Chapter 3: The Adversary
Morningstar stood up in a suave manner and offered a handshake to the Aswang.
The Aswang backed away from her with so much disgust.
“C’mon. You knew I was coming,” Morningstar smirked.
“And I still find it hard to believe that I will make a deal with the literal She-Devil.”
“Bah! It must be my birthday, because I already struck the deal with ol’ yeller’s owner over there,” she pointed to Beatle. “Wouldn’t hurt to shake your hand, yeah?”
“Why is she here?” asked Myrmex. “She tried to kill Miguel.”
“She survived the Primal Forge’s creation. She is the only one who can do so without getting corrupted by the Goat.”
“Because she already is,” said the Aswang, bowing his head upon that realization. “You want us to become immunized by the poison by dousing us a little bit of it every step of the journey.”
“And if we fail!?” asked Myrmex.
Morningstar sneers. “Well? Whaddya say, Beatz?”“Then all is lost,” said Beatle. “The Goat will be released from his cage and wreak havoc upon the Multiverse with his legions of Ogres.”
“‘Ogres?’” asked Myrmex.
“His army,” smiled Morningstar. “I was… never promoted well enough to wield them well. Well, when I failed, armies of them tortured me until I gave up the location of the trident.”
“THEY’RE COMING HERE!?” asked Myrmex, standing up.
“They THINK it’s here, but alas, you have it, and by the time we get there, they’d have nothing,” sneered Morningstar.
“Beatle, what was the deal?” asked the Aswang, eyes still averting everyone’s.
Beatle sighs. “The deal with her? Well… my ascension.”
“Excuse you!?” asked Myrmex.
The Aswang stomped forward. “What!? You offered her YOUR DEATH!?!?”
“Yes,” said Beatle. “I will die in this battle.”
“We need you,” said the Aswang. “I-!”
“Do not worry, friend… I believe that kindness will always be rewarded.” Beatle smiled. “Now, I will lead the way and keep you safe from Morningstar. But when I’m gone, I believe you will not break.”
Later…
The Reaper, the Aswang, Myrmex, Dark, Askal, Hercules, Slime Tutorial, and Lord Marvel, the very Honorables themselves, seem to be all having brunch together with Jollibee.
“What the hell do you mean!?” asked the Reaper.
“I mean, the Goddamned Council is just a stand-in for the Americans to continue ruling over us,” said Dark, rolling his eyes while his feet placed on the table.
“Johnny, that’s stupid. God Emperor’s a Filipino,” said Askal.
“Emz, she clearly has her hands tied,” said Dark. “Literally, Murricans are Goddamned everywhere there, hiding in plain sight, pretending that our legacy doesn’t matter and their ideas bear more fruit than everything we worked hard for. We were their slaves… to this day, their imperialistic ways still affect us with our own colonial mentality.”
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“Well,” sighed Slime Tutorial, scratching his head before getting bored and continuing to play his game. “Honestly, I am very confused with all this. Aren’t Liberal Consuls the good guys?“
“Both are needed for a well-balanced political structure and to avoid political extremism,” said the Reaper.
“Dang. These words are hard,” said Lord Marvel, picking his nose.
“Well, all we can do now is to keep the Multiverse safe,” Hercules bowed his head with crossed arms and closed his eyes. “The best thing to do is to make this country of yours the new capital.”
“We can’t just do that, love,” said Dark, brushing Herc’s hair with a hairbrush and picking off some lint from it. “This isn’t Ancient Greece anymore. This is the modern world. More rigid, sadly, that we can’t just do the right thing.”
“‘The Philippines being capital.’ Sure, this is where the Saint King comes from, but that’s like saying America shouldn’t be the capital because Mesopotamia was where civilization started. It’s a mockery of sovereignty to do so. Maharlica-152 has and always was meant to exist as a barrier from extremism and madness. The only problem, however, is that the Morningstar is chosen by Beatle of all people to join the kids in their journey to the Forge. And apparently, he didn’t tell us this: WE AREN’T EVEN REGISTERED. If we’re gone, our Earth is doomed.”
“Don’t the cosmic senators even give a damn about us!?” asked Lord Marvel.
“Psh. No,” Askal chuckled. “I grew up with my father, a Congressman. The Cosmic Congress was built with the PH Politics as its founding rock. Terrible choice, if I say so myself.”
“So, what?” asked Slime Tutorial, rubbing his forehead’s vein. “Do we just do what Beatle says?”
The Reaper says with sternness. “Yes. We are so much more than what the world says we are. Of course, the world doesn’t give a damn about us. Everyone has problems, and they aren’t damned grateful no matter how many times we save their world from aliens and monsters. Because they like taking advantage of us and our kind. Because we are, dare I say, useful to them. But that is how things are. We’re not Superheroes, we’re Superslaves. The Honorable Alipins. Honestly.”
“Then why fight for this world!?” asked Slime Tutorial.
“Because people need us,” said Dark. “They’re just as people as everyone in this room. I… have done so many terrible things… And I do this because I believe I can change.”
“Same here,” said Askal. “I was damned terrible. So, I will try my best to atone for every action I have done.
“You two do realize that Athena has it out for you, right?” asked the Reaper. “A literal hive mind that controls infinite versions of herself, but the size of a bug. You killed our brother, and I forgive you, but she isn’t too merciful.“
Dark nods softly. “Yeah… yeah, I know. I apologized already.”
“She tried to drill your head once,“ said Askal.
“Yeah… Exactly. I apologized to her that’s why,” said Dark, sighing.
“So, we are going to reach the Edge of the Forge and do... What?” asked Askal.
Hercules stood up proudly. “Save the Multiverse.”
“And if your father is dishonored by this, would you still?” asked the Reaper, and Hercules went silent. “Last I heard, you’d die for him.”
“Oh, please, Reaper. You’re a killer. And you damned well are one! Killing Aswangs like a monster yourself! A vile villain you are!
“Oh, shut the fuck up, kindly, Herc. I am a monster, and you should fear everything that I am capable of. And what I am capable of is I can forgive that. Athena has it for our necks, so what do you think we’ll do, huh? Sit around like a couple of jackasses in a circle jerk?”
Hercules stood up, eyes glowing crimson and face furrowing angrily. Dark and Askal draw their weapons, a katana and a kris dagger, sheathing them both with speed and drawing the blades to their necks, allowing blood to drip down from the cut flesh.
“HEY!!!” boomed Beatle, walking in. “The Aswang wishes to speak.”
They all turned, shocked that they missed an entire person in the room with them.
The Aswang just sat there and spoke. Yes, that guy from Tondo spoke indeed. “Guys. I don’t understand how many of these things work. I just punch people who hurt the little guy and bring them to the cops. What it sounds like is that you guys seem to be overcomplicating the fight for evil. I know the cops are indeed corrupt. And I damned well know that they could be freed because of bail money. I have a girlfriend who taught me about the real world.” The Aswang turned to Myrmex, who gave a soft smile, avoiding eye contact with him as she felt a heavy weight of embarrassment and pride in her chest. “And I say that what we do is keep fighting. We keep fighting because it is the right thing to do. That is who we are, and that is what we all agree on. Please kindly do not allow all that stuff to become an obstacle to our endeavors. Your fears, however, are valid. I am a simple man, and I have a simple mind. I do understand that people cursed with knowledge think too much. So don’t think. Do.” He spoke with politeness and such a policy that this moved everyone’s hearts. Beatle stares at the Aswang with pride.
“I STILL question this,” Athena entered the room with a posture of arrogance. “You honestly think someone as torn as an Aswang could save the Multiverse?”
“You helped raise an Aswang, now the King of the Multiverse,” said the Reaper, glaring down at a tiny ant-like critter. “Hay Naku, Sister… You are a fool…”
“Yet there was only one King of the Multiverse,” smiled Athena. “Very best luck to you, my opponents,” she smiled and lifted her nose as she spun with an immediate sniffle. She turned her head to the right very quickly and walked away with snootiness and a sense of arrogance.