(A/N):
Drop a meme here that you find funny. Or reflects your mood.
-------------------------------------------------
The captured Brahmanash exchanged grim looks, despair flickering in their eyes like dying embers.
"____"
"____"
"____"
They knew the truth—
no matter how desperately they swung their Astras, no matter how hard they fought,
Dev stood beyond the reach of their humanity.
He was no longer a man,
But an Sura wrapped in flesh, a being who had abandoned the right to call himself human.
And yet… when death stood so near, something else surged within them.
Fear gave way to fire.
Images of their families, their children, their loved ones waiting for them, blazed in their hearts.
Teeth clenched, they roared as one—
Launching themselves with reckless determination, no longer holding back, committing every last ounce of strength into perfect synchronized assault.
Their sudden ferocity caught even Dev off guard.
A sharp knee smashed into his liver.
Dev's body jerked, his smug grin twisting into a grimace as he staggered backward.
Before he could recover,
A brutal roundhouse kick cracked against the back of his head,
The force snapping his neck forward.
And then—
One of the Brahmanash lunged in close, his Astra glowing fiercely, a weapon that could paralyze its victim with just a touch.
His palm shot upward, aiming straight for Dev's chin.
'Victory is within reach,'
The thought screamed in the fighter's mind.
"____"
But then—
His hand was simply gone.
One moment it was there, inches away from Dev's throat.
The next, blood sprayed violently from the stump where it had been.
His scream tore the air, raw and broken.
A soft, chilling chuckle slithered through the chaos.
When the Brahmanash whipped his head to the side,
He froze—
"____"
There stood Maria, her eyes glimmering with cruel delight, her fingers lazily dripping with his blood.
She tilted her head, mocking him with a smile that sent shivers crawling across his spine.
"Really now…"
She purred, her voice sharp as silk,
"…did you truly believe you could touch him?"
Dev straightened, a cruel smile curling back onto his lips, his pain melting into amusement.
The sight of Maria at his side seemed to rekindle his monstrous pride.
The Brahmanash who remained could only watch in horror as their fragile hope was shattered in an instant.
Dev didn't give them time to recover.
With a flick of his wrist, a glowing trisul appeared, summoned from the hovering Astra circling above him.
Without hesitation, he hurled it toward the Brahmanash who had dared catch him off guard.
The weapon pierced clean through the man's chest, flames erupting instantly along his body.
His scream tore through the chamber—
Brief, strangled, and then silenced as his form crumbled into ash.
The trisul curved midair and obediently returned to Dev's grasp.
He let out a long, almost disappointed sigh.
Sigh~
"Enough games,"
He muttered, his voice low but carrying through the hall.
With a single wave of his hand, fire spread outward in a sweeping torrent.
The bound Brahmanash erupted into screams as crimson flames consumed them.
Their cries echoed against the walls, raw and desperate,
As the fire refused them a quick death—
Burning slowly, cruelly, savoring their agony.
The chamber became an inferno, walls drenched in red light as shadows danced violently across the flames.
In the center of it all stood Dev,
His silhouette monstrous, larger than life—
Untouchable.
His eyes glowed a deep, unearthly red, reflecting the writhing fire as though it were his domain.
Raising his gaze toward the horizon, he caught sight of a distant pillar of light descending from the heavens—
A divine beacon calling forth the Brahmastra.
A cruel smile stretched across his face.
"The rightful owner…"
Dev whispered, his voice resonating with menace as the screams behind him faded into ash and silence.
"____"
"____"
"____"
"…will claim it soon."
Four days passed...
Ooty...
In Ooty, in the mid set of forest tent.
Guru Arvind sat in his study,
A deep frown etched into his face as he scanned the report Anish and Mohan Bhargav had laid before him.
Frown~
"____"
The inked words painted a troubling picture—
Not of direct attacks, but of a game being played.
Dev had not shown himself openly since his escape from his seal.
Instead, he toyed with them, slipping into the shadows, forcing them to chase his movements like prey caught in a cruel cat-and-mouse hunt.
Arvind's mind drifted back to the moment of Dev's freedom—
The very instant Rudra had entered his meditative state.
What had first seemed like visions to Shiva but soon it had twisted into nightmares.
Each one replayed the horrors Dev unleashed—
Bramansh prisoners refusing to bend to him, only to be slaughtered without hesitation.
Their screams lingered in Shiva's ears.
And yet, Dev never struck at them directly.
He moved elsewhere, hunting the scattered Bramansh across the land, forcing choices, building strength from the ashes of those who opposed him.
The forest itself whispered of this grim work.
The wildlife—
Who headed the call for help form Rudra by his request—
Brought tidings.
Squirrels darted in with scraps of news.
Owls glided low with silent warnings.
Above all, the crows carried the truth in their black wings—
Watching, trailing, returning with every flicker of Dev's men's movements in the area.
Guru Arvind lowered the parchment slowly.
"He isn't hiding,"
He muttered, voice low, eyes narrowing.
"He's preparing. Probably a full out war."
Anish exchanged a troubled glance with Mohan,
"____"
"____"
Both men unsettled by the weight behind the words.
"So what does he want?"
Mohan finally asked, his tone cautious, as if the mere question might summon Dev himself.
Arvind closed his eyes, exhaling heavily.
"That's what we must understand… before he decides his preparation is over."
The quiet of the tent broke when Sandeep pushed through the flap, breathless, urgency in his voice.
"Guruji—Rajendra and Anvi have arrived. Tejas and Meena went ahead to greet them… Shiva too, with Amirtha. They asked me to inform you at once."
Guru Arvind's eyes flickered, a shadow of concern passing across his features.
He gave a single nod.
Nod~
"Let's go."
He rose from his seat,
Mohan Bhargav and Anish Shetty falling into step behind him.
Together, they crossed the camp until they reached the larger guest tent where Rajendra and Anvi had been escorted.
As they stepped inside, the scene struck them like a wave.
Anvi clutched Meena tightly, both women sobbing into each other's shoulders—
Relief and sorrow mingling in their trembling voices.
The sound of their grief filled the space, raw and unrestrained.
Tejas stood nearby, silent,
"____"
His hand hovering as if unsure whether to comfort his mother or give her the space to release what she had carried inside for too long.
Across from them sat Rajendra.
"____"
He remained utterly still, his posture rigid, eyes fixed forward with an emptiness that unsettled the air itself.
His face betrayed nothing—
No joy at reunion, no sorrow, no anger.
It was as though he were waiting.
Waiting for something inevitable, like a man already resigned to fate.
Arvind slowed his steps, studying Rajendra's unreadable expression.
A faint crease lined his brow.
He had known Rajendra long enough to recognize when silence weighed heavier than words.
Anish and Mohan exchanged glances,
Both uneasy at the unnatural calm radiating from the man seated before them.
The sobs of mother and daughter continued to echo, a sharp contrast to Rajendra's cold stillness.
"____"
"____"
"____"
Tejas finally found his voice,
Though it cracked under the weight of everything bottled inside.
He turned to his mother, his eyes burning with worry.
"Why did it take you so long to get here? Ten days, Mom. Ten whole days. Not one call. Not a single message. Do you know how worried Meena and I were? We thought—"
His voice faltered,
"—we thought something had happened to you."
Anvi exhaled, her shoulders sagging under the truth she carried.
She looked at her son with sorrow in her eyes,
Then turned her gaze to her husband.
Rajendra's hands were clenched so tightly his knuckles blanched.
"____"
A faint, dangerous hum filled the air—
The raw pulse of Astra energy leaking out, as if his grief refused to remain buried.
"Rajendra…"
Anvi placed her hand on his shoulder, her voice soft yet firm.
"Please. Breathe. Not now. We'll get our revenge… I promise. But not like this."
Rajendra's head lifted slowly, his eyes meeting hers.
For the first time since they'd arrived, emotion flickered through his mask—
Frustration, sharp and agonizing.
And in that moment,
Anvi understood.
It wasn't just anger.
It was the fury of a son who had stood powerless while his father died before his very eyes.
The fury of a man who could not protect the one who had given him life.
Rajendra's jaw tightened.
He gave the faintest nod,
Nod~
"____"
As though acknowledging her words, then rose abruptly to his feet.
The tent seemed smaller around his silence.
"I need some air,"
He said at last, his voice low and clipped.
Without waiting for a reply,
He stepped past Guru Arvind and the others, the flap of the tent swaying in his wake.
The tent flap fell shut behind Rajendra, leaving a heavy silence in his absence.
"____"
"____"
"____"
Tejas and Meena exchanged a glance,
But it was Anvi who finally broke it with a weary sigh.
"You want to know why we were late?"
She said, her voice carrying the exhaustion of the past ten days.
She turned to her children, her gaze steady but pained.
"It wasn't the journey that delayed us—it was your father."
Both Tejas and Meena froze, listening intently.
"Rajendra…"
Anvi hesitated, her fingers knotting together in her lap.
"He's consumed by one thing now—revenge. Every time we crossed paths with Dev's men, he would lose himself. He wouldn't just fight them, he would annihilate them."
"No mercy. It was as though each battle was a way to pour out the anger boiling inside him."
"And when there were no enemies in sight, he went looking for them—hunting down every band, every patrol, every shadow connected to Dev."
Her voice cracked faintly, but she pressed on.
"It reached a point where I feared he would march straight to Dev's hideout. He spoke of killing Dev with his own hands… and of slaughtering those traitorous elders alongside him. It took everything I had to persuade him to turn away, to bring him here instead. If I hadn't—"
She drew in a shaky breath.
"If I hadn't, we wouldn't be sitting here now."
For a moment, silence pressed down on the tent again.
Tejas clenched his fists, Meena bit her lip, and even Guru Arvind—
Who had been quietly observing—
Lowered his head with a heavy sigh.
Sigh~
Outside the tent,
Rajendra stood still, his chest rising and falling with the weight of frustration.
The sky before him glowed a deep orange, the sun sinking slowly toward the horizon.
He stared at it, jaw tight, the colors of dusk mirroring the storm inside him.
But then—
A sudden clamor broke the silence.
"____"
The birds overhead, once gliding calmly across the sky, erupted into a violent frenzy.
Their cries pierced the evening air, circling and scattering as though the very earth had turned hostile.
Rajendra's eyes narrowed.
Something was wrong.
At that moment,
Guru Arvind pushed open the tent flap behind him, phone in hand.
His expression was grave.
Almost simultaneously, Mohan Bhargav, Anish Shetty, and Amirtha stepped out, each of them holding their own devices—
Faces paling as they read and listened.
"They've moved,"
Mohan muttered, his usually calm tone edged with urgency.
Amirtha's lips pressed into a thin line as she looked up at the chaotic sky.
"It's not just a raid…"
Guru Arvind's voice cut through, sharp and heavy.
"Dev's men have launched a direct confrontation. All sides. And in large numbers."
The air seemed to thicken with the weight of his words.
Rajendra's clenched fists trembled at his side, his anger stirring once more
—but this time, it was accompanied by a grim clarity.
The war had come knocking on their doorstep.
**********************************************************************************************************************************************************
(Author's POV)
(A/N): Guys, don't forget to vote in the Poll.
Current Vote Ranking...
1--> Ravana.(20)
2--> Narashima.(17)
3-->Vali.(8)
4-->Frozene.(5)
5-->Green Lantern.(4)
6--> Quick Silver.(4)
Hope You guys could vote in the poll page.
Thanks for reading the chapter!
Please give a review!!! And power stone!!!
Which will motivate me more?