"Now I see, everyone is ready..." He sneered at the trio as they were on their guard.
"Now, it is time for you to die by my hand." Shiv stared at him coldly as he threatened to kill him.
Aditya interrupted him, "Shiv... No, My Lord. Please give me the command to kill that bastard."
Both Shiv and Ira were surprised by Aditya's sudden politeness. He even called Shiv, 'My Lord.' They were not sure why he was acting like a stern general all of a sudden. But they both believed that he had a reason behind his actions.
Shiv nodded his head in affirmation while he was still wondering what was wrong with him for acting like that all of a sudden.
The moment Aditya received his conformation, he acted swiftly with his sword pointed at that guy. He was so fast and sharp that the man flinched from the sudden attack.
He was taken in by surprise that he was not able to defend himself properly. Even though he was physically engaged in a battle with Aditya, his mind was wandering.
'I didn't expect the general to be this strong! I have certainly underestimated his capabilities. At this rate, if I don't stay on my toes, there is a high chance of me getting killed.'
"Ohh.. How disrespectful! When you are fighting someone, you ought to concentrate on your opponent. But I see, your mind is elsewhere. Let me bring you back to your senses." As he spoke, Aditya landed a sharp and precise blow on his abdomen, that his sword pierced through his flesh making him bleed severely.
"Damn you! I will get you back for this." Instead of continuing his fight, he fled from the scene to save his life.
"Hahaha! He actually ran away, fearing his life. Now that this guy is taken care of, all that is left is to take care of that Snake bastard."
The trio advanced further into the castle to look for the guy who called himself Snake. Along their way, they noticed a lot of old and antique paintings and statues in that abandoned castle. The castle was dimly lit and there were no ventilation. When they looked outside the closed window, they couldn't tell whether it was day or not.
As per Aditya's claim, they were teleported somewhere with the help of one of the seven sacred stones called, 'Intersection'. They had to first find the people who had gone missing and help them get out of that place alive.
They have been walking around in that horrid place for almost half an hour but they could not find even a single soul. There were typically no sign of living people in that place, Ira started to find it creepy the farther they entered into that old castle.
"Oh... Finally you made it here. I was expecting you to come sooner than this though!" The man who called himself snake appeared out of nowhere and mocked them. He covered the lower half of his face with a blue silk cloth which made them unable to see his face clearly.
The man looked like he was not expecting much from the other guy when he asked him to kill them. This made them feel a little suspicious. If his intention was not to kill them, then what else could it be....
"You all are here to look for those commoners right. Thanks to your intervention, I was not able to collect 10 of them. Aren't you curious why I want to collect them?" The man smiled at them ambiguously as if he was expecting something else from them.
Aditya sneered at him, "One thing I am sure of is, you are up to no good! So why bother explaining us the details?"
"Oh.. You may not be interested. But I am sure that kid over than might be very interested to know it more than anyone." The man slyly grinned while he looked at Ira.
Ira frowned from his slyness, she felt creepy from the way he looked at her. Ira quickly gripped onto Shiv's hand as he was near by. He calmed her down.
The man continued.
"Since I lost the pendant, I am not able to travel to the future as easily as I did. Since I wanted to go again, I have no other choice but to use the blood of 10 humans. Because of your interruption I was only able to collect 7... Too bad, that I can't use your blood!"
The moment he mentioned about the future, Ira tightened her grip on Shiv's hand. He himself told, he was unable to go to the future unless he uses 10 peoples blood as a sacrifice.
'Maybe.. mom and the others are fine.. Maybe nothing happened to them!' Ira finally breathed in a sigh of relief. Her hand trailed to the pendant.
'I must be careful to not lose it. I absolutely can't let him have it!'
Aditya who was watching everything in the sidelines finally decided to step in.
"Okay! Now all that needs to be known are known. Give the people back to us quietly before I lose my temper."
Aditya charged at him without any further ado. Aditya never expected to defeat him that easily, that man was indeed strong! He dodged all of Aditya's attacks as if it were a child's play!. Within a short span of time, Aditya was completely cornered by that man. He looked like a pig waiting to be slaughtered.
Seeing the sorry state that Aditya was put into, Shiv couldn't help but assist him in the fight.
"Did you forget? You never stood a chance against me!" Aditya's vein popped hearing his mocking.
Ira was quietly observing them in the sidelines.
"Ouch! That hurts." Ira scratched the back of her neck. She felt like she was stung by something.
'What is happening here? Why do I feel dizzy all of a sudden?' Ira stumbled on her steps as she started to feel drowsy.
The man who was keeping both Shiv and Aditya, smiled wickedly. He looked like his mission there was accomplished.
The man who was wounded earlier by Aditya was carrying Ira on his arms. They were a little too late to realise that they played right into their enemies hands.
The cold sweat was evident on Shiv forehead. He never considered them to go after Ira. Before he made a move, that man released those 7 people he kidnapped.
"How about we make a deal? You give us this kid, while I release those people? Well, either way, I don't have anything to lose."