby replied, seemingly agreeing because he had no other choice. “...We will not be the one to talk to them.”

Michael, Eddy, and Triggs’ team understood what Toby meant.

“But before that, I just want to ensure our group’s safety…” Toby stated. “...Right here, right now… I want to know what your alibis will be to convince those people. I just want to make sure our group stays safe and nothing gets messed up.”

Obviously, Michael still hadn’t thought it through. “Uhm… about that…”

Simultaneously, Lae and Monty glanced at Triggs, as if they were expecting something from him.

The abrupt stares surprised Triggs, “W - Why? Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Come on, boi! Quit with the humble act. You’re good at this,” Monty replied.

His comrades’ reaction gave Triggs a mixed feeling: he was flattered that his friends trusted him with the alibi, but he also felt embarrassed that he was acknowledged as a creative liar. “Uhm… okay!” he responded.

In deep thought, Triggs put his hand on his chin and stared at the grassy floor.

Others were just patiently waiting for Triggs, silent as the clouds in the dark sky.

Not long after, Triggs raised his head and with a confident demeanor, he started discussing what he came up with.

…

…

…

“OPERBA!”

Using a Portal, Triggs, Lae, Zaine, Eddy, and Michael teleported to the boundaries of the Barangay and the forest.

On the other hand, Otto, Monty, and Calla went with Gwyn and Toby to begin the search in the forest near the Moon Temple.

Still unconscious, Randy was hanging between Eddy and Triggs, while the incapacitated Chris was accompanied by Zaine and Michael.

Dragging the bodies of the 2 barangay officials, Triggs’ group prepared to enter the Barangay’s premises, towards Bert’s farmhouse.

As they moved closer, they saw numerous people flocking to the barn. Everything seemed spry; chattering could be heard from their distance.

As Lae looked closer to the crowd, her face brightened with a smile as she noticed something. “I guess our alibi won’t be needed anymore,” she said modestly.

Then, she pointed at the middle of the crowd. There, Jesse and Cassie could be seen, unscathed and fully conscious.

Seeing that his apprentices were unharmed, Eddy sighed with relief, “Thank goodness they made it back safe.”

It wasn’t long until the town folks noticed their arrival.

Suddenly, a middle-aged lady sprouted from the crowd. “Oh my God! That’s my dear Randy!” she cried as she ran to fetch his unconscious husband.

As the lady approached the group, she quickly snatched away her husband from Eddy and Triggs.

She sat on the ground and cradled Randy in her arms. With eyes filled with tears, she stared at the face of her senseless husband, “Oh my God, Randy. What happened to you?” she murmured.

After a moment of caressing Randy’s face, the lady gently laid him on the ground. She then stood up, slowly walked towards Eddy, and with a displeased face, he leered at the old man.

SLAAAP!!!!

The lady suddenly slapped Eddy’s face. Triggs and the others flinched at the unexpected action.

“What did you do to my husband!?” the lady screamed.

Covertly, Lae nudged Triggs with her elbow, as if she was signaling him to proceed with the alibi.

“Uhm… Please calm down po… We can explain what happened to your…”

“YOU EVIL WITCHES!! YOU DON’T DESERVE TO LIVE!” the lady suddenly shouted.

Triggs’ group was overwhelmed; they didn’t expect the words to come out of the lady’s mouth. They were shocked - baffled by the situation.

Then, they felt the air change drastically. Triggs looked at the crowd, and all he could see were faces filled with anger and resentment. By then, he noticed that some were holding machetes and deadly weapons.

“What’s going…” Lae uttered with worry.

Jesse walked out of the crowd. With a straight face, he pointed his finger at Triggs’ group. “There they are! Capture them!!”