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  "Does it return to you now? The memory?"

  Chirayu only realized the gravity of his situation when Sangharsh’s grip tightened around his throat with such feral force that drawing breath became a tough luxury.

  "L-look! You aren't doing the right thing!"

  When the terrified Leader of the Vanijya Guild attempted a facade of defiance, these words stumbled out of his frozen tongue in fractured syllables. But unfortunately, before him sat the same guild leader who had never shown mercy without a reason. And here, there was a reason, but for no mercy

  "Why? Is my grip too loose?"

  Saying this, Sangharsh applied so much brute strength with his hand that the guild leader, writhing in front of him, was now struggling for every breath.

  Meanwhile Nearby, the butterfly was consumed with funneling its energy into Raghav. Healing him. Or, more accurately, energizing his depleted core. It covered the unconscious Raghav with its massive wings like a living sanctuary, as if afraid that the moment it lowered its guard, some harm would come to the boy.

  Then suddenly, it felt a tightening in its wings. Its antennae stood rigid. And his wings, which had formed a protective ring around Raghav, slowly began to pull away. The blue-gold energy that had been trying to protect him now left the boy exposed to the biting cold.

  "Let me go, Sangharsh! Or you’ll regret it deeply!"

  Chirayu glared with wide eyes. His eyes bulging with desperation. But Sangharsh wasn't one to flinch at empty threats. He merely let out a sharp, mocking laugh.

  "Trust me... I won't feel a single shred of regret after killing you."

  No sooner had he said this than Sangharsh invoked his telekinetic power, suspending Chirayu in the mid-air. The Major, standing nearby, also watched the scene with stony expression and without reacting. His gaze was fixed solely on Chirayu, and then his eyes fell upon Chirayu's. He noticed a yellow luminescence flickering in his eyes.

  "Wait! Sangharsh! Something’s wrong!"

  Sangharsh glanced at the Major, confused. But before he could ask what the Major was talking about, He felt a spike of volatile energy erupted behind him. As he began to turn, Shaurya’s hand shot out. A whip of lightning-infused chains from his Vidyutsi bracer coiled around Sangharsh, yanking him backward. Simultaneously, Shaurya’s other hand bracer unsheathed an electrical dagger, cleaving through the incoming energy blast.

  The resulting explosion was so violent it sent both Raghav and Chirayu sprawling toward opposite corners of the ruined washroom. Before Shaurya or Sangharsh could recalibrate, the blue-gold butterfly flapped its wings in their direction with violent intent. From its wings flew a hundred, maybe two hundred, crystalline daggers, rained down upon them. Sangharsh used Shaurya’s arm for leverage to stand, using his telekinesis to catch the daggers mid-air and hurl them back at Chirayu. At the very moment a scream tore through the air as one of the blades struck Chirayu’s thigh.

  "Damn it! He’s still breathing!"

  Sangharsh muttered a few curses under his breath. He was annoyed that out of so many daggers, only one had hit him. And that too, wasn't fatal. Meanwhile, Shaurya unleashed a concentrated bolt of lightning at the Butterfly, but she countered with a searing, laser-like beam that neutralized the strike in a blinding flash. Sangharsh noticed the yellowness in the butterfly's eyes. Something was going on in them. And what? This became clear when he glanced at Chirayu.

  "The butterfly... Chirayu has it under his control. We have to eliminate this man first!"

  The Major looked at him and nodded, and immediately Sangharsh took charge and attacked the butterfly. A clash ensued! He tried to freeze the creature’s body in place with telekinetic pressure, which was heading straight for Shaurya. But this time, the butterfly felt different.

  Very different!

  Sangharsh had no idea what had changed. Because when he first encountered the creature, it had been easily subdued. Gritting his teeth, Sangharsh applied a little more power and, using his telekinetic powers, compressed the air molecules around the butterfly, creating a high pressure vaccum around it that nearly knocked the balance of its wings out of balance.

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  But at that very moment, the butterfly unleashed a powerful blast of blue-gold energy in the direction of Sangharsh. If Sangharsh had delayed even a little and not immediately fled, he would have been reduced to a crimson mist. But as Sangharsh raised his hand for a counter-offensive, he was startled. The Butterfly was charging at him with terminal velocity. Its proboscis stretched out like the tip of a lethal sword.

  On the other side, Shaurya was systematically shattering the mental shackles Chirayu tried to impose on him. One by one. His steps were moving towards Chirayu. Chirayu had divided his energy into two parts,

  half dedicated to enslaving the Butterfly,

  the other half a futile attempt to subjugate the Major.

  But unfortunately, it didn't seem to have much effect on the Major. Chirayu was drenched in sweat and tired of wiping his sweat. Then Shaurya sat down beside him and let out a long, weary sigh.

  "What an irony, isn't it?"

  Chirayu, trembling with primal fear, nodded his head several times in agreement. He himself didn't understand what he was doing.

  "All your life, you ruthlessly extracted the cores of others. You took countless lives. But today, I will be the one extracting the core. Your core...!"

  Chirayu saw death itself before him, in the form of Shaurya. And Shaurya proved it right. He plunged his bare hand directly into Chirayu's chest.

  Kchack!

  As Shaurya’s raw electrical essence was forced into Chirayu’s internal pathways, the entire Kaalminar tower echoed with a scream that transcended pain. The greed, hatred, animosity, and anger hidden within that scream could be heard.

  It could be heard clearly.

  The scene was so painful and gruesome that even Sangharsh averted his eyes. The Butterfly, now liberated from the mental yoke, instinctively shielded herself and Raghav with her wings.

  Shaurya didn't stop even when every hair on Chirayu's body was badly burned.

  Shaurya did not stop when the screams finally died in a raspy throat.

  Shaurya did not stop even when the body began to smolder, sending acrid smoke into the air.

  He had no intention of stopping.

  By now, everyone from Kaalminar had reached the ruined walls of that washroom.

  They were standing.

  They were scared.

  They were shocked.

  They were trembling.

  And they were confused.

  Shaurya’s unbridled rage tapped into something primal. Above the tower, the sky answered. He unleashed such a fierce side of his power that all the clouds in the sky instantly transformed into a storm. Thunder roared and lightning crackled so loudly that many covered their ears in fear. The thunder and the dazzling lightning were enough to remind everyone what happens when a supreme-level fighter begins to transcend into the ultimate category.

  The doors and windows of the Kaalminar and the storm like winds blowing through it were giving evidence that if this expansion of power did not stop, if no one stopped it, then there would be destruction. There would be total annihilation. Sangharsh immediately ran over and grabbed Shaurya's hand tightly. But the sparks emanating from Shaurya's body refused to calm down.

  "What are you doing! Calm down! Are you going to destroy everything?"

  Sangharsh shouted and shook Shaurya. Only then Shaurya spared him a fleeting, hollow glance and quickly grabbed him by the chain on his other arm's vidyutsi bracer, fling him aside. With a final, agonizing pull, the Major ripped the Fighter Core straight out of Chirayu’s chest. The onlookers gasped in unison, hands covering their mouths. The moment the core was removed, a literal rain of lightning fell upon Chirayu’s remains. Everyone immediately fled. The resulting explosion was so massive that the entire floor above the washroom, the sixth floor and everything above it, collapsed.

  The force and energy were so intense that nothing was left. The entire upper portion was toppled into the ravine of Indrasan Mountain on the other side. And with it, Chirayu's body obliterated. Shaurya had left Chirayu's body in such a state that not a single shard of bone remained to be found.

  People stared at the scene with wide eyes, disbelief, as if apocalypse had struck. Or perhaps something similar. Shaurya looked at the core in his hand with utter loathing before tossing it into the dirt as if it were common refuse. And now the Major began moving in the direction where butterfly, Raghav, and Sangharsh had fallen.

  "Bring the boy."

  With that command, he extended his hand. The butterfly, emitting a blue-golden glow, retracted itself, shrinking to about a foot long. It then landed on the Major's hand.

  As Shaurya stepped toward the crowd, the sea of people parted instantly and gave way. All the survivors of the Kaalminar were still there. But it was so quiet that it didn't seem like anyone was there. Sangharsh lifted Raghav using his telekinesis and followed silently behind the Major.

  Pranali, Tushar, Ketaki, Ansh, Sameer, Randheer, Jagat, Navnath, Anirudh, Amogh, Ukti, all the AHSF soldiers and all the Guilds. Even the Major's own squad members were present. Even though the Major had calmed down a bit, everyone was avoiding those terrifying eyes.

  And they would have liked to.

  Because those eyes were still predatory. The sparks emanating from his body had still not subsided.

  High above in the sky, visible through the collapsed ceiling, the clouds had formed the shape of a colossal, shimmering spear crackling with lightning. The wind in the Kaalminar had grown extremely cold. It was as if a storm was brewing right now.

  Chirayu might have wielded his power like a sword. And granted, a warrior finds his honor in the blade.

  But when you’re out for blood...

  A hunter knows that nothing strikes truer than a spear...

  To be continued...