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Chapter Text

"Those who don't bring balance to the underworld seek to upset it."

There aren't much people around the courthouse at this time, but she just needed to get some important files for something she was investigating. This could mean a breakthrough for a case that seemed to be going nowhere.

Exiting the building, the only noise that was filling the silence was her low, chunky, pumps hitting against marble floors and then concrete pavements. The eerie orange glow of the streetlights that dotted the parking lot did nothing to quell the disconcerting atmosphere.

The attorney felt as if she was being watched, but pushed down these feelings, since she was busy stuffing papers into her brief case. These papers were more important than a passing feeling of being preyed upon.

It was observing her from behind. Its jaw stretching to reveal rows of yellowed, sharp teeth covered in dripping, rancid drool, and the hollow tongue that tapered to a point stretched towards her.

The aswang pounced on her, letting out shrieking hiss when a solid hoof bashed against the lower side of its head with such force, dislocating the jaw and nearly crushing the skull.

The attorney didn't bother turning to see the commotion. Instead her hands slyly slid off her inner breast pocket, a glint from a metallic hilt disappearing again within the confines of her clothes.

She sighed and looked behind her.

"I could've ripped his tongue off first, Iglap, you didn't need to protect me."

Her eyes were adjusting to the shadows, making out the outline of a large, imposing tikbalang over a mangled body.

"He was inches from you, Sinag, you couldn't have reacted fast enough."

"I have my phone, who's to say I can't incinerate him? Also, I pay you to use your speed to take me to places fast, protecting me is Hannah and Ammie's job." She chuckles confidently.

"They're not here."

"I guess that means I owe you a favor, huh?" she mirthlessly teased.

Iglap shifted into human form, a broad-shouldered man with a bit of an aloofness to his expression. Sinag slowly approached him, but diverted her attention to the attacker instead.

She eyed the twitching remains and squinted over the clothes it was wearing.

"Blue uniform polo. He probably used to work for Sytan."

"Didn't that guy get shanked in prison?"

"Yes, he tried to escape to the Underworld, but my sister dealt with him hard. And..."

Her eyes quickly scanned Iglap's feet.

"And?"

"Your shoes got ruined, that's what. That's the favor I probably owe you."

He stared down at his new pair of Air Jordans. They were stained with aswang blood and grey matter. The corner of his mouth wrinkled with disgust, hoping Sinag didn't notice his expression.

"Forget that, we need to run, ugly here probably got friends who want to kill you too."

He jogged up to his car, a good length away from where they were. He opened the door, let her in, revved up the vehicle, and floored the gas pedal.

Silence fills the space between them and only the hum of the high-speed engine can be heard. Iglap's eyes were glued to the road, but his mind was teeming with a few questions, just swimming around.

"You never really told me the whole story about bringing Sy Tan down."

"It's about time I told you, no? Alex practically begged me to help Manuel get out of that contract. I secretly met up with Manuel, while investigating some of Sy Tan's businesses. Then I had an opening when Manuel had a fight that wasn't as publicized as the other ones."

"Right, right. We went to Gen San last time he had an upcoming fight."

"I met Rocco Nazario there, he had a bone to pick with Sytan because of s contract. Read it carefully. I was able to fish out several loopholes."

"Mhm-hm."

"Took it to court. He was found guilty of several charges, fraud, embezzlement, you name it. He vowed he'd get rid of me when he was arrested. Then some riots happened in prison, and then he was stabbed."

"He took that opportunity to make an escape?"

"Someone smuggled dragon's blood in. Whoever did it wasn't important. Alex took it from there. She said he ended up in a lower tier of the underworld...and she sealed off the exit routes. It's completely locked out."

She spat out the last sentence with such venom and a hint of disbelief. Her sister isn't that careless, mind you. But there were bigger questions in her mind.

"We need to go back to the Diabolical. "

"Alex probably knows already that the aswangs and demons are on a bloodhunt for me, possibly even her."

"We need to call Hannah and Ammie."

"Contacted them already."

Sinag bit her lip, she turned her eyes towards Iglap who was focusing on the darkened asphalt road lit with dim orange streetlights.

He can feel her intense gaze burrowing into him. She wants to say something, yet she's not talking.

"Iglap."

He sharply inhaled, waiting for her rebuke. Here she goes again, even after he pulled her away from a potentially gruesome end. He never understood what her deal was with him joining in the action.

"Iglap, what you just did a while ago, don't you ever repeat that. "

The car went into a screeching halt. He looks at her, brow furrowed and the corner of his mouth drawn taut.

"Have you lost your mind?"

"Listen to me-"

"You have no idea how close you were from being killed!"

"Iglap."

"I know I'm just your driver, but I can help you too! You can't always rely on the Wind girls. They're not always gonna be there!"

"Iglap."

"If this is something about favors or you hating owing favors to me, I'm doing this not because of those!"

"Iglap." she whispered indignantly, quite forcefully this time.

Her gaze was intently focused on the dark figures in the road ahead. She can sense that these are not normal men. Her ears picking up the sound of the flesh in their jaws stretching and the distinct hissing.

"You're right about ugly having friends."

She turned her glare at him. His foot had never crushed the gas pedal so hard in his life. The wheels squealed as it ground itself against the asphalt road.

The car rammed into the creatures, running some over, and hitting a few more.

She opened the glove compartment and flipped the window open.

"Let me help-" Iglap was about to muster but Sinag cut it off with a sharp look.

"Just drive." her eyes seemed to scold. Her arm was extended, shooting away at the aswangs.

Iglap looked at the rear view mirror and saw dark figures running after the car. Sinag's head and arms popped out the window to shoot at any remaining assailants.

One. Two. She shot at most of them, some fell but some kept going. Three. Four. Two more fell. Her mind was in a state of deep focus. Finger pushing back the metal trigger, she shot at a few more until she retreated into the window and gave a wordless signal. The car backed up into an attacking group, hitting some of them, leaving very few to be uninjured.

"Enough." she asserted.

She opened the door, and pulled out a kris from her breastpocket. She kneed the first attacker on the stomach and knifed the next. The remaining aswangs died by getting rammed by the speeding vehicle.

She grabs the one that she hit earlier and presses the tip of her kris where it can hook open his carotid.

"What is your boss planning?"

"A storm's coming for you, Trese!"

She rolled her eyes. Never heard of that one before.

"Yeah, yeah, get to the point."

"Sytan placed a bounty on your head. All his remaining assets just to kill you."

"How much?"
"Eleven million, and probably even a few kaluluwa that was sold over to him."
"Did he have Nazario killed?"
"Sytan will have you destroyed. Nazario is long gone. He won't be able to kill the sixth child, but he'll have your head for ruining his empire."

"Well then, tell him I said this."

She stabbed the aswang's neck, leaving a grotesque, gaping wound that will cause him to bleed out on the road.

Her white suit was stained in splotches of bright red. But that didn't matter, she simply went back to the car.

That demon made the wrong choice of putting a large target in her back. And she'll make sure he regrets it every step of the way.

Chapter Text

"I'm sorry. I asked too much, Ate." Alexandra quietly apologized. "Ending Manuel's contract got you in this place.  

Sinag ended up in the Diabolical that night. She wanted to pour everything she found out to her sister. She was calmly sipping steamed milk and was sitting across the coffee table.

The nightclub's stereo pulsed beneath their feet, as they relaxed on the second floor of the Diabolical.

"Not at all!" Sinag chirped brightly, smile beaming at her younger sister. "All a part of being a lawyer, nothing too big." Sinag chuckled. "I knew what I was getting into." she paused, features turning grim. 

Sinag leaned forward. 

"Bunso, I'm here to ask permission, whatever happens, I'm asking if... I can be allowed to do something that might topple the Underworld's process. I'm in a do-or-die position here."

"Just don't go overboard and don't die." Alex replied, knowing full well Sinag might.

She might not be able to promise both of those things. She sipped her drink contentedly, not directly answering the reply. By the end of this, she will make sure there will be no more contracts, shady deals, or unethical business practices coming from that snake. 

Putting on her typical, bubbly exterior, she manages to pull a fast one.

"Don't worry about me, worry about yourself. Besides, I'll come out on top of this."

 She stood up, downed the rest of the beverage, settled it on the glass table and bade her sister goodbye. 

Iglap spotted her coming down from the second floor. 

"Do you want me to come with you?" Iglap gingerly asked the descending woman.

"I don't think Attorney would want you chipping a hoof, Igs." He turns towards the voice, just to see Ammie hovering a few feet above the stairs. Hannah greeted the tikbalang with a lazy smile and a wave. The two wind girls were in their typical white tribal garb. They may seem flighty and easily distracted, but they're ready to defend Sinag when push comes to shove. 

"Ammie is right, Iglap. Attorney requested we watch her back and escort her to wherever."

"She's going to need extra help," he retorted. "With all these aswangs and maligno coming after her-" 

"I'm fine, Iglap." She abruptly cut him off. "Leave everything to the girls. You can take a break until everything blows over. You can stay in the Diabolical tonight, have a drink, put your tab on my card." The short-haired woman exited the swinging doors, and into the unforgiving night. 

But she left a disgruntled tikbalang on her wake. Iglap wondered how he could help at a time like this. But even if he can, she'll bar him from interfering in really dangerous cases. Until he finds a way to help her without her knowing, his hands are tied. 

Sinag wants to end this. However, information was going to be hard to come by. Especially on how he was able to relay his announcement throughout Manila. No one was brave enough to snitch. But she had her ways of making people talk. 

Chapter Text

Itinerary: Binondo

The Attorney was winding through the labyrinthine streets of Chinatown that led to Mr. Lao's herb shop, then took a few turns down past the Chinese restaurants, to Mrs. Ga's appliance store.

"So you've seen aswangs asking around for ingredients?" she asked the elderly Cantonese woman.

"No. But I heard from Rosa, who heard it from Lina, who talked to Shanna, that Feng's daughter saw aswangs roaming around Ongpin."

Sinag wanted to slap herself for not figuring it out sooner. Of course, they'd be from that area.

She thanked Mrs. Ga and left. She then pulled out her kris and asked it to guide the way while Hannah and Ammie tailed nearby.

The wind girls immediately found the site and crashed the party in a dilapidated lucky charm shop. Upon seeing the emissaries from the wind tribes, the aswangs residing in the hideout became bolder.

"It's her alipores! Bring the lawyer to me, dead or alive!" screeched a scarred aswang. "She's worth every soul in this room!"

"Doesn't sound like much!" Ammie quipped. "Attorney's worth more than that!" Hannah replied.

A hundredfold punches were tossed in those short minutes. Teeth were drawn, claws were swiped, the foolish aswangs thought they were a match for Hannah and Ammie's swift winds and weaponry.

Bodies were thrown across glass counters, and gunshots rang through the store.

The scarred aswang was slammed against an antique, wooden drawer. As he was gathering his wits from the dizzying whirlwind, he was unceremoniously picked up by the loose scruff of skin on the back of his neck.

His eyes met with a disdainful expression on the lawyer's face. Her glare was burning into him.

"I'm going to ask you politely." she said in a modulated tone. "Where did you get orders from Sy Tan and who was giving them out?"

The aswang snarled, baring it's teeth like a threatened animal. "I'm not giving you anything, bitch."

"Of course." her eyes fixed on the gnarled face of the aswang. "But know this, even if you succeed in killing me, you will never get a centavo from Sy Tan."

She observed his expression. It was still contorted into a hideous grimace.

"Bullshit! He signed the contract."

"Contract? You do realize that he writes all the agreements to work in his favor, right?"

"He'll hand over the money, cold cash, if we go all the way to that realm to present proof we killed you. All his stacks are with him!"

"Sure. And once you've proven I'm dead, Sy Tan has no witnesses or qualms to do this..."

Her index finger extends while her thumb sticks out to emulate a gun, then clicks her mouth.

"Bang. He doesn't have to shell out cash anymore. Problem solved. No one's gonna come looking for you."

"Your mind games won't work on me, Trese, everyone knows you're a nobody without that law degree."

The corner of her mouth twitched.

"Sy Tan doesn't respect anyone. So why in the world would he give his remaining assets to you just because you've killed me?"

She dropped him to the floor. As he scrambled across the floor, he sees the Wind Girls' feet. He looks up and sees them, quite amused. Another glass cabinet breaks from something heavy being thrown against it with a might of a stormy gale.

Chapter Text

Time: 12AM

The wind girls then drove the lawyer to the Amang Aklat's recordkeeping, a few places where some of Sytan's former businesses used to stand in Manila, to the last place Nazario was seen alive.

"Where to now Attorney?" Hannah asks
"No one's buckling down."

The car slowed down its pace. Hannah subtly turned her head. She peers into the rear view mirror, noticing a stout looking fellow following them a few blocks.

"We might go to GenSan if we can't find any clues here, but it's dangerous, since that's his territory, we might get jumped if we go there with no precautions."

Hannah wasn't actually heeding what Sinag was muttering, she was observing the guy. When the man noticed the car's pace, he stopped and slowly backed away and started to run.

Sinag was caught off guard by the gust of wind from Hannah's speed. All she knows is that Hannah apprehended a fellow in the sidewalk, prompting the lawyer and the remaining Wind girl to chase after her.

"Attorney! Doesn't this man look familiar to you?" Hannah said, while tightly crushing the man's wrists with her grip.

"You're one of Sy Tan's head utusan. Are you the one who sent out that order?"

He nodded, not looking into her fierce gaze.

"What does he want?"

"He wants you to visit him. He doesn't care if you bring a hundred allies with you or not. He want you to come to him in the realm that he's trapped in."

The Wind girls looked at each other. It was all the classic signs of an ambush. However, Sinag's face wasn't one of deep contemplation, despite all the man's words ringing like a death knell. No, her face looked empty, hollow, as if this was as commonplace as stapling documents on a desk.

"I'm not going to visit him. He doesn't get the say around here. My sister does. Two, I'm not meeting him on his terms. If he wants to meet up, I have a few quid pro quos before I'd show up. And three..."

She pointed a glinting kris towards him. "How was he able to contact you to give out that order?"

"Ask him yourself."

"Tell. Me."

The girls took out their guns and surrounded him with it.

"Tell the Attorney what she needs to know, kuya. Or we'll give you bird's eye view of the the city."

"I told you, ask Sy Tan. He wants to talk to you. He says that you need to go there yourself if you want answers. Even if you torture me, you won't get any answers."

"And if I really did?"

"Doesn't matter. You won't get any answers and you'll still find your way to him sooner or later. Go to the same place your sister went and perform the same spell she did. Sy Tan will be waiting."

"And why would I believe you?"

"I've heard you and your sister knows when someone is lying. You would've called me out if I was."

She would have, that was correct.

"And if I don't come?"
"He'll give you a reason to come."

She looked at the girls and nodded. She's heard that this man was not the talkative type, even when you beat him bloody on the pavement. There's nothing else to be done, so they begrudgingly left him alone and drove away.

The man pressed speed dial on his phone.

"She's not gonna make it easy sir, phase two then?"

Chapter Text

A week has passed.

The sudden hijacks and ambushes on her were getting frequent. These nilalang were out for blood. Last she heard, the bounty increased, but only if she was brought there alive. Sinag chalked it up to her decision to turn down the invitation.

But strangely, they were still rushing to murder her, maybe they just didn't care. The methods vary. Some prefer the silent disposal, ans some weren't even sly about it. They'd assault in broad daylight, which led to police encounters.

She tried her best not to give Captain Guerrero a difficult time while being questioned about the increased assaults on her. Death threats here and there. And actual threats to life that the girls will just shoot at. A few grazes from bullets and close calls kept her guard up.

A few leads over Sy Tan's money laundering schemes and businesses and found that it was still operating, despite the demon's exile.

The whiteclad woman mulled over how operations were still ongoing while skimming the papers from her briefcase. She immediately rang up her sister.

"Bunso, you busy right now?" she tripped over words with concerned.

"Just helping Captain Guerrero with a new case--but what is it?"

"Are Sy Tan's employees primarily aswangs and snake demons?"

"Of course, but we can't really be sure."

“Listen, I think the Sy Tan that you put inside the realm is a decoy. It's probably a shapeshifter that he paid off to fight with you."

A pause from the other end.

"I was just investigating it a few days before. His businesses were still in operation, it is widespread after all."

"It could be just his second-in-command handling everything." Sinag blurted, mentally checking out a list, her arms were bundled with a few papers, skimming the contents before placing some in a brown envelope.

"You mean his utusan? He doesn't hold any real power, he's just a messenger that executes biddings."

"True, but we shouldn't underestimate them. Look, let's talk about it over lunch since I'm coming over." Sinag says as she enters the car and signals one of the girls to go and drive.

"Sure."

She decided to eat at home, because ever since Sy Tan put a bounty on her, eating at restaurants or cafes were suddenly put to a halt because they've poisoned her drinks and meals one too many times for it to be a coincidence.

And all of that will end as soon as she finds the end of the rabbit trail.

As soon as she settled on the backseat of her car, she lightly dozed off. These nights, she hasn't been getting a good amount of sleep either, both from reviewing cases and the large target on her back. She almost gets a power nap in the way to the Diabolical when a loud noise jolts her awake.

The shrill wail of a fire siren filled her ears before she spots a massive black cloud billowing from the other street near her childhood home. Then she realized the smoke wasn't from the opposite street, it was coming from the Diabolical itself.

"Step on it!“ she snapped, the car screeching as it skidded on the road. As it reached the entrance of the Diabolical. The sight before her made her feel that overpowering sense of dread where warmth was drained from her fingertips to her palms.

People were panicking, throwing water at the building, there was scattered debris, roaring flames, and no sign of Alex.

"Hank! Alexandra!" she screamed.

"Sinag!" Hank croaked.
She turned her head, he looked like a mess, bloody and burnt. He can barely move.
"Hank! Are you okay? What happened? Where's Alex?"
"Bossing's still inside, the dance floor collapsed, I couldn't get to her quick enough."

Her eyes widened.

"Girls! suck out the air!" the lawyer commanded. The wind emissaries vaulted gracefully into action, creating a vortex where the oxygen gets drawn out from the fire.

They noticed a Lamanlupa crouched over.

"Attorney! Over there!“ Ammie yelled. Sinag rushed through the remains of the building to see the Lamanlupa reveal Alex's prostate form.

"Lamanlupa, Amang Paso! Thank you! I promise I'll give you some sweets." She thanked in a hushed tone. Her adrenaline pumped so fast that pushing against the winds didn't feel difficult, and Alex felt weightless in her arms.

The dust settled, and the fire was dispersed. The girls floated above their boss while she laid her sibling on pthe ground.

"Alex, Alex, kiddo, I need you to wake up. What happened?" Sinag tremblingly asks. Her fingers brushes off dust against her face. Alex probably passed out from oxygen deprivation. The older twin looks at Hank for an answer. But her line of sight shifts ever so slightly, right behind Hank.

And there he was.

Sy Tan.

Just standing there, with a simper on his features. Shock rose underneath her skin. Before she even noticed it, her body propelled towards that direction. It felt like someone had slowed down time. Reaching the bastard felt so far away. He ambled leisurely away into an alley, and when Sinag thought she cornered him, he disappeared.

The girls were right behind her, inspecting the wall for spells and sigils.

She felt unsettled, it's been a week since the hunt and she hasn't much food or sleep. Her paranoia probably heightened with each murder attempt. She was unsure whether it was her own senses going against her or that was actually him, perusing what had happened.

"Was I the only one who saw that?" Sinag asked her bodyguards, still unsure whether her eyes are to be trusted.

"Nope. we saw that too." they said in unison.

The lawyer felt a slight relief, because it wasn't her mind playing tricks on her, but it was slowly replaced by unease in the pits of her stomach. Sy Tan was out there, walking.

Chapter Text

"Girls, I've decided to talk to him alone."

As they trudged down the steps of the hospital, she gave her bodyguards some orders in case everything goes south.

"Attorney, we're not even sure if that guy down there is the real Sy Tan." Hannah protested. "For all we know, that's probably a fake." Hannah protested.

"Attorns, maybe Hannah here has a point. The guy down there has gotta be fake. Why not just wait for Alexandra to wake up?"

"There isn't much time to stay and play 20 questions. He'll probably drag innocents just to lure me out, if bombing the Diabolical wasn't enough. Just follow everything I told you. If I get stuck down there, take care of Alex and Hank, and text Iglap, and a few others.

The girls looks at each other and nodded. They must spring into action, not second should be wasted.

Sinag was dropped off into the alleyway where Sy Tan disappeared into, her hands reached into her blazer's folds. She pulled her kris and made swift movements with her hands, carving a  thin outline onto an unpaved hollow block wall. Popping open a small tube of blood, she empties it into her mouth. One's enough to send her to the Underworld.

Her finger seemed to sink into the wall as if it was water. Taking a deep breath, she dove in, void of fear or hesitance. As she emerged from the from the other side, she scanned her surroundings.

"Wait. That can't be right."

She landed farther, much farther away from the site of her sister's previous scathing with the demon. Her coordinates were exact and she entered. the correct ley lines. However, what unnerved her the most is the fact that there wasn't a mass of creatures waiting to jump her. It was uninhabited.

It made her cautious, something was way off.

By instinct, she sharply jerked her elbow on her left, striking an unknown presence approaching from behind, and he doubled over in pain. She pointed the kris at him.

"Wait, Trese!" he croaked. "Sy Tan personally sent us to escort you to him."

An ebwa helped the maligno to his feet.

"He knew you were coming here, so he had us pick you up. We're not here to harm you like those assassins." the ebwa explained.

Sinag brought up doubts in her head, the more she peeled back, the more confusing this whole dilemma is. She expected an ambush or at least a horde attacking her, and she found none. And now these two are claiming to be sent by Sy Tan to escort her.

Nothing about this adds up.

"If didn't want me harmed, he wouldn't have campaigned a bounty hunt." she quipped.

"There's not much time, the others will notice that you're in this realm."

They flanked her, and urged her to move towards the site where Alex performed the spell.

The stillness was broken when a battlecry was heard from the distance. So many crearures of different magic.

"Trese's here! Kill her!"

"Shit." exclaimed the ebwa, "I'll hold them off" He ran towards the bloodthirsty crowd and began ripping into flesh.

The maligno looked at Sinag.
"Perform the spell on yourself now! You don't have much time, go!"

She didn't need to be told, all her concentration were focused on casting this spell right. As she drew symbols on the floor, she began uttering unearthly words that her sister taught her.

The screams were getting louder, and violence drew nearer, but it was as if she was inside a bubble.

Her hands raised up in the air, and waved her hands in slow, tentative movements. She gently prods the tip of her dagger into her finger and slices her skin open.

The blood drips onto the sigil and blue ribbons of energy instantaneously bursts from the lines. A mass of disembodied hands grabbed and wrapped around her, pulling her down into the ground.

The next sensation she felt was being thrown across a hardwood floor, only to hit something solid.

"A couch?" came her perplexed rebuttal, upon seeing the out-of-place furniture in this realm. Fingers found their way to the handle of her knife. She stood up and observed her surroundings.

It didn't look like a barren realm in the planes of the Underworld. If anything, it looked like one of those fully-furnished prisons of Bilibid. With a standing aircon, a flatscreen, some appliances and furniture.

"Attorney Trese, you certainly took your sweet time getting here."

Recognizing the voice, she focused on the figure hunched over in an icebox.

"Sy Tan...how was Bilibid? Enjoyed your stay? Heard you got stabbed."

She carefully paced along the couch, hiding the blade in her sleeve. She observed his reaction.

A frown came across his lips. "Really know how to greet people huh?"

"Got sick of not being the top dog for once? Is that why you sent those goons after me? I haven't seen you this upset since that time, years back, when Manuel lost. You got steamed up because you lost a huge sum against a Bagyon Pinong. "

He straightened up and slammed the icebox. "His name was Dilubiyo. Pinong was the name the news gave him."

"Let's cut the niceties, Sy. I know you've been operating your businesses while being here."

He laughed. A merciless, malicious chuckle.

"Go on, Trese. Keeping building up your case against me."

"That thing I saw in the Diabolical, since the real you was in this plane all along, was a decoy to lure me in. "

"How can you make sure I'm not fake?"

"Stab wound isn't doing you any favors right now."

He looks at his side. Then looks back at her.

"You've been careful not to hit your arm on that wound. You think I didn't notice? How did you even get the information out from a plane beyond Terra Mundo?"

He holds up a call phone, he pressed speed dial and lets it ring.

Her face scrunched up, unimpressed, until it suddenly washed over her.

"Phones...work here."
"Of course, it doesn't run on magic. The signal was a surprise. Getting things in here is easier than taking them out of here."

He sipped his brandy nonchalantly as she pieced together the information. She's getting closer, good.

Sinag was staring daggers at him. She wanted to strangle this smug convict.

"That doesn't explain the bounty hunt. If you wanted me alive in the first place, why sent out a hit? Your lackeys were trying to shield me from the assassins *you* hired."

"I wanted you busy until you decided to come down here."

"I knew you were rash enough to pull a stunt like that. Taking it to court with Nazario. I didn't expect for you to win and send me to jail."

"You had it coming Sy."

"He was really trying to sue me; most of the lawyers are on my side...but you. You came along on that night, I didn't expect you to. And you entertained his stupidity. Now I had to break my contract with my prized winner."

"You got jailed in Bilibid for fraud and screwing around with contracts. You deserved that. "

"I escaped. "

"Alex trapped you here instead."

"Perhaps that was the point."

He slowly stood up, walking towards her, closing the space between the two of them. It was a psychological stand off. And Bathala be damned, Sinag will not back down.

"No one can interfere with my processes down here. It's the perfect hideout. No police, no dissatisfied cosignees, no sixth child. All thanks to you."

Sinag felt a pang of pain in her soul.

"I caused this?"

"You think you're running the game, but the thing is, saling kitkit ka lang sa larong ito."

Sinag's eyes flickered with sudden, intense fury.

"Killing you was never the plan. But even if you did die, that's one less Trese to worry about. But I'm more grateful because you made me and my dealings untouchable. Who cares if Manuel is gone. There's plenty more people who would take his place, and this time, you won't be able to interfere. "

Her tense expression softened, and she smiled warmly. "So, no police? And no Alex? I guess I that solves two of my problems."

Her eyes quickly shot down to the knife that formed in her hand. Her reflection was gazing back at her.

"What are you muttering---"

Her fist strikes near the abdomen. Then he looks at the place where she striked him. Blood suddenly began soaking into his robe and he fell.

She grabbed his inclined form by the horn and brought him to her face.

"No one will ever find you here. And no one will ever try to go in at the risk of getting stuck here. The last thing on your mind will be regretting that you used me." she cheerfully declared.

He tried to reach for his Nokia 3310 but she kicked it far from his reach.
Dialing a familiar number, flames shot out of her phone.

"Great Santelmo! Burn this place down."
"But you're still here. "
"Do it! I'll be fine!"

She saw Sy Tan cowering away and followed him, intending to finish what had been started.

Smoke rose up, furniture fell, tongues of  red and yellow swallowed them up, leaving nothing but blackened husks and ashes. Screams of agony and pained cries were heard, as if there were in the depths of hell itself

Chapter Text

Inside Alex's hospital room, a handkerchief with an all too familiar symbol was pinned against the wall.

A burnt hand shot out of it, crawling out painstakingly, dragging her body until she fell onto the floor, and yet she ever hit the ground.

"Alex" Sinag gasped "... still, healing, from fire, don't-" she gulped lungfuls of air while trying to convey that Alex shouldn't have caught her.

"And from the looks of it, you just survived from one." Alexandra chided. The elder sibling mustered up the remaining strength to push Alex off.

Sinag grabbed the bed's edge to stand up and steady herself. After inhaling deeply and coughing off the smoke, she composed herself."

"You might have some burns."
"Only on my hand. I know what you're thinking, don't do it, you're still recovering, kid."

Sinag looks back at her sister, as if remembering something.

"By the way, here."

The attorney tosses something into Alex's hands. The sixth child's brow furrowed at the severed horn given to her. She gave her sister a dry look.

"Consider that as a warning to anyone who tries to pull a stunt like that again." Sinag shuts the door.

Down the hospital steps she goes. A car stops in front of her and beeps loudly. The window slowly slides down for the driver to reveal himself.

"Iglap? How'd you know I was about to leave the hospital? I didn't even text the Wind Girls yet."

"Went to run an errand for Tito, figured I should pass by here, and what do you know, I saw you exiting."

She didn't comment any further, she just got in the car, and it sped off. They were just sitting there in mutual silence,

"Your hand's burnt."

She was albeit nonplussed when he pointed it out, considering his eyes were on the road.

"Doesn't matter," she smiled. "Job's done."

"What next?"

"That's up to Alex, I have new cases piling up."

"Don't you wanna rest or eat first?”

"No."

"You have to."

Sy's words rang in her mind. She's nonplayer in this game. This godawful game in the Underworld that everyone has a stake at where people get hurt and creatures think they can run around breaking laws and getting away with it. She had no place there. But perhaps she can prove that thought wrong.

"Those who don't bring balance to the underworld seek to upset it. Therefore all progress comes from unbalanced individuals."