With a plan in place, the trio got to work. Maya's fingers deftly nocked three arrows and drew back the bowstring, her eyes focused on the approaching Durdhamas.
She released the arrows, and they sailed through the air, heading straight for the nearest demon. The arrow struck the creature's hide with force, but to their dismay, it merely bounced off, leaving no more than a faint scratch.
She even tried attacking their cores, but just as Arjun informed them, Durdhamas shifted their hide over the core, protecting it from her arrows.
Maya was visibly taken aback but kept firing a volley of arrows at the creatures to keep their focus on her. But it didn't seem their plan was working.
The demons might have been slow, but Arjun knew that the moment they got close to the crystal, it would be over for them. Because of the unprecedented strength possessed by Durdhamas, a simple punch would be enough to destroy the crystal and get them disqualified.
"Now I know why Dheera's team failed," Arjun mumbled as he slowly unfolded the scroll he got earlier from the machine. "However, their failure was ensured because they did not have someone like me on their team."
Without wasting a second, he began reading the incantations of the ancient scroll. It was a prayer dedicated to Agni-dev, the god of fire, seeking his blessing and protection from evil.
That said, it was a low-levelled magic scroll, and Arjun knew he would be lucky to bring down a single Durdhama with it. Regardless, he was willing to try it as it was the only thing he could do at the moment.
"Maya! Get back!" Arjun roared as he finished reading the incantation, and a moment later, a massive firestorm erupted out of the scroll, and the scroll got burnt to ashes.
It felt like the tornado immediately knew what to do as it moved towards the demons, threatening to burn them all. Soon, the fiery tempest engulfed the Durdhamas, searing their rugged hides, yet still, they pressed forward, undeterred by the fire.
However, the firestorm soon disappeared, barely having any effect on the demons as they kept walking towards the core.
"I don't believe this..." Arjun mumbled. It was obvious he had lost all hopes of winning against the demons. He turned to Maya, concerned about their success. "Maya, this plan... it might not be working. We're barely scratching the surface of these creatures."
Maya, too, looked defeated and lowered her bow as a sign of accepting their fate. Even then, her gaze fixed on the approaching Durdhamas. She didn't speak, but her furrowed brow conveyed her own doubts.
Just as Arjun began to second-guess their decision to face the second wave, he turned to look for Aahan, expecting to find him ready to spring into action. But to his surprise, Aahan was nowhere to be seen.
He then turned towards Maya, who shrugged, letting him know she was just as clueless as he was.
"Where could he have gone at a time like this?" Arjun almost screamed, ultimately losing his composure.
Together, they scanned their surroundings, wondering where their teammate could have gone amid battle. However, they didn't think Amrita was still scoring them based on their reaction, along with a plethora of factors, and losing their composure got them in trouble.
"Maya is doing alright, but Arjun... if he doesn't get his emotions under control, he might not qualify for the next round," Amrita mumbled to herself. "So far, Arjun's performance has been the worst between the three of them, and his overconfidence also got him negative points."
Had it been a training session, she would have reprimanded him. But being an examiner on duty, she couldn't correct them and hoped they would realise their mistakes before it was too late.
"That said... Aahan is up to something," Amrita smirked. "I wonder where he got the stealth skill from... Should I bring it up in my report to the Gurudev or let it be? Eh, what's the point? He always knows everything."
Arjun's and Maya's perception wasn't up to the point where they could notice Aahan slowly inching towards the Durdhamas to ensure they didn't see him.
But Amrita was on a different. She immediately saw through Aahan's attempt to conceal himself and gave him bonus points for his thoughtfulness. Amrita didn't give him those points because he had used a skill but because of its effectiveness.
He got even more points because he didn't lose his composure even though he was the first one whom Amrita expected to lose focus and do something that would endanger his team.
"Looks like your brother isn't as clueless as you thought he was, Vivaan," Amrita said as she kept the tablet aside to ensure she didn't miss what Aahan did next.
***
With Aahan missing in action, Maya again took up her bow and began firing arrows at the demons. Even though she knew her shots wouldn't do much, she was too stubborn to give up like Arjun had.
From the corner of her eyes, she glanced at Arjun sitting next to the crystal and shook her head in disappointment. At first, she thought he was taking a break, but soon, it became apparent that he had given up altogether.
Even though Arjun had given up, it didn't mean the entire team was disqualified. For that to happen, at least two candidates had to give up the task.
Logically, she should have given up as well. After all, it was the obvious choice. Besides, they would get another chance to take the entrance exam in three months, and they could use their experience from failure to achieve a better score next time.
But for some reason, Maya couldn't do it. She didn't know what, but something inside her kept pushing her forward. Nevertheless, there was only so much she could do alone as she ran out of arrows. It may be time to give up.
As she was about to give up, a sudden howl echoed through the fissure. Arjun and Maya turned toward the sound and were met with an astonishing sight—the first Durdhama, the one that had been seemingly impervious to their attacks, howled in agony and collapsed to the ground.
"What happened...?" Arjun mumbled as he slowly got back to his feet.
Maya's eyes widened with astonishment as the dust settled around the defeated demon. Standing on top of the deceased demon was Aahan, materialising out of his stealth skill. His Katar dripped with the dark blood of the fallen Durdhama.
Maya couldn't help but feel surprised and relieved at Aahan's unexpected reappearance. As her eyes met his, she saw the playful glint in them, even amid the chaos of battle.
"Why were you two resting on the job?" Aahan grinned. "We got two more of these to deal with!"