Màu nền Màu tối Mặc định Xám nhạt Xanh nhạt Xanh đậm Vàng nhạt Màu sepia Vàng đậm Vàng ố

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I watched as they plan on how to divide the group into three. I am always like this whenever it comes to planning. Papanoorin lang sila hanggang sa may mabuo silang desisyon at hihintayin kung anong ipapagawa nila sa akin. Siguro ay nasanay na rin ako dahil ito ang kinagisnan ko.

Ate Eresh was always the leader and I was just the follower. Palagi lang akong nakasunod sa kanya. Always doing whatever she says. Enki and I were both alike but there's still a difference between us. Enki had been blindly following Ate Eresh as he loved her and was also guilty about the past while me, sinusunod ko ang utos nya na may sama sa loob ko.

And the only plan that I made back then was to kill Enki to protect L.

But now, looking at them who was so eager to make the best plan for us, I feel so ashamed. I wanna do something too. I wanna help them make a plan. Hindi yung nandito lang ako at naghihintay sa ibibigay nila sa akin.

I chewed on the candy at my mouth. Maliit na kasi kaya kinagat ko na. When the candy melted, yung stick naman ang pinagdiskitahan ko at nginuya ang dulo.

I heard L sigh beside me. Napalingon ako sa kanya at nakitang nay dinudukot sya sa bulsa nya. I smiled when I saw that it's a lollipop. He unwrapped it first before reaching for the stick that I'm chewing at ipinalit doon ang lollipop na bago.

"I love you." I said with full of emotions.

He smiled at me. A lazy one but I could see the message in his eyes.

"I love you." he said.

Ah... That's also the thing that I missed when he was sleeping. Hearing him say that he loves me.

"My group will be Archer, Viper and me." said Aius. "We're gonna search on the condo where..."

Nang hindi matuloy ni Aius ang sasabihin nya ay natahimik kaming lahat. Suddenly, there was an awkward air inside the room.

We all understand him though. Angela's dead is still hard for him. Lalo na ngayon nang malaman nyang may kinalaman si Ishtar sa pagkamatay ng babaeng mahal nya. The truth refreshed the pain in him.

He cleared his throat. He sighed before he continued talking.

"Tracer's group will be with V and Kier. Balikan nyo ang bahay nila Tracer noon kung saan namatay ang mga magulang nila." Aius said. "Both the condo and the Sanford house might be the answer. The first move in this game was when the Red Faction's Knight killed... Angela. But the Sanford's house might be as well. 'Cause when the the former Rooks died, it ignited the fire para magsimulang umatake ang bawat kampo."

Ate Eresh clapped her hands at that. She seems so proud while looking at Aius who just gave us the explanation.

"Good job, Aius!" she said proudly. "You clearly got why those places were my answers! You have the brain and you're not stupid. Hindi katulad ng isa dyan."

Plutus chuckled. Mukhang nakuha nya kaagad na sya ang pinariringgan ni Ate Eresh.

"Pinaglilihian mo ba ako?" he asked.

Nag-eeskandalong tingin ang ibinigay sa kanya ni Ate Eresh. Like he just said something ridiculous and out of this world.

"Between you and Archer, mas gugustuhin kong sya na lang ang paglihian ko."

Archer chuckled at that. "Gwapo 'yan panigurado."

Ate Eresh rolled her eyes. "I changed my mind. Wala akong gustong paglihian sya inyo. You are all stupid."

We all laughed like she didn't say something offending. Sanay na kaming lahat sa kanya. Kahit ang mga EL Ordre na hindi pa ganoong katagal syang nakakasama. We all knew that she's like that. But we also know that there's kindness in her.

"And the last will be Fourh, Eresh, and Plutus." Aius continued.

Nakita ko ang pagsimangot ni Ate Eresh nang mabanggit ang huli nilang kasama. Plutus, on the other hand, smiled at her.

"Fourth, talk to your father about the former chess game." Aius said to Fourth.

Fourth nodded. "Certainly. He's on his way in the Philippines as we talked."

"So team bahay sina Hoax, L, and Alter." Archer said. He nodded at Hoax. "Keep an eye on Ishtar."

"Are we all set?" Aius asked. Halos hindi pa sya tapos sa pagsasalita nang bahagyang itinaas ni Ate Eresh ang kamay nya.

"I want to have a slight changes on that." she said.

Plutus chuckled. "Oh, c'mon. You can't really stand my presence?"

Ate Eresh looked at him with irritation in her eyes.

"Stop dreaming. You're not that important." she looked at Aius. "I want V in my group."

We all looked at her. Ate Eresh raised her eyebrow like we didn't have the rights to question her decision. But of course, Kier, as V's husband, didn't care.

"Why?" he asked. "V is safe with me."

I saw Ate Eresh glanced at V. Nakatingin din si V sa sa kanya at nakita ko na parang nag-uusap sila gamit ang mga mata nila. That's when I concluded that they're hiding something from us. Alam kong napansin din iyon ng iba.

That made me anxious. We're now at the endgame. I think it'll be much better not to keep anything a secret that could affect the group. Dahil noong huling nagtago ako ng sikreto ay hindi maganda ang kinalabasan.

L got mad and disappointed at me. So as much as possible, I want everyone to trust one another. Para walang samaan ng loob na mangyari. It's not good for the group.

"You really think that she's safe with you?" Ate Eresh asked. "We're just going to meet Fourth's father and being the Duke, I'm sure that he's heavily protected so it is safe. You know that, right? But we never know what's waiting for you to those places."

"Are you saying that I can't protect my wife?" tanong ni Kier at nakaramdam ako ng tensyon. But Ate Eresh smiled sweetly at him.

I know that smile. She was mocking Kier.

"I never said anything like that." she said. "You're the one who said so it might be true?"

Marahas na napatayo si Kier, obviously offended by her words. V held his arm like he was stopping him.

Napatigil tuloy ako sa pagsipsip ko sa lollipop ko. I saw Fourth stood up as well like he was ready to defend Ate Eresh who was just sitting comfortably and smiling at Kier.

"Stop it, Death." V said. "I'll go with Eresh."

Napatingin si Kier sa kanya.

"What?"

"It'll be safer."

"You don't trust me? You think I can't protect you?" Kier asked. I heard the pain in his voice.

"Death, please." V pleaded.

Nagpalipat-lipat ang tingin ni Kier kay Ate Eresh at kay V. We were all just looking at them. Waiting for his decision.

"Fine." he said but I know na labag iyon sa loob nya. "I'll go with Fourth as well. Magpapalit kami ni Plutus."

"No, Kier. Sa grupo ka ni Tracer." Aius quickly said. "Eresh is right. Hindi natin alam kung anong naghihintay sa atin doon. Tracer needs someone na sanay sa pakikipaglaban. You were a Pawn. Madalas kang kasama sa mga misyon unlike Plutus who was just keeping an eye to Ishtar before."

"But that doesn't mean that I'm not good in fighting." Plutus defended himself. Napatingin si Aius sa kanya.

"Wala akong sinasabing ganyan."

Plutus smirked and chose not to say anything. He puffed his vape and scent of vanilla filled the air.

"So dalawa lang sila sa grupo nila?" Viper asked. "Tracer and Kier."

Tracer shrugged his shoulders. "We're fine, though."

Natahimik ako. I know that the group isn't balanced. There were three in Aius' group. Four at Ate Eresh's group. Tracer isn't fully recovered yet. He is still slightly limping because of his knees. Kaya alam kong magiging delikado sa grupo nila.

My heart hammered. I... haven't experienced being on the frontline yet. I know I can fight. Maybe not as good as the rest of them but I can still fight.

And maybe... This is the big decision that I should made.

"No, you can't." sabi ni Aius bago pa ako makapagsalita. "You still have your injured knees, Tracer."

"Lilipat na lang ako sa kanila." Archer said.

"Much better." sabi ni Aius. "So Tracer, Archer, and Kier. Viper and me. And Fourth, Eresh, V and Plutus. Okay na ba?"

No. It isn't. We might be planning on killing the gamemaster but we're still in the middle of the game. We might not be treating each other with our position on the chess game but Aius is still the King. If he got killed, then it'll be over for us.

I gathered my courage and slowly... I raised my hand.

"I want to be in your group, Aius."

Napansin ko ang mabilis na paglingon ni L sa tabi ko. He called my name. Parang sinasaway ako sa gusto kong mangyari but my decision is final.

"You're still the King, Aius." I said. "You still need to be protected. If you die, it'll be game over for us. We're still in the middle of the Bloody Human Chess game."

"Codee!" tawag ulit ni L sa pangalan ko. I looked at him.

"L, I'm sure that you can handle it alone. I'm sure that you can guide us. You're a good tracker."

"Hindi ako papayag na sumama ka sa kanila." he said. "Ako na lang ang sasama."

"No!" tanggi ko. "L, hindi ka pa magaling! And we all agreed that you'll join us in this as long as you'll stay in this hideout as the group's tracker!"

"'Cause I thought that you'll stay by my side, too!" he almost shouted at me. "Codee, sa tingin mo ba matatahimik ako dito habang nandoon ka at nakikipaglaban?"

I got his point. I am scared but I'm trying to be brave. Naiisip ko na magkapalit kami ng pwesto ni L. Mararamdaman nya ang naramdaman ko noon kung sa akin naman ang may mangyaring masama.

But this isn't all about us. We have our teammates. And in order for us to be a strong group, we must give our all in this.

"L..." I looked at him in the eye. "We are not the only one in this group. I understand your sentiments pero sana, maintindihan mo that this is the best for the group. We are all making sacrifices here just to stop the game."

Nakita ko ang pagtanggi sa mga mata nya but he didn't say anything which is good. Means that he's trying to understand what I'm saying.

"You know that I'm a good fighter, right? Hindi man ako kasing galing nila but I can still fight and defend myself. Please, L. Let me do this."

Tatanggi sya. Alam kong tatanggi sya. At alam ko din na susundin ko ang anumang gusto nya kung sakaling hindi nya ako payagan.

"Let him be, L." Ate Eresh said which shocked me to the core. "This is a big decision that Codee made. She was just following my orders back then. Kaya alam kong matagal nya 'tong pinag-isipan. I hope you'll respect that."

"Ate..."

"She always wanted to be in the frontline. Even though she's our tracker and provides information for us and being our eye in every mission, I'm aware that she still thinks that she's useless. Let her do this so she can finally throw that stupid idea out of her fucking head." mahabang lintanya ni Ate Eresh. Natawa pa si Fourth sa pagmumura nya.

Pero halos maluha ako doon. I always thought that she doesn't care about our feelings. I always thought that she's selfish. Palaging walang pakialam sa paligid kundi ang sarili nya lang at ang manalo sa laro. I never thought that she's also observing us. At alam na alam nya ang nararamdaman ko.

See? My Ate Eresh is really kind. She was just a misunderstood one.

Napatingin ako kay L. I can see that he's in deep thought. Pinag-iisipan nyang mabuti ngayon hindi gaya kanina na sigurado akong tatanggi sya. And when he sighed in defeat, I almost celebrated.

"Alright." L said. "But please, Codee... Be careful."

"Don't worry, L." Viper said. "Hindi rin naman namin sya pababayaan."

I smiled and hugged L before I removed my lollipop in my mouth and gave a peck on his lips. He rolled his eyes that made me chuckle.

"Pwede nang maging teleserye ang EL Ordre." Archer suddenly said. "Palagi akong nakakanood ng drama, eh."

We all glared at him but he continued like an insensitive one.

"Una 'yung kina V at Kier. 'Yung buntis si V at ayaw na ni Kier na sumali sya sa mission. Pangalawa yung kina Tracer at Artemis. That time when they saw each other again after a long time. Third—"

"Will be the story of your death if you won't shut the fuck up!" inis na sabi ni Plutus.

That's when Archer only noticed our glares at him. Natigilan sya. Sa huli ay napakamot na lang sa ulo at natawa.

"I need a lumpia." sabi nyang hindi namin pinansin.

"Are we all good?" Aius asked.

Lahat kami ay tumango. He seems contented with our answers.

"Good. Then let's go. The clock is ticking."

And with that, we readied ourselves.