Chapter 20

  Reunion

  Part One

  Atharv brought an end to the never-ending destruction of the angels. The ones who had been boasting about their superior spirit and dominance now trembled with fear.

  “Vega!” Manya flew toward her, but stopped by Atharv.

  “She’ll be alright.”

  “Ira stabbed her. I have to go!”

  Atharv gave her a commanding gaze. “She’ll live. I promise.”

  “But…” her gaze fixated on her personal assistant.

  “You have grown, my sweet little devil.”

  Her tears had found a place on Atharv’s shoulder. “I… I.”

  “Take your time. It’s not like there’s an army of angels around us.”

  She giggled.

  “I missed you!” Manya sobbed.

  “Let’s not state the obvious.”

  Manya scanned his vitals, and they were excellent for a person who had once suffered such attacks. But his clothes still had holes from that day.

  She sniffed him. “Clean. Why haven’t you changed these destroyed clothes?”

  He smiled. “Because I had more pressing matters, like staying alive. Which is more important than grooming, isn’t it? But I washed them regularly.”

  “I can smell that. But one can also remove it.”

  “And embarrass myself before all these angels, especially the female ones.”

  “Purvi!”

  “What about her?”

  “We have to tell her you are okay. She cried every night after you left me alone with a ring.”

  “We will tell her Manya—”

  “No, and I have so many things to tell you. And where were you all this time? I-I looked for MS but ended up here. This place is so beautiful and about their king. He’s an idiot, but kind. You’ll like him!”

  “Manya angels—”

  “You know I can control elements! See that waterspout? I created it! Isn’t it amazing? And I can summon countless types of AI beings.” Her eyes went wide. “I also got my car collection. The cheapest one is of undecillion! Can you believe it?”

  “Ang—” Atharv sighed.

  “And you know what? They have this amazing technology for changing clothes. And you have to see my place. It’s humongous!”

  “Stop!” Atharv charged at an angel and shoved him with a debris of warship falling around them.

  Manya held his arm and pulled him back. “Where was I? Yes. You know I have got my personal garage! And you see that castle? That’s my home, and no, it’s ours now!” she chirped. “And no rent! And the shower, it’s amazing! Like a gentle waterfall, splashing every pore.”

  Atharv blocked an intense light energy with his forearm. Without pausing her endless tales, Manya crisped the angel with her particle orb, the sizzling sound filling the air. They were ravaging the ocean, adorning it with the wreckage of spaceships and angels.

  The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  “Where were you all this time?” Manya said.

  “After ‘kidnapping,’ I ran away, but my wounds were still far from being fully healed, so I took a shelter in a safe location for the time being.”

  “You have a safe location?”

  He smirked. “Tons of it.”

  She chuckled. “And how did you find me? How did you know I would come here?”

  “I have my ways.”

  “You and your ways.”

  Each of their attacks connected with each other. Their connection was a seamless and profound display of chemistry.

  “How are you flying?” Manya said. A grin formed on Atharv’s face. “Don’t, just don’t. It’s my fault that I ask, sorry.”

  What was once a deadly battle has now become a competition to see who can defeat more.

  Excitement of fighting together with Atharv, stuck to her face even in the middle of a heavy attack. She had achieved the goal that brought her to a world filled with mysteries. Despite the challenges with cunning and powerful entities, she found her sole surviving family member, although he was dressed in torn clothes.

  “You know, I could have ended all this way sooner if I had that Trishul weapon.”

  “You are far more powerful than any weapon.” He tore the wings of the giant leader angel.

  “I know there’s a hidden power inside me, which had protected till now, but it isn’t working anymore.” She formed the strongest orb, and shot them at the unwinged giant leader angel struggling to stay afloat. An unbearable discharge of particles coursed through his body. “And mamu, what exactly is this power inside me?”

  “To protect you, I injected a formula inside you. It generates a surge of pure energy until your vital stabilise.”

  “When?”

  A subtle curve formed at the corners of his lips. “At the hospital.”

  Manya grabbed the wing of an angel attacking her, and after a swift turn, threw the angel at Atharv. “You drugged me?”

  “For your safety.”

  “And you also made me drink that coffee loaded on sleeping whatever.”

  “Again, for your safety.”

  “Wait—then what about him? The mysterious voice?”

  “What voice?”

  “A heavy male voice. It works like a button to turn whatever you injected inside me.”

  Atharv seemed confused. “What does it say?”

  “Nothing much. Like the world is bad or the urge to kill.”

  Atharv giggled. “Are you sure it’s not your inner voice?”

  The screams of the giant leader angel reverberated through the ocean. All the angels on the planet came to a halt, their wings frozen mid-flutter.

  “Mamu?”

  “He had lost his regenerative ability. Even if he drinks a healing formula, it will only harm him than providing any relief.”

  ***

  A white light enveloped the dying leader, which slowed decaying. The powerful angels had formed a circle around him. And another circle beneath it; including Darsh, who was still recovering after summoning the spaceships, Astrid, Karulsh and a few more, with their heads lowered.

  Those who appeared to be the lowest rank angels established a barrier even stronger than the one Atharv had broken. Angels in a circular formation just above Darsh and his lackeys raised their hands forward and joined them, palm facing the sky, as if they were begging.

  “What is happening?” Manya said.

  “It’s their mourning ritual,” Atharv said. “Whenever a higher angel dies or is about to die, her/his brethren perform a ritual of blood.”

  “Blood? And what if they are in a fight against thousands?”

  “That’s a formidable barrier. You know there’s a rumour of not being able to live after seeing this ritual.”

  Excitement sparkled in her eyes. “Shouldn’t I be scared right now?”

  “Why scared of something that’s bound to happen? Death’s an ultimate truth.” Atharv fixated his gaze on the ritual.

  Golden swords appeared above each of the angel palms. In a split second, they held it and swiftly drove it through their chest. A gasp escaped Manya. None of them displayed any signs of suffering. Even the slightest touch, like a needle, would provoke a reaction from her, but they stood there with swords in their chests, unaffected.

  The golden halo of angels hovered above and merged into a larger, more radiant halo that cast a golden hue on everything below. The black blood started dripping from the edge of the swords, staining the angels below them. With each drop of blood, there was a significant upgrade in the strength of Darsh and lackeys.

  “Shouldn’t we run?” Manya said.

  “And miss such a sight?” he gazed at her and nodded. “Yeah, let’s move.”

  As they turned, they got surrounded by hundreds of ariots, standing in an unbreakable formation. The dying angel was seconds away from full disappearance.

  “Getting scared? Mr. Atharv?” Manya said.

  His eyes softened. “For you.”

  She giggled. “I’ll handle the bunch getting bloody body paint.”

  With a slight tilt of his head, he agreed. “Be my guest.”

  The swords inside their chests fragmented and spread into the air—with the dying giant leader angel. The last drops of blood formed a black halo and horns. Darsh and the others were perfectly covered in a layer of black blood with the same old golden eyes.

  As Darsh glanced at her, a suffocating black smog descended upon her surroundings, accompanied by an unsettling, bloodthirsty presence.

  “Mamu?”

  No one responded.

  Within a second, her vision adapted to the surroundings, but it was still dark and the sudden absence of the black angels took aback her. “At least they won’t cause any wreck in the city.”

  A sharp pain surged through her elbow; there was a deep cut that radiated black smoke. In a split second, another jolt of pain hit her back. Then hundreds of painful cuts surrounded her, resulting in screams and a sense of helplessness. Without the regenerative powers of SL, a single blow would have been fatal for her.