“That would be 500 pesos.” Yani mentioned after handing out another one of his spells to a customer.

“This is expensive.” The girl uttered.

Yani tugged his hood down—trying his mysterious act to convince her. “It’s all worth it. After all, this is the most effective spell you can get.”

The girl didn’t seem impressed. She had an unmoved expression on her face. “But I heard you gave a discount to a man before. Don’t tell me you post a pink tax as well.”

Yani thought about it.

“200.”

“Deal.”

When the customer left, Yani pulled back his hood and slouched on his seat. “Ahh, I can’t believe rumors about my bargaining spread out!” He blew bits of his hair away from his face.

Due to academic responsibilities and going on missions with Kris, he hasn’t come to his shop so much. But since he’s free today, he decided to hang around for a bit of time. “That’s customer 3 even though it’s only the morning? Must be because of the finals season.”

Yani pondered about how much had changed in only a matter of four months. Sometimes, he still thought about whether or not he grew upon his stay with the crew. He was able to experience so many things that made him question how significant his contribution is to the world. 

“Contribution? You’re literally a mangkukulam, Yani. You probably did more harm.” He chuckled to himself.

But…

“What if I could be more helpful than how I am now?”

He looked around his shop. The mischief he had caused, the people he had played around with… 

“Don’t act like a saint now, Yani. You always hold yourself high for understanding the pains of others, but you literally profit off of it.”

He sighed.

He stared at the mortar and pestle on the table. The one he inherited from his grandma. The truth is, it’s not like Yani is proud of harming people even if it’s only minor inconveniences. Nonetheless, he’s firm on the belief he got from his beloved lola.

Flashback, Yani’s Childhood

“But grandma, I thought it’s wrong to hurt other people.” Yani asked in a sweet and innocent voice while watching his grandma mix herbs in her mortar and pestle.

She simply gave the young one a pat on the head. “That is true… But Yani, this world is not simply black and white.”

“Hm?” He tilted his head.

“Are the police and soldiers good people?”

“Yeah!”

“Why do you think so?”

“Because they protect us.”

“But they use guns, right?”

This made the little one work the screws in his brain.

“Yes…”

“And they hurt other people, right?”

“Mh… yes.”

Yani looked like a kid who realized that his heroes are not so great after all. Well, he is.

His grandma chuckled, and went back to pounding her concoction. “Sometimes, bad people deserve to be punished. And if the good people are too scared to do so, who do you think would act on it?”

Yani stood up from his seat, and held his grandma’s sleeve. “Grandma?”

She chuckled. “I’m not a hero, but I guess this is my own idea of justice.”

She paused.

“But of course, people who think that they are good people while harming others for the sake of another set of others are the most dangerous bad people of all.”

Present Day

Yani’s recollection was put to a stop by the door chimes.

A familiar face.

Yani stood up to greet the person in front of him. “Ka Leo? What brought you here?”

The albularyo he once interacted with from a previous mission gave a quick wave and entered the place. He seemed to be doing a lot better now. And, he could feel that his spiritual energy had fully come back after the mambabarang incident.

“Kumusta, mangkukulam? I just stopped by to inform you about something.”

“I’m doing well po. What is it about?”

The albularyo sighed. “Just now, a man came to me about an aswang.”

Aswang. A shapeshifting creature that eats human flesh.

Yani felt his arms get triggered with goosebumps. After all, among all the commonly seen monsters there exists in the country, the aswang is by far the scariest one. “Aswang?”

“Oo. He didn’t have any clear details, but he said that people in Los Baños have gone missing.”

Yani nodded.

Then, “Wait. Why are you telling me this again?”

“Because the Baylanes said to let them handle difficult cases, right?”

“But I’m not a part of that.”

“But you’re closer. Why would I need to go to Intramuros if you’re just here?”

“Fine.”

When Ka Leo left, Yani began contacting Kris. But, he wasn’t answering. “Seriously, you never answer my calls, yet get mad when I take one minute to answer yours!” He groaned.

After 30 minutes of no response, “Fine, I’ll head there instead.”

Yani pressed on the doorbell of the hidden backdoor of the NCIP. After a few buzzes, Isagani appeared with a swollen black eye. “Are you okay?!”

Yani entered the place, and checked on the latter’s bruises. “Who did this to you? And have you already treated it?”

Isagani, in humiliation, hid his eye. “I got wrecked, man.”

“By who?”

“Follow me.”

Approaching the training room, Yani felt an intense energy building up. He was about to proceed, but Isagani took his hand. “Not there. The area is shielded. Let’s head to the observation deck.”

Upon doing so, Yani, out of curiosity, rushed to the railings. And below them, a high-speed sparring was occurring.

“Take me to your world.” An old lady uttered. Then, her soul got replaced by a warrior spirit from another dimension. A streak of light formed a sword in her hand, and this made Kris pull back.

Kris was already panting from the spar. His opponent may seem sweet with her soft wrinkles and plain white hair, but she’s definitely a force to reckon with.

The old lady glided to his position with her eyes glowing from the spirit possessing her. Even though Kris retaliated with a mass of spiritual energy releasing from his bamboo stick, he couldn’t overpower her.

Kris slid down the floor to avoid her attacks, but she immediately switched her position so that she may launch a burst of power. He rolled on his back, and immediately went for her blind side. But, he ended up hit by her sword—slamming against the force field around them.

Yani watched the scene—shocked. How could an old woman be this strong? “I’ve never seen Kris need to run from his opponent before.”

Isagani nodded. “That’s Ma’am Teresita Nayon. The head of the Baylanes.”

Yani turned his head toward Isagani. “You mean the actual big boss of this organization?”

“Yup. And it’s probably obvious why.”

Yani observed the scene once more. Kris’s face ended up slammed on the floor. It made him wince. Not his beautiful face…

Isagani added, “She’s a T’Boli Tau Mulung, and her special skill is spirit possession. The Tagalog division calls it Pag-abay.”

“Wait, so technically, she’s not the one fighting right now?”

“Well, it’s complicated. She does have some sort of control, but it’s more like she’s commanding the spirit to do it rather than the spirit acting on its own.”

When the spar ended, Kris was panting, and his sweat continuously poured down the floor. Ma’am Teresita, back to her regular self, handed him a piece of chocolate curlytops. This made Kris smile. “Thank you, Ma’am Nayon.” He gratefully accepted the piece, and moved his head for a bow.

Ma’m Teresita smiled. “You did well today, young one.”

Kris shook his head. “Not at all. I still haven’t landed a single hit on you.”

“You will one day. I see great potential in you.” She spoke in a gentle and wise tone.

Isagani and Yani went downstairs, and Yani finally saw the old lady up close. She seemed kind, but she had that strong feminine aura screaming that she’s not one to mess with. She wore a beaded crown and a handwoven colorful T’nalak dress, accompanied by a Luwek shawl with zigzag patterns.

Isagani nudged at Yani, and Yani bowed his head. “Good morning, ma'am. I am Yani Espiritu, and I’m honored to meet you today.”

Ma’am Teresita stepped forward and placed her hand on the latter’s head. “It’s nice to meet you, Yani. I heard that you have been helping the Tagalog division.”

“T-Thank you- I’m glad to help!” He stood up straight and gave her a respectful greeting.

Yani spotted an exhausted Kris behind Ma’am Teresita, so he opened his bag and offered his water flask to him. “Hey, drink up.”

Kris snatched the flask from his hand, and began chugging down in a rush. This made the other three in the room chuckle.

Ma’am Teresita faced Yani again. “So what brought you here, young one?”

“Oh, right! Ka Leo came to my shop just earlier, and reported a case about an aswang in Los Baños. People have been disappearing too. He wanted to inform the Baylanes.”

Kris immediately spoke, “Aswang? What are the details?”

“Unfortunately, that’s the only detail I can give…”

Ma’am Teresita spoke up. “I think I know what he’s talking about.”

“What is it, ma’am?” Isagani asked.

Ma’am Teresita looked a bit disturbed. “There are two aswangs causing troubles in rural villages. It is said that they are a couple that simply enjoys tormenting other people.”

A pause.

“The people you mentioned haven’t been disappearing, Yani. They got eaten.”

The entire room tensed.

With a sigh, Ma’am Teresita continued. “The Tagalog division before you all have been trying to locate these two for years, but to no avail. Due to the lack of reports, we couldn’t spot them. After all, they travel all over the Calabarzon region while shapeshifting.”

“We’ll handle it, ma’am!” Isagani chimed with a salute.

She smiled, and placed her hand on his head. “Best of luck, my dear Tagalog division.”