A lady lends a water bottle to Nicholas. After accepting it, he pays 20 pesos to the lady behind the counter.
Nicholas opens the lid, and drinks from the bottle while walking towards a building. Nicholas halts, and turns his eyes upward, seeing the name of the establishment, named: Central Gamble.
He remembers words from two people in his workplace, gossiping, "Ma'am Cherry is the perpetrator of the missing casino players!"
Nicholas narrows his eyes. "If that's true, then, should I investigate?"
Elesia's words echo in his head, "Nicholas, if you happened to investigate something big, don't report it to the Bishops.
"If you can do it by your own, then do it. But if you need someone, just call me. I'll be there to aid you."
Nicholas walks towards the door. He pushes the door, and the noises of the machines echo in the place as the young adults, and the elderly are spending their money on gambling.
"If I want to investigate, where will I start?" he asked himself.
His eyes dart at the two co-workers. One of them turns around, and Nicholas whispers, "I have something to give you but if you both promise to give me what I want."
One of them looks from his head to his shoes as a smirk appears on their face, clearly interested in what Nicholas has to offer.
"What will you give us?" one of them asked.
Nicholas stares at him before whispering, "I will give both of you 10 beers."
The other one steps forward. "Fantastic! What do you want then?"
Henceforth, Nicholas and the two men are standing inside the cold white locker room with posters and two benches to be seen.
"Mister Emilio just shared with us that those missing casino players in this gambling establishment owe a huge debt to."
The co-worker looks around and leans his head before whispering, "To Ma'am Cherry."
Nicholas nods. "And where is Emilio?"
The same co-worker gives Nicholas a long stare and silence before telling him. "Well, that's what both my buddy and I are thinking."
Nicholas narrows his eyes a bit as the co-worker continues to speak, "Emilio has been missing for 3 years. We tried to find him but we couldn't."
Nicholas nods. "And where was Emilio last seen?"
The co-worker looks around the room before answering Nicholas. "He's last seen around Recto. He has a family but I'll give you the information about them."
The other co-worker decides to speak, asking a question instead. "Nicholas, why are you interested in the rumors?"
Nicholas just smiled a bit mixing with his seriousness. "Let's say, I'm just thinking of how to go on an adventure."
After his shift, Nicholas runs out of the doors of the establishment. He raises his thumb while standing on the sidewalk, and a jeepney stops in front of him.
Later on, Nicholas climbs down from the jeepney. He looks around him and begins to amble in a district filled with people.
He brings out his notebook and starts to flip through the pages. He stops at a page and points to each word.
"I'm almost there," he said.
Nicholas stops walking right in front of a tall establishment. He groans after a man hits his body with his shoulder while walking past him.
"Hey! Excuse me!" Nicholas approached the man.
The old man turns around and blinks. "What? Do you have a problem with me?"
"No! I just want to ask if you know a man named 'Emilio'?" Nicholas brought out a picture of Emilio from the notebook.
The old man sees the picture, and he scratches his chin while pouring his effort to recognize Emilio.
"Well, kiddo! You're lucky that I know him."
"Really?" Nicholas asked.
"Yeah! He was here last year, spending his money on some." The old man thrust against the air.
Nicholas nods slowly. "Well, do you know where he went after?"
The old man laughs before saying, "Just ask Regine, she's sitting behind the counter inside this motel."
Standing behind the counter inside the dimly lit lobby of the hotel, an elderly woman with her white hair fixed in a bun is gazing at the monitor; showing every footage of the cameras.
She looks up and sees Nicholas standing in front of her. He clears his throat and brings out the picture of Emilio from the pages of his notebook.
"Do you know this man, miss?" Nicholas asked.
The woman with the name "Regina" just stares at him, and Nicholas stares in exchange. He looks aside and looks back at Regine.
"Please, he's my uncle. He's been missing for 3 years! I need some information!" Nicholas pleaded while clenching his fists.
Regine speaks in a lazy tone. "You see, boy. Your uncle left the motel exactly at 12 midnight. The hell will I know where he went but for you, I heard from him that he is hiding from someone."
Nicholas' eyes lit up. "How are you sure?"
Regine looks around her before leaning closer to him, and she gives him a serious look. "He told me that the ones chasing him are monsters but I don't clearly believe him until."
Nicholas looks down and sees her hand putting a folded yellow paper on the surface of the counter.
"This paper has his sketch which is a humanoid with grey skin, and sharp nails. I believe in creatures like this, kiddo, that is why I believed him," Regine explained to Nicholas.
Her eyes lower, and her head shakes. "You know, there's an unresolved case of missing debtors, right? But some of their bodies have been found."
"Yeah," Nicholas said, "those bodies have holes."
"And missing organs as well," Regine pointed her finger at the paper, "this creature might have some connection in that case."
Nicholas unfolds the paper, and his eyes feast on the sketch of a half-naked human with grey skin, red eyes like blood, and a thin body with decaying spots.
"Amalanhig." Regine's eyes widen at the drawing.
"A what?" Nicholas looked up at Regine.
"Dead humans who are somehow resurrected to do what they must do," Regine told Nicholas.
"Thanks for the information! I need to find Emilio real quick!" Nicholas grabbed the paper and ran towards the doors of the motel.
While running in the district, Nicholas' eyes widen after he collides with a person.
He groans while standing up, and across him is a young woman who has a curvaceous body covered by a dark crop top paired with large green cargo pants, and a pair of dark blue sneakers.
"Watch where you're going!" she protested.
"Sorry! Are you okay?" Nicholas walked towards her with hurried steps.
She stands up and slaps his hands away. She brushes the dust from her clothes as Nicholas attempts to help her.
"Geez! Watch it will you?" she rolled her eyes.
Nicholas looks at her body and sees a tattoo on her neck that resembles a red rose with fallen petals.
His eyes widen as he looks at her face once again. The woman glares at him, and she puts her hand on her hips. "Are you just going to stare or?"
"You're Emilio's granddaughter, Ella." Nicholas showed her a picture of Emilio.
"How the heck did you know?" she raised her eyebrow.
Nicholas' face turns serious, and he clears his throat. "I know this is weird but I am here to investigate his disappearance, and I want to know something from him."
Ella asks, "What is that?"
Nicholas slips the photo back, between the pages of his notebook. "About the rumors of the missing casino players."
Ella looks away, and she looks at her wrist watch. "Well... if you want to talk about it, I have some knowledge about it but I want something in exchange."
Nicholas becomes interested. He nods and his eyebrows meet. "That's a deal. I'll give anything for the information that I want."