“They can regenerate that fast? No, this is not normal. When I killed one of these bal-bal a few days ago, they did not have that powerful regenerative ability. Could it be the doing of that fog-like substance?” failing to kill the last bal-bal that charged towards him, Lolo Gani started to reflect on the actions of the monsters he is currently facing and comparing their regenerative abilities to the one he killed a few days ago.

“There is also that speed! They are definitely moving faster than normal.” Catching his breath, Lolo Gani calmed down and started to analyze the monsters’ behavior.

However, he was not given much time to ponder about these things as another growl was heard from the giant bal-bal and five more of the smaller bal-bal charged, this time however, they did not go straight to Lolo Gani, but instead separated and attacked the other parts around the clearing.

Lolo Gani’s eyes narrowed into slits when he saw the new attack pattern of these monsters, he quickly dashed to the nearest bal-bal which is now lying on the ground with another grievous injury, quickly killing it in the process. He then dashed to another, and did the same thing, but with the distance from one bal-bal to the next, Lolo Gani was only able to kill three of them, and the other two were able to get away from him.

“They are using strategies?! Although it is quite simple, they are using their advantage in numbers against me. This cannot go on, or I will be exhausted and there might be more enemies coming. Well, you are not the only one who can use a strategy.” Panting lightly, a sly smile appeared on Lolo Gani’s lips.

Before the giant bal-bal could issue another command, Lolo Gani directly stepped out of the area protected by the barrier. Wielding only the bamboo spear with his two hands, the old man walked for several steps before coming to a stop.

“Did you really think that you can outsmart me?! Come and get me you beasts!” taunted Lolo Gani.

The taunt was effective as an angry howl was heard right after the old man shouted, and all the remaining smaller bal-bal charged towards him. Lolo Gani knew that they were all coming to him, so even with their great speed, he was able to avoid them. Due to the inertia of their charge, all six of the remaining bal-bal collided against the barrier and for a moment, the area became brightly lit from the golden light emitted by the barrier in activation, a flood of ancient Filipino script could be seen as well.

Seeing that his plan was a success, Lolo Gani immediately made quick work of the remaining six bal-bal.

Six stabbing sounds were heard, and cries of death followed. After killing the six bal-bal, Lolo Gani immediately retreated back into the barrier. He did not rejoice on his cunning victory over the six monsters because the moment he killed the six bal-bal, Lolo Gani felt a heavy pressure pressed down on him and the scent of death was very strong. He knew that the giant bal-bal is about to make its move.

Seeing that it was the only one left from its group, the giant bal-bal was enraged! However, it did not immediately attack. It instead crouched down and leaned forward, the muscles on its legs bulged and then it flung itself forward by kicking the ground; the speed was at least twice as fast as the smaller bal-bal.

A deafening noise was heard! Golden light flashed abruptly and the ancient Filipino script that spells ‘shield’ appeared again. However, no sound of being hurt was heard this time, and the giant bal-bal only shook its head and jumped back to its previous position to get ready for another attack.

Seeing the giant bal-bal attack at twice the speed of its companions, Lolo Gani’s body tensed up and fear immediately was reflected on his eyes, he could not help but feel terrified. The feeling of terror he felt earlier when he saw the large group of bal-bal was nothing compared to the terror he is currently feeling. He assumed that the giant bal-bal can move at the same speed similar to that of its companions, but he was totally wrong.

However, like adding fuel to the fire, Lolo Gani’s terror only increased when he saw that a faint crack formed on one of the ancient Filipino scripts that appeared. It signified that the barrier is not able to handle the attack of this giant monster for a long time. Lolo Gani was stricken with fear, and for the first time ever since he became a babaylan, Lolo Gani was too scared to move; he is unable to move and think clearly! It is apparent that his dungan is being overwhelmed by the monster’s will, and if he does not do something soon, he will be like a fish on a chopping block!

Just as the second attack of the giant monster came, the agimat that Lolo Gani has been wearing ever since he became a babaylan released a soft green glow, and immediately Lolo Gani felt that his body and soul was instantly refreshed. He even felt that both his dungan and gimokud became stronger! Noticing this sudden activity of his agimat, Lolo Gani was surprised.

By the time Lolo Gani regained his wits, another faint crack appeared on the barrier.

“I must do something, or the barrier will be lost!” Lolo Gani thought hard on how to defeat the monster.

A moment later, the fear and hesitation disappeared from Lolo Gani’s eyes, it was replaced by an unfaltering and determined gaze. Seeing that the monster was about to attack again, Lolo Gani walked towards the edge of the barrier and raised the bamboo spear he was holding. Even though he has just killed twenty of these monsters, the bamboo spear remains unstained by their blood, but some parts of this spear’s body started turning brown.

The giant bal-bal released another howl and kicked the ground so forcefully this time that a shockwave was produced the moment the monster was flung towards the barrier by the counteracting force from the ground. The resulting speed was greater than the previous two attacks which means that the resulting force will also be greater!

Raising his spear and posing to attack, the moment the barrier emitted a golden light as a reaction to the incoming threat, Lolo Gani jumped and thrust his spear with all his might, almost completely flinging himself forward. The ancient Filipino script appeared again and absorbed all the impact from the attack of the giant bal-bal. As expected, a greater force was applied against the barrier and suddenly more and bigger cracks appeared on the ancient Filipino script. It is obvious that the barrier can no longer sustain another attack.

The giant bal-bal was not able to avoid being injured this time, and it released a loud roar of pain towards the sky. A ghastly wound opened on its head, and all of its fingers are bent backwards, and some of its claws are broken. All these resulted from its most recent attack. Though the most severe wound on this monster was on its chest. The butt end of a bamboo spear can be seen protruding on the giant bal-bal’s chest. The spear was buried halfway its length, with its tip piercing the heart creating a shallow wound.

With the injuries it sustained, the giant bal-bal reeled back in pain and started to lick its wounds to heal. However, when it tried to pull out the spear embedded into its chest, an excruciating pain prevented the giant bal-bal from pulling out the spear. It tried licking the wound, but there was little to no effect, additionally, the part of the heart that was pierced bled continuously, albeit a little. Lastly, it seemed to notice that the wound inflicted by the spear has also made it grow weaker.

“The bamboo spear will not stay embedded in his chest for long.” Lolo Gani then took out his sundang from its sheath.

The moment the sundang was taken out of its sheath, the agimat that Lolo Gani was wearing released another soft, green glow and covered his sundang and doubled the blade’s sharpness. Feeling invigorated, Lolo Gani dashed towards the giant bal-bal which is still tending to its wounds.

“HAAAAAH!” Lolo Gani swung his sundang horizontally and cut deep into the monster’s thigh.

A big wound opened up on the giant bal-bal’s thigh. The wound inflicted from this one attack was big enough that blood started to gush out in large quantities from the sliced flesh.

“ARRRGGHHH!” the giant bal-bal screamed in pain. It then swung its now healed hands at Lolo Gani trying to swat this frail looking old man attacking it.

The strike was so forceful that it generated a gust of wind, however, Lolo Gani was able to avoid the strike by jumping backwards.

“AARRRGGHH!” seeing that its attack missed the target, the giant bal-bal got angrier. However, when it tried to take a step to chase after Lolo Gani, the pain from the wound inflicted by the sundang flared up and made the giant bal-bal stumble and fall to the ground.

A loud sound reverberated through the air and the ground shook when its gigantic body fell, the bamboo spear was embedded deeper, causing more damage to its already pierced heart. This made the monster to only weaken further. Seeing the situation, Lolo Gani who jumped back earlier to avoid the monster’s attack dashed forward again and slashed one of the giant bal-bal’s eyes with his sundang. This time however, the bal-bal was ready for the old man’s offensive, and also swung its arm trying to him almost at the same time when Lolo Gani launched his attack.

Seeing the oncoming sharp claws, Lolo Gani changed his target in an attempt to deflect the monster’s attack.

A ringing sound of metal hitting metal was heard and Lolo Gani was flung several meters away from the giant bal-bal. The old man was tumbling on the ground as he was forced away by the mighty attack of the monster, after several meters, Lolo Gani was able to neutralize the excess force from the attack and he was able to stand up. However, a thin bright red line started to trickle down from his mouth. He now has a disheveled look, and his shirt is now torn in several places.