“Guys! The bird! It’s already here!” Lae said through the phone. “It’s heading to the Lagoon!”

 

“Zaine, can you hear us? The bird is heading there,” Calla signaled.

 

“Yes. It’s looking for the fish.” Zaine replied. 

 

“So, it really is targeting the Bangus, huh?” Triggs uttered.

 

“It’s leaving,” Zaine said

 

Triggs saw a huge shadow gliding above him. The shadow was heading directly to the bait.

 

“Guys! Guys! It’s here!” Triggs stated while hiding in a spot unseen by the bird.

 

Hurriedly, Lae, Zaine, and Calla headed to Triggs’ location. 

 

Expectedly, Calla arrived first. “Woah! What kind of bird is that?” 

 

In front of them was an enormous bird with feathers that showcased a range of vibrant colors. Struggling to snatch the fish from the bowl, the bird flapped its paraglider-sized wings, blowing away the sand and producing a small sandstorm.

 

Lae and Zaine finally arrived.

 

“What’s the update?”

 

“Looks like our plan is working,” Triggs answered.

 

Lae nodded her head. “Okay. Now, let’s just wait for it to step into our trap.”

 

Beforehand, the team already placed a trap using Lae’s vines and some wooden apparatus. They buried it deep in the sand beside the bowl.

 

Suddenly, Triggs noticed something. He felt a buzzing sensation tingling on his skin.

 

TZZZ!! TZZZ!! TZZZ!!

 

“Uhm, guys… I think we need to do something now,” Triggs stated.

 

“But… We need to stick to the plan….” Lae replied.

 

TZZZ!! TZZZ!! TZZZ!!

 

Crackling noises were heard as the bird’s plumages began to rise like a porcupine’s quill. The bird flapped its wings and flew a few feet above the bowl of Bangus.

 

“Wha - what is it doing?” Calla uttered.

 

“Shit!” Hurriedly, Triggs stepped out from their hiding place. He drew his crossbow and quickly aimed it at the bird.

 

“Triggs! Move away!!”

 

ZABOOM!!!

 

A strong lightning bolt exploded on the beach. 

 

Although the arrow didn’t hit, Triggs’ attack made the bird miss its lightning strike on the Bangus.

 

“Guys! Change of plan!” Triggs shouted.

 

Calla and Lae stepped out from their hiding spot.

 

Zaine rushed to bring the Bangus to a much safer spot.

 

The battle against the bird began!

 

Calla aimed her palms at the bird.

 

“PARTUM AQUA! AQUA VERBERARE!”

 

A barrage of Water Balls flew in the bird’s direction.

 

Maneuvering in the air, the bird evaded some of the Water Balls. But because of its huge body, the bird easily tired off, slowing its evasive movements. The last Water Balls blasted on its body.

 

The attack made the creature furious. It locked its sight on Calla and suddenly,

 

ZABOOM!!!

 

Luckily, Calla was able to throw her body to the sand, evading the attack.

 

“Ouch…” Calla groaned as she tried to recover. 

 

But before she could raise her body, she saw the bird charging to her location.

 

“Calla! Look out!”

 

SWOOP!!

 

Quickly, Calla rolled her body to avoid the bird’s swooping attack.

 

“Th - That was close,” Calla sighed.

 

“ACCELERATIO VITAE!” Lae created a whip by growing a long vine.

 

Using the whiplike vine, Lae attempted to strike the bird.

 

FFFWHOOP!!

 

However, by flying higher into the air, the creature evaded the attack. The strike did nothing but agitate the bird even more. Now, its target changed to Lae.

 

The bird flew in circles and after a few hovering, it dived straight to Lae.

 

SWOOP!!

 

Lae jump-rolled to dodge the bird. She recovered hastily to her feet and with a quick attempt, she whipped the vine to the bird.

 

FFFWHOOP!!

 

“KUWAAAAA!!!” The bird cried in pain.

 

Calla followed with a barrage of Water Balls.

 

“PARTUM AQUA! AQUA VERBERARE!”

 

However, the bird was quick to recover. Quickly, it flapped its wings and threw itself back into the air, evading the projectiles. Swiftly, the bird charged at Calla. 

 

SWOOP!!

 

Calla had no choice but to end her barrage to evade the attack.

 

The bird quickly flew away at a safer distance after the charge attack.

 

“Calla, are you alright?” Lae shouted.

 

“I’m fine, Lae! This birdie is hard to deal with!”

 

The bird repeated the same sequence of attack: it performed a swift charge and flew away immediately at a safe distance. It kept doing the same attack pattern for the next moments of the battle.

 

Calla and Lae continued attacking the bird, but none of their attempts was successful. Seemed like the bird’s new tactic was working against them.

 

 Calla became irritated. “Argh! It keeps flying away!”

 

Lae suddenly noticed something, “Hey, Triggs! What are you doing!?”

 

Triggs was just standing motionless in a corner. 

 

“The bird can’t fly that high… probably because of its big body… it can only fly a few meters higher than the cliff…” Triggs’ mumblings as he observed the battle.

 

He then rushed to Zaine, intending to broadcast his newly brewed strategy.

 

After hearing the plan from Triggs, Zaine nodded his head and left to execute the instruction. “VELUM!”

 

Meanwhile, Triggs went to the 2 girls to discuss the strategy.

 

“Guys, I don’t know if you’ve already noticed, but the bird is doing a weird strategy called ‘kiting’,” Triggs pointed out. “But don’t worry, I know just how to deal with it.”

 

After that, Triggs started giving instructions. And without further ado, they executed the plan. 

 

“PARTUM AQUA!”

 

Calla created multiple Water Balls and let them suspend in the air. 

 

“Just hold them like that, Calla,” Triggs commanded.

 

“Okay!”

 

Dozens of Water Balls floated above them. Purposefully, the Water Balls were much denser in the seaside area.

 

After the air was filled with stagnant Water Balls, Triggs and Lae began their move. Using their weapons, they attacked the bird hovering in the Water Ball-filled air.

 

The bird tried to use the same tactic as before. However, because of the Water Balls, its movements became more limited. 

 

“Lae! Attack from there! I’ll attack from here!” Triggs ordered.

 

The bird had to evade Triggs and Lae’s attacks while avoiding the obstacles.

 

“Just a little more…” Triggs murmured. Suddenly, he commanded, “Lae! Push him that way!!”

 

“Okay!!”

 

FFFWHOOP!!

 

Lae performed a strong whipping attack. Although it didn’t hit the target, it made the bird evade and move to their desired location.

 

“AHA! Gotcha!” Triggs uttered.

 

With all the dodging and maneuvering, the bird didn’t notice that it was now pushed back near the side of the cliff.

 

“Zaine! Do it now!” 

 

“REVELO!”

 

Waiting at the cliff like a sneaky leopard, Zaine set his deadly gaze on his prey. Holding his pair of karambit in an underhand grip, he leaped to the bird to perform an ambush strike.

 

“KUWAAAAA!!!”

 

“AQUA IMPETUM!”

 

The Water Balls moved and coagulated into a much larger Ball, serving as a landing cushion for Zaine.

 

“Nice one, Zaine!” Triggs exclaimed.

 

 

 

 

 

TZZZ!! TZZZ!! TZZZ!!

 

“Uhm, Guys!?....”

 

“Shit! Take cover!!” Triggs yelled.

 

The team quickly huddled together. Hastily, Lae scattered seeds around them.

 

“ACCELERATIO VITAE!”

 

Vines sprouted and tethered to form an interwoven protective blanket.

 

ZABOOOOOOOMMM!!!!

 

An electrical burst, significantly stronger than the previous ones, exploded from the bird. 

 

The shockwave caused devastation and burned the surrounding plants, even setting the vine blanket ablaze.

 

Luckily, no one on the team was hurt; just in time, they were able to remove the flaming blanket before it could even burn their skin.

 

“GAH!! I thought I was about to die right there!” Triggs blabbered while catching his breath.

 

“Wait!? Where’s the bird?” Lae uttered.

 

Zaine pointed his finger at the sky above the ocean.

 

“It’s getting away!!”

 

“Oh nooo. We can’t let it escape again!” Calla said.

 

“I hit it, surely,” Zaine said.

 

“If Zaine managed to hurt it, it probably couldn't get too far,” Triggs stated. 

 

“But we still need to chase it,” Calla urged.

 

“I know, I know…” Triggs mumbled. Bowing his head, He tried to think of the quickest possible solution to the dilemma.

 

Slowly and slowly, they were losing sight of the bird.

 

Sensing the urgency of the situation, the team became frantic.

 

“We need something!”

 

“Something like what!?”

 

“A boat, a raft - something we can use to follow that bird!”

 

“But where can we find that?”

 

“I don’t know!”

 

“I can’t see the birdie anymore!”

 

“Quick! Think of something, what should we do!?”

 

 

 

  

 

“Ate Paglaom! Ate Paglaom!”

 

They saw Aki shouting from the shoreline. Behind him were Urig, Pilyo, and Ugakon, pulling a wooden fishing boat.

 

“Ate Paglaom! We found this nearby!”

 

The team couldn’t help but smile at the exceptional timing. 

 

“Nice one, guys!” Triggs praised the kids.

 

Without wasting a second, the team hopped on the boat.

 

With the bigger boys, Urig and Ugakon, pushing the boat from the rear, and the thinner Aki and Pilyo pulling from the front, they maneuvered the boat to chase the bird.

 

“It’s getting away fast!” Triggs uttered.

 

“Guys? Can you go much faster?” Calla urged the Shokoy kids.

 

“We can’t! The waves are too big, Ate!” Aki replied.

 

The team was starting to lose hope, seeing the bird slowly turning into a blur on the horizon.

 

 

 

 

 

Suddenly, they saw something far ahead.

 

“Is - Is that!?”

 

With an indomitable will, cutting through the strong waves like an arrow, Gamgam chased the fleeing bird like a speeding torpedo. 

 

“YES! GO GET THAT BIRDIE, GAMGAM!!”

 

Quickly catching up to the bird, Gamgam dove deep into the water. With enough depth to create momentum, he propelled himself by using the big wave as leverage.

 

He soared high up to the sky, paddling his tail like he was literally swimming in the air.

 

The team and the Shokoy kids couldn’t believe their eyes.

 

Midair, Gamgam swung his trident behind his shoulder. With force and momentum, he hurled the weapon in the bird’s direction.

 

SSSWOOHM!!!

 

“KUWAAAAA!!!”

 

The trident grazed over the bird’s eye, making it cry in pain. 

 

“HELL YEAH!!!” Triggs cheered.

 

The bird was disoriented, flying in circles and bewildered.

 

The team used the opportunity to get closer to the creature.

 

“Quick, guys! We shouldn’t waste Gamgam’s effort!” Triggs urged.

 

Just before they could get near the bird, something happened.

 

THUMP!!

 

…

 

THUMP!!

 

“Ggh!-Shit!... This… damn timing!...” Shocked by a cold rush, Triggs fell to his knees, trying to withstand the sudden overwhelming sensation.

 

“Triggs!? What’s happening to you!?” Calla’s worried utterings.

 

“This feeling… again……” Triggs completely lost his consciousness. His body collapsed.

 

“Come on, Triggs! Not now, please…” Lae murmured as she rocked Triggs’ body to wake him up.

 

Above them, the bird was starting to recover its senses.

 

“Come on, Triggs! Wake up!!”

 

 

 

 

 

“Gaah!!!” Triggs gasped as he finally awoke. Catching his breath, he gazed at Calla with a serious face. “You need to do it again…”

 

“Huh? What do you mean?” Calla didn’t understand at first. But after a moment of realization, “But… It’s too risky to do it in the open water…”

 

“The ocean spoke to me. It asked you to do it.”

 

“O-okay!” 

 

Calla walked to the front of the boat. Reaching the edge, she clasped her hands, kneeled, and started praying,

 

“Oh, Divine Goddess of Primordial Water, with the strength that birthed great lakes and sank mountains beneath. I humbly ask thee - grant the power of creation unto me:

 

 

 

 

DOMINIUM AQUA!”