2:50 PM
(Flashback – after Venus assigned Jake and Danilo to investigate the mountain)
Venus sat alone on one of the benches at the town park, quietly observing the townspeople as they played and carried on with their daily activities.
But Venus's mind was elsewhere trying to figure out what kind of curse that had begun spreading around town.
Venus:[Usually, curses are affected physically... but what I'm seeing, there are no visible signs on these people at all.]
While Venus sat deep in thought, a young girl playing nearby stumbled backward. Instinctively, Venus reached out and caught her just in time.
Venus: "Hey now, be careful where you're stepping."
But the moment she touched the child, something clicked—her senses activated. Something felt wrong. Venus strongly held the girl's shoulders, her eyes narrowing with concern.
Venus: "Are you okay? Is there something wrong?"
Startled by Venus's sudden action, the child flinches slightly.
Kid: "Ow… ouch!"
Venus quickly stopped herself.
Venus: "So..Sorry about that."
The child gave a polite thank-you for helping her, then ran off.
Venus watched her leave, her expression troubled.
Venus:[That's odd… her soul—it's Missing. Only 60% remain. Why?]
Determined to investigate further, Venus headed to the park restroom to avoid any attention. Inside, she cast an illusion spell—the same one she used for her totems making herself invisible.
She then walked through different parts of town, subtly touching the backs of random passersby in each zone. Each time, her concern deepened.
Venus then murmurs.
Venus: "Just like the child… these people too. Their souls are incomplete."
3:42 PM
After investigating each Area of town Venus, now seated alone again, deep in thought.
Venus: ["What's going on? All of them… their souls—why are they Missing or being depleted?"]
Then she realizes something.
Venus: [This has to be the curse. But how did it spread so fast to so many people? From what I've read, casting a curse needs a sacrifice—and even a part of the caster's soul. The stronger the curse, the greater the sacrifice required.]
Venus then looks up to see the sky.
Venus: And usually a curse outbreak typically starts small—limited to a single area. But this... the whole town is affected. Is this why the mission came with a Ban-Se Command?"
She sighed.
Venus: "Even finding the source of the curse is going to be problematic i don't even have a clue how they got it in the first place."
Commented by Venus while watching some family eating at a small store
Venus: what if the curse was never cast on each person instead it was consumed?
Venus entered the store and ordered a standard meal. After receiving her order, she began to taste each dish. When she ate the rice, she quickly covered her mouth to stop herself from throwing up.
Venus: [The curse is inside each grain of rice!]
She raised her hand to call the waiter.
Venus: "I have a question. Where does this rice come from?"
Waiter: "Oh, the rice? We just buy it from that warehouse over there."
He pointed to a warehouse just outside the town.
Waiter: "Every Friday, they have a sale. Each sack of rice is 50% off."
Venus: "That's a big discount. Why is that?"
Waiter: "I'm not sure. I just know it was started by the former barangay captain—the father of our current captain. They decided to keep that rule. Sometimes, they even give it away for free to poor families, all because of Troy Malabanan's father."
Without finishing her food, Venus stood up and left. She headed straight to the warehouse to investigate.
4:31 PM
Upon arriving, Venus noticed many guards stationed outside the warehouse. All of them were armed with guns—two on each side, and at least five guarding the front.
Venus: [A heavily guarded warehouse? Looks like they don't want anyone finding out their secrets, huh.]
Guard 1: "Hey, I'm going to the toilet. Make sure to guard this place properly."
The guard walked off toward the restroom.
Guard 2: "Yeah, sure."
Venus was hiding in a pile of hay. Her target was the guard who was now alone. She cast an illusion spell that made a group of snakes appear, chasing the guard. When he got close enough, Venus grabbed his leg, pulled him into the hay, and knocked him out.
After knocking him out, Venus dragged the guard's body behind the hay pile. She then wrote a Baybayin letter on his forehead using her own blood and began chanting in an ancient Filipino dialect. Suddenly, Venus's real body became unconscious—and the guard's body rose, now possessed by Venus.
Guard (Venus): "It worked."
She looked at his hands and touched his chest.
Guard (Venus): [This body's soul is also missing a piece—only about 20% left.]
Guard: "Hey! What are you doing in there?"
Venus, now possessing the guard's body, turned toward the voice and quickly covered her real body with hay.
Guard (Venus): "Oh—uh—nothing."
She spoke in a manly voice.
Guard: "Get back to your post before the barangay secretary finds you slacking and makes you her dinner."
Guard (Venus): "Y-Yes."
Guard (Venus): [Dinner? Does that mean the secretary is an Aswang? I need to inform Ramel's group after this.]
Guard (Venus): "Sir, I need to use the restroom too. My stomach's been hurting—I've been holding it in all day."
Guard 1: "Then go. Make it quick."
Upon entering the warehouse, Venus felt the atmosphere change completely.
Guard (Venus): "Looks like I was right. There's a detection spell here to sense any Engkata. If I had come in using my own body, it would've triggered the spell the moment I touched the walls. Good thing I chose to possess someone instead. Luckily, they forgot to add a detection spell for casting magic inside the warehouse."
She cast a spell, and a glowing ball of light appeared in front of her. She commanded it to float and illuminate the stacks of rice sacks arranged in rows. Venus began inspecting them, hoping to find a way to dispel or counter the curse—but found nothing.
Guard (Venus): "Damn it. The curse is too complex. Even if I dispel one sack, the curse grows back right away. How did they manage to create something like this?"
Suddenly, Venus heard something from the far left corner of the warehouse—a sound of chains shaking and growling.
She commanded the ball of light to go toward the sound.
To her surprise, she found a row of people—heavily chained and locked in cages—covered in black miasma. Each of them had a grain of rice stuck to their cheek, as if they were being forced to eat it. They growled at Venus like wild animals.
Venus cautiously approached and touched one of their foreheads to analyze the soul.
Her eyes widened.
Guard (Venus): "They… they don't even have souls left?"
Then she noticed the thick black miasma surrounding each of them—the way they growled and moved like wild animals.
Venus suddenly realized something.
Guard (Venus): "No... I was wrong from the start. Their souls aren't missing or depleted. The real effect of the curse is corruption."