by Krutant Iyer
“Stay out of my business. Take your Nisacharas and get out of here. I will be gone, as soon as I get what I came for.” Vajra dismissed him.
“I knew you were up to no good,” Krupa said. “You may not remember me, but I can never forget your face. You were the one who poisoned King Nishada’s mind with your devious proposition to bring together all the pieces of the map to Devaloka.”
Kali’s stared in disbelief at Krupa.
“Oh – now that I recollect, aren’t you Nishada’s dog who refused to attack Sadhuvamsha? You had almost convinced that foolish King of yours to not take part in the attack.” Vajra said. “It’s a pity he could not resist joining hands with me after I brought Shalva on board.”
Vajra cackled as he recalled the events of the past, even as Krupa glared at him.
“Oi – What’s with you? Why are you attacking our friends?” Murari said as he limped towards the field.
The Nisacharas moved aside to make way for Murari.
Vajra grinned upon seeing Murari.
“Don’t worry – I will deal with you once I am done here,” Vajra grunted, as he turned back to look at Kali.
“So, what will it be?” Vajra asked Kali.
“Oi – I am talking to you,” Murari said. “Let them go. What the hell are you doing?”
Murari shook with anger as he unsheathed his sword and advanced towards Vajra.
“Stay back, Kid. It is dangerous to get any closer.” Krupa called out to him.
Murari ignored him.
“Tell me – why are you doing this?” Murari asked, glaring at Vajra.
“Why?” Vajra said, now turning to face Murari. “Because of your foolish grandfather!”
Murari stopped in his tracks.
“What’s Tata got to do with this?” he asked.
“It’s because of his foolish ideologies and stubbornness that I was forced to act. He also wished to only protect his piece of the map, like this fool here.” Vajra said, pointing his lathi at Kali. “I tried convincing the fool to not sit on the piece of the map and use his strength to bring all the fragments together instead. But would always turn down my idea. I’d had enough. I wasn’t just going to sit around.
So, I took the next best course. I knew Nishada was gullible and could easily be manipulated. I approached him with the idea and brainwashed him into accepting my proposal. Although the fool almost backed out listening to his commander’s counsel.” Vajra said glaring at Krupa.
“You treacherous crook! My fears were not unfounded. King Nishada was killed because of you.” Krupa shouted.
“Hmph – I will let you in on a secret,” Vajra said. “Veera had decided to spare Nishada after defeating him. But I knew he would snitch on me if I let him live. So, I killed him with my own hands.”
Krupa couldn’t control his rage any longer and hurled a spear at Vajra.
Vajra made no effort to move from his spot to avoid the spear. As soon as the weapon made contact with his chest, instead of drawing blood and piercing his skin, the spear went through it and struck the ground behind him.
Vajra had transformed part of his body into the fire, allowing the weapon to pass-through him harmlessly.
“You think you can take me with your pathetic strength.” Vajra ridiculed Krupa.
Murari had seen and heard enough. He lunged at Vajra with his sword raised. Vajra casually stepped to his and slapped Murari’s back gently. Murari fell flat on his face but got sprang up immediately, glaring at Vajra.
Blood gushed from the fresh cut on the side of his face. Murari didn’t bother wiping it.
“Tata trusted you. You let your clansmen die, just to fulfil your own desire.” Murari shouted.
“Boy, get off your high horse.” Vajra retorted. “You should be thankful to me. If I hadn’t shown up that day in your village, you would be dead meat.”
“Thankful to you? I am ashamed to have called you my teacher.” Murari hollered.
“You worthless scum. You have got the same arrogance as your grandfather. Look where it got him.” Vajra glowered at Murari.
“What do you mean? You know where my Tata is?” Murari asked.
“Know where he is?” Vajra smirked. “Who do you think handed him over to Shalva’s warriors?”
“Shalva’s warriors? That means Tata is in Balaloka.” Murari said in shocked disbelief.
“That stubborn fool refused to die. I handed him over to Shalva’s soldiers to pacify Shalva and buy myself more time.” Vajra guffawed.
“I relayed a message to Shalva through his soldiers to not kill Veera until I manage to get my hands on his piece of the map. You know what that means?” Vajra smirked. “Your grandfather owes his life to me.”
Murari shivered with rage.
“I am going to kill you.” He stated angrily. “I am going to –”
“Shut up!” Vajra cut in. “Look at you. You are nothing. This is all because of your lack of ability. If only you would have managed to awaken your Siddhi, all this could have been avoided.”
Murari continued glaring at Vajra.
“When Veera told me that he had passed on his will to you, I immediately understood he was referring to the fragment of the map to Devaloka,” Vajra said. “What I did not realize back then was that he had imprinted it within you.”
“I trained you so that I could get access to the fragment of the map after you awaken your Siddhi. But who would have thought, Veera’s grandson would turn out to be such trash.” Vajra sneered.
Murari remained silent.
“Murari, I will give you a chance. Don’t be a blockhead like your grandfather. Consume the Vanaphala and awaken your Siddhi. After that, you can access the map Veera left within you, and we will be one step closer to the mysterious realm of Devaloka. Together we can embark on the journey. Imagine the possibilities if we do this together. As far as obtaining the first fragment of the map is concerned –”
Saying so Vajra turned towards Kali, “So, what will it be? Your comrades’ life or the piece of the map?”
Tears formed in her eyes as Kali glanced at the helpless Rakshasas, who were still engulfed in Vajra’s flames, and then at Vajra.
Seeing her hesitation, Vajra was about to burn the Rakshasas, but his eyes fell on the black smoke emerging out of Murari’s sword.
Murari closed his eyes as he felt Nandaka’s energy enter his body. The black smoke covered Murari’s entire frame. Murari’s expression contorted into a smirk.
“What’s that?” Vajra’s eyes widened on seeing Murari.
“You love playing with people’s lives, huh?”
Vajra was taken aback by the change in Murari’s demeanour.
Murari advanced towards Vajra.
“Well, why don’t you play with me for a while. Let me see how powerful your fire really is.”
No sooner had Murari said so, he pulled his hand back in one swift motion and slashed his sword in Vajra’s direction. The black smoke emitting from his sword rushed forth at Vajra like arrows leaving the bow.
A shocked Vajra managed to block the attack using his lathi. But the black smoke refused to dissipate and stuck to his lathi instead. Vajra spun his lathi vigorously to get rid of the strange smoke.
“What power is this?” Vajra asked.
“Why don’t you tell me. You seem to have an answer for everything.” Murari said, without breaking his eyes off Vajra.
“You think you can take me with your level of power?” Vajra snapped.
“Would you like me to show you or answer you?” Murari said as he continued moving towards Vajra.
“Oh – I like your confidence,” Vajra said.
He vigorously spun his lathi in front of him and charged at Murari, forming a natural shield in front of him.
Seeing Vajra approach, Murari came to a halt and sheathed his sword back into the scabbard on his waist.
“What’s this Boy! Are you going to put down your weapon after talking big? Show me what you have got.” Vajra
shouted as he stopped advancing and rested his lathi on the ground.
“Leave the Kid alone.” Krupa started to move to defend Murari.
“Please step aside, Krupa-Garu,” Murari said.
“But Kid –” Krupa tried to protest.
“Trust me,” Murari said, without taking his eyes of Vajra. “After all, he is my Teacher. As an honorarium to him, allow me to give him a taste of my power.”
“Kid, are you mad?” Krupa yelled. “He is a Siddha. Did you not see what he did to Kirmira and Shumbha?”
“Be that as it may, I still wish to fight him.”
“I admire your courage. But, let me warn you. I will not spare you, just because you are my disciple.” Vajra chuckled.
“I would be disappointed if you did,” Murari said. “But before we fight, I need you to do something for me, so that I can focus on the fight.”
“What’s that?” Vajra asked, raising an eyebrow at Murari’s sudden demand.
“Release the Rakshasas,” Murari said.
Vajra looked at him curiously for a moment.
“Very well.” He said. “But let me warn you, the moment I see anyone trying to escape, I will burn down every single one of them.”
“You won’t have the chance,” Murari said.
Vajra couldn’t help but admire Murari’s poise in the face of battle.
“Very well.”
Saying so, Vajra lifted the fence of fire, releasing the imprisoned Rakshasas. Kali immediately rushed to check up on the Rakshasas. Half of them were lying on the ground, unconscious, but otherwise, everyone seemed alright.
“Now, if I have satisfied your conditions, shall we begin?” Vajra mocked Murari.
“Whenever you are ready,” Murari said, unyielding.
Krupa and his Nisacharas backed up several meters.
Vajra and Murari stood facing each other.
“Don’t disappoint me,” Vajra said.
Murari opened the attack by dashing straight towards Vajra.
Vajra’s face betrayed his disappointment at Murari’s choice of opening attack.
As soon as Murari was within the range of the strike, he feigned an attack on Vajra’s left, and as soon as Vajra moved his lathi to block the imminent attack, Murari dodged to the right and swiftly unsheathed his sword, slashing it diagonally, drawing blood from Vajra’s upper right arm.
Vajra turned around to face Murari again.
“Not bad.” He said. “I see you have improved a little. What else have you got?”
Murari once again lunged forward, reading Vajra’s movement closely. As soon as he saw Vajra lift his lathi for the attack, Murari dove out of its range. But as soon as he did that, Vajra pounded his other fist on Murari back, sending him crashing to the ground.
Murari coughed in agony. Even though Vajra had struck him on his back, he could feel the hit’s impact pulsate through his entire body.
“Show me the real stuff,” Vajra said. “Show me what your sword can do.”
Murari got off the ground with some effort.
“If that’s what you want to see, then I won’t deny.” Saying so, Murari sheathed his sword.
“Why have you sheathed your sword? What sort of move is this?” Vajra asked, genuinely perplexed.
“You will find out soon enough,” Murari said.
Bending his knees, Murari turned a little sideways, as he held his sheathed sword in his left hand, with his right hand over its hilt.
“I hadn’t named this technique yet. I guess now would be a good time to do so.” Murari said.
He relaxed his shoulders, and let out a deep breath. Then, in one swift movement, Murari drew his sword out and started slashing the air in a zig-zag pattern, aimed in Vajra’s direction.
“Tama–Mucchati!”
Black flames emerged from the rapid movement of the sword and went flying in Vajra’s direction with such a speed that he did not have time to dodge.
Vajra was pushed back several feet by the pressure emitted from the hit. But other than that, the black flames had failed to make any injuries on his body. He checked his body once more to make sure there was no damage, before looking at Murari.
“Is that all? For a moment, you had me –” Vajra stopped mid-sentence.
At that moment, his vision became blurry and he fell on his knees. He was rapidly losing energy. It was then that he realized that the black flames hadn’t made any external injuries, but had attacked and depleted his Siddhi.
Vajra shook his head to clear his vision, as he stood back up.
He understood that he couldn’t take Murari lightly. He had to finish this fight quickly before he weakens to the extent that the Nisacharas and the Rakshasas could overpower him.
He drew in natural energy from the surrounding and channelized it into his body flowing to his lathi, and thumped it on the ground.
“Jvala!” he shouted.
As soon as he said the mantra, numerous fireballs appeared out of thin air and hovered over the lathi. They increased in size as he poured more energy into the attack. He pulled his lathi as far back as he could and launched the fireballs in Murari’s direction.
Murari knew taking on the attack head-on would be foolish. He jumped sideways to avoid the incoming fiery balls. Even though he managed to dodge most of it, one of the balls of fire ended up hitting him square in the chest, causing a mini-explosion upon impact.
Murari was sent flying off his feet and came crashing down due to the impact of the attack.
Even as Murari fell, the rest of the fiery balls went and hit fortress wall, causing more explosions on impact.
Ballu, Raaka, Mitra, and the Nisacharas who had been knocked unconscious by Kirmira’s attack earlier, had just managed to regain consciousness. When the fiery balls hit the fortress wall, chunks of grit tore off the wall and fell into the moat.
They immediately hurried away from the gate to get clear of the falling debris. The fiery balls refused to die down even after setting the walls the fortress on fire. Soon the fire took on a life of its own and engulfed the entire castle in its raging flames.
When the boys saw what was transpiring on the field up ahead, they couldn’t believe their eyes. A bloodied Murari was lying on the ground, while Vajra stood facing him.
As they ran to aid their friend, Krupa dissuaded them from doing so. Murari had asked Krupa to have faith in him, and he had decided to trust him. He filled them in on what had happened after they had been rendered unconscious.
Blood spurted out of multiple wounds on Murari’s chest, shoulder, and arms. He clutched his chest as he wriggled on the ground in extreme pain. He could still feel the burning from the explosion on his chest.
Vajra did not wait for Murari to get up. He had to finish the fight now.
The earlier attack from Murari had seriously depleted his Siddhi. He had already used several high-energy attacks against Shumbha and Kirmira.
Vajra knew he would be in trouble if he ended up using any more high-energy move. He spun his lathi over his head and thumped it once on the ground.
Fire emerged from the earth beneath Murari. Krupa and Kali stared in horror as the fire engulfed Murari in its blaze.
“What a waste,” Vajra uttered under his breath, as he looked at Murari. “If only you had listened to me and consumed the Vanaphala, things would have been different.”
He knew Veerabhadra had only left an imprint of the map within Murari. Veerabhadra had hidden the physical piece of the map somewhere else. Since he couldn’t obtain the map from Murari, he would have to rely on getting Veerabhadra to reveal the location of the piece of the map.
Vajra sighed heavily as he turned towards Kali. He had to get his hands on the piece of the map she held in her possession as soon as possible. He knew he would soon run out of energy to use his Siddhi.
“Now, it’s your turn.” Vajra glared at Kali. “I have run out of patience. Hand over the piece of the map, or I will burn you all down right here.”
&nbs
p; Kali didn’t respond to Vajra. She wasn’t even looking at him. Neither was Krupa or any of the Nisacharas, and Rakshasas. All their eyes were glued on Murari.
Vajra turned his head to follow their gaze.
Instead of the burnt corpse of Murari, Vajra witnessed a sight that sent shivers down his spine.
Murari had gotten up, though his head remained lowered. He seemed to be in a state of semi-consciousness and not in control of his body. His body was surrounded by black flames, that had snuffed the fire from Vajra’s attack earlier.
Murari opened his eyes to reveal pitch-black darkness.
He started moving mechanically towards Vajra. Seeing him, Vajra could tell Murari was not in the control of his own senses. The black flames seemed to be propelling him forward.
Vajra prepared to attack, but the unconscious Murari lifted his sword and black flames intensified around his weapon as he did. He slashed the sword casually in Vajra’s direction, as one would do when testing a new sword.
Vajra swirled his lathi to blow away the black flames, as he had done with the smoke previously. But, instead of being blown away, the black flames passed through his lathi and reinforced into a hand with long, sharp claws. The black flames scraped Vajra’s throat and grabbed his neck, tossing him up in the air like a ball of cotton.
Vajra came crashing down on his back, stunned by the strange attack. He had never seen anything like this. This power was beyond any form of Siddhi he knew. Even though he couldn’t identify the power, he could tell that it was pure evil, and anything that crossed its path would only meet with destruction.
Vajra sprang up. He had no choice but to pour all his remaining Siddhi into this attack if he had to stand a chance against this dark power.
“Jvala-attaka!” he shouted.
His lathi transformed into a tower of fire. He spun his lathi over his head till a massive vortex of blazing fire appeared. This one was much bigger than the previous one, and the fire blazed wildly in the whirlpool.
“Gargara!”
Vajra launched the vortex of blazing fire towards Murari.
Murari did not move. The vortex of fire hovered over Murari’s head for a moment, before it came crashing down on him. Black flames rose over Murari, shielding him from the vortex of fire. As soon as the vortex of fire hit the black flames, the fire died out, as if admitting defeat to a superior force.