"Ouch!"
Elric landed hard, crashing onto his butt before rolling like a runaway potato down the slope.
"What the hell was that strength!? Are you sure you're not a Kapre in disguise? And—wait—was that Chinese!?" he muttered in disbelief, still dazed on the ground. "She's Chinese… and glowing. Does that mean Chinese people are secretly dragons?!"
"Nǐ zěnme gǎn!!" ("How dare you!") the woman shouted. She stood up, Elric's muddy T-shirt barely covering her as she glared down at him. Her curves were dangerously distracting, but her expression? Pure dragon death glare.
And those eyes—serpentine pupils, glowing red and green—looked like the warning lights of a mythological nuke.
Despite the circumstances, Elric could only think one thing:
"She's smoking Coca-Cola hot."
Jaw dropped, eyes wide—this was peak anime-protagonist level confusion.
The woman raised her hand, and a swirling ball of green fire formed in her palm with a loud hiss. The heat cracked the air around her, even though rain was still falling.
"Sǐle!" ("Die!")
"Oh sh—wait, WAIT!" Elric waved his hands frantically. "I was just trying to help you!"
The girl paused, barely.
"Liar! You're one of those Arkhan trash!"
"You can speak English!?" Elric blinked. "Wait—Arkhan what now?"
"Explain yourself. Where am I?" she demanded, fireball still burning like a mini sun.
"Y-yes, yes! Okay!" Elric tried his best. "You're in the Philippines! Cebu, Philippines! I saw you fall from the sky, so I came to help!"
He looked down, trying his best not to peek at her figure. "It was raining. Then BOOM—lightning. You fell. I live here, I swear!"
The girl groaned and clutched her head, wincing in pain.
And then, to his utter disbelief, she spoke fluent Bisaya.
"Your English sucks. Just speak your native language!"
"...Huh? Wait, what?"
While not totally unheard of, a glowing Chinese dragon girl in the forest who also speaks fluent Bisaya was definitely not on Elric's 2025 bingo card.
"Oh, okay," he stammered. "Sorry, sorry! English was never my favorite subject. I was better in Arts and—"
FWOOSH!
A gout of green fire blasted the ground inches from Elric's feet. He screamed and jumped like a frog on caffeine.
"I don't care about your grades. Just answer this: how long have I been unconscious?"
Elric's brain scrambled. "Uh… twenty minutes, give or take? Since I saw the big boom and light, ma'am?"
She narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "Are you sure you're not one of those Arkhans?"
"What even IS an Arkhan?! I don't even know what that means! My name's Elric! Elric de la Cruz!" he shouted, half-crying.
She huffed. "Thanks for the information. But you still look like one of them. So you'll die anyway."
"WAIT, WHAT!?"
She raised her hand again—but then her ears twitched. Her dragon eyes flicked to the shadows.
"KyaaheeiiiIkheiik!~ Stupid Kapre finally trapped in landslide! Dragon meat is mine! KyaheheheheheiiiIk!"
The Manananggal was back—laughing and diving at the glowing woman like a bat out of a nightmare. Its long arms reached forward, red eyes shining like headlights.
The girl turned and hurled her fireball—FOOOM!—but the Manananggal spun mid-air, narrowly dodging.
It laughed gleefully. "Kyaheheheheeik!"
Irritation flickered across the girl's flawless face. She threw another. And another. But the creature was simply too fast.
"Just DIE already, you damn flying cockroach!" she shouted.
She looked at her glowing hands in frustration. "Why is my power so low? I can't even use 2% of my strength right now!"
Meanwhile, Elric stood frozen in the rain, watching this mythological Mortal Kombat unfold.
"Bēibǐ!" she suddenly shouted at him again, glaring. ("Despicable!")
"WHAT NOW!?" Elric cried, drenched, confused, and emotionally destroyed.
"Miiine! Heiikheiikheeiiik!!"
The Manananggal dived at the glowing woman.
She leapt to the side with perfect grace, her black hair trailing behind her like a cape. In one smooth motion, she grabbed the Manananggal's wings and swung herself onto its back like a rodeo queen.
Elric could barely believe his eyes. He watched the naked girl ride the Manananggal like a flying bull, trying to roast it mid-air with fire, but—
"KyaaahahaHEI~"
The Manananggal's head twisted 180 degrees to look her dead in the eyes.
Elric's soul briefly left his body.