"To counter my arrows like that. You've really improved, Dhruva." Yashvi praised me while peeking from the cover of a tree in the middle forest region of our inter-Gurukul league arena.
"Reverse engineering has its merits. You have no idea how thoroughly I have studied and modified your skill to make arrows for my friends. On top of that, I got some excellent mentors." I walked toward her out in the open, my body surrounded by several fogs that can take up various forms depending on my will and the situation I was facing.
I willed one of the fogs to change shape into a thin spear and launched it at the tree she was hiding behind.
On impact, the spear burst like a grenade, thanks to the new knowledge we gained from Angiras' team, shooting out shrapnel in all directions and leaving a huge hole in the trunk of its target.
Yashvi sped away like a nimble fawn, taking cover behind the Surakshak of her team.
With a simple command, I retrieved the remnant energy of the spear, which floated back to my side like a semi-condensed cloud you often see in hill stations.
I knew she was being humble when she had mentioned that there were many more students who were better than her. To bag a position in the Gurukul team is no small feat.
In my case, I simply got lucky since the best candidates from our Gurukul had high levels, forcing them to invite a low-level Rakshak instead.
A volley of innumerable low-energy arrows appeared from behind the Surakshak that bounced off my hexagonal Kundalini shield, transformed from a nearby fog.
Being the creator of these fogs, I didn't require authentication beads like the others. But still, without the gem I got as a reward, manipulating six Kundalini fogs constantly would have been impossible.
I kept checking the team messages, constantly moving my eyes to the side. It felt like watching a movie with subtitles.
After we won four out of six matches and tied in another, after accidentally destroying the whole arena along with our and the opponent's Fort Chakras, this was just a consolation match where Jay and I got to participate directly.
My Gurukul's seniors were dangerous. Especially Sobith. When coupled with a scheme that allowed us to destroy whole-ass forts while also creating a sand screen with low visibility, Sobith became invincible. His stealth game was top-notch.
I have been hounding him to share the techniques behind his short-range teleportation, but he always managed to dodge me.
The second place was taken by Angiras themselves, who upped their explosive game after losing to us and managed to create some impressive mushroom clouds in the last three days.
They still had two losses, one more than us, in case we lose today's game for some reason.
Yashvi's team was in the third, with two losses at the beginning and a draw, so even if they win this one, they'll be of no threat to us. They took a while to pop off, destroying any chance of coming out on top of the leaderboard.
There have been quite a few games that were interesting in contrast to our unga bunga playstyle. When you have the means, why won't you blow up everything? Massive explosions are pretty romantic... Me, Jay, and the members of Angiras had a similar mindset on that front. When I get some time after this, I must go through the videos of other matches, if I really want to take learnings and valuable experiences back to share with my friends.
Just when I got the message from Archit of our successful fort infiltration, I fell back to defend our own with Jay and Sobith.
For this match, we decided not to use the spike explosions and play following standard procedures.
Coming up with the new and advanced form of my previous puny spike explosion would have been impossible without Jay's help.
He and I went to the Angiras guys and learned the inner chain reactions of bombs properly. It's no surprise that our combined tech managed to bag us first and second positions.
Our rivalry had ended after the first match since we wouldn't be meeting in that arena again for the rest of the league. We both did our parts and ensured no one could get better points than us, who were in a temporary truce.
Internally, we both wanted the other to lose a few more matches to make sure it served our self-interests.
Is this what they meant by keeping our enemies closer? Maybe not...
Before Archit and our Surakshak could find out where the opponent's Fort Chakra was located, mayhem erupted in the stands surrounding the arena. Everyone was looking up for some reason.
Two Daityas, thirty feet in height and rocking a yellow complexion because of their Kundalini skin, tore open a dimensional crack in the sky and jumped down, landing on the terrace of the cuboid void we were in, shattering it like a glass house in the process.
It totally seemed like a scene from a movie where the hero makes an appearance by breaking through a glass roof, surprising both the heroine and the villains.
The heroine would be safe from the glass for some reason, yet the villains would be attacked by those very same sharp, coincidental weapons.
Maybe villains become villains for their bad luck. If everything had worked out well for them, they wouldn't need to take such a path anyway.
But the problem now was the shards of dimensional void tumbling down at me in a breakneck speed.
I summoned all six energy fogs over my head, changing them to thick energy barriers.
Four of them were utterly destroyed, including the mini Tethers that allowed me to hold authority over the released Kundalini.
They escaped my grasp and dissipated, making me lose two days' worth of internal energy.
Among the falling shards, I saw the majestic, muscular silhouettes of the two giants, looking down at us as if we were mere insects. The gold-plated Armor covering their bodies and the doubled-bladed axes they carried were clear symbols of their advanced warrior status.
They were no mere Asuras. That much was confirmed.
"Take this, bastards!" I heard Jay's shout from within our now dilapidated fort as he launched two blossoming spears made from 40 points using Kundalini from all three: 8 from me and him each plus 24 from the gem. We had a few of those in our inventory.
They blasted the bodies of the invaders to bits after breaching through their unicolored energy skin, obliterating the head and left shoulder of one giant and the waist of another.
The pieces of their bodies landed like heavy concrete blocks being dropped from a three-storied building. You could feel the tremor traveling up your skeletal structure from the impact.
Within seconds, their bodies regained balance and started rapidly regenerating to perform quite a gross demonstration of biological sciences from a different dimension.
"This will take time..." Jay pulled me away from the scene as we escaped the arena together with Sobith. I have no idea about the condition my other team members were in.
Yashvi and her Surakshak friend had also followed us since they too were in the forest.
"Open up your Divyastra Utsav stream." Yashvi suggested in a bit of panic.
"It's showing static." I replied after checking it once. "My friends must be in trouble. This is just a distraction to keep the reinforcements busy."
"Don't mention the obvious like that CID officer." Jay said in a sarcastic, flat tone, "Let's leave this to my batchmates. If things look beyond us, we can always ask for more help. For now, we'll simply scout the situation in your section."
While the Rakshaks engaged the Daityas, we ran to the center of the Seventh-grade section of Ashrama, grabbing hold of a sage who was hurrying towards ground zero.
"Send us five to the fifth standard section. We'll make sure our juniors are okay. In case something goes wrong, we'll let you know." Jay took the initiative and made decisive choices in split seconds.
As lightning tendrils appeared over my body in response to the sage's chants, I started strategizing the series of subsequent steps I should take right after returning.
I have to do whatever it takes to keep my friends safe.
The sound of an arrow being released above welcomed us as soon as we got back our vision from the momentary darkness of dimensional transfer.
The sage had traced back my jump spot, transferring us into my room in the boy's dormitory.
"It looks totally the same as we've heard." The female Surakshak accompanying Yashvi checked her surroundings.
"Sshh," Sobith warned through whispers. "I sense a weird aura above us. It's not from a Rakshak."
"They must have sensed us already." Yashvi noted, "Jay and Dhruva, your techniques work the best in situations with a lot of variables. Leave the guy above to us. The MVP of this tournament will be enough for them with our support." She gave Sobith a teasing side-eye.
"Wait. How come you two aren't getting any shocks from being in the boys' section?" I whispered, pointing at the two older sisters.
Yashvi and the Surakshak grinned. "It's only applicable to the boys."
"Don't get surprised at every little thing. There will be no end to it. The world is never fair!" Jay pulled me away from the scene, discussing what we should do.
"I'll come meet you guys when this is resolved." Yashvi's Surakshak teammate, Kriti, waved at us.
Another arrow was released from the terrace just as we exited the dormitory.
We set our sights on a massive dome of water looming over the southern region following the path of the released arrow.
"What the hell..." I gasped, marveling at the Skill's design.
"Let's hurry!" Jay and I nodded at each other while taking in a deep breath, preparing to face whatever that was beyond the wall imprisoning my friends.
For a second, right after reaching the dome, the world seemed to turn upside down. My heart had somehow crawled up right behind my ear drums.
The sights I was seeing through my left eye had changed, while the right eye kept watching the water dome.
Placing a hand over my right eye to block the present, I saw the smoldering remains of what was once Divyastra Utsaav Arena, the area beyond the dome of water.
A deep gorge divided the western side horizontally, separating it into north and south sections, and the eastern side, along with the boundary of the western region, had become a dried, cracked wasteland. As if a bulldozer had run through it multiple times, scooping up chunks of land in random places.
Hundreds of Rakshaks lay dead among the ruins of the western region, grouped together along the boundary of an impact region. And there I was, standing alone in the midst of it all, witnessing the destruction with an expression I never thought I could give.
The vision ended, and so did the gradual decrement of my Prana value. Out of 24 points, I now had 12 left.
Jay seemed to be analyzing the dome of water by the time I returned to my senses.
"The guy who erected the barrier clearly wasn't thinking properly. We can still turn this around in our favor." Jay smiled at me.
Pushing down the feeling of dread that was creeping up my stomach, I brought out my treasured gem and started making contraptions that would be required by my friends real soon.
I wanted to immediately jump into action by stepping inside the arena, but I somehow stopped myself.
That's not my style. I'll take care of them in one fell swoop instead. I just needed a little more time.
Watching my friends inside the dome through a blue filter, all I could do was move my hands faster and pray that they remained safe until my preparations were completed.
I trust that they are strong enough to do that.
ooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
"Jhanvi, step back and take some rest. I'll support them from now on." Anik's envious gaze directed at my bow lingered for a few milliseconds before he turned and aimed at the heavily wounded amethyst snake, causing mayhem among our ranks.
"How much energy do you have left?" Esha asked in a worried tone, "That was an ungodly amount of Kundalini arrows you used."
"I'm doing fine... To think only a bit of fatigue is making me this light-headed... I've still got a long way to go." I squatted down and gasped for air, wondering whether I should ask Dhruva to give me some tips on building mental fortitude.
Concentrating on my target, while also taking note of the movements of friendly units and coordinating with them... Left the blood vessels in my temples throbbing in pain.
One versus three had turned to three plus a snake versus free participation for all Rakshaks... Still, we were nowhere close to even making our opponents feel a bit threatened.
The insects around us were still thriving, but their numbers had significantly lessened. Good job, other Rakshaks, and our Surakshaks!
Getting a moment of respite, I turned to check out the other end of the Arena.
On the eastern side, a massive 30-foot fiery skeleton from Patala had risen from a portal on the ground and was currently wreaking absolute havoc. With one swipe of its hand, a few of the protector sages went tumbling into the air. They seemed to be stalling for time until the sages behind them got ready. Even their Kavach seemed to be burning away after coming in contact with the red hellfire emanating from the giant skeleton.
The sages conducting the ritual were still focused on that, now leaving only two sages as their final line of defense.
They completed their chants within a few seconds and summoned a green cylindrical barrier, imprisoning the skeleton.
Right after I saw the flames surrounding the skeleton unnaturally snuffing out in a poof, the cylinder got crushed from above and its sides, reminding me of a time my sister and I were flattening cans of Coca-Cola with our feet.
They probably used the concepts of vacuum and atmospheric pressure to take out the skeleton.
Green and dark red streaks of energy snaked through the eastern skies within the dome, exploding like multi-colored fireworks as they countered one another.
A flash of lightning soon followed, parting the swirly wall of the dome above and giving us a momentary view of the scenery outside. It soon regenerated, covering the little hole that had appeared.
I looked down at the bow I was holding, wondering whether it sucked up some Prana or not since I got the very same faint sensation for a few seconds.
The thunder from the strike disrupted my thoughts, arriving where we currently were, but it was soon followed by the haunting screams of Pishachas, who looked like they were wearing human skin directly over their bones. Dozens and dozens of them appeared from a small portal behind the young invader, and they leaped towards the couple of sages like a herd of human-sized stick bugs.
Anik had told me how they fought Pishachas during the teleportation event. It's already bad luck enough to meet an entity like Vritra on your first interdimensional excursion. But also to fight against a bunch of Pishachas in a swampy area... It's a miracle that they managed to come back instead of becoming Forgotten.
"Another arrow is coming." Esha warned. "It's now targeting the Chosen Vaidya."
I wonder what she is seeing to predict things like this. If only I could share her vision... I could have managed to neutralize the arrow that was aimed at us at the very beginning of the fight against the sniper. I had that much confidence, at least.
Still, why not try again? If I had given up at the very first instance of failure, I wouldn't have been able to learn archery in the first place.
My bow sucked up more life energy from my body on command. Deep breaths.
Why did I miss the last time? By how many centimeters was it off my target? I visualized in my mind the trajectories of the two arrows.
They indeed intersect. That means one of the arrows passed through earlier than the other.
I cannot wait to shoot my arrow until I hear the sound of the sniper's bow. It will be too late by then.
Just a few milliseconds before. But how would I do that?
Most of the lifeless bodies around us have been from the sniper's arrows, the snake, and the insects summoned by their Vaidya. Many Rakshaks who had gotten overwhelmed and drowned in a heap of insects never came out again.
Esha, Dweep, and Aditi had been taking down those disgusting things, but their arms were now much slower from the fatigue.
I kept staring at the location where the arrows were coming from. Should I just help my friends kill the insects? Anyhow, I can't solve this dilemma until I have something like a sixth sense that will tell me a few seconds beforehand when the arrow will be released.
The crackle of lightning and thunder kept reaching us from the east. How long has it even been?
"The energy from the sniper is flickering... It's increasing and reducing. What the hell?" Esha looked confused. She might have been following a pattern in the Kundalini Emission process of the sniper that allowed her to foretell the release of an arrow. She'll probably let me know if she sees that pattern again.
Padmaka's Ayudhapurusha changed its color as scheduled, turning black in contrast to its amethyst hue. The Rakshaks on the battlefield became quiet and started communicating through Kalpayaal to avoid making a sound that might trigger the snake's hypnosis of self-deletion.
I confirmed from the timer in KalpaYaal that only nine minutes had passed from the time the invaders managed to escape from their chains. How long do we even need to keep this up?
There must be sages outside, right? Will they even arrive as reinforcements? Are there more invaders outside who are currently engaging them?
Just when I was thinking about this, time seemed to slow down. Sounds stopped reaching my ears, creating a sensation of a vacuum inside my brain.
My intuition told me that the God Calling Ritual had concluded successfully.
The clouds parted, bringing down divine golden light from above. It was so bright that they lit up even the insides of the imprisoning dome we were in, bent in different directions because of the water's nature. As if passing through a prism and breaking down into the seven elementary colors, the divine light bathed different Rakshaks in the arena, covering them in a flaring Kundalini aura that danced around wildly like an unbuttoned coat on a windy day.
Around me, Esha got a dark green aura, Anik got a blue aura, and... That was all.
Feelings of failure and disappointment crushed my heart.
"Get ready, Jhanvi!!" Esha's voice snapped me back to the present. Her eyes were now glowing in a color that had surrounded her a few seconds ago. "The sniper will be shooting anytime now."
I calmed down my heavy heart and tried to focus. Not now... Please. I pleaded my eyes that were tearing up.
Did this happen because I did not kill as many insects as Esha? But the damage I dealt to the snake and the invaders was much more than Anik in the last few minutes. If nothing related to our achievements mattered, why did we even have to go through the trials at the Utsaav? And here I was, thinking of surprising my parents and sister with some good news.
No... This is not a direction my thoughts should be going in. I'll get more chances... But something more important requires my attention right now.
Unbeknownst to me, a small teardrop had already raced down my cheek by then, leaving an uncomfortable streak on my skin.
Calm your mind, take a deep breath, and hold it- I remembered my sister's teachings during my archery classes.
Something I used to do so easily, never had felt so challenging before.
Recollect the calculations you did a few minutes before. The trajectory from the boy's dorms. The height at which the arrows have been hitting us till now...
There's still time. If I do something impressive, I might still get a boon.
I took another deep breath and held it.
"Now!" Esha exclaimed, prompting me to release my arrow.
Just a few milliseconds later, the vibration from the sniper's bow reached my ears. The two Kundalini arrows collided mid-air near the invaders, and their snake riddled with arrows, sending out a violent shockwave traveling outwards from their meeting point.
Even though my heart felt sad, it grew warm and bubbly for a moment after I recreated one of the scenes I had heard a lot about in history. Two Dhanurdhars duking it out, their arrows clashing against each other. I used to laugh at its absurdity before, but having trained my basics rigorously, I too was able to do it.
The explosion startled the invaders and plucked out a lot of scales from the snake, exposing its red gouged-out flesh. Since the enemies weren't expecting it at all, our Yoddhas got a sudden chance to finally put pressure on the invaders and successfully managed to push them back.
The Chosen Yoddhas of our side were still somehow holding on with the help of newer additions from the other groups of Rakshaks. After the snake arrived on the battlefield, it was clear that those Chosen Three would not be enough to defend us anymore.
Also, seeing many of the Dhanurdhars supporting them, encouraged the Kshatriya blood within the Yoddhas to also participate in the battle.
This fight that continued for more than ten minutes by now had left the Three weak, tired, and with trembling arms. Their bodies were breaking down. The shockwaves from the invaders' attacks dealt significant internal damage to them.
The snake too, was a menace. It alternated between purple and black snake skins, one used to billow poison and the other for hypnosis. I wondered how powerful the actual snake would be.
Every swipe and slam of its tail left deep gorges on the ground. The purple aura around it killed every small weed and grass in the vicinity.
The wounds on the Rakshaks started festering from the poisonous air, converting them to slow and sluggish warriors who seemed not to have done any training for years.
Saiyan and Shreya kept dodging attacks from both the snake and Divya as if their life depended on it. Well, it actually did. Their glowing swords left deep slash wounds on the snake's body whenever they got the chance to attack, which was quite the feat since the scales had managed to easily deter most of the arrows sent by the Dhanurdhars till now.
With the addition of Blessings on the field, the Rakshaks seemed to get more powerful. Their previous attempts, which brought forth no fruits, were now devastating for the enemy.
Multiple powers were at play in the field, most of which I had no idea about. Still, the effects seemed to entail either energy requirement reduction, energy multiplying abilities, penetration, or blunt damage augmentation to the projectiles and weapons.
The headless Surakshak, who had collapsed before, slowly got up, with the skin over his face muscles still regenerating. He looked like a zombie from that one movie I had watched with my sister some years ago.
Somewhere behind him must be a Rakshak who had unknowingly lost a life that was used to revive him.
The Blessed and unblessed Rakshaks all started supporting the main damage dealers now that they had a bigger target. The Surakshaks kept blocking the snake's attacks, be it from the fangs or tail, and the Dhanurdhars now seemed to get through the monster's defense. The Vaidyas supported the Surakshaks, healing their crushed bones or dislocated joints whenever the requirement arose.
It now seemed as if all the pieces had fallen into place, and the Rakshaks were like one single body serving a multitude of functions.
"Jhanvi, the sniper was making arrows for a rapid-fire use. That's why they have been inactive for a while. With the Surakshaks engaging Padmaka, the Rakshaks at the back are too vulnerable right now." Esha realized the intentions of the sniper. "I'll guide you. Follow my instructions carefully."
Anik, who had been quiet till now, aimed one energy arrow at the sole invader controlling the tree-staff. The blue energy it pulsed targeted only the invaders for either healing or energy resuscitation.
The tree-shaped staff had created a protective Kavach around the Vaidya, while the snake and the other two invaders kept us distracted.
Whatever damage they accumulated recovered within a few seconds using the blue energy of the staff.
Even the deep gashes on the snake were slowly healing.
The scales didn't regenerate for some reason, but its tough flesh stitched together like those leaves some ants love to make a nest in.
A blue swirling aura had culminated at the tip of Anik's arrowhead. His form reminded me of the illustrations accompanying the stories of Kshatriya princes.
He let it out while exhaling his breath. The arrow cut through the air like a hot knife slicing butter, its tip rotating like the pointed end of a drilling machine. I could see white air streaks getting left behind in the path the arrow had followed.
It broke through the defense mechanism of the tree-shaped staff, impaling the Vaidya in his ribcage.
Blood burst out like water from a weak garden hose, forcing the Vaidya on the enemy team to fall on his knees. The gauntlet user, who was engaging four or five Blessed Yoddhas, stepped back and turned toward us in a swift motion, slamming his right arm on the ground.
Dweep sprang into action, holding his shield over our heads right after I got a glimpse of the ominous, smoky fist crashing down on us.
Aditi stepped forward and covered Dweep's unguarded body with her shield.
"Jhanvi. Focus!!" Esha cried out, "It's coming for Dweep's hand sticking out above Aditi's shield! I thought she couldn't see what was going on inside!"
Giving a quick glance at the kneeling enemy, aka the Vaidya, who was busy healing himself while coughing up blood, I adjusted my arrow accordingly. Esha moved my arm by half a centimeter, pulling it upwards.
"Now!!"
Twang~
twanggg-
The sounds of two bowstrings were followed by a loud crackle, signaling a successful hit.
The explosion from the colliding energy-arrows pushed Aditi backward, which unfortunately happened before her shield. She bumped into Dweep, making him lose his balance while he was holding back the massive fist that was threatening to crush us.
Anik and I jumped away to safety while Esha, Dweep, and Aditi tumbled down like a pack of dominos.
Before the smoky grey-colored fist could crush them to a pulp, Dweep crouched and got up halfway on his knees, apologizing profusely, holding his shield over his shoulder. His neck tilted at a sharp, unusual angle, getting crushed under the massive weight from above.
"Jhanvi..." I could hear Esha's weak voice as she called out to me. Her leg was crushed under Dweep's knee, but she persisted. "Now..." She whispered, unable to get the words out properly.
It's too late. I can't aim right now. She didn't even tell me where the next target was.
I still took aim at the direction where the arrows were coming from and decided to blindly release it just for Esha's sake.
But it seemed like my services were no longer required...