The woman’s face went pale, with the volume of tears increasing, her previous hope of survival disappeared.

“What…what do you mean sir?...Y.you said…you will not kill me…” She spoke with a shaky voice, in response Arav coldly looked at her;

“I won’t kill you, if you survive this…you can go..” He spoke, without even the slightest change in his emotions,

“NO!!” The woman exclaimed, as she saw the soldiers get up while holding their weapons. Their eyes were filled with bloodlust and absolute determination to end her.

“P..please…let..me…”

“HAAAA”

The soldiers ran towards her while screaming,

[STAB…STAB…TRR…SPURT]

Dozens of weapons impaled her body instantly, she began screaming on top of her lungs. Her screams, filled with pain, made shivers run down the elves, but had a non-existent effect on Arav, who stared at the entire ordeal.

“YOU MONSTER!!!...YOU WILL GO TO HELL!!!” The woman uttered her final words, but even after her death, the constant barrage of attacks did not stop, every single soldier tried to give her the worst wound imaginable. Soon, their target changed, they began fighting among themselves and bodies dropped one by one. The entire marble floor inside the mansion got colored red, with a trail of blood flowing towards Yaksh, who silently stared with his legs constantly shivering.

Within minutes, only a single soldier remained. But, his life did not appear to last long, the constant struggle had caused him extreme exhaustion with a deep sword wound in his abdomen. While covered in blood, he turned towards Arav.

“Ugh…Y…you…really…are..a mon..”

His body got added to the pile, Arav momentarily gazed at them, then turned towards the elves. He instantly noticed the change in their gazes towards him. Their eyes shivered with horror, as if looking at a demon.

Then suddenly, the three warriors got goosebumps, they quickly turned back;

[TTAK…TTAK…TTTAK..]

The entire room echoed with the sound of a stick hitting the floor, as the sound got closer and closer, the three warriors quickly aimed their bow towards the source. Yaksh felt his feet slightly shaking, with a drop of sweat streaming down his forehead.

“Ho?...That was quite the return,..third prince..” A man entered the room, while slowly moving with a walkstick supporting him. Yaksh’s eyes widened, as he saw one of the man’s feet cut in half. He aimed his arrow towards the man’s head, but his hands kept shaking with the aim getting disrupted.

“Third prince?” Drishti whispered, while swiftly glancing at Arav;

“I wondered when you’d show up.” Arav spoke while walking past the three warriors, Yaksh stared at Arav with a dumbfounded look, while his heart kept racing.

“You…have changed...too much to be considered the same person.” The man said while contracting his brows, his eyes scanned Arav from top to bottom, as he arrived in front of him.

“I won’t deny that.”

“Let’s continue this conversation somewhere else.” The man turned towards the exit, and slowly began moving, with the stick constantly creating a ticking sound while hitting the floor. Arav glanced at the three, they lowered their bows while following Arav. They exited the mansion and took a sharp turn towards the left, the man stayed silent as people began walking away as soon their gazes fell on him. The three elves curiously monitored their behavior, with a raging storm of questions inside their head.

They reached in front of a small wooden shed, with campfire burning in front. The man walked towards a tree and picked up a large stone without an effort. He then placed the stone next to the campfire and took a few steps back, while his eyes stayed at Arav.

“I’m comfortable.” Arav responded,

“Very well,..” The man slowly sat down on the stone, while placing the stick beside him.

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“I wonder if your survival is somehow related to these interesting friends you have.” The man spoke while putting small twigs in the campfire.

“No..and yes”

“I never bought the news of your death, and my suspicion were proved the moment I sensed elves roaming in the city.”

The three warriors quickly got alarmed, and stretched their hand towards the bow. Arav raised his hand;

“Your friends seem nice.” The man said while smiling at Yaksh;

“I am going to release all of the elves und….”

“I know, I know,..and I suppose you are asking for my help?”

“....Yes.” Arav replied after a brief pause, Yaksh looked at Arav, then the man, and kept getting more and more confused. The man noticed Yaksh’s restlessness;

“So, elvian warrior, have you been through the Atma Parikshan?” Yaksh got startled, he looked at the man while bewildered by his question,

“How do…”

“It seems you haven’t.”

“....How do…..”

“How about the other two?”

“W..we haven’t as well..”

Yaksh got annoyed as he couldn’t speak properly. The man asked no further questions and began staring at the campfire,

“How d…”

“Third prince, I have taken an oath to never weild a weapon, I can’t really help you.” The man opened his eyes and gazed at Arav,

“For the three times I have seen you, this is the best condition you ever had.” The man continued with a smile,

“I’m no…”

“Don’t…, refrain from telling me what’s unnecessary, I’d prefer your identity as the third prince and the son of devi Chandrini.” The man said with a serious expression, while Yaksh kept shifting his gaze between Arav and the man. Arav smirked and stepped towards the man, he stopped in front of him right next to the campfire.

“You don’t have to wield a weapon. Just guide me while I bridge the path between a human and demihuman.” Arav spoke while his eyes stayed on the man,

“Ho ho…quite the talker..” The man chuckled,

“WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON HERE?!!” Yaksh exclaimed, finally unable to contain his annoyance.

“This man is going to be an important factor in our mission.” Arav replied with a calm expression;

“....”

“Wait…That’s it?..What about the part about you being a prince?” Yaksh impatiently asked, with Drishi and Yashi nodding;

“..........,I was in the forest due to the actions of the current queen and first prince.” Arav responded with a brief pause.

“Can we talk for a second?” Yaksh said with a serious expression washing over him, Arav forwarded towards a quiet corner of the area.

“Is your entire helping us thing for revenge?” Yaksh asked the moment Arav stopped his steps, Arav turned towards him and looked in his eyes;

“No.”

“THEN EXPLAIN WHY ARE YOU HELPING US?” Yaksh raised his voice, with Drishti and YAshi worriedly looking at their direction,

“I have reasons, and It will be better for you to find them out later.”

“NO!!...I’m done playing your games, I won’t take a single step without knowing your exact intentions.”

“I am going to free the elves captured here.”

“.....Fine, I’ll stop at that, but the moment even a single elf dies, it’s on you.” Yaksh said while pointing his finger at Arav, then he turned to look at the man sitting next to the campfire;

“And I won’t get trained by a filthy human.” Yaksh stepped towards a tree, Drishti worriedly gazed at Arav with Yashi following Yaksh.

Drishti stepped towards Arav, who still stood under the same tree while looking at Yaksh walking away.

“He..is just afraid,.Our last mission…It failed miserably…with heavy losses.” Drishti said in a low voice, with Arav’s gaze turning towards her.

“Understandable.”

“I jus….” Before she could continue, Arav walked away from Drishti towards the man, leaving her standing alone with a heavy heart.

***

The campfire had turned cold, Yaksh, Yashi and Drishti had climbed up three different tees and slept while holding their bows. Arav stood on an area slightly higher than the ground. He had removed his slippers and stood with his bare feet feeling the grass. He stared at the moon, while warm air from the city blew past him.

The man exited the wooden shed with a patch of dried grass in his hand, and walked towards Arav.

“You are a loner as well.” Arav turned as the man began to speak, and found his hands raised towards him while holding the dried grass, Arav took the grass and supported the man climbing up.

“Haah…I wonder why you choose a cripple like me to help you?”

“Three reasons,” Arav responded while spreading the grass on the ground;

“That are?”

“The scars in your hand are not from holding that stick, despite the fact that you walk on a single foot, the stability and silence in your movement are still apparent even if you try to hide. Second, you are one of the only people who respect the third prince and more importantly, have resentment in your heart for the royal family. Third, A human will never agree to help me free the elves.” As Arav spoke, the man’s expressions went serious, his face slightly turned pale with eyes shivering. He kept gazing at Arav who sat down on the grass pile while closing his eyes.

“.......Just meditation won’t make your body stronger.” After a brief silence, the man’s voice causes Arav to open his eyes. He looked at the man who smiled with a hint of pride;

“I am sure you are not the same person I once knew, You talk and act like a warlord, someone who has seen the worst but treasures the best, I am truly thankful to teach such a man.” The man sat down while placing his stick to his right side, his eyes stayed on Arav throughout the movement.

“Human body isn’t as compatible with magic as demihumans..” The man began moving his hand, while forming a sphere made of yellow energy.

“They need to train, learn to sense mana, then the possibility of using mantras arises.” The man spoke, with the sphere turning into a few letters floating between his hands. Arav listened to every single word of his without moving a hair.

“This is Prakriti, the mantra in every creation.” The man removed his hands, causing the words to float in front of Arav.

Arav stared at the letters for a few moments, with the yellow light reflecting in his eyes. Then, he suddenly turned his gaze towards the man.

“These have the ability to destroy anything.” Arav’s words caused the man’s brows to expand, his face went pale and eyes widened. He lost his concentration, causing the letters to disappear.

Arav got curious by his strange reaction,

“What happened?”

“Well….How did you know about that energy?” The man asked while slowly gaining his complexion;

“These are what created Brahmashtra.”

[Chapter 9: END]