Chapter 20

  Reunion

  Part Three

  “You mentioned a king. Where is he at such a critical time?” Atharv said.

  “Up there, probably eating, wait,” she zoomed in to Yajvan, “No, not eating. He’s drinking a smoothie. As of why he isn’t here? He doesn’t want to!”

  “An irresponsible king. It’s new. What’s his name?”

  With a heavy shot, she forged a path amidst angels. “Yajvan.”

  “What does he look like?”

  “He’s kind, handsome, selfish, and not suitable to be a king,” she glanced at Atharv, who had a grin on his face. “What?”

  “Someone’s interested in him.”

  “I am not interested in him. And one had to attain knowledge about the leader of the place, which now is my home. Our home.” Manya gulped in a water cube.

  “Move on. It’s been a year,” Atharv said. Her eyes turned to the angels, falling into the oceans with grief and a hint of remorse. “And I can tell you, Dhruv is in a nice place.”

  Manya looked at him and started chuckling, which soon turned into laughter. She directed her finger towards Darsh, occupied with faulty ariots. “Dhruv.”

  “What?”

  “That black angel has Dhruv’s wings. The man I loved, we loved, has been somewhere inside that disgusting thing, covered in blood.”

  An attack from a celeriot grazed Atharv’s arm. With a powerful smash, Atharv sent it crashing into Karulsh, propelling him away.

  Manya rushed to wrap her SL particles around his wound. But Atharv stopped her. “Let’s go,” Manya said. “I can’t risk you being hurt. Yajvan! I am not continuing this mission. You can take away this rank. Give me—us a small house and a job. We’ll be grateful to you.”

  Atharv ate an orange candy. “But he trusted you with such an important task.” His wound healed in a blink.

  “Like he can’t kill them. Everyone with power use others only as pawns.”

  “Two terrific-looking pawns.”

  “Sometimes it sucks being good. I want to leave the fight but. I don’t know, it’s like I am liable.”

  “The sooner you will end this, earlier I’ll get to see your new place.”

  His words filled her with excitement to charge at the opponents alone. “Stay here, ok? I’ll come back soon,” Manya said. “And if I didn’t find you here, you are grounded.”

  “Yes, mom,” Atharv said.

  She charged at the nearest angel. Her speed was almost slightly slower than teleportation, and each defeat took 3-4 seconds. She can’t wait to see Atharv drooling over her room, cars, and newly attained fame.

  She calculated her attacks to be critical. Didn’t want to waste time attacking the same enemy again. One shot, one kill. She can’t appear weak—can’t lose him again. The angels attempted to hurt him, but her barrier surrounding him provoked their anger and brought a smile to her face. Now she could protect the one who always protected her.

  With every second that passed, her movements and compatibility with the technology were getting sharper. Making angels to avoid her or fight her with ranged weapons than closed ones. The basic features now appeared strong. “Come on, you freakishly handsome birds!”

  ***

  On her way to an ariot, an attack from heavath fell behind her. At first, she paid no attention. It would have aimed at the ocean bed. But seeing angels avoiding her, she turned to Atharv. The excitement in her eyes disappeared, giving way to a sudden surge of anger. “No. It can’t be. It’s definitely an illusion of his,” she flew towards Atharv. “Yes, it should be an illusion. He’s way stronger than them.”

  The spears and swords inside Atharv’s body were expanding with each passing moment. “Mamu!” before she could reach the black angels and torment them—angels trapped her into a layer of feathers. “Mamu!!” Her suffering brought joy to the angels around.

  Atharv fell towards the ocean, littered with sharp debris of spaceships.

  She looked at Yajvan. “Why aren’t you doing anything!! I beg you. Please!! Save him! I can’t lose him again! Please.”

  Yajvan didn’t respond. All her efforts to free herself were futile; and Atharv was seconds away from perishing. With her heartbeat throbbing in her ears, a sharp pain struck her chest, powerful enough to explode her insides. The darkness crawled itself towards the middle of her eyes, and sooner blocked her vision. No, I-I can’t faint. I have to save him. He can’t die, I can’t. I am weak, I can’t do anything, I couldn’t even save my only family.

  A voice broke through the havoc of her negative thoughts. “New shawl. Let’s see how you…” the male mysterious voice said. A warm kiss of fabric brushed against her skin. Its softness wrapping around her like gentle embrace. “Wow.”

  Her limbs were on the verge of bursting with profound amusement. Her stomach clenched and her mouth stretched into a wide grin.

  At first, the sensations resembled pleasure, but they surpassed that intensity. The energy she craved from the start of the fight coursed through her veins, almost as if it was weeping. But the pain in her abdomen grew stronger before she could get used to these emotions. Despite her unbearable condition, she regained her vision.

  The layer of feathers around her emitted a white electric discharge. Unable to handle the power they were supposed to suppress. She expected a shock from angels, but their expressions surprised her.

  If you come across this story on Amazon, it's taken without permission from the author. Report it.

  The time had stopped. Or was next to it. Above her were black angels in a formation, with their weapons joined at a point, merging the powers to form a powerful attack. Another piercing abdominal cramp forced her to check for any wound in her stomach.

  Through a small open space between an angel’s legs, she saw Atharv. “Mamu!” In the blink of an eye, she charged through everything and reached Atharv. Tears flowed as she held him. She thought she would never see him again.

  Atharv was stuck—wasn’t ready to budge. Like angels, he was also stuck in time. She was clueless about how to break him free from the spell, and the pain inside her showed no signs of fading.

  Sooner, her muscles tightened. Her lips weren’t ready to leave each other. With her limbs freezing and getting stuck, the pain increased further. Despite the fear, her arms, still under Atharv, brought a small sense of relief. The moment the time delay would stop, she would put all her strength in her arms and save him.

  The intense pain in her body travelled to her head, numbing her senses. She couldn’t even hum in reaction to intense pain.

  In front. Angels were standing in a formation, with disruptive particles of light highlighting them. The black ones, just moments or years away from attacking below, loomed over the white ones. However, the thought of such an art brought her pain.

  While feeling, irritated, scary, furious, and helpless. She was also eager to experience such a thing. Not able to move any inch of her body.

  “I can’t feel it, but I can see in your eyes,” Yajvan appeared next to her in a blink. He’s there king. He should be powerful, so he can move. Don’t think about it. “Does it hurt?” he smirked.

  Die! You evil, immoral, vicious, and sinful being… But only after setting me free.

  “Have I told you before? That you sometimes look awful up-close,” he summoned a tiny pizza slice, and slurped each bite. A bloody, monstrous king. He turned away, but stopped for a last look. “Two things: War’s real. And,” he glanced at Atharv. A smile crept his face. “Event’s going well. People loved your mermaids. Keep the work.”

  Just die!

  “The reasons for my death are lost or don’t exist.” He disappeared.

  He could have at least taken mamu with him! I hate you!

  A breeze of air fell on her body. Life surged through her limbs. But no end or relief from the headache. Next moment, limited details of blue rank functionality appeared in front of her.

  Atharv’s weight on her arms was increasing each second. And she had the strength to carry him. His vitals were just a hair’s breadth away from reaching critical status. A thick layer of smog emerged from her. The sun’s not that hot, is it? Blue rank SL, even with temporary features, had extra particles a user could use for additional tasks. She used all the extras to give him a temporary boost of health. The particles flew back to her after completing their task.

  By scanning the surroundings, she familiarised herself with all the important places to keep him safe. The most secure option was at the back of the castle near the garden, ideal for concealing him until the mission’s conclusion.

  The pain in her head started moving to her abdomen. It made her head spin, making it difficult for her to fly straight, let alone carry him. She called the car, which had enough power to evacuate once after dealing with the stubborn layer of feathers and seated Atharv in the back. Right before closing the door, Atharv grabbed her wrist. “I…” he gasped. “Too many.”

  Manya wiped the sweat and tears off his face. “You are forgetting something. Whose niece I am?” A grin spread across her face.

  With his trembling touch, Atharv tapped her head. “Enjoy,” he said.

  As the car left through the ocean, a flock of angels surrounded her. And the pain travelling inside her resided in her abdomen and vanished and… lead to a disastrous gust of energy emerged from her. It travelled over the entire ocean, providing her relief from the pain.

  Another batch of angels surrounded her.

  “Beings who boasted so much about their power, only left with a handful of insects.” She snickered.

  The predictable reactions from angels still surprised her. They should be the beings with higher emotional intellect. However, they again proved her wrong by summoning a few more hoard of angels from the big four heavaths surrounding the entire planet. And they all had a hint of humans in them.

  “Since when did these guys started breeding with humans?” Manya said. “And is there any pure one among them or they all generated from humans?”

  ‘You are correct, Ms. Angels have no unique existence to humans or other entities.’

  “Oh shit! Sorry Vega, I seriously forgot about you. It’s always good to hear your voice.”

  ‘I could feel your sincere emotions.’

  “Vega, are there AIs among these?”

  ‘Yes Ms., half of the angels present here are AIs.’

  “How to tell?”

  ‘The AIs have sharp and shorter wings than non-AIs. Distinct marks or symbols on their chest or face connected to their owner. And not a single trace of gold on them.’

  With a determined look in her eyes, she rushed towards the angels, wielding her weapons and a doubt that clearing them all would require more than just skills.

  ***

  Chain of ariots around dived into the ocean. Had they all focused their attention on her, she would have met her demise. Yet, she couldn’t make sense of why most of them were interested in the ocean?

  “Foolish angels digging the indestructible ocean bed. It would be easier for them to head straight to the castle.”

  ‘No!’

  “What?”

  The angels beside her uttered something before dissolving into air. The attacks she had launched on them redirected towards the land.

  Manya looked up at the man who’s been sleeping? “Hey, it still doesn’t bother you? They are headed to your castle! A place filled or fitted with extremely advance or expensive technology!” Yajvan didn’t respond to her. What does men like him like? Argh! “They will destroy your personal collection of figurines!” Still no reaction. “Portrait of your friends and family!” And she got a reaction, a loud, exaggerated yawn that stretched from ear to ear.

  The elegant and surreal castle with a drooling art-like structure acted as a grain ground for winged beings. “Don’t rush! Everybody will get some piece of it,” Manya said. The black angels blocked her path. “You are still alive?”

  With just one average shot, she killed one of them. Surprised, she examined their metrics; they had weakened because of the burst of pain she emitted before. The remaining black angels, excluding Darsh and Astrid, disassembled. The angels, once beautiful and strong, now floated as a constellation of gleaming black shards.

  Each shard found a new home on Darsh and Astrid, settling into their beings. Their abilities reached a level far surpassing the giant angels. Each shard formed a golden, eerie pattern on them and their wings.

  No angel paid her any attention except for these two beings, who transformed into the most captivating couple. The patterns on their bodies and the beauty of their wings charmed her so much that she failed to notice the approaching attack. A direct punch to her abdomen launched her into the depths of the ocean.

  Composing herself, a scream escaped her over a terrible view. “How can you do that? And why is it giving me relief?”

  The once empty ocean was no longer devoid of life. The whales were having an event of their own, about who will eat the maximum number of angels and also making bets on them. A bunch of them were bullying angels by forcing them to fight each other and lying to them about the freedom as winners reward. As soon as one wins a fight, they sent them to the oldest one for freedom, inside her stomach.

  A powerful tremor from the land travelled through the ocean, compelling her to depart from its depths. The sight of the land’s destruction startled her. In mere minutes, the walls of the castle were on the verge of losing their strength. They won’t take much time to find a hidden car behind the castle.

  ‘Harmful particles had infiltrated the SL,’ a female voice announced.

  Intense pain surged through her body like a wave. Dizziness overwhelmed her head. Her senses went numb. She could feel her mouth open, throat sore, but not a sound of her agony. The throb of her heartbeat filled her ears. Every heavy attack she had experienced seemed childish compared to her internal pain.

  She felt a gentle tug on her hair. When she opened her eyes, she was being dragged, thrown, and attacked like a ball.

  Stop. Please. I accept defeat.

  With a sharp pain in her shoulder, her senses returned to their normal state, allowing her to fully experience her surroundings. “How?” It all felt familiar. “Mamu, is it you?”

  “You know how hard is to get these things, and they are expensive, like exorbitant.”

  Her eyes followed the voice, fixating on its source, while her tears remained suspended on the brink of falling. “You’re really back?”

  Ira nodded.