The arena inside the haunted building had become a graveyard.
The corpse of Nimbuda vanished into ashes.
Only two Kroors remained.
The blue one stepped forward.
"I'm Orger." Kroor said. "And I will be the cause of your death."
The second deadly battle was about to begin.
Aishwarya walked forward without hesitation.
Flames flickered along her arms.
Her eyes burned brighter than the fire itself.
"I'll handle this one."
Orger's skeletal fingers flexed slowly.
The air around it felt dry.
Brittle.
Like something ancient was about to snap.
Then—
The battle began.
Flame vs Bone
Aishwarya vanished.
FWOOSH—!!!
She reappeared above Orger, fist engulfed in blazing crimson fire.
"FLAME IMPACT!"
She slammed her punch downward.
BOOOOOOOM—!!!
The explosion shook the arena.
Flames roared outward like a rising sun.
Smoke filled the battlefield.
But when the smoke parted.
A wall of white bone stood between them.
Her flaming fist was stopped inches away from Orger's face.
A shield made of layered skeletal plates had formed instantly.
Orger smiled.
A thin, cold smile.
"What?!" Lioran shouted. "That was her strongest attack!"
Skanda's voice remained calm.
"That… is the power of a Kroor."
Orger pushed her back effortlessly.
Then—
CRRRRKKK—
Bones began forming in the air.
Hundreds of them.
Sharp.
Jagged.
Floating like spears.
Orger flicked its fingers.
The bones shot forward.
SHHHHKKKK—!!!
Aishwarya leapt backward, dodging one—
Then another—
Then five more—
The bones embedded into the ground like missiles.
But suddenly—
CRACK—!!!
More bones erupted from the floor beneath her.
She twisted midair, barely escaping being impaled.
"Tch… At this rate, I can't keep dodging forever."
Orger raised both arms.
The arena became a forest of bone.
Spikes grew from walls.
Spears hovered above.
The battlefield belonged to it.
Aishwarya inhaled deeply.
Her flames changed.
They turned darker red.
Denser.
Sparks crackled around her fists and feet.
She stepped forward into a fighting stance.
Orger launched another barrage.
This time—
She didn't dodge.
She punched.
BAM!
The bone shattered instantly.
Fragments exploded outward.
Orger's eyes narrowed.
More bones flew.
She moved through them—
Punching.
Kicking.
Spinning.
Each strike detonated in bursts of fire.
BOOM! CRACK! SHATTER!
Her movements were fluid.
Precise.
Beautiful.
She danced between destruction like a warrior princess of flame.
Lioran stared in awe.
"She's incredible…"
Sharin nodded slowly.
"She's not just fighting."
"She's overwhelming."
Orger growled.
It raised its hands again.
Thousands of bones materialized.
The sky above turned white.
Aishwarya slammed her fist into the ground.
"INFERNAL ERUPTION!"
BOOOOOOOM—!!!
The floor cracked open.
Fire burst upward beneath Orger.
It screamed as flames engulfed it.
It was in pain.
But the Kroor responded instantly.
Bones erupted from every surface at once.
Aishwarya couldn't dodge all of them.
So she crossed her arms.
"FLAME APEX!"
A circular barrier of compressed fire exploded outward.
The incoming bones struck it—
SHHHHSSSS—!!!
They melted into ash before reaching her.
Orger's irritation turned into rage.
It raised both hands high.
The arena trembled violently.
Behind it—
A monstrous structure formed.
A single bone.
Gigantic.
At least twenty times larger than Orger itself.
A skeletal spear of pure destruction.
It hurled it downward.
The shadow swallowed Aishwarya whole.
"She can't destroy that!" Lioran shouted.
"We have to—"
Skanda lifted a hand.
"Wait."
"She'll be fine."
Aishwarya pressed her palms together.
Between them—
A sphere of concentrated fire formed.
Not wild.
Not explosive.
Controlled.
Dense.
Compressed to its limit.
The giant bone was seconds away from crushing her.
She stepped forward.
"FLAME RUPTURE!"
She thrust her palms outward.
A massive beam of fire erupted.
KAAAAAAAAAAAAA—!!!
The beam pierced through the gigantic bone.
Burned it and turned it into ash midair.
But it didn't stop.
It continued.
It struck Orger directly.
The Kroor screamed as the beam engulfed it completely.
SKREEEEEEEE—!!!
Its bones blackened.
Cracked.
Collapsed.
The fire consumed it entirely.
Then—
Silence.
Ash floated gently in the air.
Aishwarya stood alone.
Breathing heavily.
Sweat dripping.
"I… did it."
Lioran pumped his fist.
"You did more than that."
Sharin smiled proudly.
"You incinerated it."
The Last Kroor
Only one remained.
The three-eyed Kroor.
It began laughing.
Low.
Creepy.
Echoing through every wall.
"Why is it laughing?" Sharin asked.
"I think it has a stomach ache," Skanda replied casually.
Lioran narrowed his eyes.
"No… something's wrong."
The Kroor stopped laughing.
"Those fools," it said coldly.
"They were weak. Too weak to entertain me."
Lioran clenched his fists.
"It calls its own kind weak?"
"Don't worry," the Kroor continued.
"I'll finish what they couldn't."
Its three eyes glowed red.
"First, I'll kill the one who dares to fight me."
"Then I'll kill you all."
"And lastly… I'll eat that child."
Arpit trembled and hid behind Skanda.
Aishwarya's flames flared violently.
"How dare you!"
Lioran placed a hand on her shoulder.
"Leave it to me."
He stepped forward.
"I'll show it hell."
The Kroor tilted its head.
"So you are the next insect."
Lioran smirked.
"Let's see who kills whom."
He charged.
"PRĀṆA FIST!"
He punched forward—
But suddenly—
A wall erupted from the ground.
His punch shattered it instantly—
But the Kroor was gone.
"Where did it go?!"
The ground beneath him shot upward.
BOOM!
The ceiling crashed downward.
He was about to be crushed between them—
"PRĀṆA SWIFT!"
He vanished at the last second.
The walls twisted.
Pillars burst from every direction.
Trying to crush him.
He dodged.
Again.
Again.
Again.
"What is happening?" Sharin shouted.
Skanda's expression hardened.
"This one is different."
The pillars closed in from every angle.
No escape.
Lioran clenched his teeth.
He formed a golden sphere between his hands.
But this one was different.
Denser.
Heavier.
Brighter.
"PRĀṆA COLLARGE!"
He unleashed it.
The sphere expanded violently.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOM—!!!
Everything shattered.
Pillars exploded.
Walls collapsed.
The ceiling fractured.
The ground ripped apart.
The arena was destroyed.
Lioran stood in the center of devastation.
Breathing hard.
Aishwarya stared wide-eyed.
"He destroyed everything…"
Sharin nodded slowly.
"That wasn't normal Prāṇa…"
But then—
Laughter echoed again.
From everywhere.
Lioran froze.
The destroyed wall in front of him began shifting.
Reshaping.
Reforming.
And then—
The face of that Kroor appeared on it.
Twisted.
Smiling.
"What…?"
Not just that wall.
Every surface around them began changing.
Walls.
Floor.
Ceiling.
All of them showed Kroor's face.
Hundreds of them.
All smiling mockingly.
The Kroor's voice echoed.
"Welcome… to my domain."
The three-eyed Kroor appeared in the air.
Hovering.
Watching.
Its smile widened.
"Let's see how strong you truly are."
The real battle…
Had just begun.
TO BE CONTINUED…