The shields couldn't put up with all the bombardment, cracking under the incessant rain of projectiles.
"Skill Transfer! Wood Flesh." I activated a last minute contraption to safeguard my party mates, giving all nine of them full body Armor to protect themselves. Dweep and Vihaan's shields got destroyed, as they turned around using their bodies cloaked with Kundalini to protect us.
As I kept converting their Prana, weak layers of Kavach created by them appeared and shattered away within milliseconds.
What can we do? She can't be tricked like the other guy. Think!! How can I use my abilities to turn the tables?
Ugh!! I stopped myself from grunting out as a stray spear cut past my ribs. The sound of the weapons and barriers clashing vibrated against my body. It was traumatising. The occasional sickening sounds as Vihaan's body was pierced sent shivers down my spine bringing up Yashvi's half digested care filled lunch up to my throat.
Anik and Jhanvi shot low strung arrows as a decoy sending them right over our Surakshaks' heads as if taking a free kick over the barrier of opponent footballers.
Yashvi sent a high strung arrow right between the Dweep's and Vihaan's heads as the main attack.
All three of them dissipated against the cloudy mass of Kundalini that changed shapes to form three shields individually neutralising the attacks from our side.
Trisha threw a glass spherical beaker like a grenade above our heads, which got destroyed by an incoming cloud dagger, spreading white smoke all around.
"Break formation. Two teams!!" Laksh shouted as the senior team took Jhanvi with them and we brought Shreya with us as soon as the assailant's vision was disrupted. She spread out her range of attack from a single line to a triangle, significantly reducing the density of the weapons that were rushing towards us.
I jumped or ducked whenever I felt that intuitive pressure, but I knew that it was only a matter of time until something hit me, amputating or disabling me.
Most of the other members were surprisingly agile too, as they dodged with minimal efforts showing off their training back home till now.
Agility and Strength for Yoddhas, Dexterity and Agility for Dhanurdhars and Stamina for Surakshaks were the main stats that these classes focused on. Vaidyas did whatever they could, filling in the missing gaps within their teams accordingly. Since the amount of energy they can use is kind of constant, they need to practice the skills long enough to make sure they are helpful during important situations.
The wood flesh over our bodies kept the leeches away, but my Kundalini was being emptied at an alarming rate. One team took cover behind a pile of skinned Makara carcasses, while we went behind the boss which was also cleaved and operated in different areas.
I followed the end points of my Tethers to have an idea of everybody's conditions.
Some minor injuries and non fatal penetrations.
Dweep and Vihaan were gifted Recovery energy from my end to keep them functioning. They can't go down right now.
"Reducing one of seven lives of the eleventh prince of Ayodhya is a grave crime. He'll come back for you again and again from now on. So it's better to give up and die painlessly by my hands. If he gets hold of you, it won't just end with your death." the woman's raspy voice assaulted my senses. The pain and mental anguish in her mind was palpable.
"If I can take care of you all, then maybe...maybe I won't be thrown away after being unable to protect him. Please, stop struggling and die, I need to make sure that my family isn't harmed because of my incompetence." her sobbing voice made me so annoyed I wanted to hurl explicit curses at her. But it felt like she too had her won circumstances.
"What a polite murderer. You also don't fall much behind her though." Dweep said, squatting beside me. I realised that he wasn't joking and felt a pang of guilt in my heart. The carcass in between our team and the woman from Satya kept quaking and twitching as it was impaled with numerous weapons from the other side.
"Is there no way we can talk this out?" Yashvi asked, trying to gain us a bit more time.
"What's done is done. This will not only affect me but also my family. I'll lose my position as a leader of the Surasundaris under Sagar, and will probably be exiled or worse, killed." The woman said with a gloomy look. Her foggy kundalini weapons kept assaulting us, dissipating like smoke on impact and again going back to the source to be turned into a new batch of projectiles. This is broken, will I even be able to handle fine tuning like this?
"Ma'am, please listen. If you kill us and go back to declare that you've gotten revenge for the prince's lost life, what will the others think? The prince might have already resurrected by now, making excuses about how we probably are powerful and experienced Rakshaks who were waiting in ambush. If you say that you've single handedly killed us after that, the prince will become a laughing stock: Someone who can't even handle a few puny Alik Spawn that can easily be taken care of by his attendant." I added on to Yashvi's argument.
The rain of weapons stopped for a second. Are we getting through to her?
"It's better to declare yourself as dead, come back to Satya with us after disabling whatever interference you're using that's stopping us from running away, and return to your family with the help of our alumni." I said again, after a while trying to give solutions to whatever she's thinking currently.
"I know you look at us like farm animals, judging from what we heard you say about us. But you didn't harm us directly. The prince attacked our junior first and in turn he retaliated. There's no reason for us to continue this." Yashvi continued her reasoning in a gentle tone.
Let's just leave this to her. She knows how to cook. In both ways.
"But the prince died, while your friend is still alive." The woman argued back.
"That's what you get in return for trying to take up arms. When he threw that sword, he should have been prepared to experience the same. To have a weapon pointed at him next." Yashvi was quite convincing.
"But in such a disgraceful manner..."
"Uhh... That I can't say anything against. We have to resort to tricks like that against people who are significantly stronger than us, no matter how dishonorable the actions are." Yashvi agreed with her, trying to show that she too understood her view point.
"What am I gonna do then? All my life I've been taught about Rakshaks in a different manner. We thought you like these..." She pointed at the carcasses we were hiding behind, with only our faces peeking from its sides. She sat down with a sigh. "Did you think twice before slaughtering all these wild beasts?"
"Might have, if they had talked with us like we did." Laksh spoke up joining the conversation. We were still hiding behind the monster dead bodies.
"So you'll kill anyone who can't communicate with you? If they don't speak the same language as you?" She asked genuinely.
Shit, these were simple logical questions. We were the ones getting painted as hypocrites right now.
"Nothing else to say?" She mocked us, sitting on the opposite bank right outside the entry point to the next section. She was staring at the Prince's dead body.
"Makara are territorial creatures. Suppose we trespassed getting attacked by them. One of them turned out to be trickier than expected, and we calculated that fighting with it will lead to losses on both sides. If the clever Makara proposes a cease fire, we will gladly accept it." I said, but some doubt regarding my statement still lingered.
"Do you think I will incur losses if I fight seriously against you people?" She asked confidently.
"You have already incurred losses. Suppose the clever Makara kills one of us. Then proposes a cease fire asking us to help him kill the current leader so that he can become the next king. Our goals of taking down the boss will align, and we won't have to fight with him either." I further extended the hypothetical situation.
She kept waiting for kore explanation.
"I don't know about your past properly. But from what I understood is that you are a Surasundari, people who train from a young age to become concubines or consorts of kings. Top of your class, with tons of others aiming for the same position. The prince has already been killed, and you can't show your face again being unable to protect him. You can't go back to your family as it will bring them shame... I'm not getting this part, families are not supposed to be like that." I suddenly stopped, my train of thoughts breaking.
"They sent me to the eleventh Mahal of Ayodhya when I was young. Consorts or concubines are supposed to train in various arts, sciences and politics from a very small age to be able to run a country properly. The kings are supposed to wage wars, while all the women under him act as ministers taking care of the government. My family thought sending me there was a good idea to boost their family position. They'll disown me after knowing what happened if I ever return. For them, me being a martyr will probably be a better option. Than being a deserter." She said looking down. "My life was already set, my family was happy, and I was on my way to becoming the first concubine or even a consort. Everything went down the drain because of you all. Because of the Prince's impulsive decision to suddenly come here for a fun Rakshak hunting... As if it was a sport. I'm just tired of this..."
We sat there in silence.
"Did you like it at the Mahal?" Yashvi asked timidly, trying to change the atmosphere. It was a gamble to be honest, as remembering her life there might bring up traumas if there were any.
"Particularly not. I just did my best at lessons, and put some arrogant women in their place from time to time. Satya is not a great place for people who have no power. It was better before, I've heard from my great grandmother but now the demon Kali's influence is getting stronger. He's slowly gaining his power at some corner of this Brahmand, slowly tainting people with his darkness. And then the Asuras are getting aggressive. Just yesterday, we heard that the house of a prominent family was blown up into pieces, killing an elderly lady and some of their attendants. Something is happening in this world that we don't know of. The kings have become cautious, starting this endeavour, allowing their heirs to gain power faster than others..."
Prominent family? Yesterday?
"Are they one of the seven families?" I asked, my heart beating fast with a dreadful feeling.
Saiyan and Shreya exchanged worried looks.
"Yeah. The Sapta family. Everyone in their family suddenly disappeared. Except for the people who were identified dead. As if someone just erased them out of existence..."
The world suddenly started spinning. Immense pressure started building up inside my head threatening me with the sensations of a car running over my face ever so slowly.
They are just missing. I told myself. Don't worry, they're from a prominent family. They must have measures to keep themselves safe from intruders. They must be hiding somewhere to bait out the assailants. I tried to give myself possible answers instead of thinking more about what happened.
"What is your name by the way?" Jhanvi asked with an innocent smile.
"Charulata... And what about all of you?"
We introduced ourselves one by one and found her with a weird smile, taking time to go through our faces.
"You all seem to be really good friends. Hard to believe there's a two year gap in between. People in the Mahal are vicious. Always looking for ways to one up another, backbiting, bullying, falsely accusing... None of the girls there wanted to be friends. Even more so after I was chosen as a candidate for the first concubine." She explained. "They're surely celebrating right now thinking I have died and returned to samsara."
"Wait... You don't have multiple lives like us?" I asked, wondering what the procedure was for people living in Satya to synchronise with Kalpa.
"I already lost two of them. Poison and then suicide..."
Whoa.
"Why..?" Yashvi asked, "What happened?"
"I didn't have a good experience, after I became a concubine candidate. You all are children here so it's better not to say it. It's fine. After I jumped, I knew it was a bad idea. I decided to just give myself up to the flow of life and go wherever it took me. Ironically, it brought me here, where I decided by myself for the first time in my life to spare your lives, instead of following my duty. It was just a whim, but something I myself decided to do." She refused to say anymore. Was she treated badly even after achieving a high position among the other women in the Mahal? Maybe the concubines didn't have much power there... Only the consorts and the queen are probably supposed to have some power, with the power of final decision solely lying with the Queen.
"Hopefully my family won't be bothered if they find me missing or dead. If the prince couldn't handle the killers, how will a measly concubine candidate manage staying alive, right?" She gave a dry smile with her lips pursed.
"Come with us to the Ashrama. I want you to see the truth about us. We are not just guard dogs who stay outside your doors to protect you from the Asuras... We are not much different than you." Yashvi got up and slowly walked towards Charulata.
"I actually hope that you aren't like us though. It will again be disappointing." Charulata joked.
"We'll try not to disappoint you then. Maybe there are lots of good people in Satya too, but surely, they are not to be found in the Mahals." Yashvi is the GOAT. She's gotten really high in my respect ranking, with the last conversation alone. Not to mention the heavenly food she cooked.
I felt like things were going too well, and decided to focus instead. I'm sure my intuition was already working giving me faint signals.
"We have to get rid of the interference first." Vihaan asked Charulata. "Only then can we go back, taking us with you."
"There's a portal in the third section that connects this place to Satya. Once that is destroyed, the interference will be lifted, allowing you all to open a portal back to your Ashrama." Charulata explained, making me curious on how they imbued the portal magic with interference magic two in one. Her Kundalini fog was also impressive. It was giving me some crazy ideas, incase my theory about how it works is correct. I can't wait to try things out.
"It seems you are enjoying a lovely chat with the savages here." A voice suddenly appeared from the dark tunnel. A four armed seven foot tall man came out, his body covered in a weird gray sap like material. "Did you lose your sense of responsibility after taking a whiff of that freedom drug? Did it feel great to disobey your orders, and forget your responsibilities for once?"
It was suffocating. The sudden pressure that fell over us pushed out whatever air we had inside our lungs forcefully. Who is he? Did he come here to erase unknown factors? Or take her back?
"Since your actions are akin to betraying us, it is only fair that you return everything you ever received from us. What do you say?" The man smiled ominously. "Be of help to your prince even when you're not by his side. And about them. I'll make sure everything is properly cleaned up."
From the dark tunnel, a weird violet colored worm burst inside the first section and looked around with its horrifying mouth full of circular rows of teeth. With a smooth movement it snapped towards Charulata.
She jumped away to dodge only to stop mid air, looking bewildered. The four armed man was clutching the air with his upper right hand that was pointing towards her. "We can't leave you alive. Not after failing to do your duty."
She cried out loud, as the worm like Tether latched onto her back, spreading little vines of kundalini and covering her body like a cocoon.
The fog that was around her before started changing shapes as the cocoon got surrounded with it, followed by several threads slowly bursting out and transforming into a myriad collection of sharp weapons ready to come speeding towards us.
"This is crazy. What should we do?" Shreya who was with us, muttered. The problem was that we were near the four handed guy who was clearly beyond our levels currently.
I made sure that all my tethers were attached to everyone and activated Skill Transfer immediately.
Five layers of steel like gray transparent spheres surrounded us. It was Vihaan. He had used a great deal of Prana to put this on us.
A party chat window appeared in the top right of my vision where the plan was written. In an instant, we rushed to create our formations: Vihaan, Saiyan, Shreya, Laksh, Yashvi, Trisha for the four armed entity.
Me, Jhanvi, Anik, Dweep for Charulata. We are to engage Charu and make sure she didn't focus on the the others who will be fighting the four armed guy.
I also repaired wood flesh wherever it was broken to make it as new as possible for the incoming fight. This will be much harder than the Makara Boss. Things might end in just a minute or two. The only thing we can do is to hold on until the man is taken care of.
Nervousness gripped my chest, as I gulped back vomit. Vritra also gave me the same sensations, when I was inside the Mahal at Sutala.
The two way fight started with a fog spear clanging against Dweep's shield, as he stood in front of us making sure no harm befell us. His face was so dark that it sent chills down my spine. He hated these sudden circumstances. He was probably hopeful that for once we didn't need to fight and take away lives. He needs to understand that with the current us, it is almost impossible to choose the path we want to take. Most of the time, we will just follow wherever life took us. Only with greater power, can we slowly be able to divert our paths a bit. It might be insignificant, but a change none the less.
"Dweep, we didn't have a choice. Don't beat yourself over it. Just keep us safe, keep saving our lives. Anything you don't want to but is needed to be done, I'll do instead. Leave it to me. I'm already far gone, but you still have it left." I said standing behind him.
"Your speech made me angrier to be honest." He said, his substitute shield cracking under the heavy bombardment. "None of us should have gone this far..." he mumbled.
Jhanvi and Anik kept sending out arrows but failed to make a difference. The fog became square shields and blocked their attacks easily. How is her mentality even holding up? She must have a much higher fortitude than me. I'm sure I'll only be able to control a handful of weapons at a time. Not this massive amount.
The fight on our right started with a booming sound. Vihaan and the man clashed, cracking the ground underneath from the force that went travelling down their legs from the the point of impact. Saiyan and Shreya were a a flurry of sharp edges that seemed to cut even the air. Laksh sent his substitute spear cutting through the space between them, but it was simply deflected by the man without any extra efforts. Scratches and wounds appeared on his body, but nothing was able to deal substantial damage to him.
"How did you kill the Prince with these skills? I was actually looking forward to what tricks you all showed me. But guess I can't help getting disappointed." He sighed lazily and jumped back. Raw Kundalini covered his already tough body, concentrating over his thick gray hands.
"I'll get serious. So try to struggle as long as you can." The four armed man smiled with a crazy look on his face and disappeared from our sights.