Raghav was jolted awake by a shriek echoing through the night. Outside, the air was thick with smoke, the orange glow of flames casting ominous shadows across the walls. Panicked cries filled the air, and the scent of burning wood and flesh assaulted his senses. He scrambled out of bed, rushing down to the inn's common area, but the doorway was already engulfed in flames.
Without warning, a monstrous figure lunged at him from behind, throwing him across the room with inhuman strength. Raghav hit a tree outside the inn with a force that left him gasping, pain flaring up his side.
He staggered to his feet, and his eyes went wide as he took in the sight of the monstrous army swarming the village. At their helm was a massive, menacing figure—a creature with horns curling back from his head, eyes glowing with a dark malice, and a wicked tail lashing in excitement. His skin was stained in blood, and he wielded a sword that seemed to drip with molten fire.
"It's Zan Zan," someone whispered in terror, the name spoken with the dread reserved for things best left unspoken. Zan Zan, the lord of the Hell Valley.
Raghav braced himself, ready to run, but a sudden, paralyzing force swept over him. A wave of darkness, like ice crawling over his skin, and he realized with horror that Zan Zan's eyes were locked on him. The demon lord's lips twisted into a smirk as he strode forward.
"You…" Zan Zan's voice was a guttural growl. "Your prana… it reeks of the Narka realm, almost as if you were born from it."
Raghav's heart pounded, The old man. The lava pit. The sensation of something dark and primal awakening within him. As Zan Zan reached for him, something within Raghav snapped. His vision blurred, his body moving of its own accord. He felt his limbs twist and change, and when he looked down, he was no longer entirely human.
He was like Old man,monster.
In his hand, a sword appeared—the very sword Zan Zan had wielded, but darker, fiercer. Raghav didn't understand how, but he no longer cared. An uncontrollable rage overtook him, and he lunged at Zan Zan, steel meeting steel as their swords clashed with a sound that reverberated through the burning village.
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Their battle was fierce, a blur of fire and shadow. Zan Zan's sword spat flames, searing through the air as Raghav struggled to keep up. He was clumsy with the sword, relying more on brute strength than skill, but the raw fury within him gave him an edge. For a moment, it even seemed as though he might prevail.
But with a dark, sinister laugh, Zan Zan unleashed a spell, a wave of dark fire that swept over Raghav, slamming him to the ground. The world faded, his body going numb.
In that moment, as darkness threatened to take him, a blinding light pierced the air. A figure descended from the sky, her armor gleaming like sunlight breaking through clouds. Her presence was pure, radiant—a force that silenced the raging fires.
"General Noell!" the villagers cried, their voices filled with awe.
With a graceful, almost effortless swing of her sword, the woman struck Zan Zan down, the demon's fire snuffed out with a final, guttural scream. The flames that had devoured the village flickered and died as Noell raised her hand, a spell of water surging forth to quench the last of the embers.
The villagers gathered, chanting her name in reverence, but Noell's gaze remained fixed on Raghav. She strode forward, her eyes narrowing as she took in his untransformed form, lying battered and broken on the ground.
"He's different," she murmured, a hint of curiosity in her voice. She gestured to her soldiers. "Take him. Lock him in the cart."
As her men hauled Raghav's unconscious form away, Noell couldn't shake the sense that what she has seen
To be continued-**__