The slash that saved Sindhu materialized as a dim, ethereal arc—a fleeting barrier woven from the last remnants of Vayu's Prāṇna. . It sliced through the apocalyptic wave of magma just inches from Sindhu's cowering form.
The air hummed with residual energy, the heat distorting reality like a mirage in the desert. As the glow faded, Vayu emerged from the haze, his silhouette sharp against the crumbling obsidian arena. His golden blade, now flickering with renewed intensity, pulsed in rhythm with his steady breaths.
Blood trickled from a gash on his forehead, carving a red path through the grime on his face. His eyes, however, burned with unyielding resolve. He closed them briefly, inhaling deep — drawing energy from the air itself. A faint shimmer of Prāṇna gathered at the wound, staunching the blood and sealing the worst of it. He spat a glob of crimson onto the scorched earth."Guess I'm not holding back anymore," Vayu muttered, his voice a low growl cutting through the demon's guttural roars.
With that, he lunged toward the roaring demon, his movements a blur of calculated fury. The sound of crashing waves—echoes of the magma's fury—reverberated through the warped landscape. Vayu's foot slipped on a slick of cooling lava, but he used the momentum into a roll, refocusing in an instant.
He penetrated through the demon's defenses, weaving past flailing claws that could rend stone to dust.
He leaped onto the demon's massive frame, using its own bulk as leverage. His blade arced downward, carving a deep cut near the neck—a gash that spewed ichor like black rain. This time, Vayu landed perfectly, rolling into a crouch, ready for the inevitable counterattack.
The demon bellowed, its voice shaking the ground, but Vayu was already analyzing the environment. The air was thick with sulfur and ashes, a toxic miasma that clawed at his lungs. He could feel the fine, insidious particulates—PM2.5—seeping into his bloodstream that sapped his strength with every breath.
Prolonged exposure would make him vulnerable, turning a swift victory into a grueling siege. He tried to focus his breath while conserving his Prāṇna.
His offense intensified. "Gale Spiral, Offensive Style," he whispered, invoking his technique. The air around him whipped into a vortex, channeling wind into a spiral of razor-sharp force. His attacks became like thunder flash—unpredictable, blinding bursts that the demon couldn't anticipate.
He slashed at the head, the cut shallow but precisely effective, severing neural pathways infused with corrupted energy. The impact resonated, and the CCF field shattered with a sound like cracking thunder, fragments of imposed reality dissolving into the ether.
Now, it is the real world. True physics reasserted itself, stripping away the demon's artificial dominion. The Rakshasa's form convulsed, collapsing from an impossible titan into a six-foot brute. Its strength waned.
Around them, the forest began to reclaim the world — green vines creeping through cracks of molten glass.
Sindhu, peeking from behind a jagged rock, gasped. His hand flew to his mouth, his eyes wide with a disbelief too profound for words. "We... won?"
The Rakshasa snarled, its eyes glowing with residual malice, but vulnerability etched its features.
The demon charged, slower now, its movements predictable under the weight of reality. Vayu met it head-on, his Gale Spiral evolving into a whirlwind of strikes—each one chipping away at the beast's essence. A final thrust pierced its core, the blade igniting with Prāṇna's pure light. The Rakshasa howled before crumbling to ash, scattered by a gentle breeze that carried the scent of renewal.
Relief washed over Vayu as he lowered his blade, the forest reclaiming its tranquility. He turned to Sindhu, who was rising shakily from behind a boulder.
"Are you alright?" Vayu asked, his voice laced with concern, eyes scanning his apprentice for injuries.
In that brief moment of distraction, a low rumble echoed—the ash stirred unnaturally, coalescing with a surge of residual CCF energy. The Rakshasa, not fully eradicated, reformed in a shadowy, incomplete state, its form hazy but potent. With a savage attack from behind, it struck Vayu's back, sending him sprawling forward with a grunt of pain.