Chapter 62: Fallen Angels
Screams from countless women could be heard across the town, attracting Mutant Beasts and Zombies which were dispatched by the soldiers on sight.
They were just as gorgeous as the one Luna killed earlier, and majority of them were still naked. Apparently they were all bathing, cleaning off all the dirt and blood. It seems these Manananggals were quite conscious of their appearance in the daytime. Some were wandering around the town looking for clothes for the group, while majority of them were taking turns bathing in the area around the Cambugahay falls. This is also the place where they were all eventually corralled.
It was quite weird how the ones wandering around the other areas chose to run away and hide elsewhere, instead of allowing themselves to be stuck here.
The Lightning Mages, including Apple and Elder Aran, had their spells ready. These Manananggals were obviously terrified, but they couldn't do anything. They were all completely surrounded. Luna had mobilized a whole army just to make sure that they wouldn't be able to escape their encirclement. Even if they all tried to charge at one spot to try and breakthrough, it would be futile when they're in their weaker form during the day.
Once the Mages released Lightning spells into the water, the ones in currently in it would perish.
"It boggles my mind why they would all choose to retreat near this area." Mabini said.
Apple added on to his statement, while furrowing her eyebrows. "Indeed. They definitely saw from last night that we were capable of Lightning spells."
"Even if there are thousands of them here, the ground is wet enough that we'd still make short work of them. Interesting indeed." Elder Aran mused. He was correct, after all. They could fire out their spells at will, it wouldn't harm their allies. Even Chain Lightning would never bounce towards their allies.
Just then, a voice from the middle of the pack spoke up. "Please! Hear us out first!"
All the women looked towards the source of the voice, then they gave way as she walked forward.
"Mistress.." They called out to her. They had worried looks on their faces. One could guess that this woman was the reason why they flocked here instead of trying to have a better chance of escaping. This woman was evidently their leader.
She walked forward and knelt down, despite being completely naked. "Before you decide to massacre us, I'd like to speak to your leader. Please give me a chance to offer my proposal!"
The soldiers went from being almost bewitched by her beauty, despite knowing her true form, into being flabbergasted by the leader of this bunch kneeling down in front of them without a single piece of clothing on her.
"You have 5 minutes. Make it count." Luna spoke, as he stepped forward.
The Manananggal's Mistress felt the pressure weigh down on her, not just because the next minutes would decide their fate, but also because of the pressure Luna naturally gave out, which made her speechless for a few seconds.
"Miss, it's best if you start speaking soon. Lord Luna is a reasonable man, but he doesn't like having his time wasted." Elder Aran felt bad for the woman. When the rifts opened, he sensed that all of them came out of it, and none stayed behind. This may very well be the last of their race. He of all people knew how that felt. Else why would this woman humiliate herself, just to cling to the tiniest chance of survival.
How could she know that Luna was a reasonable fellow? All she knew was that this man had the survival of her people at his fingertips. Not to mention that this all happened in the span of less than 24 hours.
"Lord Luna, my name is Clemencia. The leader of what you call 'Manananggals.'"
"Oh? You seem to imply that, that's not what you all are?" Luna couldn't help but notice the nuance behind her statement. "Don't worry. Answer my questions, and I'll extend the time you have."
"Yes, Lord Luna. Truth be told, we are cursed. Formerly, we were Angels in heaven, victims of our curiosity and naivety." She explained.
"Fallen Angels? You'd have me believe that despite your grotesque appearances?" Luna replied.
Her head drooped a bit after hearing Luna's harsh words. "Indeed. Heaven is not the perfect place that you all were made to believe. It has it's own politics as well, and with it, comes a lot of happenings behind the scenes. Me and all these women, we were all Angels once. But to be honest, we were probably more like fools than anything else."
"Hello Clemencia, my name is Sura. May I ask, what did you all do that caused you to be cast out?" Sura asked. She had some knowledge of how cutthroat the so called "Heaven" was. She turned towards Luna and nodded. "At the very least, she's telling the truth about Heaven."
Clemencia stared at Sura with eyes of gratitude. "Lady Sura.. have you heard of the Light-bringer's Rebellion?"
"Who hasn't? Although we don't know the complete details." Sura answered.
"Lucifer?" Luna raised his eyebrow. The soldiers now listened more intently as well, getting to hear about Heaven from people who actually know about it? Anyone would be curious.
"Indeed, Lord Luna. He sought knowledge and was seduced by it. He had good intentions, that Lucifer. Else why would we have participated in his rebellion? But that doesn't change the fact that his actions destroyed countless lives and countless worlds with it, that is his sin. Our involvement was minor, which is why we were cursed. It was also part of the reason why we were given a chance."
"A chance for what exactly?" Luna asked.
"Redemption. Lord Luna, I wholeheartedly and sincerely apologize for attacking you all last night, but once we're in that form we are slaves to it's bloodthirstiness. But the reason why we were sealed by the Agimat in your possession, was because we were meant to be captured by a <Nation>. If the ones that pulled it out were weak, they would have been devoured if they did it near nighttime or during. If it were in the day, we would have advised them to leave before nightfall." Clemencia explained.
"You're saying it would have been different if we released you during the day?" Luna asked.
"That's where the chance at redemption comes, Lord Luna. If you let us live, as gratitude for finally releasing us, we will serve you wholeheartedly. As long as you welcome us to your <Nation>, we will serve you faithfully. As long as the other half of our bodies stay safe within your base, we can head out and hunt for you. Even when we retain our Angelic forms, if that happens, we will still continue to serve you." Clemencia offered.
"There was a woman earlier, near the outskirts of town. She had enough time to tell me about the story you just told me, so why didn't she? Even when I crushed her in half. If you can't explain that, then your story would have a pretty huge flaw in it. If you really were intending to serve me, then why not come to me and instead stay here? Choose your next words carefully, Clemencia." Luna stared her down. Their offer was enticing, a full air force like these Manananggals would prove to be crucial in the road ahead.
"Inanna, the insane. Even before we were cursed, she was confident that the Light-bringer would have her as a woman. But, much like all of us, she was just another pawn. She fancied herself as a deceiver. I'll bet she tried to seduce you or your men as well and up until she died, she still felt as if she could enchant at least one of you." She explained. Her story definitely made perfect sense, then she continued to answer the latter question. "As to why we're staying here is, well.." Clemencia blushed a little bit, seemingly embarrassed.
"We were going to present ourselves to you, but you see, it's been quite a while since we've taken a nice, relaxing bath. We wanted to enjoy it first, and then head over to your base and explain ourselves after we were more presentable, but who would have known that you not only pinpointed our location, you acted so fast as well. This fact helped cement our decision to join you even more."
Elder Aran secretly communicated with Luna. After hearing what he had to say, Luna's expression shifted as if he just had an epiphany.
"Alright, come with us to our base first. We'll discuss it there. You'll have to tell me about the rest of your story as well." Luna said.
"Lord Luna! But they're Manananggals! Monsters!"
"Who knows if they'll eat us in our sleep?"
Some of the soldiers were obviously a bit scared. These were the "monsters" they grew up hearing about from their parents, after all. It was not easy for them to shake it off just like that.
"Idiots! Do you take Lord Luna for a fool?! You think he would allow them to even harm a single hair of our citizens?"
"Bunch of morons ruled by their fear from childhood stories!"
But of course, there were more men who were absolutely loyal to him. It was insulting even to them, that there were some who would think that this man who had lead them this far, would make such an obvious blunder. The ones complaining could only lower their heads after realizing how badly they messed up.
Luna didn't blame them, after all, even he had a hard time justifying taking in these women at first. But as a leader, he knew that he had to keep an open mind. If these women could truly be allies, then their contributions would be invaluable. Not to mention, the knowledge that they had.
What did the Light-bringer do that destroyed countless lives and worlds?
He had a hunch that what the Light-bringer did, played a major part in the world's current state.
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