Chapter 657 - The Little People, The Unknown Creatures and the Way to the Neutral Faction (1/2)

Day 147 - 11:36 PM - Abandoned Farm, Catanduanes Circ.u.mferential Road, Codon, San Andres, Catanduanes

Mark stared at the five little people shivering behind Pefile.

With little people was said, one would immediately think of the well-known 'Nuno sa Punso' in Philippine myths and legends. However, the little people here were definitely not those old-looking mischievous dwarves on mounds,

They were described as 'little' since they all appeared to be children about three to six years old. However, it was not wrong to say that they were all a.d.u.l.ts with childish appearance. They wore clothes that did not look different from humans. But at a closer look, the materials their clothing was made of were something that humans did not have.

And the most noticeable thing about these little people was their unnatural black color. Their skin was pitch black, making it hard to see their facial features. Even their teeth and nails were the same, leaving their eyes as the only white thing on their bodies.

The little people shivered even more at Mark's stare. It seemed that these creatures were aware of how frightening Mark was, not just as a Demon but as an individual. Not to mention that Pefile was also here that had unnatural pure energy of his race.

As lower beings, these little people were naturally afraid of higher ones like Pefile and Mark.

”Are you five the ones protecting my brother in secret?”

Mark asked, making the little people stare fixedly at him. And to say, it seemed that they were shocked.

The five's reaction was quite amusing. Despite the fear, the little people moved into a circle. Pefile and Mark could hear them talking in an incomprehensible language. Furthermore, aside from their high pitched voices, they spoke too fast. The two felt like they were listening to a recorded narration being fast-forwarded.

Mark waited for the five to finish their discussion with interest. It seemed that these creatures did not only look like children but also behaved likewise. After all, only children would do something like an emergency meeting in front of others while their voices could be clearly heard in the surroundings. Of course, it was not like anyone could understand them. Even Pefile, who was also of an elemental race, could not.

”You can't understand them?”

Mark asked Pefile, who seemed to be in confusion as he listened to the five.

And in response to the question, the Tamawo shook his head.

”What are these people, anyway?”

Unexpectedly, even Pefile could not recognize what race these five belonged to.

Pefile was not the only one. Mark was the same in this regard. There were many mythological creatures in the Philippines that could be found in written doc.u.ments and the internet. However, nothing that he had seen before accurately portrayed these five's appearance.

Nonetheless, Mark was not ignorant of the existence of these creatures.

How?

Considering how Mark had a family with unnatural characteristics, they were not new to the paranormal. Even Mark grew up with experience and interest in these kinds of things. And most of these characteristics originated from his mother's family.

There were a lot of stories that he heard from his mother when he was younger. Some were weird, and some were interesting. All of them, however, was about the unknown.

One short story revolved around the day his mother was going home alone from the church when she was young. And for some reason, while she was walking home after the mass finished, there was nothing but children walking along the road, the same way she was going.

And those children had the very same characteristics as the small people in front of them now.

His mother was confused, hearing the children with odd appearances talking in a language she could not understand. And then, one suddenly spoke to her in the same way.

As she stared in confusion, the child that talked to her was the same. The latter realized that his mother was not the same as them. And as if the scene had shifted, everything around her blurred before returning to normal.

Yes, normal.

It was the very same road, but the black-skinned children were nowhere to be seen. Instead, there were the people that were going home from the church all around her.

That was one of the unforgettable experiences that their mother shared with them when they were little.

Considering how his mother described the creatures, Mark had searched for them on the internet before. However, nothing came up in his search. While it was strange, it was also possible that this race of elementals was rare or only present in Catanduanes, causing the lack of its presence. And by their disposition, they were a shy race that would not show themselves to humans if possible.

And now, the very same kind of creatures was present, protecting his brother in secret. It would not be surprising if even his sister had the same bodyguards in the shadows.

After the five talked, one timidly stepped forward, looking at Mark. It was a boy who seemed to be the oldest among the five.

”✋︎⬧︎⬥︎♒︎♋︎⧫︎ ⍓︎□︎◆︎⬧︎♋︎♓︎♎︎ ⧫︎❒︎◆︎♏︎✍︎ ✡︎□︎◆︎ ♋︎❒︎♏︎ ♒︎♓︎⬧︎♌︎❒︎□︎⧫︎♒︎♏︎❒︎✍︎”

The boy spoke.

”Yep, I can't understand you.”

Mark shrugged.

It seemed that while they were at least capable of understanding human language, they could not speak it. Not only that it was comprehensible, but it also finished over a dozen syllables in two seconds.

Even the most popular rappers would shrink on how fast these little people spoke.

”Can you speak Filipino? Human language?”

Mark asked. Even if he could tell that this guy was asking a question, there was no way he would be able to answer without understanding what it was.

”⬥︎♏︎♍︎♋︎■︎????︎⧫︎”

The boy replied, tilting his head shyly.

Mark sighed. This would go nowhere. Furthermore, it seemed that the issue was not because these little guys could not speak human language. It was more like their physiology did not allow them to. It was like when Pefile introduced himself for the first time. Pefile was not his exact name at all but an alias that he used. It was because his real name could not be pronounced in human language.