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Cough… cough…
Akshat was on his knees, hand on his stomach—he coughed blood with every breath.
"What just happened… cough…" Akshat gazed toward Narayan, who lay on the road, his leg injured, trying to stand as Mayank pointed a blazing sword at him.
Akshat's vision blurred, darkness creeping in at the edges. Move…!!!
He heard the others shouting as his consciousness faded. I was useless, huh…
---
Some moments ago—
What is happening? Why did he suddenly attack Aryaraj? Akshat panicked as he reinforced his body.
"At least say something!" Jasmine shouted, now standing beside him.
But Mayank didn't reply—his breathing heavy, his eyes empty.
Akshat clenched his fists. Why isn't he replying? This feels dangerous… something is wrong.
"Duck!" Akshat shouted as a strange sensation ran down his spine.
In the next second, ten blazing swords came flying toward them, narrowly missing, but the heat still burned their faces like the summer sun.
Ritika lunged toward Mayank. Her hands trembled slightly—not out of fear, but rage "What the hell are you doing!?" She summoned a small lightning arc and fired it at him.
"Stop!" Akshat shouted out of instinct.
Mayank didn't flinch. He grabbed one of the blazing swords—his grip tight—and cut through the lightning like it was nothing.
Ritika froze for a moment, unable to believe her eyes. "How did he—"
But a strange smile appeared on her face… a smile of excitement.
She held her hands together and then opened them toward Mayank. "This is something I saw in a movie!"
A small bolt of lightning burst from her hands, engulfing the area in dust—bringing silence for a moment, as if time itself had stopped.
"What was that!?" Aryaraj's jaw dropped as he lay on the ground.
"We're both C-rank?" Jasmine whispered.
Wait… is Mayank okay after that? Akshat squinted through the dust.
As the dust cleared, Mayank stood there—unscratched and unmoved.
"MOVE!" Akshat screamed his lungs out.
But Ritika didn't hear him—she was too shocked. The air around her warmed for a moment, her vision flashed white.
Beautiful… she thought as the blade Mayank threw came inches from her eyes.
But the sword sliced through the air with a sharp whistle and slammed into a tree with a deafening crack—blasting it apart.
Ritika was suddenly standing beside Aryaraj and Jasmine. Jasmine immediately hugged her tightly—holding her as if she couldn't understand what else to do after seeing how close Ritika came to dying.
She could've died…. This isn't the Mayank that I know Sweat ran down Akshat's forehead as a thousand thoughts collided in his mind. Wait, did she dodge? Is Narayan here?
"What is happening?" a voice came from behind—Narayan had just arrived. "I come here and the first thing I see are swords. What's going on?"
"You're late," Akshat said through clenched teeth. "I don't know what happened, but something is wrong with him."
Narayan looked at Mayank—still standing unnaturally still, eyes empty, fingers slightly trembling.
"I think we should get everyone out of here," Akshat said.
"That would be good, but even if I teleport all of you, I can't take you far. And we can't leave him here either," Narayan replied. "If the others arrive, we might be able to restrain him."
Five swords formed around Mayank again—this time burning even hotter.
"This feels ominous…" Akshat muttered as he glanced toward the other three.
Aryaraj met his eyes. "I'll help. How much time do we need?". He stood up.
"Five minutes. Or if we can knock him out sooner," Narayan said.
"Okay." Both Akshat and Aryaraj clenched their fists.
Mayank pointed a sword at them, and the other four flaming swords shot forward.
"If it's short range, I can handle it," Narayan said as he teleported the three behind Mayank.
Aryaraj dashed forward. Don't hit something this time.
He threw a punch—
But Mayank shifted aside effortlessly and swung his sword toward Aryaraj's neck.
Narayan teleported Aryaraj back at the last second.
Akshat, who was teleported behind Mayank, threw a punch, pushing Mayank back several meters despite the sword blocking it.
"Are you serious?" Akshat whispered in disbelief.
Is it his battle instinct ability…? Is he reacting to bloodlust? Narayan's mind raced as he teleported the two back and forth.
But it wasn't doing much. They were barely scratching him.
Mayank lunged again—Narayan teleported Aryaraj away—but this time Mayank summoned two blazing daggers and threw them at Narayan.
Narayan noticed too late, but two blue barriers appeared in front of him—giving him enough time to teleport before they shattered.
Then a bolt of lightning flashed toward Mayank—but he sliced it effortlessly.
"We'll help you too!" Jasmine shouted, forming more barriers.
"Can we even do anything to him…?" Akshat muttered.
Aryaraj jumped at Mayank again while Narayan teleported Akshat behind him. Mayank dodged Aryaraj, but Akshat punched him in the face, and Ritika's lightning made Mayank stumble.
Please… this time… something at least… Akshat clenched his fist tighter.
Mayank froze for a second—like he was out of breath.
Suddenly, a giant flaming hammer appeared and launched toward Ritika.
"MOVE!" Aryaraj sprinted. Jasmine summoned a denser barrier, stopping the hammer for a moment—long enough for Aryaraj to push Ritika out of the way. But Aryaraj lost control and the two rolled across the road.
In the chaos, Mayank summoned another sword and hurled it at Narayan. Narayan teleported, but he suddenly collapsed, legs unable to hold him.
What…?
He looked down—
A dagger was lodged deep in his thigh.
When? How? Did he predict where I would teleport? I need to move—
On the other side, Akshat charged at Mayank. I'll put everything into this.
He concentrated all his strength into his fist and punched—
But this time, his fist hit a floating shield.
"What—"
A punch landed in his stomach, sending him flying—Mayank's punch.
Akshat's legs gave out and he dropped to his knees. How is he so strong…?
Blood dripped from his mouth with each cough.
"What just happened… cough…" His eyes searched for Narayan and spotted him on the roadside, struggling to stand.
"Akshat! Stay awake!" Aryaraj screamed, trying to stand but collapsing again. What is wrong with these legs…
"I can't... I can't summon any lightning!" Ritika panicked, tiny sparks flickering uselessly at her fingertips.
"My mana is completely exhausted… I can't make barriers… are we gonna die?" Jasmine cried.
I need to go to Narayan… he might be able to teleport Akshat somewhere safe… Aryaraj desperately looked around.
"NARAYAN!" he shouted.
Narayan growled in pain.
Is everyone down…? What happened to Akshat? Was I wrong trying to save everyone? Should I have teleported them away earlier? But what about Mayank… what happened to him? Is it mind control? But how did he get so strong—
"NARAYAN!" Aryaraj screamed again.
Narayan snapped back to reality—
But it was too late.
A sword was already inches away from his face.
To be continued...
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