Vir was no longer just a demon. He was a vortex of deadly, violent prana. A vortex that disintegrated the grass beneath his feet in a relentless onslaught.
Not even Clarity would help the ghael now. There was no safe place except where Vir willed.
Maiya lunged into action, slicing at Ekanai, who avoided her with fluid-like grace.
Vir monitored Maiya like a hawk, his breath catching every time she attacked or Ekanai defended. Despite his bold words, dread coursed through Vir’s veins. His mind was stuck on Ekanai’s words. What did he mean by—
Vir reeled. Images of Maiya getting skewered by Ekanai flooded into his mind. He was forced to watch as her soul essence drifted into Ekanai’s orb. What’s happening to me? Why am I—!
“Do you understand?” Ekanai asked, tossing his orb into the air. Each time he did, Vir’s heart clenched.
“Chakra,” Vir whispered as the cruel truth dawned on him.
“A potent weapon against those who lack the defenses of the Foundation Chakra,” Ekanai rasped.
“Vir!” Maiya shrieked. “What are you doing?”
A dozen scenes of Vir’s death played out before him. In some, he watched Maiya die before him, in others, he died protecting her. It was as if he’d been transported to Ashani’s Mahādi simulation. He didn’t merely see these things. He lived them. He experienced the raw emotions. He felt the pain. Over and over again.
When the delusion finally ended, Vir had fallen to his knees. Though only an instant had passed, to him, it’d felt like months. Months of unending torture.
Several wispy white streams floated midair. Vir stared at them in a daze, his mind blank.
So pretty… he thought, tracing the streams back to their source. To Maiya, who bravely fought against an enemy who could see the future.
Vir’s eyes went wide in panic.
In the moments when Vir had been preoccupied with Ekanai’s mental attack, the demon had switched targets, lunging for Vir instead.
Maiya had placed herself in front of Vir like a shield. She’d stopped Ekanai, but not without a cost. The Reaper left countless slices upon Maiya’s unarmored skin. She was now barely even visible.
The orb glowed dazzlingly.
Maiya’s movements slowed. Her arms and legs twitched awkwardly, as if she was no longer able to control them.
“What… is this?” Maiya muttered, her voice slurring.
Cursing himself, Vir dove into the fray, unleashing a volley of Prana Darts to force Ekanai away. The demon dodged, but dealing damage wasn’t Vir’s intent. He’d forced Ekanai to move away from Maiya.
Vir savagely lashed out with his katar, then amplified its length with Blade Projection, doubling it in an instant and paying its prana consumption no mind. Consumption was the last thing on his mind.
Ekanai bent backward just before Vir finished his strike. The demon moved so quickly that his back would have snapped had he been any ordinary demon.
He’s moving faster than before, Vir thought in anguish. And he hasn’t even used the Artifact chakram yet…
Ekanai had so many ways to kill them, it’d be comical if their lives weren’t on the line. Maiya wanted to form a plan, but what plan could defeat an almighty god?
Ultimate tattoos were in a league of their own, and even without them, Ekanai has so many advantages. Battle experience, natural ability, Vir’s chakram… the list went on.
Physically, Ekanai wasn’t nearly as strong as Cirayus with Balancer of Scales. Yet his advantages in mobility and battlefield awareness more than made up for that weakness.
In any other situation, Vir would have given up and fled. It was stupidity to fight such an enemy. Except there was no fleeing here. Not when Maiya’s life was at risk. Could he even save her, now that so much of her essence had been sapped? How would he go about restoring her, even if they did prevail?
Crushing doom weighed on his mind, and only through his deep, calming breaths did he keep his mind from cracking entirely.
That’s what he wants, Vir thought. You can’t give in.
Vir fought savagely, his only purpose keeping Ekanai’s attention.
If he’s focused on me, he can’t harm Maiya.
It wasn’t much of a plan, but it was the best he could manage in his current state.
Ekanai exchanged blow after blow with Vir, and the entire time, Vir knew he was being toyed with. Ekanai would show an opening, which Vir wouldn’t take, knowing it to be a trap, right before showing another opening, and another.
Unable to resist any longer, Vir lunged, at which point, Ekanai stabbed into his armor, piercing it like a knife through jam. Despite her agony, Maiya attacked when she could, but the demon effortlessly dodged both of their strikes, often sending Vir crashing into Maiya, forcing her to catch him.
Vir felt like a helpless villager again. Like he’d been when they’d first started training at Riyan’s. Such was the disparity in their skills—both Vir and Maiya were now highly trained, accomplished fighters, and Ekanai still wiped the floor with them.
Unlike Maiya, however, Vir did bleed. Worse—his own essence began drifting into the air, and Vir understood just what crushing pain Maiya must have gone through.
How she dealt with it without blacking out—let alone fighting—was beyond him. It was pain unlike anything he’d ever felt.
Except, unlike Maiya, Vir’s essence drifted directly into Ekanai’s body, as if strengthening him.
It wasn’t long before Vir was covered in injuries and his movement slowed.
In one final move, Ekanai severed Vir’s Achilles tendons, sending him falling to his knees.
“Disappointing,” Ekanai spat, looming over him like an executioner. “This is why I must intervene. The realms do not need you, Ekavir. They need someone stronger. They need the Reaper. Our hosts have been gracious enough to manifest me into this world. I must capitalize.”
“You won’t kill me,” Vir said, though unlike when he’d fought against Cirayus in Kin’jal, he held no confidence in that assertion.
“Won’t I?” Ekanai asked, squatting to Vir’s eye level.
Ekanai was very much the type of person who would kill Vir.
“I’m the last hope you have. You said it yourself.”
“Anywhere else, yes. Not here. This place is special. Here, I don’t need your mind. Only your body. You forget, I’m already in you. I need only for your mind to break. Then I can take over. I’d hoped you would grow strong enough to fulfill your destiny, but fear not. I shall succeed where you failed. I will fulfill our destiny in your stead. And your friend there will give me the advantage I need. A truly new spell.”
Vir glared at the demon and spat in his face. “Eat Ash, chal!”
Ekanai’s brow twitched as he wiped the spit from his face.
The demon wordlessly drove his katar into Vir, aiming for his heart.
Vir didn’t even have the time to think, let alone react. He braced for the inevitable pain.
There was none. Instead, Vir felt something else. Something warm… and soft.
The comfort of Maiya’s embrace.
Even as Ekanai’s katar plunged into her back, she kept quiet, enduring the pain in silence.
Vir wailed, calling her name.
“It’s okay,” Maiya said, hushing him, gently embracing his head as what was left of her began to fade away. “Look at you, still relying on me to protect you from the bullies.”